Little Italy Brewery Guide
While Little Italy is known for its pizza, pasta and vino, it is also a home for some amazing craft beers! If you’re a beer lover, we’ve got you covered with our Little Italy Brewery Guide! Interested in exploring the craft beer scene? Join us on one of our popular San Diego brewery tours!
BALLAST POINT
This is arguably one of the best breweries in Little Italy, San Diego. They have grown from a home brewery 25 years ago to nine locations in California and beyond.
The Little Italy tasting room is the research and development location and is the main place where Ballast Point Brewing experiences and develops their newest craft beer. Pair your gourmet ales with farm-to-table fare; from mango shrimp ceviche to al pastor chicken sandwich, and bring the whole family because kids are welcome!
Ballast Point’s Little Italy location has both indoor seating and amazing patio outdoor seating – or, you can book the Kettle Room for private food and craft beer tastings.
A few of the faves:
Aloha Sculpin / Hazy IPA – 7%
California Kölsch – 5.2%
Speedboat / Blonde Ale – 4.8%
Watermelon Dorado / DIPA – 10%
STONE BREWING
Stone Brewing Tap Room is located right in Little Italy in the nationally registered historic McClintock Warehouse building, and serves as both retail store and a tasting room with a beautiful patio garden that blends indoor and outdoor through well-appointed design.
The Stone Brewing tasting room features a rotation of both year-round and special releases. For purchase are growler fills of fresh Stone beer, kegs, bottles and Stone Brewing swag.
A few of the year-round favorites are:
Stone’s Mango Michelada / 3.7% / Lager
Stone Margarita / 9% / Other
Stone Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager / 4.7% / Lager
Stone Pale Ale – San Diego Style / 6.0% / Pale Ale
Special release faves:
Stone G-Baby Session IPA / 4.5% / Session IPA
Stone bREwMastered LS Anniv (volume V) / 9% / DIPA
Stone Tartistry w/ Peanut Butter & Marionberry / 4.5% / Berliner Weisse
BOLT BREWERY
Grab any one of their 20 beers on tap and pair it with a pizza or bar bites, and chill out on the patio of Bolt Brewery.
There’s no shortage of happenings at Bolt Brewery: there’s Taco & Tequila Tuesdays, trivia night on Wednesdays, and $8 beer flights on Thursdays. And, you can Wednesdays are trivia night.
This San Diego brewery is also dog friendly, so bring your pup to watch your favorite football team on the TV. If you want beer on a discount, stop by for their All-Day Happy Hour on Tuesdays.
A few favorites:
Surf Lager / Rice Lager – ABV 4.7%
Pacific Pale Ale / ABV 6%
Red Eye Monkey Ale / ABV 5.6%
Sour Pale Ale / ABV 4.7%
BOTTLECRAFT
With six locations in California, Little Italy’s Bottlecraft location is the company’s flagship. Bottlecraft is both a beer shop and tasting room and has a wide selection of unique beers from across the globe. The Little Italy location has 24 beers on tap, and even received the award for Best Bottleshop in 2017.
Their staff is knowledgeable about every brew and can help you find the perfect brew to enjoy in-bar or take some to go. Bottlecraft also has wine, spirits, cider and kombucha available to drink on location or to-go. While you taste a flight or stick with one favorite, you can enjoy bar bites in their dog-friendly tasting room.
A few faves currently on tap:
Maine Peeper Ale 99 / American Pale Ale – 5.5%
Russian River Pliny The Elder 100 / Double Ipa – 8.0%
El Segundo Gemeinschaft / India Pale Lager – 6.5%
Can We Be Friends? / American Ipa – 7.0%
KARL STRAUSS
Back in 1989, two college buddies opened Karl Strauss Brewing Company and launched the craft beer industry in Downtown San Diego. They’ve now grown into a brand that has eight locations in Southern California and have brewed more than 140 different beers.
The Little Italy brewpub has not only a wide selection of craft beers, but a full food menu to pair it with. Enjoy everything from Mahi Tacos to their award-winning Mac-n Cheese!
A few of their popular brews:
Nectaron of the Gods / 7.0% ABV | Tropical, Passion Fruit, Peach
Boat Shoes Hazy IPA / 7.2% ABV | with citrus and sweet fruit aromas
Aurora Hoppyalis IPA / 7.0% ABV | tropical fruit flavors with a hoppy finish
Red Trolley Irish Red Ale / 5.8% ABV | carmelized malts, hops with a hint of dried raisins + currants
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These five Little Italy breweries are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Little Italy’s thriving brewery scene. If you’re wanting to explore even more, SoDiego can help you out with a customized Little Italy brewery tour or a Little Italy food tour. We’d be ‘hoppy’ to show you around!
Written by: Melissa
Melissa hails from San Jose, CA, and has been a San Diego local for five years now after a 10-year long pit stop in Los Angeles. In L.A., she began her writing career crafting digital content for a wide range of clients, including The Real Talk Show, Sharon Osbourne, Hank Azaria, Time Life, and Cardinal Financial. She’s excited to be able to use her passion for writing to introduce people to some of the best spots in San Diego, many of which she has already frequented or has on her ever-expanding list of things to do … In her spare time, she enjoys taking her puppy Milo to all of the best dog beaches in SD, grabbing a glass of wine or a cup of joe at new places, and hosting watch parties for The Bachelor/ette TV show.
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