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AleSmith Brewing Company - 93.7
Brewery
9368 Cabot Drive
San Diego, CA 92126
United States
phone: (858) 549-9888
alesmith.com/

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Location Attributes:
parking available
family friendly location

Reviewer: chrissivadm
Overall Score: 88.3
Selection: 4.8 | Service: 4.5 | Atmosphere: 4.0 | Food: N/A
Date: Thu, Dec 27th 2012

Beer: BIG BEERS!!! Normally breweries offer a only a few big beers, this brewery offers only a few small beers. If you are looking for big hand crafted beers, this is the place for you. Ale Smith Brewing offers a variety of beers that will easily appeal to any beer drinker. I personally think the Stout is their flagship in that it offers a wonderful caramel malt flavor and coffee notes with a crisp toasty flavor. All of the beers are very full (high ABV) and you should probably only do tasters if you're planning on driving anywhere.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere is great in that most of the people really like beer and are fun to talk to. Since the beers are really big, it would be great to have some food and tables to sit at while drinking such high alcohol beers. The tasting room is well equipped though... meaning it has a bathroom and places to sit your glass.

Service: This brewery is small and everyone is invested... therefore the service is fantastic you feel well taken care of.

This brewery is one of those that you hope to see in a store by you; but you also hope in the process of their growth that they don't lose the unique big-beer flavor they are known for.

Reviewer: dorandbob
Overall Score: 90.0
Selection: 4.8 | Service: 4.5 | Atmosphere: 4.3 | Food: N/A
Date: Wed, Apr 25th 2012

The Alesmith tasting room is adjacent to the brewery in a light industrial/warehouse park in a generic area far from the center of San Diego. It’s a large space inside with concrete floors and very high unfinished ceilings. A large roll-up garage door in the back lets in some natural light but otherwise illuminations comes from florescent tubes.

The bar is a small simple wooden counter for serving only. The bar “back” is the white wall of the refrigeration unit and holds the lineup of taps, a white board listing the beer choices, and displays a few souvenirs for sale. Various barrels on end throughout the room serve as a place to rest your plastic tasting cup (standing only; there are no seats). A small bottling line and stacks of pallets of empty kegs are all you can see of the brewing operation.

They were pouring 13 different beers (one was out), covering a wide range of styles, such as IPA, Pale, Red, ESB, Imperial Stout and assorted Belgian styles. The IPA and Old Numbskull (barleywine) were absolutely top-notch, though we weren’t quite as impressed with the Horny Devil (listed as Belgian Style Golden Strong Ale with coriander).

You can purchase bottles and growler fills to take away or purchase 4 ounce tasters or 12 ounce pours (not available for all beers).

Reviewer: vinnyouci
Overall Score: 96.7
Selection: 5.0 | Service: 5.0 | Atmosphere: 4.5 | Food: N/A
Date: Fri, Aug 26th 2011

The tasting room looks like it should be an office space. On a recent trip to San Diego I was looking forward to this stop as this is one of my favorite new Brewers. We walked in on a Friday early afternoon and there were already about 10 people in there. The place is modest on decor, but has $1 taster cups and most of their selection on draft. I tried Grand Cru, Wee Heavy, English Wee Heavy, Horny Devil, and Speedway Stout. All of the Beers were EXCELLENT! My favorites were Horny Devil and Speedway. I can't wait to go back there on my next visit to San Diego.

Reviewer: joelambic
Overall Score: 93.3
Selection: 5.0 | Service: 4.5 | Atmosphere: 4.5 | Food: N/A
Date: Tue, Jan 5th 2010

Alesmith's tasting "room" has changed quite a bit over the years. During past visits, this was pretty much limited to hanging around the taps on the wall of the walk-in at the back of the brewery. A recent visit revealed that they have expanded to an adjoining space which now offers a proper tasting area. On tap were 8 or so beers. All were excellent. The staff was very knowledgeable and willing to talk about all aspects of brewing and their beers. Plenty of parking is available and the sign over the entrance makes it nearly impossible to miss them. Definitely worth stopping in when in San Diego.

Reviewer: Graz
Overall Score: 100.0
Selection: 5.0 | Service: 5.0 | Atmosphere: 5.0 | Food: N/A
Date: Sat, Apr 19th 2008

No Pub. Just a brewery. Go to a restaurant if you are hungry. Frequent Friday "Happy Hours". Arguably the BEST Brewery in San Diego. PLENTY of parking. No BS! Just GREAT beer. Notable; Speedway Stout. Rich and Malty with enough coffee to make the drinker wonder if he is going to pass out, or stay up all weekend. Personal Favorites are X, and Anvil ESB. YuleSmith is the Holiday beer that has a Summer release too. They are different but share the name. Both are fantastic. If you don't find an AleSmith beer you like, go back to wine.