Find the Hottest Singles in Town!

Er, make that the coldest, at Kelly's Liquors on Coors near Paseo. They have a large selection of single bottles available for mixing your own six-pack, with the "premium" mix priced at $9.99, and the "regular" beers $7.99 (though the $7.99 beers are no slouch). This is a service that is only too welcome for someone like me, who is at the point where the fridge is so full I may need to cut food out of my diet. If there are six different new beers I want to try, I don't have to buy six-packs of each, which allows me to spend more money at the bar. See the logic? Trader Joe's has "Mystery Beer" bags for $6.99 that have 8 random beers in them, which is great if you are new to beer and want to try different styles but I personally don't need a Dos Equis and a Peter's Brand Dutch Pilsner to expand my horizons. Great idea and price if you don't mind a clunker here and there. Kelly's gives you the chance to mix Odell, Stone, Ska, Flying Dog, North Coast, New Belgium, Deschutes, Abita, and lots of others. So the question is: which of these brown-bodied beauties will you be spending the night with?

13 Years Old? Here Comes the Bad Attitude

Damn teenagers, always skulking around, smoking their Newports and giving off bad attitudes. Plus all the guys wear those super-tight pants these days. What's that all about? I'd rather see a dude walking around in a mesh half-shirt. That's haute fashion.

This rant has a purpose, of course, and that is to celebrate the coming of age of Stone's Anniversary Series. This year's, the 13th, is an Imperial Red Ale which used 4.5 pounds of Chinook, Centennial, and Simcoe hops per barrel, the most ever used in one Stone Beer! This is the most excited I've been for a Stone Anniversary release since the 10th, which is one of my all-time favorites. The beer just arrived in town today, so I haven't tried it yet. Stone says not to wait on drinking this year's version and I think that is good advice: you know that teenagers are just get worse and worse as they get older. Pretty soon you'll see them hanging out at the mall with the malt liquors. Get yours today for $6.49.

The 2nd Annual 4th of JulIPA Challenge!

The 4th of JulIPA challenge may be over, but the throbbing headache lingers as a reminder of the great night of IPA tasting and judging.

This was the second year we and many of our best friends did our patriotic duty and rated the best IPAs in the country. Ok, so we don't have access to ALL the IPAs out there (in fact, only one is not available in New Mexico), but this is an Albuquerque beer website, so I wanted to have more of the beers readily available here. And while some of our friends are willing to drink Juarez tap water mixed with grain alcohol in order to get a buzz, they are all big fans of IPAs and were ready to take on the challenge.

The real challenge was getting all the beers into growlers for sampling. The format is a blind tasting, so since only four of the breweries involved had beers available in growlers, I had to get sis-packs of all the others and pour each beer individually into coordinated numbered growlers. Thankfully Jenn was there to help, and our friend Jesse Pedersen helped as well. Too bad they had to put up with me stressing the whole time we were pouring and labeling the growlers. I was seriously going nuts because people were showing up while we were still pouring, and I didn't want anyone seeing what we were pouring. Running out of growlers to house the beers wasn't exactly a blessing either. Idiot me forgot to ask people to bring extra growlers. It worked out, because we had enough for each of the thirteen beers, plus a few for secondary samples. If we ran out,I had bottles on coolers to refill the empty growlers. Everything else was pretty well thought out. The only missing piece was constant participant and close friend Andreas, who had a family emergency to deal with. I made it my personal quest to drink his share in his honor.

Once we got underway, things started to roll more smoothly as more people arrived. Some even traveled from New York City just for the honor of attending the event. It may be possible that they have family here as well, but I'm certain that their first priority was the 4th of JulIPA Challenge. Certain. What else are you going to do on this holiday, watch fireworks?

Of course, some fireworks are more interesting than others, especially when stationed in the right places. Some people can make sparklers look almost fun to play with. You can see at this point, people were well into the tasting. Thirteen IPAs of varying strength can be hard to handle for some people, I guess. Side effects may include flushing, impaired vision, and firecrotch. I thought about keeping the number of IPAs at ten or less, but I just didn't want to exclude any of the beers on my original list.

Oh boy though, maybe I should have kept it short and simple! I know IPAs have the power to magically make you stronger and better looking, but the ability to levitate while hating the rest of the world is new to me. David Blaine can learn something from this particular acrobat. Contrary to this and previous pictures, however, there was some serious IPA tasting going on here. I just didn't want to put in a bunch of pictures of people deeply contemplating their next sips; it starts to look like a wine tasting website. And I don't have the class to hang out with wine snobs.

So when the hop dust had settled, I was faced with the task of adding up the scores. And this wasn't a task I could have done on the 4th- I didn't trust myself with numbers by the end of the night. I'm glad I found my bed without any mishaps. The beers were rated from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best. Here's the final tally!

13. Boulder Brewing Mojo IPA(2.57)- I was really surprised at this. Mojo, to me, is a very good IPA brewed with Amarillo hops, though a taster commented "leaves my tongue dissatisfied". Sounds like my kisses. I gave it a 4.

12. Mission St. IPA (2.71)- This may be the best deal in town, a $5.99 IPA private labeled for Trader Joe's. I like it for an everyday IPA.

11. Big Sky Brewing Big Sky IPA (2.75)- Another surprise. I think this beer may have fared better if it had just been bottled. I have had it on tap and it is great! We need bottled on dates, brewers! Somehow, one of the tasters got a "pecan crusted salmon taste" out of the beer. I don't think that has anything to do with the age of the beer. Must be drugs talking.

10. Flying Dog Brewing Snake Dog IPA (3.05)- This beer often passes under the radar locally, but I guess there is a good reason for that. "Keep eating hot dog flavored potato chips as they help" may be sound advice when drinking this beer. Thanks to Big Lots for cheap discontinued snacks.

9. Anderson Valley Brewing Hop Ottin' IPA (3.06)- Barely outscored Snake Dog. May be overpriced at $9.99 for what is in the bottle, though it seems one taster was "Too distracted by vodka watermelon" to give it a proper tasting.

8. Great Divide Brewing Titan IPA(3.12)- Their Hercules DIPA may be top notch, but Titan is in the lower tier for regular IPAs. One taster said Titan "Tastes like paint, looks like a sunset". I'll take good taste, thank you.

7. Il Vicino Brewing Wet Mountain IPA(3.43)- A local favorite that didn't get as high a score as I think it deserves. It may have suffered from it's draw in the tasting, being 13th of the beers labeled. I gave it a 4.1.

6. Sierra Nevada Brewing Torpedo Extra IPA(3.44)- I like this beer more when I don't know what it is, apparently. I gave it one of my highest scores of the day, but I didn't know I liked it that much.

5. Odell Brewing IPA (3.50)- Wow. This was last year's winner, but many people thought it was too sweet. "Tastes like the first time I made love" was one taster's comment. Hmmm...how did a wine drinker get in here?

4. Turtle Mountain Brewing IPA (3.67)- Thanks to Westsider Kelly Wild for bringing this. I was running out of time and didn't know when I was going to get over there for it. Glad to see this local make a strong showing.

3. Green Flash Brewing West Coast IPA (3.76)- The only beer in the Challenge not available locally, Green Flash makes a great IPA. So great, one Marble local boldly stated "This is Marble. Hope to fuck I am right or I have a new favorite beer". You are wrong.

2. Marble Brewery IPA (3.91)- Marble was incorrectly guessed as many of the different beers this night, perhaps a testament to the impact that the brewery has had on local IPA lovers' minds. I, of course, guessed it right. That's why I'm the AbqBeerGeek. That, and I bought the domain.

And the coveted grand prize of the 2nd Annual 4th of JulIPA Challenge goes to...

1. Chama River Brewing's Jackalope IPA!!!! (4.22)- The tasters were going on and on about how good this IPA was, and my 4.8 score was the highest of the day. "Yahtzee!! Dingdong!!! Hands down the winning IPA!!!" from one taster pretty much sums up the way most of us felt about this beer. Congratulations to the Chama River brewers for making the favorite IPA in the Challenge, and for showing us we don't even have to leave Albuquerque to get the best of the best in this greatest IPA brewing country in the whole world! I'm going to go pick up a keg this week!

A huge thanks to all who attended. You made it so much fun...they should make the 4th of JulIPA an annual holiday!

2009 New Mexico IPA Challenge Dates Released

Ok children, please get out your calendars, and open them to July. Now cross out the 25th, because you will not be available to your work or family. No spreadsheets, no mowing the lawn (do people do that here?) you will be attending the New Mexico IPA Challenge at Il Vicino's Tap Room. The Challenge is a three day event, held at different brewpubs around the state. The first will be at Three Rivers in Farmington on the 21st, followed by Blue Corn in Santa Fe on the 23rd. Saturday the 25th is Albuquerque's day to decide who's IPA is the best. Format stays the same as in previous years. The competition is a blind tasting, with 3 oz. pours from each brewery to sample. Once you decide which you like best, you get a pint of it served in a commemorative glass. Last year's glass was pretty nice, too, though I use 2007's as my everyday drinking glass.
Il Vicino's Tap Room (4000 A Vassar Dr., off Comanche between I-25 and Carlisle)hosts the event for the first time. If you've ever been to the Tap Room, you may wonder just where they are going to fit all these people! There is room inside for about 6 people, and the patio maybe another 20. I hear they are going to close off the parking lot to allow for all the traffic. Good move- now if they can somehow find a way to block out the sun. Drinking outside in the July heat with minimal shade can do interesting things to a person, and though it may be entertaining, it is not always healthy. Bring sunscreen, a hat, water, maybe a canopy...EDIT- talked to Jake at Il Vicino. He says there is going to be a tent. I didn't ask what kind of tent, but I assume it will be a big one. If it only a two person tent, I am willing to play 7 Minutes in Heaven with any of the brewers just to get some shade. Jake also told me that they are probably going to get the event started around 12, a few hours earlier than in years past. Price has stayed at $15 for the last couple of years, but I don't have a confirmation at this time.

I'm excited to see who has the best IPA this year. I have attended since 2005 and there have been different winners each year. 2008 saw Chama River get top honors, 2007 was Turtle Mountain, 2006 Chama River (yeah, I know, Chama won twice, but Ted Rice was head brewer at the time), and 2005's winner was Il Vicino. So Albuquerque has swept the last four years running. Could this be the year for High Desert, or Three Rivers, or one of the other great New Mexico breweries? See you on the 25th to find out!

Guess I Spoke Too Soon

I wrote earlier this week about new beers in town, but the day after I posted it, a couple of even newer beers arrived! First up is Rogue's latest "beer that used to be brewed under a different name"- Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale. This Red Ale used to go by the name Captain Sig's Deadliest Ale, but was changed before we ever got it in New Mexico. Maybe the "deadliest" part was scaring people away from the beer. Or maybe it was just the price- $7.99 a bomber. For a beer that is only 6.2% abv, the price is way too deadly.

Remember how sad you were when Sierra Nevada discontinued their Wheat beer? Yeah, me neither. But if you were among the few mourning the "loss" of the brand's only wheat beer, here's a pick-me-up for you: Kellerweis Hefeweizen has taken its place as a new year-round release. At 4.8% abv, the beer is a welcome addition to summer drinking choices. I tried it and liked it fine, but at $7.99 a sixer I think I would still go with Trader Joe's Hefeweizen. No offense to those Sierra die-hards out there (and there are surprisingly many. They are probably gathering in the streets to come get me right now).

New Beers, Week of 6/22

A few beers worth noting this week. First up is Trader Joe's latest, Summer Brew, a Kolsch style beer. Kolsch beers are rare in this part of the country; in fact, I can only think of one other available, and that is one that Shiner makes annually. The style originated in, and is a specialty of, Cologne, Germany. It is what I'd refer to as a "delicate little ale", as it is very light in color, body, and flavor. Fellow beer geek Andreas (who lived many years in Germany) tells me that the style is served in tall, thin (delicate)glasses in Cologne. The TJs version is 4.8% abv, which makes for a sessionable Summer drink. I thought it was ok, but my buddy Solis thinks it tastes like Bud Light. Too bad, I like Miller Lite better. Good price for the Summer Brew at $5.99 a six-pack.

Less Summery, but packing a big punch, is Left Hand's Imperial Stout. I wrote last week about the return of Left Hand's Milk Stout, which had disappeared from the area for awhile. I don't know if the Imperial Stout was ever in Albuquerque stores. Though it may not be the most timely introduction, a 10% stout is always welcome no matter what the season. Kelly's has this beer on the shelves at $5.49 for a bomber bottle, but who knows? I have brought beers up to the counter that were listed at on price but rang up for more on the register. But if you can get it for that price, it is a steal.

Another beer style that you don't get here often is Scotch Ale. You can get Mc Ewan's here, and Sam Adams makes one that you get in a mixed pack, though full six-packs of just Scotch Ale pop up now and then. Kelly's Brewpub on Central Ave also makes a beer of this style. Full Sail has brought Keelhauler into the mix as part of their Brewmaster's Reserve series. I've found this style to be a "love it or hate it" type, mostly to the band-aid like flavor that dominates many of the versions. Keelhauler is 6.8% abv, and priced right at $4.49. That's one thing I really like about Full Sail- they could label something as "Brewmaster's Reserve" and hike the price to 8 or 10 bucks, but they keep things reasonable at $4.49. Then again, not many people would pay 8 bucks for a band-aid.

They Must Have Read my Last Post

And gotten scared of the competition from Albertsons, because Jubilation has expanded with a new, Albertsons-sized beer cooler. The assortment of beers in the cooler is reminiscent of a supermarket's selection as well. The door coolers along the south wall still hold the beer geekish varieties of 22s and six-packs, but the new open cooler has more of the everyday sixers, and a lot more 12-packs than they used to carry. Of course, I'd like to see nothing but craft beer on every wall, but this is a sound business decision. More people are buying the Corona, Stella and Bud brands than anything else. And Jubilation is not getting rid of all the beers we love; in fact, the huge new cooler makes room for more crafts in the doors...though I do wish they would get rid of the Great Divide Hercules that was bottled in November 2008. Don't buy that unless you want a DIPA with all the hop flavor faded to nothing.

Our New Beer Hotspot- Albertsons???

Well, maybe in a pinch, but they certainly have stepped things up, at least at the Candelaria and Eubank location. Though surrounded by the looming stacks of Budweiser and Coors Light, craft beer still shines through on shelves in the Albertsons liquor department. Stone IPA, Sam Adams Imperial Stout and Imperial White, Big Sky and Left Hand mixed 12-packs (and the Left Hand includes Milk Stout, which was unavailable here for the last couple of years), and a small selection of bombers. The bombers are quality, though, with Arrogant Bastard, Juju Ginger, Widmer's Double Alt, and Unibroue's Maudite. So while this may be a baby step towards what our speciality liquor stores carry, it is still a step above the choices most supermarkets carry, and much better than what liquor stores in Mississippi carry!

A Casket for the Cask

Raise your glass and say farewell to cask-conditioned Fridays at Oniell's Pub. Though a good idea, people in this town would rather wait for approval from a doorman to get inside the velvet ropes at Imbibe or Sauce rather than drink good beer (the gentlemen pictured are the type I am thinking of, though I snapped it in Chicago's Millennium Park). And that's ok, everyone,s got their own thing, but my thing is beer and I say we need more of a beer scene here. I always think that I want to open a craft beer bar after seeing how well some do in other places, but I just don't think we are ready. Places that brew their own do great here, but rotating tap places don't get the love.

It Pays to go Local

When we finally mustered up the energy to leave our hotel room and hit the bars, we found ourselves faced with a tough choice: visit the Applebee's near our hotel, or drive 15 miles to check out the newest great beer bar to open in Philadelphia in the past 6 months: Local 44. Hmmm...signature cocktails served in a garage sale atmosphere or 20 taps of the best craft beers served in...who cares! With a tap list like they had, I would be happy to drink the beer in the most piss-infested subway stop on the Broad Street Line. Thankfully, Local 44 has fully functioning bathrooms as well as a welcoming atmosphere, and the bartender was an added bonus.

When we lived in Philly a few years ago, our neighborhood had NO bars that had any craft beers, unless you consider Heineken craft. Plus the atmosphere at the Triangle Tavern (Cher dance hits blasting out of the jukebox) and Big Charlie's Saloon (closed-circuit TV horse race betting) just weren't our thing. Of course, now that we have moved away, there are a number of choices in our old stomping grounds, but back then we would always end up at McGillin's or Moriarty's. Moriarty's is where we became familiar with, and then friends with a regular bartender there, Nathan. He always took prompt care of us, which is important to a guy like me who starts shaking when his beer gets less than half full. So it was a pleasant surprise when we saddled up to Local 44's bar and Nathan was behind the bar there! We enjoyed some Russian River Blind Pig IPA and casked Victory Hop Wallop DIPA and caught up on things with Nathan. The crowd was friendly too, which can be a rarity in some Philly bars. Sometimes you find a place that has good beers but Patsy Cline will be blaring over the speakers and the patrons all stare morosely into their glasses. Not so at Local 44. Mark this place down as a must visit when you are in Philadelphia.

I've Got a Fever...

And a clanging cowbell will only piss me off. What I have is Philadelphia fever, and not the kind that Elton John sings about, either. Wait, that was Philadelphia Freedom. It sounds like he says fever to me, but Jenn says it's just because I am stupid. Probably true but either way, the song sucks. Anyway, I need to drink some Philly locals and beers that can't be had in Abq, and Philadelphia has some of the best distribution in the country. And though we have a city full of bars to choose from, since we got up at 5:30 this morning and just checked into our hotel here at 9 pm, going out on the town just isn't happening. At least tonight. Tonight we are hitting the "Wet Bar" in our hotel sink and starting fresh tomorrow. I'll keep you posted!

Fairest of Them All? Not in Price!

The best of the Deschutes beer releases comes from their "Bond Street" series, which includes Hop Henge DIPA, Black Butte XX Imperial Porter, and The Abyss, which all were distributed for the first time in Albuquerque this past year. Mirror Mirror is the last of the Bond Street beers to make an appearance here, and with much hype surrounding it. It is an adult version of their popular Mirror Pond Pale Ale, meaning that the recipe has been amped from a 5% yawner up to the point that this is a barleywine, and 11% abv to boot. Sneak this into an Isotopes game for a nice Summer sipper! Mirror Mirror is priced like a big beer, at $11.99 a bomber. Ouch. This hobby is getting too damn expensive for me. I'm gonna start collecting toothpicks. I haven't tried the beer yet, but will probably drink one soon and age another for a few years. Either that or I will put it on display next to the Hope Diamond. I should have aged the Black Butte XX I had, but was too eager and drank it young. That's ok, I have a friend who has one and know exactly where in the fridge it lays waiting for me...don't leave the house! Don't even sleep, cause I'm coming for it!