Time to dust off — and no, that’s not a joke about today’s weather, which, achoo, sucks — the old beer notebook to catch up on some recent happenings.

We start off with the annual “selection Sunday” for United in Beer. The ultimate brewery collaboration event is back at Ex Novo in Corrales on May 31 and all the pairings were selected over the weekend.

For those unfamiliar with United in Beer, it matches up X number of bigger breweries with an equal number of smaller breweries. The drawing is random, and it is then followed by the paired duo selecting a specific beer style until there are no styles left.

This year, 20 breweries signed up, and three of the pairings will actually brew two beers apiece, meaning there will be 13 special brews to try out in the Corral in two-plus months.

Here is the list. As always, it could be subject to change, but we will cross our fingers and hopes this holds:

• Nuckolls Brewing/Painted Lady Bed and Brew, Fruited Sour AND Classic UK (ESB)
• La Reforma Brewery/Second Street Brewery, European Lager
• Sidetrack Brewing/Icebox Brewing, West Coast IPA
• Flock of Moons Brewing/The Tatted Bee Brewhouse, SMASH beer
• Bathtub Row Brewing/Thirsty Eye Brewing, Experimental IPA
• Quarter Celtic Brewpub/Sunday Service Motor Company, Hoppy Lager AND Hazy IPA
• Ex Novo Brewing/Brew Lab 101, Light Ale
• Ponderosa Brewing/Downshift Brewing, Classic North American
• Turtle Mountain Brewing/Santa Fe Brewing, Adjunct Stout AND Dark Lager
• Bosque Brewing/Rowley Farmhouse Ales, Red Beer

When tickets become available, we will be sure to share the link. Until then, we just look forward to another round of creative concoctions in the late spring sun!

License renewal deadline passes

The Crew has been keeping track of the annual renewal deadline for small brewer licenses ever since both Bossfight Brewing and Socorro’s Box Canyon Brewing announced that February 28 was their last days of business.

In an update in the hours since I first wrote this, Box Canyon’s current owners have announced that they are selling the place to new owners. Those folks will have to apply for their own license, so it will be a few weeks or months before it can reopen.

Anyway, in addition to those two and others that had closed in prior months (Palmer Brewery, B2B Garden Brewery, Lizard Tail Brewing), there were another 15 license holders that ended up being listed as having expired. Now, we are not listing them all, since we already know of at least two that are not closed and have told us the listing is in error.

Hey, sometimes paperwork does not get processed in time, so we leave it to those breweries and Alcohol Beverage Control to work things out. The good news is that any expired license can be renewed/reinstated within 12 months of the expiration date, so there is still time (we just hope it does not cost anyone too much money).

There are a few now listed as expired that we believe are closed, or in some cases, never really needed the license that they had active in the first place. Here they are in alphabetical order.

• Chile Line Brewing, Santa Fe: There was a lot of buzz that they were done, and while we lack the full details, it does appear to be over for the one-time all-smoked-beers brewery. We will see if the business is sold or not.
• Hausmmann Brewhaus: They never actually brewed a single drop of beer. We do not know if they’re totally closed or if they just switched to a restaurant license for beer and wine sales.
• High Desert Brewing, Las Cruces: Though there was never a formal announcement, our contacts down south said they were simply never able to rebuild and reopen following a devastating kitchen fire last year. The oldest brewery in Southern NM is no more, so pour one out in their memory.
• Il Vicino on Montgomery: For some reason this location still had a license, even though no beer was ever brewed up there. It was likely deemed unnecessary.
• Noisy Water Brewing, Ruidoso: The winery never really opened this brewery and got it going, so this expiration came as no surprise.
• Sobremesa: The worst kept secret in town is that Bosque Brewing is now running this westside brewpub. We don’t know the full details, but we do find it hard to imagine that they would let that lovely brewing system just gather dust in the back, so we anticipate a new license appearing at some point in the future. Like Box Canyon, when new owners take the reins, a new license must be applied for in lieu of a straight renewal.
• Southwest Grape and Grain/Harmon Lane Brewing: I stopped by the other night for the food truck they had parked out front and was just told that changes are afoot. It does not appear that the combined homebrew shop/brewery is closing, but something is up, and we will wait to learn the details.
• Wanted Brewing and Distilling, Las Vegas: They have been bottling and selling spirits for quite a while now, but still had not opened their taproom. At this point, we’re just going to guess they are sticking with distilling only and will not be brewing beer.

If we receive any further confirmation on the other five breweries, whether their expiration was in error or if their brewing days are done, we will update everyone.

Sampler tray

• Tickets are on sale now for Cask Fest at Sidetrack, which will be held March 29. There are less than 45 tickets remaining, so click this link ASAP and get yours. There will be 13 breweries with firkins, AC2 American Chinese will be parked out front, and good times will be had by one and all.
• The next New Mexico Brewers Guild event is Fete de la Funk, which will be hosted by Flock of Moons on April 19. We will be patient while we await the ticket link.

That is all for today. As always, if you hear any beer news that’s worth sharing, leave a comment, drop us a social media DM, or email us at nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister