New Mexico Beer Guide 2016 updated

Yeah, their price point for draft pours verse bottles is kinda perplexing. I just wish they would up their draft allocation so I can continue hitting them up this Spring & Summer and grab some more pours of it.

I did see they have a French Saison queued up for a upcoming release. Unfortunately, for as much as I love saisons, I favor Belgian-style saisons and generally don't care for French style. I'll try it for sure, but not expecting much from it.

 

Bosques Mosaic Smash is something else. I think I've been through 100 ounces in 3 days. Lively fresh aromatics. Normal priced growlers. I am so off the bomber crap (and yes, I think I've seen the light on it). I'll even call out Bosque. Their smash series is pretty close to scale tipper, so something isn't adding up in the bigger picture.

Any of yall doing any abq beer week stuff? Now is usually my time of hibernation from all that mess. Throw me a solid beer in good company and I don't need all the extra hassle and runaround or special tappings. Or even food pairings. I do think I'll wander into a place for the 505 collab. Other than that, special tappings seem to be a lot of out of state stuff. It's not even 6 years old but I think it's already turned into this big ol show.

Can anyone compare abq beer week to other cities/regions?

There was a mini burning can fest out in Santa Fe for their outdoor bike and beer fest. I heard it was a 3 beer limit on purchases of regularly available canned offerings from 3-4 breweries. I heard there was a mini beer garden at the abq brew dash downtown a weekend or two back. Pretty standard offerings.

We've definitely reached a weird point in saturation vs. New fans for our city. I don't mind standard offerings but don't price gouge me. The snakes are out and everyone wants a piece. I enjoy a solid normal beer in good company, with one cavet, price it right please.

 

@ONovoMexicano
Is this years LC Gose any saltier, funkier? Or the same? I enjoyed last years but I'm on a slow decline from impulse buys.


Sierra Blanca has that Bone Chiller (used to be called Nut Brown Ale) that is more on the english brown ale side. Definitely not one to "wow" people with, but it's won a GABF medal before. Very solid for it's style. All the others, yeah, I touched that isotopes once, and I would rather have GI products. BA scores are not far off IMHO.


btw, I agree that it would be cool to see breweries brew a beer now for next year, or something fun and or wacky. Release three variants of Project Dank at once. Have Marble collab with LC for a single IPA to be released during beer week. I don't think beer week ever started as a local minded entity. Distributors and such seem to have some play. What could save a blues and brews would be for some of the new guys to come in and WOW people. I remember when La Cumbre was new and was bringing show stopping stuff. Boar's Nest had a booth and had some great beers. Marble brought their heavyweight Imperial stouts and reserves. We need the new guys to come in and make their own stamp at some of these events. But for now, It's a easy pass on most of these events. I don't think many of the new guys are even taking part in any of these events.

I did see Boese Brothers and Santa Fe collabed on a beer. Double State pen porter mix or something. I would love to see more of that sort of thing.

I can see how the Bear Fest is a small way for many of these breweries to own back the beer week that has become a bit crazy.

I would honestly love an event to try all the new breweries (within the past 3 years) all in one place. Has Rio Bravo improved. Is Bow and Arrow any better? What about Firkin or Starr Brothers? What about the Palmer place (left turn distillery split their space with a beer brewery). Side Track? Still havent been there. Red Door, are they better? I would like an event that could maybe showcase those, along with our mainstays. Blues and Brews has a couple of those. But I don't see much value with a lot of them just being cans of stuff from TW (I can do that on my own).

 

Speaking of German offerings, I think La Cumbre could annex and/or create their own German Bier Garden with all of their very solid offerings. I think all they're missing is a KristallWeizen. Their Kolsch is a nice summer treat. Munich Helles Yeah is nice. I love when their weizenbock (stronger slice of hefen) releases. Their slice of hefen gets consumed a ton it seems. It's gotta be there second best seller. All their varieties of VMO make for a treat as well. But maybe I'm just a fanboy. Although they are missing a really great stout (adjunct or not). Never really fell for La Negra. Ponderosa had a nice breakfast stout beer. I need to find another. I know Canteen lowered the ABV on their Panama Joe. It's never been the same.

With Double white coming out into cans, the canteen brews, and BEER, I'm more of an at home drinker at the moment. I'm okay retrying "classics". These other new places will almost never get my money now. $5.50/pint of 'average' stuff. I can drop $7 for a sixer of above "average". More for everyone else I guess. When it's worth it, it's nice. I had a great time at Bosque SM on Saturday. But there are too many "baby step" breweries going on at the moment. Experimental brews are fine but when your whole operation is suffering, I just don't know.

Just looked up the Beer Premiere event. Looks promising. My type of event. 16 breweries. 16 all new beers. But like you said, I can't find a beer list. The events in 8 days. I cant just drop money like that lol.

 

Up in Loveland, you also have Grimm Brothers...a very under-rated brewery, in large part (I think) because hops are not their focus, instead focusing on interpretations of Old World beer styles.

As for ABQ Beer Week, I had no idea about it. Sounds like it might be a good week to drink in and avoid the crowds. A BCBS tapping is enticing, but considering i got some Tweak and KBS sitting in my fridge, probably not enough to draw me in to the craziness.

I agree with many of the sentiments addressed here about the lack of innovation and freshness in what local breweries offer.....with the exception, IMO, of Bosque, who are consistently brewing something new for us to try.....but considering how ridiculously packed these breweries seem to be, seems like they are doing something right. While they might not be catering us, the beer advocate/geek crowd, they certainly are catering to the population. Having moved down here from Denver, where we all know the beer scene is nothing less than fantastic and thriving, I would argue that the breweries down here are generally way busier and packed full than they are in Denver. I personally don't like that, but it certainly suggests good things for the breweries (or so I would think).

 

x3.

 

Call me crazy, but I will take a regular BCBS over a BCBCS every day of the week. I always found the original BCBS to be perfect as is, personally. It and Parabola have set the bar for what I expect from a BBA Stout.

 

For me, it's more about a brewery that feels refined with their beers and taste. I home brew a lot (22 gallons at a time, with 60 gallons serving capacity). If it's a place that is selling me something that is close to this amateur stuff I do, I feel ripped off. I have come close to Marble Red/IPA (as a mixed entity). The hoppier LC offerings are tough. That's sorta where I draw the line. If I'm making stuff at 50 cents/pint, and it compares to some other "newer" offerings, WTH man. Recently it was a Fortunate Islands clone, which happened to have a lower OG, so it ended up being around 4.2%. But the dry hopping dynamics were superb. Easily our most expensive hoppy beer. Too many places are cutting corners on the hops FOR SURE.

It's mainly about a place that can transport me somewhere, or provide a true service. But yes, I would trade 10 of our local breweries, for just one that is similar in nature to what Bosque has done for the hoppier beers. And that very well could be Rowley's. Second street is a great mainstay brewery for what they can provide in house. They may even top Santa Fe for best of SF in overall quality/variety. So getting another brewery out there may have me visit the area more often.


I do give Santa Fe BC credit for their beer week activity. I know they have a 12 pack of happy camper now. Unless that's below $15/12, I have to say no. They are trying to grow. Their Black IPA won a medal in the Arizona Ameri-CANfest a couple weeks back (along with Marbles IPA- which is sort alost in the mix but always does so well for me in blind samplings among many IPAs).

As far as beer Premiere, when I say "New beers", they are really calling them more along the lines of "one offs". So it could easily be a imperial java stout with vanilla beans added in the serving keg, or a LC Dank with lemon zest added (or their strawberry gose with added real fruit strawberries for 8 days). Most of those shouldn't take more than 8 days since mostly no one knows whats going down (it cant be any thing too spectacular I would think, unless they are hiding info ).

 

Thanks for this thread.

Hit up Bosque's original spot and Santa Fe's place. The Azacca S.M.A.S.H. and Western Bloc are legit pale/IPAs.

Just a heads up for those heading to Santa Fe, Western Bloc wasn't on the beer board but was listed on the tap list sheet.

Any solid IPA/Pales not from La Cumbre or Marble (already know they are awesome) on tap I should be on the lookout for?

 

It was ABQ location. Won't be around Sunday, but thanks for heads up on the other spots.