Turtle Mountain Brewing Company

March 15, 2007
I have not been to the new location but Nico & Liz certainly made us feel at home in the old place. We stopped by for a beer and spent the day. The staff here could not have been nicer. The beers were varied and tasty, as was the food. I will go back to Rio Rancho just to go here.

October 31, 2006
Turtle Mountain 2 (official grand opening one week ago) is a completely different creature from the original location on Southern. The new place is spaceous, all non-smoking, well lit and inviting. The large granite bar and counter tops are modern and attractive. While the flat-screen TVs do pander to the sports crowd, there is also the projection screen that delivers what local customers want - such as Comedy Central and South Park. The kitchen operates fairly late for this bedroom community and a 3-6 happy hour has $2.75 pint deals on very flavorful beer. Same great pizzas and calzones though. Seating is booths and tables, with two outdoor patios! The brewhouse is visible behind the long bar. The staff is not yet seasoned but seem committed to offering requisite information on the wood-fired oven dishes and Mark Matheson’s refined brews. The original location has added pool tables and now allows all forms of legal second-hand smoke generation. Dart boards should be added shortly.

August 20, 2006
Another great place. I only sampled one beer, it was good. The food was really good, (BTW, in New Mexico, Green Chili means HOT!!!) The pizza was good, and so was the Calzone I ended up with... The brewery equipment has been moved to their new location, but this restaurant was a really cool place. Glad I made it out here. Thanks to Jeff and his whole family for making my trip a buch of fun.

October 24, 2005 [ Updated June 20, 2006 ]
A medium sized building in an suburban area, the inside is comfortable and covered in wood decor. The beer quality was impressive, and the people who work here and who run the place seem active in the local beer scene, and quite knowledgeable. I had a fun time tasitng beer with the local RBs and a couple people who ran the brewery. Good place.

July 3, 2005 [ Updated September 28, 2006 ]
UPDATE Sep 06: Returned for a visit to the ABQ area and planned a hotel stop within walking distance and everything. Discovered TMBC had moved into a brand new building, where it is now trying to emulate the Gordon Biersch’s of the world, replete with overpoweringly huge TVs and servers that don’t know ale from lager. The 3 beers I tried weren’t nearly as good as my old favorites and the real draw ... the food ... fell even further. Gone is the scrumptious home-baked bread, in favor of mushy white mess, served too slowly. The server never did bring the appetizer we ordered, either. I guess the old location will remain as a sports bar. Don’t know if the brewhouse is staying put or what, but the two stops are about 1/2 mile away. Anyway, still OK ... just not as good (down from an over all 19 to an 11. OLD RATING: I want to move back to Albuqueque just for this place and il Vicino. The food is stellar and they always have something different brewing. A MUST stop in the Albuquerque area.

July 1, 2004
I am constantly impressed with this brewpub. The food is excellent. Coming from NY the Pizza in NM sucks. TMBC’s is really good. The staff are all beer lovers and are very friendly. The owner knows and parties with all the regulars of which I am one. Theres ussually at least five beers on tap, sometimes more. There IPA is always killer. I love this place! Nico is not the brewer, Mark is.

June 4, 2004
visited in may 2004 with whaleman-great brews, especially the steam and the IPA. very good brick oven pizza and the staff are friendly.

May 29, 2004
A very good brewpub with consistently high quality beers and great calzones, sandwiches, and pizzas. Despite Nico’s awesome collection of beer paraphenalia, the ambiance and selection need to be improved... and will be soon, I hope, when the brewpub moves to a new location Fall 2004.

April 14, 2004
By far the best beer in/around Albuquerque. Brewer Nico is putting out some good stuff. Pretty good food too.