It’s been about eight months since we caught up with the owners of Santa Fe’s soon-to-be new brewery, Keeping Together. And, the last time we spoke with them, they had just suffered a major set-back that would have stopped most new businesses dead in their tracks.

But, Avery Swanson and Pat Fahey have persisted; they’ve pressed on, they’ve kept the dream of opening a brewery in Santa Fe alive, and well, together.

Recently, I joined the determined duo and some industry friends for an impromptu tasting and quick catch-up session to see just how far Keeping Together has come, and how far they still have to go.

I’m pleased to report that it’s not that far at all.

“Eight months later, we are over halfway done with construction,” Swanson said. “We have a floor, a taproom. We have some framed-out walls, the beginning of a sprinkler system.”

It might not be readily apparent exactly how much work has been done, as much of it has involved updating the almost 50-year-old building with piping and infrastructure. But, as you look around, you can start to see a taproom take shape, and with just a little imagination, the trappings of Fahey and Swanson’s vision have begun to materialize.

“We’re in the place now where you’re starting to see the finished space kind of come into focus,” Fahey said. “It’s happening quickly at this point. Things are changing a lot more rapidly. We’re getting to see what the taproom and the brewery are going to look like when they’re complete, and it’s really exciting.”

From what the contractors have quoted Swanson and Fahey, construction should be wrapping up some time in late June, with a very ambitious and hopeful soft opening date set sometime in July.

At this point they’ve shifted their focus away from fundraising and construction, and more toward opening and operating.

“Now it’s time to actually focus on all of these other smaller things, some of which are very exciting things, like what color are the walls going to be? What kind of glassware are we going to use? All of these small decisions that we need to make and act on,” Swanson explained.

For Fahey and Swanson these small decisions, though daunting and at times overwhelming, are more steps toward the finish line.

“Three or four months ago, I didn’t feel that these smaller things were something I could even spend my attention on, because, even as determined as I was, it still didn’t feel real,” Swanson explained.

Today, they are finally able to make out the faint light at the end of the tunnel. They are currently working with their artist on a brand refresh.

Brewing will begin as soon as they have their certificate of occupancy, which is the last piece they need before they can get their license from the state.

Once they have their small brewer license, they will plug in the amp, crank it to 11, and start riffing away on beer styles.

And, Swanson said she is ready to riff.

“I’ve got a list of beers that I’m excited to make, as soon as I have the go-ahead,” she said. “The first beer that I will be brewing is a table beer, because that’s the beer that I want to drink.”

From my first experience with the table beer (there at the taproom-in-progress), I can definitely say there was more to it than I was expecting, but it is still very accessible, something I could have several of in a nice long sitting. And, of course, it fits perfectly into the core of Swanson’s brewing philosophy.

“I just want to make beers that are drinkable, balanced, and textured” she said. “I want to make beers that have complexity, but that are also easy to be around. So, I don’t want to make beers that are overly convoluted or heady. But, at the same time, I want to make beers that, if you take a sip and it strikes you, you could have a moment.”

One of the beers we tasted was called Watching the Mind, Watching the Body, a farmhouse saison made with Michigan pears and chaat masala and honey, incorporating the whole curry experience from flavor to nose. It’s not quite a nose-dive into an Indian buffet, like one might imagine from my description. No, it’s much more subtle than that, but just as engaging. This beer was based on one Swanson enjoyed at Cantillon years ago.

“I just remember being like, this is wild!” she said. “It was one of the craziest beer experiences, craziest flavor experiences I’d ever had at that time. And, I really wanted to try to recreate that.”

Another beer we tasted was a reddish-hued farmhouse saison called Creatures of Infinite Contradiction, a barrel-aged saison, aged on Cabernet Frank and Merlot must.

The beer was like a chilled, refreshing, and effervescent red wine, lighter in body, with some really enjoyable notes of dark fruits and pepper not too far down in its depths. If you enjoy a good red wine, but want one on a hot patio day in July, this might be your leisurely libation of choice.

Though a former proctor and content director for the Cicerone Certification Program, Fahey said he is very supportive of Swanson’s creative approach to beers, which sometimes smash down the walls of style guidelines, and at other times blend the styles together like a painter might color with a brushstroke.

“One thing about Avery’s brewing is that it mirrors, to some extent, the evolution of new American cuisine, where it’s kind of hard to pin down, if you were to talk about it” he said. “I don’t want to use the term to fine dining, because that word seems a little stuffy, but to pin down where fine dining in the U.S. has gone. It draws from different cultures. It puts together different, unique, novel, flavor experiences. And, I think the one thing that you kind of take away is that, in the end, hopefully you have something that was exciting, and that left you delighted. That’s the flavor experience hopefully, that you walk away with from her (beers).”

After table beer, Swanson said she isn’t set in stone on what beer she’ll brew next. She has a list of 10 or 12 that she’s inspired to make, but time will tell. And, Fahey said he is as excited as us to see what that will be.

When they do open to the public, with the small brewer license, Keeping Together says they’ll have guest beer and wine, spirits and cocktails, and as many of their own beers as they can tap depending on the timing.

Most importantly, they can’t wait to just have people come check out their space.

“I am hopeful that we are designing what will be a really cool and really unique space,” Fahey said.

“Comfortable,” Swanson added. “I want people to walk in here and be like, oh my god, I wish this was my living room.”

Swanson has often described the space as a European beer garden meets Desert Oasis, a lush greenhouse, and a year-round, four-season patio.

“But beyond the space, what I hope we’re able to instill with our staff and our experience is just hospitality at its core,” Fahey added. “You’re coming here to be taken care of for a few hours, to just have an enjoyable experience that’s a little escape from your life. Life can be stressful. Life can be hard, and when you come into our space, we want you to have a reprieve from that, and just be able to let your hair down and enjoy yourself.”

Building this dream has certainly not been easy. For Fahey and Swanson, they have had to lean on each other, and when times got very tough, on the support from friends both in and out of the beer community.

When Swanson chose the name Keeping Together all those years ago in Chicago, she never knew just how much the universe would test that mantra, make them really understand it, make them earn it, and how much it would make them believe in it all the more.

“The universe was like, I’ll show you what this means,” Swanson said. “I’ll show you what you’re going to have to figure out during this process. And, there is a part of me that feels like I had to go through something like this in order to fully appreciate what Keeping Together meant.”

“And, I feel like the industry’s response in the aftermath of the equipment issue was almost like real-life manifestation of the brand,” Fahey added. “It was like, oh my god, we are in this existential space where we don’t know if we’re going to be able to move forward or not. And, people showed up for us in such a big way, and it allowed us to keep going.”

“It was financially, where the GoFundMe literally provided us with the money that we needed to move through that acute period of time” Swanson said. “But then also, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. There are people that believe in us, that we cannot disappoint.”

And, they don’t intend to. Keeping Together as a brewery, as a brand, is the embodiment of the whole being so much more than the sum of its parts. It is the culmination of years of planning, hard work, wins and losses, determination through it all, and a dedication to stay the course in the pursuit of a passion.

And, here we are, just a few months from their opening, and we’re still rooting for them.

To Averie, to Pat, and to the dream of Keeping Together!

Cheers!

— Luke

Luke has been covering the Santa Fe craft beer scene (and beyond) for the past 10 years!