People keep asking me, “When is Beer Creek going to open that new taproom of theirs?” To which, I generally shrug, believing that permitting through the City of Santa Fe these days is kind of like waiting on the scientists to finally invent a proper hover board, Tom Brady to retire, or George RR Martin…
Month: February 2023
Ex Novo brings the brewing community together for a new collaboration festival
Ex Novo Brewing will host the first stage of a new festival this Sunday at 1 p.m., one that promises to be rather unique for New Mexico. United in Beer is in partnership with the Somos Unidos Foundation, the charitable arm of New Mexico United, with whom the brewery already has a working relationship. The…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Bow & Arrow feeling lucky with 7th anniversary
Time flies, which you tend to notice every time a brewery has an anniversary party number that makes you go, “Whoa, already?” Bow & Arrow is the latest, celebrating its seventh anniversary this Saturday, and the brewery will going all out with quite a celebratory event. There will be three special beer releases (see below),…
Legislative update: Sorting through all the bills that could affect the breweries
Unless you purposely avoid the news these days, you are probably aware that there is a 60-day legislative session going on in Santa Fe at present. As in years past, there are bills moving through the system that could have a significant impact on breweries, and keeping track of everything can be a wee bit…
Bathtub Row flourishes in 2022 and expands production in 2023
Bathtub Row Brewing (BRB or “The Tub”) in Los Alamos bounced back from the COVID downturn and had an excellent 2022 from a sales perspective. To keep things moving ahead, they have big plans for 2023 that are already underway. In order to get the scoop on past and future events for our Look Back/Look…
Lava Rock rumbles through a tough year but hopes to rebound in 2023
Just before the winter winds whipped through New Mexico earlier this week, I trekked west to Lava Rock Brewing at 2220 Unser Blvd. NW to catch up with head brewer Dan Cavin for our Look Back/Look Ahead Series. We were the first to arrive in the brewpub that day, so Cavin did not mince words…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Celebrating Mardi Gras a few days early
What was once mainly a holiday for New Orleans and surrounding areas, Mardi Gras has spilled over into the mainstream across the country. Some of our breweries didn’t feel like being left out, but let’s face it, drawing big crowds on a Tuesday can be pretty tough (though two listed below will give it a…
Stout Challenge XII: The little guy takes down the goliath of Albuquerque
OK, first off, we were really bad at taking pictures Sunday. But, we were good when it came to judging stouts in a blind taste test format. This year went fairly smoothly, though we did have a couple of illness-related absences (you were missed, Brandon and Luke!), but at least we ended up with all…
Stout Challenge XII: Unleash the fury upon our blackened souls, again
Super Bowl weekend is upon us, which means it is time for the Dark Side Brew Crew’s annual Stout Challenge. Our fingers are crossed that we will be able to return to the House of Sturm for our 12th annual blind taste test of local stouts. The last two years we held this on the…
Lizard Tail Brewing intends to turn things around by going back to basics
If nothing else, we always have to give Lizard Tail owner Dan Berry points for his honesty. He never hides behind any sort of blind optimism, but instead comes right out and tells us exactly how things are going for his brewery. “We got owned,” Berry said of 2022. “We did not make money, I…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 