Beer Guide for visiting New Mexico

Glad to see you checking in denver10. I wish others would come in and give their impressions on the newer or less talked about places to give updates on how they are doing. I drive by most of them anymore these days (i do most of my drinking via package beer store pickups). I would still recommend Chama, Boxing Bear, and to a lesser degree Canteen as your next stops. The ones almost no one talks about. I had hopes you would just go all in and be the guinea pig for us. There are a few others beyond that too. Growing pains happen, so both you @denver10 and @ONovoMexicano are right in that regard. It's tough dropping the same amount of $ on something mediocre as it would be on something known and "stellar".

Re: Boese Brothers. I've been there twice. Once casually in late August, and again for their Oktoberfest Party late September. I've had zero urges to return. I think I had more problems with service than the actual beer, which was pretty uninspired and just that "par for the course" type of quality that is infiltrating the craft beer scene.

The beer:
Their Oktoberfest reminded me a bit of Santa Fe's. A lager. Nothing too special. A touch sweet. Nothing else really stood out. If I'm going one place a weekend, it's NOT here.

Some tips if you go..
-When I went. No flights. The bartender was an ass about it.
-Booths and tables have menus, but be cautioned. We were ignored for a solid 15 minutes when the place was just a 1/4 of the way full. Booth next to us full of females was getting all the attention. Who's the biggest potential loyal consumer here? Me, a guy spends dozens on beer every weekend, or some ladies casually ordering some beers. They eventually gave us some service. One pint each, and we walked to Marble.
-On our second trip, we were tipped off that going up to the bar is truly the only way to get service. A sentence on the menu describing where and how to order would be nice. I don't mind walking or standing up for a order. That's not a big deal. Menus are kind of a decoy. When it feels like customers are a burden to you, that's not a good vibe.
- 2nd visit, My buddy was trying to choose between a few beers. Asking for a sample (something they apparently hate doing), the bartender instead gave him a full pint pour, and said it'd be $5. Insisting that the bartender was right, and two minutes of slight arguing, any other place would cue it up as a mistake and move on. Bartender said "just try it. you'll love it".

Pretty lackadaisical service IMHO. I guess you can get that anywhere. But when your beer is slightly above or at the norm, I just don't care for it. Somebodies drinking all this beer though. Red Door seems to be doing okay. Haven't heard anything about Rio Bravo lately. Tractor stays open. I want to feel confident that our city or state knows what good beer is. But sometimes that thought leaves me. Not that I want people to ONLY drink Marble or La Cumbre at all times. Mediocre beers kills me though.

In closing, in all my years drinking ABQ craft as it has emerged, Boese was the first place to give off that douche "better than you" vibe. I can see it or feel it at Marble from time to time. But that's from the customers. I'm sure others have had bad experiences at Marble or La Cumbre, so maybe cue this up to one bad apple behind the bar. In this competitive marketplace, there is just no room for that as a up and comer.

Give em a $5 pint try. I may just be a bit bitter about my trip. Yours certainly can be better

 

There was a time when I would have been all gung-ho about checking out everything, but I am now more about balancing trying new things with drinking quality things. I still love trying something new, but I am more selective/limited in how frequently I am willing to gamble on beers/breweries I have yet to develop trust in. I will get around to trying a bunch more of the local breweries, no doubt, but the La Cumbre's and Marbles will remain my go to.

With that said, I did just grab a bottle of the 3rd Anniversary release from Bosque, their Baltic Porter. Excited to try that and discover them.

As for Boese Brothers....thanks for that info. Mediocre beer and crappy service with an attitude does not sound all that appealing to me. I'll give them a shot sooner or later but probably won't be going out of my way to do so.

 

@ONovoMexicano, Any word on what LC has planned for next months big 5th year Anniversary? I think they made a slight mention of their Imperial Red Ryeot aged in Rye barrels as one of their special beers.

If they are releasing year old La Llorona like its nothing (I passed on it the last time I was there. I had no idea it was last years!), we may be in store for quite a treat next month.

@denver10, that was just my experience. With Founder's entering the state, upcoming GI releases, born yesterday, and other packaged beers, Local breweries need to BRING IT. Bring it HARD. At least for me. I think most places are doing alright though. Mediocrity can sell.

On another beer store note. LC had been sold out of F. Nelson for weeks when I went looking for some stuff for a trade. Buddy wanted some wet hopped Dank too. The latest at the time had just released (10/13). It really only took 3 different beer store tries to find what I was looking for. I even got some 2 month old at the time, 8/11 dank that was tasting just fine. You'll learn. If its not at one place, its likely at the places that never seem to sell too much craft. But they are places non the less that do BUY that stuff. So I do try to support them all. The same can be said about Bosques IPAs now in bombers. Sold out at one place for months. A whole three cases at other places

Get out there. Tell us what you find

 

Awesome thread guys, appreciate the dedication!

My brother moved to Albuquerque in July and I will be making a visit starting next weekend. Appreciate the updates and info; we'll plan on hitting La Cumbre (have had their Dank & Elevated), along with Marble and Bosque for sure.

We may make a trip to Denver for Thanksgiving, but if not is it safe to assume Jubilation and TW will be receiving BCBS? Can you swing in later in the day and get some? We won't be going out of our way to wait in lines, so just hoping to get lucky

 

Sorry, I hope this question is appropriate. I am looking to try a bunch of Le Cumbre stuff, is elevated IPA only available in bombers and not in 6-packs? It's really handy that Jubilation is right down the street from Le Cumbre. I'm hoping to snag a bottle of Apricot saison, project dank, and whatever else I can as well. I will be there in 2 weeks.

 

Elevated is in 4 packs of 16 ounce cans. Project Dank and that Apricot Saison are bombers.

Just tried the Apricot Saison for my first time yesterday.....it was a drain pour for me, personally. Probably not necessary for me to introduce my opinion of a well regarded beer here, but I am still feeling the burn of that purchase. For now I am chalking that up to it not aging well and will give it another try fresh next year. You win some, you lose some....

Not sure if you got to try any of the Marble offerings back when they were in Colorado, but if not, their stuff is definitely worth trying as well. Their Oatmeal Stout, Red, and IIPA in particular are standouts for their style, IMO.

 

We actually get some Marble stuff here. Thanks for the reply and thanks for your opinion on the apricot saison. If you drain poured it, I will stay away. Elevated IPA, might have to buy a couple 4-packs. And a dank bomber or 3.

 

I will be stopping through ABQ for an hour or so with my wife and infant, so probably won't have a lot of time for beer, unfortunately. Maybe stop at Bosque and then buy Le Cumbre bottles?

 

This upcoming Friday, it appears Bosque will be releasing their IRS in bombers as well. They are teaming up with Jubilation.. Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrels were used apparently. They made 4 barrels worth for all of us.

Great info as always @ONovoMexicano keeping peeps informed.


@magilldm, Two years back was the first trace of GI BCBS into NM. We kind of got hit with too much variety apparently. Cases of the Coffee variety, BW, and regular variety were in a couple of stores.. Last year all we got was the regular variety with a Black Friday sale. I think many of the other things Jubilation sold went by faster (BA Old rasputin being one of them). This year, I have not heard but the format definitely sucks. I sense a two bottle increased price limit.. Big box places also got a couple cases.. How long they lasted? I couldnt tell you.

@Dan_K Time wise, this is tricky. Total Wine is an option. I've seen many LC and Marble offerings in the keg/cooler section. Nice tip if you want it fresh and cold. I still saw some Full nelson there. It seems like if one place is sold out, or has been sold out for months (like FN has at its brewery), other places in town will have some sitting. Kelly Liquors is an option too. But you'd be running around town for potential finds. Jubilation is your best bet along with a La Cumbre brewery visit. Fool proof imho.

Lately Dank has been released every month, with the last release 10-13, so there may be a new batch ready when you guys visit in the coming weeks.

I'm a three stop shopper most of the time. Jubilation #1 local option. Not local to just be local. But their variety and customer service and cued in variety is top notch. I then move up the road to Total Wine. I'm no millionaire, and sometimes they have some stuff Jubilation won't. From here, I'm sorta moving east to Kelly Liquors. Variety is sometimes a touch older. But when I needed the fresh hopped Dank just 7 weeks out from release, they were still the only place I found who had it. Most had moved onto 10/13. So there is a time and a place for all three imho.

Re: LC's Saison. I don't know what it is. They accidentitally filled my growler with some awhile back (without their special beer upcharge) so I thought, HUGE WIN. But it seemed way way way off. I've had it in house many times and it seems alright. Age, light, temps. I dont know. I dont buy bombers of that stuff though. Never have, never will. A $7/13oz glass once in awhile is okay (looking back at my check in, it was last december. There was this odd ball tartness or sourness. First and only LC drain pour before last year, and none this year. In house sampling was fine). I don't know. They've been good about responding to emails if you want to give them an informed heads up. Where you bought it, the bottled on date, when you drank it etc., how it tasted etc.

Cheers

 

I've given Bosque a few tries now and am pretty underwhelmed so far. I did enjoy their Y3 Anniversary Baltic Porter but found their IPA and Lager to be rather underwhelming/boring, personally. I did also try their Imperial Pumpkin and while it seemed like a good beer for what it is, I don't care for pumpkin beers and this one wasn't able to change my mind. I also grabbed a bomber of their BBA Imperial Stout at Jubilation on Friday, which I am looking to check out. At $18 a bomber and these recent experiences, this might be the acid-test whether I continue keeping Bosque on my radar.

 

I did finally hit up Boese Brothers.

Only tried one beer, their Amarillo Pale Ale. It was as simple and straightforward as they come but I did not detect any flaws with it (not that I am the best judge in that regard) and as someone who loves Amarillo Hops, I was fine with it. At $4 a pint, certainly worth the purchase. As I always do, I ordered at the bar so I didn't have any service problems. I did notice they have clear glass growlers. Really? Makes me question who these guys are catering to. Going clear growler has me thinking they are catering to the Sam Adams type craft beer drinker and are going to stick with middle of the road recipes and styles. Considering they are one block away from me, I am sure I will be back. If I had to make an effort to get to these guys, there would certainly be no rush as I would always venture to Marble or La Cumbre instead.

 

@denver10
That's odd about Bosque. I have felt they have really zoned in on the hoppy beers, to the point where I felt they were tasting better than La Cumbre's offerings. They have only been getting better imho. I go out of my way to give their beers a try. Their latest APA, centennial single hopped beer was quite nice. I say give them a few more tries. Or they may just not be for you.

Boese does seem to have quite a few promotions. Some days are cheap growler fills, some days are happy hours for extended hours. I would recommend looking on their FB possibly, or the nm beer blog (nmdarksidebrewcrew).
I'd give Chama a try and Boxing Bear. Have you hit up Ponderosa or Rio Bravo? (RB just released a few BA beers. no idea how they are). I'm close to them, but usually only tend to want to go to La Cumbre. If I am going one place a week, it's them. Much like you say standard run of the mill for Boese, I feel Nexus is right there with them. So is Tractor, and Red Door. I was at Canteen yesterday. Their Novemberfest Marzen is a good example of a malty marzen. Dark n Lusty is a no frills stout.

Never been to Pi, Back Alley, or Bistronomy/lobo beast 101.. Not much on here for reviews, or Untappd. Some of these places are open for a reason (some ones drinking their beers). Let us know if you give any other random places a try.

 

I still haven't hit up Bosque's taproom, so I guess until I do so my experience with them will be incomplete. Given how highly everyone speaks of them I will try to give them a few more chances, hopefully it has just been a matter of bad luck and just trying the wrong beers at wrong time.

Haven't hit any other breweries up. So far its been all La Cumbre and Marble with the side trip to Boese. Boxing Beer, Rio Bravo and Chama are all on my radar. Had not heard of Ponderosa until now.

 

I had some hesitation with Chama based on what I perceive to be cheesy and very dated logos/artwork. The critique about their atmosphere and cheap chain fee certainly doesn't do much to win me over either. But if some of their beer is good I will keep them on my radar.

As for Rio Bravo, the biggest concern there for me is that you say that the beer isn't good. I actually heard a commercial for them on the radio the other day, promoting 51 years ( I think that was the number) of brewing experience between the brewers, which gave me a little hope with them. But I'll tamper my expectations there. Sounds like they might have tried running before learning to walk? I'll definitely leave with such a negative opinion of them as you, @ONovoMexicano, if upon trying their beer I find they thought more about being able to sell their beer than in focusing on making quality beer.

Sounds like Bosque and Boxing Beer should be my next two taproom visits.