Time to dust off the old notebook once again, starting with some good news to kick off the weekend.

Vision City’s second location, formerly the original Boxing Bear at Corrales and Alameda, is set to open its doors on Friday, October 4. They will be open Friday through Sunday to start.

We checked in when they first announced they were taking over the space, and from a recent video on Instagram, you can see a few of the small changes they made to the taproom space. There are couches now, a few more TVs, and more community tables.

There will be guest taps among of the 20 total taps, in addition to the Vision City beers. Cocktails will also be served. In addition to the drinks, there will be a kitchen that will serve up hot and cold sandwiches.

As more information is posted by Vision City, we will share it. Otherwise, we’ll see some of you out there a week from today!

Jemez Mountain brews up one tasty beer

A week ago, Andrew and I made the not-that-long-of-a-drive to Jemez Mountain Brewhouse in Jemez Springs to properly taste test their first beer brewed on site, Midnight Moonlight Pale Ale. We had promised to visit the last time we ran Beer Notes, and conveniently we both had the day off to make the hour-long drive into the mountains.

Midnight Moonlight is a rather lovely throwback pale ale. It has a bit of fruity sweetness up front, a strong malt backbone, and a relatively clean finish. It holds its own against the spicy flavors on the pizza, and oh yes, the pizza you have probably heard about by now is still as excellent as ever. We have a lot of leftovers to still devour of that.

Owners Jef Bold and Scott Johnson gave us a quick look inside the brewery, which now occupies the north end of the small building. They managed to squeeze everything in there, including the cold room. More beers should be rolling out soon.

For the initial batch of Midnight Moonlight, they got an assist from their old brewing friend Brandon Venaglia, of Flix Brewhouse, and his brother Devin Rivera. Johnson said the challenge will be to replicate that with just the JMB staff on the brewhouse, but we are confident that they will do just fine.

If you have not been to Jemez Mountain Brewhouse yet, now is a great time to go, especially as those leaves up there start to change in the coming weeks and the tourists will be flocking to the wilderness.

Raton taproom closes shop

Gate City Craft Bar, the joint in Raton licenses by Palmer Brewery and Left Turn Distilling, announced it was closing this week, and Wednesday was indeed the last day of business.

Located in the small downtown area just around the block from Colfax Ale Cellar, Gate City was seemingly a popular watering hole with locals and tourists. We do not know the reason for closing, as it was not disclosed in any of their Facebook posts.

It’s always sad when a small town in New Mexico loses a local spot. Perhaps a new owner will take over some day, but for now, do take note that if you are stopping in Raton, please visit Colfax Ale Cellar for all your craft needs.

Steel Bender honors former staffer

It was some tough news to process a while back when we found out that former Steel Bender and Boxing Bear staff member Bill Heimann and his wife Robin had both died. This Sunday, the Steel Bender folks are paying tribute with a few of Bill’s favorite things.

They will be hosting a pop-up adoption event with Watermelon Mountain Ranch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., because Bill was a big old softie who loved rescue pups. During that stretch, $1 from every pint sold will go to WMR, too. There will also be live music from the Spiral Pilots from noon to 2, because Bill loved supporting local bands. Oh, and Bill’s beloved Denver Broncos will try to build on the momentum last week’s win at Tampa Bay starting at 11.

Stop on by, watch a little football, enjoy a pint or two, and maybe even take a new best friend home. But, wherever you are this weekend, raise one high to the memories of Bill and Robin, may they forever burn bright.

Sampler Tray

• There is no further news to report on Prod-O Brewery and Distillery in Reserve beyond the fact they have an active small brewer license. But, we did share the news with Tractor’s Jeremy Kinter, who is from that area. To say that he was surprised would be an understatement. Nonetheless, he encouraged us to check it out when they are fully open. If anyone spots an announcement on social media, please share it with us.
• Enchanted Circle Brewing has indeed closed in Angel Fire, but it will eventually reopen under new ownership. The original owners wanted to retire, and we wish them the best of luck crossing off some bucket list items in the coming years. Meanwhile, yes, we do know who the new owners of Enchanted Circle are, but we don’t have the green light yet to identify them. Let’s just say they are already part of the brewing industry in New Mexico and leave it at that for now.
• The Stoutmeister local Oktoberfest beer count is now at 17, with 15 of those from the metro area (plus Santa Fe and Second Street). I’ve now tried the various märzens and festbiers from Bombs Away, Bosque, Bow & Arrow, Boxing Bear, Canteen, Ex Novo, Flock of Moons, La Cumbre (both Oktoberfest and Wiesn Festbier), Marble, Nexus, Quarter Celtic, Sidetrack, Steel Bender, and Tractor. I have yet to try a subpar lager out of the bunch, with a particular shout-out of excellence to Bombs Away, La Cumbre, Nexus, and Second Street. Still to go, assuming they are all on tap (or in the case of Gravity Bound, going back on tap in a bit), are Boese Brothers, Brew Lab 101, Casa Vieja, Flix, Harmon Lane (out today/Friday), Kaktus, La Reforma, Rio Bravo, Sobremesa, Starr Brothers, Sunday Service (out today/Friday), Thirsty Eye, Turtle Mountain, and Unhinged. What has been your favorite or favorites? Drop us a line in the comments, and if there is one on tap in town that I did not list above, please let me know where to find it.

That is all from us for now. As always, if you hear of any beer news worth sharing, send us a DM on social media or email us at nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister