The Week Ahead in Beer: Oh please oh please let this be the first sign of fall

Stoutmeister will have you covered for all things new in beer and brewery events every week.

Anyone else really tired of it being in the 90s outside? We are especially, but that probably has something to do with our black clothing. Anyway, we are very, very hopeful that a fall beer tradition that arrives this Friday will finally convince Mother Nature that it is time for the seasonal transition. OK, fine, it won’t happen, but we can all still head to any of the three Marble taprooms for the return of Pumpkin Noir on draft and in six-packs. Bless its perfectly spiced little heart, but that beer is much of a fall tradition as anything else, and we will cling to its arrival with a renewed sense of hope. Because we are not changing our name (and clothing) to the Light Side Brew Crew anytime soon. And by soon, we mean never ever.

We did want to highlight one notable event that returns this week. For the second year in a row, the Agri-Nature Center in Los Ranchos is hosting Hops Harvest and Brewing Demo & Tasting on Thursday at 6 p.m. For just $5 (cash at the door, or buy in advance here), you can learn all about how hops are grown, harvested, and dried in preparation for becoming part of the beers you love. Hops Brewery’s Ken Wimmer will be on hand to talk about the brewing process, and he will be bringing along some of his beers for tasting. The Agri-Nature Center is located at 4920 Rio Grande Blvd NW.

New Draft:

Boxing Bear tapped Bridges Mexican Lager, with $1 from every point sold set to go to Locker #505 Student Clothing Bank and The Children’s Hours Talk Radio. Canteen added Goofy Foot Hazy IPA and Black Currant Cardamom Wheat. Casa Vieja has a fresh batch of The Duke’s Red Ale. Differential tapped Red Corn Rye Lager. Ex Novo tapped If You’re Not First, You’re Last, its NMIPAC entry, and more V for Vienna. Marble added American Brown Ale. Sidetrack rolled out more MX Lime Lager. Thirsty Eye will tap Huning Pilsner, a German-style lager, this Friday. (UPDATES) Boxing Bear tapped Potion Water, an experimental fruit beer. Starr Brothers has a fresh batch of Them Boyzz (Boysenberry Wheat) coming out this weekend.

Up in Los Alamos, Bathtub Row will soon tap two beers for Ukraine — Grechka, a Ukrainian buckwheat beer, and a special batch of Old School Pale Ale, using the Brew for Hope Ukraine Relief Hop Blend.

New Package:

Bosque will release cans of Gliterally, a strawberry-and-mango-fruited kettle sour, this Friday (they mean it this time) at all locations. Canteen has freshly canned six-packs of Flashback IPA and Helles Awaits available again. Ex Novo rolled out cans of a new West Coast IPA called Tie-est of Dyes, Lowest of Lows. Nexus will have Imperial Cream cans back in stock this Thursday. Rio Bravo has cans of Send It (Pilsner) back in stock. Second Street has Sloppy Sloth Citra Hazy IPA back in cans and on draft. (UPDATES) Ex Novo will release its Oktoberfest lager, German Overalls, in cans and on tap this Monday. Rio Bravo released the new Morning After Pils.

Notable Events:

Today (Wednesday) — Bow & Arrow is hosting a fundraiser to help send (non-military) drones to Ukraine that will be used to help deliver crucial supplies. That kicks off at 6 p.m. and more information can be found on the brewery’s social media pages.

Friday — Goth Night and Dark Market returns to Tractor Wells Park at 8 p.m.

Saturday — The Second Saturday Art Hop is taking over downtown Truth or Consequences, and the brewery there will take part with a special concert featuring The WesternHers from 7 to 10 p.m.

If a jaunt down I-25 is not in the works, there is this wee little event for hopheads going on at the Santa Fe Brewing taproom inside Tin Can Alley.

(UPDATE) Brew Lab 101 is hosting a summer market from 2 to 6 p.m. There will be 20-plus vendors, complimentary face painting, music from DJ Batboy, and a special food truck.

Sunday — Marble has rescheduled its previously rain-delayed Country Fest for this day starting at 2 p.m. We are sensing a musical theme this weekend. It’s OK, lots of metal shows for the Crew are coming up next week.

Monday — Tractor Wells Park is hosting a ticketed showing of the series finale of Better Call Saul starting at 7 p.m. It might be sold out, however, so contact the brewery ASAP.

Tuesday — ReSource is hosting a special Pints & Pencils event at 6 p.m. with local artist Mike Howland. For $30 per person, he will guide you through creating your own versions of two of his beer-themed pieces of artwork. The tickets cover the instruction, materials, and of course your first pint of beer. Get your tickets in advance here.

Quick News Bits:

Canteen is working hard to help one of its own staffers, Mike, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. They recently received a resupply of their popular “Day Drinking” T-shirts and tank tops, and now 100 percent of the proceeds from those are going to help Mike and his family. There will also be a special event on August 19 that we will preview in full next week.

If you were hoping to relax at Ex Novo’s spacious beer garden, The Corral, this Thursday after 4 p.m., you are out of luck, as it will be closed for a private event.

ReSource asked us to share with all of you the two new weekly events that they have recently started. Pub Trivia Nerds are taking over the taproom every Thursday starting at 6 p.m. Pint Club Member Socials are every Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. Contact the brewery for more info.

Albuquerque metro area breweries

Boese Brothers Brewery 

Bombs Away Beer Company — Featured seasonal: Hazy Chain DIPA V.14 (7% ABV, 100+ IBU), made with Ariana, Kohatu, and Talus hops.

Bosque Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Oh Hey, Pinyon Jay! (5.5% ABV, 20 IBU), a prickly pear juniper wheat ale, made in collaboration with The Drinking Horn Meadery and Audubon Central Flyway to raise awareness of the Pinyon Jay and its habitat in New Mexico. Available on draft and in cans.

Bow & Arrow Brewing — Featured seasonal: Desert Modern (6.7% ABV), an IPA made with New Zealand hops, available in cans and on draft.

Boxing Bear Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: I Dip, You Dip, We DIPA (8.8% ABV, 100 IBU), another massive hop bomb from the brewery that specializes in such things, this one was made with (deep breath) Centennial, Chinook, Columbus, Citra, Falconers Flight 7C’s, Ekuanot, and Mosaic hops. Available on draft and in cans (taprooms only).

Brew Lab 101 Beer & Cider Company — Featured seasonal: Kiwi-Mango GoGo (5.7% ABV, 8 IBU), a fruited gose, as you might have guessed.

B2B Garden Brewery 

Canteen Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: Petmalu IPC (7.2% ABV, 40 IBU) is the kind of beer that makes you go “huh?” at its name, but it’s actually an India Pale Common, a hoppy lager fermented at warmer ale temperatures like a California Steam beer.

Casa Vieja Brewery — Featured seasonal: Sharpe Dressed Man Chocolate Vanilla Stout is like two desserts in one.

Cazuela’s Seafood & Mexican Grill 

Differential Brewing — Featured seasonal: Strawberry Blonde Ale (5.4% ABV, 19 IBU), it’s basically summer in a glass. It’s also temporarily out, per the website, but should return soon.

Downshift Brewing at Outpost 1706 — Featured seasonal: Gratitude Session IPA (4.2% ABV, 40 IBU), brewed to support local charities, right now $1 from every pint sold goes to the Shelter Fund of the Community Foundation of Lincoln County.

Enchanted Circle Brewing Taproom 

Ex Novo Brewing — Featured seasonal: Thiccbit (12% ABV), a pastry stout made in collaboration with Great Notion Brewing of Portland, Oregon, brewed with roasted peanuts, cocoa nibs, marshmallow, and vanilla. Available on draft (10-ounce pours only) and in cans.

Flix Brewhouse 

Gravity Bound Brewing — Featured seasonal: Corner Stand, a strawberry lemon basil gose that’s perfect for all of you fruited-sour lovers out there.

Harmon Lane Brewing at Southwest Grape and Grain — Featured seasonal: Ginger Beer (5% ABV), a Moscow mule-style brew, made with real ginger and back sweetened with brown sugar and lime juice.

High and Dry Brewing — Featured seasonal: Crack in the Iceberg (6.9% ABV, 50 IBU), an IPA featuring Michigan-grown hops.

Hops Brewery — Featured seasonal: Killer Bee Pale Ale (6.3% ABV, 23 IBU), this beer is made with actual honey from killer bee hives in Southern New Mexico.

JUNO Brewery

Kaktus Brewing — Featured seasonal: C-Thru Stout, because anyone releasing a stout in the summer gets our seal of approval.

Kilt Check Brewing 

La Cumbre Brewing — Featured seasonal: Lake Day Hazy DIPA (8.7% ABV), now available on draft and in cans.

La Reforma Brewery — Featured seasonal: Astronave (6.1% ABV), a hazy pale ale brewed with Galaxy and Citra hops.

Late Shift Lager House at The Craftroom — Featured seasonal: Hop Villain (6.8% ABV, 102 IBU), a beastly IPA that is a change of sorts from the lager-dominated lineup.

Lava Rock Brewing 

Lizard Tail Brewing — Featured seasonal: Musical Highway Pale Ale (5.5% ABV, 30 IBU), is another one that just wins with its name alone.

Marble Brewery — Featured seasonal: Brett Tripel (10% ABV), aged in red and white wine barrels, this is one big beast of a beer on draft only. Click on the different taprooms in the menu for the updated beer lists for each location.

Nexus Brewery — Featured seasonal: New Mexico Snow Storm IPA (7.2% ABV, 36 IBU), the runner-up at the 2021 New Mexico IPA Challenge requires your attention with the 2022 NMIPAC heading into its final round this Saturday.

Palmer Brewery and Cider House — Featured seasonal: 2 Robs Make a Rita, an annual collaboration with Starr Brothers Brewing.

Ponderosa Brewing Co. — Featured seasonal: Italian Pilsner, the winner of back-to-back gold medals at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival and the 2022 World Beer Cup, is available on draft and in cans.

Quarter Celtic Brewpub— Featured seasonal: Dark Pedro, a Mexican-style dark lager so good that some of our friends have asked us to only drink this at their funerals. Our friends are morbid, but they have a point, it’s a quality brew.

Red Door Brewing — Featured seasonal: Mic Czech Pilsner (4.5% ABV, 30 IBU), at this point is almost a year-round beer, but we will still count it here, and you can take it home in cans in addition to enjoying it on draft downtown or in Clovis.

ReSource Brewing — Featured seasonal: Summer of Equality Stout, a lower ABV version of their popular house stout.

Rio Bravo Brewing — Featured seasonal: Vienna Waits (5.5% ABV, 20 IBU) is now available in cans in addition to being on draft.

Rumor Brewing (formerly Ale Republic) — Featured seasonal: Love (4.4% ABV, 12 IBU), a smoothie sour with sweet and tart cherries.

Sidetrack Brewing — Featured seasonal: Hop Dip IPA (6.5% ABV, 100+ IBU) is billed as “a completely new take on an IPA,” so that just makes us more and more curious.

Sobremesa — Featured seasonal: Berliner Weiss, the traditional German sour is now available. Order it “mit schuss” and you will get a shot of strawberry puree added to the beer.

Starr Brothers Brewing — Featured seasonal: Herban Cowboy Hazy IPA, a collaboration with Boxing Bear that is just a wee bit dank.

Steel Bender Brewyard — Featured seasonal: Cherry Dynamite (5.15% ABV, 5 IBU), the summer version of the popular kettle sour series is getting down to its final kegs and cans. If you help drink it up, the next variant in the Dynamite series will take its place sooner than later.

Thirsty Eye Brewing — Featured seasonal: Dude. Dude? Dude! is a hazy IPA that took home the gold medal in the all-local competition held prior to the Great New Mexico Beer Festival back in June.

The 377 Brewery

Tractor Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: The Dune DIPA just makes us wish they would hurry up and release part two of the latest movie adaptation of Dune. It’s also Tractor’s NMIPAC entry.

Turquoise Trail Brewing 

Turtle Mountain Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Koi No Yokan (4.55% ABV, 27 IBU), a Japanese rice lager brewed with Sorachi Ace hops.

Santa Fe breweries

Beer Creek Brewing — Featured seasonal: Get to Da Hoppa is an IPA brewed entirely with New Mexico-grown hops and barley. Available in cans and on draft. If you buy the cans and go home, you must immediately watch Predator.

Chile Line Brewing — Featured seasonal: A Huevo (5% ABV, 20 IBU) is a Yerba Matte-inspired beer.

Hidden Mountain Brewing (formerly Blue Corn Brewery) — Featured seasonal: Pepino Lager, made with cucumber and lime, is a perfect pairing with the food menu.

Rowley Farmhouse Ales — Featured seasonal: Chantal (8.5% ABV, 30 IBU), this French-style saison was brewed in honor of a friend of the brewery who passed away after a battle with cancer. Available in cans and on draft.

Santa Fe Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Oktoberfest is back in cans and on draft, and we have no problem with this having arrived in July. If Samuel Adams can do it, so can SFBC.

Second Street Brewery — Featured seasonal: Native Land IPA (6.7% ABV), a collaboration with Bow & Arrow, this Citra-forward ale will have all of its proceeds go to Flowering Tree Permaculture at the Santa Clara Pueblo.

Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery — Featured seasonal: White Rabbit Wit, the first in a series of new witbiers.

Other breweries you need to visit

Bathtub Row Brewing — Featured seasonal: Hop Tart IPA is nearing the end of its run, so if you want it, go get it ASAP!

Little Toad Creek Brewing and Distilling 

Red River Brewing and Distilling — Featured seasonal: Angry Bear Blonde, a double-strength blonde ale, goes great after hiking in the mountains.

Sierra Blanca Brewing 

Truth or Consequences Brewing — Featured seasonal: Mystic Mountain Milkshake IPA (7.6% ABV, 42 IBU) is unique in that it was made without lactose, substituting vanilla instead to go with the Sabro hops.

* * * *

That’s all for this week! If you have any questions or comments, leave them below or contact us on our Facebook page.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister

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