Tasting notes, fast facts, and expert reviews on every brewery in the San Diego region
By Bruce Glassman
Same space, new name, and half the original brew team; that’s some of the story behind Align Brewing.
This simple tasting room and equipment used to belong to Pacific Brewing, which was founded by two guys, one of which was Andrew Heino. The new brewery that currently inhabits the space, Align Brewing, bears a striking resemblance to Pacific; that’s because it’s Andrew Heino brewing on the same equipment in the same space.
Heino says that, while Pacific Brewing focused mostly on “traditional” American styles, Align’s focus is going to cover a wider variety of beer styles and will be a little more “creative.” Despite that goal, the initial lineup of beers on tap included a pale ale, an IPA, a brown, and two stouts, which were both weakest links on the menu. The pale ale and the brown were both well made, and the IPA—with its bright aromas and flavors of pine, lemon, and honey—was the leader of the pack.
San Diego is all about great beer—and there’s an awful lot of it! We currently have more than 120 working brewery locations in our county, with an estimated 30-40 more in the planning stages. That’s a lot of breweries to sort through. So where to begin? Well, the answer is right here. If you want to plan any kind of brewery experience, The San Diego Brewery Guide is your most essential tool. Not only does it list the location and key information about every working brew house that’s open to the public, it also allows you to search for breweries that meet your specific criteria. Do you only want breweries in a specific neighborhood? No problem. Only want places that have patios for dogs? You got it. Do you want to keep your search limited to small or medium-sized breweries? Yup, we got that.
With so many breweries to choose from, we hope you’ll keep coming back to consult The San Diego Brewery Guide on a regular basis. Our ultimate goal is to make it easy for you to plan the perfect day or weekend of brewery tours and tastings in San Diego—and to do it time and time again. If you haven’t already, you’ll see that there’s nothing better than enjoying a great brewery-fresh beer right where it’s made.
So get out there and explore! Sip. Savor. Socialize. And get ready to be awed by some of the best brews to be found anywhere on the planet. Enjoy!
- Bruce Glassman
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