Self-serve craft beer can be quite graceful

Have you ever wished you could choose your own size of a beer poured at a taproom? Maybe you don’t want a full pint, but you also don’t want just a sample. I recently visited a new place called Grace in Growlers in Kailua, on the east side of Oahu, that lets you do just…

The Week Ahead in Beer: Seeking solace in The Year of the Bear

Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s six breweries, one in Socorro, one in Los Alamos, and one in Moriarty also joining the party. The less I say about politics, the better. Let us…

Beer Notes: Firkin closing is not the start of a bad trend

In case anyone missed it on social media over the weekend, the long-rumored demise of The Firkin BrewHouse and Grill came to pass, as their own Facebook page communicated the following: To all of our loyal and wonderful customers, unfortunately I must state that the Firkin BrewHouse and Grill is closed. More info will follow…

New gastropub joins crowded ABQ downtown beer scene

There is a new gastropub set to open downtown, one with some familiar owners. Side Effex will celebrate its grand opening today (Thursday) at 8 p.m. The celebration will include a full food menu, beers, and cocktails. New Bullpen member Shawna and I met with one of the owners, Carri Phillis, to discuss her vision…

The Week Ahead in Beer: Palmer plots out grand opening at last

Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s six breweries, one in Socorro, one in Los Alamos, and one in Moriarty also joining the party. Palmer Brewery has been quietly churning out one to three…

The Brew Crew Bullpen reloads for the winter

Attrition is inevitable in any group writing project. Real life gets in the way, whether through the jobs that pay, family matters, or other aspects that consume the time that was once spent writing about beer. In addition to losing some of our original Crew members to such things, the Bullpen has lost a few…