SItting in a sunny spot at the bar in a central-ish part of Albuquerque. There were pedestrian obstacles wandering the streets nearby, oblivious to my desire to get a cold pint in my hand ASAP. It’s not that I was in a hurry, but once I’ve made up my mind to get serious about beer, I tend to get a one-track mind. The pedestrian obstacles had no apparent agenda, and the neighborhood is definitely on the ‘working’ side. I managed to avoid any incidents and have compleated my mission to suck down some beer. It was worth the effort.
It took me a c couple of weeks to get down here, a little place called Gravity Bound, with a healthy selection of other breweries to cheack out around the valley, slowing my progress in this part of town. I’ve been trying to keep track of my adventures, but my final editing doesn’t keep up with my rough drafting, and I’m not sure I can keep everything in order. I’ve seen a bunch in the 6 weeks since I moved back here, and overall it’s been enjoyable. (*Authors note: I’m trying to finish this in July. Don’t judge me, this IS the Lager of Beer Blogs, after all)
When I walked in, the beertender was blowing bubbles. This felt like a good sign, and it didn’t take long to decide from the 5 beers listed on tap. There’s Kombucha and cider on tap as well, making for a decent selection for the mixed crowd in the small tap area, although maybe a little thin overall. Some families are chilling, the sound volume is acceptable, and everything is just the right size. The brewing area is compact and clean, quiet today but probably busy during the rest of the week. Someone else has picked up the bubbles…
There’s a gose, two IPA’s, a dunkle and a rice lager on tap, and I think they’re all pretty excellent, even if I don’t like the gose. I just never do, it’s not their fault. I’m trying to soak up the atmosphere while I write this, enjoying the small details like fully-logo’d glassware and a selection of stickers and t-shirts. The focus is pretty tight, and the crowd is happy. I don’t know what else I expected to find, but I’m still looking. I’ll report back if I find anything I dislike.
Better Call
A few years back, I was enjoying pints at a local nano brewery that was tiny compared to Gravity Bound, doing single-barrel work and occasionally dumping a lot of sour beer down the drain. The vibe was literally anti-social heavy metal and noise bands/music, and when the beer was drinkable it was pretty rough. The owner and brewer worked a full-time job and things eventually fell apart as he struggled to find someone reliable enough to work with. The location was nearby a filming spot for the series ‘Breaking Bad’ and would eventually host another, more successful brewery after a quick death and closure. I’m usually slow to point a finger, but really unprofessional behavior by the few staff was almost certainly a cause.
I was happy to have a place nearby, though, since evrything else was located around Nob Hill or in industrial areas in the central part of town. I could ride my bike on mostly residential roads to get some treacle-thick stout, or a double IPA that was just barely drinkable but did the job at $3 a pint. I spent a few dollars at the local corner booze-store, Kelly’s, often enough that they knew me, but the selection was always limited to multi-packs, and never offered enough selection to get me interested in checling them out to see if they had something new. And so, I’d find myself in this place a few days a week, hoping with each new brewing day that better beer might emerge, and it rarely did. The shitty atmosphere didn’t help, as many customers wouldn’t have returned even if the beer had been up to par. I bring this up because today, at this place, I’m pretty happy to just chill. It doesn’t take any effort. You might say they’re doing something right at Gravity Bound, but that’s just my opinion.
What do I know?
Nothing much has changed. There are more breweries than ever before, but there’s no real way to sample them in New Mexico without going to a physical location to pick up a growler or 4-pack or just a pint. The small place I’m at right now is draft only, with a crowler machine and growler deals, but there’s nothing in their to-go fridge and I’d feel bad about asking for a growler right now. I’ve now had multiple conversations with folks who confirm most of my worst fears about things in New Mexico – there’s a whole lack of distribution freedom holding back this industry. Don’t get me wrong, things seem to be going great overall for the brewing industry in the Southwest. There’s plenty of demand – wherever I go, the staff are busy, and I usually like to talk to the people running the show if I can, just to get an accurate reading on how things are. I love running across that bar staff member who has been serving at a place for years, and knows all the history of a place. But that’s happened a lot less down here. I’m going to try to quantify some of this, eventually, for the readers who haven’t been a customer of a brewery from the day they opened (till the day they closed). If you’re just a random, sometimes customer, you’d never know about the drama that can happen behind the counter ar some places – you just feel a general vibe, maybe, and can’t explain why.
It’s just beer, man.
Come on, now. The adults in the room know better.