Sunday 7th of June 2015 11:23:54 AM

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The brewery tasting room is just off I-25 and is wonderful for a relaxing afternoon looking out over the mountains to the west. We stopped for some samples in the early evening. A 10 beer sampler of four ounce beers was $10.00. They have a small tasting room inside with no more than a dozen seats. There are plenty of tables scattered around the grounds outside. Unfortunately for our designated driver they didn’t serve anything else but beer and water. They don’t have food service but you can bring your own. In addition to the samples you can have a pint or get a six-pack, bomber, or growler to go. They also have an El Dorado Taproom that has everything they serve here. They just keep growing, this is their third move and plan to expand the facility six fold. All of their beers were good but it was the Nut Brown that we got a six-pack of to go. They distribute to 13 states right now.

Wednesday 17th of November 2010 11:18:40 AM

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Over last week I had the luck to visit 5 breweries in New Mexico, and this was one of the best! Make sure to go to the tasting room attached to the actual brewery building, it isn't well marked and is around the front of the building. We ended up first in the Pub and Grill across the parking lot, and they had a poor selection compared to the tasting room. Also the brewery is out in the middle of nowhere, our GPS got us close, but we were getting nervous about being lost in the desert!

The tasting room is tiny, and was full of happy regulars having a pint and filling their growlers. For $5 you can sample all the beers on tap, including the fancy stuff. The regular beers are all good: a german style hefe, the clasic pale ale, nut brown. I really loved the Kickin' Chicken: a bourbon barrel aged version of their Chicken Killer Barleywine. I wish I lived around here...I would be in that tasting room all the time!

I scored a bottle of their Wild Ale #6 as well and look forward to tasting that at home.

Thursday 7th of October 2010 11:57:01 PM

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All I can say is WOW! I tried the sampler, which is 8 4oz servings (only $5). Every one was excellent for its respective style.
The best being their Happy Camper IPA, State Pen Porter, Chicken Killer Barleywine (excellent), and their Oktoberfest. I also had their Pale Ale, Hefe, Nut Brown and I think their Blonde Ale.
I went into the brewery itself as opposed to the pub & grill. It was a great atmosphere because it's just a little room in the main brewery building, so the brewing area and equipment was right in front of you through the windows. It's in a weird location away from town, yet right next to I25. Well worth seeking out if you're in town.

Thursday 6th of November 2008 07:25:37 PM

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I had a little bit below average experience in the Santa Fe Brewing Co. After driving a bit out of the way to get there, I was met by a pleasant, but a little disinterested, hostess. I asked a few questions about the beers which she couldn't answer very well (asking me to stick around and ask the brewer if I REALLY wanted to know), though she did do a little better with the menu. I grabbed the Pale Ale and ordered a sandwich, for which I was given a number to watch for on an electronic screen. When my number popped up, I was instructed to walk over to the kitchen area and announce myself to collect the sandwich. The turkey club was acceptable, the cole slaw well above average and the Pale rather middling. The pub itself need quite a bit of spiffying; some paint, better cleaning and new furniture. A few others were in for lunch, what looked like regulars.

Upon finishing the food and draining the beer I quietly left, to the casual disinterest of the staff.

Thursday 15th of May 2008 12:34:07 AM

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Santa Fe Brewing Company
“Sexiest brewery in New Mexico”
December 4, 2007


Breweries, bars, tasting rooms have different flavors of atmospheres depending on when one is in the establishment. This premise was no more demonstrated than the two times I went to the Santa Fe Brewing Company.

Santa Fe Brewing Company (SBC) is a stones throw east of I-25 at the New Mexico Highway 14 exit south of Santa Fe. The sign can be seen from the interstate (only because it was grandfathered-in contrary to Santa Fe ordinance). The brewery in 2008 will be 20 years old, oldest in New Mexico. They have a 30 bbl system but only brew and bottle once a week. The tap room is open from 11am to 10 am, happy hour 4-6 for $2.50 pints. The “regulars” come in about 5 PM. There is a wonderful view of the brewing facilities. They share a parking lot with the Santa Fe Brewing Bar and Grill, which will be split off from the brewery. I was on my way to Salida for the Arkansas Valley Brewers Christmas party and stopped at 11 AM to sample. Alana with pleasantly rumpled shoulder length blonde hair and a large dog meet me after I rattled the door. I order an American Pale Ale from the list of 8 available beers. As she removed the plugs in the taps to keep out the fruit flies, she seemed surprised and remarked at 11 am most people came in for a tee shirt, mugs or other merchandise. I agreed but said I was on a mission. The dog came over for an ear scratch. As I had my head down making notes, Alana pulled her hair back. I looked up and she looked like a different person.

Alana is the wife of the production manager, Nick. She is the office manager, handling ordering, inventory and other support logistics. She confirmed the cost of brew supplies were going up. Barley was being displaced by corn to meet the fuel ethanol demand and world wide hops are in short supply. She speculated barley prices would double.

I thanked Alana but I had to be in Salida by 5 the following day, so I headed up I-25 toward Trinidad, Colorado and Trinidad Brewing Company. (see other posting)

Three days later, after sampling Trinidad Brewing, Amicas in Salida, San Luis Valley Brewery in Alamosa, Colorado; attending the Christmas party with its wonderful food and company; hearing the great symphonic music in Buena Vista of the Alpine Sympathy in a Baptist church and a wonderful bar band in Salida; chatting with interesting people (see Mara Brightstar); at 8pm I was at SBC tap room again.

The tap room was a different place! The tap room is dog friendly with a water dish next to the door. I was greeted by a large collie mix shaggy dog. The tap room was occupied by 4 men and 3 women. I later found out that all were employees of the brewery or the grill. They included the bottling line manger; Nick; the production manager; his wife, Alana; bar mistress; Heather; and a bar mistress, Shana, from the Grill. I sat on a bar stool next to a poodle with an orange Mohawk. The dog looked at me with large brown eyes, and just a hint of intrusions on his territory. I greeted the dog and he looked the other way. These guys had a head start on me. I ordered the State Pen Porter. Nick came over to explain it to me. Alana helped with a description by saying it was “English porter with a SouthWestern/German twist”. Nick interpreted by saying they used German ale yeast, with Hauteur hops for flavor and aroma. I guess the SouthWestern part was the water which came from a very deep aquifer very low in minerals from mountain snow melt. The porter was dark, very little head, mild and well within the style.

Apparently Alana had briefed Nick on my earlier visit and noted I like Pale Ale but he suggested I have the one year old Imperial Java Stout only available in the taproom from bottles. He described a cold infusion of lightly cracked coffee bean used in the brew. It was a smooth well rounded coffee stout. It had a light coffee flair; light malt and all elements were well balanced. All agreed the aging had mellowed and rounded the earlier jagged taste.

Next was the Chicken Killer barley wine. Nick’s comment was that one can not really understand Chicken Killer until the second half of the pint. The barely wine was light copper, very smooth and well balanced with a slight alcohol burn. It would be easy to drink too much of this barley wine.

I finished with their APA and IPA. They were both well within guidelines but not the knock your socks off like Amica’s or Phantom Canyon’s. I like big hoppy aroma, slight malt in nose and taste with a long clean hoppy non bitter after taste. When one makes small batches in ones kitchen and can cool wort very quickly it is easier to get these elements. Nick and I discussed brewing Pale Ales. He explained the differences and difficulties of brewing large 30 bbl batches, especially quickly cooling wort to bring out aroma without isomering the hops.

Everyone was enjoying the evening. Jokes started, which I agreed would not appear in print. Philosophy of brewing and music was discussed. There was a discussion if one brewed or played what was not what one wanted for money, did that prostitute the art or oneself?

The Tap room book was trotted out. The first few pages was Alana at the ‘pool’ party outside the taproom door over looking the Rio Grande valley and the setting sun from the vantage of a kiddy play pool. A hop arbor had been planted, which in a couple of years will be wonderful both for the shade and the aroma. Notes, of sometimes barely readable script, gave advice, thoughts, poetry, philosophy, comments on life. I penned an offering.

I got the hint the evening was winding down when I was asked if I wanted to pay out. Looking at my watch it was after closing. The whole group was so gracious, I was embarrassed. I paid out, $10 and walked to my vehicle. I calculated the alcohol I had consumed in what time frame, detox rates, and decided I should kill some time in the parking lot. The sunrise was spectacular.

A bar has different flavor at different time. Judged as a whole, the Santa Fe Brewing Company taproom on this night I would score as one of the Most Fun Bars. Nick accorded it the “Sexiest brewery in New Mexico”. I do not want to comment on that because I did not get to the brewery. This was a magic intersection of people, beer, venue, dogs, hops, cool New Mexican nights, philosophy and atmosphere. It may never happen again, but on one night, a two hour period, it was indeed, Magic.

Mike Kiester