NM Brewery 8 & 9

575 Brewery in Alamogordo is on the outskirt of town in a newer building and with permission I was able to park the camper in their parking lot overnight.

They have an extensive list of beers and in order to sample them I had a couple of flights over the course of the afternoon.  This is the second brewery on this quest tour, the first being Lovington, where each beer was distinctive and nicely done.

The beers I tried included the Lager, IPA, Pale Ale, Seven Grain Porter, Belgian White, Hefeweizen, Bock Lager and Milk Stout.

The Lager was light straw in color and with a mild after finish.  Likely a beer most anyone would find similar to traditional off the shelf domestic beer.  

The IPA was also light in color and not as bitter as some IPA’s.  It was slightly dry with medium hops.  

The Pale Ale was slightly hazy with an oak color and was much similar to a Scottish Ale.  

The Seven Grain Porter was mildly dry and not as sweet as a stout, nor as creamy as a stout. It was full bodied with very good flavor.  

The Belgian White was a slightly bitter Wit with a clear after taste.  

The Hefeweizen was hazy with a slight bitter taste, however lacked any spice flavor, yet was nicely done.  

The Bock Lager had a medium caramel color with a mild hops taste and was much similar to domestic Bock beers.  

Finally, the Coffee Milk Stout was dark and full bodied with a creamy after finish.  It was slightly sweet but lacked even a hint of coffee.  I was a bit confused with the taste until another patron told me it was actually an Oatmeal Stout and that they hadn’t changed the menu yet.  

All of the 575 Brewery beers were top notch and consistent in brewing in each type of beer.  Another case of getting it right.

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Truth or Consequences Brewery is located downtown in what could best be described as slapping something together with no real decor or ambiance.  Kind of minimalistic and slightly gritty.  Their beers were the same.

I tried a flight of six, including the Airstream Ultra, Cosmic Blonde, Taco Lager, Irish Red, Double Wheat and Milky Way Stout.

The Airstream Ultra was so light in color it was almost clear and light in taste lacking hops, likely because of the low alcohol content it was similar to Michelob Ultra Light.  Worthless.

The Cosmic Blonde was another light lager and their most popular because of the similarity to off the shelf domestic lagers.  It was a generic taste with light carbonation.  Meh.

The Taco Lager was an attempt at a Mexican Style Lager, which generally match Czech Pilsners in taste.  It was slightly cloudy and mildly tart.  It lacked the body of Mexican Style beer and barely made it to the level of a mild Mexican beer like Modelo.

The Irish Red was an attempt at a Scottish Ale and lacked the ale hops or flavor, almost generic.

The Double Wheat was hazy, but lacking any spice or wheat flavor.  It was high alcohol and hard to compare to traditional wheat beers, being more of a lager style, likely brewed for the buzz rather than taste.

The Milky Way Stout was dark, almost black, with a slight coffee smell.  It was only mildly creamy and lacking hops.  It was low in carbonation, almost flat.  A disappointment as Stouts are my favorite.

The Truth or Consequence beers across the board lacked finish and carbonation.  To top it off they were not served cold enough.  Sadly, I didn’t even finish some of them in the flight.  What is even sadder is that I have opted to stay several weeks in Truth or Consequences.  Having been here before I enjoy the town and the area.  Hopefully I will find better breweries on the trek home later in March.

 

NM Brewery #7

For the past couple of days I've been staying at the Rob Jaggers BLM campground located between Lincoln and Capitan in the Bonita Valley between the Sacramento Mountains and the Capitan Mountains.

Bonita Valley Brewing is located in Lincoln, the village with a history of the Lincoln County Wars and Billy the Kid.  The brewery is located in a historic building which has been nicely renovated. 

They have a limited selection of beer, which can best be described as mediocre, including an Amber, Pale Ale, IPA and Stout.  I had small samples of each and opted for the Pale Ale.

Their most popular is the Amber, which is light in body, hops and flavor.  The Pale Ale was similar, with a slight sour taste.  While having more traditional hops and medium body the IPA also was milder.  The Stout was interestingly flavored with sweet potatoes (go figure) and while it had some of the requisite color and fullness of a stout, the taste of sweet potato was a head scratching double take.  Not the best combination.

Having been here before, I very much enjoy the Lincoln/Capitan area.  I would certainly try Bonita Valley Brewing if ever in the area again, however wouldn't come here just for the brewery.   

NM Breweries 5&6

Milton's Brewery is in a compact and tidy building in downtown Carlsbad, near the county courthouse.

Once again the owner took the time to train their employee on craft beer and brewing.  Their beers consisted of primarily non flavor added and were consistent across the board.

The beers I tried included Kolsch (not sure why they spelled it Kolsh), Hefeweizen, Brown Ale and Stout.

The Kolsch was light in body and flavor and a noble attempt at a German style pilsner, however not enough hops.

The Hefeweizen landed the same as the Kolsch, which had a reasonable nose but was weak on the traditional Hefeweizen spice, primarily clove.  It was slight sweet with a faint banana taste, but also lacked the necessary Hefeweizen hops.

The Brown Ale was a bit of a surprise with a medium body and faint sour, almost bitter flavor which enhanced the beer.  It bordered the bitterness of a Scottish Ale and was completely drinkable.

The Java Stout was a bit of hesitation with "java" in the name, implying a predominant coffee flavor.  The coffee was so faint that it did not overwhelm the beer.  The Stout actually poured like Guinness and proved to be done right.  Consistent with stouts it was full bodied with the right blend of hops and slight bitterness.  The other beers seemed to lack in carbonation and finish, so the stout stood out.

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Based on a forecast of a high wind warning (50-60 mph) I decided it probably wasn't a good idea to stay in the sandy desert of Carlsbad.  I did the short drive to Roswell in the morning and glad I did.  By the afternoon the wind was so strong with blowing dust and I could barely make headway on the electric bike trekking to the local Roswell brewery.  Not to be deterred I made it to the Black Cock Brewery, where the owner met resistance on the name with zoning and the Roswell government.  He had to make concessions for signage and barely got approval on a spilt vote of the town council.

The brewery is located in older strip mall and has been nicely renovated.

Their beer list was somewhat unassuming and interestingly included a couple of beers from Milton's in Carlsbad.

The beers I tried included the Wheat,  Brown Ale and Milton's Stout, ultimately opting for the stout.

The Wheat was nothing like a Hefeweizen and lacked the haze and flavor of a traditional wheat.  It was sadly too light and it wasn't until I tried it that the only indication on the board that it was flavored with raspberry was the purple logo next to the description.  Even though the raspberry flavor was faint, just like the rest of the beer, it did nothing to complement the beer.

The Brown Ale was better and was medium bodied with a slight coffee bitterness and sweetness that went well. 

The Milton's Stout saved the day in an otherwise selection of average beers.

Tomorrow I head Northwest to the Lincoln National Forest area, specifically the Lincoln/Capitan area.  The quest to find the ultimate craft beer continues.

 

Desert Break

Taking a break for a few days from the beer quest.  All set up in the desert near Carlsbad.

NM Brewery 2,3 & 4

Brewery #2 was in Clovis (side note:  I'm not very impressed with this area of New Mexico.  It is a mostly industrial area that is taxing the area resources.  I suppose because of the oil wells.  There appears to be little concern with the environment and appears hardscrabble).

Bandolero Brewery is located in downtown Clovis in a nicely renovated building and is an open setting.

I was able to visit with the owner/brewmaster and the essence is that he is brewing according to the area clientele, which includes flavor added beers.

In order to fairly judge the beers I opted to first try a flight of the IPA, Kolsch, Bock and English Ale, avoiding the flavored beer.

Understandably because he is brewing for the area most of the beers were lacking full body.  I asked about any Porters or Stouts and he said there just isn't a market for them.  He did mention that he was brewing a blueberry stout 😕. The IPA was not as hoppy as most and the Kolsch was low alcohol and light.  The Bock was a light lager style with a smooth finish.  The English Ale couldn't be considered an Ale, consistent with the others it was also light.  I did try a sample of the Oktoberfest which had a bit more body, however that may have been because it was 7%.  I opted for the Kolsch with their chili burger. 

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Breweries 3&4 are essentially the same in the communities of Hobbs and Lovington and was 100% a score!

Drylands Brewery is located in Lovington and has a taproom in Hobbs.  They are a score because they are doing everything right at all levels.  While the tap room in Hobbs doesn't carry the full selection, catering to the locals, it is a nice setting.

After I learned that the main brewery is located in Lovington I headed there.

This is a very appealing facility and spotless in maintenance.  To top it off they took the time to train their employees on brewing and craft beer.  When I asked if they had any Porter or Stouts we engaged in a thorough discussion of their beers and how they are brewed.  Nice!

Their selection was varied enough to offer a beer to the taste of most anyone, from a stout to lagers to flavored.

I tried a flight of the Easy Stout, Hefeweizen, Amber Ale and American Blonde.  The Easy Stout was being brewed to accommodate those who don't want a heavy stout and was exceptional with a slight hint of coffee and mild cream.  Perfect.  Equally good was the Hefeweizen.  It was hazy, slightly sweet with a mild clove smell.  Perfect.  The Amber Ale was slightly sour and hoppy (just right) with a medium body.  Perfect.  The American Blonde (their most popular of the locals) was a light domestic style lager. 

Not to be outdone by their beers, their fire oven pizza was just as good.  It was especially good with a pint of the Hefeweizen.

I wasn't able to visit with the brewmaster/owner, however there wasn't any need for that since he had educated his staff on the entire process, at least the one who served me.  She even encouraged me to try a sample of the Pecan beer, which she called her "desert beer."  Surprisingly it was good and was slightly sweet with a hint of the pecan.  Who would have tought. Kudos to  Drylands Brewing.

Finally, as if perfection wasn't enough, I was searching for someplace that had wifi.  Lo and behold I found the Zia Park Casino in Hobbs.  I don't gamble, especially in casinos, but did find that they have Drylands beer on tap!

It took me a while to do this blog, so I enjoyed a Shrimp Po' Boy with ocra and a Drylands Hefewiezen.  Does life get any better?  And I seriously need to stop eating like this!

Tomorrow I leave Hobbs for Carlsbad where I will be boondocking in the desert.  My next brewery review will be when and where I can.  I can't always answer comments but appreciate them.