Weekend Beer-cap: A slew of brews and touchdowns, too

A holiday weekend provides plenty of chances for members of the Crew to explore our local beer scene. From beers-to-go to visiting breweries to the ages old blend of football and beer, we had some fun out there. My weekend actually runs Wednesday and Thursday, but this week I found myself out and about on…

Starr Brothers expansion lights the way to a bright 2018

Starr Brothers Brewing has just passed its two-year anniversary last weekend, and is no longer the new kid on the brewing block. The brewery has established itself with a welcoming Northeast Heights taproom and a solid lineup of house beers. To catch up on all that went down in the past year and what is…

The Week Ahead in Beer: Two more anniversary parties for the weekend

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. Duel ABQ and Starr Brothers are celebrating anniversaries this weekend. The former is…

Beer Notes: Brewers Association recaps the entire year

Yeah, it is definitely that time of year. The recaps and top 10 lists are being posted, the year-in-review stories are rolling along (like, uh, our Look Back/Look Ahead Series). When it comes to recapping the year in craft beer for the entire country, no one sums it up best quite like the Brewers Association….

All the lowdown on GABF 2017 for New Mexico breweries

The Great American Beer Festival returns this Thursday through Saturday at the Denver Convention Center, and once again New Mexico breweries will be well represented. This year the Crew is dispatching yours truly, plus Franz Solo, via the magic of press passes (Luke will also be there, but as a civilian, and we just want…

The Week Ahead in Beer: Oktoberfest avalanche and more events upon events

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. Once again, we all face a jam-packed weekend of fun and beer. Oh,…

Get your BearFest beer lists here

As most of you should know by now, BearFest returns this Saturday, now at the Albuquerque Convention Center downtown. VIP entry is at 12:30 p.m., general admission is at 2 p.m., and it all runs until 6 p.m. General admission tickets are still available online and VIP tickets are still available at Boxing Bear. Much…

BearFest roars back with new indoor location

BearFest, the annual local-only craft beer festival hosted by Boxing Bear, returns for a third go-around this Saturday. The big change this year, besides pushing it back and away from ABQ Beer Week and Blues & Brews, is moving the fest out of the brewery parking lot to the Albuquerque Convention Center. Unless you are…

Beer Notes: A bigger Starr, new brewery movement and more

Every now and again, a story, even a short one, slips through the cracks. A few weeks back, I visited Starr Brothers and got a quick tour of the brewery’s expansion, took some photos, and I completely forgot to post anything. Time to rectify that. As noted in our Look Back/Look Ahead Series story, Starr…

Stout Challenge VI: A Starr rises above the rest

Amid all the seriousness of the weekend, the Brew Crew was still able to gather to hold our annual Stout Challenge before the start of the Super Bowl. While the game featured an improbable rally by the favorite, our blind taste test featured an upset by one of the newer breweries in town. For the…