It was a full house at the Rio Bravo Brewery on Monday night. Lobo Talk, a sports talk show, and many of the other Rio Bravo patrons dressed in cherry and silver, were out drinking the new cherry-flavored wheat beer, El Lobo Rojo, created by Rio Bravo in honor of the University.
The live broadcast of Lobo Talk was set up in the back. The head coach of the University of New Mexico football team Bob Davie sat down with show’s hosts to discuss last Saturday’s game.
El Lobo Rojo is the result of a collaboration between the Rio Bravo brewers and the UNM Athletics Department. Monday night was its official debut at Rio Bravo, and it's now available in the Dreamstyle Arena - The Pit, and Dreamstyle Stadium.
School-branded beer is nothing new to the college sports scene in New Mexico.
In 2017, Kelly’s Brew Pub put out “Lobo Red,” a caramel flavored ale. Kelly’s no longer serves the ale. That same year, Bosque Brewery released the Pistol Pete 1888 ale.
“God damn, we can’t be outdone by the Aggies, I mean come on,” said Randy Baker, the co-owner of Rio Bravo Brewery. He also said that he wanted the beer to be something Lobo fans could enjoy at a game.
Deputy Director of the UNM Athletics Department Brad Hutchins, said the whole project started about two months ago. Hutchins and Baker said they hope to have the beer available in the Draft and Table Taproom in the Student Union Building on UNM campus in a few weeks.
While it has been reported that 12 percent of revenue El Lobo Rojo brings in will go to the Athletics Department, Hutchins said that that is true for all concessions sold at UNM sporting events.
El Lobo Rojo is a cherry flavored wheat brew with an ABV of 5.5 percent.
Justin Gracia is a freelance reporter with the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers ASUNM. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter at @just516garc.
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