Tuesday 15th May 2012
Bob Thompson
A couple of times in other BeerVisit reports I've mentioned the New Mexico Rail Runner as a means of transport in the area. This is a railway service that runs south from Albuquerque to Belen and north to Santa Fe, the New Mexico State Capital. It's almost an Inter-City service as it takes over two and a half hours from end to end.
Before visiting the first pub of the day I thought I'd try it out and take a ride. Please see the photograph of the train.
The name Rail Runner becomes significant when you look at the livery. The locomotive has a huge representation of a Roadrunner, the official state bird of New Mexico, along the side. The coaches display its tail feathers. I hope there's never going to be rival service as this would probably be named Wile E. Coyote!
On returning to the Downtown station I went back to the hotel for breakfast, checked out and took my heaviest bag to the Amtrak station as I was leaving Albuquerque that afternoon on the next leg of my trip. That chore achieved, it was time for beer. I took the 766 Rapid Ride bus to its terminus, the Uptown Transit Center (Bus station). I would guess this was about five miles from downtown.
Three minutes walk from the stop and I was in the pub. Again there was a large list of beers of many styles. These were Rio Grande Desert Pils (5.4%), Rio Grande IPA (5.8%), Rio Grande Outlaw Lager (5.2%), Rio Grande Pancho Verde Green Chile (sic) Cerveza (6.7%), Sierra Blanca Pale Ale (6.0%), Sierra Blanca Nut Brown Ale (5.0%), Sierra Blanca American Style Lager (4.8%), Sierra Blanca Black IPA (5.8%), Monks Belgian Ale (5.0%) and finally Monks Witt (5.1%).
I could have had a taster flight of four or eight beers of my own choice. I took four as I'm not that keen on some of the styles that another four would have brought. Additional, I was not brave enough to try the Green Chilli beer.
I thought the Pale Ale tasted a little stale and flat but the rest were well liked. Nut Brown Ale was very good, with a nice lingering bitterness. Black IPA and IPA were not over bitter as some are, yet were both very good.
The Brew Pub offers a full food service and is next door to the Uptown Sports Bar which sells some of their beers. Both pubs are under the same management.
Important Information:
ABQ Brew Pub, 6601 Uptown Boulevard NE
Open: Mon to Thurs 11.00-24.00; Fri to Sat 11.00-02.00; Sun 10.00-24.00
766 Rapid Ride bus to/from Downtown.
Several other routes start/terminate at the Uptown Transit Center.
