ACHOO! Ah, yes, spring in New Mexico, better known as The Pollening. Actually, wait, isn’t it still winter? Nope, spring. Nah, winter. All right, look, we are as tired of the constantly fluctuating weather as all of you are by now, but the good news there is still beer. Lots of beer. Lots of delicious…
Rio Bravo is the lone local brewery to medal at the Best of Craft Beer Awards
It was a relatively quiet year for New Mexico breweries at the annual Best of Craft Beer Awards in Bend, Oregon, but that just means that Rio Bravo Brewing gets to bask in the spotlight all by itself. Rio Bravo snagged a silver medal for its Dice Roll IPA in the Hazy or Juicy Imperial…
ReSource Brewing taps into the new Brave Noise collaboration
One of the biggest news stories in the craft beer world in 2021 came about after brewer Brienne Allan went on Instagram and asked, “Have you ever experienced sexism in the beer industry?” The fallout was far-reaching across the industry, and still continues to this day. Yet, like many big stories of the moment, for…
La Cumbre Brewing ascends to the top of the 2022 NMBG Stout Invitational
It was a close vote at the 2022 New Mexico Brewers Guild Stout Invitational on Saturday, but at the end it was La Cumbre who came out on top. With 29 votes, the longtime Albuquerque heavyweight prevailed over a field of 16 stouts in a blind taste test held over three sessions at Bathtub Row…
Hidden Mountain Brewing reveals a new direction for 2022
Hidden Mountain opened in January 2021 as a major rebrand of long-time local favorite Blue Corn Brewery. Now, one year later, I sat down with brewmaster Paul Mallory to see how the new business is faring, what has changed, what has stayed the same, and what’s in store for the Southside’s newest BBQ/Mexican fusion brewpub…
Oskar Blues embraces the classic IPA style with Western Mutant series
A few weeks back, we were a little surprised to receive an email from Oskar Blues Brewing of Colorado about their new Western Mutant IPA series, which is basically their version of La Cumbre’s Project Dank, a rotating series of West Coast-style ales. The surprising part of the email was that it included the opportunity…
Stout Invitational returns with a twist to Los Alamos after 1-year COVID hiatus
Before the dark times arrived in March 2020, the last great beer event held was the New Mexico Brewers Guild Stout Invitational at Bathtub Row Brewing in Los Alamos. Flix Brewhouse took home the trophy in the February competition, a blind taste test of 16 stouts from around the state. And then, COVID, and darkness,…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Beware the Ides of Smarch
Smarch! Yeah, it’s that false spring in New Mexico that begins around Mardi Gras and goes right up until late April or some important holiday around then. We will have some prime patio days coming right up, starting this week, so take full advantage and get out to enjoy some fresh brews and fresh air…
Nexus Brewery prepares for internal expansion at both taprooms in 2022
Nexus Brewery weathered the toughest parts of the pandemic, and is now almost back to its prior sales numbers. It has not been easy to get there, but owner Ken Carson and head brewer Randy King are feeling upbeat as 2022 rolls along. I sat down with both of them for our Look Back/Look Ahead…
Quarter Celtic Brewpub slowly but surely getting back to having fun again
There has always been a sense of fun when it comes to Quarter Celtic. Long ago, in the before (COVID) times, the brewpub would post funny videos, come up with clever beer names, and just keep everything light and cheerful. Then came the pandemic, which got so rough that at one point, the Quarter Celtic…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 