While the Balloon Fiesta is wrapping up down here, a good chunk of the local brewery employees are headed north to Denver for the Great American Beer Festival. As this is the first fest since 2019 where the general public can attend, it also means the Crew can return to cover the event. Erin and I will be headed north. We will have full coverage of the Saturday awards ceremony, and everything else involving New Mexico breweries.
New Draft:
Bosque tapped Little Tipper, a session IPA, and Acequia Wet-Hop IPA is now available at the Telshor taproom only, but should be at the other locations soon. Ex Novo added Gare Bears, a double IPA, and Matcha Man Randy Savage, a hazy with matcha powder (think tea if you are unfamiliar). Hops Brewery tapped Chatterbox, a coffee porter. Sobremesa has brought back its peach wheat, now under the name Precious Peach. Tractor tapped Prickly Pear Cider, and also will bring back Javi Pre-Prohibition Lager later this week. (UPDATES) Boxing Bear brought back The Red Glove Double Red Ale and also added Lemon Lime Kolsch. Casa Vieja brought back Jon’s Hopkins ESB Pale Ale. Flix tapped its fresh-hop beer, Harvest Days Haze, a hazy DIPA. Marble tapped more of its award-winning Eastside Special Bitter and Cholo Stout.
Down south, Truth or Consequences Brewing will tap Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Dark Chocolate Stout this Friday. (UPDATE) Up in Santa Fe, Beer Creek tapped Los Golondrinas Golden Ale, made with locally grown hops from La Cienega.
New Package:
Bow & Arrow will release Paradox of Choice, a hazy West Coast IPA (you read that right) in cans and on draft this Friday. Ex Novo released Unstuck in Time, a hazy IPA, in cans and on draft. (UPDATES) Boxing Bear rolled out a new batch of Oso Otoño Oatmeal Brown Ale in cans and on draft. Rowley Farmhouse Ales has a new batch of its Agent Scully IPA series in cans, this one dubbed Season 6, Episode 2. Second Street brought back an old favorite, 6 Fruit Under, in cans.
Notable Events:
Remember, we have a separate roundup of all the Balloon Fiesta events at breweries.
Today (Wednesday) — Poetry & Beer returns to Tractor Wells Park at 7 p.m.
Thursday — Comedy Night is back at Brew Lab 101 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday — ABQ Artwalk takes over downtown from 5 to 9 p.m., and there will be events at Boese Brothers, Red Door, and Sidetrack, so check their respective social media sites for more info.
First Friday Comedy Contest is back at Tractor Wells Park at 8 p.m.
Saturday — The livestream for the GABF awards ceremony starts at 10 a.m. from Denver, and we will have live coverage on social media.
The Desert Darlings return to Tractor Wells Park for Hops & Dreams: The Halloween Edition at 8 p.m.
Quick News Bits:
Echoes, a new brewery/music venue in the old Burt’s Tiki Lounge space on Gold between Third and Fourth Streets, announced it will open on Halloween. We will have a preview in advance of that.
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: Scale Tipper IPA (7.6% ABV, 90 IBU), the hoppy seasonal favorite is back on draft at most taprooms.
Bow & Arrow Brewing — Featured seasonal: Oktoberfest (5.2% ABV) was the favorite of all the Oktoberfests sold at Marblefest, according to several friends of the Crew, and it’s still available in cans in addition to being on draft.
Boxing Bear Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Bear Knuckle IPA (7.7% ABV, 80 IBU), the four-time winner of the NM IPA Challenge is back on tap and in cans.
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: Oktoberfest is tasting mighty good this year, and you can take it home in six-pack cans, too.
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: Red Corn Rye Lager (4.8% ABV, 16 IBU) is a summer lager with a nice rye bite to it.
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 out on draft, so grab the last of the cans while you still, um, can.
Flix Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: FlixBrühaus, their version of an Oktoberfest.
Gravity Bound Brewing — Featured seasonal: Jacinda (7% ABV), a hazy IPA brewed with four New Zealand hops, Riwaka, Pacific Sunrise, Nelson Sauvin, and Motueka.
Harmon Lane Brewing at Southwest Grape and Grain — Featured seasonal: R.I.P … A (6.1% ABV, 70 IBU), a red rye IPA brewed for the season.
High and Dry Brewing — Featured seasonal: Rayon Slacks (7.3% ABV, 60 IBU), a single-hop IPA with Mosaic, and one amusing name.
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: Helles Lager, which is pretty much the closest beer they have to being a year-round offering, because the regulars in Bernalillo demand it all the time.
La Cumbre Brewing — Featured seasonal: Thunderbolts & Lightning (4.6% ABV, 40 IBU), a Bohemian pilsner that will totally make you start singing that certain song. You know the one.
La Reforma Brewery — Featured seasonal: Miss Mari’s Snappy Pils, so named because it has a nice bite to it from the Citra, Lemon Drop, and Saphir hop bill.
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: 007 Strong Scotch (10.4% ABV, 30 IBU), this one hits you like a claymore, albeit made of lots of malts.
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: Becca’s Blend, a spunky little red rye IPA.
Red Door Brewing — Featured seasonal: Hibiscus White IPA is still available on draft for a limited time.
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: Medusa Fresh Hop Pale Ale (6% ABV, 52 IBU) was made with freshly picked hops from Billy Goat Hop Farm in Montrose, Colorado. As one might expect, the supply is very limited.
Sobremesa — Featured seasonal: Under the Mango Tree, a mango American-style ale, which you can also get as “Mangon,” a beer cocktail.
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: Who’s Brett? IPA (5.65% ABV, 50 IBU), a traditional IPA spiked with Brettanomyces to enhance the hoppy flavor.
Thirsty Eye Brewing — Featured seasonal: There’s Something About That Blonde, a tart-cherry blonde ale made for people who just can’t let go of summer.
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: Por Mi Vida, a key lime Mexican lager, will keep summer going even longer.
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: Boondock Skye (4.8% ABV, 35 IBU) is one of two session IPAs on tap right now, so grab some and compare it to Porch Season to see which is better.
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: Owl Peak Blue Corn Lager (5.4% ABV, 14 IBU), a collaboration lager with Owl Peak Farm in La Madera.
Little Toad Creek Brewing and Distilling
Red River Brewing and Distilling — Featured seasonal: Cacao Fuego, a chocolate-and-green-chile stout, will keep you warm even as the mountain nights grow colder.
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: Oktoberfest, brewed with all-German malts and Tettnang hops.
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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 
Nice to see brewers stepping up to the challenge of “session” beers. The Bosque Little Tipper seems worthy.