Flock of Moons brings the brews to Bricklight District

The name Flock of Moons leaves a lot up to the imagination and that is why the owners chose it for their brewery.

“We just kind of wanted something that evoked a sense of mystery or adventure, something enigmatic,” explained Jeff Tomlinson, co-founder and brewer. “Something where people can kind of bring their own meaning to it, if you will. It doesn’t tie to anything in the past. We also wanted something just unique, something different that wasn’t named after a local landmark or some of the typical things that restaurants and breweries get named.”

Flock of Moons Brewing Company recently opened its Bricklight District location at 111 Harvard Dr. SE. It currently has three of its own beers on tap and plans to offer a range of styles as it progresses. Guest taps from fellow New Mexico breweries add to the craft beer selections that can be viewed at flockofmoons.com.

“Our focus right now is kind of classic styles, just kind of using that as a baseline to get a handle on our brewing system and our processes,” Tomlinson said. “And then we’ll probably branch out from there and get a little more playful in the future.”

On tap are the brewery’s Retrograde Rebel hazy IPA, Waning Crescent Vienna lager, and Bandada de Lunas New Mexican lager.

“We have a twist on Mexican lager,” Tomlinson said. “It’s just a little bit more hoppy than your traditional Mexican lager, so we’re calling it New Mexican lager. And then we have a Vienna lager, which is the classic style similar to like Negro Modelo that originated in Europe and migrated to Mexico.”

Soon another IPA will be added to the menu as well as some other beer styles.

“I’m going to be batching up a tropical stout, which is a historical style from the tropical areas of the Caribbean and the East Indies,” Tomlinson said. “We’ve got a Czech Pilsner coming on-line here soon, a rice lager, and then I’m just kind of rebrewing some of the ones we’re selling through that we have on tap now.”

Tomlinson began home brewing about 30 years ago. In the 1990s, he had wanted to open a brewpub with his longtime friend, Jay Harmon, who is also a co-owner of Flock of Moons. Tomlinson’s life partner, Stefanie Luna, also co-owns the brewery.

“(Harmon and I) put a business plan together, and we shopped it around a little bit, but we were ultimately young and inexperienced,” Tomlinson explained. “We didn’t have our own startup capital and didn’t have an established credit at that time, so yeah, it never happened. But we’ve revived the dream 30 years later, and here we are.”

The building that houses the brewery holds a special place in Tomlinson’s heart.

“I’ve always loved this area,” he said. “I’ve loved this particular building we’re in. I worked right next door, where 505 Spirits is now. It was a camera shop in the 1990s and I was a photography student at (the University of New Mexico). And Winning Coffee opened up during that time, and I just thought this was the coolest building. And I’ve kind of had a love affair with it ever since.”

The space was not as large as the co-owners had originally wanted, and it did not have an outdoor patio, which was a must for the trio.

“Ultimately, we took another look at it, and we discovered it has a partial basement that is 800 square feet,” Tomlinson said. “So that was a game changer for us. It allows us to keep our kegs in the basement and not take up valuable floor space at either the taproom or the brewery. And then we talked to the landlords, and they were really enthusiastic about putting a patio out back. They just decided to turn the whole back parking lot into a giant patio for ourselves and 505 Spirits. It just all magically worked out.”