Welcome to the start of our annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series, where we go in-depth with all the local breweries to review that year that was and preview the year to come. To kick things off for the 2021-22 edition, I sat down with founder Joel Gregory, head brewer Dave Chichura, sales manager James Gregory,…
Month: November 2021
More canning woes add to a long list of new troubles for breweries nationwide
Just before Thanksgiving, craft breweries around the country received some very unwelcome news. Ball Canning, the largest producer of aluminum cans in the country, announced changes in how pre-printed cans could be ordered. Instead of being shipped one semi-truckload at a time, Ball would now require breweries to purchase five truckloads, or roughly 1 million…
Rowley Farmhouse Ales is back in black with Blackest Friday
A cold wind blows across your face, sending a shiver deep down into your sweater. You can see your breath as you huff and puff across the parking lot. And, as you pull the sleeves over your frigid fingers, you already begin to regret the inevitable walk back to the car, as your legs feel…
Merch Guide 2021: Buying local is more important than ever ahead of holidays
Lately, all the news surrounding the craft beer industry has seemingly been bad, with woeful tales of supply chain chaos and rising prices for raw ingredients. Though the breweries in New Mexico are putting on a happy face publicly, the truth is they need our financial support more than ever. The good news is that…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Black Friday takes on a whole new meaning
Welcome to an early edition of Week Ahead, as we want to make sure everyone is aware of what beers are available well in advance of Thanksgiving, when most breweries will be closed (see below for the exceptions). Despite being a holiday week, there are plenty of beer releases coming Friday, with some fun events…
Boxing Bear reclaims the crown for its 4th NM IPA Challenge victory in 6 years
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Well, at least as far as IPAs go, as Boxing Bear Brewing won its fourth New Mexico IPA Challenge trophy in the past six years. A clear, West Coast-style IPA was triumphant, which was impressive considering 11 of the 16 finalists were of the hazy…
The great haze vs. clear debate will be settled at NM IPA Challenge final round
After two wildly different results from the first two rounds of the 2021 New Mexico IPA Challenge, everything will be decided Saturday afternoon from 1 to 4 at Boxing Bear’s Firestone Taproom. Normally, we would include a ticket link, but the final round has sold out online as of Friday morning. Huzzah to that news!…
Santa Fe area breweries share their own tales of supply chain woe
It’s been a few weeks since we ran the article on the supply chain issues facing the New Mexico brewing industry, but the picture wouldn’t be complete without chatting with a few of the Santa Fe breweries, including a mixture of production facilities and brewpubs for good measure. So let’s get jump back in, shall…
The Week Ahead In Beer: Barleywines are here and the 2021 IPA Challenge concludes
Another beautiful autumn week full of delightful dark ales is behind us, the culmination of the 2021 IPA Challenge sits before us, and communal feasting just around the corner — tis a grand season. Franz Solo here, for another round of all things beer and the like. The final round of the 2021 IPA Challenge…
A beer about something: 3 breweries collaborate on SereniTEA Now for charity
The generous trio of Canteen Brewhouse, High and Dry Brewing, and Steel Bender Brewyard are at it again, teaming up to help a worthy local nonprofit with a collaboration beer and some special events. Agora Crisis Center, a student organization at the University of New Mexico, is the recipient, just like in 2019, the last…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 