The end of every February is a fairly normal stretch of time for most people. No major holidays or events, spring break is still a way off, and so on and so forth. For breweries and other businesses that are licensed by Alcohol and Beverage Control, a division of the Regulation and Licensing Department, the…
Author: Stoutmeister
Former sports writer in Tucson, LA, and Burque. Now I write about craft beer, which is a totally reasonable way to support my hobby of spending afternoons and evenings indulging in the finest stouts, lagers, and more.
The Week Ahead in Beer: A very fine nine years for Sidetrack
The beginning of 2016 might have seen the greatest number of brewery openings ever concentrated into a three-month stretch. Five breweries would debut in Albuquerque between January and March, giving us all a bit of whiplash. One that has stood the test of time and become a favorite among beer geeks and the general public…
Boxing Bear bounces back from pair of bittersweet taproom closures
Whenever we set out to do a Look Back/Look Ahead Series article, at some of the larger breweries it can simply be about availability when it comes to which person or persons we interview. Of late, our Boxing Bear interviews have typically been with co-owner/director of brewing operations Justin Hamilton and/or events coordinator Astrid Galarza….
Rumor Brewing doubles down on family friendly in more ways than one
If the public has already declared that you are a family-friendly place, even if you are a brewery, your choices are simple — defy it, or go along with it. Rumor Brewing has gone along with it, and now they are starting a project to provide a dedicated area for all those rambunctious youngsters to…
JUNO doubles production thanks to Edgewood taproom and more
In a year where breweries around the country pulled back, Albuquerque’s JUNO Brewery expanded and more than doubled production, finding success even in a difficult environment. Co-owner Jason Marks sat down with us for the annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series last week to discuss all of the positive developments for his brewery. “The big news…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Saving the breweries from the slow season
The Brew Crew quietly turned 13 a few days ago, which means we have been doing editions of Week Ahead for a very long time now. That also means we repeat some of these lead-ins from year to year, based on seasons, events, releases, and so on and so forth. Once again in January, we…
Ex Novo Brewing looks to settle back into a groove now that downtown is open
It would be quite all right if Ex Novo Brewing founder Joel Gregory and his team were to take some time off, rest on their laurels, and bask in the glow of opening their downtown location before jumping back into things. That is not, however, how things tend to work in business, so everyone at…
Quarter Celtic aims to replicate a strong 2024 with an even better 2025
The skies overhead might have been gray and cold this morning, but maybe it was appropriate to have a rather Irish winter day when heading over to Quarter Celtic Brewpub and Meadery for their entry in our annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series. Co-owner Ror McKeown was there, being that guy wearing shorts in the wintertime,…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Dripline prepares to tap their 1st beer
While it is always fun to check out a new brewery on opening day, it has always felt like something rather important is missing when one opens without its own beer on tap. That was what happened at Dripline Brewery towards the end of last year. We heard plenty of people commenting on how much…
The Year in Beer: 2024 marked a wild year of good and bad news across industry
To finish off our recap of the year that was, we are once again rolling through the top stories as voted upon by all of you (as in the ones you read the most) and, when that differs, our picks for the newsiest of the newsy. Or, something like that. Anyway, as most know by…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 