Brewdocking at Sierra Blanca Brewery in Moriarty, New Mexico
In a deviation from our normal 6-10 week road trips, we took a trip for just one night. We went to Sierra Blanca Brewery in Moriarty New Mexico, which is a great brewery and spacious Harvest Host site.
Making friends
We first met Gary and Robin at their home south of Denver, Colorado. We were heading to New Mexico to look for a house to buy. We had been mooch docking in my sister’s driveway north of Denver.
Gary had emailed to tell us about his installation of a mini-split HVAC on his small travel trailer. We wanted to check it out, and they were right on our way home, so we took the slight detour.
Speaking of detours
We were traveling in what I now refer to as our “summer trailer.” If you are unaware, we bought a travel trailer in May of 2022, and that’s what we had at the time. In August, that trailer got rear-ended. We wound up replacing it. But this story isn’t about that.
Move to New Mexico
After a stop to see Gary and Robin, we headed to Rio Rancho to look for our house.
After we lived in New Mexico for about a year, Gary and Robin decided they wanted to move as well, and they started looking in our area. They ended up on the eastern side of the Sandia Mountains, about an hour from us.
We have been “around the mountain” a few times to visit Gary and Robin, and they have come to our side for a few visits. We always have a really good time together.
Harvest Host Brewery
Since Gary and Robin moved to the East Mountains, as Burqueños call it, they have been telling us about a brewery in Moriarty that is also a Harvest Host. We’ve tried a few times to set up an overnight stay there, but our plans keep falling through.
Knowing we would be passing though Moriarty on our way home from chasing the Big Boy, I texted our friends. They, and the brewery, all had availability, so we made reservations to overnight at the brewery.
Side note: as you may know, we did not end up chasing the train as much as we had planned. We got home a few days early. It was a good excuse not to unpack. We just waited a few days, hooked back up, and headed out again!
Sierra Blanca Brewery has a great space for Harvest Hosts guests. There is a large dirt lot that would have held more than the five RVs that ended up there the night we stayed. It can get muddy.
Sierra Blanca Brewery
The harvest Host where we met up is Sierra Blanca Brewery in Moriarty, New Mexico. They have a large dirt lot and allow several Boondockers to stay on any given night. The night we were there with Gary and Robin, there was also a small local family, a couple traveling across the country, and a man (I assume; we never figured out who it belonged to) in a popup truck camper. The traveling couple had a couple of lovely greyhounds. Gary and Robin had their German Shepards, JJ and Luke.
The tap room of the brewery is fairly small, with a short bar and a couple of tables. The building is not at all small, and houses a big brew room, a bottling room, and a couple restrooms. I regret we didn’t snap any photos inside.
Go Outside!
Outside, however, is the real attraction. There is a nice bar, covered patio with several picnic tables, and a great garden area. Throughout the garden there are picnic tables scattered around.
There is an actual veggie garden. There is a pergola with hops vining up he sides and a couple porch swings. There are horseshoe and bocce ball courts. They have corn hole boards, and a tetherball pole! I have’t seen one of those since elementary school.
Under another pergola was a picnic table. We chose to sit there so JJ and Luke would not be annoyed by other dogs.
Just Go!
We will certainly visit this brewery again. It is only about an hour from home. They allow overnight RVing. The beer selection is really terrific.
The brewery is open Monday through Saturday at 10 am and closes between 5 and 9 pm, depending on the day. Currently, they have a food truck on Friday evenings.
The Beer
Sierra Blanca has quite an extensive beer selection.
Seasonally, green chilis are steeped in the American Lager for a chili beer. They also brew an Oktoberfest that is quite good.
There is an alien line-up, including IPA, amber, and wheat, plus imperial and vanilla stouts. I liked the amber enough that I drank two. Wow! Two beers for Peggy is something!
Tony liked the pecan amber among others. Seriously, it’s hard to remember but the selection is great and we didn’t find anything we didn’t like.
You might want to try the hard iced tea or one of two soft drinks: root beer and ginger ale.
Closed it Down
We were there on a Tuesday. The sunset that evening was gorgeous. When we closed down the tasting room at 7 pm, we headed back to “camp.” We had parked so that our trailer door faced Gary and Robin’s door, so we had a little private space to hang out. Gary set up the griddle, and Robin reheated the pizza they had picked up on the way. More about that in a moment. He also set up their propane fire pit. It is just like ours!
We chatted some more, with extra layers of clothing added as the evening chill set in.
Gary and Robin are smarter than us (many people are). They put away their chairs before bed. We didn’t think of it, being in the desert and all. So when I went outside in the morning to sit in the sun and wake up, our chair seats were kind of wet. I folded towels as cushions and we enjoyed our morning coffee as the world woke up.
Buttercrust Pizza
I’ll tell you now: Buttercrust Pizza delivers to Sierra Blanca brewery. We didn’t know that, so Robin and Gary actually stopped and picked up pizzas for our dinner. We picked a pizza with the crust stuffed with cheese and green chili. Because of course we did. In New Mexico everything has green chili, right?
I can’t really eat much tomato, so we got a white sauce with chicken and mushrooms. It was super tasty. Tony had also found a YouTube video about the owners, which is a pretty interesting story.
Since we had met around 3:00 then drank beer until 7, first off I was super hungry. Also, the pizza had cooled down pretty significantly. I ate a slice cold, not wanting to wait any longer. It was really tasty. So imagine how much better my second slice tasted after Robin heated it on the griddle. The cheese stuffing melted a bit, the food was warm (the evening had turned cool), and the bottom of the crust crisped up to absolute perfection!
We shall return!
When we return for another overnight at Sierra Blanca, we will order pizza and eat it inside, or wait until we go to camp but have it nice and hot. Although, truthfully, that crispy crust makes me want to reheat it on the griddle every time!
