Let there be wonder, well, let there be Marbleous wonder, as Albuquerque’s biggest brewery gears up for a trip down the rabbit hole to celebrate its 15th anniversary.

I caught up with event coordinator Amy Levine to go over all that Marble has planned for a week-long series of good times that will lead up to the big party on Saturday.

“We started talking about it in January, that’s when the theme came (to us),” she said. “We started executing it in March. Most of the decorations you’ll see are made by the marketing team. We’ve had tremendous help from the brewery (staff) and the offsite taprooms as well. We got crafty, that’s for sure, and everything is looking amazing.”

The Alice in Wonderland theme was ultimately picked by Marble president Barbie Gonzalez, making this series of events even more unique than the standard brewery anniversary fare.

It all kicks off Tuesday with the Taco-Tastic Pairing at Marble Heights. Running from 6 to 7 p.m., it will feature three special tacos from Don Choche paired with three 8-ounce beers. Tickets are $25 per person and are available online.

As of last week, Wednesday’s event was nearly sold out, so make sure to check ASAP to see if there are any seats left for the Scalo Beer Dinner. Head brewer Andrew Krosche will lead a five-course guided tasting paired with five 10-ounce Marble beers, including some brand-new releases.

“And, there will be a little surprise at the end,” Levine teased.

Tickets are $85 per person and can be found online, or by calling Scalo.

This Thursday is the grand holiday 4/20, so Marble will celebrate downtown with the release of Drink Me, the official 15th anniversary hazy IPA. The brewers provided this description: “This 15-year Anniversary brew invites you to fall into a hop flavorland. Experience a world of crisp citrus dripping with hops.”

While the beer will be available in cans and on draft at all three taprooms, downtown will feature a party with live music from Slums of Harvard, Jimmy Climbs, Just Velvet, and Vibestrong starting at 5:30 p.m. Entry is free.

The Westside Taproom will get in on the action this Friday with Spin Down the Rabbit Hole: A DJ Battle and Dance Party. It will run from 7 to 10 p.m. and feature DJ Flo Fader versus TJ the DJ. There will be an Alice in Wonderland costume contest. First place gets you a $50 Marble gift card and two tickets to Marblefest later this year. Second place nets a $25 gift card. This is another free event.

Saturday, though, is the big bash downtown. For Brew Club members, head up to the Sky Deck from noon to 2 p.m. for your own special, separate experience.

“That will include exclusive cask tastings, (appetizers), as well as a raffle,” Levine said. “The prizes for the raffle are a Cerveza guitar, and the other is a brew club renewal. You have to have valid brew club membership.”

Downstairs, admission is free from noon to 2 p.m., and then $10 per person afterwards. Do take note that due to space limitations and safety concerns, leave the strollers and dogs at home this weekend.

Once you pass through the ticket gate, you will see that the taproom and patios will have different themes from Alice in Wonderland.

“Each area down here will have its own theme,” Levine said. “Birthday Party will be on the patio. We’ll have the Mad Hatter Tea Party up on the Sky Deck. The pub we’ll call the Portal, going down the rabbit hole from the birthday party to the north lot, which is Giant World.”

The north lot will be enclosed and feature a vendor market from noon to 5 p.m., featuring more than 20 local bakers, craftsmen, and artists. Food trucks on site will include Urban Hot Dog, Tikka Spice, and Don Choche.

Music will kick off at 2 p.m. with The Mango Cakes, followed by The Selfless Lovers (3:30-4:30 p.m.), The Noms (5-6:30 p.m.), and Isaac Aragon and the Healing (7-9 p.m.). After that wraps up, head to the north lot for the DJ After Party from 9 to 1:30 a.m.

“The after party in the north lot will be kind of like a rave-style party,” Levine said. “We’re going to have DJs back there, a big white wall, black lights, we’re trying to go all out.”

The staff had only just started to put up a few decorations while I was visiting, and Levine said to expect some true visual surprises to go along with the beer, music, vendors, and merriment this Saturday.

“The girls, the marketing team, all of us, we’ve come together with great ideas,” Levine said. ?We’ve played around with a lot. They’re very creative. So kudos to Lisa and Brianna, and Julio. They’ve been great. I can come up with some stuff, tell me what I need to do, I can execute. As far as the crafty imagination, those girls are all about it.”

In addition to all of that, there is also the Marble Story Challenge. The brewery is asking its supporters, whether you have been around all 15 years or maybe just the last 15 days, to submit a story about your favorite moment(s) at Marble over the years. Type it up and send an email to moments@marblebrewery.com and a winner will be selected at random to receive a Marble gift pack valued at $150, as well as having your moment featured on the brewery’s social media pages. That contest runs until April 24.

As always, a big thanks to Amy and the rest of the Marble staff for their hospitality. All of us in the Crew are looking forward to Saturday’s anniversary bash. It’s been quite a trip these last 15 years, Marble.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister