Posts Tagged ‘Tractor Brewing’

Tractor Brewing returns to where it all began 20 years ago

Posted: April 23, 2019 by cjax33 in Interviews, News, Taproom Preview
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The frame has gone up and the foundation has been poured for the future Tractor taproom in Los Lunas, the brewery’s original home.

Twenty years ago, Tractor Brewing came to life in the Village of Los Lunas. Five years ago, it left the village behind, moving all of its brewing operations to Albuquerque. Later in 2019, it will move back to Valencia County in the form of its fourth offsite taproom.

To get a better read on this version of you can go home again, I sat down with Tractor president/co-owner Skye Devore. Her brewery already has three offsite taprooms in Albuquerque — Nob Hill, Four Hills, Westside — but the opportunity to add another was too good to pass up.

“Because we wanted to do another something, and we feel like Albuquerque has got a lot of Tractor right now,” Skye said. “We thought it would be a good idea for something not in Albuquerque, but I don’t want to drive too far, so Los Lunas seems perfect. There’s a lot going on there economically right now.

“I remember when we were there before, it used to be so hard to convince anybody to drink craft. Now it’s just not like that anymore. Now it’s a great place to be.”

The brewery will be located off Main Street, not far from the Facebook Data Center.

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The Week Ahead in Beer: Metal, belly dancers, Easter eggs, 4/20 fests and more highlight a zany weekend

Posted: April 17, 2019 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
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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 seven breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, and one in Red River also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Hey, remember last week, when we barely had anything to write about? Yeah, that is so not this week. Thursday through Saturday is just kinda bonkers, and that is leaving out all the Marble anniversary events we previewed separately. First up, there is some truly blackened black metal descending upon Tumbleroot’s Agua Fria location in Santa Fe this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Local heavyweights Dysphotic are joined by touring bands UADA and Wormwitch for a head-banging good time. Then on Friday night, keep that Game of Thrones buzz going in advance of the next episode on HBO, as the Desert Darlings return to Tractor Wells Park for the GoT edition of Hops & Dreams. Need to get out and move more? Then head downtown Saturday afternoon for the third annual Easter Beer Hunt. It’s a grownup egg hunt, and the different colors of plastic eggs correspond to the three participating breweries — Boese Brothers, Red Door, Sidetrack — with different prizes inside that can be redeemed at each brewery. Only three eggs can be redeemed at each location, and please do not start until noon. For those who do not drink beer, you can also redeem some of the eggs at The Brew for coffee. Saturday will also feature a slew of 4/20 events, including special ones at Rio Bravo (market and live music), Turtle Mountain (smoked BBQ), and Truth or Consequences (cannabis education).

On the new beer front this week, there are a few other options to check out. Bombs Away finds itself in Condition Red Ale. Bosque recently rolled out Sunshine Stout, Mango Mujer, and W-Altbier White. Canteen has Cabana Lager back on tap to get you ready for Cinco de Mayo a little early. La Cumbre has Father Nelson back on tap and in bottles this Friday, plus Hell Froze Over Brown Ale and Chew & Swallow Oatmeal Stout are on tap again. Marble has Cerveza on tap now, and it will come out in 19.2-ounce cans on Saturday, plus you can also get Mountain Fog and Tea Gary IPA on tap. Red Door gets a little funky with Rickety Cricket. Tractor resurrects Acreage IPA. Turtle Mountain has a smoky little marzen called The Rauchette.

Up in Santa Fe, Blue Corn is feeling ruthless with Cutthroat Rye Pale Ale. HoneyMoon unveils Pearsephone, a pear elderflower kombucha. Rowley Farmhouse Ales has moved on to Season Two, Episode Seven of Agent Scully IPA, while also bringing back Biere de Mars and adding Oyster Stoutish. Tumbleroot is feeling the season with Maibock. Further north in Red River, RRBC has Raspberry Campfire Cream Ale. Down south, Truth or Consequences hops to it with Deep Space Dankety-Dank.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of April 15.

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Las Cruces breweries organize Beer for a Cause to help one of their own

Posted: April 9, 2019 by cjax33 in Beer in Las Cruces, Events
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Head down to Las Cruces this weekend for good beer for a good purpose.

Having a charity as a component of a beer festival is a fairly common occurrence in New Mexico. Having that charity be a brewer battling cancer is not common, but that is the case at Beer for a Cause, a special festival taking place this Sunday in Las Cruces.

Pecan Grill head brewer David Allan has been diagnosed with brain cancer, and the medical bills are understandably quite hefty. His fellow brewers are joining forces to help him out by hosting the festival at Picacho Peak from 3 to 8 p.m. For those who have not been down to visit a brewery in Las Cruces, this is a good opportunity for a good cause to do so (Picacho Peak is located at 3900 W. Picacho Ave., to further help you out).

“He is not only a great brewer and mentor but a genuinely amazing person to have in your life,” High Desert brewer David White said in a press release. “Family and friends are raising money to help in this fight. … Every little bit makes a difference.”

Tickets are just $5 apiece and available at the door. The first 500 people get a commemorative pint glass. This is not a traditional no-limit sampling event, so all pints are $5, though we are fairly certain most of the beers can be tasted before you buy (ask politely). There will also be food trucks, a silent auction, and live music from Jackson Lane, The Smokin’ Blue Band, Triple Jack, and the Derrick Harris Band. All of the proceeds will go to help David in his fight against cancer.

“You should be there, because if you are lucky enough to truly call Dr. Wackadoodle Dave your friend, then you are lucky enough,” his friend, homebrewer Dennis Talley, wrote to us in an email. “I’ve called him that for years because he’s never brewed a ‘normal’ beer in his life! Just like Dave, his beers are truly unique and brewed with passion and detail. My brother without DNA.”

A total of 15 New Mexico breweries are sending one or more kegs to the event. We will update the list as more are identified.

  • Bosque: Elephants on Parade, IPA
  • Cloudcroft: Railspike Imperial Red, Sahti Finnish Ale
  • High Desert: White Walker Stout, Cerveza
  • Icebox: TBA
  • La Cumbre: Elevated IPA, A Slice of Hefen
  • Little Toad Creek: Hop-a-Long Rye IPA
  • Lost Hiker: Ruidoso Blonde
  • Marble: Double White, Cerveza
  • Pecan Grill: Peanut Butter Pecan Porter
  • Picacho Peak: Bitchin Brown
  • Ponderosa: Schwarzbier
  • Sierra Blanca: American Style Lager
  • Spotted Dog: Bier de Chien (Farmhouse Ale), and second beer TBA
  • Tractor: TBA
  • Truth or Consequences: Good Juju (American Brown Ale)

For anyone in the Albuquerque or Santa Fe areas, this is a good opportunity for a quick trip south to try some beers unique to the area, while also supporting a worthy cause.

A big thanks to Deanna Green for sending us the information and for helping to organize this festival on David’s behalf.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

Craft breweries rejoice after Senate Bill 413 is signed into law

Posted: April 4, 2019 by cjax33 in Beer and Government, News
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Senate Bill 413 passed the Roundhouse and obtained the Governor’s signature.

The good news broke Wednesday night at the top of the page listing bills signed into law by Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham. Senate Bill 413, which we profiled just recently, got the signature that craft breweries were hoping for and will become effective on July 1.

To sum up the benefits of the bill, breweries will now be able to sell beer at 11 a.m. on Sundays (no more waiting until almost halftime of NFL games); they can have private celebration permits for events like weddings, graduation parties, and so on; there will be minimum standards (50 barrels a year or 50 percent of all sales coming from beer brewed on site) for businesses to hold a small brewer license; and the excise tax has been ironed out, with breweries paying $.08 per gallon on the first 30,000 barrels produced. There are also benefits for cider producers and craft distillers.

In a legislative session crammed with so many bills, and an uncertain environment with the change in governors, no one was quite sure if the bill would pass. Thanks to State Rep. Javier Martinez and Senator Mimi Stewart, Guild lobbyists Al Park and Jason Weaks, and the tireless work of Tractor Brewing co-owner/president Skye Devore (who publicly spearheaded the Brewers Guild’s efforts), this bill not only passed both houses, but it reached the governor’s desk. At that point, all everyone could do was wait and hope it would not come down to Friday’s final deadline.

Thankfully, that wait ended Wednesday night, as Rep. Martinez tweeted out the news of the bill being signed, and a whole lot of online congratulations followed throughout the New Mexico craft beer community.

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Pink Boots Society ready to get a little Bossy with annual collaboration beer

Posted: March 27, 2019 by cjax33 in Events, News
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The members of the New Mexico chapter of the Pink Boots Society have a beer ready for all to enjoy. (Photo courtesy of Bosque Brewing)

The result of a recent gathering of the most talented women in New Mexico craft beer is set to go on tap this weekend. Bossy Hazy Guava IPA is the latest creation of the local chapter of the Pink Boots Society, brewed this time around at Bosque North back on International Women’s Day (March 8).

I caught up with Bosque director of culture and engagement Jessica Griego in person and Santa Fe Brewing lab director Monica Mondragon on email to learn more about the importance of this annual brew.

“We’re excited to release this beer,” Jessica said. “Monica from Santa Fe, our chapter lead, reached out to us this year to host. John (Bullard) was super excited to do that, especially with Bosque North having the space and the ability to do some fun things, make it really educational this year. John was on board as soon as I asked him.”

The recipe for Bossy (7.4% ABV) was created by one Bosque employee, with other members of the chapter then joining in for the actual brew day.

“What’s super exciting about this beer, it’s called Bossy, made by Mercedes (Donio), who’s our QA/QC lab tech,” Jessica said. “She actually is responsible for the entire recipe, the name, all of which is exciting to have the sole female on our brewing team get to do that. She led that charge and we all followed suit. We brewed it on International Women’s Day, which was great that that timing worked out.”

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The Week Ahead in Beer: One last (Mail) Order of decadent darkness

Posted: March 27, 2019 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
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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 seven breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, and one in Red River also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

OK, remember when we said that Marble’s Stout Americano was the last packaged dark beer release of the year until fall? Well, happily, we were wrong, as this Saturday our friends at Red Door are releasing Mail Order Russian Imperial Stout. There will be 22-ounce bottles of this 9-percent ABV stout, aged in oak barrels, available at the brewery on Candelaria, with a smaller number for sale at the new Clovis taproom. All three Red Door locations will also have a non-barrel-aged version of the stout on tap. Sidedoor Kitchen will have breakfast ready for those brave souls who want to show up at 7 a.m. There will also be special T-shirts for sale. Just in case we don’t wake up early, please try not to buy up the supply before the mostly nocturnal Crew shambles on down there.

Another event that we wanted to highlight is Beer on Beer, a special beer dinner taking place at Tractor Wells Park on Saturday at 6 p.m. The event benefits Three Sisters Kitchen and costs $40 for a four-course meal where each of the dishes is made with a specific Tractor beer, and then served with a different, but still complementary, beer. First up is a cheese course made with Field Beer and paired with Acreage IPA, followed by a salad made with Berry Cider and paired with Pilsner 15, a lamb dish made with Scotcholate and paired with Farmer’s Tan Red Ale, and a chocolate dessert made with Luna de los Muertos Russian Imperial Stout paired with Milk Mustachio Stout. There are only 25 seats available, so go here to get tickets.

On the new beer front this week, there are a few options to check out. Bosque is rolling out beers from the minds of its non-brewing staff, starting with Brewer’s Bruises, a blueberry lavender gose. Canteen brings back Laid Back Lager on Thursday, just in time for baseball’s Opening Day (there will also be $1 hot dogs). Marble added Mavbear with brett, a collaboration with Boxing Bear, and From the Wood Saison. Nexus lands a fresh batch of Bird of Prey IPA. Ponderosa, at last, has Coco Puffs Baltic Porter on tap. Starr Brothers rolls out Altonymous, an altbier. Steel Bender brings back a summer favorite from last year, Schnitz N Giggle Dortmunder Lager, on Thursday and Bossy Guava Hazy IPA on Friday, the special collaboration for the New Mexico chapter of the Pink Boots Society. Toltec taps the NM Brewers Guild collaboration Gracias Greg, a Mexican lager.

Up in Santa Fe, things are quiet for the moment. Over in Los Alamos, Bathtub Row added Irish Export Stout on nitro.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of March 25.

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Craft breweries are governor’s signature away from legislative victory

Posted: March 18, 2019 by cjax33 in Beer and Government
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All supporters of craft beer owe a huge thank you to SB413 sponsors Rep. Javier Martinez and Senator Mimi Stewart.

Senate Bill 413 is one of many sitting on the desk of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham after the completion of the 2019 Legislative Session. It is, however, the one that will specifically affect our craft breweries, in a very good way, if it obtains her signature.

I sat down with Tractor Brewing co-owner/president Skye Devore, who spearheaded the effort on behalf of the New Mexico Brewers Guild, on Friday morning to go over what SB413 will mean to breweries if it is passed into law. The bill is pretty much as originally described by outgoing executive director John Gozigian, combining everything our breweries had hoped for into one bill in this legislative session. It passed the Senate by a 36-2 margin and the House by a 54-10 margin.

“I’m really proud of this because I feel like it has something in there for everyone in our membership,” Skye said. “It’s not a bill for the big breweries, or something that will just benefit the small ones. It had widespread support throughout our organization. I don’t think I got a single person saying I have a problem with any piece of this bill. And, that’s true across beer, cider, and spirits. We really all came together.”

Here is everything in the bill, summed up:

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Enjoy a pint or two at the Southwest Chocolate & Coffee Fest

Posted: March 15, 2019 by cjax33 in Events
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Indulge your sweet tooth this weekend.

Just as in years past, the annual Southwest Chocolate & Coffee Fest will have breweries in attendance at the two-day event at the Lujan Expo Center on the State Fairgrounds. The two sessions run this Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The participating breweries this year are Bosque, Boxing Bear, Broken Trail, Canteen, Marble, Palmer, Steel Bender, and Tractor. Here are the beer lists that they have provided to us.

  • Bosque: Bosque Lager, Bosque IPA, Scotia Scotch Ale, Elephants on Parade, Open Space Haze, Driftwood Oatmeal Stout, So Fresa So Clean (kettle soured strawberry ale)
  • Boxing Bear: Uppercut IPA, Apple Bear Cider, Red Knuckle Irish Red, Nitro Red Knuckle, Black and Blue Tart, Coffee Chocolate Milk Stout
  • Broken Trail: no beer, just spirits
  • Canteen: Panama Joe Coffee Stout, Coffee Lager, Cabana Mexican Lager, Tuttle IPA, Irish Red
  • Marble: Stout Americano, Double White, Berry White, Marble Lager
  • Palmer: Mocha Hipster Bomb, Cafe Pale Ale
  • Steel Bender: Daydream Belizer, The Village Innuendo, Skull Bucket IPA, Raspberry Dynamite; sales of cans of COMPA Los Ranchos Lager, Skull Bucket, Raspberry Dynamite, Lloyd’s 3 O’Clock Kolsch
  • Tractor: Cowgirl Coffee Stout, Chocolate Milk Stout, Blood Orange Cider, Chocolate Coffee Liquer, plus cans for sale

The beers with an obvious chocolate/coffee connection are the Panama Joe and Coffee Lager from Canteen, the Daydream Belizer (coffee/chocolate Belgian ale) from Steel Bender, and the duo of Cowgirl Coffee and Chocolate Milk Stouts from Tractor. Mocha Hipster Bomb won a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival in the collaboration beer category, as it was made by Palmer and Quarter Celtic. If you need a break from all the chocolate and coffee, then just about any of the other offerings should fit the bill.

You can purchase tickets in advance online for $10 for adults, or $12 at the door. Children between 4 and 12 cost $4 apiece.

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister

The Week Ahead in Beer: Just don’t go full McGregor this weekend

Posted: March 13, 2019 by cjax33 in The Week Ahead in Beer
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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 seven breweries, one in Los Alamos, one in Moriarty, and one in Red River also joining the party.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

Stoutmeister puts on his serious face to handle The Week Ahead in Beer.

St. Patrick’s Day is this Sunday, so as one would expect, there are gonna be a whole lot of themed events and Irish-style beers coming out this weekend. Just try not to overdo it; people really don’t like the “jolly, drunk Irishman” as much as pop culture likes to pretend (or worse, act like a certain infamous MMA fighter who hails from Ireland). Quarter Celtic, naturally, is one of the best places to enjoy a proper NM twist on the holiday. The brewpub celebrates its anniversary party on both Saturday and Sunday. There will be a limited menu of Celtic fare only (so no nachos, folks), with lots of delicious beers available, of course. Outside there will be a tent and a separate beer station, plus live music. Get there early for the barrel-aged Irish Handcuffs Imperial Stout. Marble is bringing music back to the downtown stage with a St. Paddy’s Day Festival on Saturday featuring the Squash Blossom Boys, The Riddims, The Moon Thieves, and Red Light Cameras, plus of course Paddy McNitro Stout will be back on tap at all three locations. Canteen will have a St. Paddy’s Celebration with bagpipes at 3, music by Beloved at 4, and plenty of beer and food specials. Remember, you can also take six-packs of Irish Red home. Rio Bravo will host a St. Paddy’s Brunch and Beer Pong starting at 11 a.m. Tractor has Adam Hooks playing a selection of classic hits by The Pogues at the Nob Hill Taproom on Saturday at 5 p.m. Second Street will have the Albuquerque & Four Corners Pipe ‘N Drum Band at the original location on Sunday at 4:30 p.m., with a full menu of special Irish foods available all weekend at all three locations, plus plenty of special beers on tap.

There is also the big Steel Bender second anniversary party, which we previewed in a separate story. It will include a very Irish-themed Sunday in terms of food and beers.

On the new beer front this week, there are a few options to check out. Ale Republic has switched up quite a few taps, with Brown Bear Brown, Blonde, Trail Head DIPA, and Lone Wolf (American Light Ale) now available. Bow & Arrow has the new Coyote Cool (Red Saison) in bottles and on tap. Cantero has a new Lager and Mango Fria on tap. Dialogue drops some Munich Dunkel and Belgian Dark Strong with cherries, along with Dry Irish Stout this weekend. Flix Brewhouse is feeling Marvelous with a new oatmeal stout, plus Saison De Walt makes its annual return. La Cumbre added an Irish Red and Pogue Mahone stout. Marble recently introduced Chicansima, a Mexican dark lager brewed in collaboration with the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Ponderosa tapped the long-awaited Belgian Golden Strong, and Cocoa Puffs Baltic Porter should be on tap by this weekend. Steel Bender has Daydream Belizer, a chocolate-and-coffee Belgian ale, available on Friday, plus Los Ranchos and CE-1 Ciders on Saturday, and Mulvaney’s Irish Red on nitro on Sunday.

Up in Santa Fe, it’s quiet again, but that won’t last long. Over in Los Alamos, we got an update from Bathtub Row with plenty of seasonal brews available, including an Irish Red and an Imperial Stout.

Continue reading for all the news that is fit to blog for the week of March 11.

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Local women in craft beer share their thoughts after fallout from Brewing News controversy sinks National IPA Challenge

Posted: February 18, 2019 by cjax33 in Commentary/Analysis, National IPA Challenge, News
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The reddish lettering in the upper left amounted to the totality of the initial announcement that the NIPAC was canceled for 2019.

The NIPAC is dead.

Over the weekend, in the quietest way possible, the Brewing News left a small note on the front page of the National IPA Challenge website that the annual competition was canceled for 2019. It was perhaps the final, inevitable outcome after last week’s national furor over a story by publisher/owner Bill Metzger that ran in the Great Lakes edition of Brewing News, a national publication with multiple regional editions that comes out every two months.

Metzger chose to resign over the controversy following the publication of his blatantly sexist/misogynistic story. He later claimed it was satire in a futile effort to save himself, but few in the national brewing community saw it that way. A number of New Mexico breweries withdrew from the NIPAC in protest, making public statements condemning Metzger.

From Bosque Brewing: “Hey, Bosque Family. It is with serious disappointment that, in light of a recent article published by Brewing News, we are writing to let you know that we are pulling our beers from the National IPA Challenge effective immediately.

“The sexist and racist remarks made by editor Bill Metzger were deeply upsetting and do not reflect our sincere belief that the brewing industry should be an inclusive community free of misogyny, racism, or any behavior of the like.

“This decision was a very obvious one to make, and we appreciate your understanding.”

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