Posts Tagged ‘Quarter Celtic Brewpub’

Weekend Beer-cap: The holiday brews knocked us all flat

Posted: November 27, 2018 by cjax33 in Weekend Beer-cap
Tags: , , , , , , ,
1

The beer fridge overflows with all the stout-y goodness.

Thanksgiving was kinda fuzzy, man. At least that seems to be the case for most of us, as the sheer number of holiday brews left the bulk of the Crew speechless (or, at least, unable to write). It was a tad overwhelming.

First up, Wednesday saw a quick trip to Tractor for a four-pack of Turkey Drool. Yeah, didn’t need the half-growler this year. It’s been my personal tradition to always make the TD the first beer of every Thanksgiving. It makes the bad Lions and Cowboys football go down so much easier.

After that little treat, Friday brought a shorter-than-usual line at Jubilation for the annual Black Friday cellar sale. The barrel-aged Expedition Stout from Bell’s topped my personal list, so I walked out with two of those, one 2016 Uncle Jacob’s from Avery, a 2015 Barrel-Aged Narwhal from Sierra Nevada, and, yeah, had to get one Bourbon County Brand Stout and see if it still holds up (Jubilation did not receive any variants, which was disappointing this year).

Since I still have a huge stout haul from a friend’s cellar sale a few months back, I limited myself to just those five bottles. Oh, but alas, the locals beckoned me back out in the afternoon.

I joined Franz Solo at Boxing Bear for the always excellent VantaBlack Russian Imperial Stout, with this year’s batch in bottles, and a 3-year-old barrel-aged version on tap only. I am sad to report that the BA is out, but you can still buy bottles at the brewery, as I made sure to do. Next time around, head brewer Justin Hamilton assured us, he will make sure to bottle some of the barrel-aged batch, too.

The good folks at Bosque were simultaneously spreading the word over social media that their Fresh Start Breakfast Stout was on tap, so I hit up the San Mateo location on my way back. It’s just as good as ever, a sweet treat that paired oh-so-well with leftover dessert. A four-pack of that accompanied me home.

It was back to work for me on Saturday, after which I really needed more beer. My original plan was to stay in, drink some of those stouts, and watch terrible movies, but friends dragged me out to Quarter Celtic. The Oat Face Killer (Oatmeal Stout) was delightful, tasting way heavier more than a 5.1-percent beer should.

As for the rest of the Crew, only AmyO was able to put her thoughts together in printed form, which is remarkable considering the Lobo-sized headache she dealt with after another dismal season of hand-egg just ended.

(more…)

Beer Notes: Yet another taproom is on tap for NE Heights

Posted: November 5, 2018 by cjax33 in Beer Notes
Tags: , , , ,
0

This building on Tramway near Paseo del Norte will soon host a Boese Brothers taproom.

As a public service, anytime we publish a story about one new brewery or off-site taproom opening, questions appear about any additional ones coming down the pipeline. As a public service, here are some tasty beer notes with info on what is on tap for Albuquerque and beyond.

Boese Brothers head for the foothills

We have known for a while that Boese Brothers Brewing was going to open a taproom somewhere in town, but the obvious question of where went unanswered. Thankfully, a magical little moment happened on Instagram and, with some help from a good friend in the industry, we tracked down the location.

The new taproom will open soon at 7849 Tramway Blvd. NE, which puts it just south of the intersection with Paseo del Norte. While Tractor and Canteen covered the southern end of Tramway with their taprooms, Boese Brothers will be the first to move into the far northern end of the corridor.

This will be the second off-site location for Boese Brothers, which also co-owns the Desert Dogs Taproom in Santa Fe. We will be in touch with George and Sam Boese to hopefully get an advance look at the place and learn a little more about it before it opens.

(more…)

Marblefest embraces the spirit of collaboration

Posted: September 26, 2018 by cjax33 in Events, News
Tags: , , , , , , ,
1

This is one event you cannot miss … unless you bought tickets to a metal show in Denver months ago.

Timing is everything in life. For instance, this Saturday is both Marblefest here in Albuquerque and the Amorphis/Dark Tranquillity/Omnium Gatherum/Moonspell metal show in Denver. Many of us in the Crew bought our tickets to the latter a while ago, so we are northbound again, but that just means the rest of you will have more beer to drink at 111 Marble Avenue this weekend.

Marble’s marvelous marketing and events coordinator Geraldine Lucero invited me to stop by the Heights taproom before GABF to talk about this awesome festival that I will personally miss. (Sniff) We were joined by brewmaster Josh Trujillo to discuss the beers as well.

The event begins with a VIP sampling session from noon to 2 p.m., followed by the general admission festival from 2 until 11. It costs $20 for VIP tickets and $5 for GA. General admission tickets will be on sale at the door only. Tickets for VIP are available at all three taprooms, or you can order VIP online. Those go up to $25 on the day of the event, so get ’em early. Geraldine said that the VIP gets you a commemorative tasting glass, six 4-ounce pours, a food pairing, and you get to enjoy music from Red Light Cameras.

“That’s going to be really exciting because we’re limiting the amount of tickets we’re selling to that,” Geraldine said. “We want it to be a lot smaller where people (won’t) wait in lines, taste as much beer as they want, talk to the brewers on hand. We’re trying to give them an awesome VIP experience.”

(more…)

GABF 2018: New Mexico breweries bring home 7 medals

Posted: September 22, 2018 by cjax33 in GABF 2018
Tags: , , , , , , ,
13

A lot of tired brewers and brewery owners came to life when their names were announced at the GABF Awards Ceremony!

DENVER — The 2018 Great American Beer Festival awards ceremony was another good one for New Mexico breweries. The Saturday morning event saw 2,404 breweries enter 8,864 beers, judged by 193 people, and spread across 102 categories, plus a new collaboration and the Pro-Am competition.

Eight New Mexico breweries shared in seven medals, a significant improvement from the World Beer Cup earlier this year, when only Quarter Celtic brought home a single bronze medal for its Pedro O’Flanagan.

“It means we make good beer still,” said John Gozigian, the executive director of the New Mexico Brewers Guild. “What did we win (at WBC), one medal? It was an anomaly. We always tend to medal disproportionately to our population.”

We were lucky in that Turtle Mountain head brewer Mick Hahn, left, found us at the session after the awards ceremony.

Turtle Mountain earned its first gold medal in the International-style Pilsner category with Wooden Teeth. The year-round offering is a huge win for brewer Mick Hahn and owner Nico Ortiz, beating out 85 other entries.

Mick was not in attendance when the award was announced.

“I was at our AirBnB, not quite sipping the champagne yet, but enjoying the hell out of it,” he said. “We didn’t go to the awards ceremony but we were streaming it at the house. When they announced it we just exploded. It was fantastic. I couldn’t be happier. There was a liquor store right across from the house so I ran across the street to get some champagne.”

After 19 years in business, this was the first major competition medal for Turtle Mountain.

“That’s just awesome,” Gozigian said. “For a new brewery to win is great, but to see one of the stalwarts of our brewing scene to come out of the woodwork and win in a very competitive category, I’m very happy for them.”

Mick said he was over the moon after hearing his beer’s name called on the internet broadcast.

“It means so much,” Mick said. “Turtle deserves so much more (praise) than what they have right now, in my opinion. I hate hearing people say, ‘I love it, but I never go out to Rio Rancho.’ It’s a drop in the bucket, I’m sure, but every little bit helps. A gold medal for our house lager? Yeah.”

La Cumbre’s Jeff Erway chews on another silver medal for his Malpais Stout.

There were two silver medals awarded to local breweries. La Cumbre’s Malpais Stout took second in the Export Stout category, while Rowley Farmhouse Ales earned its first medal with Germophile in the Berliner-style Weisse category, which had 115 entries.

“Always the runner up,” said La Cumbre owner/master brewer Jeff Erway. “It’s my third silver. I’m really stoked to not go home empty handed. I tasted this batch and said this is about as good as that beer ever gets. I’m really pleased with the whole team. It gets increasingly harder as the brewery gets bigger to make sure that every person back there is engaged. I’m kind of in awe of Daniel (Jaramillo) and Alan (Skinner) and how they manage the team back there. I’m real proud of everybody. Probably 20 people touch this beer. The fact that no one screwed it up is awesome.”

Bronze was the color of the day with five breweries bringing home four medals. How did that work? Well, Quarter Celtic and Palmer Brewery earned bronze in the Collaboration Beer category with Mocha Hipster Bomb.

“Brady (McKeown, head brewer) is battling in that brewhouse and it’s starting to show,” said Quarter Celtic co-owner Ror McKeown. “We’re fortunate that Rob (Palmer) was a super cool guy and has some talent himself. He was willing to jump in with us. I told him, first GABF, first beer you entered, first medal, you set the bar real high. It was a good time, but unfortunately Brady will never get to come again, since we figured out the trick was to take his cutout instead of him.”

Yes, Quarter Celtic really did take a cardboard cutout of Brady up on stage.

The Brady McKeown cutout made it to the stage at the awards ceremony, courtesy of his brother Ror.

“You never expect to win, but you want to come prepared,” Ror said. “I took that cutout. It was nice, especially since this is (Charlie) Papazian’s last year. It was our last chance to get a fist bump from him.

“(Papazian) was laughing. We went up early enough so he wasn’t tired. He told us that’s awesome. Usually you can’t get too many words out of him. He had a pretty big grin on his face.”

For Palmer, this was his first major award.

“I’ll probably never enter another beer again,” Rob said. “First beer, medal, done.”

He was actually luck to even make it into the awards ceremony at all.

“I didn’t expect the collab category to be (early), I thought it would be in the middle somewhere,” Rob said. “I’m all hungover as shit. We were at the gentlemen’s club last night. I didn’t have a pass to get in. Canteen gave me an extra pass. I sat down, tried not to throw up, and then I heard the name called. It was fucking awesome. Getting to fist bump Charlie Papazian, man, best thing ever. I’m super stoked.”

Rob Palmer’s hangover disappeared quickly thanks to his bronze medal.

Starr Brothers brought home its first medal with a bronze in the Other Strong Beer category with Lampshade Porter, another year-round beer.

Sierra Blanca’s Cherry Wheat medaled for the second straight year, this time taking bronze in the Fruit Wheat category (it won gold last year).

Bosque’s Pistol Pete’s 1888 finished third out of 127 entries in the Golden or Blonde Ale category.

“It’s awesome,” said Bosque co-owner/director of brewing operations John Bullard. “We did the same thing with Bosque IPA (medaling), that was cool, too. That really drove sales. I’m really hoping this will continue to drive sales. We’re having a hard time keeping up with this beer already, but it can’t hurt, right?”

The Crew will try to catch up with the other medal winners while we are all here in Denver, but just in case we cannot find them, we will interview them upon our return to New Mexico this coming week.

Congrats to one and all, and thank you for always representing New Mexico in such a positive way.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

The Week Ahead in Beer: Quarter Celtic takes us halfway to St. Patty’s Day

Posted: September 12, 2018 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
Tags:
1

Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s seven breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, one in Red River, and one in Las Cruces also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

It has to be a first that we are choosing back-to-back Monday events as our featured lead, but we are not gonna argue with either one. After a Metal Monday show at Tumbleroot last week, this time around you can stay in ABQ and enjoy the Half Way to St. Patrick’s Day Festival at Quarter Celtic this Monday from open to close. The revamped patio is complete and Los Radiators will perform traditional Celtic music from 6 to 9 p.m. out there. There will all sorts of Irish food specials, plus of course some proper beers on tap, including Scottish Manny, Kill or be Kilt Scotch Ale, and a special batch of Irish Handcuffs Imperial Stout that has been aged for two years. You can all probably guess which one I will be sipping on after work.

There are plenty of other fun events as well, starting today (Wednesday). Marble is hosting a rematch of its last round of the Brews & Bites Challenge at the Heights Taproom (the competitors finished in a tie last round). That kicks off at 6 and tickets are going fast. You can also head over to Tractor Wells Park at 7:30 for the Poetry Slam City Championship. Friday will feature Red Door’s 4th Anniversary Bash at the brewery, which Franz Solo will have a full preview of later today. Trek out to Moriarty on Saturday for Sierra Blanca’s annual Oktoberfest celebration, with food, music, and plenty of beer in the spacious beer garden out back.

On the new beer front this week, there are a few options to check out. Ale Republic brings back Parasol. Boese Brothers roll out Summer Ale, Oktoberfest, and Clockwork Blood Orange IPA. Bombs Away already has American Wheat available, and Oktoberfest should be ready Thursday. Bosque is feeling colorful with Oat Gold and Wet Hop Red. Bow & Arrow resurrects a seasonal favorite in Wolf Eyes Marzen on Saturday. Boxing Bear sticks with the haze with Murky Milkshake IPA on Friday. Canteen freshens up with Wet Hop Pale Ale, Citranova Lager, and Strawberry Basil Gose. La Cumbre brings back Make IPA Clear Again, its collaboration with Denver’s Comrade Brewing, in cans and on tap this Friday. Marble unveils the 2018 edition of Pumpkin Noir on tap and in bottles at all three locations today. Nexus has more Coffee & Cream on tap. Ponderosa hopes to have its Oktoberfest later this week. Quarter Celtic also brings back an old favorite in Dark Pedro. Red Door will have Double Vanilla Cream for the anniversary party Friday. Starr Brothers wants everyone to Shake Yerbouti with its new milkshake stout. The 377 has a crazy new Berliner Weisse that was aged for five months on organic mangoes and strawberries and then finished with cedar chips added before kegging.

Up in Santa Fe, Blue Corn hopes to bring back Gatekeeper IPA by Saturday. Rowley Farmhouse Ales goes fresh with Brut IPA – Wet Hop Chinook.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of September 10.

(more…)

Sorting through the troubled times at taprooms around town

Posted: September 4, 2018 by cjax33 in Commentary/Analysis, News
Tags: , , , , , ,
3

Red Door abruptly closed its taproom on Wyoming last Friday, but patrons were able to enjoy one last pint or two.

The last month-plus has seen good and bad news coming out of several off-site taprooms around Albuquerque, ranging from two openings to two closings to other potential developments that have left folks wondering if the bubble is bursting. As a public service, we tried to sort through the rumors and figure out the solid facts.

On the good front, La Cumbre Westside and Tractor Westside are both humming along. Tractor opened first on McMahon, just east of Unser, and quickly captured the vibe of its other locations. La Cumbre opened to huge crowds with a touch of the original location blended with a more modern atmosphere. We also got good news that Quarter Celtic will open its first taproom in early 2019.

Then, there was everything else. First came the news at the end of July that Monks’ Corner was closing its doors. The location at Third and Silver was never able to draw in the crowds like Abbey Brewing had hoped, and in the end, the decision was made to shut down that taproom. Whether or not a replacement ever opens is something that will be decided at a later time.

Of course, since then, events might have given Abbey a reason to pause. All of us in the Crew were as surprised as anyone when Red Door abruptly announced the closure of its Northeast Heights taproom at Wyoming and Comanche. The taproom was packed with folks on Friday night, answering the call to help drink up as much of the beer on hand as possible. By the time I arrived around 9 p.m., there were only four house beers and the cider left on tap. All the seasonals were long gone.

I missed owner Matt Biggs by mere minutes, he later told me, but we will be meeting this week to discuss Red Door’s upcoming fourth anniversary. The reason given by Red Door in its social media posts was “a landlord dispute,” which sadly is not all that shocking around Albuquerque. Anyone remember when Pi Brewing had to shut down after its corporate landlord put off repairs to the damaged building for six months? (It had been hit by an out-of-control pickup truck that crashed off Coors.)

The specter of a bad landlord, or something similar, then seemed to crop up with the Soo-bak food truck posted that it was no longer going to park outside Tractor Nob Hill due to an unexplained dispute with the new property owner. That, in turn, led many to suspect Tractor would also shut down its original Albuquerque location, which has been serving folks since 2011. I contacted president/co-owner Skye Devore via email, and she said no one should panic, that Tractor is not closing the taproom.

“The building was purchased last year and we are working on adjusting to the new dynamic, which includes having a cafe next door, but we have no intention of shutting it down,” she wrote. “The food truck situation is delicate. In no way does Tractor want food trucks to cease service and their food will always be welcome in our Nob Hill location.”

So far, it seems this is an isolated incident rather than a radical change to the long symbiotic relationship between Tractor and the food trucks. Considering that the new landlord was also helping Tractor out by giving the brewery the space to expand its walk-in cooler and add more bathrooms, overall the relationship seems to be OK.

Now that everyone is breathing easy again, we feel that we can now report that the Duel taproom in downtown Albuquerque is closing some time in the near future. Real estate ads, like this one on Craigslist, have shown that the space is up for lease, though there has been no official announcement from the brewery in Santa Fe. Events are still listed through Saturday, September 15 on the taproom’s Facebook page, so it seems the closure is not necessarily imminent. We will keep an eye on the situation as it develops.

Before anyone starts screaming that the bubble is popping around here, most of these closures appear unconnected. It is possible to draw the line between Duel and Monks’ Corner, and the general difficulty of staying open downtown. People can point to the crime and other issues there, but we have long felt that downtown is simply a different animal as far as the crowd goes. It is not an area populated with craft beer lovers who want to kick back and relax, but is instead a more high-energy area of rising and falling trends. Basically, the downtown crowd is incredibly fickle, and with a few exceptions (Anodyne, looking at you), it can be very hard for any bar or taproom to gain a foothold there. Then throw in the issues with crime and the ongoing exodus of businesses from the area (which impacts lunchtime and happy hour crowds), and it pretty much conspired to kill Monks’ Corner and, apparently, Duel.

The boom times may be coming to a close, that is true, but it does not necessarily mean a massive contraction is at hand. Breweries and taprooms will not be shutting down en masse, but fewer and fewer are on the docket to open. At present, there are only three confirmed breweries pending for the ABQ metro area, plus three off-site taprooms.

In other words, yes, we have seemingly hit our saturation point. The remaining areas in town that lack craft beer are either too expensive in terms of rent, or too stricken by poverty. Darn, guess we will have to live with the award-winning breweries that are already here, instead of always looking to see who is coming next.

If anyone out there ever has any information for us on our local breweries, please, never hesitate to send it to us at nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com, or contact us via our social media pages.

Until next time, stay positive, Burque.

— Stoutmeister

Quarter Celtic set to open first off-site taproom in early 2019

Posted: August 27, 2018 by cjax33 in News, Taproom Preview
Tags: , ,
3

There will soon be two locations to get your Quarter Celtic beer-and-food fix!

We got some good news earlier today (Monday) in the form of an email from Quarter Celtic Brewpub co-owner Ror McKeown. He let us know that QC’s first taproom is now in the works at 1930 Juan Tabo, between Indian School and Menaul, with a projected opening date that “will loosely be February/March 2019.”

The taproom will be about 3,000 square feet, making it smaller than the original pub at San Mateo and Lomas. The taproom will still serve about 10 to 12 beers, like the original, and will have the full food menu as well. It will seat roughly 90 people, Ror wrote.

The location is on the east side of Juan Tabo, just north of Indian School and south of Menaul. Long ago, it was the location of the original Tomato Cafe.

QC will be joining what is quickly becoming a potentially crowded little area for beer. The new Black Snout Brewhouse will open in a few months at 11500 Menaul in a shopping center on the southeast corner of the Menaul/Juan Tabo intersection. That brewery has a pending small brewer license with the State of New Mexico.

Boxing Bear was long rumored to be opening a taproom in the still-unbuilt Snowheights Promenade at Eubank and Menaul. The status of both the taproom and the development is unknown at this time.

As more updates about the new QC taproom become available, we will share them with all of you.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

 

Weekend Beer-cap: Diners, darkness and dives

Posted: July 31, 2018 by cjax33 in Weekend Beer-cap
Tags: , , ,
1

Breathe in the history at Silva’s Saloon in Bernalillo. Just don’t breathe too deep.

Well, this past weekend took quite a bit out of all of us. Hence, no Monday story, and only a couple other Crew members could put together coherent thoughts about all that happened. We can’t blame the IPA Challenge, either, since Andrew was one of four of us who was there.

As for me? Well, in addition to the hops, I spent Friday night showing an old college friend around town. Swede had never stopped in Albuquerque for anything more than a tank of gas, but after hearing me brag over and over again about our beers, he was ready to finally stop in and see what our breweries offered. Well, that and he can’t seem to get enough of La Cumbre’s distribution in Tucson.

We hit up Canteen so he could try a flight and maybe grab a bite to eat. That maybe turned into definitely as the rain hit hard the first time. After a couple pints and some food, we moved to Bosque in Nob Hill. It rained a lot more outside, pints were consumed inside, and by golly, we have a new convert to our beer scene. He said he was impressed by the sheer quality of taprooms compared to those in Tucson (though they are starting to catch up).

Though I never asked Swede which specific beer was his favorite, he did order a pint of Pecos Trail Brown at Canteen after his flight, while Elephants on Parade and The Irish Goodbye were his Bosque selections.

Meanwhile, after the NMIPAC ended on Saturday, I lost track of the rest of the Crew and ended up waiting with the brewery folks who either worked for the Guild or just ended up hanging out until the very end. Someone came up with the glorious idea of driving into the heart of Bernalillo and going to the historic dive of dives, Silva’s Saloon. The place was quite the slice of history, and worth further exploration. (It is right next to the original Range Cafe, just in case you got lost like Brandon and co. did trying to find us.)

A good time was had by all by the pool table, with cans of Marble Pilsner on hand, and a jukebox cranking out some random old tunes. I would share more details, but it was all off the record. Oh, but if you ever challenge La Cumbre’s Daniel Jaramillo at pool, you better bring your “A” game. The man is a shark. I feel that’s something that I can safely report.

On with the rest of the Crew’s adventures …

Dine out, darkness in

Love the darkness. Become the darkness.

This weekend I hit up one of my favorite local haunts, M’tucci’s Market & Pizzeria after a long morning swim. I go for the quality of the food, the charm of the place, and the eclectic selection of local beers they have on tap. Well, that and the fact that it is mere minutes from home. Of the two saison-style brews they had on tap, I went with Bosque’s Pepporfessor Honeydew, which had mellowed in spiciness over time perfectly to accompany the many delectable meats on the pizza selections we made.

Since reading Brewmaster’s Table by Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery, I’ve taken a bit more of an appreciation of just what different styles of beer can accomplish when paired — using intent and a little knowledge — with food. Good meals can become, well, transformative experiences with the right pairing of beer and dish of choice (try a weissbier with good bratwurst, kraut, and mustard to get an idea). This day was one of those for me, but then I have yet to meet an unworthy dish at any of the M’tucci’s establishments, so go and try it for yourself.

The day continued in excellence to the nightcap, which was my last bottle of my favorite beer, batch one of Avery’s Tweak from 2014. If you know anything about us in the Dark Side, there are few beers we do not consider “sessionable.” This one is, in fact, a sipper. Deep waves of darkness from malts and coffee and barrel create, to my palate, the pinnacle of what beer can be. This is not some one-trick animal, either. Layered subtle echoes, shades of the dead, tendrils of the darkest fears and … er, malts, roasted, toasted, burned at the stake … clearly, perfection! Grab a bottle and find out for yourself.

Skål!

— Franz Solo

Back to the Winchester

A man cannot live off beer alone. Brats and fries are also necessary parts of a healthy diet.

I had another overdue visit this weekend. Sunday afternoon, I stopped at Quarter Celtic after an almost two-month hiatus. Quarter Celtic may be my favorite neighborhood-pub-style vibe kind of brewery in the ABQ area. I feel regular-ish, even if I go only once every couple months.

I started with the VP30, which is a Festbier commemorating the 30th anniversary of Village Pizza of Corrales and Albuquerque. The anniversary was celebrated earlier in the month, but this clean, well-balanced, and true-to-style beer carries on. After a few refreshing gulps, my banger in a bun arrived. This sausage was properly presented on a fresh pretzel bun with whole-grain mustard and purple kraut. I didn’t plan it, but of course, it paired perfectly with the VP30.

For dessert I happily lapped up a MacLomas Stout. I tend to think of Dry Irish Stouts as the “lagers of stouts.” They are the younger cousins of the bigger, bolder stouts that we tend to champion in the NM Dark Side Brew Crew. However, I found myself content with this not-so-dry, and slightly creamy with a little bit of roastiness, 5.4-percent ABV-packing stout.

— Andrew

Aggie up, Lobo fan

Cheers to the weekend gone by!

For my weekend beer-cap, my craft connoisseur-ing was pretty much broken down into post IPA Challenge Final celebrations and the recovery stages. Much fun was had Saturday, and many beers certainly were drank in honor of another Challenge in the books, but what stood out the most was a fresh cold one straight from Bosque North’s new canning machine. In my experience, it doesn’t get much better than a can straight from the line, shared amongst beer friends, regardless of beer style and the college team on the side of the can. (Go Lobos! Haha.) Thank you Mr. Bullard for the full tour and your excellent hospitality! The Crew won’t soon forget.

— Luke

Weekend Beer-cap: Hopping all around town

Posted: July 17, 2018 by cjax33 in Weekend Beer-cap
Tags: , , ,
1

The Test Batch #3, left, and Gondola Party Starter XH are two excellent double IPAs now available at Quarter Celtic.

One of these weeks we will all get our acts together and have this feature ready for a Monday run, but alas, this is not one of those weeks. As we noted last time around, this is simply a series of short recaps of weekend beer adventures for different members of the Crew.

Hops were the order of the day for this past weekend, what with the preliminary round of the NM IPA Challenge going down and all. I was not able to attend due to work, but I still managed to set out in search of at least one of the entries that is on tap around town.

My Friday night sojourn led me to Quarter Celtic, where the Gondola Party Starter XH (Extra Hops) is now on tap alongside the Test Batch #3 DIPA. Talking to QC co-owner Ror McKeown, I found out that both had been released with the goal of asking loyal customers which one should be the NMIPAC entry. Gondola was ultimately the choice of the public, though the way he described it was interesting. Most customers actually preferred Test Batch #3, but none of them thought it could win a competition, and thus Gondola became QC’s entry.

Tasting them side-by-side, I found Test Batch #3 to be lighter and sweeter, while Gondola has a bitter back-end kick, with a little less sweetness around the mid-palate. Gondola is certainly more of a traditional West Coast hop bomb, and in the end, the customers were right, as it advanced to Wednesday’s first round of the NMIPAC alongside 15 other IPAs.

— Stoutmeister

Now for the rest of the Crew … (more…)

The Week Ahead in Beer: Time for another overload of events

Posted: June 13, 2018 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
Tags: , , , ,
1

Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s seven breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, one in Red River, and one in Las Cruces also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Some weeks, it can be hard to find a single event to highlight here in our introduction. Other weeks, like this one, there is seemingly one major event to highlight per day. Ready? Let’s go. Tonight (Wednesday), head down to Marble 111 for the latest edition of the Brews & Bites Challenge. Tickets are $30 and on sale at the taproom now. Thursday, live music is back at Boese Brothers, now out on the patio. A trio of acts will perform from 7 to 11 p.m. (see the entry below for their identities). Friday, when you see Art Fight 44: End of an Era on the calendar, you stop in shock. Yup, it is the final Art Fight for Wells Park, so make sure to support the artists one last time. Saturday, we already previewed the St. Baldrick’s Brew Fest at Broken Trail, but I wanted to remind you again to get over there and enjoy some beers, cocktails, and live music in support of the fight against childhood cancer. Sunday, you can take the dads in your life to just about any brewery, but take note that Quarter Celtic is having all-day barbecue specials. Monday, head back to Tractor Wells Park for a unique Anthony Bourdain Tribute. They will be showing some of the best episodes of his various cable TV series with some paired food items available. Tuesday, you can rest up before it all starts again next week.

On the new beer front this week, there are a few options to check out. Ale Republic gets out in front with Trail Head DIPA. Boese Brothers unveils its collaboration with Rock’N’Brews, Rock’N’Boese Mango IPA. Bombs Away flies in with Booster Blueberry Sour. Boxing Bear has a fresh batch of Strong Arm Pale Ale. Canteen does not sleep on Dream Esteem. Dialogue thinks up Dialectical Reasoning DIPA. La Cumbre will release Strawberry Gose in cans Friday. Marble keeps the fruited gose train rolling with Guava Berry Gose. Ponderosa pops some Czech Pilsner, plus PB&J Stout should be on tap by the weekend. Starr Brothers rocks out with some fresh Thunderr Ale, plus Bottoms Up, a Kolsch-style ale, joins the lineup. Steel Bender fulfills your wish list with more Raspberry Dynamite. Turtle Mountain kicks back with Sup’s Sesh’d.

Up in Santa Fe, it’s a quiet week for new brews.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of June 11.

To break down each “capsule,” I listed the brewery (with Web page linked), its phone number and hours of operation. Under “Beers” are the new or seasonal beers on tap for this week.

Albuquerque metro area breweries

Ale Republic — (505) 281-2828

(Mon–Thurs 2–10 p.m., Fri–Sun noon–10 p.m.)

Beers: Brune, Bernalillo Weisse, Best Coast IPA, Parasol, Red Mountain, Double Trouble, Sombra Stout, Trail Head DIPA. The Bernalillo Weisse is a tremendous name. The most recent addition is the Trail Head, and before that came the Parasol, Red Mountain (IPA), Double Trouble, and Sombra Stout.

Alien Brew Pub — (505) 884-1116

(Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–midnight, Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–2 a.m., Sunday 10 a.m.–midnight)

Beers: Call the number above for details on any small-batch beers currently available. They change frequently. The rest of the lineup is from the Sierra Blanca/Rio Grande family of beers.

Bistronomy B2B — (505) 262-2222

(Mon–Tues 4-9 p.m., Weds noon-9 p.m., Thurs–Sat noon-9:30 p.m., Sun noon-9 p.m.)

Beers: Contact the brewery for an updated list.

The Blue Grasshopper — (505) 896-8579

(Noon to 11 p.m. most days, call for more info)

Beers: Contact the brewery for an updated list.

Live Music: Bands perform from 6 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday. Click the link for the schedule.

Boese Brothers Brewery — (505) 382-7060

(Hours: Mon–Thurs 3 p.m.–midnight, Fri 3 p.m.–2 a.m., Sat noon–2 a.m., Sun noon–10 p.m.)

Beers: La Onza White Ale, Dr. Strangehop XPA, Duke City Lager, Washington’s Hatchet, Super Kreak, TruBlu Pilsner, Zeus Juice White IPA, Rock’N’Boese Mango IPA. The current seasonals include the Super Kreak and TruBlu, plus the new Mango IPA. Zeus Juice White IPA has also returned on tap and in bottles.

Live Music: Thursday—Holly Durante, Alonerly, Javier Ortega, 7-11 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Boese has a happy hour from 3 to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, with $3 pints. You can also get $3 pints all day Tuesday and $6 growler fills all day Wednesday.

Bombs Away Beer Company — (505) 554-3204

(Hours: Mon–Sat noon–10 p.m., Sun noon–8 p.m.)

Beers: BABC IPA, Willie Pete Wit, Low Order Porter, Operation Single Hop, Proximity Pilsner, Actuator IPA, Hazy Chain DIPA, High Speed Low Drag Lager, The RED Ale, Wild Card, Spring Lager, Arsenal Amber Ale, Claymore Scotch Ale, K98 Kolsch, Kristallweizen, Booster Blueberry Sour. The most recent additions are the Booster, K98, and Kristallweizen, plus the Hazy Chain is fresh.

Bosque Brewing Company — (505) 750-7596 (main brewery), (505) 508-5967 (Nob Hill Public House), (575) 571-4626 (Las Cruces Taproom)

(Main brewery on San Mateo: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.-midnight, Sun noon-8 p.m.; Nob Hill: Mon–Weds 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Thurs 11 a.m.-midnight, Fri–Sat 11 a.m.-1 a.m., Sun noon-11 p.m.; Las Cruces: Sun–Thurs noon-11 p.m., Fri–Sat noon-midnight)

Beers: Driftwood Oatmeal Stout, Spacelion IPA, Polly’s Run (Blackberry Merlot Blonde Ale), Center Fielder Pale Ale. The Spacelion is a charity beer meant to raise funds for the family of a Bosque staff member in Las Cruces, while Polly’s Run was brewed to help in the fight against pancreatic cancer. Center Fielder is the other recent addition.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Bosque has a happy hour running from 3-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and all day on Sunday. Look for special menu items and get $1 off your favorite pints.

Bow & Arrow Brewing — (505) 247-9800

(Mon-Weds 3–10 p.m., Thurs 3–11 p.m., Fri 3 p.m.-midnight, Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–9 p.m.)

Beers: (House) Sun Dagger (Saison), True Aim (Scotch Ale), Denim Tux Lager, Nomadico IPA, Savage Times Sour IPA, Visionland Amber Ale; (Seasonal) Thirsty Land: Foraged Series (Grisette), Saison de Blanc, Roam Free DIPA, Cake Bandit, Desert Rambler Hefeweizen, Thief of Time (Barleywine), Rancho Bizarro (Sour red Ale). Bottles of Dark Mesa, a barrel-aged quad with brett, are still on sale at the brewery, but the supply is limited. Bottles of Cosmic Arrow Brett Saison are available, but it is no longer on tap. Cake Bandit, an imperial German chocolate cake stout, is a decadent treat available for a limited time. There are a limited number of bottles available of the Rancho Bizarro, the most recent addition on tap.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Bow & Arrow has happy hour every Monday through Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. Get $1 off pints.

Boxing Bear Brewing Company — (505) 897-2327

(Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-11 p.m.)

Beers: Featherweight Session IPA, New Mexikolsch, Coffee Chocolate Milk Stout, Common Ground, Schwarzbier, Blood Orange Pale Ale, Black and Blue Tart, Strong Arm Pale Ale. The most recent additions are Strong Arm, Black and Blue, Blood Orange Pale Ale, Common Ground, a California common, and Schwarzbier. Chocolate Milk Stout is back on the nitro tap.

Weekly Events: Today (Wednesday)—Geeks Who Drink, 8-10 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Every day at lunchtime (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.), for just $10 you can get a pint and a panini of your choice.

Broken Trail Brewery & Distillery — (505) 221-6281

(Mon-Thu 3-9 p.m., Fri 3-10 p.m., Sat noon-10 p.m., Sun 11 a.m.-8 p.m.)

Beers: Otero ESB, Lone Pine Pilsner, Sancho Saison, Pepe the Mule, Double Black, Raspberry Kolsch. OK, fine, Pepe the Mule counts as a beer, even though it is basically a Moscow Mule, but it was made with beer. Double Black and Raspberry Kolsch are the most recent additions.

Events: Saturday—St. Baldrick’s Brew Fest, 4-9 p.m.

Canteen Brewhouse — (505) 881-2737 (brewery), (505) 200-2344 (taproom)

(Brewery: Sun–Thurs noon–10 p.m., Fri–Sat noon–midnight; Taproom: Open daily 3–10 p.m.)

Beers: Exodus IPA, Falconer’s Arm Pale Ale, Peach Wheat, Laid Back Lager, Social Capital, Oompa Lupulin DIPA, Zafado Groove, Dream Esteem. This batch of Social Capital was made with pink guava and kaffir lime leaf. Zafado Groove is a passionfruit Belgian ale aged in Chardonnay barrels with brett.

Live Music (Brewery): Thursday—Silver String Band, 6-9 p.m.; Sunday—Higher Ground, 4-7 p.m.

Live Music (Taproom): Saturday—Greg Butera, 5-8 p.m.

Cazuela’s Seafood & Mexican Grill — (505) 994-9364

(Open daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m.)

Beers: Papacabra (Double IPA), Acapulco Gold (Mexican Lager), Chupacabra IPA, Piedra del Fuego Stoned Cream Ale, Beer for My Horses (Oatmeal Stout). These are the regular house beers. Call the number above for an updated seasonal list.

Dialogue Brewing — (505) 585-1501

(Mon-Tues 4-9 p.m., Weds 4-11 p.m., Thurs-Sun noon-midnight)

Beers: Belgian Citrus IPA, Berliner Weisse, Sour Raspberry, 505 Lager, Stormy (Belgian Blonde), Jeff Wenzel Fights Fires Saison, King Salmon Lager, Men Who Stare at Goats Maibock, Boysenberry Berliner, Dialectical Reasoning DIPA. The new saison is named for Jeff Wenzel, Dialogue’s assistant brewer, since it’s his first recipe. The King Salmon Lager was made with Chinook hops (get it?). Dialectical Reasoning DIPA is the most recent addition.

Live Music: Sunday—Los Sencillos, 2 p.m.

Weekly Events: Tuesday—Game Night, 7 p.m.

Flix Brewhouse — (505) 445-8500

(Open daily 11 a.m.-midnight)

Beers: Hazeas Corpus Hazy IPA, Brewhouse Shandy, Schnitz N Giggle, Hoppiness is a Warm Gun (IPA), Lightspeed Vienna Lager. Schnitz N Giggle is a Dortmunder lager made with Steel Bender. Hoppiness is a West Coast-style IPA.

High and Dry Brewing — (505) 433-5591

(Mon closed, Tues-Thurs 2-10 p.m., Fri-Sat noon-10 p.m., Sun noon-9 p.m.)

Beers: Liberty Crate IPA, Zest Out, Humble Affair Stout, Black Hole’s Son (Porter), Constable Reggie (Tart Amber), Swipe White (Tart Wheat), Mestia #3 (Table Sour). It has been a busy month-plus for the new brewery at 529 Adams St. NE, just south of Lomas. The Zest Out is an orange coffee beer made in collaboration with Steel Bender. This batch of Humble Affair Stout is the delicious coffee stout we were promised.

Hops Brewery — (505) 369-1378

(Sun-Thurs noon-10 p.m., Fri-Sat noon-midnight)

Beers: Dad Joke (California Common), Tipsy Cow (Milk Stout), Warm Scottish Nights, An Irish Tan (English Bitter), Honey Wheat, Chica (Pale Ale), Hop Hill IPA. Hops has started out with these seven beers on tap, but they also have 31 more guest taps, just in case you don’t find one to your liking.

Weekly Events: Tuesday—Geeks Who Drink, 7 p.m.

Kaktus Brewing — (505) 379-5072

(Mon-Thu 2-9 p.m., Fri-Sat 11:30-10 p.m., Sun 11:30-9 p.m.)

Beers: Helles Lager, Puddle Stomper IPA, Maibock, Stop Amber Time, CutBow Coffee Schwarz, Paleontology (Lager), Smoove Porter, Grandma’s Prescription Pils, Cider, DjinnJar Kombucha. It was another big tap turnover at Kaktus, with six new beers going on tap recently. The Stop Amber Time might be our favorite beer name to come around in a while.

Live Music: Today (Wednesday)—Jazz Jam Sesh, 7 p.m.; Saturday—Grace Askew, 7 p.m.; Sunday—Blues Jam Sesh, 3 p.m.

Weekly Events: Sunday—The Desert Darlings, 6-8 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Kaktus has several new weekday specials, including $3 pints on Monday, $9 growlers on Tuesday, $6 bison nachos on Wednesday, and $8 Frito pie and beer on Thursday.

Kellys Brew Pub — (505) 262-2739

(Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sat 8 a.m.-11 p.m., Sun 8 a.m.-10 p.m.)

Beers: (house) Apricot Ale, American Lager, IPA, Lobo Red Ale, Session IPA, Sleeping Dog Stout, 35 N Coffee Porter, Common; (seasonal) German Pilsner, Capspackler DIPA, Dortmunder, Oak-Aged Natalia. The lineup got a bit of a makeover, with American Lager and Common joining the regulars, bumping out the Blonde. The Natalia was originally made at Chama River and dear lord it was dark decadence in a glass. Get some quick before it runs out!

Live Music: Every Wednesday 6-9 p.m. and Sunday 3-6 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Thursday Pint night $1 off pints.

Kilt Check Brewing (formerly Drafty Kilt) — (505) 881-0234

(Sun 11 a.m–10 p.m., Mon closed, Tues–Thu 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–midnight)

Beers: Groundskeeper Willie Cream Ale, Wee Beastie Scottish Ale, Campbell Toe IPA, Outlamber Amber, Obliviscaris Oatmeal Stout. The Obliviscaris is back, having replaced the Covfefe Hefe, and boy does it taste good, as we proved with a fourth-place finish at our Stout Challenge. Take note, Kilt Check is now closed on Mondays.

Live Music: Friday—Kalina Scollon, 7-9 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: $1 off pints and 20-ounce pours, Mon-Fri, 3-6 p.m.; “Just Because We Love You Club,” happy hour prices at all times for teachers, first responders, law enforcement, and military with ID; Growler Fill Days on Thu and Sun, $2 off new growlers, $1 off refills

La Cumbre Brewing — (505) 872-0225

(Open every day at noon)

Beers: Mosaic SMASH IPA, South Peak Pilsner, Fievre d’Abricot, Good Time Guava, Miles From Cologne, Sun Fade (Hazy IPA). There are cans of South Peak and bottles of Fievre d’Abricot available for a limited time. Miles From Cologne is awesome, again. Strawberry Gose debuts on tap and in cans this Friday.

Lava Rock Brewing — (505) 836-1022

(Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-midnight)

Beers: All guest taps for now. Welcome to the listings, Lava Rock! We just wanted everyone to know that the kitchen is up and running and some unique guest taps from other local breweries are available now at 2220 Unser Blvd. NW. When the house beers appear, we will let everyone know.

Lizard Tail Brewing — (505) 717-1301

(Mon–Weds noon-9 p.m., Thurs–Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-7 p.m.)

Beers: Contact the brewery for an updated list.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Lizard Tail’s happy hour runs seven days a week from 3 to 6 p.m. You get $1 off food, flights, and pints.

Weekly Events: Tuesday—Geeks Who Drink, 8 p.m.; Thursday—Karaoke, 8-11 p.m.

Marble Brewery — (505) 243-2739 (downtown), (505) 508-4638 (Westside), (505) 323-4030 (Heights)

(Downtown: Mon–Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–10:30 p.m.; Westside: Mon–Thurs noon–11 p.m., Fri–Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–10 p.m.; Heights: Mon–Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–10:30 p.m.)

Beers: Cholo Stout, Imperial Red, Fog Lite, Pina Colada, Passionate Gose, Barrel-Aged Quad, Thunder From Dortmunder, Guava Berry Gose, DIPA Especial (Downtown only), Nitro Pub Ale (Downtown only), Nitro Madera (Heights and Westside only), From the Wood Saison (Westside only), Session White (Westside only). There are so, so many beers between the three locations. Don’t feel bad if you can’t get to them all. The most recent addition is Guava Berry Gose, and before that came Thunder From Dortmunder, DIPA Especial, and BA Quad.

Live Music (Downtown): Thursday—Merican Slang, 7-10 p.m.; Friday—Lonn Calanca Band, 8-10 p.m.; Saturday—Pherkad, 8-11 p.m.; Sunday—Wagogo, 3-6 p.m.

Live Music (Heights): Friday—Tres Pendejos, 7-10 p.m.; Saturday—Nathan Fox, 7-10 p.m.

Live Music (Westside): Friday—Lenin and McCarthy, 8-11 p.m.; Saturday—Todd Tijerina, 8-11 p.m.

Other Events (Downtown): Today (Wednesday)—Brews & Bites Challenge, 6-8 p.m.

Weekly Events (Downtown): Saturday—Brewery tours, 2 p.m.

Nexus Brewery — (505) 242-4100 (brewery), (505) 226-1055 (Silver Taproom)

(Brewery: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Sun 11 a.m.–8:30 p.m.; Silver Taproom: Mon–Fri 4-10 p.m., Sat noon-10 p.m., Sun noon-9 p.m.)

Beers: Lemon Wheat Ale, Notorious BUN (Big Ugly Nasty) IPA, Beam Me Up Scotty. Welcome back to Beam Me Up, always a Crew favorite, and hello to the Notorious BUN.

News: The Silver taproom no longer has weekly music, but it does have an abbreviated menu to keep folks plenty happy.

Happy Hour/Discounts (Brewery): Monday–Friday, $5 appetizers, 3-5 p.m.

Palmer Brewery and Cider House — (505) 508-0508

(Tues–Sat 3–9 p.m.)

Beers: MWA (Malt With Attitude), Guero (Belgian Wit), Pool Session Pale Ale, Cockness Monster (Scotch Ale), Switch Stance Stout, Lawn Ninja, Dark Side of the Wort. A pair of collaboration beers are now available. Lawn Ninja is a summery rice ale made with Quarter Celtic. Dark Side of the Wort is an imperial brown made in collaboration with the Worthogs Homebrew Club and, well, you can probably guess.

Ponderosa Brewing Co. — (505) 639-5941

(Sun 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Mon–Sat 11 a.m.–11 p.m.)

Beers: Tart Cherry Chocolate Porter, Triple IPA, Czech Pilsner, Amber Ale, Brewer’s Beard Bock. The Czech Pilsner is the most recent addition, and before that came the TCC Porter, Brewer’s Beard, and Amber Ale. Triple IPA should be out by this weekend, at which point PB&J Stout will replace it.

News: Ponderosa’s taproom at the El Vado Motel redevelopment is now open! We are working on getting all the details.

Quarter Celtic Brewpub — (505) 503-1387

(Sun–Thurs 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.)

Beers: Test Batch #2 DIPA, All Rye’t All Rye’t All Rye’t, Berliner Weisse, Lawn Ninja. The most recent additions are the Lawn Ninja, a rice ale collaboration with Palmer Brewery, plus All Rye’t and Berliner Weisse. One of QC’s four regular beers, Pedro O’Flannigan, won a bronze medal at the World Beer Cup.

Red Door Brewing — (505) 633-6675 (brewery), (505) 990-3029 (downtown taproom)

(Brewery hours: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fri 11 a.m. to midnight, Sat 7 a.m. to midnight, Sun 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Downtown taproom hours: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m. to midnight, Sun 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Wyoming taproom hours: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m. to midnight, Sun 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.)

Beers: English IPA, Blackberry Hefeweizen, ESB, Berliner Weisse. The Berliner Weisse is the most recent addition, preceded by the ESB and English IPA.

Live Music (Downtown): Saturday—Whole Hearted, 8-10 p.m.

Weekly Events (Brewery): Monday—The Draft Sessions, 7-9 p.m.

Weekly Events (Downtown Taproom): Today (Wednesday)—Paint it Black Open Mic Comedy, 7-9 p.m.; Thursday—Art at the Bar, 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Sunday—Parents’ Day Out, noon-3 p.m.; Tuesday—Geeks Who Drink, 7-9 p.m.

Rio Bravo Brewing Company — (505) 900-3909

(Mon noon–10 p.m., Tues–Thu noon–11 p.m., Fri–Sat noon–1 a.m., Sun 11 a.m.–10 p.m.)

Beers: Rio Bravo Amber, Dirty Rotten Bastard IPA, Snakebite IPA, Roadkill Red Ale, La Luz Lager, Barrel-Aged Barley Wine, Vanilla Porter, NM Pinon Coffee Porter, Level 3 DIPA, Lemongrass Wit, Blueberry Gose, Imperial Kolsch, Marzen, Barrel-Aged Grab ‘Em By the Putin (Russian Imperial Stout), Hella Fine Pils, Blurred Lines (New England-style IPA), Sandia SMASH Watermelon Sour, Old Firestone Pale Ale, Cherry Wheat, Oatmeal Stout. There are two barrel-aged beers on tap in the Barley Wine and Putin. This batch of Oatmeal Stout just went on tap late last week. Next up, Wildcard Weiss debuts for Adventure Club members on Thursday with a special food pairing, and then for the general public on Friday.

Live Music: Thursday—Royal Hills, 6 p.m.; Friday—Black Smoke, 6 p.m.; Saturday—Old Dog Tre, 8 p.m.

Weekly Events: Today (Wednesday)—Loungy Wednesdays, 6-8 p.m.; Friday—Headliners Comedy presents Friday Night Fools ($5 cover, event only), 9:30 p.m.; Sunday—Pints & Planks with Yoga Zo; Family Funday, 2-5 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Happy hour Monday-Friday, 2-6 p.m., $1 off pints

Sidetrack Brewing — (505) 832-7183

(Mon–Thurs 3–11 p.m., Fri 3 p.m.–midnight, Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–10 p.m.)

Beers: Turntable IPA Track 4, Buzz Bomb, Apricot Tart Pale Ale, Sidetrack Pilsner, Railhead Red, Pub Ale. The Railhead, Turntable, and Apricot Tart are the most recent additions.

Cask: The Turntable and Apricot Tart are in the firkins.

Starr Brothers Brewing — (505) 492-2752

(Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day)

Beers: Starrstruck IPA, L.A. Woman (Blonde), Red Zepplin, Lampshade Porter, Brown Chicken Brown Cow, Plaid Boy Boogie, Them Boyzz, Super Chinookie (Pale Ale), Thunderr Ale, Bottoms Up (Kolsch-style ale). The most recent addition is Bottoms Up, and before that came Super Chinookie, Plaid Boy Boogie, a Scottish Red, and Them Boyzz, a boysenberry wheat.

Steel Bender Brewyard — (505) 433-3537

(Sun–Thurs 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–11 p.m.)

Beers: (house) Skull Bucket IPA, Red Iron Red, Sparkfitter Amber, Lloyd’s 3 O’Clock Kolsch, Blue Bullet Stout, Steel Bender Lager, The Village Wit; (seasonals/specialties) Homegrown Pils, The Goose is Loose, Yogi Beera, Schnitz N Giggle, Kettle Run – A Solo Hop Sour, Raspberry Dynamite. The most recent additions are the Schnitz N Giggle, a Dortmunder made with Flix Brewhouse, Kettle Run, and the ever popular Raspberry Dynamite is back.

The 377 Brewery — (505) 934-0795

(Open noon-11 p.m. most days)

Beers: (house) 377 IPA, Dieterhosen Hefe, El CuCuy (DIPA), Fat Brown Guy (Porter), Red Horse NM Lager, Schwarzbier, Berliner Weisse, Naked Ale (Pale); (seasonals) Loonies Lime Saison, Short Wee Heavy, Milk Stout, Peach Wheat, Kolsch, Scottish Ale, Say Juan Saison, Skin Walker Triple IPA, Plum Cherry Sour, Imperial Cream Ale, BBA (Barrel-Aged Dark Lager). A trio of new additions hit taps recently with Plum Cherry Sour, Imperial Cream Ale, and BBA, which is made with coffee, cocoa, and vanilla.

Toltec Brewing — (505) 890-1455

(Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-midnight, Sunday noon-10 p.m.)

Beers: Agave Wheat, Pale Ale, IPA, Stout, Altbier, Rye Lager. The Altbier is back after a short absence, while Rye Lager became the last of the core beers to arrive on tap (naturally, being a lager and all). Our favorite so far is (prepare to be shocked) the Stout, which is roasty, creamy, slightly sweet, and rather wonderful overall.

Tractor Brewing Company — (505) 433-5654 (Nob Hill), (505) 243-6752 (Wells Park), (505) 243-6752 (Four Hills)

(Nob Hill: Sun–Weds noon–midnight, Thurs noon–2 a.m., Fri–Sat noon–2 a.m.; Wells Park: Mon–Thurs 3 p.m.–close, Fri–Sun 1 p.m.–midnight; Four Hills: Sun–Thurs 11 a.m.–midnight, Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–2 a.m.)

Beers: Gose, Tupac Cali Red Ale, Boot Girl IPA, Explora G&T Cider, Coloring Night, Apricot Wheat, Thai Basil Mint Cider, Break Pointe Pale Ale, Oud Bruin (Wells Park and Four Hills only), Belgo American Pale Ale (Wells Park and Four Hills only), Pete’s Porter (Wells Park and Four Hills only), Cascara Cider (Four Hills only). All proceeds from the G&T Cider go to the Explora Science Center. Break Pointe, Boot Girl, Coloring Night, a fruited wheat, plus Apricot Wheat and Thai Basil Mint Cider are the most recent additions.

Live Music (Wells Park): Today (Wednesday)—Singer Songwriter Showcase, 8 p.m.; Thursday—The Timewreckers, 8 p.m.; Saturday—Melissa Rios, 8 p.m.

Live Music (Nob Hill): Today (Wednesday)—Ruben Vail, 8:30 p.m.; Saturday—Dan Lavoie, 5 p.m.

Live Music (Four Hills): Friday—Jimmy Deveney, 5 p.m.; Saturday—Julian Dossett, 6 p.m.

Other Events (Wells Park): Friday—Art Fight 44: End of an Era, 8 p.m.; Monday—Anthony Bourdain Tribute, 5 p.m.

Weekly Events (Wells Park): Monday—Super Tractor Gamers Night, 5:30 p.m.; Tuesday—Kamikaze Karaoke, 7 p.m.

Weekly Events (Nob Hill): Today (Wednesday)—Writing Wednesdays, 5 p.m.; Monday—Tractor Tune Up, 7:30 p.m.

Weekly Events (Four Hills): Today (Wednesday)—Geeks Who Drink, 7 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Tractor now has a late happy hour from 9 p.m. to midnight on Mondays with $2.25 classic beers and $3.25 seasonals. Also, every first Monday of the month at both Tractor locations is Beer for a Better Burque night. For every pint you buy $1 can go to one of four charities that have partnered with Tractor.

Turtle Mountain Brewing Company — (505) 994-9497

(Kitchen hours: Mon–Tues 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Wed–Thurs 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Sun 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Reminder: TMBC closes early when business dictates. Please call.)

Beers: Rainbow in the Dunkel, Taurisian Monstrosity, Tim’s Mom (IPA), Pech Chilz Pivo 12, Sup’s Sesh’d (Session IPA). The most recent additions are Sup’s Sesh’d, Tim’s Mom, and Pech Chilz.

Cask: Tuesday—TBA

Santa Fe breweries

Blue Corn Brewery — (505) 438-1800

(Open daily 11 a.m.–10 p.m.)

Beers: Helles Wind Staff Maibock, Black Thought IPA, Santa Fe Especial, Blueberry Gose. The Santa Fe Especial is a Mexican-style amber. The Blueberry Gose and Helles Wind are the most recent additions.

Chili Line Brewing — (505) 500-7903

(Mon–Sat 4–11 p.m., Sun 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m.)

Beers: El Jefe (Rauchweizen), Antonio Bandito (Dunkelweizen), Llorona Lager, La Bamba (Rauchbier), Stara Baba (Oak Smoked Polish Gratzer), Jacona Stout, P.G. (Pinche Guey) IPA. The Jacona and P.G. are the most recent additions.

Live Music: Every night at 7 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Reverse happy hour after 9 p.m. includes $1 off pints, $6 appetizers, $10 entrees and pizzas.

Duel Brewing Company — (505) 474-5301

(Brewery: Mon–Sat open at 11 a.m., Sun open at 1 p.m.; ABQ taproom: Mon–Thurs 2 p.m.–midnight; Fri–Sun noon–midnight)

Beers: Bad Amber, Whistler (Blonde), Manikin (Small Scottish), Small Stout, Fantin (Double Pale Ale), Sans Titre (Sour Blonde), Fiction (IPA), Monomyth (DIPA), Titian, Dark Ryder, Grunewald, Goya, Project 10 (Biere de Mars). There has been a big tap turnover with the return of Whistler, Manikin, Sans Titre, Monomyth, and the new Small Stout and Project 10. The Titian, Dark Ryder, Grunewald, and Goya (13.3% ABV) are available on tap and in bombers.

Live Music (ABQ taproom): Saturday—The Rudy Boy Experiment, 9 p.m.

Other Events (ABQ taproom): Thursday—Drink & Draw with Paradise Club Vintage, 7 p.m.

Weekly Events (ABQ taproom): Today (Wednesday)—Wikki Wikki Wednesday Free Hip-Hop Show, 7 p.m.; Tuesday—Bike-In Brew, 7 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts (Brewery): Happy hour Mon–Fri, 4-6 p.m. (discounts for all draft beer), Growler Saturdays ($3 off growler fills).

Happy Hour/Discounts (ABQ taproom): Happy hour Mon–Fri, 5-7 p.m.

Rowley Farmhouse Ales — (505) 428-0719

(Open all week from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.)

Beers: Fields of Rye, Agent Scully – Season One, Episode Six (IPA), Germophile (Berliner Weisse), Petit Blanche, Saison du Sarlacc First Order (Imperial Saison), Fields of Rye Spring ’18, Kaffeeklatsch, Tea for Two (Saison), One at a Time – Galaxy, Sketches of Simplicity (Farmhouse Pilsner). The Agent Scully is a series of IPAs which will vary by hop combinations. Episode Six is the most recent iteration. The new Kaffeeklatsch is a mixed fermentation coffee Berliner Weisse. The RFA staff has taken a Belgian-style dubbel and aged it in Saint Croix rum barrels with an addition of Santa Rosa Plums, calling it Mixed Dubbels Curling.

Santa Fe Brewing Company — (505) 424-3333

(Main taproom: Mon–Sat 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Sun 2-8 p.m.; ABQ taproom: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–11 p.m.; Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–midnight; Sun 11 a.m.–10 p.m.)

Beers: Hipster Union IPA, Lustgarten Lager, Imperial Pastry-Free Porter, Twisted Root, Schneeball Imperial Pilsner. The most recent additions are Schneeball and Twisted Root, the latter a blonde ale with ginger and lemongrass. You can also find Twisted Root and Lustgarten in six-pack cans.

Happy Hour/Discounts: $1 off growler refills in the tasting room on Mondays. $2 pint Tuesdays at the Eldorado Taphouse. On Wednesday, there is a $2 pint special in the tasting room. On Thursday, there will be $1 off growler refills at the Eldorado Taphouse.

Second Street Brewery — (505) 989-3278 (Railyard), (505) 982-3030 (original location)

(Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–11 p.m., Sunday noon-9 p.m.)

Beers: Kolsch, IPA, Cream Stout, 2920 IPA, Agua Fria Pilsner, Boneshaker Bitter, Crystal Persuasion IPA, Nova Pale Ale, Dragon’s Blood Sour, Rod’s Best Bitter, LVL Stout, Red Comet, Red and Yellow Armadillo, Diablo Canyon Pale Ale, ESB, XX ESB, Lime Chin-gose. The benefits of having two brewhouses are now apparent as Second Street is loaded with more beers than ever. The Lime Chin-gose, Rod’s Best, LVL Stout, Red Comet, Armadillo, Diablo Canyon, and both ESBs are the most recent additions.

Live Music (Rufina): Today (Wednesday)—Sleepspent, Snaggletooth, Patema, 8 p.m.

Other Events (Main Location): Thursday—Cask ‘N Curry, all day

Other Events (Rufina): Saturday-Sunday—Crab & Pilsner Festival, all day

Weekly Events (Railyard): Today (Wednesday)—Geeks Who Drink, 8 p.m.

Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery — (505) 303-3808

(Bisbee Tasting Room: Daily 4-8 p.m.; Agua Fria Taproom: Sunday-Wednesday noon-10 p.m., Thursday-Saturday noon-midnight)

Beers: Dortmunder, Farmhouse Ale, Dry Irish Stout, Citra Pale Ale, IPA, Honey Hibiscus Wheat, Imperial Red, Maibock. At last, Tumbleroot joins the listings! Stop by the tasting room at 32 Bisbee Court or go all-in at the taproom and music venue at 2791 Agua Fria Street. All the rest of us look forward to trying the beers quite soon!

Live Music: Thursday—Jono Manson, 5 p.m.; Tuesday—Bill Palmer, 5 p.m.

Other breweries you need to visit

Bathtub Row Brewing — (505) 500-8381

(Mon–Weds 2–10 p.m., Thurs 2–11 p.m., Fri–Sat noon–11 p.m., Sun noon–10 p.m.)

Beers: Hoppenheimer IPA, Wit Rock, Pennsylvania Swanky, Dunkel Bock, Flat Cap Brown, Little Bird Blonde, Lichtenhainer. With a new brewer in place, BRB shakes up the lineup. Old favorites Hoppenheimer, Wit Rock, and Little Bird are joined by some fascinating newcomers in the Dunkel Bock, Flat Cap, and Lichtenhainer, a sour ale.

Picacho Peak Brewing — (575) 680-6394

(Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–11 p.m., Sun closed)

Beers: Picacho Lite, Keller Hefeweizen, Twisted Windmill IPA, Old Crawley, 575 Scotsman, Irish Xtra Stout, I Heart Porter, Smooth and Stout. Welcome to the listings, Picacho Peak! For the first time in a long, long time we have a Las Cruces brewery in here. Make sure to check it out the next time you are down south. This Thursday, a limited amount of Seco Simcoe American Pale Ale, brewed by a homebrewer friend of Picacho Peak on National Homebrew Day, will be tapped.

Red River Brewing — (575) 754-4422

(Open daily 5-10 p.m.)

Beers: Lazy Bear Blonde, Greenie Peak Wheat, Ed Iver Pale Ale, Thirsty Marmot Citra IPA, Copper Chair Amber, Bobcat Pass Brown, Midnight Meadows Oatmeal Stout, Prospector Porter, Back Forty Farmhouse Ale, Bad Medicine Honey DIPA. Welcome to the listings, Red River! The brewery in the ski town in Northern New Mexico is now open, and these are the initial beers. We will be up there soon to try them all!

Live Music: Friday and Saturday—Tom Munch, 7 p.m.

Sierra Blanca Brewing — (505) 832-2337

(Mon–Thurs 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Fri –Sat 11 a.m.–9 p.m.)

Beers: Cherry Wheat, Single Hop IPA, Elcitmos IPA. Elcitmos is the newest addition to the seasonal lineup, and if you could not guess by the name, it features Eldorado, Citra, and Mosaic hops. Cherry Wheat is available in bottles and won a gold medal at GABF in 2017.

Live Music: Friday—Merican Slang, 6 p.m.

* * * *

That’s all for this week! If you have any questions or comments, leave them below or contact us on our Facebook page.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

Older Entries