Sometimes being busy is a good thing.

December and January are generally two of the slowest months of the year for breweries, but Ex Novo founder Joel Gregory still let us know that his brewery is not slowing down. He requested the opportunity to answer our three Look Back/Look Ahead Series questions via email, and of course we were more than willing.

Here is a quick, but informative look into how 2025 went for Ex Novo and what the hopes are for 2026.

NMDSBC: What was the biggest challenge that your brewery faced/overcame in 2025? 

Gregory: Our challenges in ’25 are probably going to echo many others — it was not always smooth sailing on the pub side of things. It was our first full year downtown, and we got to see first hand just how out of control costs can get on an operation this size if they are not monitored carefully and constantly. Running a restaurant can be super fun, we get to control the entire experience of someone’s night out, and when we deliver on quality beer, food, service and atmosphere it’s a magical thing. It’s also a world of slim margins, market price pressure, and changing customer preferences. 

We saw Corrales get less busy in ’25, most likely due to the economy being what it is and social drinking becoming less of a priority for people. We still do well and have an amazing customer base, but it’s becoming less and less helpful to look back at ’22 and ’23 numbers wondering what is happening, and more about redefining what success looks like now. 

NMDSBC: What was the biggest accomplishment for your brewery in 2025? 

Gregory: I would have to say Mass Ascension! I am so impressed with our team that we’ve been able to really lean into our flagship IPA and grow year over year with it like we have. This year we decided to expand the offerings further with 12-oz. 12-packs and then later 12-oz. 24-packs. As of this writing we’ve sold about 350,000 cans of 12-oz. Mass and I love that it’s resonating with people as a go-to in that approachable size. Now that Mass is available to the market in so many different SKUs, it’s obviously our best seller and something we take great pride in, and it was up 21.8 percent by volume in 2026! We obviously can’t keep packaging it in new sizes (or can we?), so we’ll turn our focus to organic growth and continuing to make it the best beer we can. 

NMDSBC: What is your biggest goal/project/idea for 2026? 

Gregory: I don’t think this will be the biggest in terms of barrelage or anything, but we are really excited to launch NovoLyte, our Electrolyte Hop Water in January and expand it throughout the year. We’ve been playing around with hop waters for years now, and we’re really excited about how it’s developed. I think we’re onto something with our process and recipe that sets it apart from other hop waters on the market on flavor alone, but then there’s the added electrolyte benefit. I could see it becoming a staple in a lot of coolers as something to dip into any time of day. Plus, it’s the first packaged hop water from New Mexico so that’s an added benefit, for sure!

Overall, it was a strong year for Ex Novo. They hosted United in Beer for the third straight year, saw the downtown taproom find its groove, made the official beers for the New Mexico State Fair, and didn’t have to go over any blueprints or grab the hard hats. It was just a good year of beer and fun times, in Corrales and in Albuquerque.

Oh, yeah, and the Kill the Sun lineup was seriously killer this year. Ditto this edition of Nevermore. The Crew is fairly easy to satisfy, right?

Anyway, a big thanks to Joel and his entire staff at both locations. Gonna have to pregame some metal shows this year with a proper meal downtown, and make sure to kick back in The Corral when patio season returns.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister