Steel Bender goes big for its 1st anniversary

Has it really been a year since the Crew first plowed through the beers at Steel Bender?

The good folks at Steel Bender Brewyard are fond of pointing out the fact that they never technically had a grand opening last year. To make up for it, they are stretching out the one-year anniversary of Los Ranchos’ brewpub over four days this week.

Here is the lowdown of what is happening on each day.

Thursday

The actual anniversary date features the release of Ingenio, which is a version of the Village Wit with brett, aged in tequila barrels. Bottles will be for sale. There will be music from Lenin & McCarthy from 5 to 8 p.m. There will also be a cask of the Village Innuendo with brett and hibiscus that will be tapped at 4 p.m.

Friday

Steel Can Stout, a collaboration with Canteen, will be back on tap. There will also be a cask with anise added that will be tapped at noon. The Gershom Brothers will provide the music from 6 to 8 p.m.

Saturday

It’s a double celebration with St. Patrick’s Day (we’ll cover all the other brewery events for the holiday in The Week Ahead in Beer on Wednesday). Bottles of Bullet’s Reserve will be available. They took the Blue Bullet Stout, added brett, and aged it in red wine barrels for the past year. There will also be a cask of Blue Bullet with brett and boysenberry that has also been aged for a year. It will be tapped at noon. St. Patrick’s Day food items will include reuben egg rolls, lamb stew, and of course corned beef and cabbage with potatoes. Pawn Drive will provide the music from 6 to 8 p.m.

Sunday

Starting at noon, head out to the patio for a special re-release of the brewery’s past wild and sour ales. The Goose is Loose, The Village Tart, Ich Bin Ein, and Oh G’s will all be available, along with the current sour offering, Raspberry Dynamite. The brett-infused beers available will include Yogi Beera, Out to Pasture Ale, and the return of Who’s Brett IPA. Spankey Lee will provide the music from 1 to 3 p.m. There will also be a special cheese board selection from M’Tucci’s Market.

Add it all up and Steel Bender is throwing quite the celebration. For further details, check their Facebook page, or just head on over for whichever day (or days) look like the best bets.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister