2014 promises to be a beer-y good year

A new year has dawned, so in the spirit of being lazy and not moving out of this here recliner, I decided a dreaded list story was in order. And no, this is not because this here Stoutmeister is still hungover from Franz Solo’s New Year’s Eve party. While I did drink some great beer…

Marble aims to hold a steady course in 2014 after a busy 2013

Welcome to our fourth entry in the Look Back/Look Ahead Series for 2013-14. This series is designed to give a recap, from the breweries themselves, of 2013 while also previewing all that is to come in 2014. We have already visited La Cumbre, Bosque, and Kaktus, so click the links if you missed the stories….

Membership has its benefits at New Mexico breweries

It was around this time last year when a fan of the Brew Crew told us that we should write up a post about all the brewery memberships/mug clubs around town. To us that sounded like a great idea and then, well, something happened. We got busy and 2012 sprinted to such a sudden end…

Stout (Day) philosophy: What makes a great dark beer

Howdy, all. It’s Stoutmeister. My personal holiday that I totally came up with is upon us. Yes, Friday is International Stout Day. Wait, you mean I don’t get credit for that? Oh. Well, can I get a free pint of stout? Please? Pretty please? Anyway, it really is International Stout Day, so get on out…

Beer Notes: A festival for Cruces, Dead pints, Hopfest winners

Happy Friday everyone. Stoutmeister here with a grab-bag of beer news and notes. I would ask if you all had a fun Halloween, but it seemed strangely quiet out there. Save for a show at Sister Bar and the kids trick-or-treating, putting the great holiday on a Thursday meant a lot of folks put it…

Hopfest in Review: A proper farewell to festival season

There was a bittersweet feeling as the Crew left Hopfest on Saturday afternoon. It stemmed not from any disappoint in the event — it was quite the opposite, in fact — but instead it came with the realization that beer festival season in 2013 was coming to a close. Even though the year itself is…

To properly tackle Hopfest everyone needs a battle plan

Hopfest is big. There are 62 breweries serving up samples for thousands of beer lovers. In other words, it is not the place to just walk into and wander about. Nope, you need a plan, a battle plan. Luckily, the Dark Side Brew Crew is here to provide one. It’s what we do. In terms…

Beer Battle: The greatest pumpkin ale of them all is …

Way back in the spring the Brew Crew staged a mini-beer battle between the four varieties of Irish Red that were on tap around town. Here in the fall, pumpkin beers have become the predominant seasonal of the moment, even rising above Oktoberfest-style beers. A few years back I, Stoutmeister, wanted nothing to do with…

New Mexico breweries rock out to some heavy medal

All of us at the Dark Side Brew Crew and most of the craft beer drinkers we know are all aware that New Mexico has some great breweries. The breweries proved that belief, and then some, by pulling in a single-year-record eight medals at the Great American Beer Festival on Saturday morning. Dating back to…

NM Brew Fest in review: Beaten up by barley wines

The remnants of Stoutmeister and Brandon greet you all on this weekday after an enjoyable weekend at the fourth annual New Mexico Brew Fest. Sure, we ended up a little sunburned and a little hungover, but that’s what outdoor beer festivals are all about, right? With our friends Dan, Jessica, and Adam in tow, we…