The Great American Ale Trail (Revised Edition): The Craft Beer Lover's Guide to the Best Watering Holes in the Nation by Christian DeBenedetti

Author:Christian DeBenedetti [DeBenedetti, Christian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780762461028
Publisher: Running Press
Published: 2016-04-25T21:00:00+00:00

Santa Fe

SANTA FE BREWING CO.

35 Fire Pl. • Santa Fe, NM 87508 (505) 424-3333 • santafebrewing.com • Established: 1988

SCENE & STORY

The road leading to New Mexico’s oldest brewing company was known as a section of Route 66 as it passed through town during the 1920s and ’30s. Today it’s known as Route 14, a.k.a. Cerrillos Boulevard, and the Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway. Time your visit (it’s about a fifteen-minute drive from the city center) for sunset, because the taproom and its outdoor tables have ideal west-facing views overlooking the vast, high-desert plateau Bandelier National Monument. The original brewery taproom is cozy, quiet, and congenial, with stools and high ceilings. Free guided brewery tours are offered on Saturdays at 12 p.m., and there are ten house beers on tap plus one guest tap and growler sales. Once an almost unknown brand outside of Santa Fe, the addition of new tanks and a bottling line and canning capability for the IPA and Oktoberfest brands have revved up this company (and it didn’t hurt when the owners put the 6.6% ABV IPA in a can prominently featuring the New Mexico state flag’s red, stylized sunbeam “Zia” against a bright yellow field). Recently, the beers have gone from banal to barnstorming, incorporating barrel aging, wild yeasts, and other tricky techniques, and they’ve opened a second Santa Fe taproom as well as an innovative tasting bar in Albuquerque, right off of I-40 and Carlisle, created entirely from recycled shipping containers, with twenty-seven taps in addition to hard cider, and wines.

KEY BEER

The Imperial Java Stout (8% ABV) is a very good, massive brew of American and British hops, heavily roasted malts, and locally roasted, organic East Timor and New Guinea coffee beans. Last time I visited, brewer Ty Levis’s Zotte Berten series was also showcasing the brewery’s sour and experimental side, such as #5, a tart brew resembling the Belgian style of geuze, made from blends of aged and young lambic, or spontaneously fermented beer.

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