May 20, 2009
Nice brewery located in a plaza. Inside has the brewing equipment, and a pool table, ambiance feel is that of a bar. Friendly staff, with sample available. (8 beers were available) Dean the head brewer was friendly and helpful, he really took the time to chat and explain the beers. Place has some good food, and also a good selection of other CA beers. This is a good people brewery, really enjoyed my visit there.

March 3, 2009
(Visited 07/2008): San Diego Brewing is located off Friars Road which is not too far from I-15 in a strip mall. Parking is plentiful in front.

The interior is mostly sports bar-ish with high tables, TVs and such. The bar is located along the left side of the establishment, and the line of tap handles is easy to peruse from the bar.

The beer selection is fairly robust. SD has 6-8 of their own beers, plus a good regional representation from brewers like Alaskan, Port Brewing, Russian River, Callahan, Craftsman etc. Samples are available for all of them.

Service here was very good on a weekday afternoon. The bartender was knowledgeable about both the house and guest beers, and was very prompt and friendly.

We did not try any food on our visit.

All in all, the combination of the generic name and location in a strip mall might make a person overlook this spot but that would be a mistake. This is a worthwhile visit in the SD area.

February 10, 2009
This is where I became a hop head, beer snob. It started in the early to mid 90’s when we discovered this place. At that time a Sierra Nevada was as good as it got. Based on their recommendations, we tried a vew very :unusual" beers (Racer 5 !!!) and were hooked for life. 60 some beers on tap. Recently, their own beers (which were skunky) have become VERY good.

December 8, 2008
All I can say is this was a major let down. I was looking forward to their IPA or just any house beer. When I go there, there were only 4 house beers listed - 2 Ambers, a wheat, and a dubble. The board with their house beer on it was wiped clean. Whats up with that. Sure they had a crap load of guest beers, but as far as Im concerned, if you call yourself a brewpub, have some of your own stuff on tap. The beer menu on the table had 8 beers listed with some interesting stuff...just there to kick me when Im down. Bad enough experience with that, that Ill probably never go back...they couldnt even give me a sampler and had to fill in with a guest beer. You know its bad when the waitress tried to talk me out of ordering the house beer sampler.

October 28, 2008
Not a great looking place, the standard wall of TVs (WTF is it with TVs in this town?) and a strange assortment of oblong high tables and banquettes. However, this place has a pretty solid lineup. A wall of what looked like over 40 taps and most of them are craft. A decent selection of their own stuff with a few standard brewpub items (hefe, brown ale, amber) but the IPA was incredible. Friendly waitstaff and good prices as well. Worth getting to if you’re in the city.

July 29, 2008
Probably the best part is the cute waitresses. However, their tap selection is normally pretty good (with fairly decent house brews, along with Alpine Pure Hoppiness and Fullers and other San Diego beers). But pretty good food, a good family atmosphere, and occasionally a great tap selection. I like it, but not on such a regular basis. O’Brien’s is better on a more regular basis.

July 12, 2008
One of my favorite places to go to in San Diego. Very nice lineup of taps, 5-10 of their own and usually some great guest taps. Alot of TV’s to watch if that’s what your looking for. Bartenders were very knowledgeable. Nice little tap handle collection as well. Great place.

June 13, 2008
A sports bar with lots on tap, not just their own. Had a beer sampler and Green Flash Double Stout. Waitresses were very friendly. Place was a little hard to find. I didn’t have any food.

June 10, 2008
Contrived sports bar atmosphere with banners, flags, and big screen TV’s everywhere. Very loud music, had to yell across the bar to communicate with the tender. Six house taps were OK at best, and unfinishable at worst, though they did have some decent guest taps ( La Folie ). Much like the movie, we wuz Gone in 60 seconds.

April 27, 2008
Student dive atmosphere and Sysco food don’t help. The house beers were in the lousy to mediocre range, even the hoppy beers were total ripoffs of better local brews. The guest taps had some interesting selections, like La Folie. The gimmicky Choco-Latte Porter was especially disgusting. The server couldn’t figure out if she was coming or going. Music was abysmal, vibe was depressing.