Albuquerque Brewing Company

Albuquerque Brewing is a slightly hidden, hole-in-the-wall, small brewery that is located on I-25 just before Paseo Del Norte. This brewery isn't much of a destination brewery, it's more of a stop in after work for a beer and maybe a pizza. The layout for the tap room is left over from the counter top sales office that occupied the space before them, which could have been a really neat concept had they worked with it a little better. The room is very closed off and needs to be opened up for more seating and to be able to see the entertainers that perform indoors when the weather isn't nice out. The model-home style kitchen was a perfect set up for their pizza oven but before they put that in, the kitchen area was a sort of gathering place, much like a home with a large family. They used to have kitchen cabinets behind the serving area that held their pint glasses which just further enhanced the feeling of being in someone's home, but they have since removed those. The venue from the start has felt like a work in progress construction zone, so if they can get that under control it would be a nicer place to spend some time. The patio on the other hand is expansive and a great hang-out area, especially with the live music they often have. There really is a lot to say about this brewery and we haven't even made it to the beer review!

Albuquerque Brewing Company's slogan is "True to Style," which when they first opened seemed intriguing since they had more of the English styled beers instead of the hop-headed beers that many breweries in Albuquerque tend to have. Just from looking over the menu however, it seems ABC has branched out to many different styles, so "True to Style" doesn't hold much weight anymore. We of course partook of the flight, which unfortunately seemed to have several beers missing due to blown kegs, but even so, we ended up with six beers, which was more than we've seen on tap here before. They were out of their High Plains Drafter Blonde Ale, the Dunkelweizen, their Off the Richter Red Ale, and the Handlebar Mustache Stout. Our flight included:

Duke's Pale Ale

Tilted Windmill IPA

Vienna Amber (Seasonal)

Imperial Red Ale (Seasonal)

Saison (Seasonal)

American Golden Nitro Stout (Seasonal)

The Duke's Pale was a very mild pale ale, which for English-adaptation pale is the flavor it should have. The hops were present but in no way overbearing, and the sweet, wheat flavor seemed to take over the beer giving it an almost hefeweizen taste.

The Tilted Windmill IPA was also extremely mild in the hops regional, barely resembling an IPA. It tasted very sweet, with an almost apple-like flavor to it. It was crisp and refreshing, just not quite an IPA.

The Vienna Amber was a seasonal beer that ABC should keep on tap year-round. This was an excellent English-style amber, unfiltered and full of malt character. There was a slightly smokey flavor that really added to the beer, overall an excellent amber.

The Imperial Red was another seasonal that seemed to take the place of their Off the Richter Red Ale. This red was a very brown color and had a similar smokey smell to the Vienna Amber. The taste was good, malty as an English red ale should be and not at all hoppy. This was an interesting beer, in a good way, and sneaky...you wouldn't guess it was imperial from the taste.

The Saison was pretty typical for a farmhouse ale, having that unfiltered, wheat look to it. The flavor could be compared to a soured hefeweizen, which works for this seasonal summer ale.

The American Golden Nitro Stout was rather disappointing. Being such fans of nitros and of pale stouts, this beer was disappointing in every way. The color of this "Golden" stout was a medium brown color and it smelled nutty like a brown ale as well. The nitro did make for a very creamy beer, but there wasn't much flavor at all, so again, we'd say this was more a of a nitro brown ale than a a nitro golden stout.

Megan's overall opinion: I want to like ABC, but for some reason I just can't. There are a lot of things about it I do like, such as the decor and the feeling that it's small and local, but the whole place just seems unfinished and disorganized. Their beer is good, it's just inconsistent and lacks flavor. I did really enjoy the amber, I thought that was an excellent beer, but it wasn't one to drive across town for. I really didn't like the IPA, it just didn't have any flavor to it in either direction, hops or malts. I would like to see more of the home-feel in the decor, I liked hanging out in the "kitchen" and I think the patio is great, they just need to finish the inside area and clean it up. Location could be better, but we've also seen a lot worse. The first beer we ever had at ABC was a nitro cappuccino red ale, and it was fantastic, so I hope they bring that back someday!

Randy's overall opinion: Albuquerque Brewing seems like an afterthought hobby to me. I understand the location because they are tied to the business next door, but access to it is awful. Inside is very different than your typical brewery but each time we go there, it seems like the construction isn't completed; cords draped everywhere, half finished tables, walls with patch marks.... That would all be fine if it were a work in progress but unfortunately this is the norm. no path of improvement or growth. The patio is large which is a good thing and it looks like the events are enjoyable. The beer could use some help but they are not far off. I felt just about all the beers were weaker than they should be (style-wise) and somewhat watery. A good number of beers were not available which was disappointing. The word I would use to describe Albuquerque Brewing is CONFUSING. I'm not sure on the beer style despite the logo, not sure on the look they are going for, and frankly not sure what they are trying to do. This place does have potential though!

http://www.abqbrewco.com/

Pi Brewing

Pi Brewing, formerly known as Nicky V's Pizzeria, is still very much a restaurant that serves their own beer which typically means the focus is on the food, leaving the beer inconsistent and often times very few on tap. There have been times we've ventured to Pi and absolutely loved all the beer, and there have been equal times where we've gone and half the taps are blown and the couple beers they do have aren't very good. It's just an extremely hit-or-miss, inconsistent brewery.

We were fortunate this round to have all eight taps flowing for this flight:

Prohibition Pilsner

Unwindulax

Pineapple Express

Amber's Amber

Cardinal Sin

Discordia IPA

Barreled Bourbon Vanilla Porter

Zinister Dichotomy

The Prohibition Pilsner had a good wheat flavor but also had a bit of a bite upfront. It was a very mild, tame and drinkable beer, but would have been more enjoyable had it been served a little colder. A major factor in the flavors that come out in a beer is the temperature, you actually don't want the mountains to turn blue for good craft beers, but you definitely don't want them served warm either.

The Unwindulax was a German sour ale and was similar in color to the pilsner. This is a very easy sour, if you're interested in expanding your palate into the world of sours, this is a great one to start with. A lot of sours get their tart flavor from fruit mixtures or use fruit to tone down the tart flavors, but this German sour was brewed to incorporate the sour yeast flavor, and it was done properly. 

The Pineapple Express was a hefeweizen style beer and was very light and simple. The usual banana and bubble gum flavors were present but not overbearing, which made this a very easy to drink beer. This is another beer that Pi served a little on the warmer side, so had it been colder, it would have been even better and more refreshing.

The Amber's Amber Ale was very light in color, and smelled sweet and malty. The taste on the other hand was a little weak. It still tasted like an amber, but it was very watery and weak. 

The Cardinal Sin Red Ale had that great crimson color expected of a good red ale. Unfortunately, much like the amber, the flavor just wasn't there. It tasted like an Irish red, but the flavor was weak and just disappointing.

The Discordia IPA was just bad. On occasion, not often, we leave a sample unfinished. This was one of those occasions.  This IPA was only slightly hoppy and very much tasted like dirty, sweaty gym socks. Just really not good at all.

The Barreled BVP was a great recovery from the IPA. It was so smooth, had great vanilla flavor that expanded through the whole beer from the forefront all the way through to the after taste. It was very light for a porter, almost more of a brown, but a great dark beer for the summer.

The Zinister Dichotomy was another sour, this time brewed with raspberries and aged in wine barrels. This was an excellent sour, another that was very drinkable and quite delicious. Not as easy as the German Sour, but still easier than most. If you like wine, this is a great beer to try out.

Megan's overall opinion: I want to like Pi, I have liked Pi before, but I just wish they would be more consistent in their brewing. They had a couple beers this time around that I really enjoyed, the BVP and the Zinister were really good and I think should be staples in their list. The IPA was terrible, and I think because Albuquerque is such a hop-headed town, every brewery feels the need to have an IPA on tap, but I think Pi would be better off without one. The rest of the beers were alright, just nothing special. The food is great and as a restaurant that seems to be more their focus, but hopefully they can focus a little more on the beer.

Randy's overall opinion: Biggest surprise for me was the fact that I actually liked a sour! Zinister, the raspberry sour beer was not a sweaty cheek punch of tart but was refreshingly mild and flavorful. Now, I'm not saying it was my favorite beer on the list but I'll say it was second! That should go down in the record books as I never thought I would have a sour in my top favorites. Speaking of my favorite, the BVP (Vanilla Porter) is always the go-to while here. Very consistently done and the one that keeps me wanting to return to Pi.  Now, the place itself is an awesome pizza/ pasta joint. The food is really good and the space is used well. Location and parking are left to be desired but it's manageable. The beers need to be consistent all around. Seems like every time we go, the beer menu is totally different from the previous time (except for the BVP thank goodness).  As a whole, I feel they have taken a step backwards since the beginning. They do have a decent enough variety to choose from but really need to make them better. This is a tough beer town and being mediocre gets you forgotten about. 

https://www.facebook.com/pibrewing/

Lizard Tail Brewing

Lizard Tail Brewing for the longest time has been the only brewery located in the eastern part of Albuquerque. This will soon change with the addition of a couple big time taprooms building on that side of town. This could very well be the reason Lizard Tail has survived this long; their beer alone probably wouldn't make it among the likes of La Cumbre or Bosque. Not to say the beer was bad, it just wasn't one of the greats.

Lizard Tail did, however, have a huge variety in their flights, including 15 different styles. We had to break the flights up quite a bit in order to fit them all on the table. We started with the regular, year-round offerings:

Bluetail Blond

Horned Honey Pale

Chameleon Amber

Reptilian IPA

Chuckwalla Abbey

Red Earth Irish

Basilisk Brown

Desert Dweller Dubbel

Desert Night India Black

Oatmeal Stout

The Bluetail Blond was a wheaty and very easy and simple, refreshing beer. Unfortunately, this beer had a terrible smell to it that really ruined the taste. If you plugged your nose, this could be a decent beer, but the odor was difficult to get passed.

The Horned Honey Pale was very nice, sweet, honey-flavored beer that was refreshing and very easy to drink. There was a slight hop flavor that accented the sweetness in the honey, and that crisp finish makes for a great pale.

The Chameleon Amber  was smooth and a little sweet, but had great flavor. Not as malty as a lot of ambers we've come across, but still that easy, gateway brew that can open the door to more complex craft beers.

The Reptilian IPA was a great IPA. It had excellent hop character and none of that bitterness usually associated with an IPA. It was smooth yet crisp and an excellent example of a west coast American IPA. The Legless DIPA was out during our visit, but we've heard great things of that beer as well.

The Chuckwalla Abbey a sweet, slightly Belgian-style beer, not quite has bold or pungent as a true Belgian, but similar in character. The Abbey tasted slightly of apples and was another easy to drink beer.

The Red Earth Irish was very malty as to be expected from an Irish red ale. The flavor was very malty, and almost had a cereal-type, or earthy flavor. This malty beer was surprisingly crisp and refreshing.

The Basilisk Brown was very smooth and creamy. There wasn't much flavor to the beer, but there was a nutty-taste to it. A decent brown, not anywhere near the greatest ever, but not the worst ever either.

The Desert Dweller Dubbel was very sour and strong in alcohol. It had similar attributes to a barley wine or very strong, sour, amber ale. Definitely not their best beer.

The Desert Night India Black was a fantastic black ale with all the right flavors and just the right balance. Very malty and smooth, this black stout-like ale is crisp enough for summer and mysterious enough to keep you coming back for more.

The Oatmeal Stout, much like the Desert Night was very dark, rich, and malty. This was a good depiction of what a stout ought to taste like and represented the style well. It had flavors of coffee and oatmeal and was very malty. This has been one of the best Oatmeal Stouts we have had locally.

Lizard Tail also had a variety of seasonal brews including:

Saison

Raspberry Wit

Wakatu SHPA

Strawberry IPA

Long-nosed Trippel

The Saison was very interesting and complex in its flavors. It was smooth and wheaty but also had a slightly spicy flavor like red chile or Halls Original cough drops.

The Raspberry Wit was a light pink color and looked like ruby red grapefruit juice. It tasted very tart and slightly like raspberries but also had an off flavor like dirty dish water. It wasn't terrible, but really wasn't very good either.

The Wakatu Single Hopped Pale Ale was a very simple and easy to drink pale. This beer is the perfect way to start venturing into IPAs, it has a simple hop flavor that isn't too bitter and is as easy to drink as a wheat. 

The Strawberry IPA sounds like a great pairing of flavors, but this beer just didn't quite make it. It smelled heavily of strawberries, strawberry shortcake even, but the taste was just a bit too tart. The strawberry and hop flavors didn't come through very well at and was really disappointing for such a great concept in flavors.

The Long-nosed Trippel was a little bit sour and a little bit sweet. Instead of being compliments to each other, these flavors seemed to mix into a taste comparable to a household cleaner. Not an uncommon flaw, but a pretty major beer flaw.

Megan's overall opinion: Lizard Tail very much feels like a bar, not a brew pub. Being the only brewery east of San Mateo, there isn't much to be picky about, but I think at least half of these beers fall very short. My least favorite beer was the Raspberry Wit because it looked so good in the glass but fell very short of my expectations. I did, however, enjoy the Black Ale and the Oatmeal Stout. I think Lizard Tails strengths definitely lie in their maltier beers. The atmosphere, apart from being a bar, felt very "locals only." The bar top was filled with the regular patrons and it seemed like we were slightly intruding, even though we sat alone in the back of the room.

Randy's overall opinion: This place is better than it should be. A dismal hole-in-the-wall lingering among the dire hopes of crappy strip-mall companions, tucked away behind the dark window shades and dim lighting of the interior. You would never know there was a brewery to be found here. It seems as though there is no desire to enhance the ambiance or appearance. They just brew beer and have the same regulars to keep the doors open week after week. Ok, ok, enough of that....Over the year-ish that it has been since we had been back, Lizard Tail has obviously come a long way in their beer department. The Black Ale and Reptilian IPA were both really good. There were a few that I was not cool with, such as the Dubbel and the Trippel. However,  I will give them credit for trying styles of beer that are not commonly found here.  This is a brewery that is commonly overlooked and understandably so, but they do have something to offer....as long as you are looking for a beer and not an atmosphere.

http://www.lizardtailbrewing.com/home

Bosque Brewing

Bosque Brewing is arguably the best brewery in town. How's that for a opening line of a blog that is supposed to tear Albuquerque's breweries limb from limb? There has always been the same few breweries at the top of the list, trading places and fighting for the hoppiest IPA or the crispest pilsner, and those long-standing breweries are fading into the background now that Bosque has joined the ranks and beat the competition with several awards over the past couple years. It took them a little while to climb the ladder, but they have finally reached the top and it doesn't look like they'll fall any time soon.

Bosque Brewing has two locations, one in the northern region of the city off Alameda and San Mateo and the other located in Nob Hill. We stopped by the Alameda location which was under renovation expanding their strip mall suite into a good-sized taproom. The Nob Hill location is also very new and nicely decorated with the bar styled like a Cottonwood tree in the Bosque and has a great patio. Both locations tend have the same seasonal offerings as well has a newly introduced, full menu.

We started with a flight of the regular beers which are offered consistently throughout the year:

Bosque Lager

Elephants on Parade

Rilverwalker IPA

Brewer's Boot Amber

Scotia Scotch Ale

Driftwood Oatmeal Stout

The Bosque Lager was crisp and had a good flavor to it. Lagers are generally very light in color and a great way to end a work day. It was very easy to drink and overall a quality beer. This a good beer for a beginners palate, but typically we would recommend a wheat ale if available.

The Elephants on Parade was a bright pink-colored raspberry wheat beer. The color and flavor make this the ultimate "chick" beer, but it takes the right woman to enjoy this beer. The raspberry flavor is great and not too sweet or tart, it tastes like a raspberry.

The Riverwalker IPA tastes like a double IPA but at 6.5% ABV it won't knock you out like one. This IPA is very smooth and full of hop flavor but doesn't have that bitter bite that a lot of American style IPAs tend to have.

The Brewer's Boot Amber is a very mild-flavored amber and is very easy to drink. The typical malt flavor is prevalent, with a slight coffee taste. This is a great beer to help your palate expand from the lighter beers into drinking dark beers.

The Scotia Scotch Ale, at 8.4% ABV, tastes like a heavy, strong ale. It was very creamy and malty but not too sweet. You can taste, and feel, the alcohol in this beer, but it also has a great scotch ale taste that leaves you wanting more.

The Driftwood Oatmeal Stout was an absolutely great stout. It had the smokey, coffee flavors one would expect of a stout, but neither was overbearing or too weak, it was just right. The oatmeal lent a creamy factor that enhanced the overall taste of the beer and made it very smooth.

We were also able to try six of Bosque's seasonal offerings which added a whole new level Bosque's beers, a delicious level:

Azacca Smash Pale

Sunshine Stout

The Last Straw Hefe

Dunkel-What?

The Usual

Huell Melon Smash Pale

The Azacca Smash Pale was so smooth and creamy, it was a perfect blend of hops. The hops were very citrusy and almost had a clementine flavor, slightly sweet but not too much. A fantastic smash pale, and definitely for the more advanced palate.

The Sunshine Stout unfortunately didn't taste anything like a stout. It was a good beer, just not a good stout. The golden color is not typical for a stout but certainly can be done and done well, this particular one just wasn't up to par. It had a flavor close to kettlecorn/popcorn and was sweet yet salty. An interesting beer to say the least.

The Last Straw was bananas! Literally, it tasted like bananas, as is typical of a hefeweizen. This beer was crisp and sweet and very heavy on the banana flavor. Overall a good hefe.

The Dunkel-What? was similar to the Last Straw with the banana flavor but much more toned down and combined with a caramel malt flavor. Still crisp and sweet and banana-y, the malts really helped turn this beer in a delightful dessert beer.

The Usual was an imperial session India pale ale, quite the detailed description in itself. Imperials are basically the same as doubles, meaning the alcohol content is much higher. Sessions are usually a milder hop, very mellow and easier to drink. IPAs are typically strongly hopped beers that have a bitter, hoppy taste. This beer was all of these things in one. The taste was very sweet and very hoppy and it almost had a chewiness to it that felt like hops were just floating in the beer. This beer was surprisingly easy to drink and just slaps a smile on your face. Again, this is a beer for a very developed palate.

The Huell Melon Smash was a toned down version of the Azacca Smash, still smooth and had a melon-type flavor to it. The hops were very mild but still present and the sweet melon flavor helped make this beer very easy to drink and more of a medium palate range.

Megan's overall opinion: I love Bosque, they've grown so much since my first visit several years ago when they first opened in the strip mall way across town. I'm glad they've opened a taproom in Nob Hill and very excited for their expansion of their original location as well as the rumored Bernalillo move. I don't think there was a bad beer on the list, but I would have to say my least favorite was the Sunshine Stout only because I'm very partial to pale stouts and coffee stouts, I was just a little disappointed in this one. My favorites were definitely The Usual and the Elephants on Parade; The Usual was just so unusual but still familiar, it just had all the right things going. The Elephants on Parade was perfect, I love raspberries and this wasn't a from concentrate kind of beer, it tasted like the real thing. We will definitely be going back to keep checking in for new seasonals and to get more pink elephants!

Randy's overall opinion: There is a reason why Bosque is at the top of everyone's list; this place does not disappoint. The regular menu is extremely solid and the seasonals are always top notch. Bonus... they have a really good food menu also, not just a chips and salsa kind of thing. I had a lot of favorites but the primo for me was the Sunshine Stout. This looked like a lager but tasted like a coffee amazingness! Next was the Scotch Ale which happens to be one of their most popular. It was hard to rank them as every one was good. Bottom for me was the Elephants on Parade, it was good for what it was, but it was a total chick beer. Not really my style. Bosque is arguably the top brewery in New Mexico at the moment and it is easy to say why. They do their beers so well! 

http://www.bosquebrewing.com/

Turtle Mountain Brewing

Turtle Mountain Brewing is one of the older breweries in the Albuquerque area, located in Rio Rancho to the north. This brewery is more of a restaurant than the usual brew pubs and has a full menu to pair the beers with. This venue, being a restaurant, doesn't have a whole lot of entertainment going on and is very dark inside. Good thing the beer was so good! As per usual, we started with the flight:

McDay's Cream Ale

Heidelberg Helles

Oku Amber

Parasol White IPA

Hopshell IPA

Stauffenberg Stout

The McDay's Cream Ale was very refreshing and creamy indeed. The very slight citrus hop lent a great flavor to this easy-going cream ale. This is a great beer to start a palate with, and can also be enjoyed with a more developed palate, just one of those beers anyone can drink.

The Heidelberg Helles was also a light and refreshing beer, though it had more of a wheat-forward flavor that teamed well with the creamy taste. Another great palate starter or refreshing beer after a long, hot day.

The Oku Amber had some bold flavors that made for a very interesting, and delicious amber ale. There were coffee flavors as well as that bread flavor that is typical of malty beers like this one, and that full-bodied mouth feel that just makes the beer that much better.

The Parasol White IPA tasted very fresh and had a great pine/juniper flavor from the hops. Like an IPA should, this beer had a bit of a bitter bite, but also like a White ale should, it was a very smooth and easy to drink beer.

The Hopshell IPA was an all-around great IPA, from the color, to the smell, to the mouth feel and finally the flavor. This ale had a great hop flavor, not too bitter or strong, and had that almost warm, smooth, creamy taste of a double IPA. Very good beer.

The Stauffenberg Stout was lighter in color for a stout but smelled of all the flavors a stout should have; chocolate, coffee, and meat. The coffee flavor came through the most in tasting as well as a slight nuttiness, but there was an overbearing carbonation to the beer that took away from the stout.

There were also a few seasonal beers that we added to the flight:

Bien Tu Helles Bock

Session Red

Pollywog's Pride IPL

Konventional Kolsch

The Bien Tu Helles Bock was a great depiction of a light bock, as the name would entail. It was malty and full of flavor, but still light and wheaty at the finish. This is somewhat of a more advanced palate's beer, but could still be enjoyed early on in your craft beer explorations.

The Session Red was very mild and lacking in flavor compared to the rest of the beers thus far. Sessions are typically more mellow, so the style was right for the flavor, just not as enjoyable as the rest of their flight.

The Pollywog's Pride IPL was also not up to par with the rest of the menu; this beer started with an off-smell, almost that of sweat. The flavor was also very weak and bland, and very smooth for a lager.

The Konventional Kolsch was a step in the right direction, smelling sweet of pears and other fruits, this kolsch was not only conventional but delicious! The wheat flavors were accented by the pear and made for a very refreshing beer.

Megan's overall opinion: I was happily surprised by the quality of Turtle Mountain's beer. This brewery is a hidden gem out in Rio Rancho that deserves a lot more credit than it seems to get. There were really only a couple beers I didn't care for (the Session Red and the IPL), but the rest were plenty good to make up for it. My favorite beer  was the Konventional Kolsch with the Helles Bock as a close second. We may have to go back with growlers!

Randy's overall opinion: Only been to this one a couple of times so far. This was actually my first brewery back in the day so I won't count that time cause I didn't know what I was tasting. This time I do and would have to say I was pleasantly surprised! There were so many beers on this list that I liked that it was hard to rank them so I'll say the ones I didn't care for much.... the Session Red and the Helles Bock. They were still decent beers but compared to the lineup, they just couldn't be at the top. Cream Ales are my thing right now so that was number 1 but the entire list was very enjoyable. It's a little bit out of the way for me but it is good to know there's quality in Rio Rancho and it's worth the trip.

http://turtlemountainbrewing.com/

Rio Bravo Brewing

Rio Bravo Brewing is a fairly new (less than a year old) brewery to the Albuquerque scene, but have definitely made their mark with events, advertising, and even some distribution. The venue and location are both great; located just off I-40 on 2nd street near several other breweries, this industrial-style brewery could be a great place to hang out. It's never been very crowded when we've gone before, and even with their release of a limited Piñon coffee porter, the building is so large and open, it's difficult to fill. If you like sitting at the bar, you won't be disappointed here; the bar top is enormous and wraps around pretty much the entire floor space. The patio in the front gets pretty beat up by the sun, but there is a beer garden out back as well, just in case they didn't have enough space already. Overall, the venue is very impressive.

The flights were also very impressive and we had to order them in sets in order to fit them on the table! The first set of flights included the year-round brews:

Karl's Weizen

Ryan's Irish Red

Black Angus Stout

Dirty Rotten Bastard IPA

Rio Bravo Amber

Snakebite IPA

Munich Fest Marzen

Duke City Pils

Karl's Weizen was very filtered and crisp, very unlike a traditional German Hefeweizen which we were expecting. It smelled very banana-y like a hefe should, but the taste was more of a blonde ale and had a slightly lemony flavor. This was a good wheat beer and a great beer to start a palate with.

Ryan's Irish Red was a little hoppy for an Irish red, but there were good malt, coffee, and smoke flavors that balanced it out. This was a decent red ale and had some good flavor to it.

The Black Angus Stout had a good meaty and smokey aroma to it which translated to a very meaty and smokey stout. The flavors were good and represented the style and the name very well, there just wasn't anything particularly special about this stout.

Dirty Rotten Bastard IPA was not a very good Indian Pale Ale. It had some hop flavor but was also a little sour, just didn't taste right. Dirty Rotten is an appropriate name for it...

The Rio Bravo Amber was very easy to drink but it was on the weaker side for an amber. The malt flavor was there, but only just barely. Not a bad beer, just lacking some style. There just wasn't much to it.

The Snakebite IPA was a little better than the DRB, but not much. It was very watery and weak in flavor, the hops were hardly noticeable and just all-around not very good.

The Munich Fest Marzen completely made up for last few beers. This German-style Oktoberfest beer had plenty of flavor and was very well balanced. The malts were very prominent and delicious while the hops were subtle and complimented the style totally.

The Duke City Pils was another disappointment. It had a slightly wheaty flavor, but that was hard to discern from the sour, dirty flavors that overpowered the beer. Not recommended, especially with the other wheat from earlier in the flight available.

The second set of flights included all seasonals, several of which were porters. If you find you do something well, stick with it! There were also a few strong beers that can really mess with your palate, so best keep those for last:

Magnum 44 IPA

Bad Ass Barleywine

German Sommer Bier

NM Piñon Coffee Co. Limited Release Coffee Porter

Rio Bravo Barrel-Aged Porter

1912 Vanilla Porter

Old Town Porter

Belgian Strong

The Magnum 44 IPA was definitely their best IPA. It was much hoppier but not too much so and really a decent IPA. This IPA ought to replace both the regular menu brews.

The Bad Ass Barleywine was pretty sour, like a barleywine typically should be, but maybe just a little too sour. For the style, this barleywine was spot on, sour with a bit of sweetness, and very strong. The alcohol content for barleywines are usually pretty high and that is apparent in this one.

The German Sommer Bier was a very pale color but packed a ton of wheat flavor. It was very crisp and refreshing and tasted like wheat straight from the farm. This German Wheat was full of flavor and very good.

The Coffee Porter was a limited, special release in collaboration with a local coffee roaster, NM Piñon Coffee. It's unfortunate this porter is so limited, because it was absolutely delicious. It was very creamy and had a coffee and chocolate flavor that made for a great, sweet stout...oops, I mean porter!

The Rio Bravo Barrel-Aged Porter, at 9% ABV, tasted less sour than the barleywine, but had similar characteristics. The alcohol was very prominent, but still easier to drink than the barleywine as well. The flavor was almost a mix between the stout and the barleywine and brought out the good flavors in each.

The 1912 Vanilla Porter had sweet flavors of both coffee and vanilla, and was very light in color. This was an easy porter to drink and could be a very good gateway beer; gateway to the darkside! If it weren't for that Coffee Porter, this would have been top of the dark beers so far.

The Old Town Porter tasted very much like the Black Angus Stout, so much so that we had to get another sample of that one to try them side by side. The Old Town Porter was less smokey than the stout but still very meaty in flavor. Overall, it was a good porter and a stronger quality beer than the stout, another that could very well replace the regular menu brew.

The Belgian Strong was very strong indeed, but not too much. This was a very smooth ale and had very similar flavors to the barleywine and the barrel-aged porter. The color was much lighter and reddish, and it smelled slightly sour like that barleywine and strong ale style ought to.

Megan's overall opinion: I love the venue, it's very impressive, I just wish there were more of a crowd and something a little more entertaining there. It seems like RBBC is constantly putting on events, so I will need to check one out and hope it draws people in. The beer started off not so great; I really enjoyed the Marzen, but the rest of the regular menu beers could really use some work. The seasonals were great and really showed what this brewer is capable of, my favorites were probably the Coffee Porter and the Vanilla Porter. I was extremely disappointed with the IPAs, for having two regular menu options, I would hope at least one is good! I liked their exploration into the strong ales and all the porters, I do think it's good to focus on what you're good at, but it would also have been nice for there to be a little more variety in the seasonals. My favorite beer overall was the Marzen, it's an easy beer that I can order every time and it won't get old. My least favorite beer was the DRB IPA, it just didn't have enough hop flavor and just tasted bad.

Randy's overall opinion: First off, yes, the inside venue is large and well thought out. Outside front patio, not so much. Blazing sun all day and in the middle of a parking lot. The outdoor space where the beer garden will be is a different story though. That is huge and during the summer nights, I bet that place is awesome! Too bad neither one of those areas are open right now because of licensing we heard, but soon.... On to the beer. 

Since they opened, the beer offerings have grown substantially. It was 4 or 5 at first but now at a flight of 16, that's impressive. There were a few of the staple brews that really need to be better to have on the menu all the time. The IPAs were hardly desirable and the Pilsner has a funny aftertaste. Where this brewery fares really well is on the darker side. The stouts were good and the porters were very good. We got a special treat as they tapped a Coffee Porter that they worked on with Pinon Coffee which was amazing! The Vanilla Porter, fantastic! They have a few different styles which are appreciated such as Barley Wines and Barrel Aged options, they just aren't my flavor. 

Rio Bravo is one of those breweries that you can tell is trying to get involved with events and the community which is really a great thing. The brewery itself is huge and they have a canning system which is cool too....just don't know when we will see any in stores.

Over the almost year that they have been around, so many improvements have been made that it will be interesting to see what the future holds.

Here's how I ranked them:

1. Coffee Stout                  9.  Magnum 44 IPA

2. Vanilla Porter               10.  Snakebite IPA

3. Old Town Porter          11.  DRB IPA

4. Marzen                         12.  Duke City Pilsner

5. BA Stout                      13.  Karls Weizen

6. Amber                          14.  BA Porter

7. Ryans Red                    15.  Belguim Strong

8. German Summer          16.  Barley Wine

http://www.riobravobrewing.com/
https://nmpinoncoffee.com/

The Big Texan

The Big Texan is a huge tourist attraction in Amarillo, Texas, where you can order a 72oz steak and it's free if you eat the whole thing (sides included). This place is just all around America and Texas at its finest. Little did we know, it also has its very own craft brewery! We had seen the billboards all the way from Santa Rosa and had been informed by LWS Brewing that there was in fact a brewery at The Big Texan, but nothing could have prepared us for the twelve beers on tap to pair with steaks and barbecue of plenty.

The flight had a variety of beers for a variety of palates and had a broad range in colors and flavors:

The Honey Blonde

Whoop Your Donkey DIPA

Palo Duro Pale

Texas Red Amber

Bomb City Bock

Whiskey Barrel Stout

The Honey Blonde had a great unfiltered haziness to the golden color and smelled of what could be described as beer. The honey flavor was prominent right off the bat, and the overall beer taste was feel and flavorful. This was a great patio or beer garden beer, very easy to drink and refreshing to the palate.

The Whoop Your Donkey was an incredibly good double IPA. This beer, at 9.1% ABV, was a very smooth, easy drinking, strong beer. The hop character was fantastic, the mouth feel was smooth and creamy, and the beer was just bursting with greatness.

The Palo Duro Pale on the other hand could use some work. This pale was really lacking in hop flavor, or any good flavors at all, this was a pretty watery beer. It may have been the order the flight was served in, but we do our best to cleanse our palates between beers. This beer was pretty disappointing after the first two. We had originally thought it was their Mexican Lager, but we got this all cleared up later on in the flight.

The Texas Red Amber, like all of the beers so far, had a very similar smell the the honey blonde, a very sweet and honey-like smell. The aroma of the beer typically translates into the flavor, but not always...this beer was also a little watery like the Palo Duro Pale, but not bad. The maltiness came through on this beer and it was very drinkable.

The Bomb City Bock was much light in color than we expected and helped through us off the order of the flight until we solved it with the brewer. This bock was a good beer, it had a decent malt characteristic and was slightly sweet. Very easy to drink.

The Whiskey Barrel Stout had all the characteristics of any stout you could find; it was meaty, smokey, lightly metallic, and very coffee, all rolled into one stout. This was a very good stout, just not quite a great stout, mainly due to the variety of flavors instead of a focus on either the coffee, the meatiness, or the smokiness.

The second part of the flight consisted of some very flavorful beers as well as some special releases that had not been made public until the brewer invited us to his laboratory:

Pecan Porter

Rattlesnake IPA

El Hefeweizen

Raspberry Wheat

Tres Hombres Mexican Lager

Pale Rider IPL

The Pecan Porter was very sweet and smelled and tasted like pancake syrup. The pecan flavor was bold but not overpowering and sweet, however, the beer was a little watery. The color was a light brown and much like the bock, had us a little confused on the style categorization.

The Rattlesnake IPA was another beer that had the honey aroma which lent to the mild hop flavor; mild in a good way! This IPA was very sweet and hoppy but also very easy to drink and not at all bitter like some IPAs.

El Hefeweizen had the common bubblegum flavor typical of a good hefe, but that's where the good stopped on this beer. There was a lemony flavor that almost tasted like a cleaning solution of some kind and left a bad flavor in this beer.

The Raspberry Wheat made up for its wheaty counterpart and was a very delicious, refreshing wheat beer. The raspberry flavor, although clearly from concentrate, was just right and made for a deliciously "girly" summer beer. This is another brew that's perfect for that porch/patio/beer garden setting.

The Tres Hombres lager was very crisp and extremely refreshing. At first, we had thought the pale ale was this Mexican lager, but we're very glad we were wrong; not originally served in the flight, this sample came decorated with a lime that assisted the flavor in all the right ways. Typically we're not fond of fruit served in beer, but in this case, it was very good.

The Pale Rider IPL was  also not originally in the flight, but at the insistence of the brewer, we gave it a try. This Indian Pale Lager was very smooth and easy on the hops which made for a refreshingly hoppy brew. It had a slightly buttery taste, somewhat like a good chardonnay wine. It was very easy to drink and another good summer-time beverage.

Finally, we had the Rustler's in the Rye. which the brewer, Tom, tapped specially for us! This was a fantastic rye ale that swiftly moved to the top of the list. The rye flavors came through perfectly in this beer and the smoothness left us wanting more. This was a great beer and should be tapped soon after this post.

Megan's overall opinion: I really enjoyed The Big Texan, not only was it entertaining, but the beer was awesome. I think we were just as fascinated by this place as they they were by us; the staff and Tom (the brewer) made sure to pay special attention to the tourists taking notes! We had a lot of fun with review and it was a real treat to have a private tour of the brewery, even if it was some pretty homemade engineering. My favorite beer was definitely the Rye; I like rye ales to begin with, but this one was great. I also really enjoyed the Mexican Lager, the Raspberry Wheat, and the Whoop Your Donkey DIPA. I wasn't much of a fan of the Palo Duro Pale or El Hefeweizen, but the rest of the flights definitely made up for those two.

Randy's overall opinion: The Big Texan... never been there and wasn't about to try the 72oz steak (maybe next time, Stomach...maybe next time). Very touristy place but it's one of those where you just need to go. Go once, go twice, whatever but just go. We did see the signs of the brewery for miles away and figured we would try it, not knowing what to expect exactly. Yes, I was very surprised as well! There were a few beers that I really enjoyed and impressed by. The Tres Hombres, Whoop Your Donkey, and the Pecan Porter were my favorites. Very impressed by that Pecan Porter as typically those have way too much pecan flavor that makes it hard to drink for me but this one was spot on. I'm not sure if I was more impressed by the beer or the fact I liked it that much! Flip side.... that Palo Duro Ale needs some fixing. Not sure what it was exactly but bottom of my list.

Special Bonus!!! We got to meet the brewer and got a tour of the facility which was very neat to be treated like that and to talk beer and learn the history of how the brewery came to fruition at the Big Texan. Yeah, the system has got a some "redneck engineering" but it seems to be working just fine. Rumor has it that there is an expansion coming which would include an updated brewery system (Big Texan owners... take note that it is needed!). 

Double Special Bonus!!!! Early tap of the upcoming beer Rustlers in the Rye, just for us (Thanks, Tom!). That beer was really, really good and I'm currently finding myself craving another as I write this. All in all, we were impressed with the selection and quality of the majority of the beers. It was really a pleasure meeting and talking with the head brewer, Tom, and learning his thoughts and methods, and especially the story behind it all. 

To say the least, The Big Texan was not what we expected. We expected great steak and great spectacles, but we weren't prepared for great beer on top of all that. This tourist attraction/brewery was definitely the highlight of our trip to Amarillo, Texas.

http://bigtexan.com/

LWS Long Wooden Spoon Brewing (Amarillo, TX)

We stumbled upon LWS Brewing in Amarillo, TX, while on a mini-vacation with some friends. Little did we know this is only one of two breweries in Amarillo! This hole-in-the-wall brewery was tucked back behind a storage facility at the outskirts of town where even the locals have troubles finding it. Being such a small and rare business in the area, we were able to meet and chat with the owners and one of the brewers during our process and got a good feel for their beer, the industry in Texas, and the overall beer scene in town.

Our flight consisted of six well-balanced beers served in 6oz plastic party cups:

Maximum Effort IRA

Amarillo Sunrise Kolsch

P3 Coffee Porter

6th Street Wheat

Heisen Weizen

501st Dunkelweizen

The Maximum Effort Irish Red Ale was very dark in color and smelled malty like an Irish red should. The taste was also malty and had a great caramel flavor to it, but was a little watery. It was a good red and a good way to start the flight.

The Amarillo Sunrise Kolsch was an unfiltered, golden, wheat beer that had a great lemony flavor to it. The citrus and lemon flavors accentuated the taste of the wheat and made for a delicious, summery beer that was very easy to drink.

The P3 Coffee Porter was a bit on the lighter side but not quite light enough to be categorized as a brown. The flavors consisted of coffee and nuts with a hint of smoke. This was a very smooth porter, still carbonated, but easy to drink and very malty.

The 6th Street Wheat was incredibly easy to drink and very smooth. There wasn't a whole lot of flavor to it, but there was definite citrus flavors if you pay attention to it. A very refreshing beer.

The Heisen Weizen, named after Breaking Bad's Heisenberg, was an excellent hefeweizen. This unfiltered wheat beer was a beautiful golden color and smelled very citrusy. The taste was just enough bubblegum and banana with a mix of citrus that made for a very true to style, well-balance, delicious beer.

The 501st Dunkelweizen also had very good flavor, but this beer was much darker and very smokey. It smelled much like a coffee stout, but the taste was primarily smoke and a smoke done well. Another very good beer that was smooth and easy to drink.

Megan's overall opinion: I like this brewery, not just because of the beer, but because LWS is pioneering craft beer in Texas. Amarillo is a small town, so for these locals to take that big leap from home brewing to making a career out of beer, that's true dedication. The venue was rather small, but for the number of clientele at any given time, it seems to fit. It felt more like a hipster coffee shop than a brewery, but they made it work. I really enjoyed the Heisen Weizen and the 501st Dunkelweizen, but I think all six beers had merit. I would say the 6th Street Wheat was my least favorite, but only because the rest of the beers had such great flavor, they left the 6th Street in the dust.

Randy's overall opinion:   Surprisingly, this brewery was able to hold its own amongst the multitude we have tried so far. I was more shocked at how little the brewery scene was in Amarillo, not because I thought it was a booming beer town but because the craft brew scene is taking off everywhere and left this little town behind. The beers were above average as a whole but the Irish Red Ale is the mystery beer to me. I enjoy the maltiness of the Irish Reds but this one left me with no taste. I had to try it a few times to figure out what I was really drinking. My favorites were the 501st Dunkleweizen and the 6th St. Wheat; They were refreshing beers. I had the Heizen Weizen last but that is because the bubblegum taste was more than what I was looking for at the time. The venue was strange from the outside but friendly on the inside. If you can find it, stop in! 

http://www.lwsbrewing.com/