For many years now, one of our favorite local events has been the New Mexico Brew Fest, held annually in the fall at Villa Hispana on the State Fairgrounds. Well, after the pandemic put it on hold for a couple of years, it’s returning this October 1 in all its outdoor glory, featuring only local beers on tap from multiple breweries. This Thursday, there will be an early bird ticket party at Marble downtown from 5 to 8 p.m. Grab your discounted tickets, plus there will be some vintage glassware and special T-shirts for sale, also at a discount. There will also be music from J-Calvin from 7 to 10 p.m. We’ll see if our friend Dan, a.k.a. “that dude in the Crew shirt who wears a kilt” will be there this time around, but the odds are good.
New Draft:
Boese Brothers recently added a Watermelon Sour, Apricot (Hazy) IPA, and a Hazy Pale Ale. Bosque has tapped its Oktoberfest at the Nob Hill taproom, and it’s sure to follow at the other locations as taps are freed up. Canteen brought back Hank ESB. Lizard Tail recently tapped Double Chocolate Stout and Plateau Pale Ale. Marble tapped New Zealand Pilsner, Cascade IPA, and Apricot Fuzzy Britches, which was aged in wine barrels and spiked with brettanomyces. Rio Bravo added a new West Coast IPA. Sidetrack has a fresh batch of Pub Ale. Turtle Mountain tapped Herr Fest (Festbier).
Up in Santa Fe, Second Street has tapped a new Oatmeal Stout and brought back Porch Season IPA. Over in Los Alamos, Bathtub Row has tapped a new batch of Old School Pale Ale, using the Brew for Hope Ukraine Relief Hop Blend. Over in Moriarty, Sierra Blanca has tapped the new Steep Tea Lemon and Steep Tea Berry, plus Vanilla Milk Stout is back.
New Package:
Bow & Arrow has fresh batches of Desert Rambler (Hefeweizen), Vida West (Dark Mexican Lager), and Rancho Light Lager in cans. Boxing Bear and Gallo Negro Tattoo have another special collaboration, Dr. Ink’s Prescribed Buzz DIPA, due out this weekend, and we will have more info on this one in a separate feature. La Cumbre will roll out cans and draft of Amateur Astronomer (Hazy DIPA) on Friday. Marble has cans of Day Ghost (Japanese Rice Lager) back in stock. Sierra Blanca has its Oktoberfest back in bottles and on draft. (UPDATES) Ex Novo will release Fresh Hop Mass Ascension IPA and Half Mass IPA in cans this Friday.
Notable Events:
Friday — Canteen is hosting Day Drinking All Day, a special fundraiser to help staff member Mike Thrall, who is battling throat cancer. There will be 10 other breweries present, with the sale of all of their beers, plus Canteen’s High Plains Pils, all going to the Thrall family. Baracutanga will perform from 6 to 9 p.m. We will have more on this event later this week.
Brew Lab 101 is hosting Friday Night Live, a free concert in the new outdoor beer garden, from 7 to 10 p.m. Local bands Darken the Day, Seven Days Rest, and Fallen Disciple will perform.
Saturday — The Pirate and Viking Summer Bash is a two-day event scheduled for the Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood. Little Toad Creek, Lizard Tail, Tractor, and Tumbleroot will have beer, cider, mead, and spirits available. Find tickets here.
Bosque is raising funds for the ABQ BioPark with the Elephant Kiss Cider Release Party at the new Heights taproom from 2 to 6 p.m.
Quick News Bits:
Bow & Arrow is hiring an assistant brewer. Check their social media pages and/or website for more information on how to apply.
Ex Novo has purchased its own food truck and is hiring cooks. Check their social media pages and/or website for more information on how to apply.
Albuquerque metro area breweries
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.
Canteen Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: Helles Awaits is back in cans and on draft.
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: German Overalls (5.8% ABV), the annual Oktoberfest lager release is back in cans and on tap for a limited time.
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.
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.
Lizard Tail Brewing — Featured seasonal: Ginger Mead is the only other seasonal on tap besides this week’s two new entries (see above).
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 had another strong finish at the 2022 NMIPAC, coming in fourth.
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), a delightful amber lager.
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: Lively Lager (5.4% ABV), a sweet light lager that just hits perfectly in the waning days of summer.
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.
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 was also Tractor’s NMIPAC entry.
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: Til Death Do Us Tart, which was brewed for Emma and Nate’s wedding back in July.
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 — Featured seasonal: Peanut Butter Porter, because let’s face it, there aren’t many NM breweries using peanut butter in their beers, but it’s still a very popular adjunct.
Truth or Consequences Brewing — Featured seasonal: Masquerade Dark Cherry Saison (6% ABV, 19 IBU), as the brewery wrote, “This ruby red French-Belgian ale is mysterious and elegant, evocative of spiced wine and holiday cakes.”
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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
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 