Life has, more than once, gotten in the way of all of us in the Crew in terms of getting stories done in a timely manner. As we all tried to find the time to catch up with the recent medal winners from the Great American Beer Festival, we almost left out Ex Novo Brewing, which had won a silver for Sons of Scotland.

Ultimately, with neither Erin nor I able to get to Corrales (she had initially volunteered to handle the story, only for the universe to not cooperate one darn bit), I felt the need to resort to email in the hopes that someone at the brewery would respond to the same questions that Franz Solo asked in his stories about the medal wins for Flix Brewhouse and Quarter Celtic.

My worries were unfounded, as director of brewing operations Dave Chichura responded in 43 minutes. I am very glad he checked his email that day.

For a quick recap (it’s been almost two weeks since the festival), Ex Novo won just seconds after Quarter Celtic in the same category, Scotch Ale, which was near the very end of the awards ceremony. It was the first time two New Mexico breweries medalled in the same category in the same year. It was a nice way to finish the ceremony, bringing New Mexico’s total medal count to four, the same as 2021. (And, for the sake of fairness, here is Luke’s story on Rowley Farmhouse Ales winning gold, which he got done much quicker and more easily than the rest of us, because he’s a rock star.)

On the with the show, and of course, thanks to Dave for doing this so promptly.

Crew: How did it feel to win?

Chichura: Sons of Scotland was our last hope, and we had to wait a long time for it, given its category number (96). I was watching the webcast in our taproom with a few people. When they announced the silver winner it was really gratifying. We made some noise and celebrated with a few beers. The win was a nice reward for a big year of growth.

Crew: Did you think that Sons of Scotland stood a chance at medaling?

Chichura: Absolutely, as I believe all of our entries did. We sent some quality beers up there, and I was prepared for any of them to win. Sons has been a great beer from its first batch on, and it’s good to see that it stands up there with the best in the style.

Crew: What makes this specific beer great?

Chichura: It just hits all the right notes for a Scotch ale. The evident, but not overpowering, smoke character along with the rich, sweet malt flavor and no rough edges make it a classic example of the style.

Crew: Anything else you’d like to add?

Chichura: I dig the fact that two New Mexico breweries medaled in the same category. I’m really happy for Brady (McKeown).

Barring anything unexpected, that’s our last GABF story for this year. Until the 2023 edition comes around, we will be back to focusing on what’s going on here in New Mexico.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister