Normally, I wouldn't do three breweries in one post, but all I did was stop in for one beer and left. I was traveling by myself and had an afternoon to hit the scene. In fairness, I probably can't do each of them any justice, but I wanted to make my way around and get a taste of what Albuquerque had to offer.
I headed downtown to see Old Town to start my afternoon off. Old Town is a quaint couple of blocks that is essentially, old town Albuquerque, where the square is surrounded by little shops and eateries. There is also a church. The square has a nice pavilion and was decorated in Christmas cheer. After walking through several shops I started to look for some food as I had skipped lunch. To my delight I spotted a sign that gloriously read, Brew House. Outpost 1706 Brewhouse is on the second floor of an older building. They have a nice, covered porch that wraps around the building and as I slid my way into the brew house, it was packed as live music was playing. I cozied up to the bar and read the selections on the wall. Immediately, I fixated on a Pecan Brown Ale. The barkeep caught me right away and I eagerly ordered. He asked if I wanted a cinnamon sugar combo on the rim and I thought, what the hell. It was a good choice. The beer smelled of pecan before I could get my mouth to the glass. The color of the beer, the pecan smell and cinnamon were fantastic. The beer itself was delicious as well. Not too bitter, a creamy head with yummy maltiness. It was a perfect combo for sitting out on the porch in 28 degree weather. I quickly took a pic and sent it to my brothers, bragging that I was drinking in the afternoon as they worked. Jealousy reigned. One brother commenting that the beer sounded delicious, and it was. When I was done, I went back in to give the glass back and told the bartender that it was a fantastic beer. I asked if it was local and he said he brewed it in-house. I went to the bathroom and saw on the wall in the hallway that he was the owner and brew master. My meter at the car was up and I needed to fly, but that beer will never leave my thoughts. Perfect taste, smell and color in the right moment. It would be sad to think those cosmic conditions may never meet again. Was it just a tantalizing moment in time? I hope not.
I next headed quite a ways north to Bosque Brewery. I had seen the establishment the day before and wanted to give it a try. Bosque is a local brewery with many locations throughout New Mexico. Their operation also includes some pizza restaurants as well. It's a little more commercialized than the other breweries I was at, but the facilities were nice, clean and big. They have a pretty good selection of beers and appear to have won some awards with their beers. I tried their Jetty Jack, which is an amber ale. It was nearly a red ale, with earthy and citrus hints. I thought it was good. It had a creamy head as well. IBU of 30. I considered trying a few others, but didn't. They have ciders, seltzers and two beers that caught my eye. Scotia is a scotch ale that sounds delicious and they have a truly New Mexico beer called, Salt Money, a lager with salt and lime. Like I mentioned earlier, stopping in to any of the breweries I have hit for one beer is really an injustice. I also ate here, but did not buy a t-shirt.
As the sun set, I tried one more place out close to the freeway. Lizard Tail Brewery is in a sort of industrial area and was not busy at all when I arrived. They had a good selection of aptly named beers, like Iguana DIPA, Chameleon Amber Ale and Reptilian IPA. I went off my normal reservation, because my immediate thought was to go for the Basilisk Brown Ale, but I did not. I chose the Horned Honey Pale Ale instead. You could smell and taste the honey right away as well as a citrus and biscuitty, is that word, a biscuit flavor. It had a bit of a bitter bite and I see now that the IBU's were 35 with above-average alcohol content. I prolonged my stay with some chips and salsa. The seating area was really more of a restaurant feel than a brewery, which is fine. They are a restaurant and sometimes I get consumed by wanting an ambiance that isn't always available. I did think that Lizard Tail's selection was something that needs more study drinking. I looked for a t-shirt, but all I saw was sweatshirts and women's tops.
All in all, the beer scene in New Mexico is alive and well. I did drive down to Roswell and thought that area needed a boost in breweries, but otherwise, Albuquerque is teeming with them. There were many more I did not get to, but I did not have a bad beer in four days. I did have one epic beer experience and that is all it took for me to want to come back. Huzzah, New Mexico!
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