tractor brewing
The Albuquerque (ABQ) beer scene has really thrived in recent years, something I realized only when we started planning our trip. There’s a growing list of local emerging breweries, and on our visit there, we chose 4 breweries to try.
Tractor was one of our first stops. It’s a great place in the Nob Hill neighborhood to sit back and enjoy a few beers. It has a tractor out front so you won’t miss it, and the inside bar and patio is a good size. They did not have any food, but there were a couple of food trucks outside (turns out there usually are a few there), and many restaurants also deliver directly to their patio! Decent beer selection, nice patio, food trucks…what more can a girl ask for? Oh, and their tagline – Get Plowed!
Marble is a fabulous brewery that we learned has won numerous awards. No surprise then that the beers we tried here were consistently good. They experiment with a number of different styles, but I loved the Imperial Red, and Kris declared that the IPA was one of the best he has ever had. He almost always drinks an IPA, so that’s a bold statement. The atmosphere is laid back here, with a patio that holds performances and food trucks year round. This was one of our favorites, and is definitely an ABQ gem that you should not miss. We went during the day, but it gets really crowded in the evenings and weekends.
This is one of the newer breweries in town, and is conveniently location near the Old Town ABQ area. It’s located in a residential looking building, but once you find it, you won’t be disappointed. Ponderosa also has a large selection from easy drinking lagers to dark, hoppy beers- something for everyone. We enjoyed their large patio that is set up with picnic tables, perfect for a stop after wandering around old town ABQ.
This was the last place we stopped at before catching our flight back to DC, and I’m glad we did. Great atmosphere and a large outdoor patio that made it awesome to sit out on a sunny morning. I opted for the beer flight, and really enjoyed over half of the sampling, especially the Saison. They seemed to be really popular for lunch (on a weekday too!), and we ended up trying their food, which was more inventive that regular pub fare. If I lived in ABQ, this would be one of my regular spots.
canteen brewhouse
Every place we stopped at was family and dog friendly, with a very diverse crowd. Other breweries that were on our list were La Cumbre and Chama River, which will have to be saved for our next visit!
Either way, if you are in ABQ anytime, do stop by these local breweries and get a taste for the New Mexico beer scene. Use the map below to plan your trip!
