I waited in my car until I was given the signal from Tom Ludzia to follow him inside, through the service door, into the brewhouse at 2920 Rufina Street. There, in a fortress of stainless steel, less than a handful of other masked do-gooders stood around looking as if their day was about to get…
Category: Look Back/Look Ahead Series 2020-21
Thirsty Eye uses the challenges of 2020 as a tutorial for how to move forward
It might sound a bit odd at first, but 2020 might have actually been good for Thirsty Eye Brewing. No, really. I learned about that, and more, when I sat down with co-owner Kim Arthun and brewer John Kofonow for one of the final entries in our annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series. “I think March…
Harmon Lane Brewing is determined to keep climbing
As we’ve explored in a number of our Look Back/Look Ahead Series articles this year, 2020 was not the most ideal year to open a brewery, but our legendary local beer community pulled together to make sure our new beer creators weathered the storm and lived to see brighter days. One of those resilient breweries…
Canteen Brewhouse cans its way to success even amid global pandemic
It was one year to the day of the first pandemic shutdown when I joined Canteen Brewhouse head brewer Zach Guilmette and general manager Jamie Schwebach on the patio to recap all that was and what’s coming up for their entry in our Look Back/Look Ahead Series. The beautiful weather and full patio (well, as…
Sobremesa brings a community vibe and great beers to the west side
2020 might not have seemed like the best year for a small business … nay, ANY business, to get its foot in the door in virtually any industry. But, when you have the acumen and experience of the folks behind Albuquerque west side newcomers Sobremesa Brewing, it doesn’t seem like such a small task. With…
Beer Creek Brewing Company looks back at 2020 and hops forward in 2021
Beer Creek Brewing Company has been tested before. The men (and ladies) of Beer Creek have had to prove their toughness and steadfastness many times before out in the middle of what one might consider nowhere, and especially in a location whose history had seen nothing but failure in the past. But, nothing had tested…
Nexus Brewery remains resilient in face of 2020 challenges
Nexus Brewery, like many of its contemporaries, had to figure out to how to adapt to the many challenges and restrictions of a pandemic world in 2020. The popular brewpub was able to survive with a little bit of innovation and a lot of patience. I caught up with owner Ken Carson over the phone…
Boxing Bear rolls with the punches in 2020 and prepares for a bigger and brighter future
Since we got the bad puns out of the way in the headline, we can now focus on the heart of the story, which is of course Boxing Bear Brewing. After debuting more than six years ago, these now-veterans of the New Mexico craft beer scene have already created a strong history and place in…
Bathtub Row Brewing hopes for a better 2021
Our latest entry for the Look Back/Look Ahead Series takes us back to Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op (BRB), tucked away near the Jemez Mountains in Los Alamos. 2020 was a difficult year for the little brewery, as it was for nearly everyone else in the industry. The business survived intact, thanks to government funding at…
Blue Corn Brewery closed its doors in 2020; Hidden Mountain reopens them in 2021
Only a few days into the year, Blue Corn Brewery announced to the public that they were re-opening for the first time since August. They also announced that they were re-opening not as Blue Corn Brewery, but as Hidden Mountain Brewing Company. In 2020, both Blue Corn locations packed up their belongings for good, and…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 