To stick with tradition, we begin our annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series with La Cumbre Brewing for 2019-20. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive review of each brewery’s 2019, while also previewing 2020, all from the viewpoint of the brewers, owners, and other key staff members. On a blustery afternoon, I sat down with…
In Memoriam: Santa Fe Brewing founder left an impact far beyond brewing world
The founding father of the modern New Mexico craft brewing scene, Mike Levis, died two weeks ago in Amarillo, Texas. He started the Santa Fe Brewing Company out of a barn on his horse ranch in Galisteo in 1988, ending a stretch of 49 years without any commercial brewing in New Mexico. Levis, 80, is…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Bring on the barrel-aged brews and black metal
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 seven 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….
Context Brewing comes into focus on north side of downtown
Albuquerque is a big small town, as most locals already know. Forget six degrees of Kevin Bacon, it is more like three degrees of Burqueños — if you know one random person, chances are that he or she will know the other person you are trying to contact for something work-related, or in our case,…
Tractor Brewing all set to open its expansive Los Lunas taproom
Take Interstate 25 south and get off at the Main Street exit (203) in Los Lunas. Take a right and head west, away from the old part of town and toward the bustling newer area. There is an ubiquitous Wal Mart and some other small chain stores and restaurants. Keep going past those, through the…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Marble closes the downtown music season in style
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 seven 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….
Ex Novo brewer Chichura takes long and winding road back to New Mexico
Long before he ever brewed a beer in New Mexico, a young Dave Chichura visited Albuquerque on a two-month brewery tour of America in 1995. He visited the Rio Bravo Restaurant Brewery downtown and Assets Grille in the Northeast Heights. Those two breweries passed into history in 1998 and 2005, respectively, while the young beer…
Beer Premier features wild lineup of all-new brews from around the state
The Beer Premier, the final annual event on the New Mexico Brewers Guild’s calendar, is set for Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at Rio Bravo. The BP will feature 23 brand-new beers from 22 different breweries, plus the recent Guild collaboration beer Land of Enchantment Lager. Lo and behold, we have the identities of…
The Week Ahead in Beer: A spooky but flavorful weekend is on deck
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 seven 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….
Tractor rolls out another edition of the Stranger Things Arcade Carnival
One of the biggest annual events at Tractor Brewing’s Wells Park location, the Stranger Things Arcade Carnival, is back for the third straight year in advance of Halloween this Saturday from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. The brewery’s main parking lot on Fourth Street and the entire taproom will be taken over by this annual…