Come to the dark side

A three-peat — winning three consecutive championships — is regarded as a pinnacle achievement in professional sports.

In the New Mexico beer community, it’s virtually unprecedented. That’s just one of the elements of intrigue heading into the 2026 New Mexico Brewers Guild Stout Invitational. Last year, Tractor Brewing Co. became the first brewery to capture back-to-back victories at the event with its Midnight Girl Coffee Stout, which was a collaboration with Flying Star/Satellite Coffee. One year prior, Tractor won with a Double Stuffed Sweet Stout.

“We’re really keeping an eye on Tractor to see if they can do it again,” Ebbie Edmonston, NMBG executive director, said. “Even if you win multiple times, not back-to-back, I think that says something about the quality of the beer and that people love it. So the fact that they were able to go back-to-back is pretty astounding.”

Tractor will be one of 16 participating breweries at the ninth edition of the competition, which will be held at Bathtub Row Brewing Co-op in Los Alamos on March 7. Three double-blind tasting sessions — noon to 1:30 p.m., 2-3:30 p.m. and 4-5:30 p.m. — will determine the winner. Bathtub Row has been the host of every Stout Invitational since the event’s inception.

“It’s a no-brainer that we want to keep doing it there. And it’s also a great reason for people to maybe go up to Los Alamos when they aren’t traveling there as often,” Edmonston said.

“It’s a great excuse to get out of town, try a brewery out, visit a city that you maybe don’t visit so much.”

Unlike the IPA Challenge, which begins with 28 entries and is narrowed down to 16 semifinalists during a preliminary brewer’s-only tasting event, the Stout Invitational winner is determined entirely by the ticket-buying public.

“We did have a bunch of breweries sign up, and then there’s only 16 spots available. So we have to do a random selection of breweries that can participate,” Edmonston said.

A ticket includes one vote, samples from all the breweries, one full pint of choice and a commemorative Stout Invitational pint glass — which last year’s winner gets a hand in designing. That means, of course, that this year’s glass will include a tractor wheel in the design. Only 60 tickets per session are made available, and as of mid-February, the second and third sessions were already sold out.

“This event is insanely popular for how small it is,” Edmonston said.

It is indeed a utopia for those who lean toward the dark side of beer flavors. The variety one might sample during the competition includes oatmeal stouts, chocolate milk stouts, imperial stouts, Irish stouts, coffee stouts and more.

“There’s so many other styles of stout under that category,” Edmonston said. “It’s kind of cool having the double-blind aspect, so you get to see what you like. Maybe you’re going to try something you’ve never had before.

“… Just make sure that you have a safe way to get home, because if you’re not based in Los Alamos, it can be a drag. Definitely drink some water with the altitude. And have a good time.”