We have written in the past about how hard it can be to get anyone on the record when a brewery closes. This was not the case, thankfully, with ReSource Brewing, which will shut down after one final party today (Saturday) from 5 to 9 p.m.

Co-owner Shawn Wright sat down over a couple pints on Friday afternoon as the taproom buzzed with regulars, some stopping by for the last time. The brewery will officially be closed as of Sunday, after which Brew Lab 101 will take over the space and spend a few weeks renovating before reopening as an offsite taproom of the Rio Rancho brewery.

The path from where Shawn and his wife, Stephanie, made the decision to walk away, up to where they ultimately worked out a deal to sell to another brewery, was a winding one.

“We got into this, we were bright-eyed and bushy tailed,” Shawn said. “We were going to promote different charities, shine a light on different nonprofits. We wanted to do things, not necessarily, like everyone else. Stephanie and I made the decision in the very beginning that if we ever had to deviate from that plan to make this a success, we’d have to exit.

“What we saw over the last year as things had opened up, the traction we were gaining was literally 100-percent local, walk-in, (from the) community. But, in order to kind of take that next step from a business standpoint, you’ve got to grow, you’ve got to expand, you can’t retract. We had the conversation that this was something that we couldn’t be along the ride for.”

That presented the couple with two possibilities.

“The option was do we shut it down, close the doors, ride out the lease, try to sell the equipment, or do we put it out there and see if we could find someone to take over the spot?” he said. “There’s a lot that goes into starting something like this. It’s not something you can simply shut down.

“We started talking to Scott (Salvas) in June or July, and some of the things we were looking for, we seemed to have a lot of overlap. He wanted larger equipment, a taproom on the east side, and I like Scott, I had known him for a couple years. We came up with a sales agreement, and here we are.”

The Wrights have another business that he said was taking up more and more of their time. It would not be fair, Shawn said, to his customers or staff to continue to put ReSource on the back burner.

“That was the primary driver of we need to hand this off to somebody to grow it, care for it, and make it better,” he said. “The equipment is going to be used. The staff all keeps their jobs. And the place, even though it will look different and have a different name, it will still be here for the regulars.”

While the logic is certainly there, it is still a difficult, emotional decision to walk away from something that the Wrights put everything into over the past three-plus years.

“It’s three years, and I cannot tell you how many people that we talk to, regulars, or even those who are only occasional drinkers, and tell us what this place has meant to them,” Shawn said. “That’s something we’ll take with us. It takes a tremendous amount of work, and stress, and more work to get this open. At the time we were doing it, we had no idea COVID was on the horizon, just like anyone else. But, we opened regardless, because honestly, what else were we going to do?”

Shawn told a story about how some of the first regulars that they had would gather on the patio, when that was the only place anyone was allowed to be together, and they called ReSource a lifeline in those strange, dark times.

“The place needs to be more, and it needs leadership that will give it that,” Shawn said. “Scott, one of the advantages he has, is a great network and team behind him. It’s not just one person. He has his own community and they can give this place what it needs.”

Shawn went on to talk about the beers he and Stephanie loved — the Swiss lager for him, the hazy IPA for her — and how he could not pick just one of the beers brewed for charity as a favorite, “because the causes were all worthwhile.” His favorite brew days were for the La Capilla wet-hop pale ale, with this year’s batch a collaboration between ReSource, Brew Lab, and Flock of Moons.

When it came to the brewing, however, Shawn was no longer running the show in the back. Mike Gruetzner had been atop the brewhouse for the last year and a half.

“We brought Mike on full-time at the other business,” Shawn said. “Put some of that college education he has to work, help us out. Whether or not he wants to pursue brewing, that’s up to him. I would highly endorse him to anybody.”

The Wrights will miss the brewing community.

“It’s a great industry,” Shawn said. “I had a ton of fun building the place. Steph had a ton of fun designing the beer, and finding the charitable organizations to work with. It just needs constant feeding.

“Probably, the thing that boggles my mind the most is we made it this long without having a manager on site. Our plans, the very first thing we were going to do was hire a manager. When we opened, because of COVID, that reserved money we set aside for that position had to be absorbed into the payroll.

“We did well, we had a quality staff all the way. But, it’s one of those things, it needs constant attention. We were lucky in some regards, but at the same time, if we had that position, I think we might be in a different spot. But, alas.”

I asked Shawn if he is going to miss brewing, but he pointed out that he has not brewed in quite some time. It turned out that his wife asked, too.

“The small-batch equipment, that wasn’t in the deal,” he said. “But, when I was brewing at home (before ReSource), I was doing 10 to 15 gallons at a time. Now we’ve got the 1-barrel setup. I could probably brew three or four barrels at a time. But, I don’t think I’m going to get back into brewing. The reason I say that is I’m not one to dabble. We know what happened the last time I got into brewing.

“But, I am absolutely encouraging anyone who wants to get into brewing to brew as much as they want, invite the neighbors over to drink beer, and just enjoy a taproom in their garage.”

On that positive note, the story ends. A big thanks to Shawn, and Stephanie, Mike, and their entire staff, past and present, for everything over these past three years. I knew when ReSource opened that it would give the Northeast Heights something it lacked, a Sidetrack type of neighborhood pub. It did just that, and even under a new name and new ownership, it should continue to provide a place for the community to gather and enjoy this crazy thing we call life.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister