Things are afoot at Flix Brewhouse.

Well, technically not at the brewery/movie theater. The first bit of big news actually happened up in Denver, as for the second year in a row, Flix brought home a medal from the Great American Beer Festival.

The second bit of big news was the announcement that Flix is taking over the old UA High Ridge Theater on Indian School near Tramway, which will become a second location to serve beer-and-movie lovers on the east side of Albuquerque.

I caught up with head brewer Brandon Venaglia and assistant general manager Eric Gutierrez to learn a little more about this double dose of good news.

First up, we talked about winning a bronze medal for Tropical Mirage in the Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale category at GABF back on September 23.

Venaglia was supposed to be there with the brewers from the other Flix locations nationwide, but ultimately he had to stay in Albuquerque.

“About two weeks before, I realized it wasn’t going to work with my family,” he said. “I stayed behind, and I was getting daughter ready for a birthday party. I totally spaced it until I saw missed calls from Will (Moorman, regional brewmaster). He said he would call if we won a medal as he was going up on stage. Sure enough, he called and I missed it. Then my brother, who works at Rio Bravo now, he called me, too. He was actually watching it. That’s how I found out.”

Venaglia credited the entire collective of Flix brewers with helping to create a base from which Tropical Mirage sprang forth.

“I think that our hazy program here at Flix, our whole program Flix-wide, is really what (did it),” he said. “We’re not in all the biggest markets. (But) we have some real cool beer communities where we’re at. We really stand out with our hazies, or so it seems.”

Flix had previously won silver for ABQ Lucha Libre, a Mexican lager, in 2022.

Much as it was for fellow 2023 medal winner Marble Brewery and its out-of-stock Thunder from Dortmunder, Flix had run out of Tropical Mirage before the awards ceremony. Fear not, though, as Venaglia said it would return soon.

“Yeah, I’m brewing it on Friday,” Venaglia said. “All Flix locations are brewing it on Friday. It was the only award that the whole program got this year. Our hazy program is fantastic, but unfortunately there’s a lot of competition throughout the country.”

Tropical Mirage was third among 140 entries in its category, so Venaglia is not understating the facts there.

Every Flix has its own brewery on site, so it has been gratifying for the local team to have Albuquerque join the ranks of medal winners among the entire chain.

“We’re just really blessed with fantastic brewers,” Venaglia said.

As for the second location, the first major question is will it have a brewery on site, or will the beer be shipped across town from the Westside.

“There will be a brewery at both locations,” Gutierrez said. “It will be a smaller capacity brewery. It will do more specialty beers. Both sides will have the full on-premises brewery.”

Specifically, the new brewery will have a 3.5-barrel brewhouse. The core four Flix beers will still be produced at the Westside location. Venaglia said they will hire a new brewer who will first train with him, and on occasion they will be summoned to help brew the regular beers when necessary.

High Ridge will have to undergo a significant renovation, so an exact time table for opening Flix 2 (or Flix Heights? Flix Eastside?) is not being announced just yet. Still, the excitement is already building.

“When it first came out to the public, I went to the store after work and I was still wearing my Flix shirt,” Venaglia said. “I got stopped three times and asked about it. It had been out for four or five hours. That was (at Smith’s) on the Westside, Golf Course and Paseo, and people were excited about it.”

It has actually been a project in the works for some time.

“They’ve wanted to do a second location in Albuquerque since pre-pandemic times,” Gutierrez said. “There was Alamo Drafthouse considering coming to the location where the Hastings used to be on Wyoming (and Montgomery). At that point, we were like we should consider.”

Venaglia said Flix targed the High Ridge location after its parent company went through bankruptcy and closed the theater. Things have come together since and will now move forward.

“People are really excited,” Gutierrez said. “The east side, it’s like a whole separate city, almost. It will open a lot of doors.”

A big thanks to Brandon and Eric for taking the time to sit down for an interview. We will keep everyone updated on the progress of Flix 2, as well as to when Tropical Mirage goes back on tap.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister