The temperatures are dropping outside, as if Mother Nature knew that this weekend is all about the stouts and wanted to provide a suitable atmosphere.

The New Mexico Brewers Guild’s annual Stout Invitational returns to Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op in Los Alamos this Saturday afternoon, A field of 16 stouts will be sampled and judged by the public, with Tractor Brewing aiming for a first-ever “threepeat” in the competition.

Heck, it’s been a while since any brewery won three in a row in any competition. The last one we found was the then-Il Vicino Brewing taking four consecutive IPA Challenge trophies from 2009 to 2012.

As of publication, there are only a handful of tickets left for the first session, which starts at noon. The 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. sessions are sold out. The Crew will be there for that final session and we will have a full recap Saturday evening with reaction from the winning brewery.

For any first-time attendees, it pretty works like the IPA Challenge. You get a tray of beers that are numbered one through 16. You smell ’em, taste ’em, rate ’em, and get a pint of your favorite in a commemorative glass that you can take home.

We are not going to name any of the stouts competing, because in a name you might pick up a certain hint as to the adjuncts added (for instance, if one of them indicates peanut butter, and it’s the only PB stout on the tray, you be influenced pro or con by the brewery). We can list which breweries are joining Tractor and the host Bathtub Row in the competition, and where they ranked in 2025 if they competed.

• Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op (tied for 8th place)
• Beer Creek Brewing (tied for 11th place)
• Canteen Brewhouse (tied for 8th place)
• Downshift Brewing
• Nexus Brewery (2nd place)
• Nuckolls Brewing (tied for 14th place)
• Painted Lady Bed and Brew
• Piedra Blanca Brewing (tied for 11th place)
• Ponderosa Brewing (3rd place)
• Quarter Celtic Brewpub (6th place)
• Sidetrack Brewing
• Steel Bender Brewyard
• Thirsty Eye Brewing (tied for 8th place)
• Tractor Brewing (1st place)
• Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery
• Unhinged Brewing

If you have any last-minute questions about the Stout Invitational, reach out to us in the comments or at nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com and if we cannot provide an answer, we will forward your inquiry to the Guild.

Here’s to our favorite beer style and our wonderful hosts in Los Alamos.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister