I'll take a Tall Skinny Mocha Java Stout, with some La Cumbre on top

Two things on tap for today - a review of Santa Fe Brewing's newest addition to their line of cans - the Imperial Java Stout, then a debrief on our trip to La Cumbre Brewing from Saturday.

Appearance - Thick black body with a foamy, mocha colored head. Head is pretty sticky too, as it coats the glass substantially. 4.0/5.0

Smell - Coffee coffee coffee. The aroma is like sticking your nose right into a bin of coffee beans. Not just any coffee beans, but the uber-dark ones that will literally put hair on your chest. Any other smell is overpowered by the coffee. You get a hit of that coffee each time that you taste it too. 3.5/5.0

Taste - Like the aroma, coffee dominates the flavor, but it starts to smooth out a bit. The first time I had this beer, I was taken aback by the coffee flavor and almost had trouble finishing it. 2nd go around was much better with the toasted malt coming out. Very little sweetness, as the coffee's bitterness takes priority. It's like having a strong cup of Starbucks bold coffee...no cream...no sugar. 3.5/5.0

Feel - 1st taste is strong until your mouth adjusts to the beer. After that, you start to get some more of the flavor notes. 3.0/5.0

Drinkability - Jury is out. 1st time, probably wouldn't have bought it again. 2nd time, enjoying it. I'm guessing the 3rd time, I'll want to get a six pack or two for the fridge. 3.0/5.0

As for La Cumbre Brewing - I had a great time there! Myself, plus Mrs. Beer Fridge and a number of guys from the Active 20-30 Club headed over there after we did some charity work at the Children's Hospital. As you know, studies have proven nothing makes you more thirsty than doing charity work. Between the 5 or 6 of us, we were able to try all five of their "standard" drafts. I personally loved the Malpais Stout (as I hoped I would) and surprising, the South Peak Pilsner (I'm not normally a fan of pilsners). Good comments were made about the Pyramid Rock Pale Ale, plus the holiday seasonal they had on tap. So, outside the 7 beers that La Cumbre made, they had 4 other local beers (1 Marble, 2 Chama River and 1 Turtle Mountain if memory serves me correctly).

Outside the beer, the vibe of the place was amazing. Jeff did a fantastic job with the tour of the brewery itself - it made my homebrewer buddy Lou almost have a moment. The environment reminded me of a neighborhood pub that you see on TV where 4-5 of your closest friends get together, have a few beers and talk crap to each other. Bombers from all over the place and tin "plates" adorn the walls, with old barrel-like tables scattered around. There's a pool table upstairs too - so bonus!

I would highly recommend checking out La Cumbre and seeing what all of the fuss is about. The passion for the craft is evident in the brewery, but it doesn't overshadow the chillness of the atmosphere.

Yippee!

Tina and I watched a documentary on beer called "Beer Wars" tonight. There was a neat historical prospective on beer, Prohibition and then there was some sort of jump to "Corporate People Are Real A-Holes." Also, there was a shot of "If you sell out, you're a real sucker and not true to your roots." A number of entrepreneurs I know tend to get something going, make it successful and sell it...so they can move on to a new adventure. The founder of Dogfish Head was in the deal a lot - he's definitely an adventurous beer guy, but I gotta say - get off the soapbox. Instead of being "Oh, woe is me - big beer keeps us out of Wal-Mart.", focus on just making awesome beer. Whatever, this isn't a soap box - but a BEER FRIDGE!!!


Tina and I really enjoyed the Santa Fe Brewing 20th Anniversary Imperial Penn Porter, so I picked up a bottle of the Yippee! Imperial IPA. I had high hopes, since we really enjoyed the Imperial Penn Porter. Fortunately, I was happily pleased with this offering from Santa Fe.

Appearance - Foamy tannish head; amber coloring. Pretty standard for an IPA. 3.0/5.0

Smell - There are some piney hops, but more malty and alcohol than I would have expected. 3.5/5.0

Taste - Very well blended hop flavor. Piney, citrus, grapefruit, sweetness, malt. Not overly strong, but notable flavors. Not as bitter as I would have expected either. My wife, who isn't an IPA fan, said the sips she had were nice - that's saying something. 4.5/5.0

Feel - Thickness, almost a syrupy feel to it. the lack of bitterness that I have come to appreciate in IPAs is a downgrade, but at the same time, the beer felt good and the flavors stick around a lot. 4.0/5.0

Drinkability - It's one of the better Imperial IPAs that I've tried. given it's a limited run, not sure how often I'll get this, but would definitely do it again. 4.5/5.0

The Imperial Penn (Porter)

Santa Fe Brewing is a common find at most local grocery stores and liquor shops. Good stuff, my particular favorite is the State Penn Porter. For their 20th anniversary, Santa Fe Brewing created three very interesting potent beers - the State Penn Imperial Porter, the Imperial Yippee IPA and the Sangre de Frambuesa Raspberry Belgian. Tonight, we'll talk about the Imperial Porter and later we'll get to the Yippee IPA. I gotta tell ya, I expected this beer to be good and I was definitely not disappointed. In fact, my lovely bride, Tina, talked me into going out and grabbing another one of these from ol' Quarters. They are on sale at most liquor stores for only $6.99 a bomber.

Appearance - A rich, smooth black brew. A mocha colored, foamy head tops the beer, which also has a really appealing, rich "bubbly" look. The head doesn't dissipate and is just pretty to look at- 5.0/5.0

Smell - Lots of coffee and dark cocoa in the nose. Enough aroma to enjoy, but not too much to overpower. 4.0/5.0

Taste - Wow! Rich, powerful flavor. Coffee, dark chocolate, some alcohol, woody flavors. Some bitterness too, but enjoyable 4.5/5.0

Feel - Thick and coats the mouth. 4.0/5.0

Drinkability - Well, let's put it this way - we went out and bought another one. 5.0/5.0

Dirty Dirty Girl

On the way up to Panderies a little bit ago, we stopped over at Santa Fe Brewing to fill up one of the numerous growlers that we had. I had not actually been to the brewery itself, having just tasted the Santa Fe Brewing beers from whatever has been bottled for distribution. When I bellied up to the bar and noticed that there was a beer I hadn't seen before, I figured it was worth a try.

The Santa Fe Brewing Dirty Blonde was an interesting beer - like you'd expect out of a blonde, it was a pretty light beer and took a number of them to change a light blub. Everything about this beer was pretty light - light, crisp malt scent; light fruity taste; light body. Nothing really stood out about this beer and while that is ok with type of beer, I don't care for "eh". I like beers that have characteristic identity, be it flavor, scent, appearance, whatever.

Now before I get any judgments (and in the immortal words of Huey Louis, "eff you for judging"), I did not have any glass containers in my travel trailer. So, the plastic wine glass with a bunch of grapes on it was going to suffice. Really classes up the beer, don't ya think? Actually, we threw some of the Dirty Blonde into some OJ and made a pretty tasty Brass Monkey.

Appearance - 3.0/5.0 - Light golden as expected, but nothing that distinct about it.

Scent - 3.0/5.0 - Light fruity aroma, but not much else.

Taste - 3.0/5.0 - Crisp, freshing taste, but not much beyond that. Pretty much an average tasting beer.

Feel - 4.0/5.0 - Refreshing, which was really nice. Even though nothing distinctive about it, did not leave any weird aftertaste or anything.

Drinkability - 2.5/5.0 - While this was a good enough beer, I wouldn't order it again given the choice. However, would mix it in orange juice....

Santa Fe Brewing Hefeweizen

I love Hefeweizens - if I were to pick one type of beer and that's the only beer I would drink for the rest of my life, I'd pick a Hefeweizen. So, with that said, I have tried a lot and have high hopes when I try one I haven't had before. Quarters Guy suggested Santa Fe Brewing Company's Hefeweizen when he recommended the Odells IPA. I was happy that I was not steered wrong on this one, as it's a good Hefeweizen.

Without the traditional lemon, the beer has good flavor. No taste of hops or really any bitterness. There is that hint of sweetness, but that almost is eliminated by the addition of the lemon, which replaces sweet with lemony goodness. In fact, once the lemon is floating around in the beer, there is a really clean freshness to the brew as a whole. I'd wager it's got to do with acidity of the lemon juice, but it's a nice taste.

I did a little research on this, as I got to thinking about the lemon. Apparently, this is an American "thing" and the Krauts in Germany typically frown upon the lemon. Thinking back when I've made some ill-fated trips to the Hoffrauhaus in Lost Wages, Nevada, I can't recall (much) seeing any lemons in the place. That beer definitely didn't need any of the citrus acidity.

Lemon or not, the Santa Fe Brewing Hefeweizen is a good overall Hefeweizen. The price is pretty fair, running about $7.00/six pack at Quarters, and it's local, so you're supporting the guy up I-25. This isn't my favorite Hefeweizen by far, but it'll do in a pinch.

If you're a fan of the Hefeweizen or other wheat beers, I would highly recommend the following:

Flying Dog In Heat Wheat - http://www.flyingdogales.com/

Marble Brewing Company Wildflower Wheat - http://marblebrewery.com/

You can find the Santa Fe Brewing Hefeweizen in a whole bunch of places, including Quarters, Smith's, Albertsons and Kelly's Liquors. If you want to go staight to the source, Santa Fe Brewing is located just off I-25, south of Santa Fe (right near those outlet malls in what used to be Wolf Canyon).