Baca House Brewery to offer locally crafted beer

Brew masters David Chambellan and Carlos Resendiz sample their latest batch of beer.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain photos

Newly crafted beer is expected to soon flow at the Baca House Brewery in Socorro, where the stars seem to have aligned for brew masters David Chambellan and Carlos Resendiz.

First, the pair met while attending Central New Mexico to obtain beer brewing technology certificates. Then they met an instructor who had a friend with property in Socorro that came complete with all the equipment needed to brew beer.

“I was going to go through the program. Get a job with a brewer for about a year. And then take some of the savings I’ve built up over the years and start a brewery,” Chambellan said.

Chambellan spent the past two decades as a pharmacist and was on the brink of retirement when Covid hit, and he knew he needed to stay in his field because of a great need. During that time, he realized he didn’t have forever, and if he was going to pursue his dream, he needed to get the required education.

Even as the two continue to work on everything from installing handles on beer taps to cleaning the vats in the brew room – Chambellan is now going to school to learn to distill.

It all falls into his long-term plans, and while he doesn’t imbibe in many spirits, he loves the process just like he does when brewing beer.

“I love the smell. Once you’ve got a beer going in there and it’s been fermented, you walk into the brewery and smell it. Oh man, it just smells so good,” Chambellan said.

David Chambellan points out how visitors will be able to see the brewing process through nearby windows.

Chambellan’s beer brewing began with making up some home batches of mead and giving it away around Christmas time. He fell in love with the craft when his friends started coming around and asking if he had any more.

Resendiz is equally passionate about brewing beer. He has been dividing his time between his job in pretrial services in Albuquerque and working at the Baca House in Socorro. His work experience was a blessing for Chambellan, who admits he doesn’t enjoy the paperwork involved with licensing and certificates.

“We want to grow this business. We have plans to serve an Americana-style menu,” Resendiz said. “We want to be a place where people know they can come and find a quality beer as a standard, but also know there will be new beers to sample.”

The ABCs of Baca beer

There will be 12 total taps at the bar, and eight will feature Baca House Brewery standards, like an India Pale Ale (IPA), a hoppy-style beer that started gaining fame in England around 1815.

Four beer taps are reserved for seasonal beverages and may have an IDK (I Don’t Know) style of beer that will quaff the palates of those who like beer but aren’t sure what they might want to try first.

“There are a lot of people that can appreciate craft beers. We want to bring quality. Our goal is a great beer, and we want to make each batch better than the last. We want to bring a good quality product to Socorro. Hopefully, we can bring other people from around the area to Socorro,” Chambellan said.

The Baca House Brewery will also have its unique taste, and there won’t be any reverse osmosis or water filtration because that impedes crafting a beer’s taste. That’s one of the great things about local crafting and why beer brewed in the heart of Germany or other beer-mad countries like Holland, England, and Belgium have unique tastes.

The new business partners have been at work behind the scenes for several months and have been involved in every stage of setting up the Baca House, where they hope to become a firm fixture and supporter of the Socorro community.

“I want to give to the community here. We’re setting up the patio area where people can come in and do birthdays, weddings, whatever. We want to make something like that available to the community,” Resendiz said.

The patio also leads to the brew room, which is well-windowed, and patrons can see the process. Future plans may include a coffee shop and Texas-style BBQ as a part of the menu, too.

The Baca House Brewery hopes to have a soft opening in April, but some certificates and inspections still need to be completed.

“If people want to keep up with our schedule, they can search for us on Facebook as Baca House Brewery,” Resendiz said.