Taos Mesa Brewing

 

 

Cool little hacienda-ish place on the main drag just south of the old town. Multiple little dining rooms with a bar room on the back left side, and multiple outdoor patios. About 20 beers on tap, I enjoyed both the IPAs that I sample. I also had the pork belly sandwich and stuffed mushrooms which were delicious. Friendly waitress, very laid back vibe.

 

Funky and eclectic place. The inside is spacious and inviting, well lighted. There is plenty of lighting and a fine looking bar area. They also have a lot of outdoor seating with water for pets and misters. They also have nice stages for live entertainment inside and outside.

My sister and I stayed in Taos on vacay last week and this place was just down the street from our lodgings. We went twice for food and growler fills. They have twenty four choices, including about seven different IPAs on tap. The food is solid but not wonderful and the service is a bit slow if friendly. They did have live music every time we came in, which was unexpected, and cool. We tried a number of the IPAs, the pilsner, kolsch, blonde and most of the other summer friendly brews and they were all at least decent. For a tourist town in the off season, I feel they did a nice job.

Certainly one of the most unique looking beer venues I have been to. Local radio station based in trailer in parking lot. Must be a good sized music venue when it wants to be some national acts there and coming there. Nice vibe-family and dog friendly for sure from what I saw. Several people dressed for casual Friday on a Monday in there working on their lap tops. Staff attentive for sure and very friendly. Maybe 12 to 15 beers on tap. I had a decent pale and a better smoked porter. Nothing really blew my mind but in my old age I am happy to find a spot with a solid offering and that is what I got here. Love the location-seems off the grid for sure. Food? Where never noticed....be sure to hit Rio Grande Gorge 3 miles West. You can thank me later.

This brewery is all about the location and atmosphere, awesome setting to enjoy some beer. Pretty backdrop of the open space and mountains, nice building architecture, laid back vibe. At night, the New Mexico sky is vibrant and the town lights also serve as a nice backdrop. A really nice place to relax and enjoy some beers (and music when scheduled...two stages, an outdoor stage and an indoor stage). The beer itself is passable but nothing special. Good enough to bring me back while in Taos, but not worth my time if they were located in Albuquerque. Service was fine, decent selection. Overall, a great spot for drinking. If only the beer were a little bit better. (would have also liked them to offer half pours, only options were pint of 4 ounce tasters.)

 

 

 

 

 

Great outdoor patio. Open Mic Nite was very entertaining.

The atmosphere was good, though it trended towards perhaps a slightly rougher crowd than some might like.

The quality was good for both the beer and food.

The service could have been better. The server seemed to be stretched a bit too thin covering so many tables.

The selection was okay, but kind of limited. The food was good, as well.

The beer was pretty good, especially the Big Brown.

Great place about 8 miles west of Taos. 12 taps with house beers huge patio with a spectacular view and a gazebo. Indoor and outdoor concert stages. The KNCE IPA was excellent.

Brewery meets biker bar meets country western two step dive with a stage. Live band we saw was bluegrass country fusion. Everyone having a good time. Beer brewed on site with multiple styles to choose from. Good bbq pork sandwich.

 

 

 

 

 

What I liked most about this place was the space and the exterior look. It seems to have been built in an old airplane hangar and is in a prime location just next to the Gorge bridge and with a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. It's really beautiful.

The interior has a big stage and the brewery hosts a lot of great musical events. In the two days before our visit there were cool reggae acts that I would have liked to check out. This is one thing I wish more breweries had: big stages and great live performances. Now, I know Marble has their stage and music, but it gets so damn crowded and the acts are usually small-time and of the folk strain. But still, being in Albuquerque, I always feel crammed in any brewery I'm in. I WANT MORE SPACE!

Anyhow, Taos Mesa Brewing has that space. Outdoors is a patio that will seat about fifty and then beyond that is a huge open space where I suppose people can stand around, toss beanbags and otherwise find trouble while sipping beers.

But, I wasn't so enthused with the service and beers. First off, our waiter disappeared after bringing me a flight of beers, thus ensuring that we couldn't put in the order of food we wanted. I thought maybe the guy was just a slacker, but then some other waitress came out and tended other tables and then when I went in to use the bathroom I saw our guy waiting tables inside as well. So it seemed there was either some confusion or the two waiters were overstretched, but either way our service suffered as a result.

On to the beers:

The star is the Hopper IPA. It's got a good hoppy nose and a blend of citrusy, floral flavors and is quite easy-drinking. I sipped one down a day later at Five Star Burger and was shocked how quickly I finished it.

Lunch Pale Ale- Decent, but lacking a strong flavor profile.

Kolsch 45- This was not at all enjoyable and I almost feel I got a bad one. The beer itself seemed confused.

Great Scot Scottish- This one was one of the more enjoyable of the beers. It had a good malty nose and a sweet bready taste to it. I could have ordered a pint of this if the waiter wasn't slacking.

Superstitious Stout- Pretty plain and I felt the body lacked.

Knight Rider Imperial Stout- Ok, so this one was really peculiar to me. First of all, the nose was hoppy!!! What? A hoppy Imperial Stout? Yup, that's exactly what it was. If it had been called a black IPA I probably would have enjoyed it more because that's what it tasted like. But I thought I was getting a big Imperial Stout so the hoppy confusion threw me off.

Wheeler Peak Wheat- This wasn't bad. Easy-drinking wheat.

Cross-Eyed Rye-Unfortunately, I didn't take notes, but I remember enjoying this a bit more than others.

Overall, the beers were a mix of decent and good with a couple odd or bad apples that threw me off. Bottom line, go with the Hopper IPA and you'll be safe and enjoy this place.