On a particularly warm January evening, I met up with brewer John Kofonow, general manager/co-owner Jo Sloan, and co-owner Kim Arthun at the ever-cozy Thirsty Eye Brewing at 206 Broadway Blvd. SE in the historic Huning Highland neighborhood in Albuquerque. For a random Wednesday, it was comfortably busy inside. We sat inside, though it was almost warm enough to sit on the patio if the sun was not about to set.

John was formerly a homebrewer who wanted some formal training. He came through the American Brewers Guild program in Vermont and has been the brewer at Thirsty Eye since it opened more than five years ago. He provided me samples of the Propósito Común California common (a collab with Sobremesa) and the Biscochito Liquido winter ale. They were both good, but in January, you really ought to go with a spiced ale. So, I did. John said it is their most popular seasonal every year. People ask for it every month of the year, even though it is a winter beer.

John said he likes to drink seasonal beers and so he likes to brew seasonal beers. The good thing, he said, is that the owners allow him to have a “creative playground.” It’s a small system (2 bbl), so he brews once, sometimes twice a week. That allows him to do a lot of variety, His favorite that he has brewed the past two years has been the rice lager called Crispy Koi, and he is going to brew that again this summer. He wants to brew some more lagers and pilsners for the warmer months. At the end of his shift, something crisp is what he looks forward to a drinking.

“The entire craft beer industry has experienced a contraction, this past year, right?” John said. “ We felt it like anyone else, (and) depending on your business model, you felt it way more than others. We are a small, local, art gallery-based brewery. So, we were maybe steadier than big breweries that were struggling for retail sales and stuff, but we still felt it the same.

“I spent the year beer-wise focusing on quality, kind of repeating some of our most popular recipes, and then we did two collabs this year. The Sobremesa one is a part of United in Beer, and our first time to both collab with them and to participate in (the match-ups). We were super excited, and we are hoping we get to do that again this year if they’re running that again.”

(Editor’s note: United in Beer will return to Ex Novo Corrales on May 31. Brewery pairings and ticket sales are TBD. — S)

I jokingly asked John if he would like to be matched up with somebody else and find out other people’s secrets. He replied, “Yeah, exactly.”

The other collab, John said, was at the beginning of last year with Flock of Moons. They made a Berliner Weisse with elderflower that he said turned out great. They expect to do something else with Flock again this year and have already been talking about it.

I asked John who would be on his “bucket list” to collab with.

“I’ve been a huge fan of Ponderosa since we were still in the planning stages, and since I was finishing up the American Brewer skill program,” John said. “Because Antonio (Fernandez), who, at the time was the brewer on the program, same program as me, like a year or two before me, and I love Ponderosa’s beer … and I am really happy that they just brought in Jen (LeVasseur) as their new brewer. She is great.”

John said he thinks they will get a couple more collabs in and bring back seasonals that they have not had in a little while, including the American stout. He has an Italian Pilsner with a name he really loves already picked out for the summer. And also, he said he will do some more hazy IPAs this year than he did last year.

Overall, John said, their best-selling beer is their house IPA, El Drac, but it is neck-and-neck with their most unique beer, the Odin’s Eye with juniper. Most months, coinciding with an art opening, they do a sixtel of Odon’s Monocle and infuse the beer with teas from Old Barrel Tea Company. The tea changes every month, and they have only repeated a tea once in the two years they have been brewing the Monocle. (Note: Some of us from the Crew were there to witness the fact that it was the first keg to kick at last year’s Cask Fest.)

Speaking of accolades, Thirsty Eye won a medal for their hazy IPA last summer at the Great New Mexico Beer Festival. In 2023, they won silver for their Citrus Buzz for their honey beer entry in the National Honey Board’s honey beer competition.

Kim said that they have the art gallery next door, Exhibit 208, and they have been doing that for 26 years, so they had a built-in audience to start when they started the brew side. I could not help but point out that they had their five-year and 25-year anniversaries about the same time.

“And, luckily for us,” Kim said. “I wish I knew why because I would repeat it. We had the best year we’ve ever had with the gallery, and that helped us with not as good a year as the year before, with the breweries.”  

This year, Kim already has a year of art shows lined up, and is already working on year 27.

“This place, is it’s not just about the beer,” John said. “It’s the beer and the art together. I don’t think people understand really (unique), how this is. I tried to describe this place to people by describing how everyone is accustomed to going to a local brewery and there’s a local artist up on the wall that changes every month; sometimes it’s the same couple of artists rotating through the same couple of breweries. This is a taproom that opened inside of an art gallery and it’s a completely different experience. It’s a really inspiring and creative space. If that is your vibe, you are in the right spot.”

Jo said they do music tributes once every three months. It is a tribute to a specific artist, with multiple local musicians performing cover songs throughout the night. But, they also have live music every week, usually on Friday and Saturday nights, and it is a broad range of music. There is no cover. They also have a group of female songwriters.

“It’s really more about creativity and community — art, music, poetry,” Jo said.

I would add brewing to this list. That takes creativity, especially when you are brewing (and naming!) so many seasonals. Thanks to the whole team at Thirsty Eye for the beer and fine conversation.

Cheers!

— AmyO