Karl Strauss Brewery & Tasting Room

Had a flight of 4 beers, and they were all delicious! Big Barrel IIPA was my favorite. So so good. And $ 7 for the whole shebang. I would definitely go back!

Date of visit: 4÷15÷2016
Birthday beer time! Issac and I always pass by this tasting room on the way home from work when biking, so since it was my birthday, we decided to stop by and have a couple of beers — Cam was nice enough to drive since the Double Red Trolley tipped me over my tipsy edge.
I really like that this tasting room has a roomy bike area, especially since they are on one of the major bike paths. However, it would be nice if more seating was available within eye distance of the bike area. At first, we decided to drink our beers near the entrance, but Cam convinced us that we were being paranoid, so we moved towards the table in the middle of the room.
I also really like that this tasting room was not super crowded. Maybe because it’s tucked into Rose Canyon, but it just seemed like there was a lot of space, despite the amount of people. There was a patio area in the back, but we didn’t sit there since we weren’t sure if we could roll our bikes through the tasting room.
The tasting room also has a lot of shirts and other beer memorabilia available. I really like the «Make Beer, Not War» theme that’s going on right now. As usual, the beers are excellent — I had a Red Trolley and a Double Red Trolley. I think the Double is a little too much for me, but they also have other beers that aren’t always available at the restaurant.
Overall, this was a great tasting room find. I wish they had food available, but the staff didn’t object to me eating a piece of my birthday cake and I saw people bringing in In N Out (there’s one just down the street), so there’s probably no problem with bringing in your own food.

My first visit to this brewery was for a fantastic and fun filled night of changing of the barrels! Not only was it tasty but it was planned well so I wasn’t waiting in line more time than enjoying my beer!
This has been true every time I have been to this location ever since. I like to go on Fridays for a growler fill to enjoy on the weekend once and a while. The people behind the bar are always friendly and don’t get bothered if I want to taste a bunch of stuff before I decide what to fill my growler with.
Just keep in mind this is a brewery only so bring your own burrito or hamburger there is no food. There are however some tables in the patio and you can always sit at the bar section but bring something for your bartender or tip well if they have to deal with you!
Thanks Karl for making this cheesy chick very happy with your quality beer, great functions and fantastic staff! I will definitely be going back… most likely tomorrow. ;)

Favorite tasting room in San Diego! Been here several times over the past few months and can’t say enough about all their great employees! O’Neil the manager is a great guy and so easy to talk to. The beer is great and is on a rotation so there are new brews all the time. They have events every couple months and I have been to a few, and each one was a blast. They usually have a live band in their great outdoor area, and they bring in food trucks or other specialty food so you have a couple options during each event. Cant say enough good things about this place!

Came here last weekend for an Art Show & Concert, which was pretty amazing. Such a cool venue, and I ended up ordering food from the two food trucks that were on hand. Lots of space around it, and I would love to go on a tour of the place. Only downside was that parking can be tight, depending on the time you go, as it is kinda hidden away from the freeway.

We recently had our wedding reception here and it was amazing. Oneill and his onsite staff were really nice and very accommodating. The venue was great for our outdoor wedding which included awesome beer and lots of corn hole. All of our guests were excited to check out the brewery (some for the very first time), and everyone really enjoyed themselves. We received many compliments on how great the venue was and how many of our guests planned to return to check out the beer selection, as it changes often.
Thanks Oneill for everything! You were awesome! :)

The location is spacious, with clean tables and lots of seating/​standing areas, and has an outside area. Reminds me of Green Flash Cellar 3 in Poway. The beer selection has the base lineup plus some specialties, including sours — about 20 beers. The beer price is just above average, $ 2/​taster. There is free wifi which doesn’t require password which you would have had to ask the bartender (why don’t more places have password-​free wifi?). The place has an outside area and it wasn’t too packed for a Friday evening. There were, however, lots of fruit flies that tried to get into my beer.

Went three times in one day on the night of The Stones concert. Beers are excellent especially their double IPA’s. Food was very good and priced right for a downtown pub. Four stars because service was average.

Fred the manager was quick to explain that Karl Strauss was working on a fix to remedy the ongoing issue of not filling the other competitors growlers and the legal ramifications of implementing the policy… looking forward to filling ALL my growlers with delicious Karl beer very soon.

Karl Strauss is my go to place whenever I am home. The wreck alley growlers are my drink of choice here. Service is amazing and the bartenders will always take the time to give you the skinny on every beer on tap. These guys really are masters of their craft.

Ate here twice while on a week vacation. Their burgers were really good, and so was their iced tea. Considering the location, their prices were really good; service was also excellent. We never had to wait to be sat, and the food came out pretty quickly. I will be coming back here on my next visit.

Karl Strauss has many locations around town, but one of my favorites is old faithful. The main brewery and tasting room is a beautiful environment just east of the 5 off of Balboa Ave., it can be pretty tricky getting back to it, so make sure and take a look at the map below. As you can see in my pictures the design and architecture is super cool and rustic. This a very large tasting room with outdoor seating and heaters. Everyone knows that Karl Strauss brews really good beer and the main brewery here close to the beach is a great spot to get yourself an afternoon stout, no doubt!
All Certified #Top100CraftBeers

This is a new Karl Strauss brewery where they actually have their brewery and bottling line. It is very hard to get to, but it is well worth using your GPS to get to it. You can see the huge sign on the 5, but be sure to check the hours as it is only open from Wed-​Sat and open from like 3 to 8 I believe. It reminds me of the Oskar Blues brewery here in Colorado as it is a working brewery with a beautiful and unique tasting room. You can order in food, but they do have some snacks available. I enjoyed the double IPA and the Wheat. It is like others have said a hidden gem with outstanding beer. Not all of their beer is brewed there, but they have quite a nice bottling line, which you can see through the window. Not overly crowded yet, as many haven’t either seen it or figured out how to get to it. It is further north of the Santa Fe trailer park. We will be back the next time we are in SD. Mostly $ 5 pints as well!

Use their promo code that is posted on their Facebook page every week to get an $ 8 growler fill. The Pintail Pale ale was great. It is a little hard to get to but for a dollar growler fills that is worth the drive

Only reason the boyfriend and I found this place was because of their sign found on the right of the 5 north and good thing we did. This place is a hidden gem! Now Karl Strauss itself is not new to San Diego but they’ve been around for a long time for a reason, their beer is good. And now with a tasting room that is modern meet industrial makes it a perfect place to compete with other breweries tasting rooms (i.e., Stone and Ballast Point). They have lots of room for groups to enjoy and hang out inside and out (banquet sized tables inside and picnic tables outside). Personally like their patio side — very picturesque with lights strung around and a huge tree makes it very rustic. They also have games to entertain (i.e., corhole/​beanbags).
On to the beer… My favorite from Karl Strauss has always been their red trolley ale, but after today it probably is their limited release (*sigh) of the autumn ale. It’s fall in a cup folks. A touch of nutmeg, clean and crisp. This ale is bomb. They also have another limited release (*sigh again) of a peanut butter porter. It is much lighter than any other other porter i’ve had but comes through with the peanut butter taste and is just as good as any other porter out there. Must come soon to try as they have rotating specials on tap!
Tip: They have flights (consisting of four of anything) and vary from $ 1 – 2 each taster.

I wish more people knew about this place. It needs more life! We love hanging outside, playing boardgames and drinking their delicious beer. There’s no food served, but every time I’ve been there there’s a tent with food-​truck style food. The garden outside is always full of butterflies– so beautiful! Live bands play some nights. Could be really fun if it was busy.

For as recognized a brand as KS is, this location is still the hidden gem in San Diego! The new tasting room and patio area is modern and fun at the same time! It’s a perfect place to kick back after a long days work or just to catch up with friends! Plus they always have stuff rotating in on their tap list!
If you’re a craft beer head, it’s a must visit!

I had no idea that this place even existed because its so hidden! I’m not the biggest, okay I’m NOT a beer drinker (GASP!) but I came here for a SD HubSpot User Group networking event and I have to say, it is a hidden gem.
Since it’s only a tasting room it not as large and glamorous as the one in Sorrento Valley, but it has that great laid back atmosphere. Hidden within the tasting room is a small open back patio with games, picnic tables and even a cornhole/​beanbag toss game.
The moment you walk right in you can smell beer and they have over 10 beers on tap. Everything from Ale’s to IPAs and more. Since I was one of the only non-​beer drinkers, they also provide some teas and flavored waters as an option.

We held a work event here and it was run very well! We got there early and everything was set up and ready for us– projector, chairs, staff and all. The setting was very cool with the background of the brewing room and the outdoor area is pretty big! It’s got a small ping pong table and had more than enough room for the catered tacos tent we hired. Between the indoor and outdoor area, we had more than enough room for the 50+ people we had as well.
The only thing that was a small challenge was the door — practically half a wall lol — and rightfully so as it was a beautiful afternoon. It caused some glare on the projector screen but the staff turned off a couple of lights and it helped a lot.
Speaking of the staff– they were very helpful for us overall in setting up, letting us adjust the setup as needed, and having everything ready to go by the time we were there even though it was an hour early! They had tickets for our guests ready to go and all were informed of what to do prior to the event starting. People seemed to be very pleased at all of it! Thanks everyone :)

Karl Strauss
SD: La Jolla/​PB
5pm Saturday 31^st May 2014
Five Stars
I tried to come here once years ago but I got lost in the darkness. Basically you have to trust your GPS and keep driving until you feel like you could safely bury a body. Once you get there, the place is awesome. There’s cornhole, ladderball, and a bunch of board games: (scrabble, dominos, jenga, tetris jenga, etc.). There are plenty of picnic benches and other places to sit and stand. The beer was good and the service was friendly and excellent. We even ordered pizza from Woodstock’s which was delicious.

Came to an event here hosted mainly in the beer garden area and it was awesome!
I was not expecting much as I drove along the freeway past Budweiser and other beer distributors. When I arrive to Karl Strauss I was totally impressed with the appearance and outdoor beer garden area.
The event was great with lights and heat lamps outside to keep everyone comfortable. The beer was dee-​lish, and they offered free beer tickets for the event.
Overall, great experience!

I am a Karl Strauss fan and I always wonder where they brew the beer. So I finally found the tanks at this location, they are huge! This is not a restaurants like any other KS locations. This location has a tasting room only, no kitchen. If you want grub you probably need to bring your own, probably from PB because there is not any restaurants within 2 miles. Weird location.
The best thing about it is that it probably has the widest selections of KS beers I have ever seen. I usually go to the Sorrento Valley location and I thought I have tried every single KS beer before I went to this tasting room. There are a couple that I have never heard of, such as Gaslamp Gold.
Despite the weird location, I strongly recommend you coming if you are a KS fan because of the special brews.

There is no food at this location, but they sometimes have food trucks, and you are more than welcome to bring your own food. Picnic!
They have some board games available for you to play, and you can always bring your own.
The Good:
–Love the spacious tasting room and the shady outdoor patio. They recently redid their landscaping to remove the grass they had before, and now they use low water use plants.
–The beer. KS is the founder of the SD beer scene, and they deserve some props for that fact alone. While they may not be my favorite SD brewery (that honor goes to Ballast Point), they were the catalyst that got me excited about beer when I moved here 8 years ago, and they have solid beers worthy of a try. I have always believed that Karl Strauss’ WindnSea Wheat is one of the most underrated beers in SD. On a hot day, I crave a pint of that banana-​y goodness.
–Family friendly, meaning kids are allowed.
What is keeping this place from being 5 stars:
–the $ 6 pints (pricey for a brewery, but keep in mind this is the widest selection of KS beers you are going to find in one place.)
–no dogs allowed. I am sure this is a health department requirement, but still, its kinda a bummer since the patio is so great.