New Mexico Beer Guide 2016 updated

Picked up a couple bottles of some Urban Family Brewing stuff just now at Jubilation, Barrel Aged Voices Underground and Snakeskin Jack. Both were $11.99 for 12 ounces, so if I don't love them they'll be one and done. If good, though, I'll be in Seattle next month and will give them a visit.

 

So... Marble has an Amarillo hopped Pale Ale on tap and all I can say is what a freaking waste. Only available on Nitro. Why ruin what would have otherwise been a great beer?!

Also, looks like Firestone Walker has landed and Nob Hill Bar & Grill is the place to be. Haven't been there yet myself, but damn if that taplist doesn't look mighty fine. Parabola on tap. I'll probably try to stop in this week, if not, will definitely be hitting up Jubilation this weekend for some bottles. Union Jack, Opal, and Pivo Pils all on my want list. Grabbed a super fresh sixer of Marble Pilsner earlier tonight and can't wait to drink one of those back to back with a Pivo Pils.

 

Let us know which one wins

 

Some random tidbits.
-Actually tried Rio Bravos Amber for a happy hour. Beer is okay. Would rather have shiner bock or fat tire. When keeping it local goes WRONG. Why is this beer everywhere? Solid beer is being replaced by local meh.
-Hit up Tractor two weekends back after the IPA challenge. Their tap list is some 20 beers deep. It puts Marbles to shame. All the ones I had were solid to great. I don't visit them enough. I dont know if they'll win awards, or if I'd pay top price, but they kept their prices reasonable ($4.25/pint for most). Very nice revisit. I might say the same about every other brewery in town that I havent visited in awhile. But I dont have the time for that. Tractor this last time around was solid, and worth a quick visit if you are in the neighborhood.
- 7/12 elevated had a real nice tropical fruit juice element. But maybe its just my taste buds for that particular style (or im burnt out). But Im finding that abrasive IPA to be a real palate destroyer, and lately, its been making me gag.
-7/11 Project Dank some of the same ol same ol old school pine, light citrus. I'm so done with that beer. I want my nelson back.
-Only saving grace for LC lately for me has been their canned BEER. I'm drinking that up way too fast.
-Which brings me to Bosque Riverwalk. It seems more delicate of an IPA (than elevated). Less abrasive, More citrus sort of sweetness. I'm quickly turning my back on elevated in favor of Bosques Riverwalk, which happens to be in many more restaurants lately too. I don't think its a coincidence. When they start canning, it'll be very interesting.
-Speaking of Pivo Pils. I haven't picked any up yet but if Marble continues to slack on their Pilsners availability (cant find it anywhere in stores,only the brewery), I may need to find a respectable companion to go with La Cumbre BEER.

 

I don't expect to have time to do more than 2 brewery stops on the trip. Right now Holy Mountain and Fremont are the 2 spots on my itinerary. I have yet to get around to the Urban Family beers to know if that will change things up.

I haven't tried Fremont's beers yet, but they sound like they should be in my wheelhouse. And it definitely sounds like Holy Mountain will undoubtedly be visited. If any changes have to be made to my schedule, it wont come at the expense of visiting them.

 

The same bus that takes you from downtown/Pike Place to Holy Mountain (and drops you off across the street) will take you up to Ballard and pretty close to Reuben's (among many other things). Fremont is a good place too, but I agree with everything already said about them.
Take it from the guy with the Holy Mountain avatar

 

Hadn't thought too hard about transportation. In the back of my mind I was assuming I'd probably be relying on uber a lot. That said, my hotel will be around Pike Place, so busing it sounds like a good plan. Will look into Ballard and Reuben's, two places I know nothing about other than what I read in the most recent Seattle thread on this site in the NW forum..

 

Ballard is just a neighborhood that my wife and I thought was cool. On that NW forum thread, there are several recommended places in the area, plus some good restaurants, etc. If you only went to two places, HM and Fremont are what a lot of people would say (it seems). Also, it looks like more people are into Urban Family now, judging by that thread. Last summer, nobody really had much to say about them up there. I've had 2 or 3 of their beers and they were good, but very expensive.

 

Gotcha. I went back to the thread and realized I only recognized Ballard because of a poster's name.

 

@denver10
Sort of off topic a bit. But I have to hand it to Firestone Walker. They came in with a suitcase full of freshness. I realize freshness may not last (founders all day has May cases just sitting. That may be the fate of FW). But for this weekend and the next, it will be really nice. Pivo vs. Marble Pils. Just had a canned PIVO solo from the can. It's basically Marble Pils. Or Marble Pils is basically PIVO. Almost identical floral spicy hoppy bite. Marble Pils has the awards. Pivo has the following, the namesake, and BA ranking to back them up. Calling it a hoppy pils may help sell too. But I can really close my eyes and see Marble Pils there.

It's funny. Jubilation jacked up the price of Marble sixers to $9.50 on a select few. Pivo is something like $8.99. What's next is probably a total blind (maybe from the can, and then from a glass) between the two. Pivo cans are dated 6/20. I think I have some 6/29 marble pils. So depending on the winner, it may actually be easier & cheaper to buy beer from a brewery 2 states and some 900 miles away, than one just 5 miles away.

With all that said, I want to say, strap up your boots and DO better for many of the NM breweries out there. Why even stiff at mediocre shit when I can get an affordable world class offering. I know this is NM beer talk. And we produce some really good stuff. But enough is enough with this local because its local crapfest.

Edit: Union Jack tasting (9 days old). Fresh tasting citrus blast of hops. Unique sweet malt backbone that doesnt distract from the hops. Let's just call this one ELITE level among other readily available NM IPAs. I think I was able to buy most of what is available. and I may sound like a broken record soon. FW went for the kill and as far as I can see, if they can stay fresh, they'll have my money over many other locals.

 

I ended up buying a couple singles of the Pivo Pils (since my fridge is over stocked right now) so was limited to the bottles, which I think are dated 6/9....so not quite as fresh. My Marble Pils (which I got at the brewery) was canned on 7/11 so it won't be as even a field when I do my comparison. Its been a few years since I last had Pivo Pils so I am excited to checking it out again, now that I have grown to love a good pilsner. Back then, it was not a style I was too high on. I like hearing it matches up well to Marble's, which isn't surprise given that I think FW is one of the very best breweries out there and is good at everything they do.

From my experience in Colorado, freshness was always a HUGE issue with Firestone offerings. I love Union Jack but never bought bottles of it because of the freshness issue. When lucky I could find it with a month on it, but most of the time it was always far older than that. When I could get a 2-3 week old sixer of Odell IPA, I just was not going the old Union Jack route. Same deal here in NM.....I'd happily buy Union Jack, but I will always grab a fresh La Cumbre Elevated or Marble IPA before I buy an old Union Jack. I notice that pattern happening a lot with my favorite IIPA too, Odell's Myrcenary. I want to buy a 4 pack of it but can't get myself to go that route when I can get a fresh Elevated, etc and Myrcenary is 2+ months old at that point. (I think Myrcenary ages really well for hoppy beer, so I wouldn't be against buying a single, maybe 2, at that age, but a 4 pack would be too much....by the time I got the second half of that pack, it would be way old).

I did hit up Nob Hill Bar & Grill earlier today and grabbed a pour of the Parabola. Just as great as I remember it, remains my favorite BBA beer.

Also, finally getting around to one of my Urban Family beers BA Voices Underground. I like it but won't be buying anymore of it at the current cost. Also can't imagine dumping Fremont to fit them into my Seattle itinerary.

 

@denver10, You went tonight for parabola? How much parabola was there initially/left? It didn't kick? I was gonna head there Tuesday night but assumed it may be gone by then (8pm). Not sure what happened there on a promotion/beer front. I've had parabola two times now (both bombers), and I definitely agree with you, best BBA stout out there. I had it in a larger sampling and then solo. Very surreal experience given its normal price point.

Believe me, this may be my one and only FW haul (as age will creep in). I buy a elevated four pack at least once a week (always within 14 days no matter where I go, even TW). Marble IPA is a touch iffy. Canteen is starting to creep into the month old range on their exodus. But usually, I stay local to an extreme extent. Definitely not a hater (I was at one pt the highest checked in person of Dank and elvated on UT). But I have come to appreciate the new guys. I will enjoy them while it lasts, and then I guess its back to locals

It's funny though. The fall back in some sense is the locals, who are no frickin slouches. But I too check dates on the likes of Odell IPA, Odell Myrcenary, Uinta Hop Nosh, Ska Modus Hoperandi, BP sculpin (gf sculpin), lagunitas sucks, stone IPA, hop hunter (saw some dated in May today.. I cried alittle). Freshness really does have that true Upper level points boost that should not be forgotten about.

--
I just dont think I can do DIPAs anymore. At least those above 8.5%. FW Double Jack is really nice. IT doesnt feel too malty or sweet. But the hop profile is more of that pine/citrus on the backend of things sort of DIPA. I do think the likes of Tractor and such can/have come close to that DIPA threshold where the aromatic hop character isnt essential. I wouldnt call it a miss. But the 1 4 pack/person was deceiving. Definitely not worth any sort of impulse buy imho. Mind you, I did this without knowing the BA score. 95 is a WOWER usually. I't's very good but for me close to that 91 range. A 91 is pretty much a very iffy buy (for IPAs). This one was dated 7/1/16.
------------------
Final round of the NM IPA challenge tomorrow. I should be there. I took vague first impression type notes at RBBC for the prelims. I want to dial it in a bit this time around.

CHeers

 

Yeah, happy hour earlier today. It was really low, bartender said it could kick any second.

 

Both were great.

I think choosing one over the other probably comes to personal preferences, not quality of the brew. Admittedly I am probably biased her given that I have probably been drinking more Marble Pilsner than any other single beer these past couple months, but I probably go with Marble Pilsner. Pivo destroys in the aroma department but I think I personally prefer the overall balance that Marble offers between yeast, crackery maltiness, and floral hops.

 

@denver10. Good stuff. I think I'll go blind with those two today.

I did my good deed for the month.

NM IPA Challenge wrapped up. Nothing really stood out to me this year. All of my top 6 finished in the top 9. I totally whiffed on Canteens choice. But that top had no slouches. I was sad to see Bosque not bring out Scale Tipper. Who does that? That beer dominates on all fronts. I didn't seem to catch much in the way of aromatics this year. I wonder why no one tried a NE style of hazy IPA. Everyone but Chili line played it safe, and yet Bosques safe choice wasn't used? I don't think I want a refund. But other years have had more elite offerings. This year, the top was cluttered with greatness. I think we deserve elite at this point in time.

My good deed was aided in the fact that our ride was 2 hours out, so we walked over to Rio Bravo. That place was a graveyard. Amazing HVAC and accommodating staff. The buddy I was with had not been there officially (only had their amber on draft elsewhere) nor had he been to Bow & Arrow. He sampled a bit. Didn't really find a niche. He went with the Amber once again. I was not in the sampling mood and gave their NM IPA challenge entry, level 3 ipa, another chance. Super high bitterness. Slightly malty. Not much else. Basically that SN Torpedo type beer that has been done for ages. Not about to drop $6 on anything of these for awhile. The other person I was with got their Marzen. Slightly clean, quite the nice malt kick. Overall, maybe the best of the three. With so many choices, I just find this place very hard to visit. They have quite the selection now on tap.

Done with that place, we walked 5 minutes to Bow & Arrow. 5 core beers that I think they had on opening week, along with 5 seasonals. The overriding theme was watered down, low sweetness or flavor. I wouldnt even really call their beers dry. But just totally lacking in that flavor POP that even other breweries lagers and pilsners bring. Maybe it was my taste buds being shot from the challenge 3 hours prior, but only two stood out. SunDagger. Belgian Saison. I caught and rode that belgian yeast flavor wave all the way through. Solid beer. The other was their Rustic Oak porter seasonal. You really cant mess up a stout or porter and those woody/oak/char flavors were nicely done. But on the other end of the spectrum, B&A was packed. Given their $5.50 pricing that they have yet to drop (but why drop if people are spending that), and seemingly averageness of their beers, I have found another place that I won't be vising for the next 3-5 months.

 

NM IPA Challenge field was the weakest in recent memory. I had a conversation with a brewery owner who believed all the scoring parody was a result of there being a strong field of IPAs this year but I believe it was the opposite. I think that all the entries were ok to bad. I really struggled to pick a winner. Seriously half the entries could've won. I ended up with Canteen, Boxing Bear, Second Street, Blue Corn, 3Rivers as my top five (in order). I could have easily interchanged any of those with one another. Really disappointed with La Cumbre and Bosque's showing which is strange considering I've had full pours of Bosque's entry (Strip Mall Struggle) multiple times and found it pretty good. However, it just didn't stand out in the challenge. It fell just out side of the top five in my scoring.

I do know that Scale Tipper was not entered because John Bullard wanted to try something different. He did give serious consideration to entering Scale Tipper but ultimately chose not to. The IPA Challenge has really become "who can make the best IPA" rather than "who has the best IPA". I'm not sure I like it that way but that's what it is. I still had a great time. I've always viewed the challenge as an event to be experienced not as an event for beer. Due to having multiple "full pour" tickets I was able to drink several pints, test my palate, and hang with some great people from the beer community all for $20. I'll be there again next year.

 

Looks like Boxing Bear won the IPA Challenge with their Bear Knuckle IPA?

I really need to give that one a second try. Had it on my first visit to the brewery but as part of a flight. I enjoyed the aroma but found it to be overly bitter in taste for me. Wonder if they have continued to tweak the recipe or I just had an off tasting. Wouldn't be the first time my initial impression of a beer doesn't stand up to subsequent tries.

 

I agree with this sentiment, personally. I guess things might get tricky when the best IPA one can make also happens to already be in one's rotation?

I just hope Bosque will put the IPA that introduced in this challenge on tap in Nob Hill. Would love to try it.