Hello a day early, as we wanted to make sure everyone has time to do their beer shopping before Thanksgiving. Our focus, though, is on the day after everyone gets gluttonous. Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year, so more than ever, breweries are refuges from all that consumer madness. And, one in Albuquerque and one in Santa Fe are getting particularly indulgent with their beer offerings. First up, Boxing Bear is inviting one and all to their Black Friday Event from noon to 5 p.m. There will be three special beers in cans and on draft — Red Square Bear (Russian Imperial Stout), Old Pugilist (American Barleywine), Plaid Tidings (Old Ale) — plus special samples of aged Vantablack Imperial Stout. They will have the 12 Bears of Christmas advent calendar box for sale. There will also be some new holiday merchandise, holiday photobooths, live music by The Ukuladies, special cocktails, and a deluxe Christmas gift box giveaway contest. Up in Santa Fe, Rowley Farmhouse Ales will have their annual Blackest Friday all day, with a curated menu of some of the best barrel-aged dark brews from around the country and state (full list TBA). If you are one of the first 20 people to show up an hour early at 10:30 a.m., for just $8 you can get a vertical VIP hour ticket. That gives you access to vertical pours of La Cumbre’s La Negra, Firestone Walker’s Parabola, or Lagunitas’ Willitized. There will also be lobster rolls, first come, first served. Look for more info on their social media as we get closer to Friday. Oh, what a time to be alive.

And, for those wondering when/if we will have the breweries’ Thanksgiving/Black Friday hours of operation, we are aiming to publish that list Wednesday. As of midday Tuesday, less than half the Albuquerque metro area breweries have even announced if they are open or not on the holiday.

New Draft:

Ex Novo took their Vienna lager and infused with coffee to create Put the Bar in Barista. Nexus has a limited amount of their award-winning Beam Me Up (Higher) Scotty on tap at the original location only. Thirsty Eye brought back their seasonal favorite, Biscochito Liquido. (UPDATES) Canteen will release Autumn Rose Vienna Lager on Friday. Flock of Moons went big with the new Wytchwater, a Belgian tripel that checks in at 9.9-percent ABV. Turtle Mountain tapped Jigsaw IPA and Nuts & Bolts, a new brown ale.

Up in Los Alamos, Bathtub Row brought back Canyon Rim Rye.

New Package:

Dripline rolled out their first canned beer, Rift IPA. Truth or Consequences Brewing has a limited number of bottles available of their behemoth imperial brut saison, La Bête (16% ABV). (UPDATE) La Cumbre released Mystic Mesa Hazy IPA.

Notable Events:

Today (Tuesday) — Bosque hosts Trivia for a Cause: Gilmore Girls at the Heights taproom from 6 to 9 p.m.

Wednesday — Steel Bender and KKOB are teaming up to host a donation drive for Roadrunner Food Bank from 3 to 6 p.m.

Sidetrack hosts the Thanksgiving Biscuit Pop-up at 6 p.m.

Thursday — Not every brewery is closed, as JUNO hosts DarksGiving from 8 to 11:30 p.m., featuring a mix of goth and industrial music.

Friday — Gin & Jazz is back at Tractor Wells Park from 5 to 11 p.m.

Saturday — Rio Bravo hosts a Christmas Market from noon to 5 p.m.

Tumbleroot Agua Fria hosts Shop Local Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.

Bosque Nob Hill hosts a Holiday Market from 2 to 6 p.m.

Brew Lab 101 Northeast Heights hosts a second anniversary party at 7 p.m.

Quick News Bits:

Lasso Brewing, the new sister brewery of Gravity Bound, opens in the old Boese Brothers space at Gold and Sixth Street today (Tuesday). Coffee sales start at 7 a.m., lagers will be poured starting at 11 a.m. and going until 9 p.m.

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

The former Sobremesa location is planning to reopen by the end of the year under a new name and ownership. Blue Mesa, from the owners of Cocina Azul, will aim to be brewing beer again, though we will have to reach out to confirm the unique way they are preparing to do that.

Tickets for our favorite festival, WinterBrew, go on sale this Friday. The 2026 event will take place January 23 in its usual spot at the Santa Fe Farmers Market.

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.

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: Stockpile Stout (5.2% ABV, 52 IBU), an American stout that tastes bigger than its ABV.

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/Cantina Craftworks — Featured seasonal: As a reader pointed out to us, the beers produced at Brekki Brekki are sold at all the restaurants under the Cantina Hospitality Group umbrella, so we should note that here. Contact the various locations to see what they have on tap.

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: Industrial District Porter (6.6% ABV, 33 IBU), a devilish robust beast of a porter.

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: 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: 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: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

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: Contact the brewery for an updated list of seasonals.

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