Keeping Together Brewery and Beverage Garden to open doors in refurbished greenhouse

The Keeping Together brand, at least in terms of beer, was officially born in Chicago.

However, the ethos behind it all was formed many years earlier.

“My dad and I were very close when I was growing up. He passed away back in 2012, but he had impressed upon me the importance of language and using your words in a way that was more positive than negative,” Averie Swanson, owner, said. “… I ended up deciding that Keeping Together felt like a really positive mantra, and if I had this one opportunity to put words in people’s mouths, that I wanted it to be a really positive one.

A self-professed “science nerd,” Swanson studied biology in school and began brewing beer as a hobby. After working in the brewery industry for a number of years in Austin, Texas, and Chicago, Swanson wanted the opportunity to more directly impact the drinking experience. At the time, Keeping Together beers had established a pretty solid following as a result of a partnership with a Windy City establishment.

“It was being served primarily in their taproom, but I wasn’t necessarily the one that was there, serving it to them or telling them about the beer and kind of the inspiration behind the different ones,” Swanson said. “So that was a really big thing that I wanted to be able to do for Keeping Together, was just create a really special, physical on-site experience for people who wanted to try the beers.”

Swanson already had an affinity for the Southwest, so she and her husband relocated to Santa Fe in hopes of finding a brick-and-mortar spot to launch Keeping Together Brewery and Beverage Garden. The location they ultimately found is especially unique: a 9,400-square-foot renovated greenhouse. A significant amount of effort was made to maintain as much of the existing plant life as possible.

“The vibe when you’re inside the greenhouse will be very lush, kind of like an indoor-outdoor patio experience. So all of the plants that are outside will be those like native or endemic plants that were here when we found the place,” Swanson said.

A soft opening — primarily for family and friends — is planned for sometime after Thanksgiving, and Swanson says the hope is to officially open the brewery’s doors to the public before year’s end. To stay up to date on those details, it’s best to follow the Keeping Together social media accounts and sign up for the brewery’s newsletter.

Keeping Together has 24 taps and a small brewer’s license that allows it to serve all New Mexico-based beer, wine and spirits. Initially, the brewery will offer guest taps and cocktails made with local spirits before Swanson is able to begin brewing her original offerings in earnest.

“My general philosophy to making beer is that it is an awesome product that is both a science and an art,” Swanson said. “And I do very much try to approach it that way. But it’s like any other form of art that is a form of communication.

“And I really love the idea of trying to recreate flavor experiences through my beer that I have had to communicate with other people. So taking flavor memories that I have and trying to re-create those in beer form is my approach. I generally want to make beer that is very approachable, drinkable and balanced.”

The Keeping Together flagship beer is called The Art of Holding Space, a table saison with an ABV content of just 3%. It’s the only beer Swanson has made more than once thus far.

“It is basically just a beer that you can have while you’re either enjoying a meal or sitting at a table with a number of friends — something that kind of just exists in the background,” Swanson said. “I want it to be low alcohol, but I still want it to have body and texture and be a little bit fuller so that it’s not just this really thin, watery kind of experience.”

The other beer options are TBD, but expect plenty of creative naming conventions once they arrive. Past names include the likes of The Illusion of Finality, Creatures of Infinite Contradiction and We Are Not the Counter Culture, to name a few.

“Many of the names are things that I’ve read, or just awesome phrases that come up in conversation with people,” Swanson said. “I actually keep a list or a notebook of just random phrases of things that would make a cool beer name.”

After some delays, Swanson is looking forward to bringing a new experience to the Land of Enchantment.

“I just want folks here to know that we’re really excited to be here and feel very grateful to have found this beautiful place and this amazing community here,” Swanson said. “The beer industry here has been super welcoming and I’m very excited to be a part of it.”