IPA Challenge all tied up after round one

None of the Crew could make it over to Nexus for round one of the 2012 IPA Challenge on Sunday (I know, I know, bad beer bloggers putting work/life ahead of beer). But thankfully the good folks at the New Mexico Brewers Guild posted the results on Facebook when all the votes were tallied. A…

Beer Notebook: Local stores are getting Elevated

Stoutmeister here. Shilling has kept track of some local beer news of note while E-Rock and I were in Durango. Speaking of Durango, we will have our next post (Ska Brewing) up shortly. We hit three breweries on Wednesday alone and were not in shape to do much in the way of write-ups that day….

Beer Week: And so it ends

Well, that’s all she wrote, the fat lady has sung, the sun has set, and 8000 other cliches. ABQ Beer Week 2012 has come to a close with Blues & Brews as the mega-sized finish to all the fun. Thank goodness, because E-Rock needs a nap. With others working or ailing, he put the Crew…

Beer Week: Finishing with a flourish

First off, happy birthday to Franz Solo, who turns the big 3-0 today (Saturday), though the celebration began last night as he and E-Rock took in some more ABQ Beer Week events before I caught up to them to close the night out at Marble and Tractor. E-Rock recaps things below, since after all, we…

Beer Week: The reality of real ales

E-Rock reports on his ABQ Beer Week experience from Wednesday: After spending most of Tuesday at several different establishments doing beer tastings, I decided to take it easy and enjoy Marble’s Real Ale night. Marble had three cask beers to choose from, including their Maibock (7.0% ABV), Doppel Bock (7.0%), and the collaboration beer 505…

Beer Week: E-Rock tackles taste-a-palooza

Many breweries had tastings on Tuesday night. I made it to four different establishments to see what was new for Beer Week. I started the evening at Two Fools where Sierra Nevada released Hoptimum (100 IBU, 7.8% ABV). This dry and hoppy double IPA was what Stoutmeister would refer to as a kung-fu kick to…

Beer Week: The Scottish ales are free!

Well, not really free as in you don’t have to pay for them, but two new variations on the popular Scottish genre were on the loose on Sunday. Two Fools had a peat-smoked version of Il Vicino’s excellent Sasquatch Scotch on tap for the nice, low price of $3.75, while Nexus unleashed the burly Beam…

Beer Week notes: Lazy weekend, shifting venues

The Crew took Saturday off from attending any ABQ Beer Week events, but there were actually only three things going on. The ABQ Trolley Ale Trail sold out long before we ever tried to buy tickets and none of us were worthy of giving blood (in my case, I am unable due to living in…

The 505 Five debuts as Beer Week rolls on

First off, I want to say the ABQ Beer Geek, or Patrick as we know him, is a gentleman and a scholar and someday people will sing songs about him! At least, that was went through my head when he poured me a pint of the 505 Five at Marble about five minutes before the…

Kicking off Beer Week with Beer 101

I had the opportunity to begin ABQ Beer Week with Beer 101 at Marble Brewery. We tried 10 beers — two of the beers were brewed by Marble, with the other eight being non-local beers established as prime examples of classic beer styles including a pilsner, witbier, Irish red, IPA, barley wine, doppelbock, rauchbier, and…