There are quite a few one-brewery small towns in New Mexico, in all different parts of the state, ranging from places with populations in the triple digits to those in the five-digit category. It can be interesting, then, to see what happens when a second brewery moves in down the street. There is often the…
Category: Interviews
Downshift Brewing shifts into expansion mode in its home base of Ruidoso
Downshift Brewing was born out of an idea to downshift in life, to change the perspective and lifestyle of its owners from big-city chaos to small-town tranquility. Sometimes, though, an opportunity presents itself that cannot be missed, and a little brewing operation suddenly ended up getting bigger overnight. To learn more about this sudden growth…
New Brewers Guild executive director takes the reins with first successful event
If you had ever stopped in at Rowley Farmhouse Ales while Ebbie Edmonston was behind the bar, in the span of just a few minutes, you’d see her call out orders to her staff, greet regulars, disappear to change kegs, take meals out to tables, and maybe take a quick seat to make schedules or…
20 questions with the new brewmaster of Hidden Mountain Brewing Co.
Andy Lane is not a new name in the New Mexico brewing industry. He’s been in the business for a while now. And, though his is not a flashy tale, it is the kind of success story that most brewers can respect, working his way up from humble beginnings as part of Santa Fe Brewing…
Turquoise Trail Brewing hits the road in search of a better location
Over the past decade, we have seen plenty of breweries make big moves, whether expanding their main locations, or adding taprooms, or moving into large-scale packaging/distribution. Moving the entire brewing operation from one building to another, however, is a much rarer occurrence. Boxing Bear did it the most recently, and Bosque and Tractor did the…
Warren settles into his comfort zone running the show at La Reforma
A few months back, we reported that former Blue Corn (now Hidden Mountain) head brewer James Warren was coming back to New Mexico to take over the operations at La Reforma. After we let him get settled in, Warren was happy to sit down last week to go over where he’s been and how things…
New Sidetrack head brewer paid his dues at Chama River and Steel Bender
After seven years in the trenches, so to speak, Cordell Rincon is finally getting his own command. Rincon has taken the reins at Sidetrack Brewing, succeeding David Kimbell. I caught up with Rincon this week before the brewery opened for the day. “Oh, it’s great (here),” he said. “I always told myself that if I…
Award-winning Ponderosa brewer leaves to take over CNM program
Another notable local brewer is on the move these days. He will not be going far, however, and this move could very well prove beneficial to the entire local industry and its future. Antonio Fernandez, fresh off winning back-to-back gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup for his Italian Pilsner,…
High and Dry teams up with Red Mesa once again for collab IPA and concert
The wonderful symbiotic relationship between local craft breweries and local music continues this Saturday at High and Dry Brewing. For a second time, the brewery has teamed up with the heavy desert rock band Red Mesa to create a special IPA, and this time it will be released with a full, live music performance. Last…
20 questions with Jennifer Treu, Rowley Farmhouse Ales’ new head brewer
It’s not an easy thing to turn your passion into a career that spans several states, partially through a pandemic, but Rowley Farmhouse Ales’ new head brewer has done just that. On a nice, reasonably un-windy Wednesday, I sat down with the entire RFA brew crew, including brewmaster John Rowley, cellarman Roger Pacheco, new to…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 