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Turtle Mountain Brewing Co. opens a taproom in Enchanted Hills.
RAISE YOUR GLASS TO NEW SPACES AND CHEERS FOR A CAUSE COMING OUT OF ITS SHELL After 22 years of operation, Rio Rancho’s Turtle Mountain Brewing Company is spreading its reach. The brewery recently opened a taproom in the Enchanted Hills neighborhood located in northern Rio Rancho. The new venue is much larger than the brewery’s original location in southern Rio Rancho. Turtle Mountain North, located at 835 Enchanted Hills Blvd. NE, is about 7,400 square feet inside with an outside patio that is about 4,000 square feet. The taproom offers 32 taps and plenty of seating at its large bar that features about 1,300 coasters embedded into it. “When you look down you see coasters from all over the world that I solicited from a lot of my friends,” says
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owner Nico Ortiz. “The entire length of the bar is nothing but beer coasters from all around the world.” The taps are divided into two banks on each side of the bar. One of the banks serves patrons at the bar while the other bank serves guests in the restaurant and on the patio. Turtle Mountain signature beers are offered on tap and soon specials and guest handles will be part of the rotation. The main house beers are Red Rye Redux, Wooden Teeth American Lager, Hopshell IPA, Metal Snake Irish Dry Stout and hazy IPA called Widespread Haze. “We have additional hazys, we have a barley wine coming up, we have porter,” says Ortiz. “We had a steam (beer), a California common... It’s a constantly rotating lineup of beers. We’re probably going to have some funky aged beers that we don’t have
room for at the (original location)... So there will be different tap lineups at both restaurants so if you want to try all the beers on tap, you’ll have to visit both places.” The taproom’s menu offers familiar fare from its original location with a few items taken from Ortiz’s previous restaurant ventures, including the now shuttered Fat Squirrel Pub & Grille. Some highlights on the menu are Jagerschitzel, a breaded pork cutlet with hunter sauce served with mashed potatoes; the Slabtown Strip consisting of a 12-ounce Angus strip, seasonal vegetables, and mashed potatoes; Schnitzel Strips that are breaded pork strips fried and served with brown gravy; and the Monte Cristo sandwich made with housemade beer battered ham, turkey, Swiss cheese, powdered sugar, and a raspberry compote. Brunch is currently offered on Sun-
WWW.ABQTHEMAG.COM | MARCH 2022
