While we wait for some more Look Back/Look Ahead Series interviews to happen, we felt it was as good of a time as any to check in on the breweries beyond the Albuquerque and Santa Fe metro areas.

This also represents a good opportunity to remind yourselves of the other fun places to grab a quality pint around New Mexico, as with all the high gas prices and plane ticket costs, taking quick trips around the state might actually be more appealing when one needs to take some time off from work.

West (Grants, Reserve)

Things seem to be status quo at Elkins Brewing and the Junkyard on 66 Brewery in Grants, though neither brewery posts much to social media these days. They did both renew their small brewer licenses, so there’s that.

Further west by southwest, Prod-O Brewery and Distillery in Reserve is now brewing beer after opening with just guest taps. They still have a lot of Boxing Bear brews on tap, but now there’s Eagle Peak, a Czech pilsner, and Elfego Mexican Lager. Sounds like we have a road trip to plan this summer.

Northwest (Farmington, Aztec)

Farmington’s two breweries are humming along. Three Rivers keeps rolling out seasonals, while also cooking up some wild food dishes (their hamburger of the week is often a sight to behold on social media). Lauter Haus is booking music act after music act, including some good heavy metal shows, such as Six Feet Under and Kataklysm on July 24.

We definitely need to revisit 550 Brewing in Aztec, which has changed ownership since our last visit (and that was just to the offsite pizza parlor/taproom, which is now a separate business).

North Central (Jemez Springs, Los Alamos, White Rock)

Bathtub Row is still basking in the glow of winning the Stout Invitational, but things are hardly slowing down in Los Alamos. The brewery is moving towards opening an offsite location at the Los Alamos Golf Course. We will have more on that after we sit down with the Tub team for their Look Back/Look Ahead Series interview (hence the delay in that story).

We still encourage everyone to make the time to visit Jemez Mountain Brewhouse for their beers and legendary pizza. Meanwhile, we keep waiting to see if Piedra Blanca Brewing will ever open a taproom in White Rock. Right now it’s just direct sales (growler fills, basically) from the brewery.

Far North (Eagle Nest, Red River, Rinconada, Taos)

Taos Mesa Brewing beers were spotted in the wild at one of the Albuquerque Total Wine locations, a reader just told us. So that’s cool, but there’s still something special about enjoying those at either the “Mothership” location out by the Taos airport or at the downtown taproom.

Things remain busy at Red River Brewing, Comanche Creek Brewing in Eagle Nest, and Blue Heron Brewing in Rinconada.

Northeast (Raton)

Not much news percolating out of Colfax Ale Cellar, but as a reminder, you can find Blü Dragonfly beers in cans at local spots down here like Jubilation. There are no longer any Blü Dragonfly taprooms, so it’s just can sales for now.

East Central/I-40 corridor (Moriarty, Santa Rosa)

Well, it appears that the short-lived Silver Mine Brewery is no more, as they did not renew their license out in Santa Rosa. If that’s not the case and they are still open, someone there should probably reach out to Alcohol Beverage Control and see what’s up.

Sierra Blanca Brewery and Turquoise Trail Brewing in Moriarty are still chugging along. The former has fully reopened their awesome beer garden.

East (Clovis, Portales)

We have not heard any new updates on the sale of Bandolero Brewing in Clovis. Our local source is packing up and heading to Florida (Air Force life does that), so if anyone out there has any news to share, send it our way.

There was some buzz about Roosevelt Brewing reopening in Portales, but so far we have not seen a new license pop up to indicate that it’s happening.

Southeast (Artesia, Carlsbad, Lovington)

The good news is Nurvis Purvis Brewing, the newest brewery in Carlsbad, has everything to make beer in stock. But, there is still an unspecified delay in getting that made. We still plan to head down there once they have something of their own on tap.

Guadalupe Mountain and Milton’s are still worth visiting in Carlsbad if you are headed down to that part of the state before it gets any hotter. Nearby, The Wellhead in Artesia and Drylands in Lovington are also still chugging along.

South Mountains (Alamogordo, Cloudcroft, Lincoln, Ruidoso)

Downshift has greatly expanded their brewing operations in Ruidoso with a new primary brewing location. There’s no sales there, but that’s just fine since the Riverside and Hidden Tap locations are more than enough. The latter has been renovated with the brewing equipment moved out, so we definitely have a lot to go check out there.

Things appear to be going well between the two Lost Hiker locations in Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs, along with Bonito Valley in Lincoln, and Cloudcroft Brewing is doubling down with their distilling program now in full swing alongside the brewery.

And, yes, technically 575 Brewing in Alamogordo is not in the mountains, but it’s down at the base and that’s close enough. They are keeping the family-friendly atmosphere going amid the early heat rising up from White Sands.

Southwest (Las Cruces, Santa Clara, Silver City, Truth or Consequences)

Would you believe that Icebox Brewing opened another offsite location? No, really, they did and it looks pretty sweet. FARMesilla is located in the town south of Las Cruces at 1840 Avenida de Mesilla. There was a soft opening back on March 13, with a grand opening in the works (date TBA).

All told, that means Icebox now has locations in Hatch, at the old Public House 28 Brewing on the road to Anthony, and three locations in Las Cruces proper including the main brewery.

As for the other breweries in the Las Cruces area, things seem good at Spotted Dog and Picacho Peak, but Pecan Grill and Brewery let their small brewer license expire. We are fairly certain that they have a full liquor license, so they didn’t really need to brew small-batch beers anymore.

Up the road, Truth or Consequences Brewing is back firing on all cylinders after an equipment issue left them without their own beers for a short spell. The house beers are back and several seasonals are now on tap as well.

Things are also going well at the mountainous trio of Open Space Brewing in Santa Clara, Little Toad Creek Brewery and Distillery in Silver City, and Ravenswing Farm outside Silver City.

Central Valley/I-25 corridor (Belen, Socorro)

After a temporary closure, Baca House Brewery in Socorro is back up and running. Along with Box Canyon Brewing and the Capitol Bar and Brewery, it makes for a nice walkable trio of breweries in the heart of a town an hour outside Albuquerque. Hub City Brewing is still doing their thing in Belen, too.

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That’s all the news we have to share from the breweries beyond the metro areas. If there is anything else that we should know, please DM us on social media or send us an email to nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com.

And yes, to several of those breweries, we promise to come visit at some point in the near future. We would just love it if gas prices came down every so slightly before we hit the road.

Keep supporting local statewide!

— Stoutmeister