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The taproom is cozy, quiet, and congenial, with stools and high ceilings, and food is available next door at the related Santa Fe Brewing Pub & Grill, which also sells beer to-go and features a solid lineup of live concerts at night. Free, guided brewery tours are offered on Saturdays at 12 p.m., and there are ten house beers on tap plus one guest tap and growler sales. Once an almost unknown brand outside of Santa Fe, the addition of new tanks and a bottling line and canning capability for Happy Camper IPA and an Oktoberfest beer have revved up this brand to 11,000 bbl a year (it didn’t hurt when the owners put the 6.6% ABV brew in a can comprised solely of the New Mexico state flag’s red, stylized sunbeam “Zia” against a bright yellow field). Recently, the beers have gone from banal to barnstorming, incorporating barrel aging, wild yeasts, and other tricky techniques.

KEY BEER

Brewer Ty Levis’s Zotte Berten series showcases the brewery’s new experimental side, such as #5, a tart brew resembling the Belgian style of geuze, made from blends of aged and young lambic, or spontaneously fermented beer.

SECOND STREET BREWERY at SECOND STREET

1814 Second St. • Santa Fe, NM 87505 • (505) 982-3030 secondstreetbrewery.com • Established: 1996

SECOND STREET BREWERY at THE RAILYARD

1607 Paseo De Peralta, No. 10 • Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 989-3278 • Established: 2010

SCENE & STORY

Caught unawares amid the hordes of tourists Santa Fe is known for, it can be easy to want to run for the hills. Yet while 9,000-foot Atalaya Mountain just behind town makes a very good day hike, there is no brewery on the summit at present, so instead, hang with the laid-back locals who make Second Street a kind of second home. The original, housed in a warehouse-type structure next to some old train tracks with outdoor seating and a décor that might be described as 1980s meets 1880s: sponged sienna paint, wagon wheels for chandeliers, and arty photos on the wall. There’s a more updated location, too, at the Railyard near downtown, home of Santa Fe’s farmer’s market (which supplies the restaurant in season) and the REI store, should you still need gear for that hiking escape. The patio makes a nice spot for al fresco beers when the temperature’s right. Both locations have full menus; try something with green chile, like the juicy burger.

PHILOSOPHY

Strength in numbers. Brewer Rod Tweet has a huge repertoire, with about fifty different beers so far, though results are still a bit uneven.

KEY BEER

Start with a crisp Kolsch (4.6% ABV), which will put out the fire if the green chile takes you for a ride.

THE COWGIRL HALL OF FAME

319 S. Guadalupe St. • Santa Fe, NM 87501-2613 (505) 982-2565 • cowgirlsantafe.com • Established: 1993

SCENE & STORY

Known simply as “The Cowgirl,” this darn-near-perfect bar is filled with creaky old wood floors, an incredible array of Western bric-a-brac, cowgirl photos, and the aromas of mesquite barbecue. Santa Fe’s most popular watering hole, with nightly live music, a huge billiard parlor, private party rooms, and breezy brick patio, it’s one of the West’s perfect places to drink a good beer on a hot afternoon. Based on a Southwestern barbecue restaurant opened in New York City under the watchful eye of the late Margaret Formby, the founder of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum in Hereford, Texas, the Cowgirl is located in a hundred-year-old building in Santa Fe’s historic Guadalupe district. Try for the Bob Dylan Brunch starting Sundays at noon, when local musicians jam on the iconic singer’s material.

PHILOSOPHY

Beer, bluegrass, and barbecue, Annie Oakley–style.

KEY BEER

This isn’t exactly a craft beer bar, but you won’t go thirsty. Santa Fe Brewing Company’s 6.4% ABV State Pen Porter is so good, so nutty, and so chocolate-like, you’ll have to be careful not to drink too much of it, or end up in the clink yourself.

DETOUR

HEAVEN’S DRIVE-THRU: EL PARASÓL

1833 Cerillos