OK, first off, we were really bad at taking pictures Sunday. But, we were good when it came to judging stouts in a blind taste test format. This year went fairly smoothly, though we did have a couple of illness-related absences (you were missed, Brandon and Luke!), but at least we ended up with all…
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.
Stout Challenge XII: Unleash the fury upon our blackened souls, again
Super Bowl weekend is upon us, which means it is time for the Dark Side Brew Crew’s annual Stout Challenge. Our fingers are crossed that we will be able to return to the House of Sturm for our 12th annual blind taste test of local stouts. The last two years we held this on the…
Lizard Tail Brewing intends to turn things around by going back to basics
If nothing else, we always have to give Lizard Tail owner Dan Berry points for his honesty. He never hides behind any sort of blind optimism, but instead comes right out and tells us exactly how things are going for his brewery. “We got owned,” Berry said of 2022. “We did not make money, I…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Show your love for all the brews and events
After back-to-back quiet weeks, it became rather obvious what the breweries were waiting for, and that would be this weekend. The combination of Sunday’s Super Bowl and Tuesday’s Valentine’s Day leads to a lot of advance events, plus at least one major anniversary party, and some other bits of fun. The beer releases are looking…
Palmer Brewery increases production to keep forward momentum going
After leaving the last few Palmer Brewery and Cider House entries to other Crew writers, it was my turn to head over for our Look Back/Look Ahead Series and catch up with one of the good guys in the industry. Owner/brewer Rob Palmer greeted me with a handshake and a pour of his Barrel-Aged Cockness…
The Week Ahead in Beer: A quiet start to a new month at local breweries
Remember when we wrote that last week was looking awfully quiet? It has nothing on this week. The beer releases are sparse, though there a few events to check out. I guess everyone is either gearing up for Super Bowl Sunday, or Valentine’s Day, or both. Either that, or the final toll of Dry January…
High and Dry soars toward its fun and funky 5th anniversary party
A fifth anniversary is a big one in the craft brewing world, and now its High and Dry Brewing’s turn to celebrate the milestone. Wait, High and Dry is five years old? It seems like just yesterday that the neighborhood pub opened its doors on Adams, just south of Lomas. Well, five it is, and…
Late Shift Lager House all set to move into its new home in 2023
First up, nobody panic, especially all those Liverpool fans out there (you can just panic over the direction of your season) — The Craftroom is not going anywhere. The production facility in the back of The Craftroom, where Sandia Hard Cider and Late Shift Lager House are located, is moving down the road a ways…
The Week Ahead in Beer: The stouts will keep you warm during this cold spell
The warm glow of a successful WinterBrew now fading behind us, we enter into another little quiet stretch before Super Bowl Sunday and, for the Crew, the return of our Stout Challenge to the big day. Amid the windy days and chilly temperatures outside, those wonderful dark beers truly keep us going at this time…
Gravity Bound enjoys its first normal year and now aims for ambitious 2023
Gravity Bound Brewing discovered something new in 2022 — normalcy. The brewery that opened in the middle of the pandemic lockdown finally found out what a regular year of business looks like, as brothers and co-owners Chris (general manager) and Cameron Frigon (head brewer) told me last week when we sat down for their Look…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 