After returning from my weekend beer sojourn to Phoenix, I struggled to come up with some sort of follow-up post. Some sort of review involving a slew of beers that cannot be acquired in New Mexico seemed pointless, so I almost let the memories of the Arizona Strong Beer Festival fade away. Then it occurred…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Ponderosa throws a party for their new brewer
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. Bob Hagerty took over the head…
Pi Brewing expands their circle of influence
As part of our annual Look Back/Look Ahead series, I chatted with owners Greg and Nicole Villareal of Pi Brewing/Nicky V’s restaurant on Coors north of Paseo (Nicole = Nicky V) to find out what’s happening with the brewing side of their business. In 2015, they restructured and opened up their back room for music….
Bathtub Row set to host the first Stout Invitational
Greetings, beer lovers! Things are afoot at Bathtub Row Brewing in Los Alamos. First and foremost, the ‘Tub is hosting a Stout Invitational event on February 20. Sure, it’s starting to feel a bit spring-ish out there, but it is still technically winter, and it’s a fine time to be enjoying some black beers. Here’s…
Second Street broadened their base a bit in 2015, but there’s big expansion on the horizon for 2016
It’s no secret that Second Street is the second largest production brewery in Santa Fe. And, certainly, they’ve made quite a name for themselves on the local scene with their great food, great service, great music, and ‘always great beer, never a cover,’ to borrow a phrase. They have two locations that are well-known to…
New director spells out his vision for the NM Brewers Guild
John Gozigian is not some newcomer to the craft beer scene. The new executive director of the New Mexico Brewers Guild was there when the organization came into formation in 2011-12. As a former co-owner at Marble Brewery, John saw the initial explosion of our current craft beer scene. Now, two years after accepting a…
Boxing Bear: A knight’s tale of looking back to look ahead
As I am one of two members of the Brew Crew who reside on the west side of Rio Grande, I have a certain love of breweries nestled on the riverbank or atop the western mesa of my dear ‘Burque. I was living within a short walk of the former bar space that is now…
The Week Ahead in Beer: For the love of the brew
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. Valentine’s Day is almost upon us…
A tale of Turtle Mountain: Purgatorio behind, Paradiso for the taking.
Time and work have a way of dominating my creative juices at times. I have sat on this and another of our year-end articles for too long by my reckoning, and to the consternation of my editor to be sure. (Yeah, just a bit. — S) A while back I had the utmost pleasure of sitting…
Stout Challenge V: Another year, another new champion
The Dark Side Brew Crew gathered on Super Bowl Sunday for the fifth straight year to hold a blind taste test to determine the best house stout in the Albuquerque metro area. And for a fifth straight year, we had a different winner. So who was it? Well, rather than keep everyone in suspense, here…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 