The second round of the 2025 New Mexico Brewers Guild IPA Challenge just wrapped up at Icebox Brewing in Las Cruces, with the hosts leaving with the most votes.

Icebox added 19 more votes to their first-round total of eight for 27 total. Another southern brewery, Downshift, tallied the second most votes of the round with 10, giving them 13 overall and a three-way tie for fourth place alongside Ponderosa and Santa Fe.

Boxing Bear now sits in second place, adding eight more votes for a total of 20. Second Street picked up three votes to move to 15, good enough for third place.

Overall, 64 votes were cast Saturday, a solid showing for southern New Mexico, and it really didn’t surprise us that the two southern breweries did the best overall.

Now the final round beckons the hopheads of the Albuquerque metro area. It will be held next Saturday, July 26, at Canteen Brewhouse on Aztec. There will be three sessions at noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. Get those tickets here ASAP because it almost always sells out, and you should not count on there being tickets at the door unless the Guild announces there are a few left.

Congrats to Icebox on a great round and a big thanks for hosting, and we will see many of you next weekend.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister