Flix Brewhouse, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dinner, blockbusters and craft beer in one place? The nation’s first cinema brewery, Flix Brewhouse, is the only first run movie theater in America with a fully-functioning brewery on premises. Guests can enjoy award-winning microbrews and a full menu in the state-of-the-art digital theater, or in the adjacent lobby bar.
Founded by Allan Reagan in Round Rock, Texas, in 2011, Flix Brewhouse now has locations in Des Moines, Iowa, Carmel, Indiana, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, with two more scheduled openings in Little Elm, Texas, and Madison, Wisconsin.
Will Moorman, the lead brewer in Albuquerque, says the best-selling beer at every location is Luna Rosa, a Belgian Witbier brewed with The Perfect Purée Blood Orange Concentrate. “It really brightens the flavor of the beer and adds a subtle, amazing blood orange character,” Will says.
Flix has the same varied selection of mainstay beers at each site but brewers distinguish their locations with special edition beers like Gettin’ Caught In The Rain, an American wheat beer Will brewed in collaboration with Albuquerque’s Bosque Brewing Company. The beer’s tropical piña colada notes come from the Coconut Puree and Caramelized Pineapple Concentrate. “It’s a really fun summer beer that’s reminiscent of relaxing on a beach,” he says.
Next up on Will’s flavor wish list are The Perfect Purée Raspberry Puree, Strawberry Puree and Cherry Puree. Will recounts how he found his calling during a part-time job filling growlers at Sun King Brewing Company in Indianapolis when he was a senior at Indiana University. “I just fell in love with my co-workers, the product and the industry as a whole,” he says.
He made beer at home for a while before getting hired at Great Fermentations, a homebrew store in Indianapolis where he learned the basics of brewing. A year later, Will began working as an assistant brewer at Tow Yard Brewing Company in Indianapolis. He and the head brewer, Tony Fleming, went through a sample pack from The Perfect Purée in one night, a memorable experience, Will recalls, laughing. When he was offered the job at Flix two years later, he jumped at the opportunity. “I moved in September, we opened in November, and I could not be happier,” he says.
Since opening, Flix Brewhouse Albuquerque has won bronze medals at the Best of Craft Beer Awards in January in Bend, Oregon, and at the Los Angeles International Commercial Beer Competition in April. Luna Rosa received an honorable mention in L.A. and in June earned a bronze medal in the Witbier category at the North American Beer Awards in Idaho Falls, Idaho.