Rio Bravo wins the 2020 NM IPA Challenge by the closest of margins

We kinda figured that the take-home edition of the 2020 New Mexico IPA Challenge was going to produce some surprises. The big surprise was the first-time winner, beating out two stalwarts of the hop-forward part of our local beer scene.

Rio Bravo Brewing took home the trophy with 22 votes, followed closely by two-time past champion Bosque (21 votes) and award-winning powerhouse La Cumbre (20). The announcement came during a Zoom/Facebook live event on the New Mexico Brewers Guild’s page Wednesday night.

“We have been partying since we heard,” Rio Bravo head brewer Ty Levis replied in an email. “Beer is on point and crushed it. Dice Roll is on tap and in four-packs on site at (the) brewery. We literally rolled dice to decide between hop variety, and then again the proportions of each. This was version two. We have been putting in so much work to get to the top. We are all loving it.”

For those who

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