The New New Mexican Beer Scene: Day 3 / Las Cruces

Old Mesilla, Las Cruces, New Mexico

Las Cruces lies fifty miles north of the Mexican border and its influence is easily seen. During the three hour drive north from Las Cruces to Albuquerque, there are immigration check points (yes, within the US border). Of course, the stops only included a quick couple of questions for folks as pale as I am. There are around 100,000 people currently residing in Las Cruces and it is likely that I am one of the few to ever visit the city for their beer scene. In fact, there are only two breweries in town, so if you visit, I recommend supplanting your time by tasting some of the amazing Mexican cuisine.

Stop #1: De La Vega's Pecan Grill and Brewery

De La Vega's offers some of the poorest beers in the entire state. While it comes off as an upscale restaurant featuring "Surf and Turf", the beers range from severely flawed to just poorly crafted and distasteful. During my visit, I tried 12 small samples of their beers for about $10. The sampler tray covered seemingly every kind of American beer style: IPA, Stout, Pale Ale, Light Lager, Wheat Ale, and more. Their Pecan Amber was the most flavorful, but that's likely due to the adjuncts covering up some of the flaws in the beer. On the other side of the spectrum, De La Vega's German Pilsner just tasted like grassy, bitter water. It was hard not to compare it to the fine German Pilsner, South Peak Pilsner, that I had at La Cumbre the night before. Based on what I heard at the bar, the locals weren't complaining about the beer quality, but it is hard to recommend this place to anyone other than your enemies.

Beers: 1/10  |  Atmosphere: 6/10  |  Restrooms: A-

Best Beer: Pecan Amber Ale  |  Worth Visiting? Nope

Stop #2: High Desert Brewing Company

After the poor showing of De La Vega's, it was a bit hard to look forward to another brewery, but High Desert Brewing was a pretty solid place for craft beer. The brewery is housed in a bit of a rundown building, but I guess you can spin that and say the place has "character." The clientele on a Friday night was mostly twenty somethings with several hippies mixed in. Service was a bit spotty, but the beers made up for that. This is another place that has a strict "four samplers per table at a time" policy, so you'll have to track down your server every time you need some more tasters. I had ten tasters and the bill was around $15, though I believe some of the premium beers were more expensive. My favorite of the night at High Desert was their Barleywine, which is a limited offering that is only available at the brewery. It packed a serious punch at 11% alcohol by volume and did cause some retronasal burn when I tasted it, but overall, it was a tasty, richly malty, caramel-laden barleywine. Their Porter was also a pretty solid beer with a nice cocoa taste to go along with just enough bitterness to balance the beer. While those were the highlights, the restrooms were downright nasty and had more holes punched in the walls than Uncle Jerry's in Exira, Iowa.

Beers: 7/10  |  Atmosphere: 6/10  |  Restrooms: D-

Best Beer: Barleywine  |  Worth Visiting? Yes