Another round at Marble

I'm not a gusher. When I review beers or discuss breweries, I try to temper my praise so I don't sound like a fanboy. If beer bloggers aren't careful, they can sound a little like Justin Bieber fans reviewing a new single.

Which brings me to Marble Brewery. A few months ago, Beer at 6512 took a look at Marble, noticing the Albuquerque brewery's range of solid and often excellent beers.

Still, Marble hasn't gotten much attention. The only national attention it's received, really, was a mention in Draft magazine's top 25 beers of the year list for From the Wood, a ridiculously smooth barrel-aged ale that the lucky among us sampled at Ska's 15th anniversary party last summer.

Marble's beers are available only in New Mexico, for now. Marble was just founded in 2008 and is still expanding in its own backyard.

For Durangoans, the closest place to find a selection of their beers is Distil, a high-end liquor store in Farmington. Marble has its production facility and pub in Albu-quirky, and another pub on the plaza in Santa Fe.

Recently, after working up a thirst touristing around Santa Fe, Marble beckoned. I'd already enjoyed their well-crafted IPA and stunning Red, so I was looking for something different.

An imperial pint of Marble Brewery's English-style
pale ale at the pub in Santa Fe.

The pub had two pale ales on tap; one called Marble Pale Ale, the other was an English-style pale ale. A sample of Marble Pale Ale was bracing; it was just brutally bitter. It reminded me of the first time I tried Modus Hoperandi — way more hop presence than you would expect even for a frequently hoppy style. Hopheads no doubt would love it, but I was looking for something a little more refreshing.

So I opted for a pint of the English-style pale ale. It was caramelly and nutty in a beautiful amber body, with a nice balanced hop profile. It was an accomplished and flavorful English-style pale ale.

I took home a few bottles of various Marble beers, and was most impressed by their Oatmeal Stout. The style isn't always pulled off well, and can be so characterless that it turns boring.

Not Marble's. As I've come to expect from them, it was superb. Creamy all day long, and carrying more depth and flavor than one has a right to expect.

Every one of Marble's beers is flavorful, even the pedestrian styles that can be found at most craft breweries. Head Brewer Ted Rice does not do boring, mediocre or average.

I've been circling around it for a while now, and I'm ready to sit: Marble has surpassed Santa Fe Brewing as the best packaging brewery in New Mexico, and their beers would go toe-to-toe with what you would expect from consistently high-quality Colorado breweries like Ska, Avery, Left Hand, etc.

It's time to sit up and take notice of Marble Brewery.

A look at Marble Brewery

New Mexico doesn't have the craft brewing culture of Colorado, but the Land of Enchantment is doing some catch-up. Marble Brewery is helping lead the charge.

Marble is based in Albuquerque, but also has a pub on the plaza in Santa Fe. The two cities form Marble's primary market, but its beers can be found throughout New Mexico (Distil in Farmington has a good selection), but not yet in Colorado.

Marble recently gained some national attention when their From the Wood was named one of the top 25 beers of 2010 by Draft magazine.

I've had the chance to try several Marble beers, including a batch of the acclaimed From the Wood at Ska's 15th Anniversary Party last summer. My favorite, however, is Marble Red, a very hop-forward take on the red ale, a style that is often offered with indifferent hopping.

Marble's version is relatively strong at 6.5 percent ABV, with Crystals, Cascades and Simcoes doing the bittering. It's essentially a red ale crossed with an IPA, to wonderful results.

Marble's head brewer is Ted Rice, director of brewing operations and one of the company's five owners. He told me in an e-mail that he has been brewing professionally since 1996.

Rice started in a New York brewpub before taking the American Brewers Guild class in 1998. He moved to Albuquerque in '99, brewed for Blue Corn Brewery in Albuquerque then transitioned that location to Chama River Brewing Co. He opened Marble in 2008.

Marble is quickly growing. Rice & co. will top 8,000 barrels this year after brewing 5,000 last year. For 2011, Marble will most likely pass 10,000 barrels, Rice said.

Marble's top-selling beer is its IPA, followed by Red. I asked Rice if Marble has any plans to distribute in Colorado.

"No plans to distribute in Colorado in the near future," he said. "Maybe a year from now. We are currently brewing at capacity and selling everything in New Mexico."

Good for them. What has impressed me most about Marble is the consistent quality of their beers. Having had the Red, IPA, From the Wood and Double White, each has been an above average, well thought-out and crafted beer. It seems Rice is doing some other interesting things, including a pale ale brewed with the designer hop Citra.

Marble also has a consistent brand identity that you can see on its website. Each beer is assigned a color of marble that dominates the packaging. More and more breweries are going to some sort of systematic branding (like Upright in Portland naming their core beers Four, Five, Six and Seven). Marble's beers are easy to find in a crowded liquor store cooler.

Hopefully Marble will be in Colorado before too long. In any case, their beers are well worth trying on your next sojourn to New Mexico.

This brewery is one to watch.

Review: Marble Red Ale

My planned series of New Mexico beer reviews collided headlong with a busy week in real life. But let's get on with it:

Marble Brewery is a bit of a jewel in the still-developing world of New Mexico craft brewing. Founded in 2008, it is based in Albuquerque but also has a substantial tap room on the plaza in Santa Fe.

I was first impressed by a Marble beer I had at Three Rivers Brewery in Farmington, which was offering the Marble beer as a guest tap. I think it was an Old Ale, a deep, dark, boozy brew that stood out.

I didn't have another Marble beer until their folks showed up at Ska Brewing's 15th anniversay party. (A recap of that event is here). From the Wood,  a 9.2 percent ABV Scottish ale aged in oak barrels, had a delicious, full and well-rounded character, with hints of vanilla and oak.

So I couldn't help but pick up a six-pack of Marble Red Ale while at Trader Joe's in Santa Fe.

Marble Red is fairly burly at 6.5 percent ABV. It uses substantial caramel malt, which is more than balanced by the contributions of Crystal, Cascade and Simcoe hops.

It pours a dark amber, with a decent head of off-white foam. The smell has a bit of caramel and a ton of hops.

Marble Red is aggressively hopped - the spices wash over your tongue and dominate the taste. It's more like a cross between a red ale and an IPA than a typical red.

I particularly enjoy generously hopped reds. They carry a ton of flavor, but seem better balanced than some IPAs. If you ever find yourself in New Mexico, grab this beer. And hopefully, given Marble's impressive consistency, it won't be long before the young brewery distributes here. A-

Ska celebrates 15 years

Some 15 years ago, a couple of high school friends from Colorado's Front Range cobbled together a little bit of money and some equipment scrounged from rural dairy farms. With a comic book for a business plan, they founded Ska Brewing Co. in a warehouse on Durango's outskirts.

By now, Ska is easily the largest brewery in the Four Corners, with a spanking new state-of-the-art facility churning out bottles and cans for customers in much of the western and midwestern United States. Founders Dave Thibodeau and Bill Graham and later partner Matt Vincent now have more than 70 employees, strong sales and growing prominence in the craft-beer industry.

On Saturday, Ska celebrated its 15th birthday with a party worthy of its history. Seattle rockers the Supersuckers headlined a slate of bands and 15 breweries brought their best creations.

I was impressed by both the overall quality of the beers and the event in general. Everything seemed well-planned, from the shuttles departing from Steamworks to the commemorative tasting glass with a four-ounce pour line etched on the glass.

On to the beers. I got to taste most of the beers that piqued my interest. But I found that the four-ounce pour line was treated generously, and I left with some drink tickets still in my pocket. I tended to avoid beers readily available in Durango, so I found myself returning to some of the smaller producers.

Without further ado, in approximately the order in which I tasted them:

1. Ska Dementia. I had to give my regards to the birthday boy, so to speak. Brewed specifically for this event, Dementia is a barrel-aged version of Ska's Euphoria Pale Ale, typically a winter seasonal. Ska head brewer Thomas Larsen aged it for about five months in oak barrels, and dry hopped it with Simcoes.

I kept my expectations for this beer in check. Euphoria is not one of my favorite Ska beers - I have made the error of comparing Euphoria to other pale ales rather than taking it on its own merits. Euphoria is nothing like a standard American-style pale ale, Sierra Nevada's pioneering pale being the widely acknowledged exemplar. Euphoria is darker, hoppier and boozier.

Larsen poured a ceremonial opening keg of Dementia (pictured). The aged ale shows a deep mahogany color, with a substantial head of white foam.

On first taste, you get a deep sense of something old and wonderful, like a musty barn. A suggestion of oak comes across, with perhaps a hint of vanilla. The rough edges in Euphoria have been lovingly sanded off, and Dementia is well-rounded, complex and balanced, with a slightly sweet and vinous aftertaste.

In short, it's outstanding. Dare I say Dementia is one of the best beers Ska has ever brewed.

An extremely small quantity of Dementia is available in 22-ounce bomber bottles, double-dipped in wax to ensure proper aging. Your best bet is to purchase them at Ska headquarters in Bodo Industrial Park. I suggest you do so.

2. Steamworks Cherry Diablo. A cherry-infused version of Ale Diablo from Durango's own Steamworks Brewing Co., this one was served from a firkin. The cherries (I heard they were pie cherries) nicely complemented the already excellent base beer, a Belgian-style golden ale that comes in at 8.5 percent ABV and 33 IBUs.

3. Marble IPA. A very hop-forward and well-brewed IPA from the two-year-old Albuquerque outfit. This one is brewed with Columbus, centennial and Amarillo hops and packs 6.2 percent ABV.

4. Left Hand Polestar Pils. A summer favorite of mine from the boys in Longmont, this pilsner lager (5.5 percent ABV, 33 IBUs) is brewed with Weyermann pilsner and pale malt, and hopped with magnum, Mt. Hood and sterling hops. It was as good as I remember.

5. Three Rivers Double Amber. A big amber ale from the Farmington brewpub, this one flaunts its alcohol content like Flavor Flav rocks a timepiece. The thick malt body gave it a sweetness that could have used greater hop character for balance.

6. Marble From the Wood. I went back to these up-and-comers for their strong Scottish ale aged in oak barrels. From the Wood (9.2 percent ABV!) carried assertive notes of vanilla and oak. It was luxurious and smooth, not unlike a barley wine. My second-favorite beer of the fest.

7. Three Rivers SHIPA. A single-hop IPA brewed with Cascades, the classic American craft beer hop. A very enjoyable IPA.

8. Pagosa Rodeo Rider Red. This German-style red ale plays to my weakness for interesting and well-done red ales. Many are the weak, boring red ales. This is not one of those. Rodeo Rider Red carries a huge and endlessly complex malt profile. Caramel, wood, molasses flavors impress.

9. Bristol Compass IPA. At this point my palate was dead to hops and my interest in note-taking declined precipitously. About all I can relate here is this Colorado Springs IPA tasted acceptable (6.7 percent ABV, 55 IBUs).

10. Breckenridge Double Pils. A strong pilsner lager from the Denver-based giant. "Sweet," say my notes. I think I liked this one.

Ska threw a hell of a party, a ton of people helped out and brewers brought some serious, interesting beers.

"Have I mentioned how tasty this beer is?" said Supersuckers leadman Eddie Spaghetti from the stage. "It's good shit."

I'll leave it at that.