Hutton Marshall | Downtown Assistant Editor
In the last couple decades, craft beer has nestled itself comfortably into San Diego, quickly defining itself as one of the city’s staple industries. Several of the local breweries now boast national recognition and distribution, and on a local scale, craft brewing gives San Diegans a way to feel cultured guzzling new variations of stouts and IPAs on a night out.
Some journalistic exploits require great daring and courage. A reporter often must throw him or herself into the face of mortal danger in order to fully report the truth.
Here, I undertook the truly scarring task of trekking throughout San Diego’s Downtown, scouring the area for the locations pumping out original brews in vibrant, creative ways. It was a selfless, trying endeavor.
Mission Brewery
Tucked away in an industrial area on the east side of Downtown in the shadow of Petco Park, Mission Brewery makes its home in the expansive and ancient Wonder bread factory, built way back in 1894. Mission changed little of the exterior from the location’s bread-making days, and inside has a nicely crafted industrial feel. Large stacks of Mission’s iconic tall brewing cans tower stories high all around the factory. The enormous interior is divided in two: one side has a long bar with a table seating area surrounding it; the other,
very visible side is the production end that pumps out 10,000 barrels of beer each year. A forklift sits idly in the corner during operating hours, adding to authenticity.
Walking inside Mission Brewery gives one the feel of walking straight into the production plant. It makes no effort to present a restaurant ambiance — the only food they have around is bar nuts, but you can bring in take-out food if you choose. Beer is what Mission Brewery does and beer is what they sell. That isn’t to say it’s totally void of good atmosphere.
On one recent Saturday afternoon, there wasn’t a single light on, as the warehouse floor filled with natural light from openings in the ceiling above. A couple shuffleboard tables and big-screen TVs kept the beer drinkers entertained. The absence of food also allows it to be one of San Diego’s few dog-friendly breweries.
In addition to some delicious beer, Mission Brewery allows an opportunity for visitors to view a production-grade facility right in the heart of San Diego. For $10, a weekend tour guide will give patrons extensive background on the facility and educate them on the brews currently in the works, which includes a flight of five three-ounce tasters.
Location: 1441 L St., East Village
On tap: 14 Mission Brewery beers, six of which were seasonal. All ran for $5.50, although pouring size varies.
My recommendation: The Carrack Imperial Red Ale is intimidatingly dark, but unlike a porter or stout, it still retains a rich, malty flavor without giving one the feeling that they’re eating their beer.
Website: missionbrewery.com
Karl Strauss
Many don’t realize that Karl Strauss’s Downtown restaurant is the site perhaps most responsible for catapulting San Diego’s brewing culture into the national spotlight. Opened in 1989, the original brewery of Karl Strauss Brewing became the first built in San Diego in half a century.
The company is now a titan of San Diego brewing, and that’s largely because of the man behind the brew. Karl Strauss embodied all we could ever want a brewer to be. He was born on the second floor of his father’s brewery in Germany in 1912. Again: The guy was born in a brewery.
Being of Jewish ancestry, Strauss fled Nazi-controlled Germany in 1939 to America, where the college-trained brewer took a lowly job handling bottles in a Milwaukee Pabst Blue Ribbon factory. Pulling himself up by his beer-soaked bootstraps, Strauss quickly impressed PBR’s leadership, and ended up rising through the ranks, ending a 44-year-long career as its vice president of production.
After leaving PBR, he was contacted by a couple young men looking to start a brewery in San Diego. He lent them his enormous list of beer recipes, his leadership, and a thick German accent that made their commercials stand out.
Today, the original location has shrunk to a small restaurant with limited brewing capabilities, but it still retains Strauss’s famous creations and the spirit of his work. Each Karl Strauss restaurant has its own brewer free to experiment with his own ingredients, usually taking up one of the taps on the site.
When I visited, the brewer’s “Tank Tap” — the custom creation — was a Double Yum Belgian Ale, which used candied yeast (obviously) to give it a sugary hint of gum. Not my cup of tea, but I can appreciate the originality. All in all, any true lover of San Diego brewing can appreciate this location purely for its historical relevance.
Location: 1157 Columbia St., Core-Columbia
On tap: This location has a conservative, compact selection of about ten beers on tap, and it makes a compelling argument for quality over quantity. All were easily recognizable Karl Strauss brews aside from the “Tank Tap,” which changes regularly.
My recommendation: I usually don’t go crazy for pale ales or IPAs, which I realize this nears blasphemy, but the hoppy kick that defines them usually drowns out all other flavors. The Pintail Pale Ale, however, had a more low-key hops flavor that allowed the other ingredients room to stretch their legs.
Website: karlstrauss.com
Ballast Point
From the atmosphere to its state-of-the-art production, Ballast Point has this business down to a finely-honed science. At first glance, its Little Italy tasting room appears to be little more than a bustling happy hour spot in a lively part of town, but there’s some real science being done here, people.
In addition to being a tasting room, the location also serves as a “research and development” facility, which means they’re concocting some pretty off-color batches at this place. While they carry all the well-known Ballast Point names, they also have a wide range of unique beers rarely seen elsewhere.
Another eye-catching menu item was the “NITRO” listed next to a few of their taps, which indicates a reliance on nitrogen in the carbonation process rather than carbon dioxide. (Let me explain before you say, “Can it nerd and just tell me where the beer is the coldest.”) This process, made popular by the thick, heavy Irish beers, gives the drink more body and much thicker foam, turning your run-of-the-mill stout into a stomach-filling Guinness-like concoction. It’s worth a try — for science.
However, my favorite thing these guys had to offer was their “Roots to Boots” program, which just began late last year. It allows any Ballast Point employee to form a team, then work with a Ballast Point brewer to create their own specialty beers. Three such creations were on tap when I visited. Although some were a bit out there for my taste, they at least catered to my populist political views.
Location: 2215 India St., Little Italy
On tap: 28 Ballast Point beers, as well as three Roots to Boots beers that change regularly.
My recommendation: The Roots to Boots creation, Something Nautical, is a punch-packing imperial stout filled to the brim with chocolate and hazelnut flavors. It was a strange blend, to be sure, and is not for the faint of heart (seriously, I feared heart failure after drinking it), but it was a unique drink you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere. Even if stouts aren’t your thing, go out on a limb with one of the Roots to Boots beers.
Website: ballastpoint.com
Monkey Paw
The owners of hipster havens Small Bar and Hamilton’s Tavern opened Monkey Paw about two and a half years ago on Downtown’s east side. Like most covered thus far, the brewery straddles the line between brewery and pub, even going so far as to sell the hard stuff. They’ve got 20 craft cocktails on the menu, as well a food menu that would bring a drunk man to tears. Its contents can be broken cleanly into five categories: fries, pork, cheesesteaks, wings and a single, seemingly obligatory salad — not that I would dare complain about such a thing.
The interior is mostly wood and feels like a dive bar Paul Bunyan would’ve hung out in. Rather than proudly displaying their stainless silver brewing tanks behind polished glass panes, Monkey Paw kept the business end of things tucked away in the back, with an escaping aroma of hops being the only indicator of their production’s existence.
Location: 805 16th St., Upper East Village
On tap: Unlike the other breweries that peddle only in the beers they churn out themselves, Monkey Paw features a wide variety of craft beers. They employ the same chalkboard used at Hamilton’s and Small Bar that allows for frequent beer rotation.
My recommendation: Monkey Paw makes a dangerously drinkable barley wine. Although it clocks in at more than 11 percent alcohol, you’d have no idea by tasting it. It falls somewhere between a pilsner and a white wine, with the absence of any hops being the most notable part of the taste in this “beer” with such hefty alcohol content.
Website: monkeypawbrewing.com
