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 eight breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, and one in Red River also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.
Well, we have a big chunk of good news this week, and one bit of bad news. First, the good, as High and Dry is throwing a two-day anniversary celebration this Saturday and Sunday. Two new beers will be released, one each day, in the Desert Mosaic Pale Ale and Desert Perle. There will be a Polaroid Selfie Station on Saturday, plus the Porter Draw will perform from 2 to 4 p.m. Shane Wallin will take the stage for the same times on Sunday. Market vendors participating from 2 to 5 on Sunday will include Kimshe Kimche, Blue Fly Farms, Thunderhead Farms, Farm Shark, and Eldora Cholcates. There will also be a birthday cake for everyone to share at 2:30. Make sure to join the fun whenever you can.
The sad news this week is that Duel Brewing has apparently closed for good in Santa Fe. We heard rumblings a while back that even closing the Albuquerque Taproom was not enough to save the brewery. Then on Monday, word spread quickly through the community of musicians and artists, as many were informed that their upcoming sessions at the brewery were canceled. All that, coupled with the disappearance of all of Duel’s social media pages, confirmed it as much as it can be confirmed. Farewell, Duel, and thank you for the memories of some brutally tough Belgian brews.
On the new beer front this week, there are a few options to check out of the non-stout/porter variety. Bombs Away lands with some fresh Dunkelweizen. Bosque managed to sneak in A Fistful of Churros. Bow & Arrow added some coffee to a saison and voila, Saison Buzz debuts Friday. Boxing Bear went hop crazy again with Citra Double-Dry-Hopped Albu-Murky Hazy IPA. Canteen rolls out Hop Baller IPA, North 14 Pale Ale, Dixie Dean ESB, and Barrel-Aged Wee Bit Loco, plus the charity beer Vienna de Valle debuts Saturday. Cantero strikes a tune with Kenny Weisse. Flix Brewhouse celebrates The LEGO Movie 2 with Pale Full of Brix. La Cumbre gets a wee bit English with Bitter Sons. Marble recently added Amber Lager and Berry White, which is Double White with a whole lotta berries added to the mix. Sidetrack keeps things fresh with Oldschool IPA and Ringwood English Ale. Starr Brothers reminds everyone Don’t Fear the RIPA. Steel Bender unveils two of its National IPA Challenge entrants, Mañana Tropical IPA and Hole in the Bucket IPA, on Thursday. Tractor introduces the first of its Beer for a Better Burque charity brews, Field Beer.
Up in Santa Fe, Blue Corn discovers Messages From Nowhere ESB.
Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of February 4.
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