Pattern Energy Blue Corn lager: The Official Beer of the 2021 New Mexico State Fair.
It was Labor Day, 2021.
I was working, and I wasn’t the only one. I drove up to Santa Fe from Albuquerque to interview Jason “Fitz” Fitzpatrick, one of two owners of Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery.
We were both working, you see, because the New Mexico State Fair is back after taking a hiatus in 2020 due to the Pandemic.
This is the cane vodka used in the Angry Mule cocktail
Jason Fitzpatrick and his business partner Jason Kirkman are the founders of Tumbleroot Brewing and Distillery in Santa Fe. (Because both are named Jason and it created chaos, Jason Fitzpatrick goes by Fitz and Jason Kirkman….is still Jason.)
Angry Mule: The official cocktail of the 2021 New Mexico State Fair.
Tumbleroot has created Pattern Energy Blue Corn Lager, made with blue corn, and the Angry Mule, made with cane vodka and New Mexico red chile.
New Mexico True
“Everything about our Blue Corn Lager and Angry Mule are pure New Mexico,” Fitz told me as we sat down to discuss these custom beverages.
“All the ingredients are organic, and we sourced from the state. We sourced our blue corn from the Santa Ana Pueblo, and we used Hatch red chile. Everything is done from scratch and,” Fitz paused and smiled, clearly proud of the end result, “the ingredients… really, the ingredients speak for themselves.”
Rooted in New Mexico
Fitz and Jason are both veterans of the restaurant and bar industry. Fitz worked in Los Angeles before moving to New Mexico and said he and Jason have had, “several careers,” over the years. They knew they had complementary skill sets; Fitz met Jason when he hired him to work as a brewer at Bathtub Row Brewing in Los Alamos, where Fitz was the GM.
Prior to that, Fitz worked at Marble Brewing and eventually became VP.
With Fitz on the business end and Jason on the brewing end, a long journey of working for others ended and a new one of growing a business together started.
The Tasting Room.
I asked Fitz where the company name came from, and he looked thoughtful as he said, “We have been extremely lucky to choose New Mexico, and to have New Mexico choose us. When we needed to decide on our name, my wife came up with it.”
Fitz was smiling again. “Jason and I say we’ve had several careers, and so we’ve tumbled a bit around the country, and around jobs. When we got to New Mexico, we started growing roots here. The people are amazing here. The state is amazing. We are proud to call New Mexico home… and this is home” Fitz said happily.
Jason and the official drinks of the New Mexico State Fair.
Taproom and Concerts!
In addition to brewing beer and distilling a line of high quality liquor, Tumbleroot has a Distillery, Brewery and Tasting Room at 32 Bisbee Court, while at 2791 Agua Fria Street they have a Taproom, Stage and Marketplace.
See you at the New Mexico State Fair
The New Mexico State Fair is September 9-19, and Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery’s Angry Mule and Blue Corn Lager will be on sale the entire duration of the fair!
