Taking a trek to pair of newer breweries in Southern New Mexico

One of two breweries our editor plans to visit this weekend is Public House 28 south of Las Cruces. (All photos courtesy of the breweries)

It has been a little while since any of us in the Crew had the opportunity to travel to breweries in New Mexico outside the Albuquerque and Santa Fe metro areas, so long before the windy forecast popped up, I made the decision to head south for an overdue visit.

Wish me luck with the gusts down I-25.

The impetus of the trip was to get to the southern breweries before their weather switches from spring to surface of the sun, plus, we are in a holding pattern with a few brewery features up here in Burque. So off I shall go with two primary “targets” in mind, namely Public House 28 Brewery between Las Cruces and Anthony, and Open Space Brewing in Santa Clara, a small town near Silver City.

At this point, there are 12 active breweries left for me to visit in New Mexico before I can say that I have been to every single active place. So again, heading south before it’s too hot made sense, and those were the two breweries I had not yet visited in that region. A friend of the Crew passed along a glowing review of Public House 28, and besides the cool location, Open Space has a brewery dog, and who can resist that?

Seriously, who would not want to visit a brewery where this good boy hangs out?

We have always promoted the idea of getting out of the metro areas and visiting the breweries around the state. No, they do not all match up to the bigger (wealthier) breweries in the cities in terms of overall beer quality, but they often have a certain vibe or charm that makes a visit worthwhile nonetheless. Then, there are the ones who do have beer that could compete in a more crowded space, and those are the true gems.

Of course, as soon as I wrote that there were 12 left, it probably left people guessing what are the other 10 besides Public House 28 and Open Space. OK, fine, here are the rest, which includes one here in the metro area that I am way overdue to visit.

Blü Dragonfly Brewing, Raton (production facility), Cimarron and Red River (taprooms)
Colfax Ale Cellar, Raton
Drylands Brewing, Lovington
Enchanted Circle Brewing, Angel Fire
Guadalupe Mountain Brewing, Carlsbad (though at present they do not have a small brewer license)
Junkyard on 66 Brewery, Grants
Piedra Blanca Brewing, White Rock (though at present, they do not have a taproom, just beer to-go)
Ravenswing Farm, outside Silver City
Travel Bug, Santa Fe
Vision City Brewstillery

A couple of the other guys in the Crew who cannot head south this weekend have expressed interest in a future trip to Silver City and the Gila Wilderness, so we will have to hit up Ravenswing Farm at that time. It is arguably the most remote brewery in the state.

OK, fine, there is also a cat at Open Space. Who lives in a box on the bar. For those not allergic, make sure to say hello.

As for the rest, Junkyard and Travel Bug are day trips, while Vision City is a quick drive here in town. The goal will be to hit the northern breweries (Blü Dragonfly, Colfax, Enchanted Circle) when we need to escape the heat. The southeastern breweries (Drylands, Guadalupe Mountain) will be later in the year, since a new brewery, Nurvis Purvis, is opening in Carlsbad at some point likely in late summer or probably the fall. Might as well wait for the new place and then hit all three, plus revisiting Milton’s Brewing in Carlsbad, as well.

So what brewery trips would you like to take in 2024? If you need any suggestions or directions, just DM us on social media or email us at nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com. I’ll have stories about Public House 28 and Open Space ready next week. After that, we will hopefully have a few more Look Back/Look Ahead Series articles, plus previews of a few upcoming events/special beer releases.

Keep supporting local statewide!

— Stoutmeister