Luna de los Muertos is a Russian imperial stout brewed by Tractor Brewing Co. in Albuquerque. Untappd lists it as 8.5% ABV with 35 IBU, and the entry dates back to November 2012, which makes it one of the longer-running dark beers in Tractor’s seasonal rotation. The name translates roughly to “moon of the dead,” and the beer behaves accordingly: it appears when the weather turns, and it does not stay long.
The specs
- Style: Stout — Russian Imperial
- ABV: 8.5%
- IBU: 35
- Brewery: Tractor Brewing Company, Wells Park
- Where to find it: Albuquerque — Wells Park, Nob Hill and the Westside taprooms
- Untappd rating: 3.86 from more than 370 check-ins
What is a Russian imperial stout?
A Russian imperial stout is the biggest member of the stout family: a very dark, strong ale built from heavily roasted malt. The style gets its name from the 18th-century export trade, when English brewers shipped high-strength porters to the Russian imperial court and brewed them stronger partly so they would survive the trip.
In general terms, the style runs between roughly 8% and 12% alcohol and tastes of dark chocolate, coffee, molasses and dried fruit. The dried-fruit character is worth explaining, because it surprises people who expect only roast: strong ales produce fruity compounds called esters during fermentation, which read on the palate as raisin, fig or stone fruit. That is why a beer with no fruit in it can taste faintly of plums.
One thing that trips up newcomers: a stout is an ale, not a separate category. Color comes from roasted grain, not from the yeast. A pale ale and an imperial stout can be fermented by the same strain.
How Tractor describes Luna de los Muertos
Tractor’s own description, carried on the beer’s Untappd listing, calls it a well-balanced imperial with notes of chocolate alongside raisin and apricot esters, and it is candid about the fact that you can feel the alcohol. That last part is a useful signal. An 8.5% beer that reads as warm is being honest about its size rather than hiding it behind sugar.
The 35 IBU figure is the other number worth reading. IBU measures bitterness contributed by hops, and 35 is modest — less than most pale ales. In a beer this dark, the bitterness you taste comes mostly from roasted malt instead, which is why an imperial stout can seem bitter on the finish while sitting low on the hop scale. Tractor’s own Almanac IPA, by comparison, is listed at 78 IBU.
Community response has been steady: the Untappd listing sits at 3.86 across more than 370 check-ins, which puts it among the better-rated beers in Tractor’s catalog of roughly 360 entries.
When does Luna de los Muertos pour?
It is a cold-weather seasonal, and the date moves. The name points at Día de los Muertos in early November, and the beer has turned up that early: in 2012 it poured as part of a Beer Noir dark-beer event that Tractor kicked off on Halloween. In other years it has landed much later — a 2015 release was set for December 22, deliberately held back for the deep end of winter.
So the practical answer is to watch the taproom tap list between late October and the end of December rather than circling one date. Big stouts also tend to arrive in small batches, which is part of why they move quickly.
Is Luna de los Muertos available year-round?
No. Untappd lists it as still in production, but it is a seasonal release rather than one of Tractor’s year-round beers, and it shows up in the colder months. If you want a Tractor stout in July, the ones to look for are the regulars: Milk Mustachio Stout, listed at 5.1%, and Double Plow Oatmeal Stout at 5.8%. Both are built for drinking rather than sipping.
A little about Tractor Brewing Co.
Tractor was founded in 1999 in Los Lunas by Herb Pluemer, who conceived of it as a “beer farm.” The farm-implement branding and the Get Plowed slogan have followed the company ever since, down to beer names like Farmer’s Tan, Sod Buster and Hay Maker.
The turning point came in Albuquerque. Tractor opened a taproom in Nob Hill in 2011, and that location did a great deal to steady the business. Production followed, moving to the Wells Park neighborhood just north of downtown, where the current brewery started up in early 2014. Output grew from a few hundred barrels a year in 2008 to several thousand by the middle of the decade. Skye Devore, who carries the title beer goddess, and brewmaster David Hargis became co-owners in 2013, and Tractor marked 25 years in 2024.
Three Albuquerque taprooms are open today: Wells Park at 1800 4th St NW, Nob Hill at 118 Tulane Dr SE near the University of New Mexico, and the Westside on McMahon Blvd NW. The brewery’s own site is getplowed.com.
If you are new to big stouts
A few things make the first one go better. Order the smaller pour — most taprooms serve beers above 8% in a short glass for a reason, and a flight pour is plenty. Let it warm up a little; imperial stouts served straight from a cold line hold their aromatics back, and five minutes in the glass opens up the chocolate and dried-fruit side. And treat it as the last beer of the visit rather than the first, since 8.5% is roughly two average pints of strength in one glass. If you are driving, plan for a designated driver or a rideshare.
You can read the full listing, including current check-ins, on Luna de los Muertos’ Untappd page.
Dark-beer season is the best stretch of the year to work through New Mexico’s stouts, and Tractor’s seasonal calendar is a good place to start. New Mexico Breweries tracks taprooms and production breweries across the state, from Farmington to Las Cruces, so you can see what is pouring near you and plan the trip from there.
Beer details from Untappd.
