Dripline Brewery nears completion after lengthy build-out in Wells Park

Dripline Brewery owners Guillaume Dupont, left, and Jacob Werenko stand outside their future brewery. And yes, there is a brew dog, and he is a very good boy.

Long ago, in the before times, we heard rumors of another brewery moving into the Wells Park brewing district. It was before COVID, before so many other things, and it was not long until we thought it was just another project lost to time.

Then we noticed the area was cleared out at the corner of Second Street and Summer Ave. And then, a building went up. Landscaping began to move into place.

Other brewers and brewery owners asked us what was up. We reached out on social media and waited. Finally, a reply came, and at the end of last week, down I went to visit with owners Jacob Werenko and Guillaume Dupont to talk about Dripline Brewery, a long-ago dream finally becoming a reality.

We sat down in the taproom building over coffee, amid construction tools, some construction dust, and went over the long process to get from an idea for the two friends to actually seeing it come together in the final stages.

The taproom is coming together just like the outdoors. Those lights over the bar will be a very cool feature when ready.

“So we were looking for property in this area,” Werenko said. “We wanted to be down by the breweries down here. Gui found this lot, it was kind of a junkyard kind of space, not really a junkyard, but some guy’s man cave, with old cars everywhere. He had a hand-written for sale sign on it. Gui called him on it and he said yeah, I’ll sell it to you.”

Dupont said they were looking for a large enough space for a proper outdoor area. Dripline will occupy about two thirds of the block between Summer and Rosemont Ave, putting it just north of Reincarnation Inc., a Subaru repair shop, and diagonally across from Voodoo Girl Pizza & Pints.

The duo chose Campo Verde Architecture to help with the design.

“Two years of design (planning),” Dupont said. “The goal was to have an architect who could work with Jacob, because Jacob is in design and general contractor. We wanted to have someone who would (easily) work with a general contractor.”

“There was a lot of fun collaboration to get to this design,” Werenko added. “It was a unique process. We made it through all that design, submitted it to the City in 2019, and in February of 2020 we got our permit, I think.”

This was all still a dream when the pandemic hit in 2020.

Then the pandemic lockdown went into effect, and both Werenko and Dupont agreed to be stay-at-home dads and take care of their children while their wives kept working. All work at Dripline stopped and would not start up again until 2022.

Naturally, the City of Albuquerque was there to throw up some roadblocks, as it has done with so many other breweries (and other businesses) over the years.

“We didn’t have the bandwidth and whatever to make this happen,” Werenko said. “And then, when things started loosening up, we went to the City and said we’re ready to start. Are we OK to start? They said oh, you’re not. City codes have changed, you’ve lost your permit. And, you need to reapply, and not only do you need to reapply but you need to go back to your architect and redesign everything to fit the new codes.”

Things finally got moving again in 2022, and now Dripline feels like it is about two to three months from completion, though both Werenko and Dupont are smart enough not to put an exact opening date out there just yet.

The tap handles are already in place, but there’s no beer to try yet.

The duo have been working hard themselves, putting a lot of literal blood, sweat, and tears into the construction.

“A lot of it we did ourselves,” Dupont said.

“(It’s) some combination of trying to save money and trying to get stuff done when everyone else is busy,” Werenko added.

Dupont said it was also due to their desire to put their own finishing touches on everything, to make it look like the way they both envisioned.

“It’s getting close,” Werenko said. “The gas meter is getting set today, hopefully. Hopefully there’s no hiccups there. There was one, but the gas company helped me work it out. We’re supposed to have our final electrical inspection today. And, our parking lot was supposed to start yesterday, so it’s around the corner.”

The building on the left will have the taproom and kitchen. The one on the right houses the brewery.

The setup of Dripline is in two buildings on the north end and the outdoor area extending southward, with a parking lot under construction on the east side away from Second Street. The outdoor area features a tree-lined area that will contain bocce courts and cornhole. There’s grassy hill overlooking that, and then closer to the taproom building is a fountain and covered seating. The secondary building houses the brewery that has its own amusing little tale of acquisition.

“You put something in front of Gui and he’s like a bloodhound, he won’t let go,” Werenko recalled. “He’s texting me at 2 in the morning. How about this one? He’s looking for used equipment and he sent me something at 2 or 3 in the morning. This just listed, I sent off an email, and I think we should get this. I said yeah.”

This brewing system that Dupont found was a few states north of New Mexico. Werenko said the owners of a brewery in Helena, Montana, had opened a second location in a nearby fishing/tourist town, and they were intent on putting a secondary brewhouse there to keep up with demand. To save costs initially, they hired a food truck to park outside this new spot during the summer, but at the end of the busy season, the truck owner said it was all too much. To preserve the business, the brewery owners asked the truck owner if he would be interested in doing a full kitchen, and he said yes. The area that had been reserved for brewing was remodeled, and suddenly the brewery had an entire secondary system available.

The brewhouse is in place and ready to be fired up soon.

“They reversed course on the idea of brewing up in that town and listed their brand-new equipment (for sale),” Werenko said. “Still untouched, still in boxes. They bought it pre-COVID, so it was pre-COVID priced. That helped us out, helped them out. They got out from under their big bill on it. They were super nice guys, super fun. We flew up there in January.”

Dupont said that traveling in the middle of winter was not ideal, but it was the best time for their wives and children.

“We rented a U-Haul to bring the equipment back,” Dupont said. “The U-Haul (dealer) was about half a mile from the airport. Jake and I thought we’ll walk, no big deal. We got there and it was 16 degrees.”

“No, it was 16 below!” Werenko added.

With no other options, the two emptied their bags and layered up for the snowy walk ahead.

“We looked like Ralphie in A Christmas Story,” Werenko said. “We’re walking in snow drifts. People driving by must have thought we were nuts.”

“It was the coldest I’ve ever been,” Dupont confirmed.

The brewing equipment manufacturer came highly recommended by the owners of Gravity Bound. We like the name, too.

Once they did get the truck, they drove to Helena, loaded up the equipment, and began the long drive home.

“It had dumped snow two days before we landed,” Werenko said. “When we got there it was clear blue skies. The day we left a storm was following us. The roads were good, the coffee was good, the burger up there was so good. It was so much fun.”

Werenko and Dupont also said that Gravity Bound owners Chris and Cameron Frigon were a huge help during this process. The system for Dripline was from Stout Brewing, which the Frigon brothers swore by, and so far, their advice has proven to be sound.

“We talked to those guys (the Frigons) and they said oh, man, we went with Stout, and Stout has been holding our hand through the whole process in interacting with the City,” Werenko said.

“It’s fantastic,” Dupont agreed. “I’m really looking forward to firing it up.”

The beers and beer styles will largely be determined by what customers demand. It is part of the process of trying include multiple viewpoints into all aspects of Dripline, which Werenko and Dupont said has already gone into the design of the outdoor area.

This area will eventually featured bocce courts and cornhole.

“We’ve had a bunch of response from all walks of life about how excited they are for a fun outdoor space,” Werenko said. “It has modified a little bit. I think when we conceived the idea it was a little along the lines of what do I want in a space for me and my family. It has become more responding to what have we heard from the community. It’s become a little more inclusive.

“A friend of mine has a bocce league, and we’ve talked about having them come down for some bocce nights. Gui has a lot of connections on the cornhole league. I think family is super important, and so is whatever feels good of the community at large. It’s more inclusive than less.”

On the food front, Dripline will have a small kitchen ready to go, nestled in back of the bar in the taproom building.

“We’re talking with a chef who is 85 percent, 90 percent on board,” Werenko said. “He’s not 100 percent, but we think he’s coming. He’s got a couple different ideas and we’re going to let him run with it. He understands the dynamic and our limitations with space in a small kitchen. We have lots of space where food can travel. It can’t be a fine plate or anything. He gets our limitations and our advantages to the space. Everything he’s turned out … I think he makes his meetings at 11:45 (for) when we’re hungry.”

The grass is starting to grow atop the little hill in the middle of the outdoor area.

Dripline will have root beer and sodas for families, along with some non-alcoholic drinks alongside the beer. They also have a marketing person in place and ready to go, but other than this interview, they have tried to hold off on getting the word out too early, just in case there is another one of those frustrating delays.

“We have an awesome person who is going to do the marketing for us,” Dupont said. “She knows not to throw it out there too early, because we’re going to disappoint people. We are also hoping to have this place as kind of a word-of-mouth place.”

“Especially at the outset,” Werenko said. “We’re nervous. We’ve been working on this for a long time.”

From what I experienced, from the enthusiasm and professional approach from Werenko and Dupont, to what they have built so far, it feels like Dripline will be a wonderful addition to the Wells Park brewing scene. It will offer up something a little different, and yet a great compliment to places nearby like Marble, Gravity Bound, JUNO, Rio Bravo, Tractor, and Bow & Arrow.

For now, everyone should just be patient for a little longer. Dripline is nearly done, and we will make sure to keep the beer community updated on the final stages. And, if you are a brewer or brewery owner, both Werenko and Dupont said you can always stop on by to check it out yourselves.