Back in the early part of this year, it appeared that another brewery casualty of the erratic beer economy would be Box Canyon Brewing in Socorro. Right up until the February 28 deadline for state licenses to expire, it appeared that the charming little brewery would be pouring a final pint or two.

Then one of its loyal customers stepped up and saved the day. We caught up with new owner Robert Rincones and brewer David Kinder, who stayed on after the changeover, last week to learn how this transition has gone for the still-open and thriving brewpub.

“I came very early on when they first opened,” Rincones said. “The moment I hit the door I was greeted with we’re not a coffee place. I came, not a ton, but quite a bit. I sat at that table behind you. I always enjoyed coming here, having beers, listening to music.

“So when I got the Instagram post saying sadly, February 28 was going to be our last day of business, I said that really sucks, sucks for Socorro. I’m a big beer fan. I own a construction company. My wife runs a real estate brokerage here in town. We can’t lose yet another business.”

An idea was born in Rincones’ mind, one that he somewhat casually shared with his wife, Jenilyn.

“So, as a joke — I’ve always kind of wanted to have a brewery, I’ve always taken brewery tours across the country — as a joke, my wife was getting on a plane and I sent her a screenshot of that Instagram post,” he said. “I said do you want buy a brewery. I totally thought I would get a screw you, we’re not doing that. I was told go to talk to (David Chavez). I did that, talked to him, it took a couple weeks to convince him to sell it. I bought it.”

One of the first things that Rincones did was make sure that Kinder would stick around.

“I’m having a lot of fun,” Rincones said. “We’re having a great time brewing different beers and what have you. I’m very glad to have kept David Kinder, he’s made some solid beers.”

Kinder had worked in tandem with prior owner David Chavez, who also brewed. Now he has the brewing area in the back of the building all to himself.

“It’s been great, actually I’ve had more time to focus in the back,” Kinder said. “Trying to balance to keep 10 taps on, I’ve been doing OK, keeping up. We’ve added some new beers to the board. I’ve gotten to play a little bit more since I have more time back there.”

Rincones said that they have made some changes beyond altering some recipes and introducing some new beers to the menu.

One big change was in the process before brewing, where Box Canyon used to purchase pre-milled grain and store it in the attic upstairs, where Rincones said temperatures would exceed 110 degrees in the summer.

“We store it now off-site in a commercial space that is climate controlled,” he said. “We mill our own grains now. I bought a miller right away.”

At Kinder’s request, they also swapped out the troublesome corny kegs for more reliable sankey kegs. Rincones said he was well aware of the issues with corny kegs from his own experience owning a three-tap kegerator at home.

“The cornies, you might lose your beer, you might lose your (CO2), it can be a mess,” Kinder explained. “Sankey (kegs) are much easier.”

Another small but important change is to the Box Canyon logo itself, which is being redone inside and outside the brewery. They are also waiting on some licensing to go through that will enable them to have a permanent patio area on the east side of the building. Rincones said they will have plenty of shade out there for earlier in the day until things cool in the evening.

For now, the focus is on the beers, with some other big plans afoot for later this year or early next year.

“We’ve come up with a couple new recipes,” Rincones said. “We’re revamping some of the old recipes. In the next eight months or so, we’re probably going to pop over to the next space or so, expand our space.”

They will also be sending beers to the Great American Beer Festival competition for the first time, and Box Canyon is hoping to be involved in more New Mexico Brewers Guild events in the future.

Locally, they will be brewing up a special Oktoberfest lager for the Hammel Museum’s annual fall opening. For those not familiar with the museum, it is located on the grounds of the former pre-Prohibition-era Illinois Brewing Company that operated in Socorro in the late 1890s until the 1910s.

Box Canyon will continue to have live music every Friday and Saturday, and every other Thursday they will host an open mic.

In the end, we are just glad to see a brewery go from almost closed to open again and thriving, regardless of where it is in New Mexico. If you have not taken the one-hour drive to Socorro recently, pop on down and pay Box Canyon a visit. There is also the neighboring Capital Bar and Brewery, so a double-beer trip is always nice (nearby Baca House Brewing is temporarily closed, but we hope they will reopen soon).

A big thanks to Robert and David for the interview and a slew of beer samples. Things are tasting mighty good at Box Canyon, and the vibe is still perfect for such a cozy little spot.

Keep supporting local statewide!

— Stoutmeister