Tuesday 16th of November 2010 08:00:07 PM

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As previous reviewers have stated, this si a really great place to grab a bite and hang. The atmosphere is great and the service have been great both times I have visited (2 yrs a part). This last go 11/15/10 I had a Ruben which was amazing. I washed it down with the house ESB which I found pretty good, but with all the other "known" beers to select from its hard tp justify drinking theirs. Sad really.

Still worth a stop to relax and quaff a cold one. I'll be back...

Tuesday 29th of December 2009 02:18:27 PM

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Kelly's has the best patio in town! This is the best thing that can be said about this place, which is sad. It is targeted at the University crowd that lives in the neighborhood -- tons of drink and food specials.

The beer. Calling it homebrew is an insult to homebrewers. They have a TON of taps and nary a winner among them. It really was not good, and I only recommend this place to beer tourists who are "completists" and want to hit every location. This is a GREAT place to sit, eat a hot dog and scope out hotties.

Saturday 28th of June 2008 11:02:24 AM

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Lots of taps but the quality of which was hit or miss. Basically a large homebrew system in a commercial setting. The place does have a lot of charm though. It is in a converted car dealership, lots of memoribilla hanging on the walls. Many of the beers we tried tasted alike, no matter what the style was, which isn't good. Food was o.k. and inexpensive. Attracts a young college age crowd. Near the University.

Thursday 29th of May 2008 05:10:05 PM

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On the last day of a New Mexico trip, just before heading to the airport, I decided to finally visit Kelly's, which I had passed many times before but had heard such good things about.
I was not disappointed. The first thing I noticed was the great selection of beer: a dubbel, two stouts, a porter, two bitters, several lighter varieties, all on top of an already standard wide variety. I was a little disappointed that they didn't have any sort of sampling purchase set up, but, it being slow, the bartender was happy to let us sample beers.
I tried the Imperial Stout (excellent at 8% ABV), the ESB (also excellent), the Dubbel (again, excellent), the wiezen variety (not a fan of the wheat stuff, and it had already been fruited by my companion, so I can't judge it), the apricot ale (also not a fan, but it had a nice taste) and the "Fruit Basket," which was the apricot with a hard apple cider (the only disappointment in that it was way too sweet).
And, then, I got a pint of the IPA. Wow. Something about New Mexicans and their IPAs. Perfect flavor, not disgustingly hoppy, and, actually I could have used a few more hops. Regardless it was great and was served incredibly cold, which only added to its nice flavor on that warm afternoon.
Per the service, the bartender was very attentive, especially considering the crew of 50 and over drunk regulars in there at the time. We watched the water polo finals and sampled the brew in what was a fairly comfortable environment.
I have to dock them for the fact that the place is a little hard to navigate due to a rather schizophrenic chair/table arrangement, especially near the bar. It was actually a little difficult to enter and leave because of it.
Parking is a little difficult here as well. Nob Hill is Albuquerque's bar area, so, even though there is parking around, you'd have problems finding it coming in on a Friday or Saturday night.
Didn't have time to try the food, but it looked good and interesting. Plenty of green chile stuff, like a New Mexican brewpub should have.
Definitely recommended if in the region.

Friday 7th of March 2008 10:21:25 AM

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En route to the National Homebrewers Convention in Denver, my cousin and I decided we would stop by Kelly's for an afternoon beer. It's a converted service station and garage right across from UNM, and this place rocks. I used to be a sales rep in Austin around the campus, and I found I missed the University atmosphere while I was at the bar.

The bartender was friendly and enthusiastic. We had a tuna salad sandwich for an early dinner (we were stopping in Santa Fe for the night), and a couple of brews to stretch our legs.

There were an impressive array of beers on tap--20 brewed on premise and perhaps another dozen national brands. The beer was very good, and the service was great! It almost makes me want to move to Albuquerque.