Ex Novo Brewing beer garden nearly ready for everyone to enjoy

While most of us were elsewhere Sunday afternoon/evening, Erin was the lone Crew member able to attend an invite-only sneak preview of the Ex Novo beer garden in Corrales. Anyone who had contributed to the fundraising campaign had been invited by founder Joel Gregory to come be the first people to be served in the…

Trio of breweries team up once again to raise funds for Pink Warrior House

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and just as in years past, Canteen Brewhouse, High and Dry Brewing, and Steel Bender Brewyard are joining forces to help out. The Pink Warrior House Foundation is the designated non-profit, and all three breweries will be contributing a portion of the proceeds on specific beers. Needing a little…

The Week Ahead in Beer: Local music takes center stage at Lava Rock

It is only fitting that I, Stoutmeister, decided to write this edition of our weekly roundup of beers on tap and special events … and Comcast knocks out the internet for my entire neighborhood. Good thing the wi-fi at Canteen is working! What, did you expect me to go to Starbucks? Anyway, on with the…

The beer festival makes a triumphant return in a proper autumn setting

We went to a beer festival this past weekend, and it was amazing. Oh, sure, we could have written that statement dozens (hundreds?) of times in the past, but since the pandemic arrived, we haven’t had the opportunity. The last sampling festival any of us could recall was WinterBrew in January 2020, while the last…

2021 Balloon Fiesta tourist guide to local craft breweries

After taking 2020 off, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is back in town starting this Saturday and running through the following weekend. This is the biggest annual tourism draw in Albuquerque, and we are all quite glad to see it back, hopefully with a nice boost for our local economy. With all of those tourists…

Sometimes we all need a sabbatical

After 18 months of pandemic, and almost 10 years of leading this site, I need a break. So I am going to take one, at long last. The beer scene will still move along without me, as it should, and the rest of the Crew have vowed to step up and provide some content while…

Four New Mexico breweries bring home four medals from GABF awards ceremony

A quartet of New Mexico breweries, including two first-time winners, captured medals at the 2021 Great American Beer Festival awards ceremony on Friday evening. Ex Novo Corrales and Ponderosa each won their first medals, and in both cases, those medals were gold. Ex Novo, whose sister brewery in Portland won gold last year for Perle…