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ABQ Beer Week: Red Door hosts lecture on effects of climate change on brewing

Posted: May 29, 2019 by Maureen in ABQ Beer Week 2019
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Head over to Red Door today for a lecture on the impact climate change is having on the beer industry.

From shifting weather patterns to the decimation of wildlife habitat, potential concerns surrounding climate change are continuously being brought to light with new research. Now, two local researchers are working to determine the effects of climate change on the beer brewing process.

They will present their findings and discuss future directions in a lecture to take place from 6 to 7 p.m. today (Wednesday) at Red Door’s main brewery at 1001 Candelaria NE. There is no cover charge for this event.

The lecture will be presented by Drs. Asa and Mark Stone. In addition to being the only Advanced Cicerone® in New Mexico, Asa is also a Presidential Fellow and Brewing & Beverage Management faculty member at CNM, as well as a climate science and data analysis expert.

Mark is an Associate Professor of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at UNM, a Registered Professional Engineer, and Diplomat of Water Resources Engineering, with expertise in climate change and resilience.

At the time of our communication, Asa said that the lecture title was in the process of changing and would read something like “Climate and Beer Brewing“ or “Impacts of Climate on Spontaneous Fermentation.“

Asa and Mark collaborated with Jean van Roy of Brasserie Cantillon, a traditional Lambic brewery in Brussels, and Adam Harbaugh of Lambic.info to investigate the impacts of climate change on the Lambic brewing process, which is highly temperature dependent, as well as its associated cultural heritage.

“We hope to elevate the audience’s appreciation for beer, the role of beer in society, and (the understanding of) how climate change is threatening the beer (not just Lambic),” Asa said.

The talk is the latest in the monthly Disaster Proof lecture series that began at Red Door in February. The lectures are presented in collaboration with The South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center and cover what can be done to prepare for natural disasters at the local and individual level. Previous topics included flooding, wildfires, and drought.

“It was always the plan to lead up to climate change and its effects on the beer industry for Beer Week,” Candelaria taproom manager Johnny Padilla said. “It will be a dive into the climate and how it affects things integral to our beer industry.”

Thanks to both Asa and Johnny for their insights on this interesting and educational event!

Cheers!

— Maureen

ABQ Beer Week: Food trucks prepare for battle at Red Door

Posted: May 24, 2019 by Maureen in ABQ Beer Week 2019
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Grab yourself a pint or two at Red Door during the Fourth Annual Food Truck Battle.

As Beer Week approaches its opening weekend, calendars fill up, and schedules start to get hectic. It’s nice to take a step back and consider the important questions — specifically, who is going to win this year’s Red Door Food Truck Battle?

The battle goes down from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Red Door’s main brewery location at 1001 Candelaria. There is no cover charge, and if you just want to pay for the food, but are not drinking, that is allowed.

Now entering its fourth year, the battle is already heating up with four food trucks in the running.

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Sidetrack gears up for a productive year ahead by focusing on the little things

Posted: February 20, 2019 by Maureen in Look Back/Look Ahead Series 2018-19
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Congratulations to Sidetrack on three years in business! They will have plenty more beer in store for the year ahead.

Going into their fourth year, Sidetrack Brewing Company owners Dan Herr and Anne O’Neill have one main goal — making their beer even better.

To achieve that goal, they first had to acquire some new equipment, including a 7-barrel fermenter and an expanded walk-in cooler. Coming off a big year in sales, during which, Anne said, they struggled to keep up, these new items will help increase their production.

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Sidetrack’s shiny new fermenter, which they bought from Boxing Bear, will be ready to go within the next month or two.

Since Sidetrack doesn’t currently do any distribution or canning, 100 percent of its sales are out of the taps in house. This led them to expand their tap tower to 10 handles (previously six). In past years, there may have been two or three beers from other breweries flowing from those taps. Moving forward, they want their own beer to be featured. This will continue to include at least one, but usually two, regular cask offerings. Although it is a challenge to do, Anne said she hopes to “make it fun” and add new flavors like fruit to the cask beers.

With not much room to expand beyond their current footprint, Dan and Anne have to get creative with their use of the space by making these adjustments, along with smaller behind-the-scenes changes that most patrons probably won’t ever see or notice. All of the moves are aimed at bringing the brewery up to a more conventional system and improve the overall customer experience.

“We just open the doors and try to make the people who come in happy,” Dan said.

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Bombs Away Beer Company launches into its 2nd full year

Posted: December 3, 2018 by Maureen in Look Back/Look Ahead Series 2018-19
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It was a busy, but fun year for Bombs Away.

It’s been a busy first year for Bombs Away Beer Company owners John and Hilary Degnaro, and they show no signs of slowing down, as we found out for our annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series.

By 3:30 p.m. on the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving, the side streets outside the brewery were lined with cars, and the taproom was already packed with thirsty patrons ready to celebrate the long holiday weekend ahead.

Another recent holiday weekend was a significant landmark for the brewery — the Degnaros adopted Veteran’s Day 2017 as their first official opening. But, local residents and employees from Kirtland Air Force Base wouldn’t have noticed too much fanfare either for last year’s grand opening or for their one-year anniversary, since Hilary said it isn’t really their style.

Nevertheless, the brewery has had a considerable list of accomplishments in just a little over a year since opening.

“We’re sitting in the major accomplishment,” John said as he enjoyed a beer on the patio, which was completed near the end of July this year.

“(The patio) really opened up the square footage of the taproom,” Hilary said. “It’ll be standing-room-only in there, which amazes us.”

“People find us,” she continued. “We don’t put up a lot of signage. People like that it’s kind of a hidden gem.”

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