Eat, drink and be merry
Plenty to choose from at the beer and food fest hosted by Buffalo Thunder
Spend the day sampling an ample selection of beer offerings and trying food bites from several restaurants during the Santa Fe Beer & Food Festival.
The event on Saturday, April 21, at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino will feature 60 vendor booths. This is the third year for the event, which continues to grow annually. At least 2,500 people are expected to attend the event that will be spread out throughout Buffalo Thunder. The bands Nosotros, Desert Loops and Le Chat Lunatique will perform in Shadeh Nighclub. DJ Sider will provide entertainment in the Tewa Grand Ballroom. There also will be various vendors, including artists and crafts people.
“The beer and food festival will take place in the Tewa Grand Ballroom and the promenade area as well as the Shadeh nightclub,” said Christine Gabaldon, director of marketing at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino. “There is going to be a lot of activities, a lot of entertainment, a lot of excitement and fun.”
Ticketholders will get to sample beers from a number of local, regional and national breweries. There will also be about a dozen restaurants offering samples from their eateries. Restaurants include Buffalo Thunder’s Red Sage, Iguana Cafe, Turquoise Trail, Pueblo Deli, Bingo snack bar and Pueblo Pojoaque Supermarket.
Eventgoers will get to vote for their favorite beer, with ballot boxes located at each booth. Each vote is a $1 and the booth with the most dollar bills wins. The money raised from voting goes to Santa Fe’s Food Depot. A portion of the event proceeds also will benefit the food bank.
Picking a favorite beer could be difficult due to numerous samples to choose from. New Mexico breweries at the event include Bosque Brewing Company, Marble Brewing Co., Monk’s Ale, Rio Bravo Brewing Co., Santa Fe Brewing Co., Sierra Blanca Brewing Co. and Tractor Brewing Co. Breweries from the East Coast to the West Coast, as well as Alaska and Hawaii, will be represented. They include Alaskan Brewing Co., Bell’s Brewery, Deschutes Brewery, Dogfish Head Brewery, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Kona Brewing Co., Lagunitas Brewing Co., Magic Hat Brewing Co., Revolver Brewing and more.
Beer samples are 2-ounce pours. Guests will be allowed to sample the equivalent of two pints of beer. Eventgoers will be given a punch card that will be punched or marked each time they receive a sample. Eventgoers will be able to sample until their card is fully punched. Beer pouring will stop at 4:30 p.m., according to Gabaldon.
“Of course, we are going to monitor so everyone drinks responsibly,” she said.