After a busy opening day, Beer Week mellows out a bit with just three events today (Friday). Considering how busy holiday weekends tend to be, that is just fine with us. At least one or more of us will be hanging out with the owners of a certain out-of-town brewery who will be here for…
Tag: Steel Bender Brewyard
ABQ Beer Week: Everyone pucker up on Day One as sours take center stage
And, we’re back! ABQ Beer Week kicks off today (Thursday) with an actual kickoff party, plus a special tasting/tap takeover, a beer-and-cheese pairing, a beer dinner, a fundraiser, and more. Let’s get right to it, shall we? Featured Event Every day we will pick what we consider the biggest, most interesting, most unique event. This…
ABQ Beer Week returns after 2-year pandemic hiatus for its 10th edition
In years past, ABQ Beer Week was a massive undertaking, reaching a point of more than 100 events scattered across the city over an 11-day span. It returns this year for its 10th run, fairly scaled back, but no less of a challenge for organizer Marne Gaston and her team. I caught up with Gaston…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Follow the Spring Runoff to casks and charities
Wind, oh, wind, please just go away. Our sinuses cannot survive much more, even with La Cumbre bringing back a fatherly hop bomb this week. We also have a new charity brew from Steel Bender debuting Thursday, followed by some big events on Saturday including the Spring Runoff, a celebration of beer and the outdoors…
Steel Bender and NMDSBC team up to create Spring of Deception Maibock
After six years, the Dark Side Brew Crew and Steel Bender have finally collaborated on a seasonal beer. We woke up way too early (for me, anyway) Tuesday morning on a proper German weather day and trekked over to Los Ranchos to team up with director of brewing operations Bob Haggerty on creating the lightest…
Steel Bender goes all out with 5 special releases and more for 5th anniversary
Back in the days of yore, brewery anniversary parties were often a very big deal, with special events, multiple beer releases, and more. The pandemic muted all of that in 2020 and 2021, but now things are ramping up again, with Steel Bender Brewyard out in front with a five-day celebration to mark its fifth…
The Week Ahead in Beer: Sometimes it is all in the name of the brew
We gotta admit, some breweries are really, really good at coming up with clever beer names. It’s gotten to the point where we think, but have not confirmed, that there is a game of one-upmanship among all the places around Albuquerque. If that is truly the case, then Steel Bender just raised the bar with…
Steel Bender navigates through one hard year with more challenges ahead
The usually cheerful disposition of the Steel Bender Brewyard command staff was tested again and again in 2021. That should come as no surprise to anyone who has read our recent entries in the annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series, but it can be tough to see the effects of this year borne out on the…
Merch Guide 2021: Buying local is more important than ever ahead of holidays
Lately, all the news surrounding the craft beer industry has seemingly been bad, with woeful tales of supply chain chaos and rising prices for raw ingredients. Though the breweries in New Mexico are putting on a happy face publicly, the truth is they need our financial support more than ever. The good news is that…
A beer about something: 3 breweries collaborate on SereniTEA Now for charity
The generous trio of Canteen Brewhouse, High and Dry Brewing, and Steel Bender Brewyard are at it again, teaming up to help a worthy local nonprofit with a collaboration beer and some special events. Agora Crisis Center, a student organization at the University of New Mexico, is the recipient, just like in 2019, the last…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 