The times are still tough out there, so it was nice to catch up with a brewery that espouses positivity and yet is also honest about the state of beer affairs these days. That brewery was Steel Bender, which I visited earlier this week for another marathon interview (down to just 37 minutes and 2,750…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Everything is so green for days and days
Let’s face it, it’s always weird when a proper drinking holiday falls on an inopportune day like a Monday. Do you go all out after work? Do you move things up and party beforehand? That is the dilemma beer drinkers and breweries face this year with St. Patrick’s Day on a Monday (and will again…
Untapped Community Awards bestowed upon 27 New Mexico breweries
Whatever you think of Untappd, and for us it’s mainly a way to keep track of the beers we’ve consumed, it remains the primary app for craft brewery enthusiasts around the country. In that spirit of around the country, Untappd went and made the Community Awards, where it uses those ratings bestowed upon the beers…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Double the lobster and double the doggos
Some weeks have an easy theme or event to choose as the lead for this roundup. Others, well, do not, but sometimes you just think of a silly headline and decide, “Well, that works, sorta.” Double the lobster means Cousins Maine Lobster, a food truck that specializes in consumable crustaceans, is back in New Mexico,…
Beer Notes: United in Beer lineup, license renewals and more
Time to dust off — and no, that’s not a joke about today’s weather, which, achoo, sucks — the old beer notebook to catch up on some recent happenings. We start off with the annual “selection Sunday” for United in Beer. The ultimate brewery collaboration event is back at Ex Novo in Corrales on May…
Stout Invitational 2025: A back-to-back winner for first time in event history
For the first time in history, a brewery has won the New Mexico Brewers Guild Stout Invitational in consecutive years. Tractor Brewing prevailed with 30 votes for their second straight win, edging out Nexus Brewery, which had 29, in the annual event at Bathtub Row Brewing in Los Alamos. “It was really funny, I didn’t…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Feeling fine turning 9 at Bow & Arrow
There is a lot happening this weekend, and it’s not just all the Mardi Gras-themed events. Bow & Arrow Brewing celebrates their ninth anniversary with a big party Saturday that starts when they open at noon and runs all the way until closing time at 10 p.m. There are four new canned beer releases (see…
Legislature update: Craft breweries exempted from House Bill 417
There are no such things as total victories when it comes to the annual legislative session in Santa Fe, but New Mexico’s craft breweries will take a small win from Monday’s House Taxation and Revenue Committee. “There was an amendment proposed by one of the representatives excluding people that have a small brewer license, winegrower…
An eye for art and a thirst for beer: Catching up with Thirsty Eye
On a particularly warm January evening, I met up with brewer John Kofonow, general manager/co-owner Jo Sloan, and co-owner Kim Arthun at the ever-cozy Thirsty Eye Brewing at 206 Broadway Blvd. SE in the historic Huning Highland neighborhood in Albuquerque. For a random Wednesday, it was comfortably busy inside. We sat inside, though it was…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Swapping all that homebrewing gear at Bossfight
There is a Sunday afternoon gathering that might just be of interest to all current and former homebrewers. The Homebrew Equipment Swap Meet and Social will run from 2 to 5 p.m. at Bossfight Brewing, one of their last major events before the farewell party February 28. The Worthogs organized this event with the brewery,…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 