Wait, how did that happen? How did we get to Thanksgiving this fast? We’ve barely had time to enjoy autumn! Dang, well, since the holidays are upon us, this is a great time to stock up on some packaged beers that can last through the end of the year. Well, still drink those IPAs and other hop-forward brews in a timely manner, but the big malty boys can hang out in the beer fridge for a while longer. Last week, Ex Novo graced us with their best Nevermore Black Barleywine batch in years (not to say the others were bad, this one is just so damn good). This week’s Big Beer Release (yeah, we’re making that a capitalized thing now) is courtesy of Steel Bender, which brings back not only Brickie American Stout in cans and on draft, but also a special version that was aged in Ruby Port French Oak barrels. Those will be sold in cans only, in four-packs to go or one can at a time over the bar. Both arrive Friday, much to the joy of one and all. Let the darkness flow and carry us through the rest of 2025!

New Draft:

Bosque brought back two classics with Driftwood Oatmeal Stout and Bosque Lager. La Cumbre tapped Bamberger Hell, a smoked helles lager. Rumor brewed up a batch of their house Berliner weisse, Bug Juice, with cranberries added. Starr Brothers pays tribute to the late, great KISS guitarist Ace Frehley with ACE Hazy IPA. Tractor brings back two seasonal favorites in Turkey Drool and Pistachio Cream Ale on Friday. Turtle Mountain tapped Make it a Dubbel. (UPDATES) Bombs Away brought back Stockpile Stout. Brew Lab 101 tapped Moose Hoof, a Canadian (natch) dark lager. High and Dry has more Ace of Haze back on tap. Painted Lady added a new stout, A Naked American Man Stole My Balloons (it’s a reference to Scary Movie Bingo, see below). Sidetrack tapped Space Coyote Red IPA. Starr Brothers brought back Zombies in the Manger, their holiday biscochito stout, and yes, it comes with a cookie. Sunday Service has more of the decadent Red Velvet Cake Stout.

Up in Los Alamos, Bathtub Row tapped Red Hammer DIPA, Hefeweizen, and Oz’s Oatmeal Stout. Down south, Truth or Consequences Brewing has a double drop on Thursday of Tumbleweed IPA and Winterberry Saison.

New Package:

Bow & Arrow rolls out the latest entry in their Native Star Hazy IPA Series called Bury My Heart in cans and on draft, in honor of Native American Heritage Month. Steel Bender has regular Brickie and Barrel-Aged Brickie due out in cans on Friday (see the intro for more info). (UPDATE) Second Street brought back Superior Porter in cans and on draft.

Notable Events:

Today (Wednesday) — Bosque West hosts Trivia for a Cause: Classic TV Shows from 6 to 9 p.m.

Thursday — The Pour & Explore Lecture Series returns to Bow & Arrow from 6 to 7 p.m.

Painted Lady hosts Pints for a Purpose, benefiting Barrett House, at 6 p.m.

Rio Bravo hosts their annual Friendsgiving Beer Dinner at 7 p.m.

Friday — Fright Night Open Mic, where guests tell their best ghost stories, is back at Painted Lady at 7 p.m.

Saturday — Dripline hosts another Bocce Meet-Up at 3 p.m.

Scary Movie Bingo returns to Painted Lady at 7 p.m., this time featuring An American Werewolf in London and featuring a TBA beer premier.

Sunday — The Six-Pack Running Series is back at Canteen at 11 a.m., this time benefiting Roadrunner Food Bank.

Dripline hosts a Pie Bake-Off at noon.

La Cumbre hosts the Friendsgiving Vintage Market from 2 to 6 p.m.

Tuesday — Bosque hosts Trivia for a Cause: Stranger Things at the Heights taproom from 6 to 9 p.m.

Quick News Bits:

La Reforma will host a Fundraiser for Manny, benefiting one of their staff members, all day this Tuesday.

Canteen will host a food drive for Roadrunner Food Bank through this Sunday, culminating in the Six-Pack Running Series (see above). Check their social media for more details on what to bring.

Tractor has teamed up with The Barrett Foundation for a food drive that will last until December 12. Check their social media for what items are sought.

Boxing Bear will also be hosting a food drive throughout November. Further details are available on their social media pages.

Brew Lab 101 has added pinball machines in Rio Rancho and at their taproom in the Northeast Heights.

While Bosque Brewing and Smothered have separated as companies, they are still going to team up at the former’s Cottonwood location, with Smothered fielding the breakfast/brunch menu before things shift back to a Bosque food menu in the evening.

Albuquerque metro area breweries

Boese Brothers Brewery — Featured seasonal: Drunk Astronaut (8% ABV), the annual seasonal DIPA is loaded with Galaxy hops. Get it?

Bombs Away Beer Company — Featured seasonal: Power Source Porter (6.7% ABV, 40 IBU), a delicious take on a Baltic porter, and one of the few dark beers still on tap this summer for those who like to defy the heat.

Bosque Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Dunks Not Dead (5.1% ABV, 18 IBU), a solid German dunkel that is a definite beer name of the year candidate.

Bow & Arrow Brewing — Featured seasonal: Buffalo Plaid (7.5% ABV), the wonderful Baltic porter is back in cans and on draft.

Boxing Bear Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Oso Otoño (6.4% ABV), the oatmeal brown ale is back for another run in cans and on draft.

Brekki Brekki — Featured seasonal: Cherry Stout (5% ABV), on draft for a limited time.

Brew Lab 101 Beer & Cider Company — Featured seasonal: Labtoberfest is back for the season.

Calavida Cantina — Featured seasonal: Midnight ESB, a very appropriate fall seasonal.

Canteen Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: Shogun Willie Rice Lager (5.1% ABV), a nice and light way to get your beer day started.

Casa Vieja Brewery — Featured seasonal: Hop the Casbah (6.2% ABV), a hazy IPA that doesn’t mean to get that song stuck in your head but kind of does.

Differential Brewing — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Dripline Brewery — Featured seasonal: Super Bloom APA (5.4% ABV), a sweet, floral pale ale that goes quite well with the new lineup of tasty smash burgers from the kitchen.

Echoes Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Ex Novo Brewing — Featured seasonal: Nevermore (12.1% ABV), a beautiful barrel-aged black barleywine, available for a limited time in bottles and on draft at both locations.

Flix Brewhouse  — Featured seasonal: Flix Brühaus, their version of an Oktoberfest lager, is back for the season.

Flock of Moons Brewing — Featured seasonal: Citrinitas (6.7% ABV, 29 IBU), a classic saison brewed in collaboration with the students of the CNM Brewing Program.

Gravity Bound Brewing — Featured seasonal: Maizey Train, a Mexican lager that actually seems to be able to stay on tap somewhat consistently because you all drink up the IPAs way too fast. Which is a good thing.

High and Dry Brewing — Featured seasonal: Jiminy Krispness, a tasty kolsch to help you get through the end of summer.

Hops Brewery — Featured seasonal: Hoptoberfest is back to help prep you for the upcoming fall season.

JUNO Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Kaktus Brewing — Featured seasonal: Oktoberfest Bier will get you in the right seasonal mood.

La Cumbre Brewing — Featured seasonal: Oktoberfest (5.9% ABV), one of our favorite annual releases from the brewery, now available in cans and on draft.

La Reforma Brewery — Featured seasonal: West Ghost IPA, the most appropriate spooky season beer even if spooky season is over (but is it ever over?).

Marble Brewery — Featured seasonal: White Out (9% ABV), the big brother to Double White is back for a limited time in cans and on draft.

Nexus Brewery — Featured seasonal: Lush American Stout (6.9% ABV, 40 IBU), a hefty but still crushable stout.

Painted Lady Bed and Brew — Featured seasonal: Buck-Toothed, Mop-Riding Firefly from Hell, the new version of Witches Brew, a spiced amber made with all-local ingredients.

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: Vienna Festbier, the award-winning lager is back on draft.

Rio Bravo Brewing — Featured seasonal: Psychedelic Decade (5.5% ABV), a mushroom brown ale brewed for their recent 10-year anniversary.

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: Belgian Strong (11% ABV), this behemoth is available in bottles only for a limited time.

Starr Brothers Brewing — Featured seasonal: Brown Chicken Brown Cow (6.8% ABV, 25 IBU), one of their original rotating specialties, this double brown ale is a chewy delight on colder nights.

Steel Bender Brewyard — Featured seasonal: Teddy Roe’s Policy IPA (7.8% ABV, 48 IBU), a new juicy version of the popular ale is available in cans and on draft.

Sunday Service Motor Company — Featured seasonal: Burque Fest, a robust take on a traditional Oktoberfest.

The Tatted Bee Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: Tatted Stout, a nice and chewy dark ale of decadence.

Thirsty Eye Brewing — Featured seasonal: Tengu Black Rice Lager, a special collaboration with Painted Lady and Flock of Moons.

The 377 Brewery — Featured seasonal: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

Tractor Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Traktoberfest (6.2% ABV, 15 IBU), the classic märzen has returned.

Turtle Mountain Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: At Wit’s End (6.7% ABV, 20 IBU), a classic Belgian-style witbier, with $1 from every pour donated to Storehouse West.

Unhinged Brewing — Featured seasonal: Contact the far Westside brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

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.”

Nuckolls Brewing — Featured seasonal: Laying New Tracks IPA, part of a whole series of railroad-themed names and we’re just gonna guess it’s because they’re at the Santa Fe Railyard.

Rowley Farmhouse Ales — Featured seasonal: Second-String Loser (9.6% ABV, 26 IBU), a Belgian golden strong ale.

Santa Fe Brewing Company — Featured seasonal: Oktoberfest (6% ABV), oh yes, it’s back in July, and we care not about the date because it’s still a tasty German lager available in cans and on draft.

Second Street Brewery — Featured seasonal: Vienna Lager (5.5% ABV) and Brown Ale (5.9% ABV), both were gold medal winners at the World Beer Cup, and both are available in cans and on draft for a limited time.

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: Apricot Sour, one of several new brews for the summer menu.

Other breweries you need to visit

Bathtub Row Brewing — Featured seasonal: okTUBerfest (6.4% ABV), because we refuse to let fest season die and Los Alamos is with us on this one.

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.

Jemez Mountain Brewhouse — Featured seasonal: Strange Occurrences, their take on an Oktoberfest.

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: Oktoberfest is back in bottles and on tap for the season.

Truth or Consequences Brewing — Featured seasonal: Oktoberfest (5.9% ABV), the popular seasonal is back, and this time it warranted a full 15-barrel batch.

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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