In case anyone missed the news that we shared on Facebook (and if you’re not on that app, you’re probably a happier human) on Saturday, the first round of the 2024 New Mexico Brewers Guild IPA Challenge posted the voting totals with Gravity Bound out in front.

The 2022 champions racked up 19 votes out of the field of 16 breweries during the round held at Nuckolls Brewing. Tying for second place were La Reforma and Second Street with 15 votes apiece, followed by four-time champion Boxing Bear with 14.

Every brewery received four or more votes, which reflects what we heard at the elimination round the previous weekend that this is one of the strongest fields of entries in years.

Our Santa Fe writer Luke attended the round and said everything went pretty smoothly, even with a lot of people in the Railyards district for various other major events. It was also a good way to celebrate Luke’s 10th anniversary of writing for the Crew, and fear not, the rest of us down in Albuquerque are going to find a way to celebrate with him (and AmyO, since she joined us at the same time) in the coming weeks.

Luke had some thoughts to share on how it all went down Saturday:

“From my experience, the first public round was a big success. It was another very smoothly run guild event. You couldn’t tell it was Nuckolls’ first time hosting, especially while their downstairs bar was still open to the public with the International Folk Art Market right in their backyard.

“The Guild and their volunteers were on-point as always, ensuring that no one had to wait for trays or stand in lines too long. It’s gotta be like their eighty-sixth rodeo at this point, right?

“The turnout was excellent. Every possible surface was covered in trays of IPA, with each seat filled by some very serious IPA connoisseurs, all the way from the beginning to the end of the event.

“And, it was great to see such solid representation from breweries as well, with the majority being from Albuquerque, and Second Street up here in Santa Fe. The best part was getting to meet the good people behind the soon-to-be Carlsbad brewery, Nurvis Purvis Brewing Company. We look forward to heading down to taste their first beers when the time comes!

“Along with the usual suspects you see at all the beer events, there were a lot of new faces in the crowd, too, telling me there’s still plenty of interest in an IPA-centric event in 2024, despite the second round being cancelled. But, I think Farmington may have been experiencing a bit of too-many-festivals-booked-on-one-day syndrome, if social media memory serves.

“But either way, the IPA Challenge is still a great event, 10 years after I began covering them. Though the great West Coast vs Hazy debate remains unsettled, the IPA Challenge still reminds us that our IPAs in New Mexico are well-brewed and special. They remind us that here in the land of red or green, flavor is still the name of the game, no matter what we bring to the table. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out! I’ll see you at the final!

Cheers,

Luke”

The only bummer news, as Luke mentioned, that came out right before the round was held was that the second round at Lauter Haus Brewing in Farmington has been canceled. NMBG executive director Ebbie Edmonston told us a while back that if that round did not hit a certain marker for ticket sales, it would have to be scrapped. Alas, that appears to be the case.

This means that the third round at Bow & Arrow, still scheduled for Saturday, July 27, will be the final and decisive round. That’s typically how this goes, but it can often be interesting to see how the very different preferences of IPA lovers far from the metro area can give some breweries an extra boost heading into the end of the just-for-fun competition.

There were will be three sessions to accommodate everyone at Bow & Arrow, starting at noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. The votes will be tallied and winners announced after the third session. Tickets are still available, but as we say every year, they will go fast and likely sell out.

We hope to see a lot of you on July 27.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister