The second-place finisher in 2021 will head into the final round of the 2022 New Mexico IPA Challenge with a slim lead as Nexus Brewery tries to win its first trophy. It was a clean second round at Lauter Haus Brewing in Farmington on Wednesday night, with Nexus picking up 14 votes to give it…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Oh please oh please let this be the first sign of fall
Anyone else really tired of it being in the 90s outside? We are especially, but that probably has something to do with our black clothing. Anyway, we are very, very hopeful that a fall beer tradition that arrives this Friday will finally convince Mother Nature that it is time for the seasonal transition. OK, fine,…
Lava Rock leads the NM IPA Challenge after a controversial first round
One, five, six, 16 … many (beer) numbers were heavily deliberated, as the public gathered to vote for their favorite IPAs in the 2022 New Mexico Brewers Guild IPA Challenge at Second Street Brewery – Rufina on Saturday afternoon. Just around 2,080 tasters were poured for around 130 guests in total, and zero people had…
The IPA Challenge returns to Santa Fe
This Saturday, the New Mexico Brewers Guild is headed to Santa Fe for the first public round of the 2022 New Mexico IPA Challenge. Second Street’s Rufina location will play host once again to another grueling tournament of taste, where votes from this round will be added to the tally that will eventually choose the…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Stop for the hops to prep your palates
Since we received nary a complaint about the new format of Week Ahead, we are sticking with it. With that bit of news out of the way, we get back to our normal intro, which naturally focuses on the NM IPA Challenge, which starts this Saturday at Second Street Rufina. We included a just-the-facts preview…
Field of 16 finalists for 2022 NMIPAC set and ready to go after preliminary round
The “sweet” 16 entries of the 2022 New Mexico IPA Challenge has been finalized after representatives from 38 breweries met at Boxing Bear Firestone on Saturday afternoon and cast their blind taste test ballots. Rather than attempt some sort of long-winded recap first, here are the beers. Bosque Brewing (won in 2014 and 2015) Boxing…
Beer Notes: IPA Challenge returns, new brewery updates, brewer shuffle
Catching up on all the things we missed, and we are still probably forgetting a few, seemed like a prudent thing to do this week. Also, the feature I planned will have to wait until next week. These things still happen from time to time. NM IPA Challenge is back with a couple of changes…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Keep the key info, leave out the excess stuff
Welcome to the reformatted, more compact version of Week Ahead. It is a work in progress, so input is always welcome on what you all think. After all, this is for all of you as much as it is for all of us. Down below, New Draft, New Package, and Notable Events are the same…
Award-winning Ponderosa brewer leaves to take over CNM program
Another notable local brewer is on the move these days. He will not be going far, however, and this move could very well prove beneficial to the entire local industry and its future. Antonio Fernandez, fresh off winning back-to-back gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup for his Italian Pilsner,…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Catching up on all that is fit to tap and can and bottle
The number of you who told us how much you missed this weekly feature during our hiatus was quite a few, so we hope that just by having it back, it brings a small bit of happiness to your midweek. Anyway, since we have been off for about four weeks, we cannot guarantee the accuracy…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 