You have to love the NFL, one of the richest sports leagues on the planet, and how it goes and defends its trademarks with such vigor. For instance, even small businesses like local breweries cannot advertise watch parties or specials using the words “Super Bowl,” at least without paying a fee or fine. Instead, they have to use dumb things like “The Big Game” and such. So for “The Big Game” this weekend, a few breweries will close early, a few will stay open and invite folks over to watch it, and others will have some other specials like food to-go. I am a little short on time today, so look for a more comprehensive story about all of that Friday as more announcements are made by the breweries. But regardless, we encourage everyone to stock up on lots of local beer before you and friends/family gather to watch “The Big Game,” even if it’s just for the commercials.

Oh, and for all of you last-minute Valentine’s Day shoppers, there are quite a few markets this weekend in advance of that holiday, so take note below.

New Draft:

Bosque tapped Porch Light, an American light lager. Boxing Bear went ahead and put both Coconut Chocolate Milk Stout and Coffee Chocolate Milk Stout on nitro. Brew Lab 101 recently brought back Blue Nebula Blueberry Cider. Starr Brothers tapped Ramshackle, an international amber lager. (UPDATES) Bombs Away did a double drop of Black Ops Lager and Countermine Coffee Stout.

(UPDATE) Up in Los Alamos, Bathtub Row has a fresh batch of Jemez Hazy IPA.

New Package:

Bosque will release Desert Dreamer, a hoppy pilsner, in cans and on draft this Friday. Second Street recently released Pompadour Sour, with prickly pear and pomegranate, in cans and on draft. (UPDATE) Canteen brings back Work of Heart, a chocolate milk stout, in cans and on draft this Friday.

Notable Events:

Today (Wednesday) — Trivia for a Cause: NFL will be hosted by Bosque Cottonwood at 6 p.m.

Poetry & Beer is back at Tractor Wells Park at 7 p.m.

Friday — ArtWalk is back downtown from 5 to 9 p.m., so make sure to swing by Sidetrack for a special art opening and Adobe Disco spinning some tunes.

The Unhinged Valentine’s Market starts at 7 p.m.

The First Fridays Comedy Contest returns to Tractor Wells Park at 8 p.m.

Saturday — The Sweetheart Pop-Up Shops take over Boxing Bear Firestone from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Ponderosa Monthly Market goes down from noon to 5 p.m.

The Treat Yourself Market will be held at Bow & Arrow from noon to 5 p.m.

The Desert Darlings return to Tractor Wells Park at 8 p.m. with their new show, Belly Nouveau.

Sunday — Brace yourselves for some crushing metal at Tumbleroot Agua Fria at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door to see the quartet of Dead Register, Insomniac, Distances, and Gouch. Hails!

Quick News Bits:

High and Dry is closed this Thursday for a private event. Canteen will close at 4 p.m. Saturday for a private event.

Kaktus Brewing had an update in their weekly newsletter that there will be some major road construction starting soon on South Hill Road, so they are asking folks for some extra support while that’s going on. But, the good news is it will be to build Sandoval County’s newest and largest animal shelter, and that also means that utilities will now extend out there, which Kaktus will be able to tap into and help improve even more aspects at the brewery (bigger bathrooms, better water resources for brewing/growing food, etc.).

We recently sat down with the new owners of Marble Brewery to talk about, well, everything.

Rumor Brewing has launched a Kickstarter campaign to build a new playground for all the children of their customers who could use a fun place to play. Check out this link for more information, or read more about it in our recent Look Back/Look Ahead Series article.

There was some sad news recently as both Box Canyon Brewing in Socorro and Bossfight Brewing announced that they will close by the end of February, when their small brewer licenses expire.

Albuquerque metro area breweries

Boese Brothers Brewery  — Featured seasonal: Brown Ale (5% ABV), an English-style, sessionable brown.

Bombs Away Beer Company — Featured seasonal: Chuck’s Pilsner (5.4% ABV), a single-hop and single-malt lager made with malt from Schwebach Malz in Estancia.

Bosque Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Potato Cannon (6.3%), a sweet potato porter that won’t take a door off a car.

Bossfight Brewing (formerly Kilt Check Brewing) — Featured seasonal: Dark Magic Baltic Porter, a beer so good it will double your usual pinball score. Well, maybe not, but it’s good.

Bow & Arrow Brewing — Featured seasonal: Frosty Mesa (5% ABV), a crisp German-style pilsner, is now available in cans and on draft.

Boxing Bear Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Scotch Rocket (7.5% ABV), a classic wee heavy, now available only in cans.

Brekki Brekki — Featured seasonal: Cherry Stout (5% ABV), on draft for a limited time.

Brew Lab 101 Beer & Cider Company — Featured seasonal: Guatemalan Express, a coffee-infused Mexican-style amber lager.

Canteen Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: Grundy Thunder Porter (6.2% ABV, 25 IBU), a robust porter perfect for the season, available in cans and on draft.

Casa Vieja Brewery — Featured seasonal: Birra Italiano (5.1% ABV), an Italian-style pilsner, if you could not guess by the name.

Cazuela’s Seafood & Mexican Grill — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Differential Brewing — Featured seasonal: Mint Porter (4.7% ABV, 35 IBU), which is way better than those little mint and chocolate candies they leave in fancy hotels.

Echoes Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Ex Novo Brewing — Featured seasonal: Nevermore (12.1% ABV), the barrel-aged black barleywine of your dreams is somehow still available on draft and in bottles, so let us rectify that ASAP.

Flix Brewhouse  — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery/movie theater for an updated list of seasonals.

Flock of Moons Brewing — Featured seasonal: Tomorrow Begat Tomorrow (10.2% ABV), a big, sweet, not too yeasty Belgian dark strong.

Gravity Bound Brewing — Featured seasonal: Subtitles On, the classic Munich dunkel is back for a limited time, just like every other beer tends to be at GB.

Harmon Lane Brewing at Southwest Grape and Grain — Featured seasonal: Oktoberfest-ivus (6.9%), a hefty lager that everyone needs to help drink up, darn it!

High and Dry Brewing — Featured seasonal: Date Night Disaster (5% ABV, 10 IBU), a simple, no-frills stout that’s perfect for this weather.

Hops Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

JUNO Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Kaktus Brewing — Featured seasonal: Winter Doppelbock, a hefty lager to get you through the chilly season.

La Cumbre Brewing — Featured seasonal: La Negra (14.1% ABV), the beautiful beast of a Russian imperial stout is back in bottles and on draft.

La Reforma Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Late Shift Lager House at The Craftroom — Featured seasonal: We were told that they are currently not brewing, with no timetable for that resuming.

Marble Brewery — Featured seasonal: Reserve Ale (10% ABV), an annual barrel-aged strong ale favorite, is back on draft and in cans for a limited time.

Nexus Brewery — Featured seasonal: Beam Me Up (Higher) Scotty (9.3% ABV), the two-time World Beer Cup medal winner is back for the season.

Painted Lady Bed and Brew — Featured seasonal: To The Brim With Fright, a dark Christmas ale that will keep the spooky in the season.

Ponderosa Brewing Co. — Featured seasonal: Italian Pilsner, the winner of back-to-back gold medals at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival and the 2022 World Beer Cup, is available on draft and in cans.

Quarter Celtic Brewpub— Featured seasonal: Super Stoop Malt Liquor (6.5% ABV, 18 IBU), which does not have to be consumed on a stoop or in a paper bag.

Rio Bravo Brewing — Featured seasonal: Very Demure (6.7% ABV, 19 IBU), an apricot wheat with a clever name.

Rumor Brewing — Featured seasonal: La Madera Mild (5.5% ABV, 22 IBU), a chewy little biscuit of an English-style brew that is perfect before or after a day on the hiking trails around Cedar Crest.

Sidetrack Brewing — Featured seasonal: Stay Wild (5.3% ABV, 15 IBU), because sometimes you need a refreshing American lager as a break from (or warm-up to) all these big beers.

Sobremesa — Featured seasonal: Stout Seco, an Irish dry stout is now on tap.

Starr Brothers Brewing — Featured seasonal: Wakin’ Bacon (7.2% ABV, 20 IBU), a smoked maple brown ale brewed in collaboration with Boxing Bear, it’s quite the dessert ale.

Steel Bender Brewyard — Featured seasonal: Italian Stallion (6.1% ABV, 65 IBU), a bigger, stronger, hoppier version of Esmerelda, now available on draft.

Sunday Service Motor Company — Featured seasonal: Red Velvet Cake Stout (8.2% ABV), a not-too-sweet dessert beer that hides the ABV rather well.

The Tatted Bee Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: Tatted Stout, a nice and chewy dark ale of decadence.

Thirsty Eye Brewing — Featured seasonal: Biscochito Liquido, the annual holiday favorite is back on tap for a limited time.

The 377 Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Tractor Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Turkey Drool (8.2% ABV), the Crew’s favorite seasonal from this brewery is an amazing holiday concoction.

Turtle Mountain Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Scarlet Letter (12.5%), the brewery’s first seltzer is an imperial one, made with cranberry and sage.

Unhinged Brewing — Featured seasonal: Tatooine Spring (7.8% ABV), the imperial amber is back for another run.

Vision City Brewstillery — Featured seasonal: Winter Lager, a season-appropriate seasonal if we ever saw one.

Santa Fe breweries

Beer Creek Brewing — Featured seasonal: Temporada (6.1% ABV), a Belgian saison brewed with 100-percent New Mexico-grown pilsner malt and Neomexicanus hops. Described by the brewery as “crisp and dry with hints of bubblegum. Not a Brett beer.”

Chile Line Brewing — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Nuckolls Brewing — Featured seasonal: Hoppy Wife, Hoppy Life, a hazy pale ale and a possible contender for Beer Name of the Year.

Rowley Farmhouse Ales — Featured seasonal: Sin Barreras – Colkegan Barrel ’24 (13.5% ABV, 50 IBU), a little of this barrel-aged beast of an imperial stout is still on tap after Blackest Friday, so get it while it lasts!

Santa Fe Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Starter Fluid (9.5% ABV), a hazy DIPA with a kick, now available in cans and on draft.

Second Street Brewery — Featured seasonal: Superior Porter (6.3% ABV, 34 IBU), a seasonal-appropriate robust porter, available in cans and on draft.

Travel Bug — Featured seasonal: This bookstore/cafe only has two beers on tap, Rough Draft Ale (4.5% ABV) and Second Draft English Bitter (6% ABV), but if any seasonals ever pop up, we will list them here.

Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Other breweries you need to visit

Bathtub Row Brewing — Featured seasonal: Last Chair Pale (5.1% ABV), a limited-release collaboration ale with Wanderlust Brewing of Flagstaff.

Downshift Brewing — Featured seasonal: Gratitude Pale Ale (5.4% ABV, 40 IBU), brewed to support local charities, and right now $1 from every pint sold goes to helping in the recovery efforts from the South Fork and Salt fires.

Little Toad Creek Brewing and Distilling — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Red River Brewing and Distilling — Featured seasonal: Russian Imperial Stout (10% ABV, 30 IBU), which proves you just have to head north into the colder regions of New Mexico to find the big stouts.

Sierra Blanca Brewing  — Featured seasonal: Pecan Brown Ale, a classic offering from the brewery.

Truth or Consequences Brewing — Featured seasonal: Rio Rojo Red Ale (4.5% ABV, 30 IBU), a nice malty treat similar to the Irish red, but made with different malts and a German ale yeast that produce some distinctive differences.

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That’s all for this week! If you have any questions or comments, leave them below or contact us on our Facebook page.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister