Our friends at Albuquerque Business First reported last week (behind their paywall) that Santa Fe Brewing had withdrawn from the lineup of new eateries/drinkeries coming to the Albuquerque International Sunport.

The details as to exactly why the deal broke down were a bit scant, other than the brewery and the company hired to run concessions at the Sunport could not come to a final agreement. We are not going to rehash the entire ABF article, though. What we are going to do is have some fun speculating as to which New Mexico brewery makes the most sense to take the spot that had been earmarked for SFBC.

Breweries from outside the Albuquerque metro area

Hey, the Sunport is technically the major airport for the entire state, so why not a non-Burque brewery? Here are a few possibilities.

Red River Brewing and Distilling

• Why it makes sense: A brewstillery in a tourist-driven town would love to have a way to let the masses know they exist. Their distilling program is rapidly expanding and they do have plenty of experience operating a full pub.
• Why it doesn’t make sense: Red River has two locations in their namesake town, but this would be a huge expansion southward. They would have to increase production to keep the Sunport stocked, which may or may not be an option.

Little Toad Creek Brewing and Distilling

• Why it makes sense: LTC has expanded throughout the state with canned cocktails and has become a fixture at all sorts of bars and restaurants. Their Silver City and Las Cruces locations are both pubs with kitchens.
• Why it doesn’t make sense: Honestly, LTC is closer to the airports in El Paso and Tucson. As far as we know, they are still building out their production facility in Deming and that is likely their primary focus for the rest of 2024.

Icebox Brewing

• Why it makes sense: Since they opened just a few years ago, the Las Cruces brewery has expanded to four locations in town and one more in Hatch. They have been the most aggressive brewery south of Albuquerque in terms of growth.
• Why it doesn’t make sense: Icebox has yet to leave Southern NM, and like LTC, is closer to El Paso. It may be beyond their current production capabilities to stock another location.

Second Street Brewery

• Why it makes sense: The second biggest brewery in Santa Fe has settled into a groove with the production at their Rufina facility. They are packaging and distributing, sit next to a major tourist attraction in Meow Wolf, and could finally gain a foothold in Albuquerque.
• Why it doesn’t make sense: Second Street tends to be very measured and cautious when it comes to growth. This might be a bit out of their comfort zone.

Metro breweries

It should be noted that Steel Bender Brewyard has confirmed to us that they are still a part of the plans at the Sunport. Could someone else from the greater Albuquerque area join them? It makes the most sense, with one brewery in particular that we will save down at the bottom as our current betting favorite.

Bow & Arrow Brewing

• Why it makes sense: One of the most savvy and best-branded breweries in the state, truly incorporating so many aspects of local Native culture, would seemingly be a perfect fit.
• Why it doesn’t make sense: Bow & Arrow has never operated a kitchen, though we figure there are plenty of places that would team up with them. They are fairly cautious and selective about growth, but the biggest issue might be in terms of sheer production. They have maxed out their brewery, or are close to it.

Boxing Bear Brewing

• Why it makes sense: After cutting back from four locations to two, they could be primed to expand again as production has stabilized at the Firestone brewery. Adding a brewery with a major GABF award (2016 Mid-Size Brewpub of the Year) would be a nice touch for the Sunport.
• Why it doesn’t make sense: They seem to be a lot more comfortable just operating two locations at present. It might be too soon to grow again, and co-owner Kevin Davis tends to be quite methodical when it comes to those big business decisions.

Canteen Brewhouse/Il Vicino

• Why it makes sense: The brewery and pizza restaurant are still under the same ownership, so it would be fairly easy to combine both places back into a single location again.
• Why it doesn’t make sense: We have not gotten any inkling of Canteen wanting to expand to a third location. This would be a surprise, to put it mildly.

Ex Novo Brewing

• Why it makes sense: They have just had a successful downtown opening, so why not keeping pushing forward? After all, serving up Mass Ascension IPA to all those incoming Balloon Fiesta tourists just feels like a marketing match made in heaven.
• Why it doesn’t make sense: We know pretty well that opening downtown was an exhausting experience. If this was a few years down the road, maybe the ambition would still be there, but right now, let’s give them a break.

Marble Brewery

• Why it makes sense: They have been holding onto that third offsite license for a long time, and this could make sense for the biggest brewery in Albuquerque. Production-wise, they could handle it.
• Why it doesn’t make sense: There has been so much staff turnover at Marble of late that it might not be feasible.

The odds-on favorite

Bosque Brewing

• Why it makes sense: Of course the top pick has to be Bosque, right? They’re like a shark that can’t stop swimming, only in their case it’s opening new locations. No brewery has more experience opening new spots, and even with different setups/formats. Co-owner Gabe Jensen has never been one to pass up an opportunity if it’s offered to him.
• Why it doesn’t make sense: We are sure there are some reasons it won’t happen, but this seems inevitable, right?

So what do all of you think? Which brewery would you like to see at the Sunport, and which one do you expect to end up there (if different)? Is it one of the above that we picked, or some place we did not consider? Let us know in the comments. Then we can all sit back and wait for the eventual announcement. In the meantime, let’s have a little fun.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister