Now that the holiday has come and gone, things are starting to rev up again.

From a competition, of a sort, between two breweries, to lots of new food-and-beer pairings, more samplings/tastings, a beer dinner, and an educational class on off flavors, the afternoon and evening are packed with lots of fun.

Good luck picking out which events you want to attend.

Featured event

Every day we will pick what we consider the biggest, most interesting, most unique event. This does not mean you should go to only this event and ignore the rest. All of them deserve your attention, but realistically, you can probably only attend a few. So we will make our daily pick, and you can either jump on it, or declare the Crew is foolish (we kinda are) and pick your own.

What: Battle of the Breweries. Where: The Grain Station. When: 6 p.m. Cost: No entry fee.

Details: It’s a Kill the Keg competition between Santa Fe’s Freestyle Pilsner and Upslope’s Craft Lager. Whichever beer runs out first, that brewery is the victor. There will some swag on hand and you can chat with SFBC and Upslope reps. Plus, of course, The Grain Station’s awesome menu of delectable food will be available.

Why you should go: We can’t really let a Colorado brewery defeat a New Mexico brewery on our turf, right?

All the other great events

What: Beer & Cheese Pairings with Cheesy Street. Where: Tractor Wells Park. When: 3 p.m. Cost: TBA. Details: The folks at Cheesy Street food truck will have trays of grilled cheese slideres, each paired up with a specific selection of Tractor beers. What those are were a mystery at press time, so go find out and let us know if they are as tasty as we expect them to be. Why you should go: Dude, grilled cheese and beer. It’s so American it’s scary.

What: Japanese Beer Tasting. Where: Jubilation. When: 4 p.m. Cost: No entry fee. Details: Jubilation will have beers from Hitachino, Coedo, and Miyazaki Hideji for everyone to sample. Why you should go: It’s no longer all about Sake in Japan these days, see what they have to offer.

What: New Belgium Lips of Faith One Off Tasting. Where: Two Fools Tavern. When: 4 p.m. Cost: No entry fee. Details: Oscar Worthy Coffee Barrel is the beer of choice today, and it will be served on nitro. There will also be additional NB beers on special. Why you should go: Sometimes you just have to see if a beer is worthy of its name. This is one of those times.

What: Beer and Food Pairing. Where: Sandia Chile Grill. When: 5 to 8 p.m. Cost: TBA. Details: SCG will serve up some smoked brisket with their Red Ranger Irish Red. Why you should go: Beer and food for hungry/thirsty residents of the Northeast Heights.

What: Lagunitas Special Tapping. Where: Nob Hill Bar & Grill. When: 5 p.m. Cost: No entry fee. Details: From the One Hitter Series comes GravensTime Apple-esque Beer, one of those grand rarities that must be tried. Why you should go: It’s the 2015 vintage, so go check it out before it’s gone forever.

What: Tuesday Brewsday Marble Special Tapping. Where: Rock & Brews. When: 5 p.m. Cost: No entry fee. Details: Marble is bringing Saison #1 to tap once again. Why you should go: For all you in the Heights, this is your chance to experience this new creation from Marble.

What: Beer & Taco Night. Where: Rio Bravo. When: 5:30 p.m. Cost: No entry. Details: Order tacos from the Taco Lady for $1 and wash them down with $5 flights of Pilsner, Sommer, DRB, and Red. Why you should go: Next to pizza, tacos may be our favorite food to pair with beer.

What: Ballast Point Special Tapping and Pairing. Where: Canvas Artistry, 3120 Central Ave. SE. When: 6 p.m. Cost: TBA. Details: We are working on getting details about this event. Why you should go: TBA.

What: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Beer. Where: Albuquerque Brewing. When: 6 p.m. Cost: TBA. Details: Brewer John “Carnie” Bevz will host a tasting/sampling even to discuss off flavors and more that makes your beer good or bad. Why you should go: Get an education while enjoying some beer.

What: Chef’s Pairing. Where: Ponderosa. When: 7 p.m. Cost: $45 per person ($40 mug club members). Details: Brewer Bob Haggerty and executive chef Knoulan Tanner are teaming up for their first beer dinner featuring Sour Saison paired with a charcuterie plate, Crosscut Kolsch paired with scallop salad, Red Rye Lager paired with a wild mushroom risotto with braised lamb, and Chocolate Stout paired with a pot de creme. Why you should go: Hopefully you signed up, because the deadline was Saturday. Call Ponderosa at (505) 639-5941 to see if there are any late openings.

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Got any questions, comments, complaints, send them to nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com, or leave them here on our site, on Facebook, or on Twitter (@nmdarksidebc).

Enjoy yourselves out there, but please, do it responsibly.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister