NEIGHBORHOOD BREWERY GUIDES
Our comprehensive, community-specific brewery guides are designed to help locals and visitors alike find the brewery, brewpub, restaurant or tasting room that’s best suited to their tastes and the specific type of experience they are searching for.
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Brewery Guide: North Park & South Park
Craft beer has permeated every community in San Diego County, but arguably none so much as the city proper’s North Park neighborhood. Considered by many as the craft-beer capital of the Capital of Craft, it is densely populated by breweries and brewery-owned taprooms located along and just off the 30th…
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Brewery Guide: Carlsbad
From a quaint village area bordering the Pacific Ocean to inland expanses populated with a blend of residential, retail and industrial, Carlsbad has a lot to offer. That includes breweries, brewpubs and taprooms offering just about every type of beer imaginable, including plenty of crisp, easy-drinking styles well suited for…
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Brewery Guide: Kearny Mesa & Serra Mesa
With its many industrially zoned properties, epicurean-destination status and close proximity to numerous local freeways, Kearny Mesa has long been a hot spot for entrepreneurs looking to get into the craft-beer industry. As such, it is home to a bevy of breweries producing a wide variety of local, independent ales and…
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Brewery Guide: Allied Gardens, Grantville & Mission Valley
The center of San Diego (from a freeway-interchange perspective if nothing else), Mission Valley draws locals and tourists alike with its multitude of hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and Snapdragon Stadium. Visitors can find plenty of spots for local beer, either in the valley or a pair of nearby inland communities.…
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Brewery Guide: Coronado & Imperial Beach
It took a while for craft beer to trickle its way into the southwestern-most corner of San Diego County, but a handful of high-profile brewery-venue openings proved game-changers. Now, residents and visitors alike can indulge in locally brewed ales and lagers on both ends of the Silver Strand, including an…
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Brewery Guide: Local Belgian Ales
About 15 years ago, there was a Belgian beer renaissance raging across the United States. Even in hop-happy San Diego County, most breweries experimented with abbey ales, witbiers and even barrel-aged or wild ales brewed in the Belgian tradition. But as I’m reminded each year when asking local ale-and-lager fans…
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Brewery Guide: La Mesa & College Area
It wasn’t until the local brewery boom of the mid-2010s that the East County municipality of La Mesa finally saw fit to loosen its regulations pertaining to alcohol production, making it legal to manufacture beer within the city limits. While that move did not signal widespread brewery construction, it resulted…
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Brewery Guide: Escondido
The inland North County city of Escondido has been a major destination for craft beer since the county’s largest producer, Stone Brewing, established its base of operations there in 2006. While that illustrious locale remains a must-visit, a host of smaller operations await beer tourists venturing to the area. From…
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Brewery Guide: El Cajon & Alpine
With miles and miles of beaches, it’s easy to think of San Diego exclusively as a coastal city, but its vibrant culture spans many miles east of the Pacific. That includes the famous San Diego beer culture, which has solid inland roots. For nearly a quarter-century, beer fans have been…
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Brewery Guide: Uptown & Old Town
As any San Diegan will attest, the network of eclectic communities in the city’s Uptown area have always had a lot to offer, especially in the way of lively hospitality venues. Despite that, almost none of them were home to spots operated by local brewing companies until a few years…
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