Marble Brewery is growing up fast, with its 11th birthday coming up this weekend. Naturally, being Marble and all, the staff is throwing a huge fiesta for all of its loyal patrons, with additional events and beer releases sprinkled throughout the week.

To get the lowdown on all of it, I sat down with marketing director Geraldine Lucero, who is the keeper of all celebratory knowledge at 111 Marble Avenue.

“We’ve got an event planned every night this week,” she said. “We kicked it off with our Brew Club appreciation party on the deck (on Monday). It was just our way of saying thank you to all of our loyal patrons that have been there. A lot of them have been Brew Club members for a long time. So we just gave them some free food, our way of saying thank you, that we love you, and without them we couldn’t do it. That’s what this whole week is about, saying thank you by giving (our customers) these awesome events to be entertained with.”

Next up on the event calendar is a first-time beer dinner collaboration between Marble and a popular Nob Hill restaurant.

“Tonight we are doing a beer dinner at Frenchish in Nob Hill,” Geraldine said. “Josh (Trujillo) and I met with Chef Jennifer James and her team. It’s been a weeks now, but we hosted them here to taste some beers and work on a menu. It’s going to be her first beer dinner, I believe. She said it’s a little out of my element, but she’s such a talented chef that I’m really excited to see how the dinner goes tonight. We’re close to that, a close sellout, too. We have a few seats left for that. My goal is to sell out every event this week.”

Call (505) 433-5911 to see if you can still get a reservation. The cost is $75 per person for a four-course dinner that starts at 6 p.m.

“We’re really excited about that,” Geraldine said. “We’re going to feature the last keg of the 111 Rosé that John Heine brewed. We’re bringing eight Marble team members. I’m just really excited. I love beer dinners, I love Jennifer James, and I love Frenchish. I sought them out and asked them to have this beer dinner with us because they’re amazing.”

The Heights Taproom will be the setting for Wednesday’s event.

“Tomorrow is round six of the Brews and Bites Challenge with Chef Israel Rivera from The Shop teaming up with brewmaster Josh Trujillo,” Geraldine said. “They’re undefeated at this point. They are taking on (brewer) Buddy Czajkowski and Chef David Ruiz, formerly of Toltec and now Paako Ridge Golf Course. There’s only, I believe, 12 more tickets for that event. We’ll be plating in the brewery. These events are always fun because it’s a little bit of a friendly competition.”

It might be friendly, but winning streaks are meant to be broken.

“If Josh and Israel win again, I think I might just put it to rest for a while, just do an amazing beer dinner in the Lounge (instead),” Geraldine said. “It’s always so close, but if they win again, then you guys have to come up with an amazing menu for a Crave dinner, and utilize that Lounge space some more.”

The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. and costs $30 per person. Tickets are still available online and Geraldine said they may be a few left for sale at the taproom.

“Some beers that are featured on that menu are the From the Wood Saison and the last keg of Chicanisma,” she said. “Our classic styles will be the Red and Double White. I asked them to do one pairing with a special beer and one pairing with a classic style.”

For Thursday, the fun will be at the Westside Taproom, but sadly (unless you have a ticket), that event is already sold out.

“On Thursday at the Westside we have a sold-out event with M’tucci’s, so they’re doing Marble-infused charcuterie,” Geraldine said. “That includes cured meat with our beer, and they’re doing some beer bread on there. So it will be three 7-ounce pours with three different pairings, and each pairing will feature bread, meat, cheese, and some sort of pickle on there, too. I was really excited when that one sold out. I’m excited to try what they’ve created because M’tucci’s Italian Deli (Chef) Shawn Cronin is a genius, he’s awesome. We’re lucky to work with some of the best people in Albuquerque.”

Clearly, this is not a week where Marble fans will be getting any thinner. Moving on to Friday, things settle down a bit and refocus on the beer, or specifically some special releases that will be available at all three taprooms.

“Friday, we’re going to take it a little easy,” Geraldine said. “It’s a Funky Friday release. John Heine had a sour base, his first sour base recipe in barrels. Him, John Carroll, and Andrew Krosche each added a different fruit flavor to it. John Heine has a cherry sour, Andrew has a toasted orange peel, and Carroll did a From the Wood Saison sour, so I think he blended those. On top of that, we’re also releasing a Malbec Zinfandel Sour at each location.”

The big event is Saturday, as Marble will again close down Marble Avenue for a massive street party. We highly recommend Uber/Lyft or utilizing a designated driver, as there will not be much parking around for an expected crowd of more than 1,000 people. The party begins at noon and there will be a $5 entry fee.

“Then Saturday, of course, is our Once Años Anniversary Street Party and Cerveza can release,” Geraldine said. “We’re releasing our Cerveza can, which is awesome, it’s 19.2 ounces and this beer is so crushable, especially in New Mexico heat, it’s perfect. We did a tap release yesterday and it’s (been) really well received.”

The layout will be similar to past street parties.

“We’ll have five beer stations set up, live music from noon to 11 o’clock,” Geraldine said. “We’re going to do fun party games in between music, see people get a little silly maybe. To give you some hints, maybe some Twister and limbo, which is always a good idea while drinking.

“Custom pinatas will be out. We have a food court in the north lot featuring Oni Noodles, Soo Bak Foods, and Don Choche, the O.G. food truck of Marble. The first 111 people to enter will get a cool Once Años custom tote, (and) a free bean and cheese burrito to pair with your Cerveza from Don Choche.”

The theme is a pretty simple one this year, particularly compared to the over-the-top 10th anniversary bash last year.

“It’s just going to be fun, man, we just want to party,” Geraldine said. “It’s not going to be as like extravagant as our 10-year anniversary party. We say that because we put a lot of attention to detail in our 10-year. It was carnival-themed, we wanted to keep that going. We had a lot of different performers and entertainers.

“This time we wanted to bring it back to the beer and the music, which is what we’re known for, I think. When you throw so many of these parties, it kind of becomes second nature. Even though we say it’s not going to be as big as the 10, it’s going to be bigger than the 10. We just have to come to expect that. We’re really excited.”

The party will have a capacity of 1,100 people, so patrons arriving later can expect a lot of human traffic. Grab some sunscreen and get there early, and above all, be patient and polite.

“This year, we’re going to be overstaffed and ready for the crowds to come in,” Geraldine said. “I know some people have made some comments about we need to do something about capacity and we need to do something about lines. It’s unfortunate, because if we had more space, we’d invite everybody. We don’t want anybody to be waiting in lines, (but) we just can’t let everyone in (at once).”

Remember folks, this is a party, so let us all have fun and be responsible.

“It is really humbling to think that people are going to wait around to party with us,” Geraldine said. “We’re just excited, we can’t wait. It is going to be all Once Años, Cerveza-themed, so you’re going to see a lot of Mexican flair all around here, which is really cool.”

We will raise a pint or two to that.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister