Brewing and judging better beer at State Fair Pro-Am and beyond

The annual State Fair Pro-Am has come and gone for the year, and no doubt you’ve seen the RESULTS, but from competitions like these we get to see some great brewers, both pro and amateur, show off their talents as part of our New Mexico brewing scene. I spoke with John Rowley, very near-future head…

The Week Ahead in Beer: Brewing up support for Umbrella Week

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 four breweries and a pair of newcomers, one down in Socorro and the other in Los Alamos, also joining the party. A little while back I began…

Mountain West Brew Fest knocks it out of the park

For all the concerns about preparation, organization, and everything else, the first edition of the Mountain West Brew Fest was a big hit over Labor Day Weekend. The four members of the Crew (myself, Brandon, Kristin, Laura) who attended on Saturday afternoon all had a blast. Just about every concern we had was laid to…

Mountain West Brew Fest: The beer lists of mystery abound!

The first Mountain West Brew Fest is almost upon us. It kicks off Saturday at noon and runs till 6, then repeats that schedule on Sunday in Bernalillo. If you have not bought your tickets yet, go here and get ’em. And remember, if you are unsure of a Premium Ticket, you can upgrade at…

The Week Ahead in Beer: Better late than never

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 four breweries and a pair of newcomers, one down in Socorro and the other in Los Alamos, also joining the party. OK, as I warned last week,…

Another happy Hopfest is in the books

Other than a brief period of wind that amounted to all sound and fury signifying nothing, we have to say that Saturday’s Hopfest was another excellent outing for newbies and craft beer veterans alike. A big thank you to Marne Gaston and her army of volunteers for keeping it all running smoothly, even when Mother…

The Crew’s annual Hopfest survival guide

The Albuquerque Hopfest returns this weekend, featuring 70 breweries and a whole lotta beers down at the Isleta Casino. Once again, the Crew will be in attendance, as we are veterans of this annual event. So we present our picks for what beers to try and all the other advice we can think of sharing….

The Week Ahead in Beer: Let the madness commence

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 four breweries and a pair of newcomers, one down in Socorro and the other in Los Alamos, also joining the party. Well, hello there, festival season. Good…

Beer Notes: Canteen’s new gear, another brewer on the move and more

Enough little tidbits of beer-related news have come up with this week that they cried out for their own post. None was necessarily a full-fledged story, so voila, Beer Notes makes a triumphant return. Canteen feeling swanky with new brewhouse As some might have seen on their Facebook page, the mad scientists at Canteen have…