We are not beer critics. Oh, sure, we will review a beer every now and again, but our mantra from the beginning has been information over opinion.

Still, toward the end of every year, we will often talk to one another about what our favorite local beers were over the prior 12 months. Sometimes we even remember to write it down (or, at the very least, this is why some of us are still on Untappd). And, when we can actually get organized, sometimes we even share our favorite beers.

Not every Crew member did this year, but that is OK. Some were fairly limited in terms of getting out there (family, job, health, etc.). Others among us were frequently out and about, sometimes sampling new brews while doing interviews, others just inhabiting their favorite taprooms, usually in close proximity to work or home.

Once we have listed our favorites of 2023, please share yours in the comments, in an email (nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com) or however you would like. There are never any wrong answers. The only rule is that the beers have to have been brewed in New Mexico.

Starting with the dad and the scientist, both of whom were limited in getting out to breweries and/or keeping track of what they did have. Then come the rather extensive lists from our usual beer tasting host and our man in Santa Fe, followed by yours truly.

Franz: I didn’t drink much at all, whilst out and about. Highlights I can recall are La Negra, Marble’s Festbier (the lighter one), Ex Novo’s Oktoberfest, and Freddy’s Got Twenty (from) SBB.

Reid: If I could remember that I would be asked later in the year I would take notes, but I don’t, so this list is weighted heavily to recent beers. The good news is that some may still be available!

• Bosque: Santa’s Favorite House imperial stout and Brewer’s Dozen imperial stout
• La Cumbre: La Negra imperial stout and By Any Other Name IPA
• Hidden Mountain: Icarus Double Hazy IPA (I didn’t pick it in the IPA Challenge but it was good)

I haven’t opened this year’s Ex Novo stouts or they would be on the list, no doubt.

Andrew: Many great bears in 2023. Here are my top ten ABQ born beers that topped my Untappd ratings in order from the top. Marble owns three of the spots followed by Gravity Bound with two and the other five evenly distributed between other fine breweries.

• Gravity Bound, Dawnest Before the Dark — Loved this 9.3-percent imperial stout from the brewery that consistently produces top-notch hazy IPAs and an occasional on-point Westie, but rarely drops in a stout.
• Ex Novo, Kill the Sun German Chocolate — My favorite of the 2023 releases. If I was sharing a list of my favorite cakes for 2023 this would have also made that list.
• Marble, Galax-C’s — Righteous, well-balanced IPA with all the right c-notes. Pine meets fruit with a welcoming embrace and I happily lapped it up.
• Marble, Lab-Spresso — This non-barrel aged imperial stout appealed to my nerdy engineer side, but also delivered to my beer loving senses. Nice job in the lab.
• Boxing Bear, Swop Hop — A positively dank AF IPA. Nuff said.
• Sidetrack, Citrus Dank — A clear and refreshing Helles that was ever so tactfully smuggled into the land of dank. Very sneaky.
• Marble, Turkish Style Coffee Stout — This is the late nightcap coffee stout. Not for breakfast. Amazing mouthfeel. In my interpretation of C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; this is the Turkish delight that they speak of. Forgot that rose-flavored nonsense.
• Gravity Bound, Horizontal Shift — My favorite of GB’s sours in 2023 was this fruit cup runneth-ing over with flavor held together by a tinge of vanilla and coconut. ‘Twas a fine way to start the Sunday Bagels session.
• Canteen, Ripple — This no-frills, fruity-yet-piney IPA tickled my fancy early in FEB when that was exactly what I needed.
• Bow & Arrow, Coffee Club: The Thunder — I love crushing a good dry Irish stout in the morning and this one filled the bill.

Luke: There were so many great beers in 2023, picking favorites was exceptionally tough. So, I went with beers that were just excellently brewed, fun, and just stood out in my mind as something I would recommend or return for, pour after pour. In no particular order:

• River Critter XPA, Gravity Bound — When I think of breweries having fun with a pale ale, this is what I want. Good malt backbone, but the hops really leapt out of this one.
• Southern Passion Pale Ale, Second Street Brewery — This year I had fun with a lot of Southern Hemi hops, and when it was first released, this beer was an absolute gem.
• Toast the Dawn Helles, Second Street Brewery — This beer was so clear, you could hold it up to the sun and start a fire in the desert on a hot day. A lot of hard work went into head brewer Tom’s wedding beer, and it showed.
• Oktoberfest (2023), La Cumbre — This was a beer that was much better in the taproom than the first cans I tried. Or maybe the second batch runs were just better, but so huge was the difference that it made this beer one of my most memorable of 2023. 
• Oolah-lah Belgian Dubbel, Rowley Farmhouse Ales — The last beer Jen (currently of Nuckolls) brewed at Rowley Farmhouse, this beer reminded me that we really are missing solid Belgian beers here in Santa Fe, or even New Mexico on a regular basis for that matter. I may not miss the former leading purveyor of Belgians in Santa Fe (who must not be named), but I miss having regular access to the style of beer.
• Finally, of all the cool beers I got to work on at Hidden Mountain. It wouldn’t be right not to mention one of them if it was indeed a favorite beer I drank/paid for all year. Oddly enough, it wasn’t our IPA Challenge Beer, or a close third favorite Reverse Saazmosis. One of my favorite beers that I would go and buy, over and over again at other local restaurants until it was gone, was Mora Azul Blueberry Wheat. That one was just the right amount of fruit forwardness, but balanced and refreshing, not too sweet, and not tart at all. I was never that into blueberry, until it became a beer.

That’s it for me. I look forward to all the great beers that await us in 2024. Cheers!

Stoutmeister: There were so many damn beers this year, as there are every year. Bless you, Untappd, for doing what my middle-aged brain cannot — keeping track of all of them. Anyway, I could just do a regular list, but it would be stupidly long, so instead I broke it all down, month-by-month. These are not necessarily the release months, just when I remembered to check in the beers as I drank them around the state.

• January: Just by the name itself, A Star is Bjorn was wonderful, but it was also a delicious Baltic porter from Ex Novo. A first visit to Sunday Service Motor Company introduced me to the excellent No Brainer (Coffee Porter). I finally got my hands on the most recent batch of Lush Imperial Stout at Nexus. Rowley Farmhouse Ales brought the big one, Don’t Dryve Angry, to WinterBrew.
• February: Boxing Bear tossed some Iron Lung Smoked Porter in a wine barrel and it was magnificent. Sobremesa dropped their Dos Años Baltic Porter, while Tractor unveiled Barrel-Aged Luna De Los Muertos. For something light, Sidetrack’s Accelerator Doppelbock hit the spot.
• March: It was time to lighten up a little, with annual favorites like Hummingbird Pils at Steel Bender and Helles Lager at La Cumbre. I rather enjoyed My Bock Feels Great, the Harmon Lane half of the “rivalry” with Quarter Celtic. Gravity Bound went and showed that they are not just a hazy IPA/sour/lager brewery, rolling out Dawnest Before the Dark Imperial Stout.
• April: Achoo! As the allergies raged, the hop-forward specialties appeared to save our sinuses. Canteen’s Enthrall IPA was a beer for a great cause. Boxing Bear’s SWOP Hop IPA was, as Andrew put it best, dank AF. And, once again, High and Dry and our friends in Red Mesa hit all the right notes with Disharmonious Red IPA.
• May: Another birthday, another year older. At least Ponderosa’s Italian Pilsner was available at Isotopes and United games. Quarter Celtic gave us a sneak peek of Mocha Hipster Bomb on my birthday after one of those games. Turtle Mountain’s Cosmic Campground Black IPA topped a strong field at Bear Fest. The best lager of all, though, was brought to us by the local chapter of the Pink Boots Society, as I finally got my hands on Put the Pilsner on a Pedestal.
• June: An out-of-town brewery paid us a visit, as Truth or Consequences offered flights and pints at Tractor Wells Park for ABQ Beer Week, with The Empress Imperial Stout topping the list. A trip to Colorado included a stop in Farmington, where we saluted Sgt. Lauter Helles Lager at Lauter Haus. Later on, I took a quick trip to Socorro to finally visit Box Canyon Brewing, with Under the Big Black Sun topping their menu.
• July: Welcome to the scene, Flock of Moons, with your delightful Bandada de Lunas Mexican Lager and Waning Crescent Vienna Lager. Speaking of Viennas, Ex Novo brought back its award-winning V for Vienna. Second Street’s Czech Pilsner was an unexpected delight. And, thumbs up to a great beer for a cause, as the trio of Steel Bender, Second Street, and Sierra Blanca released this year’s version of One for 5, a juicy IPA this time around.
• August: Flock of Moons promised something special and delivered with Tropical Guru, a stout so good no one cared about the scorching temperatures outside. Then came fest season, as Ex Novo’s German Overalls, Thirsty Eye’s Oktoberfest, Second Street’s Oktoberfest, and La Cumbre’s Oktoberfest all rolled out to the joy of all.
• September: Beer Creek’s Diablo Bock and Boxing Bear’s OktoBEARfest ascended to the top at ULLR Fest. Then came the fresh/wet hops, as La Cumbre’s Playhouse and Gravity Bound’s Pistola Gravity reached new heights. Boxing Bear’s newest batch of Bear-Queño IPA was also its best iteration yet.
• October: Canteen got its brewing system fired up again and released the best version yet of Grundy Thunder Porter. There were also Turtle Mountain’s Okturtlefest and Nexus’ Festbier, and to take a break from all that festing, Boxing Bear brought back Metal Head Stout.
• November: This may shock everyone, but … Tractor’s Turkey Drool is still my favorite seasonal from that brewery. Other returning darker brews of note this month, all of which were excellent, included Boxing Bear’s Vantablack Russian Imperial Stout, Ex Novo’s Nevermore Black Barleywine, and Marble’s Turkish Style Coffee Stout. Much thanks was given.
• December: After getting back from the heavy brews at the Metal and Beer Fest in Denver, I needed something light, so a very good friend recommended Paleidoscope Pale Ale, and he might be right that it was the finest pale ale Ex Novo ever made. Two old favorites returned in Luna De Los Muertos at Tractor and The Red Glove at Boxing Bear. But, the real delight was the entire lineup of Kill the Sun this year. Best overall collection in that imperial stout’s history? I have to say yes.

A huge thanks to all of the breweries for the hard work they put into each and every beer. I am sure that there are some I forgot to record into Untappd, and others that I probably should go back and try again. It turns out that working full time again, and working at night four times a week, does limit one’s ability to get out and try everything, but I will endeavor to do my best here in 2024.

And, of course, these are our opinions, we could be wrong.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister