Nuckolls Brewing Co. opens to the public at long last at the Santa Fe Railyard

If you’re looking for a sign to try the new place, this is it.

It was just a bit after 4 o’clock in the afternoon last Wednesday, when I sauntered across the tracks of the Santa Fe Railyard, toward the large industrial-looking building which had previously been fenced off and posted with signs reading “Nuckolls Brewing coming soon” since well before the pandemic.

Today was the day the long-awaited Nuckolls Brewing Co. would open to the public, created by Violet Crown owner Bill Banowsky and his partners. The building hadn’t seen such a swarm of activity since it was a meat-packing plant in the 1920s.

A few folks were already funneling past the gate, across the spacious sand lot, up the stairways, and through the glass-pane doors.

It was a hot day in the middle of a ‘how hot was it’ joke. The punchline being a sweat-dripping DJ spinning chill beats in his socks (shoes having been shucked), with three of his biggest fans blowing in his general direction.

Inside the doors was Santa Fe’s newest most impressive venue, an expansive hall, seemingly of the post-modern viking architectural movement, large enough that it might take a medium-sized Norse village to fill it. That sentiment of mine, however, would soon prove a rather regrettable one around 5 o’clock.

“Vikings, raise the shield wall, hold the front lines, fight to death.” — Amon Amarth

If you only had two seconds to steal a quick glance, your attention would be immediately be arrested by three large copper serving vessels suspended above the bar.

Copper vessels in plain sight.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but I think if owners consulted brewers on where they preferred to place their shiny vessels, they probably wouldn’t be hundreds of feet from the brewhouse. But, I kid the good people of Blue Corn. It’s an old joke, I know.

Let me save you some time. The other 20 taps are downstairs.

Of the 60 shiny tap handles, about 20 were pouring beer. Only one was pouring Nuckolls beer on day one. It was a very nicely presented red chile porter, likely a recipe from the previous brewer David Ahern-Seronde, who is now taking his chile sauce business to new Scoville levels.

To be quite fair, Nuckolls had only just acquired Jen Treu, the new head brewer (she was previously with Rowley Farmhouse Ales), naught but a week or two before the grand opening, and I was told there was a ton to do to get the place battle-ready before it went live.

Fear not, more beer is on the way to fill out the board.

And, as always, I understand very well, how first days go for breweries and restaurants, and so I have no problem granting them the time to shake out any jitterbugs that they might have before finalizing an opinion. I look forward to a full lineup of both Nuckolls creations and guest taps in the coming weeks ahead.

That day, I joined a few of my industry friends who were also there to meet the new kid in town. Not long after we all had a round of local pints, we were given a quick tour of the soon-to-be speakeasy bar downstairs. I don’t have any photos just yet, as I want to give them a chance to finish it before posting those to the public. But, suffice to say, it was as cool as Luke’s hand, with a fistful of firecracker potential energy. The cat’s meow comes to mind.

The acquired antique La Fonda bar-top gleamed beautifully, and looked better-than-good-as-new in the glow of the LED lights. From behind it, Nuckolls director of food and drink, and front-of-house bar manager, David Pecorari told me that not just beer, but wine and a full bar would be available downstairs. He said the new bar would be open four days a week, Thursdays through Sundays from 4 p.m to midnight at first, while he said he was hoping to get to 1 a.m. when in full swing. He said their first “hard event” would be August 17, and they could be open to the public anytime after that.

Though the furniture consisted of only place-holders for future tush-holders, the chairs were still rather comfy, and at the very least, gave you a good feel for what it would be like to enjoy an Old Fashioned or two in this undoubtedly special spot.

The only thing that might have marred the secretive pre-prohibition-era vibe was the large window looking out onto the soon-to-be-sodded beer garden lawn. Why, Ness and his Untouchables would certainly be onto these fine bootleggers, were it the late 20’s of the previous century.

Upstairs, like clockwork, as 5 p.m. rolled ’round, the line (which I knew was coming) began to form. A throng of beer-thirsty Santa Feans formed at the bar, one that would not let up until late into the evening.

The word, indeed, was out.

Luckily, Banowsky’s staff was more than up to the task. They may have been raided like a Chicago supply house, but they remained unbattered and in good spirits. It may have been an all-hands-on-deck situation, but each and every one of Nuckolls’ wonderful staff wielded smiles like Tommy guns, as they explained the menus, the beer list, the accepted currency (cashless only), and laid down the appropriate cover fire of key information on the future plans. Those tidbits included the fact that soon food trucks will post up in the beer garden for easy access to the folks who came to watch the outdoor movie screens.

I didn’t get a chance to speak to the owner that day, as he had a lot of people in his line as well, but I’ll get to that as soon as time permits.

Brewer Jen shows a group of friends around the brewhouse.

As far as the beer goes, I’m meeting with brewer Jen this week to find out more about the current brewing situation, as well as what the plan is for filling those large suspended vessels, just as soon as hard-opening season ebbs and the taps truly begin to flow.

All in all, I would say that Nuckolls Brewing wasn’t fully ready to open that day, but their able staff was more than prepared to deal with that fact. They turned what could have been a mediocre gathering into the red-carpet bash it ended up feeling like. So, a tip of the fedora to all of them.

I very much look forward to returning time and time again, because I can see, feel, and taste the potential in the air. I already want to go back to hang out in the beautiful environment, whether inside or on one of the spacious patio areas out front, and of course with a local beer in hand, and a plate of tacos in front of me when the mood strikes. And, it will.

I’m telling you, this gin joint, once it hits its stride, will surely be the beez kneez. And, at the very least, it will be fun to enjoy the view of the Railyard from the other side of the tracks for a change.