It’s stupid hot so go drink beer in Flagstaff

June is usually the worst month in Albuquerque and other parts of the Southwest. Temperatures hit their peak, while the monsoon rains are still weeks away from providing at least some temporary cooling. At times like this, people tend to flee to the various mountain getaways. From Albuquerque, popular destinations within a day’s drive (or…

The Week Ahead in Beer is on hiatus

Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers, Stoutmeister here with the news you probably did not want to read. This column is going on hiatus for the foreseeable future. Brandon and I had tried to divide this thing up into State and Metro editions, but even that did not help us. First, time was short for…

Beer Premier draws mixed reviews from crowd

The Yards Craft Beer Premier went down Saturday afternoon, but people were still chatting about it throughout the weekend. It is hard to sum up people’s feelings on the event, which were as mixed as the beers themselves. We asked for attendees to weigh in on Facebook and for the most part their general reactions…

New location and format set for Beer Premier

AUTHOR’S NOTE: After originally publishing this story I received an email from Christopher Goblet of the Brewers Guild. He brought up a couple key points that I’ve now added to the story. Perhaps most importantly for everyone, based on people’s responses, is that you can sample the beers before you buy them. Read on for…

Red Door and Pi Brewing move closer to opening

Yeah, we know, the Crew has been pretty quiet in the month of June. Our various jobs and/or families have taken precedence of late, so we’ve been away from our computers as far as writing about beer goes (I’ve been personally writing way too many variations of “the Isotopes lost tonight because …”). Well, no…

The Week Ahead in Beer: The end of an era

Greetings New Mexico craft beer lovers, this is Stoutmeister, with some bad news. E-Rock will no longer be doing The Week Ahead in Beer. I’m filling in again this week and Brandon will try to take it over starting next week, but that’s assuming we can make it work with his, well, work. Brandon is…

The Week Ahead in Beer: Last-minute fill-in

Greetings New Mexico craft beer lovers, this is Stoutmeister, filling in for E-Rock for this installment of The Week Ahead in Beer. This column is hand-crafted to keep you up to date on all of the seasonal beers, news, and events served up at breweries and taprooms in New Mexico. There is nothing quite like…

Best of the (Summer)Fest: Good beers reigned over Pajarito

Well that was a fun little excursion Saturday afternoon. After years of Isotopes games being scheduled on the same day, I, Stoutmeister, got to travel up to Pajarito Mountain for SummerFest, where there was other stuff going on but it was mostly about the beer. A total of 17 breweries set up shop for the…

It’s time to get festive for summer at Pajarito

Every year after ABQ Beer Week there is a collective sense of exhaustion and fulfillment that causes the Brew Crew to go into semi-hibernation. This year, however, there is no rest for the weary, as every Saturday in June there is a major beer event somewhere in the state. For this Saturday, it’s SummerFest at…

ABQ Beer Week: We reach the end on Day Ten

Another ABQ Beer Week is about to wrap up Saturday. After 80 or so events, I think we’re all ready for our long summer’s nap. Don’t fret, the Crew will be back with more coverage of our ever-expanding local beer scene as Boxing Bear Brewing, Pi Brewing, Red Door Brewing, and many others get closer…