Things are feeling upbeat over at Thirsty Eye Brewing at Broadway and Gold, as I found out for our latest entry in the Look Back/Look Ahead Series. I caught up with co-owner Kim Arthun, general manager/co-owner Jo Sloan, and head brewer John Kofonow, picking up a more relaxed, positive vibe as the days of the…
Tag: Thirsty Eye Brewing
Great NM Beer Festival holds a first competition between local breweries
For the first time in a long while, an all-New Mexico breweries competition was held in advance of Saturday’s Great New Mexico Beer Festival. Local breweries competed for three medals in each of four categories, with a different brewery claiming gold in each category. Well, almost, since no gold medal was awarded by the judging…
Small brewer license renewals come with a surprise for some this year
Back in 2019, Senate Bill 413 was passed, which had a potentially profound effect on breweries throughout New Mexico. One of its key provisions was a new requirement for every brewery to produce a minimum of 50 barrels per year, or at least have its own beers account for 50 percent of total alcohol sales….
Thirsty Eye Brewing finds efficiency is the key to survival in the pandemic
Sometimes, the smallest things can make a big difference, even for breweries. Such was the case in 2021 for Thirsty Eye Brewing, where one small improvement in the brewing process helped them endure the many ups and downs of the pandemic. I sat down with co-owner Kim Arthun, his wife and general manager Jo Sloan,…
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…
This guide to brewery Halloween happenings filled up awfully fast
Anytime Halloween falls on a weekend, and the world is not in full COVID restrictions mode, one can expect breweries to jump on board with a whole slew of parties, costume contests, and more. Well, Halloween is this Sunday, so the weekend is as chock-full as one would expect. Here is just about every Halloween-themed…
Beer Premier brews feature classic styles, modern twists and wild experiments
As we noted back on Monday in our jumbo preview of New Mexico Brewers Guild events, the Beer Premier is back with 21 breweries debuting 20 brand-new, never-before-brewed beers. This year’s event will be held at Nexus Blue Smokehouse on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m., and tickets are still available online. While there is…
The Week Ahead in Beer: 8 breweries team up to help local charity on National Beer Day
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 eight breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, one in Red River, one in Silver City, and one in Truth or Consequences also joining the party….
Thirsty Eye uses the challenges of 2020 as a tutorial for how to move forward
It might sound a bit odd at first, but 2020 might have actually been good for Thirsty Eye Brewing. No, really. I learned about that, and more, when I sat down with co-owner Kim Arthun and brewer John Kofonow for one of the final entries in our annual Look Back/Look Ahead Series. “I think March…
Local breweries name their MVPs for this most difficult of years
During a conversation with a front-of-house employee from a local brewery, he noted that it felt rather nice to see words of praise from one of the owners in a recent Brew Crew story. That got me thinking about how much it might mean to other brewery employees to see some public recognition for their…
DARK SIDE BREW CREW 