New breweries update: Four approved and four pending

We have been doing our best to keep track of all the forthcoming breweries around town. Recently, we have been lucky to get first-hand updates on the progress of Steel Bender Brewyard and Colfax Ale Cellar in Raton. In addition, Ale Republic has opened in Cedar Crest and Rowley Farmhouse Ales is now open in…

Kellys gets a long overdue overhaul thanks to new owners

Kellys Brew Pub has sometimes been referred to as the great missed opportunity of Albuquerque breweries. Despite the history, the great location, the huge patio, and more, it had fallen far behind the more modern breweries around the city and state. Even so, it still drew plenty of followers, though the beer geeks had long…

The beer festivals are coming: A guide to surviving the onslaught

Beer festival season in New Mexico and neighboring states is about to kick into overdrive. To help everyone out, we put together a list of the key info you need to know (what/when/where/how much, etc.) in order to plan out how to keep your liver functioning and you bank account from evaporating. What: ABQ Hopfest…

Bombs away! Prairie rolls into New Mexico

Some astute eyes on social media may have spotted a teaser from Favorite Brands NM last week that Prairie Artisan Ales is coming here. Well, despite the lack of a formal press release, we can confirm that the popular Oklahoma-based brewery will be debuting today (Tuesday) with five of their beers on tap at Nob…

Ballast Point and Suicide Squad take over Violet Crown in Santa Fe

Ballast Point has certainly found a nice, comfortable niche in New Mexico. If you look around, you’ll notice plenty of taps flowing with those San Diego suds. It’s certainly been exciting to see what new beers would find their ways to the shelves of places such as Jubilation in Albuquerque and Susan’s Fine Wine &…

Second Street finds room to grow with huge new location

A while back in our Look Back/Look Ahead Series story on Second Street Brewery, we learned that they already had plans in the works for quite a large expansion. More recently, Second Street made it official in a Santa Fe New Mexican article, and the cat was officially out of the bag. We in the…

Firestone Walker strolls into New Mexico

We’ve been waiting. Yes, that is directed at you Firestone Walker. It’s been about four years, four months and counting since I moved to the Land of Enchantment. Four years and four months of stuffing my checked bags with Union Jack and Wookey Jack whenever I traveled out of state. But hey, all seems to…

Firkin Brewhouse up and running despite an uncertain future

Divorce is never a pretty thing. Even in the craft beer business. A few months ago, Firkin Brewhouse went from being just another new brewery looking to make their mark to a vortex of controversy and in-fighting, the likes of which had not been seen in Albuquerque in a long time. Things have settled down,…