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

The New New Mexican Beer Scene: Day 2 / Albuquerque

After a successful tour of Santa Fe, we departed for Albuquerque for a very packed day of beer tasting en route to Las Cruces. Albuquerque is about an hour southwest of Santa Fe and our beer tour officially began by getting lost in the northern suburbs of Albuquerque before finally arriving at Bosque Brewing.

Stop #1: Bosque Brewing

Bosque Brewing just opened in Autumn 2012. It has a neat little tasting room with what appears to be some killer sandwiches. These sandwiches appeared to be pretty popular based on the number of phone in orders that were taken while we were at Bosque. Based on the brews that I tasted, it seems that Bosque still has some kinks to work out in their beers, as I tasted DMS (Dimethyl sulfide) in several of their beers. This off flavor is noted by a cooked vegetable flavor and aroma. The beers I tasted were Bitter Brit (3/10), Brewer's Boot (4/10), Cumulus White IPA (4/10), Mellow Brit (5/10), Oatmeal Stout (5/10), and Old Bosky (4/10). Strangely enough, the shitters also had an odd aroma that was also kind of reminiscent of cooked vegetables despite being immaculately clean.

Beers: 2/10  |  Atmosphere: 7/10  |  Restrooms: B-

Best Beer: Oatmeal Stout  |  Worth Visiting? No at the current moment

Stop #2: Chama River Brewing Company

Beer touring is so much fun!
(Translation: Hurry the FUCK UP!)

Our second stop of the day was Chama River which features some of the better beers in New Mexico. The atmosphere is an upscale restaurant and they did have taster trays available. When we arrived at Chama River, I asked for tasters of everything, but the waitress informed that we were only allowed 24oz of shared alcohol at the table at a time per New Mexico state law. Huh? Most all of the beers were easy drinking and flavorful. I tasted Class VI Golden Lager (4/10), Broken Spoke Honey Wheat (6/10), Rio Chama Amber (4/10), Rio Lodo Brown (7/10), Jackalope IPA (8/10), Sleeping Dog Stout (8/10), Centennial Pale Ale (6/10), Shadow Boxer Black IPA (6/10), Copper John Pale Ale (5/10), and Me Llamo Lodo (5/10). My favorite of the stop was Sleeping Dog Stout, which was a Milk Stout with delicious notes of chocolate, vanilla, and light coffee. Luckily we skipped lunch here, as I tasted some of the finest tacos of my life at a random stop after Chama River. Their beers are only available on location. 

Beers: 8/10  |  Atmosphere: 7/10  | Restrooms: B

Best Beer: Sleeping Dog Stout  |  Worth Visiting? Yes

Stop #2.5: Taco Cabana

Holy shit, these are THE best fucking tacos of my life!

Stop #3: Nexus Brewery

After some of the most scrumptious tacos of my life, we proceeded to Nexus Brewery which is a bit hard to find on a frontage road next to Interstate 25. Nexus is also a very new brewery, opening in 2011. The service was fantastic here, the beers were decent enough, and the restrooms were decent enough. When I visited, the following ten beers were available: Maximus IPA (5/10), Imperial Cream Ale (5/10), Chocolate Porter (6/10), English Barley Wine (5/10), Belgian Wit (4/10), Cream Ale (5/10), American IPA (5/10), Scottish Ale (5/10), American Red (6/10), and American Stout (5/10). If you're in ABQ, then a stop may be warranted but there really aren't any stand out beers.

Beers: 5/10  |  Atmosphere: 6/10  |  Restrooms: C

Best Beer: Chocolate Porter  |  Worth Visiting? Maybe

Stop #4: La Cumbre

One of the neat tables at La Cumbre

At this point in the day, the sun was already going down, as we ventured to one of the best breweries in New Mexico that featured 11 beers. La Cumbre was a rocking place with a lot of fun people and a fun atmosphere. They are well known for their Elevated IPA, which is an über-hoppy IPA with tons of notes of ganja, pine, and citrus. It's a real palate wrecker which is the reason that the staff recommend tasting it last. Elevated IPA was such a killer beer that I picked up a case of La Cumbre Elevated IPA to bring home and share with friends. A four pack of 16 ounce cans of Elevated IPA runs $10.49. It can either be found at the brewery or at a few select liquor stores in New Mexico. Unlike Chama River, La Cumbre had no problem serving me 11 tasters at the same time. Besides Elevated IPA, their South Peak Pilsner was very authentic and tasty. Also on tap during my visit was their 2nd Anniversary Stout, which was a delicious Imperial Stout aged in red wine barrels. A taster tray during my visit included Jefe's Hefe (7/10), South Peak Pilsner (8/10), Pyramid Rock Pale (7/10), Mal Pais Stout (6/10), Pecos Porter (7/10), Hot Shots Rauch (7/10), Trout English Pale Ale (5/10), Pater's Pale (6/10), 2nd Anniversary Stout (8/10), Noche De Paz (6/10), and Elevated IPA (9/10). 

Beers: 8/10  |  Atmosphere: 8/10  |  Restrooms: C

Best Beer: Elevated IPA  |  Worth Visiting? YES!

Stop #5: Marble Brewery

Though we made an extended stop at the Marble taproom in Santa Fe the night before, we did make a quick stop to try three beers at the Marble location in Albuquerque that weren't available in Santa Fe. Pumpkin Porter (7/10) had a really nice toasted pumpkin flavor, Brown Porter (7/10) had a delicious nutty flavor in addition to some roast, and Daisy Mae (6/10) was an interesting experimental sour. All of these beers are only available in the tap room. Honestly, this location is preferable and more fun than the Santa Fe location and probably the number one beer stop in New Mexico.

Beers: 8/10  |  Atmosphere: 9/10  |  Restrooms: B+

Best Beer: Pumpkin Porter  |  Worth Visiting? FUCK YEAH!

This was the most intense day of our New Mexican beer tour and in total, I tried 40 beers during the day. After Marble, I was due for a long nap as we made the haul three hours south to Las Cruces.

The New New Mexican Beer Scene: Day 1 / Santa Fe

Just after New Year's, Rachel and I headed to New Mexico in search of good beer and even better tacos. We succeeded on both accounts. In total, we stopped at 15 breweries across the state and I rated 109 beers in total. New Mexico has some really fun breweries, so without further ado, let's take a journey south of the (Colorado) border. (Note that my ratings of each beer are listed in parentheses.)

Stop #1: Santa Fe Brewing Company

Heading to Santa Fe, New Mexico

It's about a six hour journey from Denver to Santa Fe, straight down Interstate 25. We arrived around 6pm and began our night at Santa Fe Brewing Company. Santa Fe is one of the larger breweries in New Mexico and distributes several of their beers to Colorado, mostly in can format. Taster trays weren't offered in the tasting room, but they did offer me a couple of free samples regardless. I stuck to the beers that I hadn't previously rated and tried their Dirty Blonde (5/10), Nut Brown (5/10), and Black IPA (4/10. None of the beers were that exciting but their other beers which I did not taste on this trip are pretty tasty. My favorite beer from Santa Fe Brewing is their Imperial Java Stout, which is available in cans in Colorado.

Beers: 7/10  |  Atmosphere: 6/10  |  Restrooms: B

Best Beer: Imperial Java Stout  |  Worth visiting? Yes

Stop #2: Blue Corn Cafe and Brewery

After Santa Fe Brewing, we headed to Blue Corn Cafe and Brewery (Southside location). Blue Corn is a brewery restaurant with two location in Santa Fe. For dinner, I had enchiladas smothered in red and green chili sauce and was pretty happy with my selection. I tasted eight beers here including Atomic Blonde (5/10), Atalaya Amber (5/10), Road Runner IPA (6/10), End of the Trail Brown (4/10), Gold Medal Oatmeal Stout (5/10), JB's Log Splitter (7/10), Golden Strong Ale (6/10), Imperial Porter Reserve (6/10). All of the beers were decent with the JB's Log Splitter Heller Bock being my favorite, which unfortunately is a limited release only available at one of the brewpubs on random occasions.

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

Best Beer: JB's Log Splitter Heller Bock  |  Worth Visiting? Maybe

Stop #3: Second Street Brewery

Refreshed after dinner, our next stop was Second Street Brewery, located near the old Santa Fe train station. This place was a bit hard to find and was full of hipsters. I tried seven beers that were mostly mediocre: Kolsch (3/10), IPA (4/10), Tres Equis Lager (4/10), Rail Runner Pale Ale (4/10), Pajarito Pale Ale (5/10), Alternator Doppel Alt (5/10), Barley Wine (7/10). The Barley Wine was the standout beer, which was a very limited release and only available at the brewpub.

Beers: 4/10  |  Atmosphere: 4/10  |  Restrooms: B

Best Beer: Barley Wine  |  Worth Visiting? No

Stop #4: Marble Brewery

Marble Brewing

The final stop of the evening was also the most anticipated: Marble Brewing. Marble was started in Albuquerque, but now has a tasting room in a mall in Old Town Santa Fe. It's a little tricky finding the place, as it is at the end of a hall at the top of an indoor mall. If I remember correctly, tasters were available though they were somewhat large. Marble distributes beer to Colorado and I have been impressed with many of their offerings, particularly their Imperial Stout, which is aged in Bourbon barrels. I savored the five beers that I tasted: 111 Pilsner (6/10), Amber Ale (6/10), Red Ale (7/10), Imperial Stout (9/10), Brewer's Cut Volume I (6/10). The Imperial Stout was hands down the winner of the tasting and I ended up picking up four bottles to bring home. It may see some limited distribution to Colorado (I've never seen it here), but your best bet is to pick some up at one of the Marble locations or trade for it. The atmosphere was about as good as you could expect from an indoor mall. The restrooms were difficult to locate down a dark hallway on the other side of the mall.

Beers: 8/10  |  Atmosphere: 6/10  |  Restrooms: D+

Best Beer: Imperial Stout  |  Worth Visiting? YES!