Hop to it: NM Brewers Guild holds 2024 IPA Challenge

New Mexico’s breweries will battle it out to see which hoppy or hazy IPA will be named the best in the state.

The New Mexico Brewers Guild’s 2024 IPA Challenge kicks off from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 13, at Nuckolls Brewing Company, 1611 Alcaldesa Street, in Santa Fe.

“It’s cute,” Ebbie Edmonston, NMBG executive director, said of Nuckolls. “That was kind of the whole reason that we wanted to do it there because it’s the newest brewery in Santa Fe. It has a huge patio that is perfect for people watching. It even has a little beer garden area. They have 16 plus taps. We’re going to take over 16 of those taps and then they’re still going to have taps available for regular beers.”

Hop to it: NM Brewers Guild holds 2024 IPA Challenge

Round 2 of the challenge takes place from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 20, at Lauter Haus Brewing Co., 1806 East 20th St., in Farmington.

“It’s a great spot,” Edmonston said of Lauter Haus. “They have a concert there later that day. If you like pinball and arcade machines, like I do, you’ll have a great time at Lauter Haus.”

The competition concludes on Saturday, July 27, at Bow & Arrow Brewing, 608 McKnight Ave. NW.

“One of the reasons we like to do Albuquerque as the finals is because there’s so many people, so many beer lovers,” Edmonston said. “We want to give you guys the chance to really (come) out in droves and show your support for whichever brewery you think you’re voting for. We want to make it a nice little party for whoever the winner is. They get to hoist that trophy up and get all their photos taken.”

The Albuquerque event will have a different format than the first two rounds. The final event will be broken into three, 2-hour long sessions, with the final votes announced at the end of the third session. Sessions will be held at noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Ticketholders at each of the events will receive a commemorative pint glass, samples of the 16 IPA finalists, and a pint of their favorite IPA. Attendees will be able to cast their vote for the best IPA and the winner will be announced at the Albuquerque event. Proceeds from the event benefit the NMBG’s efforts to support and promote its member breweries, including lobbying during legislative sessions.

This year’s challenge received 40 entries. The entries were whittled down to 16 beers on Saturday, July 6, during an elimination round at Canteen Brewhouse. The elimination round was a blind judging session done by representatives from breweries that submitted entries. The 16 IPAs moving on to the three public judging rounds are from Bosque Brewing Co., Boss Fight Brewing Co., Boxing Bear Brewing Co., Downshift Brewing Co., Flock of Moons Brewing Co., Gravity Bound Brewing Co., La Reforma Brewery, Marble Brewery, Nexus Brewery, Ponderosa Brewing, Quarter Celtic Brewpub, Second Street Brewery, Sobremesa Restaurant & Brewery, Thirsty Eye Brewing Co., Three Rivers Brewery, and Tractor Brewing Co.

Attendees at the public judging rounds will receive samples of each of the 16 beers on numbered trays. Eventgoers participate in the blind tasting and vote for their favorite. The votes are tallied for each round and the IPA with the most votes wins. The 16 beers will be identified at the end of the final round. Last year, Bosque Brewing Company won with its Participation Ribbon IPA.

“This is the 22nd year that we’ve been doing the IPA challenge,” Edmonston said. “It really just started out as a friendly competition, but it’s evolved over the years to be one of the biggest beer events for the guild. And it’s a double-blind IPA tasting, meaning that nobody knows what they’re drinking, except me. I have the key and that way nobody can be swayed.”