IPA Challenge 2016: Boxing Bear takes slim lead after one round

More than 160 patrons packed The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing on Saturday afternoon to cast their votes in the first of the three main rounds of the 2016 NM IPA Challenge. The initial tallies suggest this is going to be a close one, though a lot can change between now and the final votes…

Pajarito Summerfest: An alternative to Beer Week

So, you guys down in Albuquerque seem to be having a lot of fun with your “Beer Week” thing.  Lots of events all over town, lots of beer … I can appreciate that. But, some of us don’t get down to Albuquerque very often as we are stuck up in the mountains. Well, we don’t…

Breaking down the beers at Blazin’ Brewfest

The unofficial kickoff to festival season is upon us once again as Blazin’ Brewfest returns to downtown Las Cruces on Saturday. This annual event, put on by the NM Brewers Guild, is definitely the biggest and most important festival for craft beer lovers in Southern New Mexico and surrounding areas. The festival runs from 5…

Get your Skiesta and SW Chocolate and Coffee Fest beer lists here

We are a long way from regular festival season, but there are two events this weekend featuring some of our local breweries. Up at Pajarito Mountain above Los Alamos is Skiesta, which Reid previewed earlier this week. Over at the State Fairgrounds is the Southwest Chocolate & Coffee Fest, a two-day event this Saturday and…

Bathtub Row Brewing has a busy week ahead culminating in Skiesta

As usual, things are busy with Bathtub Row Brewing in Los Alamos. The big one is Skiesta, which will be held this Saturday.  If you’re into skiing and beer (and I bet a healthy percentage of you reading this are), this is an event not to be missed.  It’s getting awfully warm out there, so who…

The guide to what will be poured at WinterBrew

Well, the good news is WinterBrew is as popular as ever. The bad news is that means 800 tickets disappeared in the blink of an eye and the event is completely sold out. So for the lucky 800 of you who are going, we did our best to compile the list of what the 17…

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…

NM Brew Fest caps off the festival season with another successful event

The sudden appearance of colorful balloons in the skies over Albuquerque, along with the occasional onset of cooler weather (hey, this is New Mexico) is always a sign that the end of beer festival season is in sight here in these parts. One local festival always looms large over this time of year, and this year…