Albuquerque BA's

This is my " trip route" :
La cumbre
Jubilation
Il vincio - wife loves the pizza
Tractor - walk a block from il vicino , double ipa recommended
Marble

La cumbre and marble have fresh stuff in the coolers at the end of the bar as well as growler fills, so would not get those at jubilation. Traffic should be non existent on the weekend.
Bm me if any questions. I don't think you will disappointed in Albuquerque.

 

^just buy a pallet of Elevated and not worry about anything else.

 

I second that, only I would try to bring home a bomber of marble imperial stout too.

 

First time poster here. Living in Albuquerque.

Here is what I would recommend:

1. Hit up Nexus Brewery first. Grab some real food . Most of these other places have a very minimal food list (not a full kitchen. But that's more of a NM state law issue). You can bring your own grub into La Cumbre and Marble as well. Both LC and Marble have food trucks out front as well. But I would start things off with some food.. Beers to try: Imperial Cream Ale. Winner of a Beer Cup award, it is my go to beer there.. Also their Scotch Ale is lovely.

2. Circle back around and go to the Il Vicino Canteen (don't go to their pizza joint restaurant). This place is about a 1/2 mile away from La Cumbre. Their seasonal list is always changing. Their house beers are okay. It appears they may have Exodus IPA available. It's a state IPA challenge winner of many years. Seasonals appear to change every 4-5 days.

3. La Cumbre just re released their Project Dank (2013 GABF Bronze IPA winner) beer this past Friday. It may be available for you Saturday. Quantities are always pending with these seasonals.. Moreover, LC is having their 3rd year Anniversary party tomorrow, with a bunch of new beer releases. Some, none, or a few may be available later on this week. Beers to try: All of them. Order up a sampler flight. For the past few weeks they had a wine-barrel aged Malpais Stout (their signature 7.5% stout). Elevated IPA on draft is sometimes all I have when I visit. They definitely do beer right here. LC also just released their Hefeweizen in cans. Their hefe reminds me of SN Kellerweis, which is a good compliment.

4. Marble Brewery. As of last week they had their 2013 BBA Imperial Stout and Imperial Red on tap. I also believe they have some 2013 bottled in bombers. Their regular Red Ale and IPA are always very nice on draft ( I know they distribute to a few states now). I like their Belgium Wit, Double White Ale. Very unique taste. Their Pilsner has won some GABF awards. It's a touch hoppy ( Marble likes their hops). So be prepared. Even their Oatmeal Stout has that bitter bite.

The above is what I recommend to everyone if you have just one afternoon.

Other places to possibly check out.
Way out in Rio Rancho, Turtle Mountain Brewing looks more like a restaurant with a full menu, and some solid brews. They have been around the longest in the ABQ metro area. Great wood oven pizzas and calzones. A touch closer towards Albuquerque is a place called Broken Bottle. When we went, everything tasted a bit under carbonated. It's a nano brewery I believe. Right in that same area is a Marble Brewery Westside tap room. Going back towards the mountains, there is another newer brewery called Bosque Brewery. Back in August when we visited, nothing stood out too much. Traveling back towards downtown off of I-25 near many other restaurants is Chama River. As of Saturday, they had 3-4 seasonals available and 4-5 house beers. Food is a bit more expensive here, and could be hit or miss. It's actually right across the highway from Nexus.

Up by itself near the University area is Tractor Brewery taproom. People in the area love it. I found the beers to be a big above average. Back towards downtown, there is Back Alley Draft House. 5-6 hit or miss brews. The marble tap room (#4) is a 1/2 mile from the downtown area.

The 1-4 is probably the tried and true method... The others may be a touch risker, and what you would consider a waste of time, given you have just a day or two.


*All of these places are great about asking for just a tiny sample of a beer to try before ordering one.
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Rarer beers in Albuquerque.. Using Seekabrew to compare, nothing stands out too much that the state of NM has over Texas. Jubilation is probably the best place to check out the variety (it's near Tractor Brewery taproom). Check out their facebook page to see what type of variety I am talking about. Total Wine also just came to town this past May. Most beer places around town have the 5-10 Stone bombers that every state seems to get every couple of months. Stone RIS is still sitting at a few obscure shops. But nothing else really stands out. Marble 2012 Imperial Stout is still at a few places. I can message you those shop names. Check TWs inventory at their website (use uptown or cottonwood ABQ locations).

Beers to buy... Fresh Elevated IPA (canned tag on top of 4 pack holder. I believe they can once a week on Tuesdays). If you don't have access to Marble... Marble IPA. Marble Red. Marble Oatmeal stout. From time to time, they have Marble Double IPA, Marble Imperial Red, Marble Double White all in bombers.. Marble Imperial Stout is around town in both 2012 and 2013. Look for bottled date vertically near the bar code.

Not a whole lot of NM breweries are bottling/canning. I believe Texas already gets Sierra Blanca products (Sierra Blanca Nut Brown is a GABF winner) and Santa Fe Brewing products. Tractor Brewing has two of their products in cans (farmers tan red, and a tractor IPA)

Cliffnotes:
- Visit La Cumbre. A lot of stuff happening this week for them, which may have some carryover this weekend.
-Visit Marble. Their imperial stout is too nice. Buy a growler of it to save some money
- The only true "rare" beer may be the best. La Cumbre's Elevated IPA is only distributed to the state of NM. If all else fails, drink some La Cumbre beers, and take home a case or two.

 

Well said...

 

Well said even a year later.

 

Nice! Glad to hear you had some fun. Any favorites? Recommendations? Surprises or disappointments through your travels? I don't make it to some of those places too often so you may even provide some insights I don't know about. Il Vicino, La Cumbre, and Marble seem to be my three go to places. Maybe I'm a creature of habit and need to to expand out locally.