There were just enough little news items popping up on our radar to encourage a Friday edition of Beer Notes. Let us dive in, shall we?

More license renewals

On the one hand, we thought we would see a lot more than we have so far. On the other hand, it’s just January 31, and it apparently takes a while for everything to be posted. Why? Well, in an update, Sidetrack co-owner Dan Herr let us know a little more about the process.

All license renewals were actually due back on December 1. What we are now seeing is the time it takes for Alcohol Beverage Control to process those renewals and update their list. In other words, breweries have known for two months now if they were renewing or not. It puts an interesting twist on things, right?

Here are the breweries that have had their renewals fully processed so far, noting the new ones since our story last week.

• 575 Brewing, Alamogordo
• Bandolero Brewery, Clovis
• Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op, Los Alamos
• Boese Brothers Brewing
• Bombs Away Beer Company
• Brew Lab 101, Rio Rancho — NEW
• Cloudcroft Brewing
• Icebox Brewing, Las Cruces
• Lauter Haus Brewing, Farmington
• Little Toad Creek Brewery and Distillery, Silver City
• Moonwalk Bev — NEW
• Painted Lady Bed and Brew
• Santa Fe Brewing
• The 377 Brewery — NEW

There is a lot of time left for ABC to finish processing/reviewing everything. So nobody panic, as we have not received notice of any other official closures.

Just breathe, people, and get out there this weekend and support your favorite breweries.

Legislature update

A reader recently asked us what bills at the 60-day legislative session in Santa Fe pertain to breweries, and before we could even send the New Mexico Brewers Guild an email, they sent out an update in their weekly newsletter.

So far, no bills raising the liquor excise tax have been submitted. That certainly does not mean one or more will not be drafted. Again, this is a long session, so not everything has to be dropped in right at the beginning to ensure the bills can be quickly run through committees, full chamber votes, and finally to the governor’s desk.

Breweries are monitoring the Paid Family & Medical Leave Act, along with just about every small business in the state. We will see how that bill, which seems to generate passionate support and opposition every session it is proposed, continues to progress.

One thing that we would ask is that unless called upon, craft beer lovers should refrain from contacting their state representatives about specific legislation. Let the process play out until our supported is requested.

Stout Invitational brewery lineup

The next major event from the Guild is the annual Stout Invitational, which is set for Saturday, March 1 at Bathtub Row in Los Alamos. Tickets will go on sale for the public on Wednesday, February 5 and we will of course share the link when it goes live.

In the meantime, here is the lineup of participating breweries, which includes the hosts, defending champions, and the rest drawn by lottery.

• 3 Rivers Brewery
• Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op
• Beer Creek Brewing
• Canteen Brewhouse
• Cloudcroft Brewing
• Flix Brewhouse
• Milton’s Brewing
• Nexus Brewery
• Piedra Blanc Brewing
• Ponderosa Brewing
• Quarter Celtic Brewpub
• Red River Brewing
• Rio Bravo Brewing
• Thirsty Eye Brewing
• Tractor Brewing — defending champion

This is an extremely fun event, and if you have never been before, we highly encourage the trip up to Los Alamos.

That is all from us for this week. As always, if you have a beer news tip, please send it to us via direct message on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter (yeah, we still check that hellsite on occasion), or email us at nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister