At the turn of the century, Albuquerque was home to an early yet influential brewpub called Blue Corn Albuquerque. It was from that lone operation, which later rebranded to Chama River Brewing, that a wave of ambitious brewers would emerge to establish craft breweries that formed the foundation for a beer scene that has boomed in recent years. Part of that uptick has to do with New Mexico’s 2015 passage of reciprocity laws making it far more cost-effective to open a brewery space with a full bar than obtain a pricey liquor license. Today, “ABQ” is home to more than three-dozen brewing companies and well over 50 brewery-owned venues, a number of which are award-winning operations known throughout the nation. Join us as we tour this soaring, suds-soaked region.
DOWNTOWN & OLD TOWN
Marble Brewery
111 Marble Way NW (Downtown Brewery) | 5740 Night Whisper Rd NW (Westside Taproom) | 9904 Montgomery Blvd NE (Northeast Heights)
Established in 2008 by a quintet that included Chama River expats, Marble Brewery was Albuquerque’s first modern-era craft brewery. The business has served as an example for other local entrepreneurs on how to succeed in the beer industry while continuing to innovate and remaining devoted to the region and the people fueling that success. Marble has grown into ABQ’s largest (and New Mexico’s second largest) brewing company, with the bulk of its production taking place on the original brewhouse at its downtown HQ. That space has been renovated to be extra-inviting with a pub-like interior bolstered by a shaded, multi-muraled patio that’s home to a variety of events throughout the year.
Marble’s ubiquitous Double White is a best-selling, grains-of-paradise-laced beer mascot of sorts that’s inspired numerous ABQ-brewed imperial witbiers. Other key core offering are a dry-hopped Bavarian-style Pilsner with a grassy, honeydew nose and snappy finish, and Desert Fog, a hazy IPA with aromas of roses and peaches backed by flavors of peach and pineapple. The beer board is lent further variety care of seasonals and innovative creations from the “MavLab”, an R&D brewery at Marble’s Northeast Heights facility. Examples of the latter include Burque Tea Party, a 100% Mosaic-hopped IPA infused with black tea, chamomile and blood-orange rooibos that’s tropical, citrusy and earthily spicy.
Marble’s “mild to wild” beers can be enjoyed against the backdrop of live music Thursday through Saturday, in the presence of local vendors during weekend pop-up events, and with eats from area foodtrucks all week long.
Standout Suds: Pilsner, German-style Pilsner
Pro Tip: Events worth planning around include late-April’s anniversary week and August’s Marble Fest (see below).
Bow & Arrow Brewing
608 McKnight Ave NW
A love of beer—particularly those of the farmhouse, mixed-culture and sour variety—led Shyla Sheppard and Missy Begay to leave their established careers to start ABQ’s first woman-owned brewery and one of the country’s only Native American-owned beermaking operations. Armed with an expressive house culture from an on-property peach tree, a used fouder from American Solera in Tulsa, 60-plus used barrels and a trio of sour bases (golden, red, dark), they have brought an impressive array of funky beers to ABQ along with clean creations, a number of which are infused with indigenous ingredients (blue corn, sumac, chambourcin, hops) to honor the land and create a sense of terroir.
The aforementioned neutral-oak vessel births the beers of Bow & Arrow’s “Foederland” series of Brett saisons. A recent peach-infused iteration featured bright but not overbearing acidity and stone-fruit twang. The “Desert Revival” golden-sour series sees different fruit added each time around, as do the kettle-sours of the “Amigo” series. A thirst-quenching, lemony sour IPA called Savage Times is a nice bridge to the clean-beer side, which includes a crisp blue-corn pilsner called Denim Tux and a hazy IPA with apricot and white-peach notes called Scenic West.
The ambition and quality of Bow & Arrow’s brewing and aging programs is mirrored by the beauty of a well-appointed tasting room using Begay’s photography to establish a sense of place. Rows of communal tables moodily lit by a quartet of iron-ring chandeliers give way to a concrete bar backed by a wall of diagonally arranged herringbone wood slats. It’s something to behold.
Standout Suds: Foederland, Foeder-aged Brett Saison with Peaches
Pro Tip: Bow & Arrow’s tasting room is the only place to procure the company’s mixed-fermentation beers on draft.
Gravity Bound Brewing
816 3rd St NW
ABQ’s most buzzed-about upstart beer op is Gravity Bound, a 1% for the Planet, climate-neutral brewery founded by a pair of brothers, one of which plied his trade at a brewing microbiology lab in Colorado before heading production at a brewery in New York. Sited in an old auto-detailing garage that’s been reimagined as a “Taos earthship”, this product of the pandemic regularly draws droves of beer fans thirsty for the company’s small-batch creations.
While Gravity Bound’s beer list is everchanging, its most-talked-about beer among local brewers is a smooth and slightly toasty Vienna-style lager called Proof of Life. Similar session-beer prowess is displayed with Grid Line, a kölsch with a touch of lemony acidity and earthy bite. But like most “it” breweries, the kids are all about their here-today-gone-tomorrow hazies, which have big, fruity aromas and a texture between fluff and meringue. Also popular, and rightfully so, are fruited beers like Middle Spoon, a “breakfast sour” with raspberries, blueberries, cinnamon, peanut butter, vanilla and maple syrup, that’s surprisingly drinkable and brings that grocery-list of ingredients together without allowing any of them to dominate.
Adding to the inherent charm of Gravity Bound’s beers is the fact each are served in proper to-style glassware. Enjoy them along with murals on interior and exterior walls from a local artist who has gone on to design the company’s beer labels.
Standout Suds: Proof of Life, Vienna-style Lager
Pro Tip: Customers who ride their bike to Gravity Bound receive $1 off their beers.
Ponderosa Brewing
1761 Bellamah Ave NW
Ponderosa Brewing is a brewery-equipped bar and restaurant built as an anchor business for new-construction housing in Albuquerque’s Sawmill District. Regulars are its lifeblood, making for a jovial atmosphere where everybody knows everybody’s name and even a visitor can expect to be well taken care of and treated as family. That’s all well and good—as is a menu of pub grub spiced up with plenty of green chile—but beer is key at a brewpub and Ponderosa’s conveys both care and quality.
The beer list here is varied and intelligent. By and large, Ponderosa’s offerings come in well below imperial ABV (alcohol-by-volume) levels, making for ales and lagers that can be enjoyed over lengthy, leisurely sessions in this neighborhood pub. A current calling card is Italian Pilsner, a crisp, clean archetypal offering that beat out 133 hoppy lagers to take gold at this year’s World Beer Cup (WBC), but Ponderosa produces plenty of high-quality, lower-alcohol refreshers. Examples include the florally perfumed Crosscut Kölsch, a Blood Orange Witbier, and a Juicy Pale Ale with mango and coconut essence brought on by Sabro hops. Bellman’s Brown is the star of the malt-driven sect with a roasted-peanut nose and a fast finish, backed up by Rip Saw Red with its caramelized-citrus profile.
During the pandemic, Ponderosa started up a craft-distilling side hustle, the products of which—vodka, gin, rum, single-malt whiskey and an upcoming bourbon—have been incorporated into the bar program, making for even more house-made deliciousness.
Standout Suds: Italian Pilsner, Italian-style Pilsner
Pro Tip: Ponderosa’s fan-favorite Oktoberfest lager is released on the first day of the festival season.
Sidetrack Brewing
413 2nd St SW
Purists, not to mention brewers, are emphatic in their love for this bastion of beer-flavored beer where it’s all about honoring proven styles versus chasing trends. Opened in 2016 by an architect with a quarter-century of experience—but none when it came to brewing—Sidetrack was a one-man show for three long years until a brewer who’d plied his trade at Santa Fe Brewery (New Mexico’s largest beer company), La Cumbre Brewing and Bombs Away Brewing was brought on to head production. Offerings have since expanded from traditional English ales to include lagers and American IPAs, without veering into styles in the “ultra-modern canon”.
A pair of Mexican lagers make for good session-starters with a dark iteration offering caramel and an almost nutty toastiness. A kellerbier dubbed Lemondrop Lager is punctuated by a delightful green bite. An unnamed schwarzbier presents a light, hickory-like woodiness that adds dimension without sacrificing drinkability while a California common called For the Common Good is soft in body with burnt-caramel bitterness. Even one of the newest of the New World beers, Base Camp IPA, comes across as something of a throwback with bold notes of pine, orange and grapefruit pith.
Sidetrack’s founder set out to create a welcoming, communal pub vibe and has done just that. All are welcome to enjoy beer sans pretention in the lively yet laidback main bar or from a spacious shaded patio with a view of the brewery out back.
Standout Suds: Base Camp, West Coast IPA
Pro Tip: With two engines pumping direct from the cellar, this is the place for fans of cask beer.
Boese Brothers Brewing
601 Gold Ave SW (Downtown Brewery) | 7849 Tramway Blvd, Ste C (Northeast Heights Brewpub)
A fraternal operation specializing in refreshing German beers augmented by modern IPAs and house-made ciders, all of which are served amid colorful environs.
Downshift Brewing
303 Romero St NW
A Ruidoso-based brewery has set up a convivial second-story perch in the heart of Old Town from which to serve a well-received assortment of Old- and New-World beers.
Juno Brewery
1501 1st St NW
This combination brewery and art gallery serves house beers along with an assortment of local wines and ciders, plus gourmet espresso drinks and a full food menu.
Red Door Brewing
509 Central Ave SW
Beyond this brewery’s scarlet-hued entrance awaits a kid-friendly brewery offering a rotating array of beers, including IPAs both clear and hazy and a vanilla cream ale.
Rio Bravo Brewing
1912 2nd St NW
Spacious indoor environs featuring a pair of bars give way to a back patio with a large stage for live entertainment to take in along with traditional and more out-there beer styles.
Thirsty Eye Brewing
206 Broadway Blvd SE
This east Downtown brewery melding ale- and art-appreciation features monthly exhibits from New Mexico artists in tandem with lagers, hazies and adjunct-laced brews.
INTERSTATE 25
La Cumbre Brewing
3313 Girard Blvd NE (Brewery Taproom) | 5600 Coors Blvd NW, C1 (Westside Taproom)
Shortly after being hired to brew at Chama River in 2007, Jeff Erway found himself without a boss when his supervisor departed to help found Marble. Two years later, Erway succumbed to the dream of starting his own business and brewing the best IPA New Mexicans had ever tried, and started taking steps toward those goals. La Cumbre Brewing is the brick-and-mortar realization of his ambitions, and its beers are meant to be transportive, taking people to Dortmund, Brussels, Prague or Oxford with their traditional aromas, flavors and textures. While IPAs remain a focus, La Cumbre offers more lesser-seen, esoteric styles than most ABQ breweries.
On the hoppy front, Elevated IPA starts out with flavors of candied orange and cantaloupe that are cancelled out by a grapefruit-pith finish, while Mosaic and Tallus combine to lend the extra-dry Juntos IPA papaya and peach notes. Of La Cumbre’s lighter offerings, A Slice of Hefen has the profound banana flavor expected in a hefeweizen (plus a hint of lemon zest), and the simple-sounding “Beer” has struck gold in the International Lager category at both the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and WBC. Another well-decorated standout is Malpais, a foreign export stout that’s bold yet highly drinkable and has also nabbed medals at GABF and WBC.
Both of La Cumbre’s tasting rooms offer ample seating, New Mexican-inspired murals and artwork, sizeable outdoor patios and plenty of packaged beer to-go.
Standout Suds: Malpais, Foreign Extra Stout
Pro Tip: Lager fans, be sure to show up for Fasser Fridays at either of La Cumbre’s tasting rooms.
Canteen Brewhouse
2381 Aztec Rd NE (Brewhouse) | 417 Tramway Blvd NE (Taproom)
Built in a former semi repair shop, Albuquerque’s oldest continuously operating brewpub offers a laidback, hospitable environment bolstered by 24 taps of house beers, the quality of which is exemplified by a wall of awards earned at some of the world’s most prestigious brewing competitions. The brainchild of the restaurateur behind ABQ’s Il Vicino family of wood-fired pizza spots, Canteen’s beer program has been helmed by Zach Guilmette for the better part of a decade.
Guilmette aims to keep seven core beers on tap at all times while regularly rotating specialty offerings ranging from hoppy American ales to Old World classics and experiments like his recent India Pale Common. Of the year-round fare, Exodus IPA exhibits vibrant citrus notes and a touch of dankness, Dark and Lusty is a fudgy stout with hints of coffee and blueberry, and Pecos Trail brown ale has a cocoa bouquet backed by flavors of cola and anise. For all those lovely ales, Canteen’s lagers deserve top-billing. The WBC silver-winning High Plains Czech pilsner has a spicily assertive yet bone-dry finish, while the rice- and corn-infused Laid Back is a rare American lager worth writing home about.
Adding to Canteen’s distinct local-pub feel is the business’ involvement with the community. The brewpub hosts a variety of beer-centric fundraisers throughout the year, including November’s “Lager Liftoff” weightlifting competition and April’s “Day-drinking for a Cause”.
Standout Suds: High Plains, Czech-style Pilsner
Pro Tip: In search of gluten-reduced brews? Look no further. All of Canteen’s beers fit the bill.
Boxing Bear Brewing
8420 Firestone Ln NE (Taproom & Brewery) | 1710 Central Ave. SW (West Downtown Taproom) | 12501 Candelaria Rd NE (Bridges on Tramway Taproom) | 10200 Corrales Rd NW (Corrales Taproom)
In 2014, Boxing Bear debuted as the first brewery on ABQ’s Westside after Chama River vet Justin Hamilton and a pair of ale-minded entrepreneurs converted a Corrales dive bar into a brewery and tasting room. Since then, the company has built a “proper brewery” while opening satellites Downtown and at the Bridges on Tramway shopping center out east. The former has a nice-sized tasting room and shaded patio facing a colorful mural of a bear watching hot-air balloons hovering over purple mountains.
Multiple hazy IPAs and tart ales can be found on Boxing Bear’s tap list. Head Lock, a New England-style IPA triple-dry-hopped with Simcoe, Mosaic, Citra and Falconer’s Flight has mango on the nose and orange zest in its finish, while double-dry-hopped Strata Albu-Murky (get it?) offers an unexpectedly tasty mélange of banana, pineapple and melon. Kettle-sours such as the punch-like Black and Blue and a mango-lime model dubbed Just Jonesin’ are aggressively tart. Fans of older-school styles would do well to go for Body Czech pilsner or Uppercut, a West Coast IPA with essence of apricot, acorn squash, pine and pot.
With a name loosely inspired by Hamilton’s pair of canines and their penchant for sparring with each other, Boxing Bear is a haven for pet-lovers. Four-legged friends are welcomed as are well-behaved family members of all ages.
Standout Suds: Head Lock, Hazy IPA
Pro Tip: Each fall, Boxing Bear holds a DogtöBEARfest event to raise money for dog rescues and facilitate adoptions.
La Reforma Brewery
8900 San Mateo Blvd NE, Suite I
Inspired by Mexican culture and fresh off a road trip spent exploring American iterations of that country’s cuisine, a former Marble co-founder took over Bosque Brewing’s original brewhouse to build a restaurant celebrating the beer, brewing tradition and street food of our neighbors to the south. La Reforma’s menu is compact yet varied, offering succinctly Southern California-style delights—tacos, burritos, tortas, loaded nachos, carne asada fries—which feel at home in a bar and restaurant replete with colorful art that whisks one to the heart of Mexico City.
On the cerveza front, the corn-laced, Tettnanger-hopped La Ref Lager is what most would expect, but the beer menu covers substantial stylistic ground. The GABF gold-medal-winning Munich-style dunkel, Maximillian, is a savory, dark-bread masterpiece. La Reforma’s double wit, Hi-Wit, gets floral character and tannic bitterness from the addition of hibiscus. Flavors of navel orange and grapefruit are highlights of Turbia 1.0 IPA, while pineapple and pith are the story with a hazy pale called Astronave. The caramely Bomba Scotch Ale is a nice food beer, and with bold chocolate, chile and cinnamon spice, Mexican Choco-Stout can serve as desert all on its own. Oh, and don’t sleep on the zesty, zippy house-made Micheladas.
La Reforma also has its own line of spirits, including blue-agave-based blanco and reposado liquors (the legally compliant way to say tequila) and rum made with raw cane sugar sourced from Mexico.
Standout Suds: Maximillian, Munich-style Dunkel
Pro Tip: Customers can purchase La Reforma’s Michelada and Margarita mixes to-go in crowlers.
Alien Brew Pub
6601 Uptown Blvd NE
Under the tagline “take me to your liter”, this brewery-equipped bar pumps out small-batch beers, some incorporating far-out ingredients like pecans, cherries and hatch green chiles.
Enchanted Circle Brewing
6001 San Mateo Blvd NE
An assortment of beers, including some aged in barrels stored on-site, are served in understated environs along with pub-grub and the occasional live-music show.
Kilt Check Brewing
4814 Hardware Dr NE
Formerly operating under the moniker “Drafty Kilt”, as one might expect, this product of an award-winning industry veteran specializes in UK-style ales.
Nexus Brewery
4730 Pan American Fwy NE, Ste. D (Brewery & Restaurant) | 1511 Broadway Blvd SE (Nexus Blue Smokehouse)
Made famous by Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, this black-owned brewpub serves house beers with soul food featuring fun and flavorful New Mexico twists.
Palmer Brewery & Cider House
2926 Girard Blvd NE
Former pro-skateboarder Rob Palmer’s intimate, edgily outfitted, dual-beverage taproom has a cult following that includes a number of beer-industry insiders.
Santa Fe Brewing
3600 Cutler Ave NE, Ste 1 (ABQ Taproom) | 6110 Alameda Blvd NE, Ste 1 (Tin Can Alley Taproom)
New Mexico’s largest craft-brewing company operates a pair of ABQ tasting rooms as part of multi-tenant business campuses, Green Jeans Farmery and Tin Can Alley.
Starr Brothers Brewing
5700 San Antonio Dr NE, Ste B1
A local meeting place for the futbol-fanatic membership of the American Outlaws, this brewpub serves beers of U.S. and European origin with a side of soccer action.
LOS RANCHOS DE ALBUQUERQUE, NORTH VALLEY, WESTSIDE & CORRALES
Ex Novo Brewing
4895 Corrales Rd, Corrales
Though Ex Novo was established in Portland and operates three locations throughout Oregon, the eight-year-old interest has serious New Mexico roots. One of the company’s co-founders hails from Corrales, a village immediately northwest of ABQ, making Ex Novo’s construction of a large production facility and tasting room there as much a homecoming as a bi-state expansion. From the moment the latter opened to the public, locals have responded, flocking to the stylish contemporary-bungalow sampling space and touting the quality of its beers.
When asked which Albuquerque brewery produces the best hazy IPAs, most brewing professionals point to Ex Novo for achieving balanced textures with poignant aromas and bright, juicy flavors. Ex Novo also exhibits prowess in the clear-IPA realm with its flagship, Mass Ascension, a modern West Coast IPA with round orange juiciness accented by a softly pithy finish. On the lighter side, Perle Pilsner is clean with just a touch of sweetness, while the house Vienna Lager is easy-drinking and bready with a hint of burnt-caramel. Meanwhile, a fruited pale ale dubbed Puff Puff conveys the pure essence of tart passionfruit, making for a brilliant sunny-day sipper.
In addition to its tasting room, Ex Novo has constructed an expansive, family-friendly outdoor beer garden called “The Corral”, which is the site of events like the company’s LagerHosen Festival in May (see below) and a Beerloon Fiesta balloon-watching extravaganza in October.
Standout Suds: Mass Ascension, West Coast IPA
Pro Tip: In addition to rotating food trucks, tasting-room customers can order from nearby restaurants sans delivery charge.
Steel Bender Brewyard
8305 2nd St NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque
In 2016, commercial developers had such a choice property on their hands that they kept it to themselves, constructing a stylish, sprawling restaurant with a small brewery setup in the back. Dubbed Steel Bender as a nod to the art of forging something beautiful from raw materials, it’s been a smash success from day one. So much that brewing has been moved off-property in order to increase capacity. Similarly, a space envisioned as a beer hall for special events has been converted to a regularly packed overflow dining room at this beloved communal hub for the village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque.
The MO of Head Brewer Bob Haggerty, whose experience includes time at Ponderosa, La Cumbre and Maine’s Oxbow Brewing, is to respect styles—he’ll brew “anything and everything”—without being too chained down by guidelines. Case in point, an “extra ESB” that’s fruity versus tea-like with a peppery finish. A 100% Brettanomyces-fermented IPA has a funky nose and a fruit-stand’s worth of flavors (apricot, passionfruit, grapefruit). Esmerelda Italian-style pilsner is spritzy with honeydew-melon nuances, nixtamalized blue corn lends pleasant sweetness to a light lager called Compa, and Slovenian hops bring tropicality to Mañana hazy IPA.
Going beyond the tap-list, Steel Bender offers a wide variety of bottled barrel-aged saisons and mixed-fermentation beers inoculated with a house Brett strain lending funky farmhouse depth to those creations, all of which speak to Haggerty’s personal passions.
Standout Suds: Who’s Brett?, Brett IPA
Pro Tip: Steel Bender’s patio is great for beer, breakfast and watching hot-air balloons float by during ABQ’s annual Balloon Fiesta.
Desert Valley Brewing
3700 Ellison Rd NW
A spot with brewing history has shifted its focus to concocting frozen cocktails, opting to fill its beer list with ales and lagers from other regional breweries.
Hops Brewery
7222 4th St NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque
This brewpub is run by a native Albuquerquean with affinity for the British Isles, leading to a beer list with lots of lesser-seen styles (nut brown, milk stout, Scotch ale).
Lava Rock Brewing
2220 Unser Blvd NW
Among this westerly brewpub’s more unique offerings is a New Mexico-style IPA brewed with classic American hops and malts grown within the Land of Enchantment.
NOB HILL, MIDTOWN, UPTOWN & EASTSIDE
Bosque Brewing
106 Girard Blvd SE, Ste B (Nob Hill Public House) 5210 Eubank Blvd NE (Heights Public House) | 834 US-550, Bernalillo (North Brewery & Taproom)
One can easily find Bosque Brewing’s beers just about anywhere in Albuquerque. Not only has the 10-year-old Bernalillo-based company built a trio of inviting, neighborhood-driven tasting rooms up and down Interstate 25 (not to mention its spots in Las Cruces and Telshore), but it also operates a pair of not-for-profit Restoration Pizza restaurants built to employ and empower people with disabilities. On top of that, Bosque beers are widely distributed to grocery and liquor stores throughout ABQ. But the best place to enjoy the widest variety is at the company’s taprooms, all of which are equipped with kitchens serving elevated pub fare.
Like many local breweries, the lion’s share of Bosque’s offerings work well with the region’s warmer climate (read, IPAs, wheat beers and session lagers), but one of its most well-crafted creations is Scotia, a mahogany-hued year-round Scotch-style ale with notes of caramel and cola that’s exceptionally quaffable. Other standouts include the highly hopped Hatfield lager (green grass, cucamelon) and Showboat Captain, an IPA that’s brewed with thiolized yeast and has a huge orange-grove nose followed by a lovely blend of citrus, peach, rosemary and sage on the palate. Another IPA, Riverwalker, comes on strong with tangerine, pine and black currant, while the GABF silver-winning Bosque Lager makes for a brilliant everyday crusher.
Bosque provides ABQ distilling operation Altar Spirits with the wash for its vodka, then uses that crystal-clear firewater to make cocktails at its taprooms. Another fun fact: one of Bosque’s canned core beers is a salty briny oddity called Pickle Down Economics, that—love it or hate it—is a must-try.
Standout Suds: Scotia, Scotch-style Ale
Pro Tip: Bosque has taken over the former Toltec Brewing facility in northwest ABQ, from which it will further extend its local empire.
The 377 Brewery
2027 Yale Blvd SE
With a vibe described as “drinking in the garage with your friends”, this spot has more dark beers than most (schwarzbier, Munich dunkel, oatmeal stout, Belgian quad).
Bombs Away Beer Co.
9801 Acoma Rd SE
Built by an Air Force vet with a military-inspired motif, this brewery features 16 taps pouring forth beers ranging from an American lager to a New England-style double IPA.
Differential Brewing
500 Yale Blvd SE
Lower-alcohol, lighter-bodied beers are the name of the game at this brewery, featuring a red-corn rye lager, rice lager, strawberry blonde ale and blue corn cream ale.
High & Dry Brewing
529 Adams St NE
Eschewing trends and beer competitions, this neighborhood spot produces small batches of beers it’s excited about from a minimalist yet stylish, patio-equipped taproom.
Lizard Tail Brewing
9800 Montgomery Blvd NE, Ste 7 (Heights Taproom) | 3417 Central Ave NE, Ste C (Nob Hill Taproom) | 3351 Columbia Dr NE (Industrial)
Just about any style of beer (or cider or even mead) is bound to show up at the trio of venues from this proudly outlandish operation—including a number of to-style classics.
Quarter Celtic
1100 San Mateo Blvd NE (Brewpub) | 1930 Juan Tabo Blvd NE (Tap Room)
One of ABQ’s longest-tenured, most award-winning brewers produces world-class U.K. and Irish beer styles at this pub, which specializes in stick-to-your-ribs Celtic fare.
ReSource Brewing
3107 Eubank Blvd NE, Ste 12
This sustainability-minded operation is run by a couple who started out homebrewing before producing their dark, hoppy and fruited beers on a professional level.
Sobremesa Restaurant & Brewery
3421 Coors Blvd NW
Here, an eclectic menu (Greek salad, fish and chips, tacos, flautas) is matched by an equally varied beer list (Italian pils, IPA, barrel-aged biere de garde, wheat wine).
Tractor Brewing
118 Tulane Dr SE (Nob Hill) | 5720 McMahon Blvd NW, Bldg 5, Ste A (Westside Taproom) | 1800 4th St NW (Wells Park Taproom)
Though this family of taprooms was built on beer, in recent years the business’ line of apple, berry, citrus and even watermelon ciders has become even more prominent.
Turquoise Trail Brewing
11016 Central Ave SE
House beers from a short-list menu are passed across a turquoise-inlay bar at this quaint spot paying homage to the historically significant route that it’s named after.
BEER-CENTRIC EVENTS
LagerHosen (May)
Ex Novo Brewing, 4895 Corrales Rd, Corrales
Each year, Ex Novo Brewing invites 25 breweries from across the nation to bring their bottom-fermenting best to serve to attendees of this celebration of lager beer.
ABQ Beer Week (late-May/early-June)
Various Locations
For one enchanted 10-day stretch, local breweries hold special events at their tasting rooms, making for a fun choose-your-own-adventure situation for craft-beer fans.
Bear Fest (July)
Boxing Bear Brewing, 8420 Firestone Ln NE
In addition to inviting friends from local breweries, distilleries and vendors to take part in its anniversary festival, Boxing Bear Brewing lines up a full afternoon of live music.
IPA Challenge (August)
Various Locations
Each year the New Mexico Brewers Guild seeks public input to decide which of the state’s IPA reign supreme, holding events in ABQ, Santa Fe and Farmington.
Marble Fest (August)
Marble Brewery, 111 Marble Way NW
To kick off Oktoberfest season, Marble Brewery pours German-style lagers from local breweries, offers up authentic Deutsche cuisine and challenges fans to a stein-holding comp.
RECOMMENDED LODGING
Painted Lady Bed & Brew
1100 Bellamah Ave NW
Built in a former brothel, this small, sudsy inn is equipped with a unique and enthralling history plus plenty of local beer. Take advantage of the daily happy hour after a big day of brewery-hopping, then unwind in sprawling suites with full kitchens and private patios.
The Desert Compass
1808 Old Town Rd NW
El Vado Motel
2500 Central Ave SW
Hotel Albuquerque
800 Rio Grande Blvd NW
Hotel Andaluz
125 Second Street NW
Hotel Chaco
2000 Bellamah Ave NW
Hotel Parq Central
806 Central Avenue SE
Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm
4803 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque
The Monterey Motel
2402 Central Ave SW