Posts Tagged ‘Rio Bravo Brewing’

Oktoberfest: Welcome to the mountains of Red River

Posted: October 18, 2018 by Luke in Events, Out-of-Town Brews
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Raise ’em high to celebrate the season!

In mid-October, in the mountains of northern New Mexico, a certain familiar sound can be heard through the little valley of Red River. It’s not the rustling of the wind through glimmering gold, fresh-changed aspens, nor the honking of the horns of people-packed caravans. It’s the chorus of clinking glasses and the raising of toasts. It’s the deep brass bellowing of an Oom-pah band that lets us know that Oktoberfest has once again returned, and has completely transformed this sleepy Alps-esque village into a one-of-a-kind experience that will keep you coming back for more, time and time again.

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The weather was decidedly warm for this year’s event.

Though it is worth the travel for the changing leaves alone, just a brief but beautiful stop along the Enchanted Circle, Red River is much more than that. And, beyond the picturesque views, the many outdoor activities, and the deer that will walk right up to you without batting an eye or flicking an ear, there’s beer, and plenty of it here.

In the past few years I’ve been attending the festival, there were only about five breweries and about the same count for wineries. This year, however, there were far more breweries than I’ve ever seen at this event, making it more of a brewfest than I was expecting. I don’t even believe that I got a final count.

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The sun did not deter the crowd.

Set in Brandonburg Park, as well as the Red River Conference Center just behind, there was much ground to cover, and I’m sure we didn’t make it to every brewery in attendance, so I apologize if a brewery was there and didn’t get a mention. There’s only so much time and so many sampler tickets, and so much room after a delicious brat with sauerkraut.

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A man cannot live off beer alone.

The Red River Oktoberfest veteran breweries included neighbors Comanche Creek and Enchanted Circle, plus Santa Fe Brewing. I didn’t see Taos Mesa, Eske’s, or Abbey Brewing, but I’m sure they were representing somewhere.

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One of the great partnerships of our state.

New to Red River’s Oktoberfest this year (to my knowledge) were The 377, Bombs Away Beer Co., Lost Hiker from Ruidoso, Palmer Brewery & Left Turn Distillery, Rio Bravo Brewing, Starr Brothers Brewing, and the new hometown heroes, Red River Brewing Company, plus my dark horse of the festival, Colfax Ale Cellar.

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Rio Bravo brought the beer and the merch.

While I had some great beers from many of the breweries (very few bad ones), my favorites were fun, exciting, in some cases surprising, and in some cases not surprising at all. My picks are as follows:

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What else can I say? “Dammit, Dave.” Ha!

Santa Fe Brewing’s Pepe Loco: To me, it’s a perfect recipe for a Mexican Lager. While it may seem somewhat out of season, it was perfectly refreshing in the unusually warm weather. I wouldn’t be surprised if that limited beer finds its way into cans some time soon.

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Comanche Creek served up a winner!

Comanche Creek brewed up an Oktoberfest that stood out for all the right reasons.

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Ginger Beer from The 377 FTW!

The 377 made the first Ginger Beer that I’ve ever really enjoyed. It reminded me of a Ginger Ale, and then I thought, wait … is the beer made after the soda, or is the soda made after the beer? Either way, wow! Excellent stuff! Cheers!

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Enchanted Circle closes out the festival with smiles.

Enchanted Circle is doing some great things with their beers these days, but they get my Gold Medal for best name: Glory Hole IPA. That’s all I’ll say about that.

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That’s one hefty pour of bronze medal-winning Lampshade Porter!

Starr Brothers brought their GABF bronze medal-winning, heavy-hitting Lampshade Porter, which was just a joy to drink. Luckily that’s on tap at their brewery, year-round, so head in anytime and rent that blockbuster hit.

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Red River Brewing head brewer Chris Calhoun raises a toast.

Special mentions go to Lost Hiker and Red River Brewing Company. I don’t think they make a bad beer between them, and certainly deserve a special trip to see them in their beautiful towns.

My “Best of the Fest” award goes to Colfax Ale Cellar, up in Raton. They had so many wonderful, interesting, and creative (yet perfectly executed) beers, on draft and in bottles.

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Brewmaster Jim Stearns stands beside his wife Karen Stearns and brewdog Pippen, as well as their excellent beer selection.

“The Red River Oktoberfest was our first time at that event,” said head brewer and owner Jim Stearns in a follow-up email. “We brewed three lagers specifically for that event. We sold very little. Unfortunately, we probably sold less than 10 percent of what breweries who were located outside sold, but we weren’t alone in that position along with Starr Bros, 377 and Rio Bravo Brewing Co.”

In my opinion, I think that’s because no one knew there was beer in the conference center. That kind of thing is tough to deal with as a former brewery event coordinator. The struggle is real. At least Colfax brought enough interesting beers to gain some new fans.

Maxwell Pils (5% ABV) — an international pilsner style, very mildly hopped

Fest Lager (4.6% ABV) — a Vienna-style amber lager, also very mildly hopped

Yülbock (5.25% ABV) — a rauchbier made with 20-percent beech-smoked malt, also mildly hopped

Karaiba (3.3% ABV) — a Berliner White ale, lightly sour, with essence of passion fruit and mango, no hops

In 22-ounce bottles:

Double Tipple (8.7% ABV) a blended double stout with a portion aged in rye whiskey barrels

Chicorica (8.3% ABV) — a strong golden ale brewed with trappist ale yeast

La Belle Otéro (6.5% ABV) — classic Wallonian saison ale, dry and peppery

Banks of Orkney (8.2% ABV) — a strong Scotch ale, light toffee and bread pudding

I have no hesitation in saying that they are a must visit on the road to or from Denver. Forget Colorado Springs or Pueblo and stop there instead for lunch and enjoy something that will surprise you. Colfax Ale Cellar should be on everyone’s radar this year and in the years to come.

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And one Double Tipple for the Dark Side, please!

The Colfax Ale Cellar taproom was recently closed due to inclement weather, as apparently winter has come early. For that, I blame the Starks, Target, and Kohls.

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Blue Corn head brewer Paul Mallory “Captains” to another great festival.

It was another great festival of beer and food in the mountains. I only wish folks had known there was a brew fest attached to the usual festivities. I believe it’s now my job to reach out to the organizers to get the word out. I was certainly surprised to find a whole group of new vendors/breweries in the conference center, in which there had never been before. But, if you missed them this time, or missed the festival this time around, there’s always next year and next time.

Until we meet again, Red River! For now, I will be counting the days until one of my favorite festivals rolls back through town. I should probably book my cabin now to be safe. To another unforgettable Oktoberfest in the mountains!

Prost!

— Luke

 

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For more #CraftBeer info, and @nmdarksidebc news, follow me on Twitter @SantaFeCraftBro. Untappd: SantaFeLuke. My birthday is today (Thursday). You know what to do! I’m kidding.

Weekend Beer-cap: From wonderful Marblefest to the woeful Lobos and back to Denver again

Posted: October 2, 2018 by cjax33 in Weekend Beer-cap
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The pretzels were on point at Marblefest.

This was one of those weekends where most of us should have been in recovery mode, but the beer events (and metal shows) would not allow us to rest.

For me, the in-town fun was this past Thursday, when I took a trip out to Turtle Mountain to celebrate owner Nico Ortiz’s “39th” birthday and the recent gold medal that head brewer Mick Hahn brought home from the Great American Beer Festival. I thought we were just going to raise a pint of the Wooden Teeth and then I could head out, but noooooo, Mick had to go and bust out a whole bunch of beers from various places for us all to try. Darn it, Mick. Darn, darn, darn. Anyway, the Wooden Teeth tasted great, as a gold-medal winner should, and it was nice to see so many of Nico’s longtime friends and customers stop by to wish him a happy birthday and congrats on the medal.

From there, it was off to Steel Bender for the OktoberFiesta. The chef and his kitchen staff should be applauded for a delicious jaegerschnitzel, which is not an easy thing to make, especially as the place filled up and more and more folks stormed in wanting a plate. I was also happy to be one of the last people to get a commemorative mug, even though I need another piece of glassware (or ceramic-ware, in this case) like I need a hole in the head. Sadly, we also drank up all the OktoberFiesta beer. Who thinks we should petition the brewing staff to make another batch? Huh, even my parents have their arms raised.

Anyway, for the rest of the Crew (minus poor Luke, too sick to drink this weekend), here are their latest adventures in beer.

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Beer Events: Rio Bravo turns 3, ULLR Fest returns, Ex Novo surprise

Posted: September 27, 2018 by cjax33 in Events, News
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Say hello to Rio Bravo’s third-anniversary beer.

Not every significant beer event for the weekend can make it into The Week Ahead in Beer. We missed two that we should have known about, plus a third one popped up Thursday morning.

Rio Bravo celebrates its third anniversary

The good folks at Rio Bravo are jamming all sorts of fun into an all-day celebration Saturday. There will be live music, a chile cook-off, a charity beer, and a special new beer release.

Rio Bravo’s third-anniversary beer is Cherry on Brett. Brewmaster Ty Levis took the Cherry Wheat and aged it in barrels for seven-to-nine months, adding two strains of brettanomyces. He then hand bottled this sweet, funky sour, so give the man some props for that hard task alone. Those will be available upon the opening of the doors at 11 a.m.

If sours are not your thing, buy a pint of 94Rocktoberfest. For every pint sold, $1 goes to the Hops for Hunger program.

The chile cook-off will be at 3 p.m. Bring two gallons worth of your favorite recipe using New Mexico chile. The cost is $10, with $5 of that going to the Storehouse. The public will judge from 3 to 5 p.m., with a celebrity judging panel joining in on the fun at 4. Email jennifer@riobravobrewing.com for more info on how to enter.

There will also be local artists and vendors on hand, plus Creamland will be there creating ice cream floats, so yes, this is an all-ages event.

As for the music and more, the lineup is as follows: House music, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Black Pearl Band, 1-3 p.m., Poetry, 3-3:30 p.m., Icon Ulibarri & Cafe Mocha, 3:30-6 p.m., DJ Flo Fader, 6-8 p.m., Soul Divine, 8-11 p.m.

ULLR Fest heralds winter’s eventual return

The mountain calls to you. Come to the beer.

The folks at Pajarito Mountain, above Los Alamos, are preparing for the start of the colder months by throwing an annual party. ULLR Fest returns Saturday, so grab your best viking gear and head up the mountain.

There will be a BeerFest from noon to 5 p.m. In addition to local boys Bathtub Row, those in attendance will include Blue Corn, Boxing Bear, Broken Trail, Red River, Santa Fe, Second Street, Taos Mesa, The 377, Tractor, and Tumbleroot. It’s a $15 cash ticket to get all the beer samples you could ever want.

In addition, there will be live music from Auto Electric, plus a downhill bicycle race, a disk golf tournament, and a viking costume contest. Shuttles will leave Sullivan Field at Los Alamos High School every 30 minutes. The cafe will be open all day to keep people fed.

We will work on getting some beer lists for you and post them here as they arrive.

  • Bathtub Row: Little Bird Blonde, Hoppenheimer IPA, Oktoberfest, Ullr Fest (8.3% ABV)
  • Blue Corn: Gatekeeper IPA, Covhefe Collab, Oktoberfest, Oatmeal Stout, Pomegranate Gose
  • Boxing Bear: Das Bear German Pilsner, Uppercut IPA, Applebear Cider, Coffee Chocolate Milk Stout, Black and Blue Tart
  • Broken Trail: TBA
  • Red River: Bad Medicine Honey DIPA, Tucker-Brau Oktoberfest Marzen, Lazy Bear Blonde, Greenie Peak Wheat (plus root beer for designated drivers)
  • Santa Fe: TBA
  • Second Street: TBA
  • Taos Mesa: TBA
  • The 377: 377 IPA, Porter, NM Lager, Ginger Beer
  • Tractor: TBA
  • Tumbleroot: TBA

Ex Novo will be at Corrales Harvest Festival

Oh, hello, beer fridge of goodness.

Though the brewery is still a long ways off from opening, the good folks at Ex Novo are bringing some beer samples to Corrales on Saturday. There are an estimated 400 samples available, so it will be first come, first serve, until the beer runs out. The Harvest Festival will be located at 4895 Corrales Road, across from the fire station. Things will kick off at noon.

Ex Novo is based in Portland, Oregon, but owner Joel Gregory is from Corrales, so he will be opening a second brewery in his hometown in 2019. Among the beers in the Instagram photo are Eliot IPA and The Most Interesting Lager in the World, plus a slew of specialty brews. Our eagle eyes spy Dark Czech Lager, Puff Puff Passion, and Fresh Hop Eliot in those crowlers.

If there are ever any events that we miss, be sure to let us know in advance. You can reach us via any of our social media pages, or at nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

ABQ Beer Week: Day One fun begins with sours, cheese, collaborations and more

Posted: May 24, 2018 by cjax33 in ABQ Beer Week 2018
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Day One will see the return of Beer, Cheese & More at Marble, Sour Hour at Tractor, and more!

All right, people, it’s go time! Again!

Make sure you have your Lyft and/or Uber accounts up to date, and then start checking off the events you can’t miss. The Crew will be here for you every day with info on every single event.

Look for one or more of us at Nexus, Steel Bender, Marble, and (hopefully) Tractor Wells Park today. We’re going all-out to start this year’s series of events!

Featured Event

Every day we will pick what we consider the biggest, most interesting, most unique event. This does not mean you should go to only this event and ignore the rest. All of them deserve your attention, but realistically, you can probably only attend a few. So we will make our daily pick, and you can either jump on it, or declare the Crew is foolish (we kinda are) and pick your own.

What: Beer, Cheese & More. Where: Marble Brewery Downtown. When: 5-8 p.m. Cost: $25.

Details: A tray of five specialty cheeses from Whole Foods Market, plus other delicious munchies, are paired up with five Marble beers — BBBerry Gose, Tickle Factory, Chillsner, Red Ale, and Cholo Stout. Get your tickets at the taproom ASAP before they run out.

Why you should go: This is always a fun event to challenge your palate with some truly terrific pairings. Aren’t you just curious as to what cheese could stand up to the gold-medal-winning Cholo Stout? Also, The High Desert Playboys will provide the music starting at 7 p.m.

All the other great events

What: Homegrown Pils Collaboration Release and Food Pairing. Where: Steel Bender Brewyard. When: All day. Cost: No cover charge. Details: The Homegrown Pils is back, this time made with a new malt from the Colorado Malting Company. To celebrate, it will be paired with a special turkey sausage dish. Why you should go: Delicious food and beer always go together.

What: Nexus Notorious BUN (Big Ugly Nasty) IPA Release. Where: Nexus Brewery. When: All day. Cost: No cover charge. Details: Owner Ken Carson wanted new brewer Randy King to create a heck of an IPA. So, he did. Why you should go: Enjoy this new hop bomb before the joint gets packed for the anniversary party on Saturday and Sunday.

What: Boxing Bear and Rio Bravo Sampling. Where: Jubilation. When: 4-6 p.m. Cost: No cover charge. Details: Before stocking up for the weekend on beers, make sure to stop by this double brewery tasting, featuring Boxing Bear’s Chocolate Milk Stout, Red Glove, Sucker Punch DIPA, Barrel-Aged Standing 8 Stout, and Coffee Chocolate Stout, plus Rio Bravo’s NM Pinon Coffee Porter and Snakebite IPA. Why you should go: That’s a whole lot of different beers to try and enjoy, plus, they might make your shopping decisions easier.

What: Beer Walk, Run or Crawl. Where: Rio Bravo, Dialogue, Tractor Wells Park, and Bow & Arrow. When: 4-7 p.m. Cost: No cover charge. Details: This fundraising event starts and ends at Rio Bravo, with stops at the other three breweries. Get a commemorative T-shirt and $1 off pints at all locations. Wrap it up with a concert at Rio Bravo. Why you should go: With all of the food events going on, you can use the exercise.

What: Sour Hour with Rowley Farmhouse Ales. Where: Tractor Wells Park. When: 5-8 p.m. Cost: No cover charge. Details: The good dudes from RFA in Santa Fe are bringing five sours down for your sampling pleasure, including three new Ab Initios made with blueberry and pomegranate, merlot grapes, and methley plums. Why you should go: Pucker up for this rare and wonderful chance to try some RFA beers without having to drive 60 miles.

What: Canteen Social Capital Beer Release. Where: Canteen Taproom. When: 5-10 p.m. Cost: No cover charge. Details: This batch of Social Capital was made with pink guava, kaffir leaf, and dry-hopped with Citra. Why you should go: Get funky in the Foothills, all while chilling out far, far away from the rest of the madness.

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Got any questions, comments, or complaints? Send them to nmdarksidebrewcrew@gmail.com, or leave them here on our site, on Facebook, on Twitter (@nmdarksidebc), or on Instagram.

Enjoy yourselves out there, but please, do it responsibly.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

Rio Bravo takes a step back before pushing forward

Posted: January 22, 2018 by cjax33 in Look Back/Look Ahead Series 2017-18
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Rio Bravo has a lot on its plate as 2018 begins.

Rio Bravo Brewing has experienced a bumpy ride in its short existence. It went big right out of the gates, from the sheer size of its taproom and brewery to the early decision to mass distribute a whole slew of canned beers. Now, with more than two years in the rear view mirror, the brewery is pulling back a bit before it forges ahead in 2018.

To get the lowdown on just what that will involve, I sat down with head brewery Ty Levis, and owners Randy and Denise Baker, for their turn in our Look Back/Look Ahead Series.

“The fact that we came in as big as we did, in this space, it put a lot of people on notice,” Ty said. “Yet, we’re still now just getting into that traction phase where I think we’re starting to move and we’re going to see a super dynamic 2018. I feel like people were put off by how big this place is.”

It was not just the space. Rio Bravo learned quickly that making an impact in all facets of distribution, from keg accounts to package, was not going to be as easy as the staff had hoped.

“Distribution has been hard for us,” Ty said. “I can tell you right now going with a distributor (Admiral Beverage) early has plusses and minuses, and I’m still not sure what outweighs what. Here I am in the second plus a little bit full year of production (and) I’m still wondering what is happening to get our beer in front of people. Yet, we probably jumped the gun a little bit. I’ll tell you, it might have been nicer to put the restaurant in early and have a good food menu, then worry about packaging. But, with a brewery this size, we really wanted to utilize all of our space and equipment to kind of make it work both ways.”

Rio Bravo has cut back to four canned styles with the Roadkill Red, Snakebite IPA, La Luz Lager, and New Mexico Pinon Coffee Porter. That, as well as the other changes in house, will hopefully lead to simpler, calmer times ahead.

Packaging and distribution has not been a smooth ride so far.

“I can tell you, shelf space is tight, tap handles are especially tight,” Ty said. “I don’t think anybody is going to come in and totally dominate, but I love to see new people like Steel Bender come in and do really well. I wish we had been able to come in that hot. I’m telling you, we’re going to make up ground this year.”

Randy said that one way to do that is for the staff to be more proactive.

“We’re looking to get some more impact in the community,” he said. “I’m not sure if we need to start pushing it more ourselves. We’ve generally relied on Admiral to do some work for us. That’s something I think we may try to increase.”

The bulk of the focus in 2017 that will continue into 2018 will be on improving the experience for people at the brewery. That began with the addition of Amberley Pyles, formerly of Marble Brewery, to take over as the marketing and events coordinator.

“We want to expand our services here, increase the beer garden activities we’re doing here,” Randy said. “Bringing on Amberley obviously has brought another dimension of information … just her knowledge of the bands and the entertainment. I think that was one thing that we missed out on (in 2016) because we didn’t have someone specifically handling all the bands and entertainment and activities. We tried to do it in-house, but you have to have assign someone specific for that, because it’s so complex.”

Rio Bravo’s many different rooms has enabled it to host many different events, often simultaneously.

The sheer size of Rio Bravo can be useful when it comes to events. At different points in 2017, there could be a ticketed concert in the beer garden outside, an event in the barrel room upstairs, and a free musical performance in the main taproom.

“The whole holiday season, we had a lot of parties on premises,” Ty said. “We did really well. There was probably 25 different Christmas parties that we hosted here in all of our various event spaces. By and large, everything went off without a hitch.”

Turning Rio Bravo into a major event space has also helped the Bakers with the many charitable causes they like to support.

“Denise and I have been very philanthropic throughout our whole career with the electric company,” Randy said. “We’ve done the same thing here. Up to date, we’ve had almost 1,100 free pint cards come back for the Pints for Pints, where you donate a pint of blood for a pint of beer. We’re trying to do a lot of this without recognition. If you want to be helpful, do it all the time, not just when the cameras are rolling.”

While Amberley was the big addition to the staff, 2017 also saw the departure of John Seabrooks, the director of brewing operations. John left his position on November 4 to spend more time teaching, Ty said.

“There was a lot of stuff I was trying to get caught up on before he left, organizationally and administration, which is what his primary goal was,” Ty said. “He also loved to brew. He was helping me in a lot of ways that I didn’t know until now. I had to go back and figure out, where’s this spreadsheet, what’s going on, how do I enter in this information. There was a little bit of stress there in early November.”

A new assistant brewer will be joining the staff in the coming weeks, while other staff members often rotate from the front of house to the back, especially on packaging days, Ty said.

Rio Bravo finished at 1,254 barrels for 2017, which Ty said was a 45 to 50 percent increase from 2016.

“It’s a tall order, but I’m thinking we can do another 50 percent growth at least,” he said. “If I finish the year (2018) closer to 2,000 barrels, I’m going to be pretty happy, in this market especially, it’s frickin’ crazy.”

Snagging a top honor across the pond is no small feat.

Rio Bravo did pick up arguably its biggest award to date in 2017 when it was awarded a shared bronze medal at the Great British Beer Festival for best American cask. Its Russian imperial stout, Grab Em by the Putin, tied with Canteen’s Strawberry Basil Gose.

“I was really excited about that,” Ty said. “I still think that was just awesome, the way that came about, especially. It’s all your (big-name) local guys that usually win. I know others have won it outright in the past. I think it was close to 90 casks that went (from New Mexico) last year.”

In addition to the beers and events, Rio Bravo also added another major component in 2017, a full kitchen. After initially contracting with The Burger Stand, a partnership that did not last, the brewery will now run the kitchen on its own.

That development will carry right over into this year.

2018 will feature expanded food menu, new beers, and maybe a taproom

The current kitchen menu, which will be revamped and expanded soon.

Getting the kitchen up to full operating capacity will be the most immediate change at Rio Bravo.

“We’re launching our revised menu on February 1,” Denise said. “It’s actually going to be something that Ty is working very closely with our kitchen and we’re excited about it. It’s going to tell you which beer pairs with what dish. We’re going to be using a lot of the beers in our products, which is something we always wanted to do. We’re going to expand on the menu we have. We’re able to play with it now that we have our own kitchen.”

Nailing down everything with the kitchen, as well as the beers and events, is the primary early goal for 2018. The idea of expanding with an off-site taproom is on the table as well.

“We want to increase the quality of our product here (first),” Randy said. “We have the food, the beer, the service, and the entertainment. We have a very unique space and we want to take advantage of that.”

So where is Rio Bravo looking to put a taproom? Randy pointed out that many of the best places in the metro area are already taken, or for various reasons (zoning, high rent costs, conflicts with schools and churches) are just plain off the table. That could cause him to look in different directions.

“Looking forward, definitely we’d like to nail down in the first quarter the best location for us to posture ourselves for a new taproom, and possibly even two this year,” he said. “That’s something we have to do, but it’s not necessarily going to be in the 505. We may be looking at further south. It will be something I’m familiar with, whether it’s Los Lunas, Belen, Las Cruces, Roswell.”

“Don’t do a taproom until you have your image set at your first place,” Denise added. “It’s so tempting to open a taproom right away.”

The first award of the year is already on display.

This will also be a big year for beer competitions, and Rio Bravo has already picked up its first award, which just arrived at the brewery. The NM Pinon Coffee Porter earned a bronze at the Brussels Beer Challenge, which was held in December.

“It’s mostly a European event,” Ty said. “There were 220 brewers from the U.S. There were 330 from Belgium. It’s an international thing that they do. It just happened to coincide when I was shipping cases for another event. … It was in the coffee beer category. There was 1,500 beers in the competition across 77 categories. The gold and silver went to Brazilian coffee and beer companies. Whatever the Brazilians are doing with their coffee beer really resonated with the Belgian judges.”

The Best of Craft Beer Awards are up next, followed by the National IPA Challenge and World Beer Cup. Ty said he moved the Level 3 IPA into the Imperial IPA category at NIPAC. That big IPA was one of several beers that he has been playing with recipe-wise.

“I’m just kind of working on everything, a little bit of tweaks on everything else,” he said. “I’m just trying to make sure it’s not because of the beer.”

This year will also mark a major milestone for Ty himself.

“At the end of this year I’ll have been brewing full time for 25 years,” he said. “In 25 years, I’ve seen a lot of beer problems, I’ve seen a lot of hyping problems, I’ve seen a lot, especially in the last five years, of new breweries in this huge, dynamic flow. Unlike when I was a kid, the information is out there. People know how to make clean beer, how to make interesting beer, how to make fun beer. When I started, you had to figure that out. Even if you could afford a (formal) education, you had to take this book learning and apply it to the real world in craft brewing. The real world in craft brewing hardly existed. That’s kind of one of the things that’s interesting in how I look at things compared to most places.”

The beer list will not be getting any shorter or less innovative in 2018.

In other words, it is not going to suddenly get less competitive out there for Rio Bravo or any other local brewery.

“It’s really anybody’s game, but I can tell you right now the market is the most competitive and the beers in Albuquerque, they’re all top notch,” Ty said. “Even the new guys, right out of the gate they’re able to make good, clean beer. It’s not like it used to be back in the old days when craft beer was a novelty. Now it’s a standard (and) the standards have risen so much higher and in such a quick way, if you’re not constantly innovating and making things better, you’re going to find yourself like Smuttynose, which is totally lost and wondering why your old standard from 10 years ago doesn’t sell.”

With a little luck and a lot of hard work, 2018 should finally be the year Rio Bravo truly comes into its own. A big thank you to Ty, Randy, and Denise for taking the time out to chat. They have a lot of work ahead of them, but in truth, they would not have it any other way.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

The big and beastly beers stood out at WinterBrew

Posted: January 16, 2018 by cjax33 in WinterBrew 2018
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The Crew had just a wee bit of fun at WinterBrew.

After taking Monday off due to the holiday, we are back today with a look at what were the best beers that we tried up at WinterBrew back on Friday. It was another outstanding event, one that every craft beer lover in New Mexico should attend at least once. The sell-out crowd of 700 was a jovial bunch, enjoying the many unique beers being poured from 18 New Mexico breweries.

As for the Crew, well, we all had our favorites. If the others want to chime in here at some point, I will add them to the story. In the interest of not going two weekdays in a row without content, here are a few of my picks for the best of the fest. (Note: Due in part to the Rail Runner arriving in Santa Fe about 10 minutes late and then the decision by security to close all booths 30 minutes before the event was supposed to end, I did not get to all 18 breweries.)

A crowd of 700-plus enjoyed beers from 18 breweries.

La Santa Oscura, Blue Corn: This is a delightful spiced holiday black lager that is still on tap at the brewery in Santa Fe. Flavors of chocolate and cherry mix in with the Chimayo red chile for a nice, warm kick at the end.

Coyote Waits, Bow & Arrow: At last, I got my hands on the barrel-aged version of this imperial mole stout. It is a big, thick beast of a beer, and the barrel effects bring out more and more of the spice, yet it never overwhelms the palate. It is still available at the brewery.

Galactica DIPA, Marble: Apparently this single-hop, double IPA thing is becoming a trend. Even with just Galaxy, this is a complex, wonderfully big beer. It is not yet on tap at any Marble location, so drink up the rest so a handle becomes available.

Sin Barreras, Rowley Farmhouse Ales: Alas, this specialty imperial stout does not appear to be available at the brewery, but everyone can hope for its eventual appearance. Big flavors of coconut and maple left us all wondering, is it a breakfast beer or a dessert beer?

14K IPA, Santa Fe: This one was a bit of a one-off joke, but it still leaves us hopeful for a future edition of an imperial-strength version of the hugely popular 7K. We would also like to thank the SFBC staff for donating a couple of sixers of 7K to our beer fridges.

XX ESB and Breaking Plaid Scotch Ale, Second Street: A pair of big, malty brews from the new Rufina brewhouse caught our eye. The latter is more sweet than peaty, akin to a heftier version of the Scottish at Nexus. The best news, besides being on tap, is that some of the Plaid is being saved for barrel aging.

Dark Engine Stout on cask, Sidetrack: If you have never had any of the cask beers at Sidetrack, now is the time. There is a batch currently available with dark chocolate added to the beer for an even more decadent flavor.

The Judy, Steel Bender: At some point a break was needed from the big malts and hops, so this seemed like a perfect time to try this sweet saison made with peaches and brett, then aged in Chardonnay barrels. There are still a few bottles left for sale at the brewery, so get them fast, as they are quite worth it. Drink this and dream of spring.

2017 Barleywine, Taos Mesa: Our friends from the north came down not with White Walkers, but instead a different beast. It is big, boozy, and not for the faint of heart. On your next ski trip (assuming we ever get snow), make sure to check this one out.

Infinitesimus Imperial Stout, Turtle Mountain: One of the first big beers we tried was this heavy, chocolate-y behemoth. This is more than worth the trip out to Rio Rancho for anyone living on the East Side of Albuquerque. Or the West Side. Or the South Valley. Or, really, anywhere in the state.

We’re pretty sure Karim liked most of the beers he tried.

As for the rest of the Crew, as their thoughts trickle in, I will share them here:

Jerrad: WinterBrew 2018 was certainly a memorable night, perhaps a bit fuzzy after tasting a few of the killer imperial/double styles available. The libations that stood out for me at this event would have to be Bow & Arrow’s Coyote Waits BA Stout, with its smooth touch of spicy heat on oak and dark/roasty malts. On the other end of the spectrum, Bombs Away Brewing Company’s B.A.B.C. IPA was wonderful with its hazy, softer NE-style IPA approach. A few other notable mentions would go to Rowley Farmhouse Ale’s Aromatherapy IPA, Steel Bender Brewing’s The Judy saison, and Rio Bravo Brewing’s Grab ‘Em by the Putin Imperial Russian stout.

Kristin: While I couldn’t try that many beers since I was working the event, I loved Second Street’s Breaking Plaid Scottish. The smooth malty flavor masked its 9.1-percent ABV. This is both a good and bad thing.

* * * * *

That is all from us. Hope those of you that went enjoyed it as much as we did, while for the rest of you, make sure to get those tickets for 2019!

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

Embrace the vast variety at WinterBrew 2018

Posted: January 11, 2018 by cjax33 in WinterBrew 2018
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To everyone that got tickets in time, we will see you Friday night!

The good news is that the beer lineup at WinterBrew looks excellent. The bad news is that the event is sold out. For those who got tickets, well, here ya go, the full slate of beers that have been reported to the Crew.

There are 18 local breweries attending from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. Most of the Crew will be taking the Rail Runner north, which departs the Los Ranchos station at approximately 4:41 p.m., dropping us off around 6. If you are going, and want to hang on the train, we will be in the last car.

Anyway, what you really want is a list of the beers being poured. We have 17 of the 18 breweries so far, and will continue to update this as more lists appear in our email inbox. To help everyone out, we are picking the top beer on our list for each brewery, either one we have had before or one we are dying to try. Remember, that’s just our opinion, you are totally free to disagree and drink something else instead.

Blue Corn

Top pick: La Santa Oscura. Luke swears by this holiday-themed dark lager. Cocoa nibs, lactose, cinnamon, and Chimayo red chile add to the fun.

The rest: Blue Corn Mexican Lager, Roadrunner IPA, Oatmeal Stout

Bombs Away

Top pick: Coffee Stout. This one is so new it doesn’t even have an official name, but it could wind up being called Shockwave. Or, we’ll just probably go with delicious.

The rest: Willie Pete Wit, BABC IPA, Bombshell IPL

Bosque

Top pick: Fresh Start Breakfast Ale. We have sung the praises of this maple-and-coffee delight of a stout many times. This is the last of it, so be prepared to fight us for the last pour.

The rest: (deep breath) Lager, 1888 Blonde Ale, Elephants on Parade, Scotia, IPA, Down in the Hollow Brown, Open Space Haze 120 West and 41 South, Honey Porter, Nathan Ginger Red Ale, Galaxy Far Far Away

Bow & Arrow

Top pick: Coyote Waits. The barrel-aged imperial mole stout is back, with that wonderful kick of spice mixed in.

The rest: Savage Times Sour IPA, Thirsty Land Foraged Series (Grisette with Navajo Tea), Nomadico IPA

Boxing Bear

Top pick: Low Rye-der IPA. Hey, it’s new for us, so we will jump on a new dose of hops with copious amounts of rye mixed in, at least as a break from the big and malty.

The rest: Featherweight Session IPA, Iron Lung Smoked Porter, Uppercut IPA, Chocolate Milk Stout

Duel

Top pick: Grunewald Imperial Porter. It has been a while since we have had this behemoth of a beer. The best part is if we like it as much as the last batch, we can always head to the brewery (or taproom) to pick up a bomber to take home. Take note, this and the Titian will not be tapped until after 6:30 p.m.

The rest: Bad Amber, Duchamp, Fiction, Cezanne Magnifique, Dark Ryder, Titian

La Cumbre

Top pick: Business Hammock. Yet another tasty, hazy IPA, this one will make its debut mere hours after another, In the Money, goes on tap and for sale in bombers down at the brewery. Double up on the juice!

The rest: A Slice of Hefen, Malpais Stout, Project Dank, Mind Phoq

Marble

Top pick: Galactica DIPA. OK, so apparently the big, hoppy beers are not as rare as we anticipated. That being said, of course we will snag some of this out-of-this-world hop bomb.

The rest: Double White, Pilsner, Imperial Red, Cholo Smooth

Rio Bravo

Top pick: Level 3 IPA. The brewery just redid the recipe for this one, so we are intrigued to see what the staff has created.

The rest: Snakebite IPA, Roadkill Red, La Luz Lager, Pinon Coffee Porter, Grab ‘Em By the Putin, BA Cherry Wheat Cuvee, Lemongrass Wit, plus possibly Cascade Pale Ale and either Blueberry Gose or Ruby’s Ruckus

Roosevelt

Top pick: Green Chile Beer. Hmm, bringing the spice from the plains? That’s a bold thing to do in Santa Fe.

The rest: Portales Pale Ale, Clovis Point IPA, Happy Heifer Hefeweizen

Rowley Farmhouse Ales

Top pick: Sin Barreras. The imperial stout is back, this batch made with coconut and maple. It is always a delight.

The rest: Aromatherapy (IPA), Ab Initio Festivus, Cote-d’Or Cerise Redux

Santa Fe

Top pick: 14K IPA. Wait, what is this? A single keg of 7K that has been amped up so much that the brewery staff dubbed it 14K? Sold!

The rest: 7K IPA, Lustgarten, Imperial Pastry-Free Porter, Black IPA 2.0, Freestyle Pilsner

Second Street

Top pick: Breaking Plaid Scotch Ale. The first beer made at Rufina is a malty beast. We look forward to finally getting some in our glasses.

The rest: Cereza Negra, Agua Fria Pils, 2920 IPA, Civil Rye, Low Winter Sun Sour, XX ESB

Sidetrack

Top pick: Dark Engine Stout. Yes, there will be a cask of this wonderful elixir. They added dark chocolate and coconut. Hey, ever festival needs a proper dessert beer.

The rest: 3:10 to Belen Brown, Buzz Bomb, Pub Ale, Turntable IPA

Steel Bender

Top pick: The Judy. Snag a bottle pour of this saison, aged in chardonnay barrels with brett and peaches. There are not many bottles left at SBB.

The rest: Red Iron Red, Skull Bucket IPA, Brickie American Stout, Die Dunkel Seite

Taos Mesa

All beers TBA

Tractor

Top pick: Russian Imperial Stout. Oh, hello there Luna de los Muertos. We have missed you!

The rest: Mustachio Milk Stout, Spiced Cider, Turkey Drool, Delicious Red Apple Cider

Turtle Mountain

Top pick: Infinitesimus Imperial Stout. A big beast of darkness to finish things off (alphabetically speaking).

The rest: Arsenal Porter, SCH, Depravity Barleywine, Count Hellesarius

* * * * *

A big thanks to the breweries who responded promptly when we asked for their lists. It is always appreciated.

Enjoy the festival!

— Stoutmeister

Breweries are still left juggling pros and cons of having kitchens

Posted: November 6, 2017 by cjax33 in Brewery Issues
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The ups and downs of having a full kitchen, or not, continue to vex many local breweries.

A small news item crossed our desk today (Monday) when we found out that Turtle Mountain is adding new items to its food menu. This is something that happens all the time in the restaurant business, where the palates of diners and their interests ebb and flow, often unpredictably. While several of the dishes look like things we have to try (hello, Ruidoso Ribs), it got us thinking again about the ongoing issue of breweries and food.

A few years back, the success of Marble and La Cumbre seemingly heralded the new model would be kitchen-free, relying instead on food trucks and neighboring restaurants. The brewpub was a dying breed, but a funny thing happened on the way to all of this happening. The brewpub did not die, it just had to be revamped and reborn, much like the restaurant industry as a whole (though that whole is far slower to adapt to change, as we see in the current decline in the national chains as more and more close here in ABQ and other parts of the country).

The most recent trend has seen breweries that previously had little or no food expanding to full kitchens. Bosque just had a few appetizers and panini-press sandwiches, until the decision was made to go the full kitchen route. The opening of the second, larger Las Cruces taproom saw the arrival of a full kitchen down south, while Nob Hill has recently expanded into the old Wise Pies space so it can also have a full kitchen, much like the original San Mateo location (and that full kitchen will head to the new mothership location being built along the Interstate 25 frontage road).

Boxing Bear expanded its kitchen and menu, while Tractor added a small food menu to its new Four Hills taproom. Now comes the word that Tractor will turn the old merchandise nook at Wells Park into a small food area as well (if you went to the Stranger Things Arcade Carnival before Halloween, you saw a preview of this).

Rio Bravo had long ago kept a space for a future kitchen, located just on the south side of the main bar area. After struggling with food trucks (more on that below) for a while, the decision was finally made to essentially outsource the in-house food production to The Burger Stand, which already had locations in Taos and Santa Fe.

As more new breweries seek to open, most, if not all, are advertising that they will indeed have in-house food. The most recent new brewery to open, Bombs Away Beer Company, did not open with any food, but its owner already mentioned that he has a space set aside for what seems like an inevitable addition of a small food prep area.

The need for in-house food is seemingly being driven by two things. First, the consumer demand is there. Second, the food truck situation in town has been slipping, from what a number of brewery owners have told us. Many of the best food trucks have either shut down or been so successful that they have been able to open brick-and-mortar restaurants. The best of what remain are now stretched thin across the metro area due to the proliferation of so many taprooms and breweries. While established, large breweries like La Cumbre, Marble, and Tractor are still able to keep the best of the best food trucks parked outside, other breweries have struggled immensely to fill out their schedules with reliable trucks.

Food is still a tricky thing for breweries. A kitchen, whether limited or full, adds another layer of inspections and regulations, many of them even tighter than what exists for beer production. Having food on site is no guarantee of increased business. It certainly did not save the Firkin Brewhouse or Albuquerque Brewing, or perhaps most prominently, Chama River. Even places with well-established reputations for having top-notch kitchens, like Nexus and Turtle Mountain, are constantly having to adjust and adapt to the changing tastes of consumers. One could debate whether or not people are even pickier about food than beer, but it often seems that way around Albuquerque.

It can also be debated as to where the food-versus-no-food debate falls geographically. Desert Valley opened its West Side taproom with a full kitchen and has gone to great lengths to promote it as a food-first establishment. After initially opening the Nexus Silver taproom sans food, the decision was recently made to begin serving food there. It can be argued that food is almost necessary in areas with a denser neighborhood population, like Nob Hill or the Northeast Heights, as opposed to the more nightlife-oriented aspects of downtown, the Brewery District, and Wells Park (though things are changing at some of the breweries located in that district).

The issue can then become how customers view and treat brewpubs versus breweries. Reading the less-than-kind comments online for many brewpubs, they often seem to focus mainly on the food itself and the service, rather than the beer. Food seems to be more polarizing than beer, while the expectation of service is often higher in what many regard as more of a restaurant than bar setting. It often seems that for every benefit about having a kitchen, there is a significant drawback as well. Finding the balance in between is an ongoing challenge, with no easy answers.

What is the future of the brewpub model? Cantero Brewing is gambling that it will be of the popular farm-to-table variety, as the forthcoming brewery fights to overcome the fact it took over the old Firkin space, one of the least desirable physical locations for any brewery. The other newcomers will have to make up their own minds.

As always, we want to know what all of you think, so we designed a rather simple poll below. Add your comments here or on social media. The more the breweries know about what we want from them in terms of food is better for everyone involved.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

The Week Ahead in Beer: Still plenty to do here even during GABF weekend

Posted: October 4, 2017 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
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Greetings, New Mexico craft beer lovers. Stoutmeister here with The Week Ahead in Beer. This column covers all the breweries in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, with Santa Fe’s six breweries, one in Los Alamos, and one in Moriarty also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

While the cats are away, er, brewers, brewery owners, and beer writers are in Denver at the Great American Beer Festival this weekend, there will be plenty to do for those of you who are staying in Albuquerque and Santa Fe over the next few days. First up, Blue Hornets and Crazy Fool are performing at Marble Downtown tonight (Wednesday) from 6 to 9 for the Stomp Out Cancer benefit show. Tractor has another local artist releasing a special commemorative glass this Thursday at 7 p.m. at Wells Park. James Montoya’s glass release will be paired with the release of Jack the Sipper, and The Julian Dossett Trio will perform at 8 p.m. Rio Bravo is throwing an Oktoberfiesta on Friday at 6 p.m. There will be a special German-themed food menu from The Burger Stand, vendors, dancing, and The Big Spank will perform, plus plenty of Oktoberfest and Schwarzbier on tap. Saturday, of course, marks the start of the ABQ Balloon Fiesta, and Steel Bender will be opening its patio bright and early at 7 a.m. There will be beer sales, or coffee from Pour Vida Coffee Roasters or hot chocolate from Joliesse Chocolates if you’re not awake enough that early. There will also be plenty of food from the kitchen and Los Ranchos Bakery. Oh, and Saturday will also mark the debut of Alewitch Pumpkin Ale. For the rest of the Fiesta, the patio will open at 8 a.m. (remember, no alcohol sales before noon on Sunday, which is one of those dumb, archaic state laws), and then again at 7 on the final Saturday.

On the new beer front this week, there are a few additional options to check out. Ale Republic roles out a new Belgian-style beer, Single and Read to Mingle. Bosque gets a little hoppy with Oh Pale No! Boxing Bear has Oso Otono on tap again, plus Black and Blue Sour is back on tap and for sale in bombers. Canteen brings back its brown porter, Grundy Thunder. Dialogue added Marzen, Dry Irish Stout, and O.D.B. for its anniversary last weekend. La Cumbre rolls out Ryeot On this Friday on tap and in bombers. Marble has an Oaked Amber downtown, plus their collaboration with Telluride Brewing, Unit Monster (an imperial stout), is on tap at Heights and Westside. Starr Brothers will again tell everyone Don’t Fear the RIPA. Steel Bender also plans to roll out V.M.O.M.G. on Tuesday. Tractor has a huge tap turnover with Nitro Milk Stout, Javi Lager, and Cowboy Coffee returning, while Belgo Pale Ale and Three-Two debut.

Up in Santa Fe, Duel is releasing a barrel-aged version of Cezanne Verite on tap and in bombers on Saturday. Rowley Farmhouse Ales has a special dry-hopped version of their Germophile (Berliner Weisse) for a limited time. Second Street brings back 2920 IPA and Summer Rain Sour after a short absence for both.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of October 1.

To break down each “capsule,” I listed the brewery (with Web page linked), its phone number and hours of operation. Under “Beers” are the new or seasonal beers on tap for this week.

Albuquerque metro area breweries

Ale Republic — (505) 281-2828

(Mon–Thurs 2–10 p.m., Fri–Sun noon–10 p.m.)

Beers: Brune, Blonde, Strong Dark and Handsome, Diablo del Oro, Single and Ready to Mingle. The most recent addition is the Single and Ready to Mingle (5.5% ABV, 30 IBU), a Belgian-style ale.

Alien Brew Pub — (505) 884-1116

(Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–midnight, Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–2 a.m., Sunday 10 a.m.–midnight)

Beers: Call the number above for details on any small-batch beers currently available. They change frequently. The rest of the lineup is from the Sierra Blanca/Rio Grande family of beers.

Bistronomy B2B — (505) 262-2222

(Mon–Tues 4-9 p.m., Weds noon-9 p.m., Thurs–Sat noon-9:30 p.m., Sun noon-9 p.m.)

Beers: Contact the brewery for an updated list.

The Blue Grasshopper — (505) 896-8579

(Noon to 11 p.m. most days, call for more info)

Beers: El Jeffe Hefeweizen, Friars Belgian-Style Single, June Bock German Lager. Rejoice, for Blue Grasshopper is brewing again! The Friars and June Bock are the more recent additions.

Live Music: Bands perform from 6 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday. Click the link for the schedule.

Boese Brothers Brewery — (505) 382-7060

(Hours: Mon–Thurs 3 p.m.–midnight, Fri 3 p.m.–2 a.m., Sat noon–2 a.m., Sun noon–10 p.m.)

Beers: La Onza White Ale, Dr. Strangehop XPA, Duke City Lager, Washington’s Hatchet, Sour Strangehop, Grapefruit Pale Ale, Oktoberfest. The Oktoberfest returned last weekend, so enjoy it while it’s still fresh.

Live Music: Friday—Weird Fiction, 8 p.m.; Saturday—DJ Dave 12, 9 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Boese will have a happy hour from 3 to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, with $3 pints. You can also get $3 pints all day Tuesday and $6 growler fills all day Wednesday.

Bosque Brewing Company — (505) 750-7596 (main brewery), (505) 508-5967 (Nob Hill Public House), (575) 571-4626 (Las Cruces Taproom)

(Main brewery on San Mateo: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.-midnight, Sun noon-8 p.m.; Nob Hill: Mon–Weds 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Thurs 11 a.m.-midnight, Fri–Sat 11 a.m.-1 a.m., Sun noon-11 p.m.; Las Cruces: Sun–Thurs noon-11 p.m., Fri–Sat noon-midnight)

Beers: Acequia (Wet-Hop) IPA, Dry Acequia, Down in the Hollow, Oktoberfest, Pistol Pete’s 1888, Oh Pale No!. Get some of that delicious Oktoberfest before it’s gone. The Pistol Pete’s 1888 was brewed for the New Mexico State University athletic program. Down in the Hollow is an English brown ale.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Bosque has a happy hour running from 3-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and all day on Sunday. Look for special menu items and get $1 off your favorite pints.

Bow & Arrow Brewing — (505) 247-9800

(Mon-Weds 3–10 p.m., Thurs 3–11 p.m., Fri-Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–9 p.m.)

Beers: Flint & Grit (British Mild), Sun Dagger (Saison), True Aim (Scotch Ale), Hoka Hey (IPA), Jemez Field Notes Lager, Wayward Arrow Hefeweizen, Way Out West Farmhouse Sour, Cosmic Arrow Brett Saison, Hoodoo Monster Imperial Red, Way Out West Sour Sumac, Black Chandelier (Belgo Stout), Mo’Motueka (Dry-Hopped Sour), Desert Dynamo IPL, Fast Luck Dry-Hopped Pale Ale, Wolf Eyes (Oktoberfest), Nomadico IPA. The most recent additions to the lineup are the Nomadico, Wolf Eyes, Fast Luck, and Desert Dynamo. The sheer variety of styles on tap is quite impressive.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Bow & Arrow has happy hour every Monday through Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. Get $1 off pints.

Boxing Bear Brewing Company — (505) 897-2327

(Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-11 p.m.)

Beers: The Red Glove, Chocolate Red, Featherweight Session IPA, Crystal Kolsch, P.U.B., Oso Otono, Black and Blue Sour. The most recent additions are Oso Otono, a brown ale, Black and Blue Sour, and P.U.B. (Pineapple Upside-down Beer). The Red Glove won a gold medal at the 2016 GABF. Chocolate Red is the current nitro tap.

Weekly Events: Today (Wednesday)—Geeks Who Drink, 8-10 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Every day at lunchtime (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.), for just $10 you can get a pint and a panini of your choice.

Broken Trail Brewery & Distillery — (505) 221-6281

(Mon-Thu 3-9 p.m., Fri 3-10 p.m., Sat noon-10 p.m., Sun 11 a.m.-8 p.m.)

Beers: Otero ESB, Lone Pine Pilsner, Sancho Saison, Double Black IPA, Sancho de la Sierra, Pepe the Mule, Trailworks IPA. OK, fine, Pepe the Mule counts as a beer, even though it is basically a Moscow Mule, but it was made with beer. The Sancho de la Sierra is a rye version of the saison made in collaboration with Jubilation. The Trailworks was made in collaboration with Bikeworks, a neighboring business, with a portion of the proceeds going to trail maintenance in the metro area.

Weekly Events (main location): Today (Wednesday)—Cards Against Humanity hosted by 10 Drink Minimum, 7 p.m.; Sunday—Build-your-own Mule bar, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Tuesday—All house beers are $2 a pint

Canteen Brewhouse — (505) 881-2737 (brewery), (505) 200-2344 (taproom)

(Brewery: Sun–Thurs noon–10 p.m., Fri–Sat noon–midnight; Taproom: Open daily 3–10 p.m.)

Beers: Exodus IPA, Canteen Kolsch, Oktoberfest, Hank ESB, North 14 Pale Ale, Grundy Thunder, Oompa Lupulin DIPA. The most recent additions are the North 14, Grundy Thunder (a brown porter), and the downright beastly Oopma Lupulin.

Live Music: Thursday—Dave Payne & Salt Cedar, 6-9 p.m.; Sunday—El Dub, 4-7 p.m.

Cazuela’s Seafood & Mexican Grill — (505) 994-9364

(Open daily 8 a.m.–10 p.m.)

Beers: Papacabra (Double IPA), Acapulco Gold (Mexican Lager), Chupacabra IPA, Piedra del Fuego Stoned Cream Ale, Beer for My Horses (Oatmeal Stout). These are the regular house beers. Call the number above for an updated seasonal list.

Dialogue Brewing — (505) 585-1501

(Open daily noon-midnight)

Beers: Belgian Citrus IPA, Berliner Weisse, Sour Raspberry, Boyz N Berry N the Hood, Blood Orange Berliner Weisse, Sour Pale, #40 (Citra Pale Ale), Sun Made, fe’denk lager, Marzen Oktoberfest, Dry Irish Stout, O.D.B. The most recent additions are the Marzen, Dry Irish Stout, and O.D.B., all of which were added for last weekend’s first anniversary festivities.

Live Music: Friday—Keith Sanchez, 7-9 p.m.

Other Events: Thursday—HandCrafted with Garry Blackchild (music), Stephanie Cordova (artist), and Ooey Cucuy by Brenda Baca (vendor), 6 p.m.

Weekly Events: Monday—Service Industry Night, 6 p.m.

Drafty Kilt Brewing — (505) 881-0234

(Sun 11 a.m–10 p.m., Mon 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Tues–Thu 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–midnight)

Beers: Groundskeeper Willie Cream Ale, Wee Beastie Scottish Ale, McWabbit Pale Ale, Campbell Toe IPA, Obliviscaris Oatmeal Stout, McRojo or No (Irish Red), Covfefe Hefe. Brewer/owner Mike Campbell has five of his own creations on tap at 4814 Hardware Dr. NE, including the Campbell Toe (no snickering). The Obliviscaris is a burly throwback to the stouts of old. The Covfefe Hefe is the most recent addition.

Weekly Events: Tuesday—Geeks Who Drink, 7 p.m.; Thursday—Blues Jam with the Rudy Boy Experiment, 7-10 p.m.; Sunday—Blues Jam with Bob Bolz with Ale-Tail Cocktails, 2-6 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: $1 off pints and 20-ounce pours, Mon-Fri, 3-6 p.m.; “Just Because We Love You Club,” happy hour prices at all times for teachers, first responders, law enforcement, and military with ID; Growler Fill Days on Thu and Sun, $2 off new growlers, $1 off refills

Flix Brewhouse — (505) 445-8500

(Open daily 11 a.m.-midnight)

Beers: Tart and Soul (Guava Berliner Weisse), Tripel Whammy, Pilsner? I Barley Know’er!, January Embers Barleywine, Das Umlaut Oktoberfest, Eater of Worlds Pale Ale. The most recent additions include the return of January Embers, while Eater of Worlds and Das Umlaut are new.

Hops Brewery — (505) 369-1378

(Sun-Thurs noon-10 p.m., Fri-Sat noon-midnight)

Beers: Dad Joke (California Common), Tipsy Cow (Milk Stout), Warm Scottish Nights, An Irish Tan (English Bitter), Honey Wheat, Chica (Pale Ale), Hop Hill IPA. Hops has started out with these seven beers on tap, but they also have 31 more guest taps, just in case you don’t find one to your liking. The Hop Hill (7.1% ABV, 69 IBU) was the most recent addition.

Kaktus Brewing — (505) 379-5072

(Bernalillo hours Mon-Thu 2-9 p.m., Fri-Sat 11:30-10 p.m., Sun 11:30-9 p.m.)

Beers: Porter Auf Deutsch, Cucumber Ale, Bavarian Golden Ale, Ctrl-Alt-Drink, Basil Lager, Helles Lager, IPA, Walnut Cider, DjinnJar Kombucha. The most recent additions include Cucumber Ale, Basil Lager, and Helles Lager.

Weekly Events (Nob Hill): Thursday—The Desert Darlings, 7-9 p.m.

Weekly Events (Bernalillo): Sunday—Brunch, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., The Desert Darlings, 6-8 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Kaktus has several new weekday specials in Bernalillo, including $3 pints on Monday, $9 growlers on Tuesday, $6 bison nachos on Wednesday, and $8 Frito pie and beer on Thursday.

Kellys Brew Pub — (505) 262-2739

(Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sat 8 a.m.-11 p.m., Sun 8 a.m.-10 p.m.)

Beers: (house) Apricot Ale, Blonde, Farm House Ale, IPA, Red, Scotch Ale, Session IPA; (seasonal) Hefeweizen, Farmhouse Apricot, Mars DIPA, Lobo Red Ale. The recent change in ownership at Kellys has led to some seriously improved beers and food, so we decided it was high time to add it to the listings. The summer seasonals are the Hefeweizen and Farmhouse Apricot, replacing the Rye Pale Ale and Dry Stout, plus the Mars DIPA. The Lobo Red was brewed for the University of New Mexico athletic program, if you could not guess.

Live Music: Every Wednesday 6-9 p.m. and Sunday 3-6 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Thursday Pint night $1 off pints.

La Cumbre Brewing — (505) 872-0225

(Open every day at noon)

Beers: All That I Need Kellerbier, ‘Merica (Pale Ale), Simcoe SMASH IPA, Ales for ALS IPA. If you can still find a bottle of the Wet Hopped Elevated, get it fast. Sorry to say that Oktoberfest ran out. I might have consumed the last pint on tap. Ryeot On arrives on tap and in bombers Friday.

Live Music: Saturday—Beloved, 6-9 p.m.

Weekly Events: Tuesday—Trivia or Loteria (alternates by week), 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Lizard Tail Brewing — (505) 717-1301

(Mon–Weds noon-9 p.m., Thurs–Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-7 p.m.)

Beers: Contact the brewery for an updated list.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Lizard Tail’s happy hour runs seven days a week from 3 to 6 p.m. You get $1 off food, flights, and pints.

Weekly Events: Tuesday—Geeks Who Drink, 8 p.m.; Thursday—Karaoke, 8-11 p.m.

Marble Brewery — (505) 243-2739 (downtown), (505) 508-4638 (Westside), (505) 323-4030 (Heights)

(Downtown: Mon–Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–10:30 p.m.; Westside: Mon–Thurs noon–11 p.m., Fri–Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–10 p.m.; Heights: Mon–Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–10:30 p.m.)

Beers: Jabroni Lite, Apricot Gose, Marble Pale Ale, Sandia Sunset Saison, Abbey Brett, Double IPA (Downtown and Heights only), Marblefest (Downtown and Heights only), NM State Fair Pale Ale (Downtown and Westside only), Cuvee Rouge (Downtown only), Oaked Amber (Downtown only), White Out (Heights and Westside only), Unit Monster (Heights and Westside only), UnbeWeavably Marbelous (Westside only), Por Vida Pale Ale (Westside only), Tart Petit (Westside only), Passionate Gose (Westside only), Mavbock (Westside only). There are so, so many beers between the three locations. Don’t feel bad if you can’t get to them all. The Marblefest and Oaked Amber are the most recent additions.

Live Music (Downtown): Today (Wednesday)—Blue Hornets and Crazy Fool, 6-9 p.m.; Thursday—Cycles, 7-10 p.m.; Friday—STIG, 8-11 p.m.; Saturday—Holland K. Smith, 8-11 p.m.; Sunday—Delphia, 3-6 p.m.

Live Music (Heights): Friday—Lone Pinon, 7-10 p.m.; Saturday—Jody V and Groove Time, 7-10 p.m.

Live Music (Westside): Friday—The Dirty Shades, 8-11 p.m.; Saturday—Vintage Brew, 8-11 p.m.

Weekly Events (Downtown): Saturday—Brewery tours, 2 p.m.

Nexus Brewery — (505) 242-4100 (brewery), (505) 226-1055 (Silver Taproom)

(Brewery: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Sun 11 a.m.–8:30 p.m.; Silver Taproom: Mon–Fri 4-10 p.m., Sat noon-10 p.m., Sun noon-9 p.m.)

Beers: Bird of Prey IPA, Imperial Pilsner, Kaylynn’s Altbier, To Boldly Gose, Honey Dubbs, Beam Me Up Scotty (Silver only), Kolsch (Silver only), Double Bird of Prey (Silver only). The most recent additions were To Boldly Gose and Honey Dubbs (Imperial Honey Chamomile Wheat), until Bird of Prey IPA flew back to taps.

News: Nexus Silver now has food! Rejoice and check out the menu on their main website.

Happy Hour/Discounts (Brewery): Monday–Friday, $5 appetizers, 3-5 p.m.

Weekly Events (Silver Taproom): Saturday—a live DJ will perform; Sunday—a live band will perform at 2 p.m.

Palmer Brewery and Cider House — (505) 508-0508

(Tues–Sat 3–9 p.m.)

Beers: MWA (Malt With Attitude), Guero (Belgian Wit), Poolside Pale Ale, Cockness Monster (Scotch Ale), Switch Stance Stout. Palmer shares a building with Left Turn Distilling on Girard south of Candelaria. This batch of Cockness Monster is fresh and tasty.

Ponderosa Brewing Co. — (505) 639-5941

(Sun 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Mon–Sat 11 a.m.–11 p.m.)

Beers: Ecliptic Wet Hop Ale, D.D.U. IPA, India Pale Lager 2.0, Blueberry Stout, Dry-Hopped Saison, Oktoberfestbier. The D.D.U. stands for double down under, a reference to the recipe’s all-Australian hop bill. The Ecliptic Wet Hop Ale was brewed the day of the solar eclipse with Neo Mexicanus hops. Dry-Hopped Saison and Oktoberfestbier popped up recently.

News: You can now find India Pale Lager 2.0 for sale in cans, at the brewery and at local liquor stores, including Jubilation, Kelly’s, and Quarters!

Live Music: Today (Wednesday)—The Draft Sessions, 7-9 p.m.

Quarter Celtic Brewpub — (505) 503-1387

(Sun–Thurs 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.)

Beers: Peach Berliner Weisse, Mike’s Beer (American Pilsner), Bruce (Black IPA), Loch Lomas Oatmeal Stout, Clark (Hazy IPA), Fresh Hop Clark, Oktoberfest, Mangose. QC gets dark with the return of Bruce, which was brewed in the hazy New England style but still as a black IPA, and Loch Lomas. The Oktoberfest is a delightful way to welcome the start of autumn.

Red Door Brewing — (505) 633-6675 (brewery), (505) 990-3029 (downtown taproom)

(Brewery hours: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fri 11 a.m. to midnight, Sat 7 a.m. to midnight, Sun 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Downtown taproom hours: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m. to midnight, Sun 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.)

Beers: Imperial Red IPA, Plum Gose, Oktoberfest, Blackberry Hefeweizen (downtown only), White AF IPA (downtown only). The Imperial Red IPA was the first in a series of beers to celebrate Red Door’s recent anniversary. The Plum Gose was second and Oktoberfest was third.

Live Music (Brewery): Today (Wednesday)—Oscar Butler, 7-9 p.m.

Other Events (Brewery): Thursday—Throwback Thursday Halloween Edition, 8-10 p.m.

Other Events (Taproom): Sunday—Parents’ Day Out, noon-3 p.m.

Weekly Events (Brewery): Monday—The Draft Sessions, 7-9 p.m.

Weekly Events (Taproom): Today (Wednesday)—Paint it Black Open Mic Comedy, 7-9 p.m.; Thursday—Art at the Bar, 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Tuesday—Geeks Who Drink, 7-9 p.m.

Rio Bravo Brewing Company — (505) 900-3909

(Mon noon–10 p.m., Tues–Thu noon–11 p.m., Fri–Sat noon–1 a.m., Sun 11 a.m.–10 p.m.)

Beers: Rio Bravo Amber, Weizen, Randy’s Shandy, Dirty Rotten Bastard IPA, Snakebite IPA, Roadkill Red Ale, La Luz Lager, Old Town Porter (regular and barrel-aged), Vanilla Porter, NM Pinon Coffee Porter, Oatmeal Stout, Barrel-aged Belgian Strong Golden, Level 3 IPA, Imperial Russian Stout (regular and barrel-aged), Lemongrass Wit, Peach Gose, Cherry Sour, Kolsch, Hibiscus Mojito, Penguin Lager, Belgian Blonde, Cherry Wheat, Belgo IPA, Pink Boots Pale Ale, Oktoberfest, Grapefruit Launcher IPA, Schwarzbier. A portion of the Penguin Lager proceeds are going to the new exhibit at the ABQ Bio Park. There are now three barrel-aged beers on tap in the Porter, RIS, and Belgian Strong. The Grapefruit Launcher IPA and Schwarzbier are the most recent additions.

Live Music: Thursday—Blame it on Rebekkah, 6-8 p.m.; Friday—The Big Spank, 6-11 p.m.

Other Events: Saturday—Vargrant Variety ($20 cover in Biergarten), 8-11 p.m.

Weekly Events: Today (Wednesday)—Movie Night (now outside), 7 p.m. or later, weather permitting; Thursday—Girls Pint Out, all day; Friday—Headliners Comedy presents Friday Night Fools ($5 cover, event only), 9:30 p.m.; Sunday—Pints & Planks with Yoga Zo; Monday—Micro Mondays, 7 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Happy hour Monday-Friday, 2-6 p.m., $1 off pints

Sidetrack Brewing — (505) 832-7183

(Mon–Thurs 3–11 p.m., Fri 3 p.m.–midnight, Sat noon–midnight, Sun noon–10 p.m.)

Beers: Marzen, Switchgear IPA, Pub Ale, Bonehead Red, Dark Engine Stout, Sidetrack Pilsner. The most recent addition is the Bonehead.

Cask: The Bonehead and Switchgear are in the firkins.

Events: Today (Wednesday)—Doggy Date Night, 7 p.m.

Weekly Events: Tuesday—Taco Tuesday, all day

Starr Brothers Brewing — (505) 492-2752

(Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day)

Beers: Starrstruck IPA, L.A. Woman (Blonde), Red Zepplin, Lampshade Porter, Don’t Fear the RIPA, Starrphire Pilsner, Brown Chicken Brown Cow, Foggy Monocle (Oatmeal Stout), Sando Spice (Green Chile IPA), ThereWolf (Oktoberfest), Oakey Smokey. Welcome back, Foggy Monocle, the winner of the 2017 Brew Crew Stout Challenge. The most recent additions are the Don’t Fear the RIPA, Sando Spice, ThereWolf, and Oakey Smokey, which goes down in history as the last collaboration brew with Chama River.

Steel Bender Brewyard — (505) 433-3537

(Sun–Thurs 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–11 p.m.)

Beers: (house) Skull Bucket IPA, Red Iron Red, Sparkfitter Amber, Lloyd’s 3 O’Clock Kolsch, Blue Bullet Stout, The Village Wit; (seasonals/specialties) Smith Hopper Extra Pale Ale with Dr. Rudi, Plum Bob Gose, Cow Plow Brown Ale. Smith Hopper came out last week, with two more beers due out this Saturday and Tuesday in the form of the Alewitch Pumpkin Ale and V.M.O.M.G., a marzen.

The 377 Brewery — (505) 934-0795

(Open noon-11 p.m. most days)

Beers: (house) 377 IPA, Dieterhosen Hefe, El CuCuy (DIPA), Fat Brown Guy (Porter), Red Horse NM Lager, Schwarzbier, Berliner Weisse, Naked Ale (Pale); (seasonals) Secret Squirrel (Best Bitter), Black Ops Hops, Kolsch, Full Booty Stout, Scottish Ale, Say Juan (Summer Saison), Plum Sour, Peach Wheat, Oktoberfest. This inaugural batch of Oktoberfest from The 377 hits the right notes, with some malty breadiness without too much sweetness.

Tractor Brewing Company — (505) 433-5654 (Nob Hill), (505) 243-6752 (Wells Park), (505) 243-6752 (Four Hills)

(Nob Hill: Sun–Weds noon–midnight, Thurs noon–2 a.m., Fri–Sat noon–2 a.m.; Wells Park: Mon–Thurs 3 p.m.–close, Fri–Sun 1 p.m.–midnight; Four Hills: Sun–Thurs 11 a.m.–midnight, Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–2 a.m.)

Beers: Chocolate Milk Stout, Minute-4, Berry Cider, Big Sipper IPA, Traktoberfest, Scout Golden Ale, Javi Lager, Cowboy Coffee, Jack the Sipper, Belgo American Pale Ale (Wells Park and Nob Hill only), Three-Two (Wells Park and Nob Hill only), Cucumber Gose (Nob Hill and Four Hills only), Flanders Red Ale (Wells Park and Four Hills only), Nitro Milk Stout (Wells Park only), Half Acre Hefe (Four Hills only), Delicious Golden Dry Cider (Four Hills Only), Holstein & Hops (Four Hills only), Cascara Cider (Four Hills only). Some delicious old favorites return in the Javi Lager, Cowboy Coffee, Nitro Milk Stout, and Jack the Sipper, which will be tapped Thursday. New to the lineup are the Belgo American and Three-Two, which is the first in a series of 3.2-percent ABV beers (talk about sessionable).

Live Music (Wells Park): Thursday—The Julian Dossett Trio, 8 p.m.; Saturday—Tylor Brandon Band, 8 p.m.

Live Music (Nob Hill): Today (Wednesday)—Katie Williams, 8:30 p.m.; Thursday—Aaron Gillespie, 7 p.m.; Friday—Holus Bolus, 7 p.m.; Saturday—Melissa Rios, 5 p.m.

Live Music (Four Hills): Thursday—The Gershom Brothers, 7 p.m.; Saturday—Garry Blackchild, 7 p.m.

Other Events (Wells Park): Today (Wednesday)—Poetry and Beer, 7 p.m.; Thursday—James Montoya Glass Release, 7 p.m.; Saturday—Javi Ride, 9 a.m.

Other Events (Nob Hill): Saturday—Alex Chavez Art Opening, 6 p.m.

Other Events (Four Hills): Friday—First Fridays Comedy Contest, 8 p.m.

Weekly Events (Wells Park): Monday—MNF Fantasy Shootout, 5 p.m.; Tuesday—Kamikaze Karaoke, 7 p.m.

Weekly Events (Nob Hill): Today (Wednesday)—Writing Wednesdays, 5 p.m.; Monday—Tractor Tune Up, 7:30 p.m.

Also, every first Monday of the month at both Tractor locations is Beer for a Better Burque night. For every pint you buy $1 can go to one of four charities that have partnered with Tractor. You can also opt to purchase a special growler with the logo of your favorite charity.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Tractor now has a late happy hour from 9 p.m. to midnight on Mondays with $2.25 classic beers and $3.25 seasonals.

Turtle Mountain Brewing Company — (505) 994-9497

(Kitchen hours: Mon–Tues 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Wed–Thurs 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Sun 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Reminder: TMBC closes early when business dictates. Please call.)

Beers: Lil’ Shelly (Pale Ale), Oktoberfest, Mr. Hoover’s Redux, SCH Scotch Lager, Pour les Abeilles, S.O.S. (Wet Hop Pale Ale). The S.O.S. and Pour les Abeilles (Honey Lemongrass Saison) are the most recent additions. An archived keg of Cocomilia Robur has been tapped for a limited time.

Cask: Tuesday—TBA

Santa Fe breweries

Blue Corn Brewery — (505) 438-1800

(Open daily 11 a.m.–10 p.m.)

Beers: Wedding Lager, Merry Prankster’s Sour Ale, Ginger Braggot, Apparition Pale Coffee Ale. The Ginger Braggot is back for another run, ditto the Apparition.

Chili Line Brewing — (505) 500-7903

(Mon–Sat 4–11 p.m., Sun 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m.)

Beers: El Jefe (Rauchweizen), Antonio Bandito (Dunkelweizen), Llorona Lager, La Bamba (Rauchbier), Stara Baba (Oak Smoked Polish Gratzer), Jacona Stout, P.G. (Pinche Guey) IPA. The Jacona and P.G. are the most recent additions.

Live Music: Every night at 7 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts: Reverse happy hour after 9 p.m. includes $1 off pints, $6 appetizers, $10 entrees and pizzas.

Duel Brewing Company — (505) 474-5301

(Brewery: Mon–Sat open at 11 a.m., Sun open at 1 p.m.; ABQ taproom: Mon–Thurs 2 p.m.–midnight; Fri–Sun noon–midnight)

Beers: Bad Amber, Fiction (IPA), Oui Lourd, WWWMD (Barrel-Aged Whistler), Manikin (Scottish), Cezanne Origine, Ensor (Sour), Turncoat, Monomyth, Marcel, Sans Titre (Amber Sour), Fantin (Double Pale Ale), Duchamp (Sour Wit), Cezanne Magnifique, HMWWA FIACFW. The Origine was the spring saison. The Cezanne Magnifique was the most recent addition, but HMWWA FIACFW has returned. The WWWMD acronym stands for What Would Whistler’s Mother Do. This Saturday marks the arrival of Cezanne Verite, only this batch is barrel aged, and it will also be for sale in bombers.

Live Music (ABQ tarpoom): Thursday—Son of Hweeldi Duo, 8 p.m.; Friday—Alto Estilo, 9 p.m.; Saturday—DJ Toni Rocky Horror and DJ Jimi the Xperience, 7 p.m.

Other Events (ABQ taproom): Friday—Cognizance Photography Exhibit, 8 p.m.

Weekly Events (ABQ taproom): Tuesday—Bike-In Brew, 7 p.m.

Happy Hour/Discounts (Brewery): Happy hour Mon–Fri, 4-6 p.m. (discounts for all draft beer), Growler Saturdays ($3 off growler fills).

Happy Hour/Discounts (ABQ taproom): Happy hour Mon–Fri, 5-7 p.m.

Rowley Farmhouse Ales — (505) 428-0719

(Open all week from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.)

Beers: Fields of Rye, Saison du Sarlacc, Agent Scully – Season One, Episode Four (IPA), Germophile (Berliner Weisse), Meier (Meyer Lemon Gose), Tea for Two (Saison), Fruhschoppen (Hefeweizen), Little White Lies (Belgian Blonde), Sanctuario – Chardonnay. The Agent Scully is a new series of IPAs which will vary by hop combinations. Episode 4 is the most recent addition. The Sanctuario is also available in bombers. This batch of Germophile was dry-hopped with Motueka and Simcoe.

Santa Fe Brewing Company — (505) 424-3333

(Main taproom: Mon–Sat 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Sun 2-8 p.m.; ABQ taproom: Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–11 p.m.; Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–midnight; Sun 11 a.m.–10 p.m.)

Beers: Freestyle Pilsner, Autonomous Collective IPA, Oktoberfest, Hefe’d Up, Cucumber Saison (ECS), Secret Society of A.L.T. (ECS), Wet Hop Pale Ale (ECS). Rejoice, for Oktoberfest is back, even though it doesn’t feel much like autumn yet. And yes, Freestyle is still around for a limited time as well, but rumors persist it may never leave the lineup.

Happy Hour/Discounts: $1 off growler refills in the tasting room on Mondays. $2 pint Tuesdays at the Eldorado Taphouse. On Wednesday, there is a $2 pint special in the tasting room. On Thursday, there will be $1 off growler refills at the Eldorado Taphouse.

Second Street Brewery — (505) 989-3278 (Railyard), (505) 982-3030 (original location)

(Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–11 p.m., Sunday noon-9 p.m.)

Beers: Kolsch, IPA, Cream Stout, Rod’s Best Bitter, Coffee Porter, Diablo Canyon Pale Ale, Vienna Lager, XX ESB, Civil Rye, 2920 IPA, LVL Stout, Atalaya Altbier, Oktoberfest, Summer Rain Sour. The most recent additions are the 2920 IPA and Summer Rain, both back after a short absence.

Live Music (Original location): Friday—Mystic Lizard, 6-9 p.m.; Saturday—The Stringmasters, 6-9 p.m.

Live Music (Railyard): Friday—Greg Butera and Band, 6-9 p.m.; Saturday—The Alpha Cats, 6-9 p.m.

Weekly Events (Railyard): Today (Wednesday)—Geeks Who Drink, 8 p.m.

Other breweries you need to visit

Bathtub Row Brewing — (505) 500-8381

(Mon–Weds 2–10 p.m., Thurs 2–11 p.m., Fri–Sat noon–11 p.m., Sun noon–10 p.m.)

Beers: Kutthroat Kolsch, Kaboom Quad, Wit Rock, Catherine’s Historical Stout, Little Bird Blonde, Anderson Amber. Well, look at that, an updated beer list for BRB. The Wit Rock and Little Bird are old favorites, the rest are more recent recipes.

Sierra Blanca Brewing — (505) 832-2337

(Mon–Thurs 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Fri –Sat 11 a.m.–9 p.m.)

Beers: Oktoberfest, Cherry Sour, Interstella Vanilla, Cherry Wheat, Single Hop IPA. The Whiskey Stout will return in a week-and-a-half. The Cherry Sour is back for another run. Oktoberfest is now available on tap.

Live Music: Friday—Dirty Brown Jug Band, 6 p.m.; Saturday—High Desert Playboys, 5 p.m.

* * * *

That’s all for this week! If you have any questions or comments, leave them below or contact us on our Facebook page.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

An in-depth look at Saturday’s many beer-laden events

Posted: September 22, 2017 by cjax33 in Events
Tags: , , , ,
0

This is just one of the many big events on Saturday.

As we noted back in The Week Ahead in Beer, this Saturday is chock-full of beer-soaked events in Albuquerque and points nearby. To help everyone pick out where to go, we offer up a more detailed look at all of them.

We already covered ULLR Fest in Los Alamos, with an updated entry for Boxing Bear (thanks, Justin!), so you can also consider that fun annual event. Here are all the others. All times listed are for Saturday unless noted.

Out of town events

Sierra Blanca 6th Annual Oktoberfest

  • When: 2-9 p.m.
  • Where: Sierra Blanca Brewing, Moriarty
  • How much: $12 for Sam’s Famous Bratwurst Dinner (kids 12 and under are free)
  • Live music: Tom Williams and Full Moon
  • Other fun stuff: There will be a kids’ zone, so rest easy, parents. Kids also get a free plate with a hot dog, chips, and a soda.
  • Special beer(s): Oktoberfest and Whiskey Stout

Atalaya RescueFest

  • When: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
  • Where: Second Street original location
  • How much: No cover
  • Live music: Andrew Primm, Petty Theft, The Bus Tapes, Swing Soleil, Bill Hearne (set times TBA)
  • Other fun stuff: There will be commemorative pint glasses and apparel, plus a live auction and a raffle.
  • Special beer: Atalaya Altbier

In town events

Rio Bravo Second Anniversary Weekend

  • When: Today, 7-11 p.m., Saturday, 3-11 p.m., Sunday, 4-7 p.m.
  • Where: Rio Bravo
  • How much: No cover
  • Live music: Today—Le Chat Lunatique, 7-9 p.m., hONEyhoUSe, 9:30-11 p.m.; Saturday—Fred Johnson Band, 3-4 p.m., Higher Ground Bluegrass, 4:20-6:20 p.m., Silver String Band, 6:40-8:40 p.m., The Squash Blossom Boys, 9-11 p.m.; Sunday—Women in the Arts Showcase featuring musicians Anabellie Rivera and Elizabeth Marie Berry, 4-7 p.m.
  • Other fun stuff: This weekend also marks the grand opening of The Burger Stand at Rio Bravo. There will be lots of food specials, including a Saturday shrimp boil in the Bier Garten. Sunday’s Women in the Arts Showcase is hosted by poet/singer/author/activist Ebony Isis Booth and will feature 10-year-old author Marisol Paramo, a live artist auction, and women-owned businesses and arts vendors.
  • Special beer: Schwarzbier

Ponderosa Third Anniversary Party

  • When: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
  • Where: Ponderosa Brewing
  • How much: No cover
  • Live music: Bands TBA
  • Other fun stuff: There will be door prizes, plus a special beer, cheese, and salami tasting for $30 that includes a free stein you can fill with your favorite brew. There will also be a special event called Wine Down with Art featuring Suki Willoughby from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
  • Special beer: Barleywine (archived keg)

Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Brew Fest

  • When: Noon-11 p.m.
  • Where: Marble Downtown
  • How much: No cover
  • Live music: The Real Matt Jones, noon-1 p.m., TV Killers, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Stanlie Kee and Step In, 3-4 p.m., DJ Leftovers, 4:30-6 p.m., Sol De La Noche, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Cynical Bird, 8-9 p.m., Wagogo, 9:30-11 p.m.
  • Other fun stuff: There are three rounds of silent auctions, a raffle, limited edition commemorative T-shirts, pint glasses, stickers, and hats, plus three food trucks (Saep Fire Grill, Soo Bak, Street Food Institute).
  • Special beer: Sandia Sunset Saison, brewed with watermelon

SOMOS Albuquerque

  • When: 4-10 p.m.
  • Where: Downtown on Central between 3rd and 7th Streets, running north to Copper and south to Gold.
  • How much: $10
  • Live music: There are four stages, Dance, Hip Hop, Rock, and Country/NM. Dillon Francis will headline the dance stage from 8:40-9:55 p.m. Deltron 3030 will headline the Hip Hop stage from 8-9:15 p.m. Minus the Bear will headline the Rock stage from 8:15-9:30 p.m. Jackie Lee will headline the Country/NM stage from 7:45-9 p.m.
  • Other fun stuff: There will be multiple food vendors, the Nuevo Tech Experience at Mezcal, native dance at the Kimo Theater, many local commercial vendors, a family zone, and more.
  • Special beer: None, but there is a beer garden with 10 local breweries, including Bow & Arrow, Marble, and Tractor.

If you are planning to attend multiple events, or even one for a good chunk of time, please use a designated driver, Lyft, Uber, or a taxi. We want to make sure everyone has a fun and safe time this weekend.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

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