Last Friday, with nothing much going on around here, I contemplated a day trip to check out the three breweries down in Socorro. Yes, there are three now, so it seemed like a worthy trip, even on a hot, windy day. The final deciding point in favor of the mini road trip was when Box Canyon co-owner/brewer David Chavez sent me a timely message, asking if I was planning on a visit some time this summer.

After navigating those winds for 80 miles down I-25, I pulled into the parking lot next to Box Canyon, which is located at 110 Manzanares Ave., less than a block west of California St., the main north-south road in Socorro.

I sat down briefly with Chavez and his wife and co-owner, Paula Sims, over a flight and a pint in their charming little brewery.

“Actually, it’s like any new business, we have our ups and downs, but it is on target and pretty close to what our goals have been so far,” Chavez said. “We’re definitely trending towards our year-end goal, which is nice.”

One surprising development that I noticed, but forgot to photograph, was outside along the east wall of Box Canyon.

“Adding the patio, that was not even an idea when we took the space,” he said. “The landlords, they’re just super supportive, they said if we want to do that, that’s our space to do what we want with it. It’s moving in the direction that we want.”

The patio is in the early stages, so for now all the seating is inside, which is just fine with temperatures in the mid- to high 90s. The interior is small but comfortable, with a bar at the sound end, a stage in the northeast corner, and a mixture of tables, including a high-top community table where we sat. For a Friday, long before most folks get out of work or before the bands set up on the stage, there was a lively crowd already in place.

“The local clients have been super supportive,” Chavez said. “We’re becoming a good regular space, and that’s really neat.”

With the Capitol Bar and Brewery around the corner, and the just-opened Baca House Brewery a couple minutes away on foot, Chavez said folks are beginning to ask about organizing proper pub crawls between all three. He is working on making that happen, hopefully with a local company to provide transportation to and from their homes.

“The Cap was the only place in this area to go (for craft beer), and it’s a wonderful place to go, but we hope people come listen to our music, then wander over to the Cap and listen to their music,” Chavez said. “Now Baca House has opened and they’re on the same page as us. We’re impressed with how far we’ve come (as a beer scene) in six months.”

Sims said that Box Canyon has gotten plenty of compliments for the beer, even though Chavez said it all remains a constant work in progress. I got to try all eight beers on tap, the five year-round styles and the three seasonals (even though technically one of them was not yet tapped for the general public).

Mudder’s Milk was a nice, simple cream ale that does not veer toward being overly sweet. M Mountain Obscured was a hazy IPA that was not quite sweet or fruity enough. Optional Disorientation was an old-school West Coast IPA that needed a bit more dry hopping to bring out its aroma. Chavez said improving both IPAs is his current focus on the 1-barrel brewhouse, which he is also aiming to upgrade to a 2.5-barrel system in due time.

The final two year-round beers were the Time of the Preacher, a malty sweet red ale, and Under the Big Black Sun, a no-frills, adjunct-free American stout with a good mouthfeel and balanced flavor profile between the chocolate and roast. Those were my two favorites, which probably comes as a shock to absolutely no one.

As for the seasonals, Chale Mexican, a blue corn lager, poured a little cloudy as it was just tapped, but the flavor was solid throughout. It was the not-yet-ready-for-the-public brew, and should clear up fine. Wang Chung Tonight was a simple, tasty SMASH ale with Mosaic hops, 2 Row malt, and let’s face it, the best name of any of them. The final beer was Wheat’s in a Name, which ended up more on the American wheat ale side than a German hefeweizen, which was the point. It had those banana and clove flavors of a hefe, but they were mild and more on the back end. It was the first recipe created by assistant brewer David Kinder.

The other important aspect of Wheat’s in a Name was that it was the current Community Beer on tap, which Chavez explained.

“We’re doing a second community beer, and what that is a $1 from each (pint sold) goes to a local charity,” he said. “We’re taking $350 for the senior center probably next week. I’m assuming this one will sell closer to $400 for (Socorro Trails). They’re the ones that maintain the trails at Box Canyon, our namesake, and also the different trails around Socorro. It was really important to us to do something that is very community based, and help people learn about what’s around them. With the senior center, when we started that one, people were shocked that they were so desperate for funding. It was great to bring that to people’s attention.”

As the community supports Box Canyon, so shall the brewery support the community by giving back.

“It’s nice to have the support, it’s been wonderful,” Chavez said. “People can be used to on the weekend going to Albuquerque and going to any number of great breweries. Or they can choose go to Las Cruces or TorC, or stay here and go to the Cap or El Matador. When they stay here, they eat, have a beer, and tell us they enjoy the experience. We don’t take that for granted.”

“There are really wonderful people that come in,” Sims added. “I’ve met the nicest people from this town and also from other places that drive through, saw us, decided to stop in, have a bite to eat and a beer. They love the fact that they can bring their kids in at any time. We have games, they can listen to music. It’s nice that we’ve been able to create the atmosphere that we wanted to create. It’s very community based.”

A big thanks to David and Paula for their hospitality, which also included introducing me to folks at Baca House and Capitol Bar. I’ll have a separate story on those two breweries later this week.

The next time you feel like a day trip to check out a brewery outside of Albuquerque, add Socorro to the list. It’s worth the drive, but hopefully the winds aren’t howling when you go south.

Keep supporting local statewide!

— Stoutmeister