
Friday, December 30, 2011
Santa Fe's Dark Side

Thursday, December 29, 2011
New Year's On the Cheap
Throwing a New Year's Eve party rather than dealing with drunks on the road and "complimentary champagne toast at midnight!" at the bar? Generous enough not to make it a BYOB but don't want to serve up $19 bottles of Sam Adams Infinium to people who are just going to be puking it all over your carpet later?
Kelly Liquors on Wyoming, as usual, has some decent craft selections at deeply discounted prices that should please your partygoers. Widmer's X-114 IPA, the first release from their Rotator series, is on sale for $8.99 a 12-pack, or even cheaper at $16.99 a case. Since they only come in 12-packs at Kelly's, I guess that means if you bring up two 12-packs to the register you'll get the discount. These beers are on sale because they were brewed back in July, but look at it this way: it is beer for your guests, not you, and you can theme the party as "a look back at the year in beer".
Also discounted is the Montana Mixer, a 12-pack of four different styles from Big Sky. For $8.99, your guests will enjoy having the variety of Moose Drool Brown, Trout Slayer Wheat, Big Sky IPA, and a mystery beer, determined by the season when the 12-pack was released. Since these 12-packs are $5 off the regular price, you may get Summer Honey or even last year's Powder Hound Winter. It's all part of the New Year's fun, and I hope you all have a happy and safe one.


Saturday, December 24, 2011
California Day Two
Next: Hooray for Hollywood
Thursday, December 22, 2011
How's That Weather?

Next: why I shouldn't plan trips.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Solstice Blackout

Monday, December 12, 2011
No' Ryely IPA

Thursday, December 8, 2011
Happy Anniversary, La Cumbre!
Hey, You On the Scooter!

Monday, December 5, 2011
Out of the Red, Into the Double Black

Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Your RDA of Fruits and Fresh Hops

The Fresh Hop IPA made use of Amarillo, Centennial, and Cascade hops from Washington State's hop harvest...from a couple of months ago. Fresh is relative, I guess. Just look at the food you can buy at Ross, meant only to be given as a gift and re-gifted, but never meant to be consumed. Let's hope the Fresh Hop IPA is better than any of that. The IPA is 7% ABV, is 70 IBUs, and sells for $6.19 at the Kelly Liquors on Juan Tabo.
Looking for a beer with a fruit other than lime in your beer (and a fruit beer other than Bud Light Lime)? New Belgium's Prickly Passion Saison adds passion fruit and prickly pear to the delicate Saison style. No longer will you have to trudge to Whole Foods for $10 worth of fruit to throw in your Jack LaLanne juicer to mix with your Saison Dupont (or your Bud Light). This 8.5% ABV Saison is selling for $9.29, also seen at the Juan Tabo Kelly Liquors.
All I Want For Christmas...

The baskets will be available starting Thursday, December 1, also the day of the release party for the Imperial Stout at Marble Brewery. From 5 to 6, draft pours of the beer will be available to mug club members only. After that, it's open season, but there are only a few kegs of this 11% beer. Individual bottles of the stout will be available for sale so you can treat yourself to an early present or two.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Better Than a Cask of Amontillado

Monday, November 21, 2011
Blink and You'll Abyss It
The Secret of Bigfoot Revealed

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
I'll Be Taking These Hop Huggers...

And whatever cash you got.
From sporadically-seen Durango Brewery, we have two new releases: Winter Ale and Hop Hugger IPA. The Winter Ale is of the traditional Winter Warmer variety (think Great Divide Hibernation. No, forget that, they don't distribute here anymore. Think Odell Isolation, or some other -tion). ABV is 6.3%, and is selling for $6.19 per 22 oz. bottle at Kelly Liquors on Juan Tabo.
Hop Hugger IPA is a reformulated version of Durango's outdated IPA from years past, when a 5.5% ABV IPA was acceptable. The new recipe utilizes six hop varities and ups the ABV to 7.5%. A six-pack is $9.49, also at the Juan Tabo Kellys. The store also has magnums of Mikkeller Red/White Christmas beer (Imperial Red/Belgian Wit cross) and some other interesting items in the coolers. Dodge the Steel Reserve and Almaden wine buyers and check out their selection.
A Sale to Drool Over

Head over to Kelly Liquors on Wyoming, where you can get a whole case of Big Sky's biggest seller, Moose Drool Brown Ale for only $9.99! A $2.50 six-pack probably isn't sounding too bad right now, even for those of you who don't like the style, huh? Of course, the beer is selling so low because it is past its freshness date, but these are canned beers, meaning the beer doesn't deal with lightstruck issues that will affect bottled beers...talking about you, Newcastle Brown Ale.
Friday, November 11, 2011
News FLASH!
Green Flash,one of San Diego's many hop-centric breweries, now has their beers available here in Albuquerque! Jubilation has Le Freak, West Coast IPA, Hop Head Red, Imperial IPA, and Double Stout. Great brewery; very excited to have them in Albuquerque!
Eleven! Eleven! Eleven!

It's 11.11.11, the numerologically significant day for the neurologically impaired, and also the day that Stone Brewing releases Vertical Epic 11.11.11. The series started with the 02.02.02 release, a Witbier. Since then, releases have ranged from a Belgian IPA to a Belgian Porter, but they all have a Belgian yeast as their base. This year's has a New Mexico twist, but it doesn't involve anyone named Walt or Gus: The beer is brewed with Hatch Green Chile! That's right, the same chile that you waited/wasted half the day to get roasted at Sunflower Market because they had it for cheaper than the other stores. While Stone gives credit to using Hatch Chiles, the chiles are listed as the Anaheim variety, which I guess are the same peppers? I don't really have a clue. I usually think of the "Big Jim" variety when I think of Hatch Green Chile, but "Anaheim" doesn't make me question my sexuality as much, as I never have to say, "I just got done munching on a Big Jimmy!"
Whatever the variety, the chiles are our own NM chiles, and a key ingredient in the 9.4% ABV beer, along with cinnamon. Sounds interesting! It kinda sounds like taking a chile relleno that uses cinnamon in the batter and dipping it into a Belgian beer...but I sure hope it doesn't taste quite like that. In any case, it is always worth trying out the unique Vertical Epic annual release. I got mine at mt local Kelly Liquors on Wyoming, though it should be showing up all over today.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
A Beer Glass for the Klutzes

Why subject yourself to this, day in and day out, when you could be using a Silipint? Leave the souvenir beer glasses in the cabinet where they were meant to be and try out this pint glass made entirely from silicone. I got one to try out and was initially skeptical, as the glass had a faint rubbery smell upon unpackaging. But after a run through the dishwasher, that smell was gone and I was enjoying my beer out of it. Forgot I was drinking out of a silicone glass after a minute or so. Never forgot I was holding a glass, but if I had, it would only have taken a few sheets of Bounty (the quicker-picker-upper!) to clean up the mess.
Caution: Since the material is so pliable, you may not want to use the glass while watching your favorite football team disappoint you, as it would be easy to squeeze the Silipint in frustration and give yourself a beer shower. Other than that, I give it a thumbs up. You can check out the product at www.silipint.com
Friday, November 4, 2011
New Beer Friday
Thursday, November 3, 2011
There's Silverton in Them Thar Hills!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Let It Snow?

So...Christmas music...colder weather...Snow Day! New Belgium's Snow Day replaces 2 Below as the winter seasonal. While 2 Below was an ESB, Snow Day is a Winter Warmer that combines Midnight Wheat Malt along with Cascade and Centennial to create a hoppy (55 IBUs) beer that is balanced by the chocolate and caramel from the Midnight Wheat. This 6.2% ABV beer is available everywhere because it is made by New Belgium.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Happy Halloween

Yup. I'm writing about cider, probably this one time only. Add it to your bookmarks. Me writing about cider is as frightening as looking around and realizing how many formerly thriving businesses are now just buildings for the Spirit Halloween company to use temporarily. The reason I'm giving cider any print is because this is the new Pumpkin Cider from Ace- you know, the people who make that Pear Cider that your friend who can't stand beer brings to parties. Since I've already given the lowdown on all the local pumpkin beers available in town, I thought I'd throw this one out there. It sounds interesting; maybe not enough for me to buy it, but I'm sure you know someone out there who will enjoy it on this Halloween night. It should be at all the local stores, but I first saw it at Kelly's on Wyoming.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Another Pumpkin Beer, Of Sorts
I thought so. Good news- you can find those ingredients, along with yams, lemon verbana, and of course pumpkin in this newly released Pumpkin Ale. This collaboration between The Bruery, Elysian, and Stone is dubbed La Citrueille Celeste de Citracado, naturally. It's what I would have called it. The breweries involved seem like a good mix to pull off this kind of beer: Elysian is known for making a million pumpkin styles, The Bruery uses many unorthodox ingredients in their beers, and Stone is, well, Stone. Years of solid beer and a very successful brewery. I spotted this at Kelly Liquors on Wyoming, where a 12 oz. bottle is selling for $3.99.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Marcello's Hosts the Belgians

ABQ Uptown Center - Louisiana Blvd @ Indian School Road NE) has been advocating the craft beer/food pairing for some time. I never wrote about them because I don't have a nice black shirt to dine in like the guy in the photo.
This Saturday, Marcello's is hosting a Belgian beer tasting from 12-2 pm. For $25, you will be treated to Delirium Tremens, Kasteel Rouge, Kasteel Tripel, St. Louis Framboise, and Ichtegem's Grand Cru, as well as some light appetizers. Maybe they will have someone playing the house piano softly in the background while you sip your Belgian treats. Maybe one of you will get drunk and bang out "Crocodile Rock" on the keys. I sure hope not, but who knows?
This event will only be open to about 25 people, and reservations are required. Call 837-2467 to save your spot.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Pumpkin Beers Abound in Albuquerque
As far as national releases, I have bemoaned the lack of the quality of the distributed Pumpkin beers in Albuquerque. However, we are getting Shipyard's Smashed Pumpkin for the first time. This is a 9% Imperial Pumpkin Ale that retails for $6.99, seen at both Jubilation and Quarters liquor stores. If a 9% beer is a little much for a weeknight beer, the Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale is a solid choice.
If you plan to get a local Pumpkin beer, don't procrastinate- these beers are all made in limited batches and will be gone before you know it.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Hopfest Was So Much Better Than the Camera On My Phone


Friday, October 21, 2011
New Beer Friday


Monday, October 17, 2011
Survey Says...

Hey, got a minute to help starving college students? Wait, these aren't the ones skipping classes (and showers) that their parents pay for to go slam on bongo drums at "occupy" protests. These are students from the prestigious UNM Anderson School of Management, where people are learning to be part of the 1%. They are also doing a survey of craft beer drinkers, I guess as part of some market research project. I try to stay away from school related things after multiple unsuccessful attempts at "the old college try", but I did take the survey. You should too. Don't be scared off by the first question, which asks how much you drink per week. I saw that and said, "Oh great, one of those surveys!", but it isn't the kind that makes you feel bad about your habits. Check it out at http://survey.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_8xnnk82uY6PH5be
Sunday, October 16, 2011
GABF Friday Fun
If you absolutely must get out of bed the morning after the first night of GABF, the Media Luncheon is a good reason to do so.
We left our hotel and made our way over to the lower, lower level of the Marriott Hotel, which I'm pretty sure is near the center of the Earth. The table held an impressive display of glassware that would be used to serve our TEN courses of beer paired with six courses of food. Our table mates included beer writers Pete Brown, Tim Webb, and Stan Hieronymus. It felt like the time I thought I was cool working at All-American Burger until fast food legend Brad Hamilton came in and took over the fryer from me.
The fare was a cut above the menu at All-American Burger, starting with the first beer, served as a "Welcome Craft Beer" before the first course: TAPS Fish House and Brewery's Belgian White. The first course of a Carpaccio Beet Salad with fennel, green apples, goat cheese and bacon was so good I didn't even miss the dressing that sat in a gravy boat, unnoticed. I initially felt cheated, then I just felt stupid. Then I drank The Chuckanut Vienna Lager and McKenzie Saison pairings and forgot about it- until now, where I am chugging Hidden Valley Ranch. You may be reading this at work, with vending machines being your only source of sustenance, so I'll skip describing all the courses (I'll just showcase the photo of the grains of paradise seared lamb loin with ginger forbidden rice with apricots and cranberries). I'll also tell you that the theme of the luncheon was GABF medal winning brewpubs. This was a great idea, as smaller brewpubs win a large percentage of GABF medals but are often passed over by fest goers who are looking for more celebrated breweries. We only need look at our local brewpubs for examples of breweries that should never be skipped. In fact, Scott Metzger, Founder of Freetail Brewing (who's Bandito Sour we enjoyed with our "American Artisan Cheese Plate", sorry) told the story of how he made the decision to take the risk of starting his brewery while drinking at our own Chama River Brewing Company.
We bridged the gap between the 2 pm end of the Media Luncheon and the 5:30 start of the Friday GABF session with unofficial beer courses 11, 12, etc. The Friday session at GABF has the same amped-up energy that a local bar does during a Friday happy hour. That is to say, more people looking to get drunk as heck because they don't have to get up for work the next day, and that's not a bad thing at all. Even though I was being good and sampling slowly, there is always that background roar of thousands of people enjoying the best craft beer in the country that urges me to hit every brewery (and brewpub) that gets in my way. GABF has so much more going on, though- from free massages (the "happy ending" is that you get to go sample 2,378 beers after your massage is over, I was embarrassed to learn), to celebrity chefs teaching beer/food pairings, to beer book author signings, to the coolest exhibit at this 30th anniversary of GABF: a recreation of the scene of the first 1982 GABF, held in 1982, with an area the same square footage as the first serving beer from the same 22 breweries at the initial fest. That small area was just a dot on the map of the 2011 fest that took up the entire Colorado Convention Center floor with 466 breweries, and it put into perspective just how far this fest and American craft beer have come.
Friday, October 14, 2011
You Hear Those Sleigh Bells Ringing?

Wreck the Halls is an IPA that leans heavily on the caramel malt, though the 68 IBUs aren't overshadowed by the malt. Wreck the Halls retails for $5.99 a 22 oz. bottle and Anchor Our Special Ale goes for $10.99 a six-pack.
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Thursday, October 13, 2011
Hopfest Ticket Party

Sure, you could be lazy and just show up on Oct. 22, the day of Hopfest at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and pay the extra $5 for tickets at the door, but listen- Everyone who buys a Hopfest ticket at Nexus this Saturday will be treated to a free pint of their choice. On top of that, the first 50 early birds get a $25 gift certificate to Casa Verde Spa & Salon. Ooh la la. The fest is going to sell out, so you may as well stop over at Nexus, grab your ticket and free pint and stick around for a couple more pints. And your Hopfest ticket not only gets your lots of great beer (and after looking at the lineup, there are many beers to get excited about), it also contributes to a great cause: the New Mexico Chapter of Make a Wish. See you at Hopfest!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Some More GABF- Thursday
I said I was going to go slower this year. I needed a break.
So much for going slow. Next year I'll take an intermezzo of pizza, please. I've got no class.
So after only about thirty samples at the first night of GABF and a couple beers at Falling Rock, we ended our Thursday night in Denver. Friday was going to be a day full of drinking, and I knew I would need my full 13 hours of sleep.
Monday, October 10, 2011
It's Always Sunny at NM Brew Fest
I was prepared to skip this fest.
Not because of any ill will towards the NM Brew Fest, but rather the weather the previous night, when it was cold and rainy, had me ready to see if I could make a day of shopping the sunglasses, cell phones, and brass knuckle belt buckle kiosks in Coronado Mall. Luckily, the weather cleared up to bring a sunny and just a little cool day.
Upon entering the fest, we headed for the VIP area, where we were greeted with dishes from Chef Shawn Weed, who had prepared a number of courses incorporating different Odell beers. Chocolate cupcakes made with Odell Cutthroat Porter and topped with a peanut butter frosting, anyone? No? Shoulda shelled out the extra bucks for the VIP tickets then. The VIP tickets also got you a Whole Foods bag filled with...not much, really. I appreciated the free beer token for Turtle Mountain along with a temporary tattoo with the brewery's logo, but the menu for Bailey's on the Beach and various flyers for other businesses didn't do much for me. The VIPs were treated to an Odell booth pouring their solid regular lineup along with an Oktoberfest beer available only at the Fest and at Odell's tap room in Ft. Collins, CO.
There was another area partitioned off (not to be confused with the VIP area, please) where Whole Foods had a tent that housed pours of Smoked Porter and IPA from Stone Brewing Co. More Odell beers were poured in the same area: Myrcenary DIPA and the expensive ($25 a bottle) Woodcut #5. Nice touch by the Odell rep to break out the really good stuff for the fest.
The popularity of the fest equated to longish lines but they moved quickly. I think people here are finally catching on to the idea that you don't get to the front of the line and set up camp while trying everything. And there was plenty to try, from Blue Corn's Pumpkin Ale to Chama's Amarillo Pale Ale to Il Vicino's 2007 St. Bob's Imperial Stout to La Cumbre's GABF multi-medal winning beers (more on that when I finally update the GABF trip). The worst lines of the day were in for the one men's and one women's bathroom on the event grounds. There were other bathrooms outside the fest grounds but it didn't seem like anyone wanted to get too far away from all the beers. A special thanks to the workers at Expo NM for making sure the bathrooms stayed clean and stocked- at one point, a worker stood handing out paper towels to patrons but he wasn't expecting tips. Here's a tip for you: if you skipped out on this year's NM Brew Fest, please put it on your calendar for next year. It is a fun, well-organized fest in a great location.
Not because of any ill will towards the NM Brew Fest, but rather the weather the previous night, when it was cold and rainy, had me ready to see if I could make a day of shopping the sunglasses, cell phones, and brass knuckle belt buckle kiosks in Coronado Mall. Luckily, the weather cleared up to bring a sunny and just a little cool day.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Friday Almost Free-For-All
Just a quick note of what the Kelly Liquors on Wyoming has for cheap deals right now:
Big Sky Trout Slayer Ale: $9.99 a case
Boulder Planet Porter: $9.99 a case
Paulaner Hefeweizen: $9.99 a case
That's some cheap beer right there! Of course, for that price you know you aren't getting these beers at their freshest, but it's not bad to stock up on to give freeloading guests.
Big Sky Trout Slayer Ale: $9.99 a case
Boulder Planet Porter: $9.99 a case
Paulaner Hefeweizen: $9.99 a case
That's some cheap beer right there! Of course, for that price you know you aren't getting these beers at their freshest, but it's not bad to stock up on to give freeloading guests.
GABF, Part 2
And that was a whole day in the life of a beer fest trip without a beer fest written about yet. That's next.
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