Find out which breweries are teaming up for the United in Beer Festival

The team at Ex Novo Brewing Company lives by the philosophy of “Drink Beer, Do Good.”

The United in Beer Festival, which brings New Mexican breweries together for a good cause, epitomizes that mission. This year will mark the third anniversary of the event, which is held at The Corral, Ex Novo’s popular outdoor patio and beer garden in Corrales, from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets typically sell out, and when all is said and done, approximately 400 people are expected to attend the festivities throughout the day.

“I’m on the board for the New Mexico Brewers Guild, and it actually got started at a beer event in Santa Fe, talking with our executive director and just our deep love of this community and our beer scene here. We have so many phenomenal breweries, and we don’t get to collab like this on a regular basis,” Ex Novo HR director Stevo Jeter said.

“In fact, we don’t have a collaboration festival, or at least we didn’t at the time, and (we) just thought it would be really fun to have two different breweries team up to create a special beer and then celebrate this community at a beer festival.”

It all begins at a special “draft” in February, when the participating breweries are paired up at random for their collaboration. They then choose the type of beer they will brew together, and once that’s selected, it’s off the board — which means no collaboration will feature the same style of beer. In a few cases, breweries have decided to collaborate on a couple different offerings, where one is produced at each respective location. For example, Turtle Mountain Brewing Co. and Santa Fe Brewing Co. are working together on two options: an adjunct stout and a dark lager.

“These two breweries come together to create something unique, and we just thought it was such an amazing opportunity, whether you’re a large-scale brewery or small, to glean ideas off of each other,” Jeter said.

All told, 20 breweries will take part to produce 13 unique beers. These are usually small batch productions, so after the United in Beer Festival, there may be only limited availability at each location until they run out. General admission includes eight drink tickets and a commemorative glass, while a new VIP option allows for exclusive early access at noon for an extra hour of tasting and 20% off all merchandise.

“We really wanted to make it an earlier event for the beer enthusiasts that really cared about trying everything,” Jeter said.

Proceeds from the festival will benefit the Somos Unidos Foundation, a nonprofit “dedicated to creating positive outcomes for New Mexicans through art, sport, community and unity.” While last year’s event included the presence of a number of New Mexico United players, a scheduling conflict will prevent anyone on the team from attending this year.

“We have been doing that partnership for years now with a couple of beers we’ve had in the past, where a dollar of every pint or four-pack we gave back to the Somos Unidos Foundation. We’ve always believed in what they were doing,” Jeter said. “They launched around the same time as Ex Novo did, and just to see all of the things they’re doing in the community for the youth and for athletics here throughout the entire state and in rural areas was just incredible.”

While the beers are the main attraction, the festival will also feature a variety of games and activities, including tournaments in cornhole and beer pong. A new addition is the dunk tank, where players can get the opportunity to submerge a brewer or, perhaps, even a few special guests.

“My favorite event of the year,” Jeter said. “… We have people from all over the state coming out here.”

Breweries team up for custom brews and charity in the United in Beer Festival