It can be tough to get the bigger brewery command staffs together in one place. The chance to get everyone at Bosque together at once was too good to pass up when it was offered a couple weeks ago. By the time the interview was supposed to roll around, however, the universe decided it was…
Category: Look Back/Look Ahead Series 2018-19
Kaktus Brewing brings balance into 2019
Another year has slipped by us, almost too quickly in some circumstances. However, as time continues its merciless march forward, for many the year proved to by a joyous and beneficial one. One of such places to have been able to share this with us is Bernalillo’s own Kaktus Brewing Company. For those that have…
Rowley Farmhouse Ales celebrates silver in 2018 and plans another great year in steel and wood
It’s 1 p.m. on an unseasonably warm Saturday at Rowley Farmhouse Ales (RFA). Before I could even ask my first interview question, a couple variants of Perennial Sump Imperial Coffee Stout are popped, poured into mini snifter glasses, and shared around the table. Just about the whole RFA crew is in attendance. Sitting around the…
Bathtub Row Brewing stays the course high atop the hill
Bathtub Row Brewing (BRB) in Los Alamos will be entering its fourth year of operation in 2019, and the business is entering a period of relative stability. To get the lowdown on where things stand with the brewery, I sat down with general manager Doug Osborn and head brewer Brandon Venaglia. “The Tub,” as it’s…
Measured progress is the key at Ale Republic
Driving north on Highway 14 in the east mountains, I immediately noticed a change in front of Ale Republic, my destination for this entry in our annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series. Instead of turning right by the post office into a nondescript entrance, there is now a bright turquoise grain hopper with a brewery sign,…
New Mexico Brewers Guild gears up for big year in government and for events
New Mexico Brewers Guild executive director John Gozigian and the board of directors had a busy, but fairly by-the-numbers year in 2018. That figures to change a lot in 2019, both in terms of events and at the legislative session in Santa Fe. I sat down with John over lunch at Nexus last week to…
Tractor continues to innovate in all aspects after a year of big projects
It would be perfectly understandable for everyone at Tractor Brewing to just take it easy in the coming year. After a year that saw so many new developments it was almost hard to recall every single one, no one could blame the staff if they just decided that they could rest on their laurels. That…
Change for the better is the great constant at Broken Trail
Unbelievably, here we are again at the end of another year. As part of our annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series, I pretty much literally corralled Matt Simonds, Broken Trail owner (and mad scientist, perhaps?), to ask about the latest goings on for his brewery/distillery. As usual, things, they are a-changing. Previously, we told our readers…
Blue Corn Brewery hits its stride in 2018 and cruises into 2019 with high hopes and hops
In 2018, Blue Corn Brewery seemed like quite the dark horse when it won the New Mexico IPA Challenge. To many, it was a win that seemed to come out of nowhere. Seemed, being the operative word. But, why wasn’t it thought of as a major contender? Perhaps it’s because Blue Corn is mostly known…
Marble overcomes unexpected challenges on its never-ending quest for excellence
There are plenty of challenges in life, for brewery employees and beer writers. While Marble Brewery had to deal with some surprising challenges in 2018, I presented myself with the challenge of choosing to interview six key staff members separately, and then typing up those interviews in a very short span of time. In the…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 