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By Root 1159 0

bounding through steep glades of aspen, lush evergreen forest, and leafy meadows with widescreen views of soaring peaks and plunging valleys. Late September is prime season, just as the aspens reach their Technicolor best. To rent quality gear, hire a guide, or join a group, visit Gearing Up, right down the alley from Eske’s. For $105, you can secure a seven-passenger van shuttle to and from the trailhead departing at 7 a.m. If you don’t have a big group, call ahead to be added to a waiting list for your desired day, which ought be capped off with beers—where else?—on the patio at Eske’s.

BEST of the REST: NEW MEXICO

CHAMA RIVER BREWING CO.

106 2nd St. SW • Albuquerque, NM 87103 • (505) 842-8329 • chamariverbrewery.com

An upscale brewpub with an ambitious steak house menu (petite sirloin; pan roasted striped bass) and even more ambitious young brewmaster, Justin Long, who paid his dues in Santa Fe and then worked at Marble before getting his chance to spread his wings. He took home Nevada’s only gold medal in the 2010 Great American Beer Festival for his rich, roasty Baltic Porter, Three Dog Night.

MARBLE TAPROOM

60 E San Francisco St. • Santa Fe, NM 87501 • (505) 989-3565 • marblebrewery.com

With all the turquoise merchants of central Santa Fe’s plaza area trying to get you into a serious bolo tie, the plaza can be a bit much. Fortunately, there’s the Marble Taproom, located on the second floor of the Arcade building with a balcony overlooking the teeming park and market. Come here for views of the Cathedral and Sangre de Cristo Mountains and fresh pints of every Marble style.

Arizona

Scottsdale

PAPAGO BREWING

7107 East McDowell Rd. • Scottsdale, AZ 85257 (480) 425-7439 • papagobrewing.com • Established: 2001

SCENE & STORY

Hidden among the car dealerships and dusty palm trees of Scottsdale Avenue inside a faux-adobe minimall is a real beer lover’s dream, a solid brewpub that also stocks a massive tap row and more than five hundred varieties of beer in bottles carefully arranged in coolers. There’s a couple of dartboards, some TVs, an overall mellow Western saloon vibe; the servers are hired to know their stuff on beer, which helps with a selection this vast.

PHILOSOPHY

The name refers to a local native tribe, a peaceful, agronomic group that anthropologists say were the first brewers in the region, making a corn beer called tesquino using woven baskets which are still in use today.

KEY BEER

There are several house beers that are contract brewed off-site. A 2005 bronze medal winner at the GABF in the nebulous “other strong ale or lager” category, Papago El Robusto Porter, at 8% ABV, is well above the standard English threshold of porter strength, but carries its weight well, with notes of nutty, burnt brown sugar and bittersweet chocolate.

Tempe

FOUR PEAKS BREWING CO.

1340 E. 8th St., No. 104 • Tempe, AZ 85281 • (480) 303-9967 fourpeaks.com • Established: 1997

SCENE & STORY

Just east of ASU’s campus, Four Peaks Brewing Company (and a good percentage of ASU students on weekend nights) calls a huge 1892 Mission Revival–style barn home. Formerly housing a series of creamery businesses, it’s got weathered brick walls and high wood ceilings with a 35-foot-high glass clerestory, the rafters festooned with banners for the Minnesota Vikings and ASU Sun Devils. There’s a second location in Scottsdale, but this is the one to hit.

PHILOSOPHY

The All-American brewpub. Nothing wrong with that: expect eight tasty beers of a fairly standard lineup (Kölsch to stout), plus occasional seasonals and cask-conditioned beers, and the full complement of brewpub fare.

KEY BEER

If it’s 110°F in the shade, go for the hazy, clovey 5.5% ABV Hefeweizen; any cooler, go for the Kilt Lifter, a 6% ABV Scotch ale with rich malt and smoky notes. Extra points for locating the Elvis shrine.

BEST of the REST: ARIZONA

TOPS LIQUORS & TASTE of TOPS

403 W. University Dr. • Tempe, AZ 85281 • (480) 967-2520 • topsliquors.com

What’s better than a bottle shop with 1,000 selections comprising every foreign