Beer Notes: Fall catch-up with all 7 of the Santa Fe area breweries

As summer draws to a close, and the air finally begins to cool, we in the Crew get a special tingly feeling in our black-shirted bellies; a special grin curls upward beneath our beards, and not just because it’s soon to be hoodie season. And, it’s not just because (most of) our freezers are packed…

La Reforma hires a familiar face as 2022 head brewer shuffle gets underway

After a relatively static period during the height of the pandemic, a new shuffle of head brewers is underway in New Mexico. “There was very little mobility during the pandemic,” said La Reforma co-owner John Gozigian, who has just hired a new head brewer/distiller. “Now that things are getting back to normal, for a long…

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…

The Week Ahead in Beer: Black Friday takes on a whole new meaning

Welcome to an early edition of Week Ahead, as we want to make sure everyone is aware of what beers are available well in advance of Thanksgiving, when most breweries will be closed (see below for the exceptions). Despite being a holiday week, there are plenty of beer releases coming Friday, with some fun events…

The beer festival makes a triumphant return in a proper autumn setting

We went to a beer festival this past weekend, and it was amazing. Oh, sure, we could have written that statement dozens (hundreds?) of times in the past, but since the pandemic arrived, we haven’t had the opportunity. The last sampling festival any of us could recall was WinterBrew in January 2020, while the last…

Ullr Fest: The show goes on!

The festival season has been a bit spotty the last couple years, of course, so you will hopefully be thrilled to hear that Ullr Fest in Los Alamos will be happening this Saturday, October 2. The annual event at the ski hill is meant to be a tribute to the Norse God of Snow, Ullr,…

Hidden Mountain Brewing celebrates its grand opening at long last

This Friday and Saturday, Hidden Mountain, the brewery formerly known as Blue Corn, is celebrating its grand opening at their South Side (and only) location at long last, and they’re pulling out all the stops. Slightly delayed by COVID restrictions, the Hidden Mountain team wanted to wait for the most opportune moment to throw a…