Launch party: Steel Bender Brewyard offers 'Balloons & Brews'

Balloons & Brews is the ideal event to escape the crowds or enjoy a morning beer or coffee and watch the hot air balloons float by in a rural setting.

It is one of Steel Bender Brewyard’s most anticipated events. Patrons can watch as the hot air balloons take flight and float by the brewery’s patio in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque beginning at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, through Sunday, Oct. 13.

Launch party: Steel Bender Brewyard offers 'Balloons & Brews'

“It’s our fifth year doing it because we didn’t do it during the (pandemic) shut down and we didn’t do it in 2021, but every year since we’ve opened,” said Shelby Chant, marketing director and co-owner of Steel Bender Brewyard. “... It’s beer, beermosas, bloody beers, mimosas, basically anything you can enjoy at seven in the morning for breakfast beers.”

Patrons will be able to enjoy new releases including the brewery’s barrel-aged beer, Ale Witch, which will be released on Friday, Oct. 4. On Saturday, Oct. 5, Steel Bender will release its Honey Oak Blue Bullet Stout on nitro. On Thursday, Oct. 10, the brewery will release Vampyre Boost Imperial Lager, a collaboration beer with Flix Brewhouse made with beet concentrate.

Steel Bender will be offering its popular housemade breakfast burritos and will be adding a new option.

“We’re adding one more style this year, we’ll have a vegetarian option and then two meat options and those seem to be a real hit,” Chant said. “And then, we’re working with a new bakery this year, so we’re getting all of our pastries, we’re getting empanadas and Danish from Sergio’s. We tasted them and they’re fantastic.”

Balloons & Brews will begin at 7 a.m. and food and drink service will stop at 10 a.m. to allow the brewery to prepare for afternoon service. It will resume food and alcohol sales at 11 a.m. Outside food and drink will not be permitted.

Chant said Balloons & Brews is a community event that the brewery wanted to hold since its inception.

“The second we decided to put a brewery on this piece of land, it was, OK, we’re going to do something for Balloon Fiesta because it’s a great (event) for people who don’t want to go to (Balloon Fiesta Park),” Chant said. “Anyone who’s not experienced being on the ground with those balloons is missing out. But, whether it’s tourists who want to do something different in the area, or it’s locals who want to do something different, or they want to get away from the crowds a little bit, it’s integral to who we are now, and we will always be doing this as long as we’re here. There will always be Balloons & Brews.”

Plata Coffee will be offering samples and serving its coffee during the event. The business will be moving to a space in the Steel Bender lot at the end of the month.

“We’ve basically put in four buildings that are just north of us, literally right across the driveway to us,” Chant said. “The whole piece of land is Chant Associates. It’s our family development property. We have four spaces in there total, and three of those spaces are now leased out ... Plata is moving over here, so it’s going to be really cool to have. They’re going to be great neighbors to have and we are really excited about that.”