The beer festival makes a triumphant return in a proper autumn setting

We went to a beer festival this past weekend, and it was amazing. Oh, sure, we could have written that statement dozens (hundreds?) of times in the past, but since the pandemic arrived, we haven’t had the opportunity. The last sampling festival any of us could recall was WinterBrew in January 2020, while the last…

Ullr Fest: The show goes on!

The festival season has been a bit spotty the last couple years, of course, so you will hopefully be thrilled to hear that Ullr Fest in Los Alamos will be happening this Saturday, October 2. The annual event at the ski hill is meant to be a tribute to the Norse God of Snow, Ullr,…

Tumbleroot keeps their spirits high through 2020 and into 2021

Co-founder and brewmaster Jason Kirkman takes a break from bottling to answer a quick phone call from a beer writer. He sits for a minute in the empty brewing facility, once filled with the sounds of laughter, the odd clang of a hoseclamp here and there, and new beers bubbling happily away into buckets. He’s…

Remaining Santa Fe breweries at various stages of reopening

On Tuesday, the Dark Side Brew Crew ran my story on the Santa Fe breweries that have been open to the public for a couple weeks now, and what unique challenges they’ve faced as they blazed the trail for the others. As promised, I reached out to Second Street Brewery, Blue Corn Brewery, and Tumbleroot…

A masked brew-tour and a quick chat with Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery

We are now 11 weeks into the pandemic restaurant/brewery shutdown, and most restaurants and breweries are still poised to open their doors as early as next week after this week’s quite spontaneous patio soft-opening announcement. With true indoor opening dates as well as dine-in rules still up in the air, I thought it would be…

The Week Ahead in Beer: More canned brews, more art, more metal

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….