Nice lunch stop on our way to Durango. Kinda of the off our route, but well worth the time. The elk, cheddar & jalapeño dog was really good. Hubby had some dog but added bison chili, yum! Great service & dog friendly patio to boot! Patio is nice & shady. read more

Kaktus Brewing - Elk, cheddar & jalapeño dog on a pretzel bun - Breweries Near Me - Bernalillo, New Mexico

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Absolutely in my top 5 places t go when I visit New Mexico! Good year round but best in the summer to stop in and have a few beers! The people are kool and the place certainly has nearly endless character! Don't miss this place if you are ever in New Mexico! read more

Food is out of your mind experience. Dessert is superb. Beer is lovely and cider knocked me out for sure. It's amazing how the best places are hidden gems and provide a real feel for American craft brewing. You have to experience to appreciate. Very eclectic in the best way and the place makes you feel so at home even it your far from home. read more

My husband and I made our rounds to three breweries in our area during the weekend. We give Kaktus Brewing three stars. Inside was clean with relaxing music. Although we didn't order food the Pizza looked good. Our complaint is that the beers were not cold. Kind of a bummer since the beers were really great tasting. We will try Kaktus again, hopefully they can invest in serving beers that are cold, warm beers are hard to drink and easily forgotten. read more

This is a great little local brewery. A friend took me here with a group with a groupon they gave us a flight of beers and a tour of the brewery. The owner was super nice and it was fun to see the insides of an actual brewery. The food here is pretty good too. Not many places can you find pizza with boar or elk or any game meats really. Very fun experience. read more

***************update Sept 1 2017************* In 2 years we've given this place in reality four separate tries, all in different seasons, times, in hopes that they work out the kinks. The kombucha is great, but I'm not going to a brewery to drink "healthy." Despite the owner reaching out to us, I don't think we will be taking her up on any offers. Its better if they don't see you coming. In reality it shouldn't matter if its Monday or Friday, it shouldn't take 10-20 min to offer you a beer, and the pizza shouldn't be consistently burned. Being the closest Brewery to my house, I really wanted to love them, they have an amazing atmosphere, just if they could put as much effort into quality as they do being quirky they might be great. First thing, they need to hire a REAL brewer with REAL experience, and get a real pizza oven... Half-assed only ever amounts to poor quality, inexperience is noticeable in the beer, just as lack of care in the pizza. The most recent, at the Mountain West Brew Fest, which was a rip off, 20$ for ten of the cities lowest quality breweries. The offerings from Kaktus were par the course. My wife liked her very cloudy cucumber ale, but the Rio Grande water they poured and called porter got dumped right out on the grass after the second sip. Second because the first wasn't really that bad, right? Yes.. that murky brown muddy sludge they served as porter was undrinkable. The owner has reached out in attempt to have us come try again, but to call her cell phone first so she can make sure everything's right.. well that should be the case any day, the beer and pizza should be up to 100% every single day. ***previous reviews of the same establishment*** The first time all the beers were hot, and were being cooled by being poured into a frozen glass, the yeast in my wife's hefe had resumed flocculation.. I chose to pass at the time. We returned today, only to leave empty handed, you may have too. First we sit at the bar, plenty of open seats, the patio was another story; packed. Understandable it took the bar tender 5 min to greet us, at which time We needed an explanation of the styles, I dont remember the weird name given to their english, but I would have never guessed from it, and the same for red, thought it would be a red ale, not an amber. Still though, we sat for another 15 min before my wife asked me if we could just go get a six pack on the way home. 15 minutes of the bartender hugging and gushing over some patrons and personally seating them, 2 other employees one hustling to push out sub par pies, while the other leans on a brew kettle staring off into space like a young George W. 15 minutes to watch 3 burned pizzas being carried passed, did they not teach black crust means burnt and in need of a remake? Quality is just not apparent here, at least from my perspective. Thankfully I was never sent to formally review this place by ABQ Beer, twice Ive come to have a drink and twice Ive left empty handed and thirsty. Tonight it seemed to matter who you know if you wanted to have a drink at the bar, only regulars and chums received their drinks. read more

Kaktus Brewing - Muddy brown sludgy offering they served as porter. - Breweries Near Me - Bernalillo, New Mexico

It's slow...beer is standard...especially after recent IPA challenge. And the crowd in New Mexico eclectic. Veggie Frito-Lay pie is severely lacking...veggies. read more

Kaktus Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Bernalillo, New Mexico

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This is my fav brewery in New Mexico. Let's get serious...it's one of my favorite spots really. You drive down Hill Rd thinking did I make a wrong turn. Then you come upon the sweetest little tucked away brewery of all times! The first things you notice as you cruise down the dirt road parking is the live music patio, and strewn white lights on the trees like the best patio party you've ever been to. Local New Mexicans colorful art lining the fence to the rest of the neighborhood. Two sweet kitties and a house puppy may come to greet you leading the way to all the love inside. Incredibly homey feel and simply marvelous uncomplicated menu of yummy food at really great pricing. The beers each have a nicely crafted taste of their own. Lemongrass, and the Pilsner were my favs. Out back comfy couches, more white lighting, and bean bags for the win! Ambience extraordinaire!! And to make it even more welcoming we had the best staff member in the world serving us. Her name is Aspen and she was the sweetest, kindest server ever. We would come back just to see her even if it wasn't as amazing as it was simply because she rocked so much. Thank you for showing us around that beautiful New Mexico gem in Bernalillo Aspen. Cute was an understatement- it is magical! read more

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Great vibe, but hard to find? I can't give it five stars because I'm not sampling the food tonite but the pours are great and the staff is welcoming and laid back. Coming back when I'm hungry read more

This place gets better every time we go. They have a nice selection of beers and a sweet outdoor patio. They always seemed short one staff person though. The pizza is actually really good for not being a pizza place. It is only a 10 minute drive from Paseo/I25. Check it out. read more

Kaktus Brewing - A beautiful night at katkus - Breweries Near Me - Bernalillo, New Mexico

I've gone here a couple times and had a pretty good experience. They take pride in their beers and the location is interesting.

Don't miss the opportunity to stop in for beer and pizza! Friendly staff, EXCELLENT beer and unique pizza...pumpkin squash with feta and chili sauce with delicious pan crust???!!! Yes! Plus the place is super comfy with a side patio. It's a GEM! We found it only because we stopped for a night at the KOA next door on the way through town. I'm so thankful KOA mentioned we could walk there for some good food. I will definitely go out of my way to find this place again in the future. Thanks, Kaktus Brewing! read more

Wonderful pizza. Fantastic music. Beer so so. Funky location next to a trailer park.

A real find. Great beers, knowledgeable brew master, excellent pizza, really friendly service. Stopped by on a Sunday afternoon for live blues music. Don't get turned off by the physical plant. The building looks like it's gonna fall over but just bite you're lip and go in. You'll be glad you did. read more

The atmosphere of a Florida Keyes bar in the middle of a trailer park in the desert. Live band and homemade pizza. The paleontology beer was really good. read more

This brewery has the best patio area I have ever seen. They offer plenty of options for varying tastes in beer. The staff is fabulous. I did order a unique pizza which was delicious. They could have been a little more generous with the toppings, but it was truly a good pizza. I ordered a flight of beer and I have to say I enjoyed all four. They even have a blonde stout called the C-thru stout. It was refreshing. I was staying at the KOA next door and they have a special entrance for campers to stop by. I loved the atmosphere and the beer. Check this place out, you will enjoy it. read more

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Unbelievable --- pizza was incredible with the green chiles and the Italian dessert with espresso and açaí chocolates.... wow! And a cool vibe with music and friendly hosts read more

The hideout immediately reminded me of Taos, without the commercialization. Happy blue hues. Wonky abstract furniture and nick knacks, hung haphazard from the air and scattered around the property, this was an artisan den. And so I parked the Corolla along a rickety, somehow ordered lot, and entered the grounds. Cool little patio, somewhat shaded, the tap room adjacent to the place where the magic happens: beer, sweet sweet beer. Kaktus is a surprise in so many respects. For the most part these are European pours, generally British. This, in Bernalilo, an extension of Rio Rancho with the character of essentially nothing. What's out here? Not much, save your only oasis before the drive to the Jemez and beyond. Kaktus is your watering hole. Come here for some serious artisan brews that won't weigh ya down. ABVs (alcohol by volume) measure somewhere around six percent, pair this with basic protein plates and you have sustenance to get you on the road to nowhere. Quoted from the online menu, I suggest the following lunch treat: the Meat Sampler: Over 16 Oz's of mixed meat including Duck, Elk, Beef and Boar. Beer Boiled and grilled to perfection. Served with a side of mustard, curry, chips, salsa and layered over a bed of sauerkraut. Not bad. Pair this with the Porter or ESB, both are good. Yo, you're drinkin' up a craft brew in Bernalillo, cheers! I love this place, I'm so glad it's here. Finally, authentic suds in the boonies. Drink up and support local! read more

I feel sure that Kaktus must have good food bc the place was pretty full. My roasted duck pizza was oddly sweet and not appealing. Had it not been so heavy on the hoisin I think it could have been great. My daughter was pretty repulsed by what was marketed as Frito Pie. Service was mediocre. read more

If I could, I'd give 3.5 stars. This place is fun, unique, quirky, but it's still got a ways to go. The beer itself isn't half bad. They do a lot of small batches, so you'll see a lot of experimentation going on. Some of it is quite unique: basil lager? Peppermint stout? I'm game, and I like that they push the flavor envelope. The beer world needs that. I sampled all that they had on tap, and took two growlers home (one with Dunkel and the other with Late Hop). Oh, and they have cask beer, but you have to ask. Pro tip! You have to pass through the brew room to get to the tasting room, which is kinda fun. You get a feel for how small and "startup" this place is. The tasting room itself is kinda small, with a bar and a few tables. If you want food, they offer a variety of sausages. You mark your order on laminated menus. I'd like to see more food in the future, and it will have to come from Kaktus itself, as I don't think any food trucks are gonna make the trek out here. Speaking of that, this place has a very strange location. It's in a trailer park, and you have to drive the whole way through the park to get to it. I'm not sure how they ended up in this location, but they seem to be making the most of it. Still, it's a little weird and people might be a little freaked driving here at night and not knowing what to expect. read more

Kaktus is a very interesting place; they're not like other brewries. When getting off the main roadway, you'll turn onto a dirt road. Don't worry, the sign is right, you ARE on your way to a brewery. They have a nice patio and a smaller indoor space, but it fits the location. They have fires and even what I've heard is a water feature (during the summer) on the patio. When I visited, they we're out of the IPA, which was disappointing, but everything else I tired was good. I was very interested in the Bucha (I think this is what it was called) which was a tea-like drink they made that only had less than 1% alcohol. I think it's really cool that a brewery would brew a almost non-alcoholic option for people that are not drinking. The owner spoke about how he wants to distribute this product and produce more flavors. I think that's a great idea: it would make brewries interesting for people that aren't drinking as well! It gives them a much more interesting option than just a soda. It was also cool to hear about how the brewery is sustainable: they have solar panels, as well as chickens and what seems like a mini farm on the property. They even use cotton towels in the bathrooms to dry your hands so you're not wasting paper towels! I'm excited to try the taproom in Nob Hill! read more

Crappy nasty help Good pizza but help stinks. U don't want to be welcomed there.

Awesome brewery in a small town. I've been here twice now, and both times were great. The first time I went, we got a flight. All of the beers were solid, my favorites being the porter and esb. As others have said, they don't go crazy with hops which is fine by me, but hopheads should be prepared. The second time I went I got the dunkel which was amazing. Honestly, one of the best beers I've had. I haven't had any of the food, so I can't comment on that, but who cares about food when there's beer to be had! The place itself is really fun. A relaxed atmosphere with some eclectic art and furniture. The chalk writing on the wall just adds to the down to earth feel of the place. Also, all of the staff were friendly and helpful. All in all, I'm very happy to see an establishment of this quality in Bernalillo. I wouldn't be surprised to see myself become a regular here. read more

i really spent one hour and a half waiting for two pizzas, i watched multiple people get their food.

Wild game meat sausages and cold beer what more do you want! Beer was refreshing. A little bit lower in alcohol than the modern standard, but this place is a drive from civilization, so it won't get you in trouble as fast. Unless you know where you are going, you may not find this joint. Atmosphere is funky bright and desert counter culture. As for food, they serve only game meats and pride themselves on not supporting high fructose corn syrup, and other toxic garbage. If you are a veggie or vegan you may be out of luck for snacks. They are just getting going, so stay tuned for them more offerings, and more diverse snacks, and possibly making there own sausages. They are trying to be sustainable, the bartender was saying they are mostly on solar. The kitchen has a sausage rotisserie and a high powered toaster oven. Mondays- beer is 3$ instead of 4$. Sunday night they have belly dancers currently. Keep up the good work, I hope you catch on! You may want to come up with a melty sandwich for vegetarians that you can put in the toaster. Not for me, just for the hippy's, you know they like to drink, too! read more

Love this place. Pizza is amazing, best crust I've ever had and the tomatoes are fresh. There's a live band too! I would definitely come back if I lived in the area. read more

Holy cow, how did I not try this place sooner. Great beer, a surprisingly big food selection, and live music. They have indoor and outdoor seating. The brewery has an awesome small town feel to it! I loved this place and I will absolutely be back! The employees were extremely friendly! read more

Kaktus Brewing - Sunset - Breweries Near Me - Bernalillo, New Mexico

This is kind of a strange place. You drive pretty far out of Albuquerque and swear you're going to the wrong place. Then you find it. The atmosphere is homey and certainly a bit different than the other breweries in town. The food selection is interesting and some cool pizzas but the pizzas did not feel up to par. I appreciated that they had a beer selection other than high-hop beers (which I like but my wife prefers selection). They were pretty goof though. I am sure we will eventually make it back out to Bernalillo to get some more beer, but in the meantime, I am more excited to check out their new place! read more

I stopped by to pick up a growler of Heffe. Since Marble have stopped brewing theirs we have been big fans of Jeffe's Heffe at La Cumbre, so it was great to have another choice here in town. The Heffe had some floral afternotes, great taste and went down very easily. I will for sure have more of this on my next visit, with a try of the porter & English ale I think. They have 4 or 5 beers on top right now (a heffe, a halles, a porter and an ale) - IPA's are coming soon. They fill growlers and accept credit cards via Square payment. When you get there park "nose in" with your car. They are trying to be 90% energy efficient/recycling. They serve some food items (brats, meat chili on chips and a wrap I think), but they are fine if you want to bring your own food. read more

I ordered the spinach salad with goat cheese and an true Italian margarita pizza. I was thinking about the frito pie so he let me try a sample of it. Was good, but not what I was feeling for at the moment. The salad was amazing. Don't let the simplicity in the salads description think it's not going to be great. I'm a "salad person" and I would order this salad again. The pizza was amazing. Very simple, but packed with flavor. Would order this pizza again. Overall: I would recommend this place to anyone I know and I would return read more

Fantastic Pizza and the beer is top-notch plus they change it out regularly. Really good selection and super nice folks. Their Pizza is absolutely perfect. You might see some reviews about overdone crust or whatever but I'm here you to tell you they know what they're doing. This is like going to Italy for a really nice cracker thin piece of well prepared Pizza. I recommend the new Mexican style pizza with bacon . amazing! read more

Kaktus Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Bernalillo, New Mexico

Very urban. Nice grounds, unique food options with a relaxing atmosphere and fantastic service. Driving in is a little confusing at first. Definitely a "hole in the wall", very yummy!!! A best kept secret, needs to no longer be a secret! read more

Kaktus Brewing - Wild spicy elk! - Breweries Near Me - Bernalillo, New Mexico

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Last time we stopped by (about a yr ago, we travel and always stay at the KOA behind them) it was pretty good so naturally we wanted to come back. This eve neither food or service was up to par, they were busy so that would justify the service part somewhat. My salad was missing ingredients, the bread that came with it was 1/2 burnt, waiter didn't ask how things were and when I mentioned it he just said "sorry" and walked away. No concern whatsoever. Beers and Wine were good. Place was way overpriced for what we got. Probably won't stop back by, not worth it. read more

Love this place that's located off the beaten path. Unique menu consisting of bison, elk and more. And they now serve homemade pizzas that look and sound amazing! The beer selection is outstanding and includes two yummy ciders which were recommended to mix and it was delicious! And beginning this week they added Matheson Wine to the menu which I totally love !!! Thanks for feeding us today :) read more

Kaktus Brewing - Breweries Near Me - Bernalillo, New Mexico

This might sound biased but they make one of the best beers. The Basil beer is sooo good it was named after me. Besides the good beer, good food and great atmosphere. It's tucked away and well worth it. read more

Fun brewery off the beaten path. We stopped on our way to ride the Sandia Tramway. Very friendly staff and good service. Delicious food. I had the salad with sun-dried tomatoes and my husband had the bison frito chili pie. Both meals were very fresh and flavorful! I had the cider and it was very good. I tried a few of the other beers and really didn't care for them. I usually really like Amber and Wheat style beers, but these were just not for me. My husband had a stout and he said it was really good. Beer is always up to personal taste though! So I say it's worth a visit! read more

Brand new brewery off the beaten path next to a KOA campground (filled with balloonists). The employees and owner are young (both 22, we were told) but the beer is good. Nothing too in-your-face hoppy, so if you're a hophead you may be disappointed, but we were very pleased with the brews we tried and with the awesome patio. Bristol helped us out that day, she was very pleasant and knowledgeable about their beers. After she had served us and the other visitors, she set about sweeping the patio and wiping down the bar. The parking lot is gravel and as we were leaving I noticed they harvest rainwater from their roof. I recommend trying the flight if it's your first time here. The patio is well-shaded and has a nice water feature so you aren't unintentionally eaves-dropping on the other patrons. This place gives off a great vibe...I hope they have a lot of success in the future! read more

Kaktus Brewing - Fountain on cool patio - Breweries Near Me - Bernalillo, New Mexico

Grand opening of the Albuquerque taproom on new years eve? NAILED IT! I meant to up my rating before just because of the fact that the management reached out to me after the first experience. Not many businesses do that. Without knowing what the evening would include, we went to the grand opening and were delighted to interact with a highly functioning, friendly and very attentive staff, free food and live entertainment. I will definitely be back to this tap room. I wish Kaktus the best of luck in the new location and hope to spend many more evenings there enjoying the good beer and food. Congrats you guys! You really got this grand opening thing, spot on! Glad we chose to celebrate the end of 2015 here! read more

Great find, we had the hot dog wrapped in bread and pizza. If my in town I will go back.

Absolutely wonderful beers. They brew new ones all of the time. Try their organic buffalo chili. Great place great owner