Second Street Brewery is a Santa Fe brewery and brewpub company that has been making beer in the city since 1996, and today it pours at two locations: a pub in the Santa Fe Railyard and a taproom and production brewery on Rufina Street. For a business that started on a used five-barrel system, it has a remarkable trophy shelf, including two gold medals from the 2025 World Beer Cup.
If you are planning a Santa Fe brewery day, this is one of the names that comes up first, and for good reason. Here is the story behind it, what it brews, and where to find it.
How Second Street Brewery got its start
The brewery opened in December 1996 in a warehouse building on Second Street. Rod Tweet came on that August as the opening brewer. He trained through the American Brewers Guild program in California, and he has described himself as a brewer and an engineer by training. By 2000 he was an owner and the company’s president and brewmaster, roles he still holds today along with CEO.
Tweet has been candid that the first few years were lean: big ideas, plenty of enthusiasm, not much cash. In a 2022 profile in Edible New Mexico, he credited Santa Fe locals with carrying the young brewpub until it found its footing around 2001. The company’s approach since then has been steady growth rather than big leaps.
That original pub became a true Santa Fe institution. When it closed in 2022, the beer blog Dark Side Brew Crew noted it had been the longest continuously operating brewing location in New Mexico. Regulars knew the two pubs as “The Oldery” and “The Newery.”
Where to find Second Street Brewery in Santa Fe today
Second Street now runs two locations, each with a full kitchen and a slightly different personality.
- Second Street Brewery at The Railyard, 1607 Paseo de Peralta. Opened in 2010 next to the Santa Fe Farmers Market’s Market Hall, it puts a pint within easy walking distance of the Railyard’s galleries, park, and Saturday market.
- Second Street Brewery Rufina Taproom, 2920 Rufina Street. Opened in 2017 on the city’s south side, it houses the production and canning brewery along with a restaurant and taproom. The mural from the original Second Street pub now hangs in its lounge.
When the original pub’s lease ran out in 2022, the company chose to put its energy into brewing. All production consolidated at Rufina, which cans beer in 12- and 16-ounce formats for stores and bars along the Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Taos corridor. If you live elsewhere in northern New Mexico, the brewery’s online beer finder is the quickest way to locate a six-pack near you.
More is on the way. In June 2026, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported that Second Street plans a third taproom on the city’s Midtown campus, at 1025 Midtown Calle Central, across from the movie theater. The roughly 2,050-square-foot space is slated to open in February 2027 with a bar, a pool table, a patio, and a small cold menu. The beer will come from Rufina rather than being brewed on site.
The beers: classic styles, done carefully
Second Street’s reputation rests on traditional styles brewed with precision. Tweet has talked about paying close attention to water chemistry, since the minerals in brewing water shape how a beer tastes and how cleanly it finishes. That kind of care shows up most clearly in lagers and balanced ales, where there is nowhere for a flaw to hide.
The core lineup on the brewery’s website includes:
- Agua Fria Pilsner. A pilsner is a pale, crisp lager with a firm hop bite. Its can art has won design awards of its own.
- Kolsch, a light, delicate ale in the style of Cologne, Germany. It is fermented warm like an ale and then aged cold like a lager, which gives it a clean, easygoing finish.
- 2920 IPA, which shares its number with the Rufina Street address. An IPA, or India pale ale, is a hop-forward pale ale with more bitterness and aroma than most beers.
- Cream Stout, a dark, smooth stout and one of the brewery’s oldest recipes. It took a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 1996, the brewery’s first year.
- Boneshaker Amber, an amber ale.
- Sloppy Sloth, a rotating series of hazy IPAs. A hazy IPA is cloudy and soft, with juicy hop flavor and less bitterness than a classic IPA.
Seasonal and specialty releases round things out, including sour beers and juicy pale ales. The brewery’s Oktoberfest is a German Märzen, an amber lager with a toasty malt character. The brewery also offers gluten-removed options for guests who want them.
An award shelf built over three decades
Few New Mexico breweries can match Second Street’s run at national and international competitions. According to the brewery, its medals include:
- Great American Beer Festival: bronze for Cream Stout (1996), gold for Rod’s Steam Bitter (2013), bronze for Rod’s Steam Bitter (2017), gold for Brown Ale (2020), and silver for Oktoberfest (2021).
- World Beer Cup: silver for Trebuchet IPA, an imperial IPA (2016), bronze for Brown Ale (2022), and in 2025, gold for Vienna Lager, gold for Brown Ale, and bronze for Kolsch.
The 2025 World Beer Cup results stand out. The competition in Indianapolis drew 8,375 entries from 1,761 breweries in 49 countries, according to KRQE. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that the two golds were Second Street’s first ever at the World Beer Cup, and that it was one of only nine breweries in the whole competition to take home three medals.
Notice the pattern. The winners are a brown ale, a Vienna lager, a kölsch, a Märzen, and a steam-style amber lager. These are understated, balanced styles that judges score on precision, and Second Street keeps winning in them.
What regulars love
Read through what guests say about both locations and a few themes come up again and again. The food gets as much praise as the beer, especially hearty plates with New Mexico green chile, burgers, fish and chips, and fresh trout specials. At the Railyard, people love a Saturday brunch of New Mexican breakfast dishes during the farmers market, and an evening on the patio. Happy hour, with its lineup of sliders, is a favorite way to sample the menu.
At Rufina, guests mention generous portions, friendly servers, and a shaded, pet-friendly patio. And plenty of visitors order the medal winners, like the Vienna Lager, alongside a Sloppy Sloth hazy IPA.
A good neighbor in Santa Fe
Second Street’s local ties go beyond the bar. Edible New Mexico reported that the brewery sends its spent grain to a goat farmer and its used fryer oil to Santa Fe’s Reunity Resources. In 2019 and 2020 it partnered with The Nature Conservancy on an OktoberForest campaign that put Santa Fe-area preserves on its cans.
The brewery is also a regular host for New Mexico beer events. In July 2026, the Rufina taproom hosted the Santa Fe round of the New Mexico IPA Challenge, a people’s-choice contest decided by attendee votes.
Frequently asked questions about Second Street Brewery
Is Second Street Brewery still on Second Street?
No. The original pub at 1814 Second Street closed in April 2022 when its lease ended. The brewery kept its name and continues at two Santa Fe locations: the Railyard pub at 1607 Paseo de Peralta and the Rufina Taproom at 2920 Rufina Street. A third taproom in Midtown is planned for early 2027.
What is Second Street Brewery known for?
It is best known for carefully made traditional styles, especially its award-winning Brown Ale, Vienna Lager, Kolsch, and Oktoberfest, along with year-round favorites like Agua Fria Pilsner and 2920 IPA. Both locations serve full food menus alongside the beer.
Plan your visit
Pair the Railyard pub with an afternoon around the farmers market and galleries, or head to Rufina to drink close to where the beer is brewed. Check Second Street’s website for current hours and seasonal releases, and if you are visiting more than one brewery, line up a designated driver or a rideshare.
Second Street is one of many Santa Fe stops worth your time. Explore the full New Mexico brewery directory and map on New Mexico Breweries to plan your next brewery day, from Farmington to Las Cruces.
