Good news from Socorro

Some months back, before I started this blog, I had posted on another blog a bit about the Socorro Springs Brewing Company, probably the best microbrewery in New Mexico.

Back then, the restaurant had just moved into a new location, and, while things looked promising, there were still some kinks to work out. For example, the new facility had more than twice the brewing capacity of the old, but demand had quadrupled, so the restaurant had run out of some of the more popular brews.

We returned this weekend, and are delighted to report that the glitches are fixed, and the Socorro Springs Brewing Company is better than ever. And the improvements go well beyond the beer, which is in itself excellent.

The old location was in the historic adobe Baca Mercantile building, and it had tons of atmosphere. But it was also cramped. The new location is larger and more airy, but it still has atmosphere with distressed-concrete floors and curving, stucco-coated walls that echo the fluidity of adobe. The furniture and fixtures are modern, simple, and something of a continuation of the décor in the old place, especially in the restrooms, which were and once again are among the best restrooms anywhere.

In the old location, there was only one way to cook food: a wood-fired brick oven. The new location has a larger brick oven, and it also has a wood-fired grill, for steaks, burgers, and other grilled items, and a stove, to cook pasta and sauté vegetables. The pizzas and calzones are as good as ever, and the expanded menu means more choices for people who watch what they eat.

And the beer is just as good as it ever was. My favorite is the Pickaxe IPA, an award-winning brew. The Good Morning Golden, Isopod Amber, and Park City Porter are excellent. The seasonal brews are always interesting and usually very good. And if you are the designated driver or have some other reason for abstaining, the root beer is rich and creamy, with complex sarsaparilla notes that bring one to a state of bliss.

So if you’re ever in central New Mexico, the one place you absolutely must not miss is the Socorro Springs Brewing Company.