Brewery Guide: Inland Oceanside

When most people think of Oceanside, images of the Pacific Ocean, piers, beachgoers and rides down the 101 come to mind, and rightfully so. The city’s coastal expanses are lovely and have undergone quite an evolutionary transformation over the past several years. As evidenced by our San Diego Sudscapes piece on coastal O’side, it’s home to a wealth of breweries, brewpubs and tasting rooms, but to stop there without venturing inland would mean missing out on even more epic beermaking operations. From a large, decade-young production brewery to an upstart operation sited in a winery and not just one, but two breweries named for the city they call home, the east side of O’side has a great deal to offer thirsty brewery tourists. Join us as we take you on a quick tour of the locals-only portion of the county’s northwesternmost corner.

Belching Beaver Brewery
1334 Rocky Point Dr.

Ten years ago, few would have expected a small brewery in a Vista industrial-park suite to blossom into one of the county’s largest brewing companies…except those helming that quirkily named interest. They had big aspirations from the start and have been able to realize them by being early adopters of the satellite tasting room model, opting to buy rather than lease their facilities, harnessing the power of both hops and peanut butter, and maintaining a creative, collaborative relationship with the alt-rock band, Deftones. The above allowed Belching Beaver to move its headquarters to Oceanside several years in, where it’s since steadily expanded both its manufacturing capabilities and an oasis-like tasting room equipped with a sail-shaded, Astroturfed front patio.

While perhaps best known for its wildly popular Peanut Butter Milk Stout, the Beav’ presents quality across styles. Proof comes in the form of multiple wins at Great American Beer Festival companion competition, the Alpha King Challenge, recognizing excellence in the crafting of potently hoppy beers. That IPA prowess comes through care of the papaya, cantaloupe and grapefruit notes in West Coast model No Worries, as well as the orange expression in mimosa-like New Englander, Hazers Gonna Haze. A recently introduced series of terpene-infused IPAs further diversify Belching Beaver’s stock, as do fruited beers such as Here Comes Mango IPA, and boldly acidic releases from Belching Beaver’s considerable barrel-aging program.

Fixating on the aforementioned Deftones collabs? Many people do…and not just because they’re fans of the band. Far more than some blindly licensed money-grab, the releases in this series—which includes ten beers ranging from a Mexican-style lager and pilsner to hazy and double-dry-hopped IPAs—stand on their own merit.

Horus Aged Ales
Not Open to the Public

Though it’s not equipped with its own brewhouse or a tasting room, seldom sells beer to accounts and is largely unknown to most San Diegans, Horus Aged Ales is one of the most popular beer interests in the country. Even more well known among industry contemporaries and nth-level beer fans is owner Kyle Harrop (pictured above, photo credit: @thebeertrekker) who has collaborated with big-name breweries across the U.S. since founding his business in 2015 behind an alternative model that allows him to sell almost every drop of his locally produced barrel-aged sours, stouts and barleywines to registered members of Horus’ private club. Those beers are funneled into Horus’ inventory of hand-selected, hard-to-procure used spirit and wine barrels. Much of that maturing stock is lent further flavor care of often-exotic ingredients, including small-batch coffees from around the world. Horus’ barrel warehouse only opens on days designated for club-member beer pickups, so there’s no need to chart a course there, but it’s a solid Oceanside beer interest worth noting.

Tipping Pint Brewing
Hangar 76, 3229 Roymar Rd

Adam Jester made a name for himself helming the well-worn, locally legendary brewhouse at Pizza Port’s original brewpub in Solana Beach, but when it came time to go into business for himself, he headed north to Oceanside. He was drawn there by an opportunity to share space within Carruth Cellars’ production winery, which has since been reimagined as Hangar 76, an indoor-outdoor public venue welcoming cross-drinkers looking for house-made wine, beer and live entertainment under one roof. Opened in early 2022, the project has been a straightaway dual-purpose success allowing Jester to express himself on his own terms through his solo project, Tipping Pint Brewing.

A self-professed hophead, Jester brews a variety of IPAs running the gamut from West Coast to hazy to imperial—and they are as good as one would expect from a Pizza Port expat—but he strives to provide enough variety so that beer fans of all types can find something they’ll enjoy. To that end, he offers a top-notch Mexican lager called Si Level, the lemon-limey Motueka-hopped Puna Pils, and Thanks Honey, a bee-nectar-laced blonde ale with earthy depth and restrained sweetness. And don’t sleep on Tipping Pint’s stouts. Crow Constellations imperial stout offers layered flavors of bittersweet and milk chocolate, and dry Irish-style stout Scoop is a nitrogenized benchmark brew with a light, almost espresso-like bitterness.

Working in such close proximity to a distinguished vinicultural operation, Jester expects to source used wine barrels in which to age some of his stronger ales, and he’s toying with the idea of creating hard seltzers flavored with different wine-grape varietals.