As we noted in the first entry in our current Look Back/Look Ahead Series for Boxing Bear, we shortened the stories to being based around three questions. Time is short these days for everyone and all.

We also gave brewery owners the option of just answering over email if they did not have time to meet up in person. Sam Boese of Boese Brothers Brewing took that option, which was just fine for everyone.

“As you may know, we celebrated our 10 year company anniversary this year!” Sam Boese wrote. “It was a blast, crazy that it has been that long. With the 10 year, (my brother) George and I spent time reflecting on our progress since the business first started, and talking about long-term plans for the company and our families.”

That plan will include a change behind the scenes, though Sam asked that we not go specifically into that just yet, as it will be happening in 2026.

Here is what else he wrote in response to our three questions about the biggest challenge they faced in 2025, their biggest accomplishment this year, and the big plan/goal for 2026.

“The biggest challenge that we overcame this year was adjusting to some decreases in customer spending,” Sam wrote. “I think it is a trend that most of the food and beverage industry has seen nationwide. Our ingredients, especially for food supplies, have become increasingly expensive. When you pass that additional cost on to consumers they sometimes react by decreasing their average tabs during visits, or decreasing the frequency of their visits to your establishment. It has not been a drastic drop, but it is certainly a noticeable trend for us and a lot of other businesses in our industry.”

Add in to the fact that Boese Brothers serves three distinctly different markets — the Sandia foothills with their Albuquerque taproom on Tramway, downtown Santa Fe with the Desert Dogs location, and central Los Alamos — and it certainly adds to the challenge.

I stopped by the Albuquerque location to take some new photos. It was relatively empty, but it was between lunch and happy hour. Past experience shows that taproom gets packed later on, especially on nights when the New Mexico Ice Wolves are playing up the road (there are no alcohol sales at the Outpost Ice Arena, which makes BB a prime “pregame” spot).

Still, Sam said he was happy to be able to celebrate their milestone this year.

“Our biggest accomplishment was reaching the 10 year mark for our brewery!” he wrote. “We opened in August 2015. In some ways it feels like it has been way shorter and way longer than that, depending on the day haha.”

As for the coming year, do not expect Boese Brothers to shake up things too much, though they will aim to be a little innovative when it comes to the menus.

“Our biggest goal for 2026 is to keep our customers excited and engaged with our brewpubs and the craft beer and food industry,” Sam wrote. “We are planning on re-visiting a few old school beer recipes, before IPAs took over the world, and working on some creative new items for our food menus.”

A big thanks to Sam for his quick response to our questions. We salute Boese Brothers on reaching the 10-year mark, a rare thing for any small business these days.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister