As we promised in our tourist guide to local breweries, here is a quick roundup of all the specifically balloon-themed events going on over the next week-plus in the Albuquerque area.

First up, Steel Bender is again hosting Balloons & Brews, which will run every day from 7 to 10 a.m. The setup is pretty much the same as years past, but let us go over it again (especially for newcomers/tourists):

• Guests line up at the patio gate. No fence hopping. It will open promptly at 7.
• There will be beers, beermosas, regular mimosas, bloody beers, and wine. There will be hot cocoa for the kids.
• Housemade breakfast burritos will be for sale, but the supply is not unlimited. When they run out for the day, they are out.
• Sergio’s Bakery will serve up pastries.
• Coffee will be served by Plata Coffee, who are moving into one of the empty buildings on the Steel Bender property. The brewery staff is probably ridiculously excited about this.
• New guests will not be allowed in after 10 a.m. If you are already on the patio, you can stay, but the staff needs an hour to get ready for the lunch crowd. The inside will reopen at 11.

We have been to the Bender quite a few times for Balloons & Brews. It’s a great spot to view the mass ascension, without the traffic congestion and overwhelming crowds.

Up the road from Balloon Fiesta Park, Santa Fe Brewing will host watch parties on the upper patio of Tin Can Alley. Breakfast will be served as early as 6 a.m., with drink sales beginning at 6:30. These watch parties will be this Saturday and Sunday, and October 11-13.

SFBC will also host special vendor markets both Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. During these, $1 from every pint sold will go to local nonprofits.

Trust us, the view from Tin Can’s west-facing upstairs patio is tremendous and well worth checking out this year.

Across the river, Ex Novo will host Beerloon Fiesta in their outdoor beer garden, The Corral. It will be open starting at 7 a.m. both Saturdays and Sundays. There will be food trucks on site, and both alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks will be served.

Ex Novo will also bring back their popular Balloon Glow in The Corral on Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. No, it won’t be full-sized hot balloons (though technically, you could fit a couple out there). This will be a Mini RC Hot Air Balloon Display. You can also paint your own ceramic balloon ornaments with Sage Valley Pottery.

All the breweries will have additional information on their social media pages, so make sure to keep checking those. If there are any other breweries out there doing fiesta-specific events, please let us know and we will update this article.

Have fun out there over the next week plus, and please stay safe with all the additional traffic on the roads.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister