Friday, July 30, 2010

Arrivederci, Il Vicino Tap Room

Wow, look at that empty room. Seems like yesterday that there were a hundred people packed around all the brewing equipment, using empty kegs as seats and judging samples at the 2009 NM IPA Challenge. And on the eve of this year's challenge, reigning champion Il Vicino will be closing the doors of the Tap Room. They will be staying open till 9 tonight, so get over there and pay your respects. There is no more Wet Mountain IPA, but they still have their other regular lineup, along with Bohemian Pilsner and Exodus IPA, a Citra-hopped IPA brewed especially for the end times of the Tap Room.

The growler in the picture is Exodus, my third time getting it filled with that beer, as a matter of fact. And my last ever fill at this location. You will still be able to get your Il Vicino beer fix while they move into their new location at 2381 Aztec Rd NE. The Il Vicino restaurants will be serving Mendicino beers during the transition, which they are hoping to have completed by September. They will also be defending their title tomorrow at the IPA Challenge, which for some reason is only from 12-3. How am I gonna get my drink on in only three hours? Oh well. This isn't about me- it's supposed to be a celebration of/farewell to the Il Vicino Tap room. Thanks to Brady and Doug for their years of making excellent beers at that location, and let's hope the new space is ready soon!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the kind words. We will be serving Mendicino beer at our restaurants, not our beer contracted by them. I am sure they do not have time for a little brewery like us, but that would be cool!

ABQbeergeek said...

Oooh, I screwed that one up! Fixed it though, and didn't even need the White Out like in the old days.

Unknown said...

Congrats on the IPAC win! Two years in a row......