Nexus Brewery

Nexus Brewery is one of the few breweries in town that has a full kitchen, which is a big reason to go; The southern-style "soul" food is a treat in and of itself. Upon arrival to this brewery, located off northbound Pan American between Montgomery and Jefferson, we noticed the upgrades right away. The restaurant had been recently remodeled and now has a very modern design, with a throwback to their original Star Trek theme. 

As per usual, we ordered the flight, which was again, very large. It's always fun to see what kind of serving tray the flights are served in, some are plain cookie sheets, while others are a custom design; Nexus had wooden blocks made with holes drilled for the glasses, painted blue to match the decor with their silver logo printed on the side. Beer drinker beware, the flights were pretty expensive, much more so than usual. We started with the simply-named, regularly available beers:

Honey Chamomile Wheat

IPA

Red

Scottish (Flagship)

Cream Ale

Chocolate Porter

The Honey Chamomile Wheat was a very easy to drink to beer with just enough of the chamomile flavor and a very crisp finish. Definitely a great beer to start your palate with and an excellent patio beer.

The IPA, although not stronger in flavor than the Wheat, was also easy to drink and very smooth. Lots of citrus flavor, and not too hobby or bitter tasting, this IPA is comparable to Bow & Arrow's IPA, but not quite as good. There was also something of a minty flavor to the beer that just didn't really belong there.

The Red shared surprisingly similar characteristics to the IPA, and again had that minty taste that seems to be a common flaw in Nexus' beer. The malt flavor mellowed out the hops and made for a smooth red that shouldn't really be considered an American red or an Irish red, but possibly an English red.

The Scottish again presented that subtly flawed minty flavor and really took hold of the malty-ness of the Red with no sign of the hops from the IPA. Their flagship (original) beer, although not the best so far, was a good representation of what a Scottish typically tastes like, and exhibited fair qualities of the style.

The Cream Ale was very crisp and could be classified as a pilsner for sure. Its very pale color and mild flavor makes this beer suitable for beginners, however, the Wheat would be a better recommendation. Not say this wasn't a good beer, it was, but the Wheat was just a bit better.

The Chocolate Porter was a bit disappointing; it smelled strongly of coffee, which is great for a coffee stout, but a chocolate porter ought to smell sweeter. The initial taste was very metallic but then finished with a great chocolate flavor, so somewhere in there, the beer is good, just not great.

Next up were some seasonal beers including two collaboration beers between Nexus and Chama River Brewing. The head-brewers at each both originated from a couple of the top breweries in the state and are now able to express their creativity in their own brews as well as in collaborative beers.

The Lighter Fare

The Darker Fare

The Black & Tan

Imperial Pilsner

Imperial Cream Ale

Barley Wine

The Lighter Fare was the first of the collaboration brews and a great way to start the seasonal flight. This English Strong Bitters (ESB) style beer was an excellently full-bodied, caramel and malt flavored glass of deliciousness!

The Darker Fare was also very delicious as it was a nitro-stout, meaning instead of carbonation, this beer was very smooth and creamy with not fizzy bubbles. This beer was so smooth, and so rich with coffee flavor, you could almost have it with your breakfast.

The Black & Tan is just a glass with the first half being the Lighter Fare and the top half being the Darker Fare. Although difficult to get the full taste in such a small size, the picture came out great!

The Imperial Pilsner was very strong in alcohol, which in a sense is what imperial stands for in beer terminology. It tasted a little too strong of alcohol and had almost a Belgian-wheat beer flavor.

The Imperial Cream Ale also had a strong smell of alcohol but the alcohol flavor was masked by the banana-hefeweizen taste. This was much creamier than the Cream Ale from earlier, and was a better imperial ale than the Imperial Pilsner.

Finally, the Barley Wine. There aren't too many barley wines in town, and that's alright, because this is a good one. Some barley wines end up tasting a little sour or too strong of alcohol which was a worry we had from the experiences of the last two beers, but this barley wine was very smooth and creamy and had a great flavor. Definitely a beer for a more developed palate, but once you're there, it's fantastic.

Megan's overall opinion: This brewery has a very different atmosphere, feels much more like a restaurant that serves beer than a brewery that serves food, but both the beer and the food were delicious. My favorite beer was the Lighter Fare, while my least favorite was the IPA, which for me is a rare event. I had the chicken and waffles as my meal, of course, and we shared the fried pickles to start, all of which was very good.

Randy's overall opinion: Nexus has gotten A LOT better over the last year or so. It has a more modern feel to it. Along with vanillas, I really like cream ales, which this did not disappoint. Very impressed with the idea of an Imperial Cream Ale and an Imperial Pilsner (think of an Imperial as a double). High in the alcohol content but doesn't taste like isopropyl. I like to see breweries trying things that aren't the norm.  Oh, and +1 for the chicken and waffles!
Favorite was the Cream Ale, least favorite was the Barley Wine.

                

Rumor has it that Nexus is opening a taproom on the Westside just off Coors and I-40. This is awesome since there isn't anything else in the area and shows how well local craft brews are succeeding in Albuquerque.

http://nexusbrewery.com/