The buzz about a nationwide aluminum can shortage has been getting louder in the last couple of months. We have been waiting and wondering when it was truly going to hit our craft breweries in New Mexico, and starting late last week we started asking around via email. It is not something that will hit…
Beer Notes: Ex Novo makes a big change to its year-round lineup
While working on some longer features, a bunch of beer notes materialized on the proverbial desk that are in need of publication. Here we go … Ex Novo replaces one of its staples Every week, I receive a copy of the New Mexico Brewers Guild’s newsletter via email. Down at the bottom are brewery classifieds,…
Rio Bravo wins the 2020 NM IPA Challenge by the closest of margins
We kinda figured that the take-home edition of the 2020 New Mexico IPA Challenge was going to produce some surprises. The big surprise was the first-time winner, beating out two stalwarts of the hop-forward part of our local beer scene. Rio Bravo Brewing took home the trophy with 22 votes, followed closely by two-time past…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Red Door and Rowley Farmhouse Ales keep charitable beers flowing
Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s eight breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, one in Red River, one in Silver City, and one in Truth or Consequences also joining the party….
No compromise: A conversation with the owners of Boxing Bear
We are continuing our quest to get to know the people behind the beer in our amazing New Mexico brewing community, and this week we had the pleasure of interviewing Boxing Bear co-owners Kevin Davis, David Kim, and head brewer/co-owner, Justin Hamilton. What was the path that led you to open Boxing Bear? Justin: The…
Drinking beer and doing good: A chat with our friends at Ex Novo Brewing
When you’re sitting on the patio at your favorite brewery, do you ever look around at the staff you’ve come to know and love, and wonder, “What brought them here? What did they do before becoming part of my brewery family?” Us Dark Siders wondered that too, and we’ve decided to start asking. We are visiting…
Checking in with Blue Corn Brewery during the era of COVID-19
What’s up with Blue Corn Brewery? That’s been the gist of many of the questions I’ve received lately about one of Santa Fe’s elder breweries. For a while, during the thick of the pandemic, they had remained open at their south side location for takeout only, forgoing the chance to open up their large dining…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Broken Trail steps up to help animal shelters with annual release
Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s eight breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, one in Red River, one in Silver City, and one in Truth or Consequences also joining the party….
How we all survived the take-home edition of the NM IPA Challenge
Only a band of complete lunatics would attempt to sample all 36 beers in this year’s New Mexico IPA Challenge. Well, we are those lunatics. Or, we were, since we did this two weekends ago. It just took us a while to process what we went through, how we felt about the entire setup, and…
Sobremesa Restaurant & Brewery quietly opens its doors with flavorful lineup
Ever since our visit to what was then a construction site back in March, the Crew has been looking forward to seeing the finished product at Sobremesa Restaurant and Brewery over on the West Side. Well, after hearing that a small friends-and-family gathering took place over the weekend, I popped into the now-fully-open brewpub at…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 