The New Mexico Brewers Guild IPA Challenge will wrap up with a three-session final round at Bow & Arrow Brewing this Saturday. The staggered times will be at noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m., with tickets available online (we recommend buying in advance, as there is no guarantee any will be left at the door).

The Crew will have members at the final session, so we will be live from Bow & Arrow to provide you with the results as they are announced. Keep an eye on our social media sites (Facebook and Instagram), and then check back here on the main page for an interview with the winning brewery.

The setup will be the same as most years. You enter, get your tray, find a space at which to sit down, and then get to work. We always recommend you experience the aromas of the 16 entries first, jot down a few notes, and then you can go in whatever order you might like. Go one to 16, or 16 to one, go with evens, go with odds, just pick the West Coast/clear IPAs first, or the hazies, or whatever the heck suits you best. There are no wrong ways to do this.

Gravity Bound, the 2022 champion, claimed the most votes with 19 at the first round at Nuckolls Brewing in Santa Fe two weeks ago. The field behind them is packed, however, with La Reforma (15), Second Street (15), four-time champion Boxing Bear (14), Bossfight (11), Quarter Celtic (11), Nexus (10), Tractor (10), Marble (9), defending champion Bosque (8), Downshift (8), Sobremesa (8), Flock of Moons (6), Three Rivers (6), Ponderosa (4), and Thirsty Eye (4). The random numbers given to each will be redone for this round.

Just remember, this is all for fun, and it remains the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Brewers Guild. There are no wrong answers when it comes to your opinion on what makes the best IPA. Since you get a full pint of your choice, just remember, it should be an IPA that you want to drink, rather than what you think the rest of the public would consider the top IPA.

So let us all have a nice, friendly debate before, during, and afterwards. Passions run high among beer lovers, but just take a glance at the nice, chill brewers hanging about. They don’t take the results personally, so neither should you. They just want to be able to engage in a little friendly smack talk with one another.

If you have any questions about the NMIPAC, please DM us on social media, or drop us a line at nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com. If it’s something we cannot answer, we will pass it along to the Guild and/or Bow & Arrow.

May the best IPA win, and may we all have a little fun after another long, hot week.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister