Sierra Blanca set to make Moriarty a destination for craft beer fans

Moriarty is not known as much of a tourist attraction for people in Albuquerque and beyond. The last time any group probably flocked there were when baseball scouts showed up to watch Matt Moore pitch for the local high school (he is now in the Tampa Bay Rays rotation, for you non-seamheads out there).

Of course, Moriarty has long had its own brewery. The Sierra Blanca/Rio Grande Brewery has been out on the east side of Moriarty for many years, though it has mainly been just a production facility with a small taproom out front. Owners Rich and Sue Weber decided it was time to change all of that. Luckily for them, they had a huge area in back of the brewery that was sitting there, largely unoccupied. For several months, they have been working on creating the largest beer garden of any brewery in the state.

That garden was 90-percent complete as of last week. It features a running stream in the center, regulation-sized horses

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