Once again, the little items added up, so for the second week in a row we have a notebook to empty. NIPAC domination continues The fourth round of the National IPA Challenge, hosted by The Brewing News, is complete with three of the five remaining New Mexico entries advancing to the quarterfinals. This marks the…
Sierra Blanca/Rio Grande look forward to new beers, anniversary parties and more in 2016
For this next installment of our Look Back/Look Ahead Series, I talked to brewer/owner Rich Weber of Sierra Blanca/Rio Grande Brewing Company in their (newly re-branded) brewpub location in the Uptown Mall in Albuquerque. He told us of a 2015 with much behind the scenes growth, and a 2016 with more beers and events to…
Bosque announces second Insider event for next week
It has been a little while since the first Bosque Brewing Insider event back on December 2. Fear not, it shall not be the last of those events, as they have just announced a new Insider event for Thursday, March 10. Bosque general manager Jessica Myers invited me over to chat about it. The cool…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Santa Fe doubles up on the release parties
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 four breweries and a pair of newcomers, one down in Socorro and the other in Los Alamos, also joining the party. Santa Fe Brewing has always been…
R.I.P. Chama Microbar, our tiny trail blazer of a taproom
A little piece of Albuquerque’s craft beer history died on Monday. The Chama River Microbar, the tiniest little taproom attached to the back (west) side of the Sunshine Theater, abruptly closed its doors for good. There was just the sad sign pictured above, plus a few messages from the staff letting longtime patrons know that…
Beer Notes: New Mexico keeps rolling at National IPA Championship
Lots of little news tidbits demand a roundup, thus, Beer Notes is back! Locals keep rolling at NIPAC Five of the six remaining New Mexico entries advanced to the fourth round of the Brewing News National IPA Challenge. Of course, only five could advance since Bosque’s Scale Tipper and Boxing Bear’s Uppercut were going head…
Chama just made the best stout better
What do you do when you have the best stout in Albuquerque, as decided by the Brew Crew? If you are Chama River Brewing, you take that winner and throw it in a cask. They tapped it Wednesday night and I knew I had to head over to try it out. The result? Well, no…
Boxing Bear scores one-punch knockout with Vantablack Russian Imperial Stout
On the recommendation of Stoutmeister, who managed to grab a taste of this one before me, I was struck with love at first pint by the glory of Boxing Bear’s Vantablack Russian Imperial Stout. We begin with a roasted, sweet aroma, and a hint of hops. A mighty roar smashes mid-palate with toasty malty goodness,…
The Week Ahead in Beer: A big blast of barleywine at Blue Corn
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 four breweries and a pair of newcomers, one down in Socorro and the other in Los Alamos, also joining the party. Winter showed up again Tuesday, reminding…
Another craft beer find — “Way up North” edition
The Brew Crew recently received word that there is Yet Another New Brewery out there. We take for granted that there will be a new one every week in Albuquerque (and are very happy about it), but this one is about a stone’s throw from being in the middle of nowhere. If you’re going to Ojo Caliente’s…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 