By now, the odds are good that just about every Ex Novo fan has heard the news about the downtown taproom. We certainly did, so our apologies that it has taken this long to get to it, but life gets in the way sometimes.

First, however, there is something more immediate to lead off this feature about all things Ex Novo. Namely, this Saturday is the second edition of United in Beer, the collaboration festival held in The Corral, and there is still time to get tickets online.

If anyone still needs a reason or two to buy those tickets and join us outside from 1 to 5 p.m., well, we sat down with Ex Novo founder Joel Gregory and general manager Stevo Jeter to talk about what’s new this year besides some of the brewery pairings.

“First and foremost, this is the first year that New Mexico United is not only officially involved — aside from the past where it was (just) the Somos Unidos Foundation — the club is actually involved to a point where we’re going to have players here on Saturday taking part, which is huge,” Jeter said. “That was on purpose, because we wanted to have players here. I have the (list of) confirmed players, as well. We’ve got Sergio Rivas, (Kalen) Ryden, Kris Shakes, Will Seymore, and Talen Maples will be here. That’s official. Unofficial, who knows who else will show up?”

All right, that is pretty cool. Just remember, these are professional athletes, so if you challenge any of them to one of the lawn games, they are ridiculously competitive humans and will likely destroy you. The games include cornhole and beer pong, and the players will also have an autograph session for any of you United die-hard fans.

There will also be special giveaways, including four tickets to the future United match of your choice, a player-signed limited-edition jersey, and special “brewery baskets.”

“One thing I wanted to add for United in Beer, we have an official New Mexico United kit this year, which we didn’t have before,” Jeter said. “(It’s) the Visit Taos kit with our logo on the back, as well as the Drink Beer, Do Good (logo). This is the only way to get it this year. It will not be offered in the New Mexico United team shop.

“We (also) have an exclusive Ex Novo Brewing Company tank top where we collaborated with the Somos Unidos Foundation and New Mexico United. I’m also very excited about, because this is the first time we’ve got official New Mexico United/Ex Novo merch. It’s cool that our partnership has flourished that way it has, and we’re executing some really cool things across the board.”

All right, that sounds fun, but this is a beer festival, so let us get to that.

“I’m honestly super excited for the collabs this year, we’ve got more breweries involved, some new breweries involved,” Jeter said. “Super stoked to see new guys like Flock of Moons, Thirsty Eye, Sunday Service.”

“This is Painted Lady’s very first beer festival,” Gregory added.

“Hopefully he (owner Jesse Herron) keeps the ghosts with him, Corrales has enough,” Jeter replied. “I’m really excited about that aspect, to see a lot of the newer guys and smaller breweries who are just getting going, able to take part in something like this, and team up with bigger breweries to learn and grow. It really helps this community.”

Here is the full list of paired breweries, with their style categories.

Many of these will be on tap in the coming days, and we will make sure to highlight those that are and their exact names.

“I will say that we have some extra guests this year along with the New Mexico Brewers Guild, who were here last year,” Jeter said. “We added Sheehan (Winery) to the mix, they’re now doing the Vinos Unidos, so they’ll be out here with their New Mexico United wines offering samples. Overall, it’s going to be much the same, we’ll be offering some games. The big difference is player involvement this year.”

“We tightened up the timeline a little bit, just trying to have the right mix for volunteers and staff that work this thing,” Gregory said. “A seven-hour beer fest is too long. We brought it down to four hours.”

Both Gregory and Jeter also noted that the usual overflow parking area at the San Ysidro Catholic Church just north of Ex Novo will not be available as they are also having an event Saturday. So either aim to get to the brewery early, try to carpool, or take a rideshare.

Final pieces falling into place for downtown taproom

That aforementioned other big news was the announcement by Ex Novo of who will be leading their forthcoming downtown Albuquerque taproom. The tentative (hopeful?) opening date is now July 10,

Director of Culinary Operations and Executive Chef Marc Quiñones and General Manager Sean Lewis will be taking the helm of this ambitious new location on the northwest corner of Central Ave and Seventh Street.

The latter just happened to be at the brewery when we were there to talk United in Beer, so we asked Lewis what compelled him to leave Oregon, where he had managed the Ex Novo taproom in Beaverton, and move to the Albuquerque area.

“I’ve wanted to move to New Mexico for 10 years,” Lewis said. “This was the first state that I ever road tripped to that I wanted to move to. I saw mountains, desert, alpine forests, all that fun stuff. I was kind of worried about the beer down here, but I knew there was at least one brewery making good stuff that I could drink. I found a few others since I moved down. The opportunity to run a restaurant from the ground up and start it, I’ve been dumped into a lot of restaurants halfway through build-out or opening, this is the first one that I’ve gotten to help sculpt or craft myself.”

That same desire to essentially create something new and original was what drew Quiñones to the project, Gregory said.

“I didn’t think we were going to be able to get someone of that caliber, to be honest, but we did want to punch high on the list of breweries doing amazing food,” Gregory said. “That was always the plan, if we’re to have great food, we want the whole experience to be excellent. This just takes it a little step forward. Marc, similar to Sean, has a lot of experience, but typically not starting from scratch. So he’s also super excited about the opportunity to have carte blanche over the concept, over the staff and everything else from the ground up. Like I said in the release, I couldn’t be more excited about this team, for sure.”

“That is our motto, right? Drink beer, do good, take calculated risks,” Jeter added. “I’m telling you, that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned in five years with Joel. I always say, man, that was a gamble. He always says I never gamble, I take calculated risks. Reaching for someone like Chef Marc was a huge calculated risk that’s paid off. Man, I’m so excited.”

Quiñones was up until recently running the show at Level 5, the high-end restaurant at Hotel Chaco in the Sawmill District. He was a semifinalist for a 2024 James Beard Award, which is a very big deal in the restaurant world.

“This is such a significant honor and a great privilege to be able to join a first-class organization like Ex Novo,” Quiñones said in a press release issued by Ex Novo. “The opening of this establishment will be a cornerstone piece of the downtown revitalization project, and I can’t wait to be a part of it!”

Even through the various construction and permitting delays, which are totally normal for any new brewery and/or taproom in this town, the basic vision of the taproom has remained the same.

“There have been small revisions to the plan, but not too bad,” Gregory said. “We still have the three spaces that we’ve had in mind the last couple years, with the cafe deli taking up the morning for folks downtown, and then the brewpub and mezzanine bar.”

Lewis said that he has big plans for the mezzanine bar, which will be more cocktail-focused than the brewpub downstairs. This Ex Novo location will have a full liquor license, so the sky is the limit in terms of what they can potentially offer.

Downstairs, Gregory said that they will have 20 taps, which is more than the original Corrales taproom.

“I’m excited to have a little room for things from the cellar that we never seem to have room to put on tap here,” he said. “That’s a big deal in terms of what we’re able to do.”

The cafe deli will be open as early as 7 a.m. to help feed the downtown office crowd and residents. The mezzanine bar and brewpub will open later in the day and stay open until midnight.

Once the building is ready for a tour, we will be sure to pester Ex Novo for the chance to look around and take some pictures before July 10.

A big thanks to Joel, Stevo, and Sean for the interview. We will see them and many of you at United in Beer this Saturday, and probably at the downtown taproom opening in July.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister