Back in March, our friends at Gravity Bound were planning their soft opening to celebrate finally sharing their refreshing beer with the New Mexico craft brewing community. We all know what happened next, but the brothers and co-owners, Cameron and Chris Frigon, kept pushing forward and managed to open their doors during the pandemic a few months later. And man, are we glad they did.

We caught up with Cameron (co-owner and brewer) to reflect on how things have gone so far, and what they are looking forward to in the future for our annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series.

“Getting our doors open in general was the biggest challenge.  The initial lockdown pushed us back by about two extra months,” Cameron wrote to us via email.

This being their first foray into brewery ownership, the pandemic only slightly steepened the learning curve for the Frigon brothers.

“I think that we’ve been so preoccupied with learning and figuring out how to operate a brewery in general, that some of the pandemic-related issues just blend in with everything else,” Cameron wrote.

Once we were able to get our hands on them, Gravity Bound’s beers quickly became popular with Burque’s beer drinkers. Using creative combinations of fresh ingredients has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience for Cameron.

“As far as beers go, I thought Gardenspot, our cucumber basil gose, was really fun,” he wrote. “I used basil from our brewery garden and found it very satisfying to use ingredients grown on site. Next year I’m going to grow the cucumbers, too.

“Also, Blue Layer, our blueberry coffee cake inspired sour, has been a huge hit, so I’m going to make a few adjustments on that recipe to dial it in a bit more.”

Gravity Bound has done their best to create fun, socially distant experiences for their patrons during the pandemic, including setting up a projection screen on their patio to show New Mexico United matches and some NFL games.

“We also enjoyed showing United games at the brewery,” Cameron wrote. “That definitely brought a fun and rare energy for the times.”

Cameron added that they are looking forward to the days when their taproom can operate as they originally envisioned.

“I think it would be cool to see some very conventional taproom acts, like people sit at our bar or see strangers bump shoulders and not feel imperiled,” he wrote. “We’re so used to everyone being masked and socially distant that I hope we can easily adjust back in to the old ways.”

Like the rest of us, the Gravity Bound crew is hoping to be able to safely gather and drink beer together again in the new year.

“My hopes for 2021 are, not to state the obvious, but it would be great to have a vaccinated population and see the virus go by the wayside,” Cameron wrote. “I can’t speak of any real major projects that we have lined up. We’d like to see what normal times are like for us before we start making any plans. I’m excited to be asked this question a year from now, though.”

I’m sure that I’m not only speaking for myself when I write that I’m very excited to see what Cameron and Chris can accomplish in a year that isn’t hindered by a global pandemic. In the meantime, be sure to swing by their taproom to grab a pint on their newly reopened patio, or a crowler of beer or kombucha to go.

May the beer be with you, always.

— Erin