Lions, Tigers, and … oh, lord, what a disaster

Something I have been proud of during my time as editor of the NMDSBC is our effort to be fair and balanced, only really, not like that certain cable news network. We have tried to always offer up an objective view of the local brewing scene and its many festivals. Then along comes such a…

New Mexico racks up more medals at GABF 2014

Well, the results are in, and New Mexico has once again shined at the Great American Beer Festival. A year after a record eight medals (the best mark before that in a single year had been just four), NM breweries piled up another eight this time around in Denver, including a record five gold medals….

Grab a brew at the Zoo this Saturday

Beer festivals are usually held at hotels, casinos, convention centers, parking lots, and a whole lot of other nondescript places. So whoever thought “we should have a festival at the ABQ BioPark Zoo” deserves a medal. One of the most unique settings we have ever heard of will host Lions, Tigers, & Beers this Saturday…

The Balloon Fiesta tourist’s guide to craft beer in New Mexico

It’s that time of year again, when lots of folks from outside Albuquerque and New Mexico descend upon the Duke City for the Balloon Fiesta. While a lot of us locals grumble about the increase in traffic, even we’re big softies for the Fiesta (assuming we wake up in time). Well, we are, our dogs…

The Week Ahead in Beer: Time to figure who is Mr. Oktober

Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with the reunified edition of The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s four breweries and one newcomer down in Socorro also joining the party. We tried hard to keep the state edition going, but without…

Il Vicino fans should not worry about name change

Another week, another brewery re-branding itself. In the wake of Marble and Rio Grande/Sierra Blanca, Il Vicino Brewery will henceforth be known as the Canteen Brewhouse. This change will likely have less of a visual effect than things have been for those two breweries, since IV never did any package sales. So why the change…

Rescue your weekend at Marble and other breweries

This weekend marks a temporary respite amid festival season, falling in between Hopfest last week and the upcoming Lions, Tigers, and Beers at the Zoo next weekend (plus GABF, for those lucky enough to head up to Denver) and then NM Brew Fest the weekend after that. So the good folks at Marble decided it…

Beer Notes: Yes, there are more breweries on the way

There has been a lot of little beer-related news items coming across the Crew’s proverbial desk of late, so I figured I would jam them all together in a notebook. Now it’s just a test to see how many of those items I actually remember. Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead. New breweries are…

The Week Ahead in Beer: Tastes like fall around here

Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with the reunified edition of The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s four breweries and one newcomer down in Socorro also joining the party. We tried hard to keep the state edition going, but without…

Shenanigans were aplenty at Hopfest

Well now, wasn’t that just a fun way to spend a Saturday? The seventh annual Hopfest went down at Isleta Casino, with a lot of beer choices (seriously, a lot) to sort through. For all four original Crew members, plus at least two from the Bullpen, and our assorted friends, we’re pretty sure we collectively…