With the holiday hiatus behind us, I managed to corral owner Ken Carson and brewer Kaylynn McKnight over at Nexus on Wednesday afternoon for the next entry in our ongoing Look Back/Look Ahead Series. Before enjoying some more of that delicious Salted Caramel Stout, we talked about a busy 2015 and the big plan for…
A common and not so common year for Back Alley
On a recent, ice-cold December afternoon I sat down with Peter Moore, head brewer for Back Alley Draft House in downtown Albuquerque. We discussed the previous year as well as what may lie ahead in 2016. We started out by continuing a discussion we had in October at the New Mexico Brew Fest. I told…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Jumping on the special bomber release bandwagon
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. During the winter, seasonal beer releases…
Bathtub Row Brewing aims to build upon their great start
Bathtub Row Brewing (BRB) in Los Alamos had a phenomenal first year and said they hope to keep the ball rolling in 2016. As part of our Look Back/Look Ahead Series for 2015-16, I sat down with general manager Jason Fitzpatrick and brewers Hector Santana Jr. and Jason Kirkman to get their take on the new…
And the winner of the best beer name of 2015 is …
Baby Got Bock! Yes, Red Door’s homage to a “classic” song was the winner of our first poll. Since we did not add a timing element to the poll itself, we just decided all votes after 10 p.m. MST would not count. Thus, Baby Got Bock proved to be the winner. (We should add it…
Sidetrack swings open their doors at last
Quiet weekends can be nice sometimes. Other times, they get downright boring. Luckily for craft beer drinkers in Albuquerque, this weekend saw the surprise opening of Sidetrack Brewing downtown. I originally visited Sidetrack back in September and they looked to be a month or so from opening, but things went a bit quiet after that….
Starr Brothers hopes to shine in Northeast Heights
Everything old is new again. Starr Brothers Brewing is going back to the old school, opening a true brewpub in an era where kitchens have been eschewed in favor of food trucks. The forthcoming brewery is located on San Antonio east of I-25 in the San Antonio Commons retail center. If you reach San Pedro,…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Ring in the New Beer, er, Year!
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. Now that we all (hopefully) survived…
Kaktus scrambles to open Nob Hill taproom for New Year’s Eve
The folks over at Kaktus Brewing might be nuts. Or, maybe they are just ambitious. But, probably nuts. They are currently in a mad rush to have their new Nob Hill taproom ready for a New Year’s Eve celebration. I stopped by Monday afternoon amid the chaos, and more than anything I came away impressed…
Pick the best beer name in New Mexico for 2015
Every now and again in New Mexico a beer gets released whose name alone catches your eye. Sometimes they are funny, sometimes they are simply creative, and other times they are downright weird. Naming a beer can often be a fun process for brewers and their staffs. It can also be a pain in the…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 