Happy cold, gray Thursday everyone. If you need some light back in your life, there is some good news for this weekend. The Taos Brewmasters Festival kicks off Saturday at the Ski Valley, marking its 21st annual running below the slopes. Normally, the festival is held in December, but it was pushed back this year…
Tag: Sierra Blanca Brewing
Eighteen NM breweries will pour their finest at Hopfest
Ah, late August, when the hints of cooler weather arrive, the kids go back to school, football (both American and international) revs up, and Hopfest takes over Isleta Casino. Hey, at nine years old, we can pretty much declare Hopfest an annual tradition. The largest beer festival in New Mexico returns this Saturday from 2…
Beer Notes: Happy 20th anniversary to Sierra Blanca
Sierra Blanca Brewing is celebrating their 20th anniversary this Saturday with a big party at the brewery in Moriarty. From 2 to 9 p.m., the beer garden will be hopping (pun intended) with live music, food trucks, a kids zone, and more. There is a $5 cover, but kids 12 and under get in for…
Gazing into the future of the New Mexico brewing scene
After a slew of slow news days regarding the local brewing scene, the intrepid Stephanie Guzman of Albuquerque Business First posted a story today about Rio Bravo Brewing applying for a $5 million county industrial revenue bond. A surprising move? Maybe to some, not to others. Rio Bravo has been talking big since before they…
New Mexico breweries poised to storm GABF once again
In case anyone has been living under a rock of late, the Great American Beer Festival, that annual homage to craft beer, begins Thursday and runs through Saturday in Denver. In addition to the thousands upon thousands of beer served up at the Denver Convention Center, there will be hundreds of satellite events, special tappings,…
19th annual Taos Brew Master’s Festival hits the slopes
This past Saturday, I made the trip up to Taos Ski Valley for their 19th annual Brew Master’s Festival, and I gotta tell you it was one smooth, powder-filled ride down beer mountain, and one of my favorite brewfests in recent memory. From the moment the doors opened and the lines got moving, brewfesters were…
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…
The Balloon Fiesta tourist’s guide to beer in Albuquerque
It’s that time of year again, when lots of folks from outside Albuquerque and New Mexico descend upon the Duke City for the Balloon Fiesta. While a lot of us locals grumble about the increase in traffic, even we’re big softies for the Fiesta (assuming we wake up in time). Well, we are, our dogs…
Feeling festive about the lineup at Brew Fest
Beer festival season hits its highpoint in October both in New Mexico and nearby, starting with the fourth annual New Mexico Brew Fest this Saturday at the Villa Hispana on the state fairgrounds. With Valhalla (aka The Great American Beer Festival) and then Hopfest later in the month, beer drinkers will be kept awfully busy…
Sizing up the superb selection at Son of Septemberfest
The Crew tackled the dirty dozen beers at Marble’s Son of Septemberfest on Saturday. Without further adieu, here are our quick reviews of those beers. Abbey Brewing, Monk’s Tripel Sweet, but not overly so. You don’t taste the alcohol, which could be an issue with this 9.2-percent ABV beast. It is easy to find in…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 