During our trip to Ruidoso Oktoberfest last Saturday, the Crew made sure to carve out some time on Friday to chat with the owners of the two breweries in town to see how things have been going.

In the case of Lost Hiker Brewing, that meant meeting the new owner, Steven Swangstu, and his family at the midtown taproom.

Original owners Dan and Jennifer Carey sold the brewery after they got divorced and it was not hard to find someone willing to buy it. Swangstu was already working for Lost Hiker when he seized the opportunity to take the reins.

“I started washing kegs and bartending,” Swangstu said of his original role at the brewery. “And then, Dan just kind of took me under his wing.”

Like Carey, Swangstu was originally from Austin, Texas. Though the two did not know each other back then, they shared a mutual love of craft beer and of the mountain town they now call home.

“I wasn’t an expert homebrewer like Dan, but I had done a little bit and I just love craft beer,” Swangstu said. “I loved going out to the scene in Austin. It was one of my dad’s ideas to open a brewery some day. He’s passed away, but we always talked about it, so it’s pretty cool to do it.”

Swangstu said he still goes to Carey for inspiration and advice, as his predecessor still hangs out at the taproom. In fact, he even popped in while were doing the interview.

For the most part, the vibe of Lost Hiker has not changed. It is still a cozy brewery where people are encouraged to have conversations, enjoy pints, and relax away from the hustle and bustle outside. They still do trivia and karaoke and other events. The crowd while we were there was lively and chatty, split between the inside tables, the bar, and the small patio out back.

Those customers were a mix of locals and a fair number of travelers, one of the more unique aspects of life in a tourist town like Ruidoso. The beer preferences of those customers have not changed much, Swangstu said.

“Light beers,” he said. “Lots of people coming in asking for light beers, and a lot of West Texans are coming in, but our (Ruidoso) Blonde is the best seller.”

The New Texican, Lost Hiker’s take on a Mexican-style lager, is currently fermenting and will be back on tap soon. It tends to rival the blonde.

Swangstu said he would like to branch out more across the beer spectrum and get more variety on tap.

“Yeah, but something new would be more new beers, getting more taps,” he said, noting that they only have six taps currently at midtown. Expanding that will be a priority this year.

Beyond that, Swangstu said he will try to get Lost Hiker out to more festivals. They are scheduled to pour at the Red River Oktoberfest in two weeks, and they just poured at neighboring Downshift for their Oktoberfest.

“Yeah, just try to get out there and do more festivals around the state,” he said, before adding that another future idea is to open a second taproom, though that will come further down the line. After all, they did just pay off the credit card bill from buying the brewery.

Speaking of their brewery neighbors, Downshift invited Lost Hiker out to their new brewing facility for a first collaboration between the two breweries. Grindstone Cowboys is a hazy IPA that earned strong reviews from locals and tourists alike, and it’s still on tap at both breweries with a limited number of four-packs available.

“We never really did a hazy (before),” Swangstu said. “Yeah, it was always kind of a challenge. We never dry hop. That’s why we did it, why we kind of picked that one (style).”

Another challenge has been the perception around the state about the future of Ruidoso. Over the last couple of years, between the forest fires and the subsequent flooding from the burn scars, the town has taken a bit of a beating.

Neighboring Ruidoso Downs has lost its namesake horse-racing track, which has always been a major tourist draw. Swangstu said he decided to close the main Lost Hiker brewing facility, located across the road from the track, because it did not make sense to keep it open with the drop-off in people wanting to stop in for a beer in that area.

Still, Swangstu said he remains optimistic for the future of Ruidoso and Lost Hiker.

“I think we’ve always got a steady stream of people coming out because we’re the closest mountain town to El Paso, Midland, and the like, so I feel like we’re still getting a good amount of traffic again,” he said.

All of us in the Crew will certainly be rooting for everyone at Lost Hiker, Downshift, and in Ruidoso in general.

A big thanks to Steven for the interview, and the beers.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister