New Mexico beer scene continues to grow

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – On Sunday, over 20 local breweries met at Ex Novo for an annual event.

KOB 4 spoke to a couple of people who say the more the merrier when it comes to adding new businesses to their ranks.

“It is exciting to be able to, to kind of push the limits and test the boundaries of different beer styles,” said Dan Herr, co-owner of Sidetrack Brewing Company. 

Herr is one of several brewers participating in the United In Beer Collaboration Fest. That’s where smaller breweries work with larger ones to make a beer together. 

This year, Herr and Greg Dupy from Marble Heights are teamed up. 

Dupy says collaborations and experiments keep things interesting, not just for brewers but for customers. 

“We’ve experimented with almost every style we can find up there, just small batch, and some of them hit some of them we don’t like so much. I think last year I made a peanut butter and jelly wheat beer that was people either loved it or hated it,” said Dupy. 

Herr says he’s loving the growth of the industry lately. 

“The evolution of everybody that’s out there, it’s always exciting. So there’s always new people coming in. But then there’s always people that have been established in the industry, and they’re able to, you know, just kind of expand their impact that they have across the community,” Herr said. 

Bosque Brewing just announced three new locations in the metro. One of them at the former Lava Rock Brewing location. 

But, with progress comes setbacks, Boxing Bear closed its west downtown location in December.

Herr says it’s not something you like to see, but it’s part of the business. 

“Well, that’s part of the process, you know, if you might try a different beer style, and it might not work out, you might have the same sort of a condition with a taproom. So you know, you’ve just got to push it and see what happens,” said Herr. 

The New Mexico Brewers Guild lists over 60 breweries around the state.

 Ebbie Edmonston with the Brewer’s Guild says local people just love local beer. 

“Honestly, it’s the locals. I have never been in a beer community that just everybody loves the beer here, we have a great industry. And I think all the locals can feel that, you know, you’re drinking the beer that Josh or like Palmer made, and you get to meet them,” said Edmonston. 

Edmonston says New Mexico is getting a reputation as a beer state, and that’s something she hopes to keep brewing in the future. 

“We have some really, really good beers. We’re bringing home awards every year. So I just wish that more tourists would come out and really explore our beer scene,” said Edmonston. 

The collab beers will be showcased at the United In Beer Festival in May.

A large portion of the proceeds go to the Somos Unidos Foundation.