Mountain West Brew Fest draws crowd to Bernalillo

The Mountain West Brew Fest returned to Loretta Park in Bernalillo to bring together people with craft brews, local food and live music Saturday, Aug. 24.

The event ran 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“We’ve been here twice before. It's always a good event. We are out in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and in February we will have been around for three years,” said Case Forrest, who runs events for Downshift Brewing Company.

Breweries/distilleries in attendance were Downshift Brewing Company, Bear Creek Brewing Company, Sheehan Winery, One Distillery, Kaktus Brewing Company and Left Turn Distilling.

“We are actually Albuquerque’s first distillery. We’ve been doing it for a while; we have 14 different labels. Some of our specialties are our Old Tom Gin is really good, and you might find that around. We also do a blue corn whiskey, and our straight bourbon, which is actually New Mexico’s first straight bourbon.” said Joseph Cutchall, a bartender at Left Turn Distilling.

Rowe Mesa Red was one of the more popular brews that had attendees talking. The Rowe Mesa Red is an Irish red ale from Bear Creek Brewing Company, based in Santa Fe.

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“What makes us a little different from other breweries is that we own the farms that we grow our hops on; we also own the malter we malt our barley on, so we are 100% New Mexican ingredients,” said Drake Burnett, a brand ambassador for Bear Creek Brewing Company.

Food vendors in attendance were Joe Daddy’s, 505 Cornhole Algodones Premium Beef jerky, Mary Jane’s Kitchen, Ha’Wah Sweets, Nico’s Street Food, Blender, Juicy J’s Treats, Tom Boy Taco, Dazzling Lemonade, Chillville and 200 Social Club.

Many attendees opted for birria tacos from Tom Boy, and another popular item was the ribbon fries from Joe Daddy’s.

Some pop-ups also sold clothes, and Cross My Paws Animal Rescue was in attendance and brought four-legged guests.

A main stage was set underneath some shade for festival-goers and included plenty of chairs.

The four bands performing on the main stage were Brandon Saiz Band, Triple X Band 505, The Panhandlers and Catalyst Unknown.

Attendees drank, ate food, laughed and, as the bands played, some even danced the night away.