Latest reviews from El Cajon

“Haven't been to the place only dealt with them online through email and over the phone. They have a fantastic selection. And usually the orders are shipped fairly soon after ordering. There's usually at least one air in the shipment. Customer service can be a bit spotty. I've purchased from them about a half dozen times now and probably will again.“

drpimento 452 days ago

“True to SD County form, this is located in an industrial park. There is a small parking lot but ample street parking. The tap room is open air most of the year, save those few days of crappy weather, and I mean only a few. Fun beer names and good beer coming out of this 10 bbl brewhouse.“

BeerandBlues2 2267 days ago

“A cozy local tap room that had quite a few bearded locals wearing motorcycle paraphernalia. Beer was Belgian inspired and not really to my taste. Flights available although they used scraps to note them and poor glassware.“

Ferris 2303 days ago

“Visited during RBWG 2018. Located in a light industrial neighborhood but in a very pretty valley. L-shaped bar and some nice bar tables plus some tables out front more or less in the parking lot. Brewery visible through glass, and barrels too. Decent beers especially the bigger and the darker ones. Flights of any number of 4-5 ounce pours. Friendly staff. No food. Solid stop.“

Travlr 2305 days ago

“Located in El Cajon, relatively close to Gillespie Field. When we were there, they had 16 beers on tap. And while I only had half of them, they were all very good. Their menu was definitely hop heavy, but they really do their IPAs nice. Servers were very knowledgeable and super nice. The space isnt flashy, but it’s comfortable. It has a jukebox inside and lots of good tunes were playing. Only downside here was that growler fills were very expensive. There wasn’t necessarily a food truck, but there was a vendor there called Full metal burgers. They had a hamburger called the south of heaven burger. That alone earns extra points.“

Naven 2557 days ago

“A large, open pizzeria (formerly a brewery too) with a large bar and ample seating. I sat at the bar and enjoyed a couple craft beers. Their brewing equipment was still onsite but already sold and destined for another location, despite them producing good beer. I did not try any food but it did look quite appetizing.“

BeerandBlues2 2562 days ago

“You will have a tough time beating the quality of beer from this place.... DANKNESS....“

rickracer 2567 days ago

“Fairly new place in El Cajon, not far from where we were staying in SD, recommended by WestCoaster SD publisher. This place is located in a light industrial area, easy to find, nice bright and light storefront that looked warn and inviting on a dark and stormy night. Great selection with about 17 of their beers on tap. Tasters, half pours, pints available, tried the pils, East County IPA, and the Imperial Stout, all very good, and picked up a crowler of Dankness Visible to go. No food trucks at the time, but heard they do have them from time to time. Staff was very friendly and knowledgeable.“

larryLSB 2660 days ago

“Kinda dark place, big and rather wmpty on an Thursday afternoon. Service was ok, beers a bit below average. No need to make detours. Good prices though.“

rlgk 3112 days ago

“Un taproom aussi sauvage que chaleureux avec une sélection des grandes ligues, spécialement en fût. Pas grand chose peut rivaliser avec ça dans l’est de la ville.“

Marheb 3187 days ago

“Un autre de ces bottle shop avec des bouteilles issues d’échange par le proprio. Une version diminuée de South Bay Liquor et Distillers Outlet.“

Marheb 3188 days ago

“Boutique de bières sur le déclin à ce que je comprend, les tablettes sont dégarnies et l’endroit manque de mojo. J’ai pas connu la gloire d’antan faut croire.“

Marheb 3253 days ago

“Visited May 23, 2015.

I forgot until I pulled up at a familiar intersection that this was formerly El Cajon Brewing. I never got all the details on what happened to them but something to the effect of the city fronting a lot of money (presumably because the city is kind of dumpy looking and I’m sure they’re trying to revitalize it) and then someone running off with that money. It looks more or less the same inside now as it used to. Large building with lots of seating. There are some bar tables (which is where we sat) and of course a bar. Above the bar on the monitor is the tap list. Kind of impressive at 30something taps and a high percentage of them being semi local. There are also some barrels scattered around the place aging various beers. The biggest difference that I noticed (I didn’t eat at El Cajon so I can’t compare the food) is that Urbn St has more house beers on. Whereas El Cajon only had four during my visit Urb St had 9 and a special cask (blonde ale with coriander and orange peer, called Nitwit).

I think the beers on the whole are an improvement over the previous tenant. They’re not necessarily amazing but certainly not bad. My favorite of the 9 that we tried was probably the Belgian IPA, followed by the regular IPA. The coffee stout and the “triple brown ale” were both way too roasty but I’m sure that’s intentional. Most of the rest were inoffensive and middle of the road. The food is pretty good. They advertise right on the wall outside that they do pizza. It’s a very thin dough (regular sized crust) and it’s in an oval shape.

Prices are tolerable on tasters ($7 for 4) and maybe a little high on the pizza ($15ish). Parking is easy on the street. They have a nice looking patio area too. If it was near me I’d probably stop in occasionally but as it is I’ll probably only stop in when I’m back in the area to try some other brewery that has recently opened, or on a trip to Alpine. “

t0rin0 3283 days ago

“Nice and up-to-date place in the centre of El Cajon. Quite busy on a Friday night. Tasty beers and prompt service. Can’t complain.“

rosenbergh 3313 days ago

“This is a great place and I’m glad I stopped by. Nice draft selection as well as bottles. Not very busy on a Tuesday night, but a very friendly place.“

Beergeek23322 3506 days ago

“Stopped in to check out Urbn at their soft opening. They occupy the space that was previously El Cajon Brewing Co. They’ve done a nice job updating the space; big roll up garage doors are new and the decor is more modern. Very friendly receptionist and server. Menu was limited because of the soft opening but the pizzas we ordered were fantastic. Good selection of local beers on tap; also 4-5 beers brewed in house (tried 2 and wasn’t super impressed, sadly). Overall this place is great for a beer lover.“

wheresyourball 3606 days ago

“Typical liquor store. Looks to have a good selection of hard stuff. The beer, not so much. Selection may have been good for a liquor store ten years ago. Prices are a buck or two higher than I can get elsewhere.“

mjg74 3696 days ago

“Tons of beers, all kept in coolers. They get a lot of specials. Julian is in charge of this. Best to know what you want as many are kept in the private cooler in the back.“

Sammy 3778 days ago

“Made a couple orders online now. Great selection, fair prices, fast shipping and packed really well. Definitely worth your time when shopping online for craft beer.“

jbruner 3930 days ago

“Julian is the best!! Top service, quality in both service and shipping. Thank you!!“

Bloodgood 3960 days ago

“Nice looking, easily navigable website. Responsive service. Quick shipping. Good selection. Decent prices.“

DocJitsu 3978 days ago

“Did an online order for some Bruery products. Had a good selection of west coast brews. Shipped quick and was adaquetly packed. No issues, will use again.“

UDBeernut 4015 days ago

“Never stepped foot in this place but decided to use their online store for a purchase of some sweet craft beer. Selection is great, prices are reasonable and service was great. I called to ask about shipping, left a message and got a call back in less than an hour. Solid packing fast shipping and everything arrived on time and intact. Shop away folks!!“

stumpyiliz 4016 days ago

“Did an online order. Quick shipping to FL. Didn’t have to interact with anyone. Beer showed up in those cardboard cutout type of shippers. Would order from again without hesitation.“

Homer321 4024 days ago

“I’ve stopped by this place a few times. It’s a typical bottle shop, and the beers are sort of disorganized on shelves but many are refrigerated. The clerks seem eager to help but often don’t know that much about beer. I went in last week and was overcharged for Parabola; Julian (?the owner) saw my Ratebeer review describing this, messaged me, and gave me $5 off the next bottle I bought. Julian seems like a nice guy, knowledgeable about beer. I appreciated him trying to make things right.“

wheresyourball 4037 days ago

“Surprisingly good food for a sports bar - much better than Trophies and the like. Overall good beer selection with menus that list the beers’style, alcohol content and ratings. Seldom good service. A bit too much testosterone on fight nights otherwise the best beer place in Rancho San Diego for good beer.“

satmansd 4042 days ago

“Great place. So nice to be able to get some great beers from Cali sent to OH. I’ve used them a couple of times and Julian has been great. On my first order they were out of the Nelson so Julian recommended Drake’s Hopocalypse. Damn that beer was awesome. Great place to get good West Coast beers if they don’t distribute in your area.“

wharfrat1 4090 days ago

“Walked here from El Cajon brewing as it’s just a few blocks down the street. Service was kind of slow, but we got there just as they were opening up the place. Pretty decent selection, almost all California and largely San Diego, beers. This place doesn’t look like much from the outside, and the surrounding businesses don’t either. But, inside, the place is well kept despite having a bit of a dive feel to it. And the service (after the initial shakiness) was pretty good and the woman working the bar was friendly.“

brokensail 4097 days ago

“For a dive bar in El Cajon this place is pretty kick ass. The beer selection was quite impressive. I had an Abyss and Port Hop 15. Also had the chicken fingers. The burgers looked good from what I saw. Quite on Presidents Day in the middle of the afternoon. They had angels share and other big beers on tap. Pretty impressive.“

hamilton23 4110 days ago

“Placed online order. Great selection, reasonable prices. Reasonable shipping cost. Julian was great to work with. Will definitely order from again.“

Tobster24 4135 days ago

“I was surprised to find that Press Box isn’t already listed on Ratebeer. It’s a restaurant in a somewhat upscale strip mall in Rancho San Diego. Has a sort of "Trophys" feel to it, with wood paneling, a bar, sports on several TVs, and some trophy cases when you walk in. Servers are very friendly. Great tap list - for example, at one time Deschutes Abyss and Karl Strauss Peanut Butter Cup. They usually have a list of about 20-25 beers on tap, along with ratings of each of the beers. Food is really quite good too - burgers etc but also some nice entrees and some Mexican food choices. Overall a great place.“

wheresyourball 4160 days ago

“Ordered rather large order by combination of phone and email. Julian is top notch. Very helpful, friendly, extremly responsive. Offered some recommendations, which i am excited to try. Selection was absolutely outstanding. Inventory was up to date. Shipping was ridiculously fast. Packed nicely. Prices are fair. Finally got ahold of one of my bucket list beers which is impossible to find in the midwest. Will absolutely be doing businessagain. They have earned a loyal customer here.“

conlepa1 4171 days ago

“Pretty good place to find San Diego local beers, as well as an occasional special release. I found BA Old Rasputin here, for example, and they also often have Bruery beers. No Alpine Brewing stuff, though. They have a little deli counter with good lunch sandwiches.“

wheresyourball 4173 days ago

“Martin is the man at this place. He absolutely will do his very best to get you the beer you are looking for. The kid’s awesome. He works his ass off to get hard to find beers. He definitely will take care of you.“

Belchmaster 4174 days ago

“I visited this place and the bartender Mike knows his beer, very friendly and reasonable pricing nice quite atmosphere. Definitely coming back“

rastachick 4188 days ago

“Not sure why this place is not higher rated. I suspect some competitor bashing in the reviews, because on its merits this is an impressive store. Nothing too shocking in stock, but they have a great selection of California, US, and international craft brews, including several Alpines (which are incredibly hard to find anywhere outside of the brewpub), and strangely enough refrigerated vertical epics from 07-07 to 11-11. I paid $10 for an 08-08, which I thought was pretty damn good. Most of their stuff is in the fridge as well. The one knock I would give it is that I do wonder a bit about freshness; they had a full row of Yulesmith Summer in the cooler in November; that can’t be good. Otherwise a great place. And they use RB logos!“

bytemesis 4193 days ago

“My neighbor and I split an order. Service and shipping was top notch. Nice place for some Ca gems.“

daknole 4221 days ago

“Great online service and communication via email and phone. Julian makes the process fluid and painless. Incredible selection including Russian river and alpine. Boom daddy boom!“

jredmond 4235 days ago

“Contacted Julian and he set some stuff aside on my drive into San Diego. Right off of I-10 and the selection is staggering. Easily one of the best selections I have seen in a single store. Huge California selection to include Alpine, RR, with some rare Lost Abbey and Kern River and an equally impressive import section with plenty of sours. Prices seemed very reasonable and after visiting other SD bottle shops the prices here are average if not a little lower than most. Will stop here again!“

fata2683 4267 days ago

“My purchase couldnt have been any easier! Got myself some Russian River (Pliny/Blind Big/Row 2 hill 56) and Jolly Pumpkin mailed to me! Thanks Juilian“

tbadiuk 4289 days ago

“Super fast delivery and threw in an extra as well. Got 3 Pliny 1 Bling Pig 2Nelson 4 pure hippiness, I hard core you and the extra was a ruination 10th anniversary. Will buy from here again shortly. Thanks Julian.“

Beerbeerbeer1 4301 days ago

“Online order. Got a quick box of beer and glasses from Julian. Great communications and well packed from CA to CO Grazie“

Doodler 4305 days ago

“Didnt take long to find a reliable source for west coast bombers. Julian found me and offered to ship before I pay. That was a no brainer. Picked up some RR Pliny, Blind Pig, Row 2. Ballast Point Dorado and threw in a local bomber of Green Flash Imperial.“

Tastelesstung 4313 days ago

“Julian the new owner is a great guy to deal with. Ordered several beers online and everything was great. Highly recommended“

kmyers8807 4342 days ago

“Did a quick and easy mailorder from this great place. Since they just began shipping, Julian was extremely helpful and generous enough to send the package first, then I sent payment. Package was shipped very well and was received 3 days after ordering. Definitely recommended to visit this place or order online.“

mcberko 4343 days ago

“Must say i was quite disappointed with the service here. I think its because im not a local and havnt ever been here it seems to be the same guys everytime and they just want to take care of there regulars. Which makes sense just they should take care of everyone.“

vista755 4483 days ago

“Very Large Selection of Craft Beer, Imports and they even carry Pliney the Elder!“

vista755 4486 days ago

“THIS PLACE HAS A BIG SELECTION OF BEERS....“

jimmybells 4667 days ago

“Nice little Homebrew shop in East County. As of this entry he has only been open a couple of weeks. The grains look good, and 2-row is only a $1.00 per pound. Needs a bigger selection of yeasts and hops. Very nice little store that has great potential. I look forward to seeing how they develop and progress.“

StefanSD 4722 days ago