Do you love sour beers? No, really. It’s OK. You can admit it here. It’s a safe space. You’re amongst friends. So let me ask again, do you love sour and funk-forward beers and wish we showed them just a little more respect here in New Mexico?

If you, like many others, find yourself often seeking out the tartest from the barrel artists, and find yourself asking for everything from the most mouth-puckering pours to the funkiest of farmhouse fills, if you crave the more cultured array of ales, then rest easy my foeder-fetishists, the New Mexico Brewers Guild has heard your plea.

This Saturday, Fête de la Funk (pronounced like Fett, as in Boba the jet-packed bounty hunter), the first-annual Guild celebration of all beers funkadelic and sour is heading to Rowley Farmhouse Ales in Santa Fe, where 14 breweries will gather together to pour you beers just beyond the typical brewfest pH level!

For the $35 ticket price, you get a commemorative glass, with samples of all the beers, and one full pour of your favorite. Tickets are still available through the Eventbrite website, so get ’em while you can.

Recently I caught up with NMBG executive director Ebbie Edmonston to chat about this upcoming inaugural event, and why you should definitely check it out.

The original push came from purveyors and perfectors of the style, Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Edmonston told us. They had reached out to the Guild with an idea for an alternative to the stout and IPA festivals we’ve grown accustomed to over the years.

“There used to be an event, not a Guild event, but a beer event called Tart at Heart. Personally, I used to love going to it. I’ve heard from other people that they loved that event too,” Edmonston recalled. “And, it’s no longer around. So it was one of those events where we asked, why don’t we see if the Guild can pull this off? … And, if there are actually enough people out there that enjoy these styles of beer.”

Six years running, Tart at Heart was one of the most popular and successful beer events in New Mexico, held annually at Sister in Albuquerque, but alas, it became just another great event lost to the COVID era.

By the numbers, we know that IPA still rules the day, and when it’s especially hot, a crisp lager wears the crown, but if you’ve glanced up at most brewery menus, year-round, you’ll see plenty of these funky fruitions telling us that someone’s still asking for the bold and the bacterial.

And so, when it came time to figure out if the Brewers Guild had an event on their hands, or not, it was really up to the breweries.

“The Guild said we had to hit a certain number of breweries participating to make it worthwhile,” Edmonston said. “And so, that is why we had to send some feelers out to see if we could get at least this many breweries before we can move forward. And so, once we did reach that number, it was like, all right, green means go!”

OK, so a funk/sour fest? I bet you’re asking yourself what does that mean? Well, let’s assume for word economy that you know the difference between a beer that has been soured on purpose and one that, well, was an honest mistake.

Does this fest include barrel-aged fruited sours? Kettle sours? Is it a festival of beers soured only with Lactobacillus or Pediococcus? But, they mentioned funk. Surely there must be some beers with Brettanomyces? What are the rules here? Well, luckily, I anticipated that question and passed it on up to Edmonston.

“The keyword is funky,” she said. “I think if we narrow it down to specifically sour, we’re not going to have as many beer styles. So you know, we’re including American wild ales, goses, geuzes, saisons, the larger overall family of farmhouse ales, stuff like that. So yeah, there’s going to be both kettle sours, barrel-aged sours, and plenty of saisons. I’m really excited for this.”

On Saturday, the following 14 breweries (Bathtub Row, sadly, had to drop out due to an equipment issue) will be pouring their tarts out, and here’s the lineup as we know it so far:

Bow and Arrow Brewing — Funksloth – Wild Neomexicanus: Farmhouse ale, aged in an oak foeder for over 16 months and fermented with our mixed culture of yeast and bacteria native to the North Valley. Dry-hopped with hand foraged, wild Neomexicanus hops, this version emits rad doses of pineapple and wet-earth funk, with hints of citrus and stonefruit. (6.3% ABV)

Canteen Brewhouse — Gose All Night: Fruited gose with lactobacillus. Gose All Night is kettle-soured gose with a tart and sweet blend of strawberry and basil, great to enjoy in the spring weather on our Canteen patios! Available at the taproom. (6% ABV)

Ex Novo Brewing Co. — Dripping Sun: Dry-hopped mixed culture ale, aged in wine barrels for 1.5 years and dry hopped with Waimea, Riwaka, and Nelson. (5.8% ABV, 18 IBUs)

Flix Brewhouse — Funky Lil Dubbel: A deep reddish copper, moderately strong, malty, complex Belgian ale with rich, malty flavors, dark fruit esters blended together with notes of pie cherry and barnyard funk from our use of Brett Lambicus. (7% ABV, 22 IBUs)

Flock of Moons — Lunar Winter Dark Sour Saison: Philly sour plus saison yeast. Somewhat unusual as a darker interpretation of the saison style. Rye malt, a hint of roast and European hops provide an earthy background for our dark, tart and dry winter edition saison. Austere on the first sip, Lunar Winter opens up with suggestions of strawberry, dried dark fruits and subtle spicy Saison yeast character. Available in our taproom. (5.3% ABV)

Lunar Spring American Saison: Our spring edition saison goes all in on American ingredients and character. Pilsner and corn make for a bright malt profile and color. Lunar Spring’s citrus forward hops contribute zesty aromas and flavors that mingle with notes of bubble gum and spicy clove. Crisp, dry and refreshing for warm spring days with a little alcohol warmth for the still-cool nights. Available in our taproom. (6.8% ABV)

Marble Brewery — Cherry Chingon: Imperial German-inspired golden ale, aged 12 months in port barrels with dried Rainier cherries and George Gale Prized Olde Ale Brett culture acquired from a collab with Marble Manchester. The brewer James Kemp previously worked at Fullers and was able to bring them a 12-ounce bottle to grow of the culture, and Marble has been keeping it alive ever since. Available on draft only at all three Marble taprooms, release date TBA. (9.3% ABV)

Nuckolls Brewing Co. — Spice: A farmhouse-style saison spiced with Thai chili peppers, Mango puree, and lime juice. Available on draft at Nuckolls. (5.7% ABV)

Rio Bravo Brewing Co. — Cherry on Brett 3rd anniversary brew: We took six wooden barrels from upstairs and filled them with our good regular Cherry Wheat beer and added a small dose of brettanomyces yeast and bacteria to start a slow and steady souring process. The beer aged with this for nine to 12 months, and we then found the beer quite tart and delicious, with hints of spices, cherry, tartness that lingers, and a slightly muted color due to the wood aging process. Available in 22-ounce bottles (5.7% ABV, 17 IBUs)

Rowley Farmhouse Ales — Western Lights Oat Saison: Aged in sauvignon blanc barrels. (6.1% ABV, 22 IBUs)

Who Gose There?: Gose-style sour ale on blackberry. (4.4% ABV, 5 IBUs)

Petite Razz: Biere de Blanche on raspberry. (5.1% ABV, 11 IBUs)

Cal-Eee-Belgique: Belgian-style IPA with Citra and Mosaic hops. (7% ABV, 50 IBUs)

Starr Brothers Brewing — Napoleon’s Dynamite Saison: A Belgian ale that is most commonly pale, refreshing, moderately strong and finishes dry.  (6.9% ABV, 25 IBUs)

Steel Bender Brewyard — Double Berry Blast Dynamite: “10.4% ABV pie filling” is Steel Bender’s anniversary pastry sour. Berry forward with bright and tangy jam notes with hints of berry skin reminiscent of red wine. Marionberry and boysenberry take center stage in this kettle sour brewed with double the lactose for sweet and creamy goodness, and a smooth body that finishes with subtle notes of shortcrust pastry. So much lactose and milk sugar you’ll need a dairy pill. (10.4% ABV, 5 IBUs)

Thirsty Eye Brewing — Eye of the Moon (collab with Flock of Moons): Berliner Weisse with elderflower with Lallemand WildBrew Sour Pitch (Levilactobacillus plantarum) sour culture. The dlderflower contributes to Eye of the Moon’s delicate floral and herbal nose. Tart on the palate with notes of lemon peel. Immensely refreshing and quaffable at 3.5-percent ABV with a bright, dry and floral finish. Currently available on tap at Thirsty Eye and Flock of Moons.

Three Rivers Brewing

Turtle Mountain Brewing — 25th Anniversary Ale Flanders Red: Made with Lactobacillus/ OYL-024 Belgian A. This is the culmination of 25 years in the making. Four months aged in American oak whiskey barrels. Montmorency cherry forward. Not too tart and very drinkable. Available in taprooms only. (7.35% ABV)

For the first event of its name, it will be a more casual outdoor affair, drinking fine beers with fine friends beneath a large tent. Folks are encouraged to bring their own camping chairs if they’d like. And, to sweeten the sour deal, it appears as though the weather will be cooperating with highs somewhere around 70 degrees. Here’s hoping the forecast holds!

“It’s a young event and we’re still trying to figure out exactly what it is,” Edmonston said. “But, food will be provided by Rowley’s, so you can grab some food, come outside, and listen to some music (by Funk/Jazz band Zaphica). I am also excited because Underberg is participating in the event, and we have a bunch of Underberg to give out, and we’re going to have a little bit of a raffle for some of their merch as well as some Guild merch. It’ll be a fun time to meet and greet with the brewers, and talk about funky and sour beers.”

The Low Down

Who: Organized by New Mexico Brewers Guild, hosted by Rowley Farmhouse Ales, and supported by some of the best breweries in the state.

What: Fête de la Funk, a celebration of sour and funky beers

Where: Rowley Farmhouse Ales (1405 Maclovia St, Santa Fe, NM 87505)

When: The event runs from noon to 4 p.m.

Why you shouldn’t miss this one: “I don’t think you should miss it because it’s our first time trying something new for this type of beer,” Edmonston said. “And, the more people that come to this, the more input we get from people, so we can make it better next year. I don’t think sours are ever going to surpass the IPA in popularity, but if this is the style you’re into, if this is the style you enjoy, this is your event.”

From the looks of the beers above, it’s going to be a great time for your taste buds. There will be beers that will test your mettle (and your antacids). There will be beers that will take you on a quaint carriage ride through the countryside of Wallonia, with plenty of earthy, peppery notes, hints of aged fruit and crisp dry finishes. There will be beers that taste like grandma’s famous pie recipe baked and squeezed into a glass. And, there will be beers carefully aged like a fine wines, but on raspberries, sparkling, refreshing, and subtle, yet invigorating, and of course there might be sours so punchy they’ll take your lunch money and kick you right in the salivaries. You never know. You’ll just have to be there.

For more information on the brewing of sour beers, come to this event! No, really. You’ll have at least 15 great resources to tell you exactly what you’re tasting and how they came to be (on purpose).

To the New Mexico Brewers Guild and their new event, and to the funk, the whole funk, and nothing but the funk, cheers!

— Luke