Learn more about this year's New Mexico Brewers Guild pint glass design

The New Mexico Brewers Guild has unveiled the design for its annual pint glass.

This year features the state bird, the greater roadrunner, in a desert landscape.

For the second year in a row, the design for the pint glass came out of a competition, which had more than 30 entries from New Mexico artists, according to Ebbie Edmonston, the executive director of NMBG. The purpose of the competition is to find and promote local artists, Edmonston said.

“Art is a hard career to be in, and so if we can help just by getting their names out there and promoting them,” Edmonston said, “then maybe they can keep doing what they love, and it gets to promote the beer industry as well.”

NMBG chose artist Mallory Kucala’s design for this year’s commemorative pint glass, which will be available for purchase at participating breweries on Wednesday, June 18. A percentage of proceeds from the sales will go toward the NMBG.

“I really was excited about telling a story; the artwork, having parts of New Mexico (and) parts of the roadrunner. And I chose the color of teal to kind of represent the turquoise too, just because I wanted to honor the state in different ways,” Kucala said. “And (the roadrunner’s) looking backwards, so he’s looking to the past as he’s moving forward.”

Pint Glass Day is NMBG’s way of connecting local artists and breweries to encourage collaboration in the future and boost all things local. A list of participating breweries can be found at nmbeer.org.

“There are so many good artists out there,” Edmonston said. “And hopefully, the breweries are going to look local when it comes to designing art for their cans or their labels or whatnot.”

Kucala said she would not be participating in future Pint Glass Day competitions, as she wants to see other local artists highlighted in future entries. Her advice to future Pint Glass artists is to stay true to their art.

“Just make your art. I mean, obviously, there’s a theme, but it’s your vision,” Kucala said. “I think it’s important for you to honor that.”

The pint glass themes focus on celebrating New Mexico culture and traditions. Past glasses have featured the state mammal, the American black bear; the state fish, the Rio Grande cutthroat trout; and, most recently, Zozobra.

The greater roadrunner represents the spirit, speed and character of the state, according to Edmonston, and she loves this year’s overall design, which Kucala refers to as “functional artwork.”

“I love the turquoise. I love how intricate, like the bird itself, is. I love the little yucca plant,” Edmonston said. “It’s just a cute one. It’s gonna look so cute once it’s full of beer.”

Kucala finds it essential to lift up local artists, as they are the ones connected to and inspired by New Mexico.

“A lot of us draw things around us. I mean, how could you not be inspired by this place, right? It’s beautiful, and the fact that you can grow cactus and pine trees in the same place is kind of amazing,” Kucala said. “I think that it’s really important for local artists to get recognized, because you’re not buying something that was created far away, you’re buying local art.”

New Mexico Brewers Guild debuts 2025 commemorative glass featuring the greater roadrunner