The first year of any business, breweries included, tends to be more of a learning process than anything else. That has certainly been the case for Sunday Service Motor Company, the unique brewery/coffee shop located at 2701 Fourth St. NW, just a block north of Menaul. I caught up with co-owner Kevin Anderson recently for…
Notes from the North: Blü Dragonfly and Red River enter expansion mode
Over the past week, the Crew received a couple of emailed updates on two of the breweries in Northern New Mexico. These both followed up on our most recent articles on Blü Dragonfly Brewing outside Raton and on Red River Brewing. First up, Blü Dragonfly owner Colin Tawney wrote that while his brewery is still…
Quarter Celtic finds some stability before preparing to get a little mead-ieval
The brewpubs of the New Mexico craft brewing scene have certainly endured a lot since the pandemic lockdown of 2020-21. Many are still searching for the new normal, while a few lucky ones have managed to regain a measure of staffing stability. Quarter Celtic Brewpub is one of those lucky ones, as I learned while…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Music and belly dancers and markets galore
Before Christmas takes center stage, this weekend will be a big one at a lot of breweries, with quite the variety of events on deck. There will be last-minute holiday markets on Saturday at Boxing Bear Firestone, Brew Lab 101, Bosque Nob Hill, and Unhinged, plus two more at Gravity Bound and Canteen on Sunday….
Ex Novo enjoys a solid 2023 before some big moves get underway in 2024
The good news for Ex Novo Brewing was that this year, one not filled with any sorts of huge developments, was nonetheless solid and productive. The better news is that it will help prepare everyone on staff for what figures to be a busier, bigger year ahead. I recently caught up with founder Joel Gregory,…
High and Dry stays aloft at brewery while working on Public House upgrades
Sometimes just having what one might describe as a typical year is rather welcome. At least that is the case with High and Dry Brewing owner/brewer Andrew Kalemba, who said it was a solid year for the brewery at Adams and Lomas. The offsite taproom, on the other hand, continues to be an evolving challenge,…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Indulge in the darkness at La Cumbre all week
One of the best parts of December is that La Cumbre decides to make its anniversary a week-long celebration of the biggest, and often darkest beers on their menu in years past and present. This year is no exception, and there is more on deck leading up to Saturday’s shindig. For today (Wednesday), they are…
Metal and Beer Fest was exactly the type of off-site festival the world needs
A while back, we brought up the question of what is the future of the off-site craft beer festival. Many of you, as well as folks in the industry, responded with all sorts of ideas as to how to keep these things going. One that we thought had promise was the themed or specialized off-site…
Boxing Bear settles into the new normal and aims to hit their stride in 2024
Boxing Bear is a growing brewery again. Oh, there are no new taprooms planned (yet), or anything like that. Things are expanding quickly on one side of the business, though, and that will be driving the brewery going forward. I recently caught up with the trio of Justin Hamilton, director of brewing operations/co-owner, Jay Knigge,…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Holiday markets conquer the brewing scene
They have arrived. They are infinite. They are all. Yes, we are talking about holiday markets, with at least five announced for this Saturday alone, and likely even more to come after that. Tis the season, and all that, but let’s face it, holiday shopping is hard, and being able to walk among the many…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 