The biggest event of the summer in Bernalillo returns this Saturday and Sunday, all organized and sponsored by Kaktus Brewing. The Farmhouse Ale Country & Blues Festival is not necessarily a celebration of saisons, but of the season, bringing together music, games, and other activities for folks of all ages at Loretto Park both days from noon to 6 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door, or you can purchase them from the official website. There will four bands performing each day, plus food trucks, a beer garden, and a 600-square-foot casino tent. You can bring chairs, blankets, anything that makes shade, and even your dog is welcome.

New Draft:

Flock of Moons will soon tap Somniorum Hefeweizen, and Waning Crescent Vienna Lager could be ready to make its triumphant by the weekend. Sidetrack tapped Tropischen Pilsner. Steel Bender will add Lloyd’s Picnic Kolsch with Watermelon this Thursday. Tractor will bring back one of the classics in Half Acre Hefe. (UPDATES) Canteen tapped Cherry Wheat. Painted Lady may have the beer name of the year with Wolfman’s Got Nards, an amber ale that’s a tribute to the 80s cult classic Monster Squad.

Up in Santa Fe, Beer Creek will have a special anniversary beer on tap this Saturday called Mas Alta IPA, which will then become a year-round offering. Rowley Farmhouse Ales recently added Hyside (Oatmeal) Stout. Second Street tapped Grisette, a farmhouse ale. Down south, Downshift recently tapped Campin’ Vibes, an amber ale. (UPDATES) Santa Fe Brewing has a limited release of Tio Coco, an imperial pilsner. Up in Los Alamos, Bathtub Row tapped Red Shift IPA.

New Package:

Bosque will bring back Hot Commodity, a spicy pickle gose, in cans and on draft this Friday. La Cumbre will roll out Citra Single Hop IPA in cans and on draft this Friday. Second Street will release Tropical Pilsner in cans and on draft this Saturday. (UPDATE) Ex Novo brought back She Sells Seashelles in cans and on draft.

Notable Events:

Today (Wednesday) — Thirsty Eye will host a Tribute to Gram Parsons at 6 p.m., featuring multiple local musicians performing some of his classic songs.

New Mexico’s Premier Variety Showcase returns to Tractor Wells Park at 6 p.m.

Friday — Painted Lady will have a little fun with the Outlaw, Lawman & Ghost Magic Show at 8 p.m.

Goth Night & Dark Market: Summer Solstice Edition takes over Tractor Wells Park at 8 p.m.

Saturday — The Celebration of Oddities event at Flock of Moons will run from noon to 4 p.m., with the proceeds benefiting the Misfits of Oz animal shelter.

Crab & Pilsner is back at Second Street Rufina from noon to 9 p.m. both this day and Sunday, and fear not, our man Luke will have a full preview posted soon.

Differential will host Night Market on the Patio from 6 to 10 p.m.

Beer Creek will celebrate their sixth anniversary with all-day food and drink specials.

Monday — Beer for a Better Burque Pint Night is back at Tractor Wells Park starting at 4 p.m., with pint sales donated to Elevated Roller Derby.

Tuesday — Tumbleroot Agua Fria will host a metal show featuring Dead Register, Suspended, and TKTWA starting at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $12.

Quick News Bits:

Tickets for the 2024 New Mexico IPA Challenge will go on sale this Saturday, and the link will be on the NM Brewers Guild’s website. The preliminary round, where the brewers themselves narrow the field down to the 16 finalists, is July 6. The public rounds are July 13 at Nuckolls Brewing in Santa Fe, July 20 at Lauter Haus Brewing in Farmington, and July 27 at Bow & Arrow Brewing.

For the rest of June, Marble will be donating a portion of the package sales of Wheating Rainbow to Equality New Mexico.

Turquoise Trail Brewing, which closed down in Albuquerque a while ago, has now reopened in Moriarty. We will be heading out there shortly to check out the new space.

In case anyone missed the early preview, Dripline Brewery is moving closer toward opening later this year in the Wells Park neighborhood.

In case anyone missed the other big news, Vision City is headed west to take over the former Boxing Bear Corrales space.

Albuquerque metro area breweries

Boese Brothers Brewery  — Featured seasonal: Drunk Astronaut (7.5% ABV), described as a “super juicy DIPA brewed with Galaxy hops and Cosmic Punch yeast.”

Bombs Away Beer Company — Featured seasonal: SNAFU Stout (5.2% ABV, 30 IBU), a chewy oatmeal stout.

Bosque Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Perpetual Sunset (5.2% ABV, 10 IBU), a strawberry basil blonde ale available in cans and on draft.

Bossfight Brewing (formerly Kilt Check Brewing) — Featured seasonal: Way of the Samurai, a Japanese rice lager that will become a staple at the brewery.

Bow & Arrow Brewing — Featured seasonal: Terra Helles (4.7% ABV), a tasty lager available in cans and on draft.

Boxing Bear Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Chinhook Mountain IPA (6.8% ABV), a hop-forward ale that combines elements of a West Coast and an East Coast hazy, is back in cans and on draft.

Brew Lab 101 Beer & Cider Company — Featured seasonal: Buzz Lightbeer (3.9% ABV, 10 IBU), a summer-worthy brew.

Canteen Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: Irish Red (5.4% ABV, 25 IBU), one of those awesome recurring seasonals that deserves all the love, now available in cans and on draft.

Casa Vieja Brewery — Featured seasonal: Cry of the Blackbirds Imperial Stout (8.6% ABV, 55 IBU), a very metal behemoth of a beer.

Cazuela’s Seafood & Mexican Grill — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Differential Brewing — Featured seasonal: Matcha Ginger Blonde (5% ABV, 14 IBU), it’s pretty much exactly as the name describes.

Echoes Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery to see what’s currently on tap.

Ex Novo Brewing — Featured seasonal: Super Saaz Me (4.9% ABV), a tasty dry-hopped pilsner brewed in collaboration with Gravity Bound, now available in cans and on draft.

Flix Brewhouse  — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery to see what’s currently on tap.

Flock of Moons Brewing — Featured seasonal: Bonfires of Ganymede (7.1% ABV, 29 IBU), a smoked maibock with just the right amount of charring, balanced out by the sweet malts and hops.

Gravity Bound Brewing — Featured seasonal: Little Farm on the Berry (4.7% ABV), a collaboration with Farm and Table, this sour features blackberries, lemon, and crushed sumac.

Harmon Lane Brewing at Southwest Grape and Grain — Featured seasonal: Honey Do IPA, the perfect beer after getting that yard work done.

High and Dry Brewing — Featured seasonal: Dawn Patrol Coffee Stout (4.5% ABV, 10 IBU), a light-in-ABV but not in flavor or mouthfeel dark brew, this is a collaboration with the coffee shop located next to the Nob Hill Stage music venue on Copper and Carlisle.

Hops Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

JUNO Brewery — Featured seasonal: Vienna Lager, a smooth amber lager with a touch of sweetness.

Kaktus Brewing — Featured seasonal: Sweet Darkness Milk Stout, a nice treat for dessert after your pizza.

La Cumbre Brewing — Featured seasonal: Hop Drift Cold IPA (6.7% ABV), now available in cans and on draft.

La Reforma Brewery — Featured seasonal: Bomba de Malta (8.3% ABV), another big old malt bomb of a Scotch ale.

Late Shift Lager House at The Craftroom — Featured seasonal: Hop Villain (6.8% ABV, 102 IBU), a beastly IPA that is a change of sorts from the lager-dominated lineup.

Lava Rock Brewing — The brewery is relocating to Moriarty.

Lizard Tail Brewing — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Marble Brewery — Featured seasonal: Que Onda IPA (6.8% ABV), part of the Alpha Acid Trip Series, now available in cans and on draft.

Nexus Brewery — Featured seasonal: Beam Me Up (Higher) Scotty (9.5% ABV, 29 IBU), which just won its second silver medal in three years at the World Beer Cup, is back on tap for a limited time.

Painted Lady Bed and Brew — Featured seasonal: Go into the Light, a hoppy German-style beer.

Palmer Brewery and Cider House — Featured seasonal: Cockness Monster (14% ABV), a monstrous Scotch ale aged in whiskey barrels for two years.

Ponderosa Brewing Co. — Featured seasonal: Italian Pilsner, the winner of back-to-back gold medals at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival and the 2022 World Beer Cup, is available on draft and in cans.

Quarter Celtic Brewpub— Featured seasonal: Super Stoop Malt Liquor (6.5% ABV, 18 IBU), which does not have to be consumed on a stoop or in a paper bag.

Red Door Brewing — Featured seasonal: Wagoner’s Porter (7.2% ABV, 36 IBU), a tasty American-style porter that recently joined the draft lineup.

Rio Bravo Brewing — Featured seasonal: Welcome to the Show (6.7% ABV, 34 IBU), a no-frills American stout that packs a tasty punch.

Rumor Brewing — Featured seasonal: Desert Monk (6.8% ABV, 21 IBU), a Belgian-style dubbel.

Sidetrack Brewing — Featured seasonal: MX Azul (5.1% ABV, 18 IBU), a perfectly crushable blue corn lager, available in cans and on draft.

Sobremesa — Featured seasonal: Face the Day Breakfast Stout (7.65% ABV, 40 IBU), a coffee-infused stout to wake you up after the long drive to the Westside (we kid, we kid).

Starr Brothers Brewing — Featured seasonal: Foggy Monocle (6.1% ABV, 17 IBU), an excellent oatmeal stout that has twice won the Crew’s Stout Challenge.

Steel Bender Brewyard — Featured seasonal: Golden Goat SMASH (5.2% ABV, 45 IBU), a collaboration with Painted Lady, this is a simple and refreshing pale ale made with Cascade hops from Billy Goat Hop Farm in Colorado.

Sunday Service Motor Company — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Thirsty Eye Brewing — Featured seasonal: RIGor Mortis, an imperial coffee stout collaboration with Rust is Gold Coffee.

The 377 Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Tractor Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Turkey Drool (8.4% ABV), which is our favorite annual seasonal release from the brewery, and yes, we will declare that publicly.

Turtle Mountain Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: El Cob-ron Rojo (5.7% ABV, 21 IBU), a red corn lager made with Neomexicanus hops.

Unhinged Brewing — Featured seasonal: Madcap Mosaic Hazy IPA, a brew of which the entire staff is quite proud of, as relayed to us by many people, who also sang its praises as an above-average hazy.

Vision City Brewstillery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated seasonal list.

Santa Fe breweries

Beer Creek Brewing — Featured seasonal: Temporada (6.1% ABV), a Belgian saison brewed with 100-percent New Mexico-grown pilsner malt and Neomexicanus hops. Described by the brewery as “crisp and dry with hints of bubblegum. Not a Brett beer.”

Chile Line Brewing — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated seasonal list.

Nuckolls Brewing — Featured seasonal: Spice Car, a farmhouse saison brewed with Thai chili peppers, guava, mango puree, and lime juice.

Rowley Farmhouse Ales — Featured seasonal: Thibadeux (5% ABV, 50 IBU), a collaboration kvass with Beer Creek.

Santa Fe Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Starter Fluid (9.5% ABV), a hazy DIPA with a kick, now available in cans and on draft.

Second Street Brewery — Featured seasonal: Brown Ale (5.9% ABV, 38 IBU), an award-winning classic, now available in cans and on draft.

Travel Bug — Featured seasonal: This bookstore/cafe that we featured a while back only has two beers on tap, Rough Draft Ale (4.5% ABV) and Second Draft English Bitter (6% ABV), but if any seasonals ever pop up, we will list them here.

Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery — Featured seasonal: Molé Stout (9.2% ABV), the seasonal beer with a lovely kick of spice is back on draft and in bottles. Oh, they put some on nitro now, too.

Other breweries you need to visit

Bathtub Row Brewing — Featured seasonal: Mild & Lazy (4% ABV), a lovely English mild ale, perfect for slow sipping on the patio.

Downshift Brewing — Featured seasonal: Gratitude Pale Ale (5.4% ABV, 40 IBU), brewed to support local charities, right now $1 from every pint sold goes to The Big Ben Sanchez Youth Foundation.

Little Toad Creek Brewing and Distilling — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Red River Brewing and Distilling — Featured seasonal: Cacao Fuego Chocolate Green Chile Stout. (6.5% ABV, 30 IBU), described by the brewery thusly, “Our oatmeal stout with a kick! Made with Hatch green chile and organic cacao nibs, it has an earthy start and a chocolate finish, It’s sure to warm you up on these cool evenings.”

Sierra Blanca Brewing  — Featured seasonal: Pecan Brown Ale, a classic offering from the brewery.

Truth or Consequences Brewing — Featured seasonal: Robledo Rye (5.9% ABV, 46 IBU), described by the brewery as “a crisp golden ale with substantial hop bitterness and flavor. Malted rye adds a spicy, earthy quality, moderated by the subtle honey sweetness of Vienna malt. Warrior hops contribute smooth bitterness and flavors of pine, grapefruit, and pineapple.”

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That’s all for this week! If you have any questions or comments, leave them below or contact us on our Facebook page.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister