9800 Montgomery Blvd NE | Albuquerque
The third time is a charm, or at least that’s the hope for Lizard Tail, one of Albuquerque’s newest brewery arrivals. I recently stumbled into the former residence of both Bad Ass and Farside Brewing to be check out the new home of Lizard Tail. Though they weren’t scheduled to officially open until Friday, August 22, I took a chance with their soft opening earlier in the week and gave their wares a proper sampling.
It is about time that the Heights got a brewer; it has been needing one for a while. It is just a bit odd that all three that I’m aware of have taken up the exact same residence in a little strip mall at the corner of Montgomery & Eubank (which also happens to host the offices of everyone’s favorite crooked lawyer friend Saul, from “Breaking Bad.”) With a bit of luck, and some proper patronage, hopefully they’ll be around for a while.
The first thing I noticed once I walked in the door was — gone are the days of looking into the nano-brew kitchen when the place was Bad Ass and Farside. A wall has been erected, and a lizard has been painted. A whole lizard, not just the tail. Further inspection proved that they pretty much gutted the old place, adding and fine-tuning where appropriate.
The master brewers / prioritizers Dan and Ken seem to be heading into the direction of malt forward beers. A trend that is at times counter to the New Mexican love of hops and bitters. But this is something I’m not the least bit sad about. I like my beers with a good malty introduction, so it is just fine by me if they want to keep their two barrel system pumping out sweet low-hop beers. Expect beers to max out around 70 IBUs with most things circling around 30 to 40 IBUs.
As per typical, I ordered a flight of beers… two, actually. Each flight has 4 beers, and there were 7 on tap, with an 8th one showing up mid-way through flight number two.
It would be at this point where most beer bloggers would show you a picture of the flights of crisp clean, mouthwatering beers. But I’m not here to pander to an audience, nor am I your typical beer blogger. Also, I forgot to take a picture.
So instead, let’s go through a beer journey in our imagination. Close your eyes and you can visualize the beer as I describe it. Oh wait, don’t do that. I don’t want to judge you, but I’m pretty sure you can’t read with your eyes shut. So let’s just assume that the reverse is true, and 1000 words equals a picture.
The following were a part of the beer roster when I visited.
- Berliner Weisse 4.5 ABV 8 IBU (coming soon)
- German Blond Ale 5.5 ABV 20 IBU
This light hay colored beer was more bitter than I expected. It seemed to my non-expert palate that it was quite a bit more than the reported 20 IBUs. Slightly astringent, but otherwise clear and crisp. This would be a good beer for warm day and session sipping. - Honey Pale Ale 6.3 ABV 35 IBU
Darker and more golden than its German Blond cousin, the Pale Ale was about where you would expect it to be on the bitter range. It had some earthy undertones as well, though I’m not sure if any hints of honey really snuck their way in. It also seemed a bit thin, in my opinion. - Belgian Abbey 6.6 ABV 25 IBU
A lovely example of a Belgian style Abbey. It was a bit hazy, as well it should have been, and golden brown in color. This beer had an aged woody flavor that complemented the almost grapefruit-like undertones. Absolutely worth drinking again… and again. - IPA 6.8 ABV 70 IBU
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I have few merits judging IPAs. I’ll drink one from time to time, but I don’t know what I’m doing. This is one of those that I may drink from time to time, but the bitter was a bit strong for me. - Amber 5.7 ABV 40 IBU
Mmmmm. As in Mmmmmalty. Mellow, malty, and smooth. That about sums it up. I’ll have another one of these magical darker Ambers, please. - Oatmeal Brown 4.2 ABV 25 IBU
I like Oatmeal, I like browns, I even like sour beers. This, however, was not right. Though notes of coffee and chocolate were present, I fear that this batch was just off. The flavor led me to believe there was a Brettanomyces infection going on. For a beer in which it is intended, it could be a wonderful thing. This one was not. I could not even finish the sample glass. I hope to come back again and see it improved. - Indian Black Ale 6.6 ABV 70 IBU
Black IPAs seem to be a thing now. I’m ok with this. This malty dark bittered black ale was actually rather lovely. It was nice and creamy with a well-balanced hop signature. - Rye Stout 5.5 ABV 35IBU
Saving the best for last. This dark almost nutty beer was my pint after flight choice. To my knowledge I’ve not had a Rye Stout before. As a lover of all beers dark, this was a prime example of something new that made Lizard Tail well worth the trip.
Outside of beer, Lizard Tail also offers up some appetizers and sandwiches. I only had the beer, so I’m afraid I can’t comment, but it seemed to be pretty typical fare for such an establishment.
I’ll be honest. I wasn’t overly impressed with Lizard Tail’s beer. That’s not to say that most of the beers weren’t good. Most were rather lovely, there just wasn’t anything that stood out in any major way, except for maybe the Rye Stout, but that may have simply been the novelty. Given Albuquerque’s brewery diversity, that’s something that really needs to happen.
I will say that Lizard Tail seems to have some great potential, a good location, and friendly staff. I will definitely be back, if for nothing else, for a pint of their Rye Stout and to give their seasonal beers a shot.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lizard-Tail-Brewing/1374531232789266
