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Rio Bravo Brewing Company toasts 10 years with celebration, special release
Once upon a time, Randy Baker had a notion to open up an intimate type of watering hole where people could gather and share a drink and conversation with a familiar face.
Sometimes, even the best laid plans turn into something even better.
Rio Bravo Brewing Company will celebrate its 10th anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 20 — the establishment officially opened its doors on Sept. 22, 2015 — with an all-day party that includes live music, merchandise, local vendors, food specials and a surprise beer release.
“It’s crazy to believe that it has been 10 years,” said marketing director Jennifer Baker, who is the daughter of founders Randy and Denise Baker. “It was initially started from an idea with my dad saying he was going to open up a little ‘Cheers’ bar, a small tap room, and this definitely ended up being a lot more than that. It’s a whole production.
“… There’s so many different business events here, and then fundraisers and local community things. So, that’s why we’re trying to make our tenure kind of represent the last decade. We’re calling it our ‘psychedelic decade’ because it’s been all over the place, but it’s going to be fun.”
The identity of the special beer release is under wraps until the party, but it will be on tap and in a specially designed can for a limited time. Those who want a preview of the beer can attend a special four-course dinner two days prior, where the drink will be unveiled for the first time.
Rio Bravo’s beer menu includes both long-running staples and a variety of seasonal offerings, including The Freak Juice, a New England-style IPA with hints of grapefruit, orange, guava, pineapple and passion fruit; the Honey Ginger is a blonde ale made with in-house juiced ginger and local honey; and Coffee Porter, brewed with coffee from Castle Coffee. This fall, there will be a barrel-aged release of the Dunkachito, which is made with biscochitos from Golden Crown Panaderia.
“We have so many taps open, so it gives us the opportunity to brew a lot of different things,” Jennifer Baker said. “We’re always putting out something a little bit more fun. We just did the Mango IPA. We have a Watermelon Tajin Gose right now that’s really delicious.”
While the beer is certainly a key element of Rio Bravo’s success, taking advantage of the kitchen space to offer a full menu has only helped to fuel the establishment’s growth.
“When we first opened, we just had food trucks,” Baker said. “We went from just being a brewery to a full-on restaurant. And I think that was a learning curve for us, for sure. But over the last couple years, at least the last half of the decade, I think we’ve been very tuned in to being able to have a great menu.”
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That, in turn, has allowed Rio Bravo to host a plethora of events, including parties, fundraisers and even weddings. The brewery space includes an upstairs barrel room, which can hold approximately 80 people, and the recently renovated beer garden, which accommodates up to 400 guests and often plays host to live music.
Not bad for something, as Baker said, that started out as an empty warehouse. Baker said over its decade, Rio Bravo has become a versatile space that can still feel like a neighborhood gathering spot, a testament to the founders.
“My parents are born and raised here in Albuquerque. They’ve always been involved with the city and it’s their home,” Baker said. “What was funny enough is they built it as a place for everyone to come together.
“So you saw my parents sitting at the bar with all their friends and the people they’ve met over the years and gotten to know. And then my sisters and I started coming into it and all of our friends came over. And so it’s a place that at any age, it feels welcoming to just go hang out with everybody.”
