Albuquerque

La Cumbre and Bow & Arrow are both less than 10 mins away. Both are great.

 

Bumping this since Ill be leaving on the annual trip to see the fam in New Mexcio tonight.

Playing golf at Sandia on black Friday, and wondering if anyone has been to Flock of Moons brewing, and if its worth checking out? Already planning on the normal stops for Bow and Arrow and La Cumbre, but wanted to check out somewhere else new too.

 

My son lives in ABQ and really likes their beers. I've had Flocktoberfest (a Marzen). Min Coronar (IPA), and Stormo di Foglie (Italian pilsner), and was quite impressed. Would highly recommend a visit.
Fairways and greens on Friday.

 

La Cumbre is good!

 

I don't know the ABQ scene all that well, but the overall level of quality for NM beers and breweries = extremely high and they push each other to be better. A good chunk of their brewers started their careers at Marble, La Cumbre, Canteen, Bosque, etc. Most of the ABQ breweries (both large and small) distro up to Santa Fe, and so I've tried most of 'em. It's pretty rare to get a bad beer brewed in NM these days. I'd be willing to chance just about any place that sounds halfway decent as a result. At least if I liked the styles they were brewing.

 

Giving this thread another bump, as I’m planning a visit. It’s been 5+ years since I was last in ABQ—far too long! Who are some must visit newbies?

 

We got stuck in Albuquerque for 3 days a couple of years ago thanks to United and were staying down near the airport. It was kind of a dive, but we went to the 377 brewery a couple of nights.
There had a good selection of good beer, reasonable food, and ok service.

overall, I would give the Albuquerque beer seen a fair grade.

 

I haven’t been out that way since before the pandemic, so maybe things changed quite a bit. Always thought ABQ’s brewery scene was underrated, especially for its size, especially with La Cumbre, Marble, and now Bow & Arrow.

 

Mark my words, the Albuquerque beer scene is underrated and pound-for-pound (or pint-for-pint?) definitely hits above its weight. I somehow packed 8 (?!!!) brewery visits into my six days there, including repeated trips to three favorites (and a day off for rest and recovery). Closed down Marble, Bow & Arrow (twice), and La Cumbre (also twice, with a visit in-between). Had some amazing food and great coffee and even squeezed in a trivia night. Could have kept going, looking forward now to returning again soon.

 

ABQ's got one of the strongest scenes in the country spot-for-spot. They don't have the sheer #'s of Portland, Denver, Tampa, etc. but they have some major heavy hitters. I'd put La Cumbre, Marble, Boxing Bear, Canteen, Bosque, Bow and Arrow, and more against anybody. Back before everyone went back to pure bitter bright IPA's ("west coast"), NM's IPA's are/were just as noteworthy as San Diego. Their IPA Challenge was almost like a mini Alpha King a few years ago. Plus, there's something really special about red chile paired with an IPA, too.

 

I would certainly add Gravity Bound to the list.

 

I concur with the posts in this thread. I get to ABQ about once a year and I find their beer to be amazing. It's at least on par with Denver, IMO (not in quantity, but in quality.) Also, NM in general is like its own planet, there is a lot of stuff there that doesn't exist anywhere else, at least not in the same form. (Ask for Pinon Coffee. Also, ask for Christmas.)

My favorite breweries there are Gravity Bound and Bow & Arrow. Next favorites are Ex Novo, Marble, and Tractor. Had a great Scotch Ale from Bosque though I didn't get to the brewery. Also been to Thirsty Eye and Sidetrack and they're not bad.

 

I think the fact that NM is so different and isolated from everywhere else (minus a few border areas in the surrounding states) is a huge highlight of visiting. That tracks for their beer scene, too. Even their best known breweries don't distribute far. Mostly CO, west TX, and maybe AZ with limited selections only. The vast majority don't leave the state at all. Yet I'd broadly generalize the state as having broadly embraced craft beer. There are local taps in just about every food-serving establishment you're likely to encounter. If I had to guess, I bet most BA's could probably only name La Cumbre and maybe Ex Novo.

 

I would trade my access to Texas beers (sorry Yellow Rose), for access to the ABQ craft beers.