Time & beer in a tasty Duel: Brewery visit in Santa Fe
By Martijn 
What to do when you have just arrived in Santa Fe, NM after a long day of roadtripping? Food first! Then checking out where the local craft breweries are. And that's exactly how we ended up at Duel Brewing 1 hour before closing time... 60 minutes of beer tasting ahead of us.
What made me pick Duel Brewing for a brewery/taproom visit in Santa Fe, NM? Because it was close to our accommodation? Nah that was just an added bonus. It was their slogan: “A Belgian-Style Brewery”. Being away from Europe for a long time has made me miss that typical Belgian-style beer. Heaps of breweries are trying to copy it, but only a few succeed in creating a typical Belgian-style beer outside of Belgium (yes you are the tasty exception to that rule, Craftwork Breweries in Oamaru, New Zealand).
Duel Brewing info
- Name: Duel Brewing Santa Fe
- Status: Permanently closed
- Address: 1228 Parkway Drive, Unit D, Santa Fe, NM 87507
- Closest airport(s): Santa Fe Regional Airport or Albuquerque International Sunport (see all rental car deals and go for a cheap road trip). See for flight deals to these airports.
- Beer menu: “Honest and well-intentioned ideas create uniqueness. Our goal of distinction among an ever-crowding field of breweries and taprooms requires constant attention to process, communication and creative risk.”
- More info: official website of Duel Brewing
- Accommodation nearby: go for a craft beer tasting at this brewery, enjoy the city… Stay for a few days. Check out these accommodation deals in Santa Fe, NM
- More reasons to go there: barrel-aged versions as well
- Update March 2019: Unfortunately, Duel Brewing has closed its doors recently. It's lights out for this Santa Fe brewery.
First impression of Duel Brewing
As it's an hour before closing time on a weekday, it's quiet at the Duel Brewing taproom. But you immediately have that feeling of walking into an “auberge” (French or Belgian tavern feeling). Staff is very friendly and loves to talk about their beers.
Food is being served and looks yummy. We didn't taste it (damn) as we just had dinner before we arrived.
Craft beer tasting at Duel Brewing
The craft beer menu is limited at Duel Brewing... Or was it because our time was limited plus the fact that I still needed to drive back to our motel? One thing missing from the menu or brewing schedule are the more funky or fruity Belgian styles (Lambic, Gueze or Kriek).
From the menu we selected the following beers:
- Goya 2018 – Belgian-style imperial stout
- Dark Ryder – Belgian strong dark ale
- Monomyth – IPA Imperial/Double
- Sans Titre – Sour Ale
Want to know how I rated these craft beers from Duet Brewing? Follow me on Untappd. Sneak preview, the average score was 4 out of 5. To give you a sneak preview, after tasting one of these craft beers I immediately took a bottle from the takeaway fridge to enjoy again at a later time, which I'm doing now while creating this blog post.
Highscore: 8 out of 10
Great beers. Great place. Didn't want to leave, although we had to as it was close to closing time. But having that feeling I want to come back to taste more, is what caused this high score. Check out Duel Brewing when visiting Santa Fe, NM. You won't be disappointed.
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