The annual State Fair Pro-Am has come and gone for the year, and no doubt you’ve seen the RESULTS, but from competitions like these we get to see some great brewers, both pro and amateur, show off their talents as part of our New Mexico brewing scene. I spoke with John Rowley, very near-future head…
Author: Luke
Santa Fe Brewing Company gets a new brewmaster
Santa Fe Brewing Company has been undergoing a lot of big changes lately. No doubt you’ve seen the SFBC tower of the new taproom scraping the Albuquerque sky as you fly by on I-40. That opening can’t come soon enough. (Just ask our ABQ bar staff.) SFBC just broke ground on our $5 million canning…
The challenge to Blue Corn’s future
Recently, Blue Corn Brewery lost an incredible manager in Gustavo Azurdia. He left amicably for a more personal business venture, but when I learned of his departure, I began to worry about the future state of craft beer at one of my favorite breweries in Santa Fe. Through many conversations, I knew how much he…
Sub Rosa Cellars soon to be Santa Fe’s fifth brewery
Santa Fe will have a new brewery before long, as local homebrew club president John Rowley has assured me. You’ve probably already heard the rumors. You’ve probably already seen their Facebook page. Well, at least 527 of you have. The Dark Side Brew Crew wouldn’t be the most-read beer blog in New Mexico if we…
Today we toast to the entire New Mexico craft beverage industry
Today, three heads in the New Mexico craft beverage industry came together to toast progress, particularly in the form of Senate Bill 440. Brian Lock of Santa Fe Brewing Co. and Mike Zercher of Santa Sidra came together to celebrate a union of craft beverages as cider and wine both went on tap (and in…
Blue Corn’s Midnight Red is coming for your soul!
The Midnight Red is now available at Blue Corn Brewery. After a week on tap, it has certainly hit its stride. It’s been a while since Blue Corn released a beer as monstrous as this big, dark, malty Imperial Red Ale, and so I sat down with brewer James Warren to taste his beer and…
Full disclosure: So, I got a job at a brewery
In the Dark Side Brew Crew, we try to remain as objective as possible and build our headlines on pillars of truth. We tell it like we see it, and if we didn’t like it, we’ll say so. Remember the fiasco at the zoo? Me neither. Thank you, six-pack therapy. So what if one of…
Santa Fe brews up a plan to help save the Santa Fe River
In 1855, the Santa Fe River rose beyond its banks and washed away a good portion of a major brewery in Santa Fe. That instance made the papers and thus became our first official documentation of any brewery in New Mexico. Now, that’s not to say that there weren’t other breweries in existence, but we…
NM Brewery Spotlight: Blue Heron Brewing Co.
While Stoutmeister and the Crew were working feverishly to bring you daily news on ABQ Beer Week, I was up north, enjoying the quiet, the fresh air, and a few Walden’s Pond moments, as well as allowing my liver a brief respite. As it turns out, it’s taken me a couple weeks to get over all the fun we had during Santa…
2015 Outside Bike & Brew Festival in pictures
Everyone recaps events differently. Keeping that in mind, my experience of Outside Bike & Brew was entirely personal in such a way that it would take me several millions of words to really describe it to you. However, Stoutmeister would Force-choke me if I tried that. (You would be lucky if that was all I did when I’m buried in ABQ…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 