It has been a while since the Dark Side Brew Crew has needed more staff members, but as we approach the beginning of our annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series, it is clear that we need more writers who love craft beer. Between jobs, family, school, and more, we are pretty stretched thin at present, so we could use some help.

If any of you, our wonderful followers, have ever been interested in writing for us, this is your time to apply. Let us go over all the pertinent information before you consider applying.

This is not for money

We do not make any money off this site. Someday we hope to, but for now, we do it for the love of the beer. Since none of us are getting paid, you will not, either. There may be discounted beers and possibly some free or discounted festival passes. That is about the extent of what we can offer in terms of compensation.

You do not have to be a metalhead

It never hurts to love, or at least tolerate, all forms of metal, since that way you can keep up with the core members in some of our conversations, but we do not require you to suddenly know whether or not the most recent Wolfheart and Omnium Gatherum albums rule.

(Spoiler: Both rule.)

You have to love local craft beer

We would never ask that you love every single brewery in town. Heck, not all of us do, but we keep those opinions off the site. On the site, we are Switzerland, neutral yet supportive of the entire scene. For the most part, though, since this is what we cover, we would like folks to be passionate about the scene. It also helps with the whole “no money” part.

We can help with improving your writing and/or interviewing skills

Hey, not everyone is born to be a journalist. It does take some training. We offer nothing formal, but we have built positive relationships with the vast majority of the key brewery folks (owners, brewers, general managers, PR directors, etc.) around town, and we can help you become comfortable talking to those people. Do not worry, we are not going to throw any new hire into the proverbial pit and expect you to interview the entire Marble Brewery hierarchy at once. Yours truly is more than willing to take you along on one of my interviews, or I can shadow you on your first to help out.

That being said, we would like a writing sample

It can be from a formal publication or just something you would like to write up on your own. Do a personal review of a brewery or taproom, not for publication, but just so we can get a good idea of your writing “voice” and style. As anyone can see from how we let Franz Solo write, we offer up a fair amount of creative freedom, so long as everyone remembers to stick first and foremost to the facts at hand.

Can anyone apply?

Yeah, pretty much. All we ask is that you are 21 or over. You can be in college or gainfully employed, young or old, male or female, short or tall, a certified Cicerone or someone just jumping into the craft beer universe. Heck, we employ Flyers and Penguins fans, so if we can work together (in separate buildings during games, usually across town), anything is possible.

Any additional requirements?

Free time, you gotta have it. This can get time-consuming from time to time, depending on how much you want to contribute. We would never dissuade anyone with a demanding job or relationship or family, but ideally we would love for someone to at minimum contribute one or more stories per month.

What about geography?

In this case, we would like to add one or two writers in the Albuquerque metro area. Luke has Santa Fe covered, ditto Reid in Los Alamos. We would LOVE someone from Southern New Mexico to apply and help us add more coverage of places like Cloudcroft, High Desert, Little Toad Creek, Lost Hiker, Picacho Peak, Pecan Grill, Spotted Dog, and Truth or Consequences Brewing. The same could be said for someone in Southeast New Mexico to cover that growing scene that now includes Bonito Valley, Drylands, Guadalupe Mountain, Hopscotch, Milton’s, Roosevelt, and The Wellhead. Heck, we would even take someone who wants to cover the Northwest (Three Rivers, 550 Brewing) or help Luke out in the Far North (Blu Dragonfly, Blue Heron, Colfax Ale Cellar, Enchanted Circle, Eske’s, Red River, Taos Mesa). Basically, you do not have to live in the ABQ metro area to apply. We will still need one or two new metro writers, but we are willing to take on multiple additional writers in the outer regions of the state.

How does one apply?

Simple, send us an email at nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com or via direct message on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Include your name and the best way to contact you, then attach or include a writing sample. At that point, we will be in touch about setting up a face-to-face interview. Yes, it will be at a brewery or taproom that is convenient to both of us, so fear not. We don’t do coffee shop interviews.

We are hoping to have this whole process completed by mid-November. And no, we cannot guarantee that you will be allowed to apply for a press pass to the 2019 Great American Beer Festival, but there is always a chance if you wow us over the next 11 months (and there are not enough of the originals intent on one of those maximum of four applications).

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister