burger wars!!!!

Burger wars abound... turns out Bobby Flay has been to New Mexico recently for some green chile cheeseburger cookoff here. But as a self-proclaimed connoisseur of the beef patty, I have three picks that, if ever in Albuquerque-Santa Fe area, one should definitely get to try.

In no particular order, the three are:

Green chile cheeseburger at Bobcat Bite

Bourbon butter Burger at Standard Diner

Angus burger with Foie-gras mayonaise at Nob Hill Bar & Grill

Last night Leah and I ate at Nob Hill Bar & Grill, and I was blown away at the utter juicyness of the burger, the subtlety of the Foie-gras mayo, and the lucky pairing with the bottle of Samuel Smiths Organic lager, which had great fruit notes that contrasted very well with the fat of the burger. Now that I've had a chance to look again at their bottled beer offerings, I'm quite impressed.

Now the burger at Standard Diner was equally juicy, and if you can imagine, that lovely feel and taste of sweet bourbon flavored butter trickling down your fingers and smothering your lips as you bite into this huge morsel of gobbledeegoodness. I've been here 3 times, and 2 out of the 3 the service has left something lacking.... but if yer going during off-hours, a late-lunch or early dinner, definitely fill up on this fat boy; you won't be dissapointed.

Much has been said about Bobcat bites burgers, and when I finally got to try this roadside joint's prize-winning beef, I was impressed. The patties are thick..... like an inch-and-a-half thick after cooking. And the beef is fresh, different, and well cooked. Expect to wait, and sit by the back window at the bar to watch the birds battle eachother over the feeder. I was very happy with the experience, but there's something lacking - its a great, great burger, don't get me wrong, but maybe i was expecting something different, more exotic. Definitely worth the stop and I will be definitely making it a stop in any future travels to Santa Fe in the future.

By the way, bottle my Mr. Beer Irish Stout on Monday. Had to use corn syrup for my bottle conditioning due to a drastic oversight on my part - I really hope it works ok. Also, ordered some ingredients for a Holiday beer recipe from Midwest; Leah and I will be doing a pre-test to see if this beer will be suitable for the 20 or so people we'll be giving these beers to.

Bad blogger.... BAD!!!

So, if you've come across this blog and noticed I haven't been on much... Well, I have been busy, but really don't have much of an excuse. However, that isn't because I have not been sampling beers when I could get the chance.

To summarize, most of my tastings are centered around certain events, so I can vaguely remember things:

Memorial Day; Leah and I camped up in the Manzano mountains at the Fourth of July campground. We were planning on doing some mountain biking, but because of the torrential downpour that the southwest had experienced this late spring/early summer. Well, to celebrate the warm weather, I decided to make it a "fruit beer weekend". The sampling:

Wild Blue by Anheuser-Busch

Wailua Wheat by Kona brewing

Orange Blossom Kream Ale by Buffalo Bill's

Blue Paw Wheat Ale by Sea Dog Brewing Co.

We had had the Blue Paw at a local restaurant with a roasted artichoke, and I do say that that pairing was wonderful - something we will be trying at home at some point. I have mentioned Leah's fondness for the Orange Blossom, so a six-pack of that was the first to go that weekend. I was pretty surprised by the Wailua Wheat, which is infused with passion fruit. The Wild Blue was our favorite, mainly because it suited our desire for a syrupy sweet high alcohol beer to drown our sorrows with the rain. I loved the rain, it was just wet..... everywhere.

At the end of May, we took a rafting trip up to Canon City, Colorado. We camped with about 8 other people, and along with Marble's IPA, I brought a growler of their Double IPA. I do have to mention that it was not near as hoppy as I had expected, with a nice balance of malt characters, but an overall strong character. Needless to say, I drank most of it.

June we set out for San Francisco, and I would have loved to see more breweries while there, the highlights were the following:

An "Irish" pub in downtown San Francisco where we had a nip before a movie and some shopping. No matter what, Chimay tastes good anywhere!!!

Sipping Half Moon Bay Brewery's Brown in my stylish new HMBB knit cap. The beer left something to be desired, I got the impression that this place was more concerned about their sea food (and being located right on the coast, what's there to be concerned about) than their beer. Meh.....

Then we hit Triple Rock Brewing and Jupiter, both located in Berkeley. They are both small craft brewers that have their own enjoyable clientele.... the picture on the right was taken @ Jupiter, it was a Tuesday night, a two story place, and we could barely find a table. Try the Red....

Triple Rock had better beers, and was a more traditional bar but you really can't go wrong with a taster tray.

That's about it for now. Got some irish stout fermenting, and will bottle it next week. I've got some lofty idea of doing a Gingerbread porter for christmas, I'm currently looking for a recipe. Drop me a line with any suggestions.