Mission Brewery
Mission Brewery is located in the old Wonderbread factory on 14th St. just on the other side of the parking lot for Petco Park. They run their full brewing operation out of the building and you can actually sign up for brewery tours for your visit. Because they are in an old warehouse, the tasting room is a wide open space that is shared with a lot of the brewing vats. We like to go to Mission to grab a few beers and play shuffle board on their extra long table. this is probably one of the best shuffle board tables in town so if you enjoy playing, we highly recommend. Mission Brewery – like many places in San Diego is pet friendly, so don’t be shy to stop in for a pint if you’re out on a walk with your dog. They also have food trucks several nights of the week. Their Taco Tuesday deal is great – $3 beers and Tacos by Tacos La Mezcla with live music.
The Details for Mission Brewery:
- Website: http://missionbrewery.com/
- Address: 1441 L St. San Diego, CA 92101
- Phone Number: 619.544.0555
- Hours: 12pm-12am Fri & Sat, 12pm-10pm Sun-Thurs
- Growler Refills & Bottles To-Go: Yes and Yes
Monkey Paw
Monkey Paw is another East Village Brewery that is located just a few streets up from Mission on 16th and F Street. This place is deinfinitely one of the hole in the walls downtown and set up more like a typical bar. They do serve beers from many other breweries in addition to their own creations. Their brewery is actually located in the back of the building so unlike Mission, it isn’t out in the open. Monkey Paw is owned by the same owners as Hamiltons so if you’ve been there you will likely enjoy MP. They also have a small kitchen where they make some of the best cheese steak sandwiches in town. Definitely ask for some extra Naughty Monkey Sauce! This place is great to go to if you want to kick back in a mellow pub-type atmosphere.
The Details for Monkey Paw:
- Website: http://monkeypawbrewing.com/
- Address: 805 16th Street, San Diego, CA 92101
- Phone Number: 619.358.9901
- Hours: 12pm-12am
- Growler Refills and Bottles To-Go: NA
Acoustic Ales
With their tasting room located in one of the oldest brewing facilities in San Diego, Acoustic Ales taps into the rich history of San Diego brewing. Mission Brewery Plaza (different than the Mission listed above) was built in 1912 and housed one of San Diego’s first breweries. With more limited hours and a little off the map from downtown, it might be a good option to start here first if you’re trying to hit up several of the downtown tasting rooms. Luckily the trolley stops right in front of Acoustic ales so you will have easy transportation down to the rest of the spots. Acoustic Ales has food trucks that come by on most days and often have tasting events that are really fun.
The Details for Acoustic Ales:
- Website: http://www.acousticales.com/
- Address: 2120 Washington Street, San Diego, CA 92110
- Phone Number: 619.299.2537
- Hours: Mon 3-9, Tues-Sat 12-9, Sun 10-6
- Growler Refills and Bottles To-Go: NA
Ballast Point Little Italy
The Ballast point tasting room in Little Italy, although relatively new, is no secret to the people of downtown. Having been there on several occasions, we have not once seen it at less than half capacity. With good reason too. In addition to pouring tasters and glasses of their typical brews that you can find in stores and bars around the country, Ballast Point also has a full list of their seasonal or small batch brews AND a list of their R&D brews that are still under development. The R&D board is interesting, but definitely hit or miss. Some of the beers aren’t quite ready for primetime, which is why they are on the list. But there are definitely some hidden gems on there and beers that I hope make it to full production eventually. The Ballast Point tasting room in Little Italy is also a restaurant with amazing plates to share and full meals. Seating is first come first serve so it may take some time to find room if you have a group of people during their peak hours.
The Details for Ballast Point:
- Website: http://www.ballastpoint.com/locations/
- Address: 2215 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101
- Phone Number: 619.255.7213
- Hours: Mon-Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 11am-9pm
- Growler Refills and Bottles To-Go: Yes and Yes
In addition to these places, there are plenty more great beer tasting rooms and breweries in San Diego. We will keep you posted on the best deals and coolest spots as we visit more.
