Santa Fe Brewing taproom opens near Capitol

Santa Fe Brewing Co. expects to begin tapping kegs this week at its new downtown Santa Fe taproom, located in a building formerly occupied by a cigar business at 501 Galisteo St.

Brewery president Brian Lock said it’s being called the Santa Fe Brewing Co. Brakeroom to pay homage to the brick building’s early 1900s origin as a house used by railroad workers known as brakemen.

The property, which has an 1,100-squarefoot interior and a 450-square-foot outdoor patio in the rear, joins the company’s established taprooms in Albuquerque and Eldorado, in addition to its brewery headquarters and bar off N.M. 14, just south of Santa Fe.

The opening comes as the 30-year-old craft brewery continues to focus on growing sales in its home state and core markets of Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Kansas, Missouri and Utah after ending distribution in Nevada and Louisiana in 2017. In-state sales, which grew by 28 percent last year, account for 70 percent of overall sales.

Part of that growth was spurred by the introduction last June of 7K IPA, a West Coast-style India pale ale whose name is a reference to Santa Fe’s elevation above sea level. Lock said the company expects 7K to overtake Happy Camper IPA as its top-selling brew in April as distribution improves and chain retailers reset their shelves for spring.

Jarret Babincsak, director of sales and marketing, told industry website Brewbound.com last week that is significant because Happy Camper accounts for 40 percent of overall volume.