It wasn’t until signage was installed on the roof several months ago that Karl Strauss Tasting Room & Beer Garden began emerging from obscurity. Though plainly visible from the east side of Interstate 5, just north of the Grand/Garnet exit, the marker doesn’t eliminate the mystery of how to reach the attractively designed property on narrow Santa Fe Street.
Visitors in the know access Santa Fe from Damon Avenue, oftentimes making a pit stop at that junction’s nearby landmark, In-N-Out Burger.
“We get a lot of people coming in with bags of burgers from there,” says Tasting Room manager O’Neill Gelle, noting that in the absence of a kitchen, outside food is allowed, including onsite deliveries from eateries such as Fat Sal’s Deli and Woodstock Pizza.
After driving about a mile north on Santa Fe – past sheet metal outlets, a Jaguar dealership and other tucked-away commercial entities – Karl Strauss’ two-year-old tasting room greets like an oasis for beer drinkers.
Situated slightly below street level, its glassy façade is fronted by a spacious garden area adorned with mature trees, picnic tables, party lights and beer pong boards. The tasting room, which adjoins the company’s main production facility, previously housed offices that have since moved down the street.
“Lots of people are still just learning about us, and everyone really enjoys the space once they get here,” says Gelle.
The spacious interior boasts a sizable bar rigged with 20 taps designated exclusively to the Karl Strauss line. Eight of them feature the core brews, such as Red Trolley Ale and Tower 10 IPA. The others spotlight small-batch “tank taps” produced at Karl Strauss brewery-restaurants located throughout San Diego County and beyond. Those rotate often, allowing visitors to imbibe on beers such as IPA from La Jolla, Starkey’s Request English Bitter from Carlsbad and Saison Plaisant Belgian from Downtown, all without having to zigzag the Karl Strauss landscape.
Beer is sold in half and full pints, the former assigned to brews exceeding eight percent alcohol. Or opt for an $8 sampler flight and choose any four beers from the day’s menu.
Refillable growlers are also available for purchase. The glass containers are especially popular among customers tuned in to the Friday promotion called “bring your growler to work” – meaning to bring it there empty and stop by the tasting room on the way home.
Each week, the company posts a code phrase on its Facebook and Instagram accounts. When repeated to the bartender on Fridays, the growler owners are afforded one-liter fill ups on any beer in the house for $8.
Given their ample layouts, both the tasting room and garden have attracted a growing number of private parties with their hired caterers. Some are held in “the barrel room,” which features a 20-seat wooden table and windows looking into the brewing facility. When not in use, customers are free to gather there.
The room is marked also by a dominating mural of the late Karl Strauss, a German master brewer who taught his craft to the company’s founders, Chris Kramer and Matt Rattner, before they opened their original location in 1989 at 1157 Columbia St.
The garden is equipped with outdoor heaters and sits in eyeshot of the bar through retractable garage doors. Dogs aren’t allowed, but kids are at all times. Despite the gradual rise in consumer traffic since the sign went up, and increased word-of-mouth buzz, the tasting room remains one of San Diego’s hidden gems for grabbing a beer or throwing a bash. But maybe not for long. Karl Strauss Tasting Room & Beer Garden Where: 5985 Sante Fe St. (Pacific Beach).
Hours: 2 to 8 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays.
Info: 858-273-2739; www.karlstrauss.com