The 20th annual Lavender in the Village Festival will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday at Balloon Fiesta Park, and the (brewing) price of the Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque will be there in full support. Steel Bender will have a booth on site (No. 111) and will be offering up…
Downshift takes slight lead after 1st round of 2026 NMBG IPA Challenge
For anyone that missed it on social media, the Crew was present in numbers for the first round of the 2026 New Mexico Brewers Guild IPA Challenge on Saturday at Second Street Rufina in Santa Fe. Three of us joined in the first-round festivities, which were quite simple to enjoy in the spacious taproom, replete…
Carlsbad brewery plans to move into familiar location in Clovis
A little while ago, we noted that while there has been zero moves by any Albuquerque area brewery in terms of adding a taproom, Open Space Brewing in Santa Clara was adding a taproom in nearby Silver City. Well, this week, Carlsbad’s Guadalupe Mountain Brewing decided to join in on the fun, announcing that they…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Sending out soccer with a big brewery bang
By the time you read this feature, the World Cup final could very well be set. Spain beat France 2-0 on Tuesday in the first semifinal, and defending champion Argentina was set to battle England today (Wednesday). That final is set for 1 p.m. Sunday, and of course many breweries will be showing the game,…
Savory 16 finalists set for 2026 New Mexico Brewers Guild IPA Challenge
Whomever controls the hops controls the beer universe. Or, something like that, but it’s getting to be time for the New Mexico Brewers Guild’s IPA Challenge, so we may be mangling more movie quotes before the winner is crowned on August 1. The preliminary round, where judging panels of brewers and chosen brewery representatives gather…
Beer Notes: IPA Challenge begins, new taproom, metal show and more
This seems like as good a time as any to dig through the old beer notebook and see what little tidbits of news are worth sharing. We found just enough, for a change. First up, quite literally, is the preliminary round of the 2026 New Mexico IPA Challenge. For those new to the competition, it’s…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Happy brewery anniversary times 3
Some weeks, it can be hard to pick out a single theme or one particular event to feature here at the start of this column. Other weeks, it pretty much drops right on your head. This week will feature not one but three anniversary parties as a trio of breweries go into full celebratory mode….
Thirsty Eye looks to the future as founding brewer prepares to say farewell
Every now and again, you can still learn something surprising covering the local brewery scene. For instance, Thirsty Eye Brewing has never thrown an anniversary party since it opened in 2019. That will change this Friday, and in a way, this party will also mark a joyous farewell of sorts for founding brewer John Kofonow….
The mostly complete guide to July 4 hours at New Mexico breweries
As a public service that we do for most significant holidays, we attempt to compile all the brewery hours of operation for whatever is up next. In this case, it is the Fourth of July, which produces a whole mix of places keeping normal hours, some closing early, and others taking the day off to…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Holiday happenings and new brews
Keeping this one short and sweet, since I switched up my schedule Wednesday for New Mexico United (again). It’s a holiday weekend, so fear not, we will have all those brewery hours of operation for the 4th of July on Saturday. That will be in a separate feature later this week. Otherwise, there’s fewer events…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 