Some weeks have an easy theme or event to choose as the lead for this roundup. Others, well, do not, but sometimes you just think of a silly headline and decide, “Well, that works, sorta.” Double the lobster means Cousins Maine Lobster, a food truck that specializes in consumable crustaceans, is back in New Mexico, with stops at Brew Lab 101 in Rio Rancho on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., followed by a Sunday Santa Fe stop at Nuckolls Brewing, also from 11 to 8. For all you lobster lovers, get on over to whichever spot is closer. Or hit both. We won’t judge. Anyway, double the doggos means there are two pet adoption events this weekend. Ex Novo Corrales will host one from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, and Canteen has one at the brewery Sunday from noon to 4. Go get yourself a new patio pal as the weather warms up (wind permitting, of course). (UPDATE) Make that triple the lobster, as the truck will be parked at Brew Lab Heights on Friday night from 7 to close.

New Draft:

Bombs Away did a double drop of darkness with Power Source Porter and Detonator Dark Lager. Boxing Bear tapped The Red Sheep of the Family, a new lager. Canteen wants everyone to pucker up with Grapefruit Exodus IPA. Flock of Moons recently got into the season with Banshee Maeve Roe, an Irish red ale. Gravity Bound brought back the hugely popular Monic IPA. Sidetrack shines with the new Sidetrack Gold. Thirst Eye tapped a new stout, Aldo’s Last Stand. (UPDATE) Harmon Lane tapped Chocolate Vanilla Stout.

Up in Santa Fe, Santa Fe Brewing crawled into the archives and brought back State Pen Porter. Over in Los Alamos, Bathtub Row added Niscotheque Tripel and Dunkels Bock. (UPDATES) Santa Fe Brewing also tapped Fake Mustache, a 2.9-percent ABV pale ale. Second Street brought back Grisette.

New Package:

La Cumbre will try to clear some sinuses with the Friday release of Project Dank: Jupiter Edition in cans and on draft. Steel Bender will bring back Hummingbird Pils in cans and on draft this Friday. (UPDATE) Ex Novo released Novo Pils, a West Coast-style lager, in cans and on draft.

Notable Events:

Today (Wednesday) — Poetry & Beer is back at Tractor Wells Park at 7 p.m.

Thursday — La Cumbre is trying something new at the brewery with First Thursday Art Pop-Up from 4 to 8 p.m.

Friday — ArtWalk is back downtown from 5 to 9 p.m., so check out the art opening at Sidetrack, with Adobe Disco on hand spinning up some tunes.

Tumbleroot Agua Fria welcomes Rapid Fire: A Tribute to 80’s Heavy Metal, with doors at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. (UPDATE) This event has been postponed until August 1. Bummer.

The First Fridays Comedy Contest is back at Tractor Wells Park at 8 p.m.

Saturday — The Ponderosa Monthly Market is back from noon to 5 p.m.

Painted Lady will host another edition of The Outlaw, Lawman & Ghost Magic Show from 7 to 8 p.m.

The Desert Darlings return to Tractor Wells Park for a new edition of Belly Nouveau at 8 p.m.

Tuesday — Duke City Storm Slam returns to Canteen from 6 to 8 p.m.

Quick News Bits:

Marble Downtown will be closed for a private event from 3 to 8 p.m. this Saturday. They will be open to the public before and after.

We threw together some beer notes with updates on the upcoming United in Beer at Ex Novo, plus some of the small brewer licenses that were not renewed by the February 28 deadline.

For those who have been clamoring for an update on what’s going on at the state legislature in regards to breweries this year, here is a big update on a change to House Bill 417.

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.).

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: Desert Dreamer (5.4% ABV, 35 IBU), a hoppy pilsner available in cans and on draft.

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

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: Pop’s Pilsner (5.2% ABV, 40 IBU), the right crispy lager as the weather (maybe kinda sorta) warm up, 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.

Dripline Brewery — Featured seasonal: Le Chat Roux (6.6% ABV), is a hefty, malty amber ale, and while it’s technically a year-round beer, everything is new at the newest brewery in town and we are highlighting this because it’s damn good.

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: Bourbon Stout (6.3% ABV), a variant of the Tin Cup Stout.

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.

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: Another new beer is coming soon.

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: Second-String Loser (9.6% ABV, 26 IBU), a Belgian golden strong ale.

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: Irish Red Ale (4.6% ABV), just in time for the season, with Irish Goodbye Stout coming soon to join it.

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