The elimination round of the 2024 New Mexico Brewers Guild IPA Challenge went off without a hitch Saturday morning at Canteen Brewhouse. A total of 40 entries were judged by the brewers themselves, with 16 finalists chosen to advance to the three public rounds.

Things went so smoothly and quickly that by the advised time that I showed up, it was all done and the brewers were just chilling out, deciding if they wanted to stay and wait for the For the Love of Lagers festival, or head out.

Of the folks that I spoke to, all seemed to agree that this was the strongest field of entries in quite some time, at least dating back to before 2020. It was hard to pick, in other words, and some notable breweries were left off the final list. In turn, some surprises made the cut, though that happens most years.

Here are the 16 entries that will vie for your votes:

• Bosque Brewing (defending champion, three-time winner)
• Boss Fight Brewing
• Boxing Bear Brewing (four-time winner)
• Downshift Brewing
• Flock of Moons Brewing
• Gravity Bound Brewing (one-time winner)
• La Reforma Brewing
• Marble Brewery
• Nexus Brewery
• Ponderosa Brewing
• Quarter Celtic Brewpub
• Second Street Brewery
• Sobremesa Restaurant and Brewery
• Thirsty Eye Brewing
• Three Rivers Brewery
• Tractor Brewing

Notables that did not make it include all three host breweries of the public rounds — Nuckolls Brewing (this Saturday), Lauter Haus Brewing (July 20), Bow & Arrow Brewing (July 27) — as well as past winners Canteen Brewhouse, Rio Bravo Brewing, and Turtle Mountain Brewing.

Tickets for Saturday’s first round in Santa Fe are now for sale on Eventbrite. There are also tickets available for the rounds in Farmington and Albuquerque.

Good luck to all the competitors, and to all the hopheads out there. This year sounds like it might be a little harder to pick a favorite. Which is just fine by us.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister