Charlotte Beer Collective Guide To: San Diego

On a recent vacation to San Diego, we got to visit over 20 breweries in three distinct regions that we’ve outlined here. Broken down into downtown, Ocean Beach and Miramar.

Google Map here with all breweries listed below.

Downtown San Diego Area

The Church by The Lost Abbey - located right downtown, we parked here to walk to Petco Park. Tons of great beers on tap, including some wild fermented sours and big Belgian quads.

WestBrew - also in the heart of downtown, WestBrew has several locations, this one was relaxing and had several delicious beers on tap, including Tropic Wonder a delightful strawberry sour, perfect on a hot day.

Half Door - this place was above average, I had a nitro milk vanilla coffee stout that was really tasty. I’m also a sucker for anything on nitro.

Mike Hess Seaport Village - about a mile from the downtown hustle and bustle, right in seaport village with amazing views of Coronado. They had some tasty IPAs, but Mike Hess can be found on tap at almost any bar or beer shop in San Diego.

Coronado Brewing - about a block from the waterfront on Coronado, the beer is about average but it’s a great place to stop and walk around for amazing views of downtown San Diego.

Mikkeller Little Italy - this place had some really rare beers on tap and is in a really cool neighborhood just north of downtown. Mikkeller can be found in several cities, so worth stopping for a beer, not the afternoon. We stopped at Mona Lisa for an Italian sandwich to share, one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten.

Bottlecraft Little Italy - the best bottle shop we visited on the trip. Wonderful selections, including multiple beers from Russian River.

Modern Times - tons of really good beers on tap and an industrial complex brewery really close to Old Town. We had several of their stouts, all of which were top notch.

Ocean Beach Area

Pizza Port Ocean Beach - this was a fantastic spot that had some great Pizza Port options and several guest breweries on tap, including DDH Pliny the Elder from Russian River. Food here was also extremely good, a must stop if you’re visiting Ocean Beach.

Kilowatt - an extremely cool brewery with great beers and lots of games. We had the Chocolate Macadamia Stout and played the bumper pool. They had several GABF award winning beers and everything we tried was delicious.

Hodad’s - this was a burger spot brewery with fantastic food. The beer was an afterthought to their awesome burgers, onion rings and milkshakes. Still very cool that this place brews their own beer.

California Wild Ales - this was one of the more surprising places we visited. They feature, almost exclusively, sour beers. They had a session IPA and Irish red on for the non-sour enthusiasts, but everything we tried was spot on, and very refreshing in the California heat.

Stone Brewing Company Liberty Station - located in Liberty Station very close to the airport, this Stone is in a reimagined Navy barracks with the open air spaces converted to shops, restaurants and of course, breweries. Stone had several beers brewed at this location, which was a cool feature. Beers were up to standard with what Stone brews, all of the IPAs we tasted were very delightful.

The Dog Pacific Beach - hands down the best beer bar we visited on the entire trip. Every time I visit San Diego, this place consistently carries the best beer, reasonably priced, within a few blocks of Pacific Beach. Very unassuming from the outside, you won’t want to miss The Dog.

Miramar

Ballast Point - I enjoyed this stop more than I thought I would. If you’re out in Miramar, it’s worth the stop as they had several of the older variants of their beers. This was a rather large welcoming space with a robust food menu.

Duck Foot Brewing - this was a quaint little spot with welcoming bar staff and some above average beers. They had a really good food truck that had a San Diego staple carne asada fries.

AleSmith - we landed here late in the evening and had time for a few of their larger stouts. Probably a good place to stop earlier in the day as most of their beers are higher in ABV.

Second Chance Beer Poway - all things considered, this was our favorite brewery of the visit. Second Chance’s name comes from giving items new life, from the baseboards that came from the family fence, repurposed tables and the signage that was made out of a used box spring, this space is all from items that have been given a new life. Their beers were all extremely good, our favorites were Fistful of Gummies, a sour aged on Sour Patch Kids and our favorite beer of the trip, Fluffy Tangerine Clouds the beer we couldn’t get enough of with the hot California weather.

Hope you enjoyed our recommendations! Cheers