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64 reviews for Alpine Beer Company
Review Highlights
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"Pure Hoppiness is my favorite beer, hands down." In 11 reviews -
"I love their Pure Hoppiness and Captain Stout." In 6 reviews -
"Bottles and growler fills are available." In 4 reviews
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64 reviews in English
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Review from Leslie G.
4/9/2012 1 Check-in Here
$1.50 for tasters. 4 tasters allowed per person. 1 at a time. They usually have one or two beers that they don't have in the pub.
You can get bottles of most everything they have available, and growlers of all but the rarest of brews.
All the beers are great, this is my favorite brewery. -
Review from Andy D.
3/8/2012
Went here recently for the Exponential Hoppiness release. Had dinner too.
HOT DAMN. Awesome BBQ! Ribs and brisket were amazing. I almost want to say best BBQ I've ever had.
Super small place, decent pricing, good food. Will come again next time I'm in SD. -
Review from Mason B.
San Diego, CA
2/21/2012
I only wish there was one closer to san diego...In my mind they make the very best IPA out there today!!!
Oh by the way the food is good too...Get the BBQ not the wings :) -
Review from Pat O.
Downingtown, PA
5/22/2012
They make the best IPA's on the planet. Small brewery, small parking. They only allow 4 bottles of each style for purchase. Its a good policy for them because of their size, and more people will get to try their excellent beers. They have a small bbq place at the other end of the strip and the food was good, but you go for the beer.
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Review from Jon K.
San Diego, CA
5/10/2012
Best Beer in SD if you like IPA. They need to expand to meet demand. Nelson is amazing!!!!
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Review from Rene G.
Chula Vista, CA
4/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
Great beer! Really good food. The place was a bit small. But its worth the beer. 1 taster at a time was pretty lame and so was parking.
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Review from Ben M.
San Diego, CA
2/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
The beer was very good. My favorite by far was the Exponential Hoppiness. The Willy Vanilly was seriously vanilla, almost like cream soda. The food was also quite tasty. I had the fried pickles, BBQ wings and the beef brisket. It was all very good. The fried pickles were some of the best ones I've ever had. The wings were good. I liked that they were full on wings. Not in two pieces, the whole wing. The brisket was good. Very tender meat and good flavors.
It is a little small and so seating can be a problem, and a little slow. It took a while to get our food. They try to only allow you to use two types of payments, which for a group is kind of annoying. They did begrudgingly accepted more than two cards and some cash. -
Review from Ashley H.
San Diego, CA
12/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've been here twice now, and both times I have had great food and fantastic service. It's a tiny cafe style pub, just perfect for my friends and I. Everyone seems very friendly in here! Here's the funny part..... I don't drink beer, so I can't rate how great it is. But I can say that the two separate groups of friends I brought here, loved the 4 and 6 flight tasters. We walked over to the brewery, right next door, and bought some bottles.
We will be back again!!! -
Review from Amber L.
Alpine, CA
3/19/2012
Amazing food, amazing beer..I just love this place!
There is not much seating, so on the weekends there is always a super long wait but it's worth it! When they're not super busy they do orders to go, which is great. One of the guys there is pretty unpleasant, but the food is worth it. We have had almost everything on the menu and we were pleasantly surprised by all of it. Our favorites are the fried pickles, pulled pork and beer battered fries. The buffalo chicken sandwich is excellent, as are the BBQ nachos and...well...everything else! We lived in Alpine for 2 years before we found this place, and we were quite disappointed it took us so long. -
Review from Patricia W.
La Mesa, CA
2/22/2012
Best IPA's you've ever tasted!!!We drive from LaMesa to Alpine just for growlers!They're all outstanding but a few favorites include Nelson,Duet,Pure Hoppiness...& for the Double hit the Bad boy, it truley lives up to it's name.Please expand!!!
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Review from Marc E.
Los Angeles, CA
OK, I'm about to spill the beans on the best kept secret in San Diego county. The Alpine Brewery is just pure magic!
When you walk into this place, its a quaint diner with a friendly atmosphere. This is not a trendy brew restaurant like Stone or Karl Strauss. Yeah those places are cool, but this place is so unpretentious.
The BEER is the best. For all you hop heads out there, this place is for you. I was drinking a double IPA and it was 11%! Also they have a wonderful beer called Duet and it is smooth.
For you non-hop-heads they have a something for everyone. In fact, my wife ordered a amber beer that was tasty.
Also, the food at this place is awesome! I had a sausage sandwich that was full of flavor.
The staff is friendly and knowledgeable about the food and most importantly, the beer. -
Review from M G.
San Diego, CA
1/19/2012
They know how to make beer but they don't know how to treat a customer or do business relations.
Their duet is probably the best west coast ipa...better than gflash, stone, firestone, RR....also pure hopiness is amazing...
not that they don't make bad beers such as the "Whale" whichwas a drain pour...and they are selling it...
TO INVESTORS TO INVESTORS TO INVESTORS
I'm almost certain that there is a form of racism and discrimination going on here which puts into question their ability to manage a 15,000 barrel brewery. I thought i got a hint of racism from the "manager" and now i just read a review on here where he suspects the "owner" Pat Mcilhenney was expressing racial discrimination as well. Judging that about 90% of pop is white it is most likely "accepted" but for this brewery to grow management will have to be restructed.
I've never met the owner but the "manager" is a rude hick who wasn't properly trained which again shows the lack of professionalism.
Regardless their DUET so bomb... -
Review from Brent W.
Marietta, GA
2/11/2012
Good beer, good service, love the way they will mix their brews to create a new one. Best BBQ wings I've ever tasted!
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Review from Paul M.
San Diego, CA
8/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
Holy cow. Their crispy fried pickels are the best, they have a thin layer of batter, come out steaming hot and have the perfect crunchy texture. How'd they do that?
The beers are delicious...many hoppy IPA types so if you like IPA's this place is a must try.
I enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich with some self applied BBQ sauce. Who would have thought they made great BBQ too? All around great first experience in this tiny restaurant/pub. I'll be back. -
Review from Kyle M.
12/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
nestled in the quaint littlle city of alpine, ca which is about 30 miles east of san diego lies a brewery and restaurant. being from los angeles its pretty hard to find alpine beers in my area so i had to go try this place out.
the beers are great if you are an ipa fan. i'd say pure hoppiness is a top 5 ipa for me. The bottles are more than reasonably prices at $5-$7 per 22oz. if you are a beer snob like me than you know that is cheap.
what do you probably don't know is they also have a little bbq spot next door that is pretty damn good. i had the pulled chicken with potato salad and added a little whole grain spicy mustard they make ($9 ish). too bad they don't sell the mustard separately. its quite good. chicken is smoked perfectly with the right amount of bbq sauce and a soft bun. quick tip: if you order sandwiches you're better off getting the whole wax paper the sandwich comes on and take it out of the basket to eat it. it'll be a bit less messy.
prices are very low for everything including growler fills and the staff is nice and beer knowledgeable.
one drawback if you go down to san diego to go brewery hopping its a bit out of the way from the rest of them. i'd suggest going to that one first and work your way back. other than that i highly recommend this place for the beer and the bbq. -
Review from Jason J.
San Diego, CA
1/14/2012
I wanted to write and say Alpine Brewery makes some of the best IPA's on the planet. (no joke) I believe the brewery could embrace the county more and get more beer out to the people that enjoy it! What ever they are doing over there, it is pretty magical. (just get us some more taps!)
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Review from Lauren B.
San Diego, CA
4/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
Drove the 45 minutes to get here from O.B. for a friends' birthday, and it just wasn't what I was expecting. I knew ahead of time that they brewed their own beer, so I was thinking it'd be something along the lines of Karl Strauss. What I walked into was more like a teeny tiny waffle house. They had 3 tables in the whole place. I ordered a glass of Wilson Creek Almond Champagne, which for some reason, was the only other alcoholic option if you aren't a beer drinker. Meh. I've had it before, so no real excitement there.
I ordered the house salad, because frankly, nothing on the greasy menu looked all that appetizing. It was a salad. Not good, not terrible. But I really hated having to stand up while eating. -
Review from Nick O.
Washington, DC
12/13/2011
I took the advice of a coworker and decided to schlep up to Apline Beer Company on a Satuday afternoon. We sat down (tables are seat yourself) and waited quite a bit for the waitress to take our order. They seemed a bit understaffed but I am not deducting any stars- maybe everyone is just laid back and in no real rush.
We ordered the fried pickles as an appetizer and I ordered a Pure Hoppiness. The beer was outstanding and I have never had tastier fried pickles. They were very lightly breaded and were served with a sort of cajun aioli (maybe just mayo, cayenne, and garlic) that was delicious.
I then procedded to order a pulled pork sandwich with (homemade?) onion rings. The sandwich was very good; the pork was tender, but I wish they put less BBQ sauce on the sandwich since there is a bottle available on your table to add as much as you care for. Onion rings were great and, in the spirit of the fried pickles, were very lightly breaded.
In sum, take the advice of my coworker and "Get yourself an Exponential Hoppiness, a Nelson or a Pure Hoppiness and crush a pulled pork sandwich and then get on your knees and thank God that He would grace you with such a place."
(Get the fried pickles too!) -
Review from Kitty M.
San Diego, CA
12/23/2011
Went to Alpine yesterday afternoon with my beer snob son and we had a great time drinking great beers! The fried pickles were YUMMY . I drank a Crazy Hazel and my son loved the Duet and the Nelson. Fun people to talk to at the bar. It's worth the 40 minutes from Del Mar!!!! Lots of hops here, but the Hazel was delicious!!!!! It was darned cold yesterday, next time we'll go when it's a little warmer and sit out back!
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Review from Brad G.
San Diego, CA
2/27/2012
I ordered their red beer and it was great. The food is great. My group has ordered fried green beans (awesome), chicken wings (the whole wing), fried pickles (delicious), smoked chicken (awesome), and beef brisket (delicious). The service is awesome -- it felt like every employee in the place waited on us. They have a simple little patio in the back of the building which looks like fun. The place is small, but has a great vibe and everyone looks like they are having a great time. Great place for some grub after a hike.
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Review from Brian K.
9/29/2010
To no suprise, Alpine Beer Company (ABC) focuses on hoppy beer varietals like all of San Diego's breweries.
Their hoppy beer selection is tasty and packs a lot of flavor but once you stray away from these varietals, they are middle-of-the-road.
Is it worth it to drive to Alpine just to visit ABC? Good question. For us, it was, "Ehh, probably not." If you are catching a show at Viejas (like we did), definitely check out ABC. But other than that, I wouldn't drive 40+ minutes just for ABC. Don't get me wrong - they have worth-your-while beer but just not worth-the-40+-minutes-drive-beer. Just my two cents. -
Review from Midori B.
Los Angeles, CA
11/13/2011
Brewery and bar that doesn't feel like a brewery experience -- just feels like a fantastic neighborhood restaurant bar with exceptional beer = full of awesome. Makes me wish I lived in Alpine.
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Review from Eric B.
San Diego, CA
2/4/2011
Nelson Beer is soooooooooo gooooooooood!
Every bite of food I have eaten there is amazing. If you get the ribs, go with the beer battered fries and onion rings.
The fried pickles are superb appetizer if you don't mind a minor bit of grease.
I wish they had churizo sliders on a normal menu!!!! -
Review from Matt T.
Mesa, AZ
10/21/2010 2 Check-ins Here
I've had Alpine's beer at another SD spot, The Tap Room in PB. It was really good so, on my way back to Phoenix, I decided to stop in to the brewery and grab a pint. Relax, I had a driver! :).
They have a pretty cool, very humble set up. The brewery is on one side of the building and the pub is on the other. We didnt get any food so I cant comment on that but their IPA was delicious! Well balanced with great hop aroma and taste. I will definitely be back! Keep up the great work, Alpine!Listed in: Diego Watering Holes
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Review from Tony V.
San Diego, CA
11/5/2011
Pure Hoppiness is my favorite beer, hands down. The restaurant was great, excellent service. We'll be back. Hopefully I'll be able to get a Growler of pure Hoppiness next time. The bombers will have to do.
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Review from Hans M.
Katonah, NY
1/15/2012
I was in the El Cajon area for a long weekend and went to the Alpine Beer Company Brewpub for its BBQ, which was supposedly very good. I would say it was OK, nothing great. The service was very friendly; the atmosphere is very casual, laidback. Food is served on styrafoam plates with plastic utensils. If you're in the mood for BBQ, go here, but don't expect to be blown away.
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Review from Jesse Q.
Escondido, CA
11/17/2010 6 Check-ins Here
Great little place...I wish I could go there more often.
What makes it a great place is the beer. This brewery is small and apparently the brewers know their stuff real well as the beer is always in high demand.
Personally the craft they produce is very good. Mr. Patrick knows hops and the beer shows it. -
Review from Anthony K.
El Cajon, CA
11/15/2010
I've been drinking their delicious creations from their warehouse brewery since they opened and have always been impressed. I love the fact that they are getting bigger and more well known but I hope they stay true to their small town brewery feel.
Mandarin Nector is my favorite; a nice refreshing summery beer with a good punch at 6.5%. Captain Stout is a close second and for such a dark beer it goes down remarkably smooth.
I understand its an out of the way brewery but if given the chance you should check it out. -
Review from Marwin A.
8/8/2008
We stumbled to this place totally by accident. One of those trips when someone says, "look, let's stop over there, check it out".
I am almost clueless when it comes to beer tastings, wines I can fake my way through. A dignified looking gentleman, whom I thought was an employee there, was kind & patient enought to explain the beers to me. After awhile, I started to feel like I can taste the differences, ummm.
It wasn't until we were leaving with pure happiness( it's a beer ):) that I found out that the gentleman I was talking to was the owner.
Nice. -
Review from Jason T.
Chicago, IL
6/13/2010
I love this brewery. They make several of my favorite IPAs. I can't get enough of their hoppy beers.
They have the best prices for growlers I've found. They charge only $5 for a new growler while other places in SD charge $10. Growler fills are also priced great, with most around $10.
I've been several times now and the people working there are always nice. -
Review from Andrew C.
10/21/2009 4 photos
I'm from San Diego. I live in Portland. As a result, I really should play the fence on this next statement but I'm just going to come out and say it.
San Diego recently won best beer city in the nation, and Portland is pissed. Naysayers are trying to cite that some breweries being included aren't in the metro area of San Diego. First, everyone knows that regardless of what specific city you're in when you're here, you always would say "San Diego" if someone asked where you were. Our metro area is huge. Something Portland has no concept of. 5 million people? They're 30 years away from that kind of population.
Second, Portland does have a hell of a lot of breweries, but in competitions it's quality over quantity and San Diego's lower number of breweries have placed higher and more often in beer fests all over the country and world. This is why San Diego is considered the nation's best beer city. Sure we have less beer, but we've got better beer. And today's trip to Alpine Beer Company proves that fact for me.
Upon entrance into this little, easy to miss, might as well be a boot-repair shop sized storefront, you'll notice a few large fermentors, a rack of t-shirts, large tile counter top, a board describing each brew and an ultra hot, corn-fed snowboarder girl waiting to hand you a taster. (She'd be the sixth star of this place if I could give such a thing)
The brewery has no license to serve since they're not a bar, or grill (one will be opening at the other end of the building at the end of November). As a result, they have a "411" policy.
The 411 is like so:
4 tasters.
1 person
$1 each.
Four is all you'll need. Their beer list isn't one that requires a tremendous amount of time to find a beer you like. Instead, the problem will be trying to pick which beer you like best. And then the decision between bottle, keg or growler for the trip home.
Speaking of growlers, the bottle will cost you $5. To fill/refill it, roughly $8-10. Those prices aren't bad at all for 64 ounces of craft beer AND you get to take a scenic drive out to Alpine to collect the booty.
Notable beers are the Irish Red, Tuatara, Nelson, Captain Stout and Pure Hoppiness which you can read more about here, http://alpinebeerco.co... or you can gawk at the tons of awards (pictured) they've received for their efforts.
Alpine Beer Company's product has won four World Beer Cups, three American Beer fests and four San Diego County Fair awards. One other medal hangs on the wall as well, but I couldn't read the small text from the ground. Who knew this little hole in the wall brewery in a town that just started blossoming in recent years would have such amazing things inside? (girl mentioned earlier, included)
San Diego really has something special going with the brews but Portland is great competition. Maybe once Portland's brew makers realize that "organic hops" doesn't necessarily mean "amazing beer", they'll score a little higher on next year's charts. Until then, cruise out to Alpine and grab a growler.
"Raar"Listed in: Sandy Eggo
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Review from Nathan H.
San Diego, CA
11/24/2007 4 photos
Yet another great brewery in San Diego County that has not let me down. With their great selection of microbrews and phenomenal flavor variety, I have yet again found myself wowed with the quality and impressive attention to brewing detail.
We treked here for our first outing as a group of beer geeks and easily found this spot. Our group of five crammed into the small lobby/tasting/all-purpose business space. The brewery is quite small, especially compared to others, but we did bring five people and there was a steady flow of business throughout the afternoon. We proceed to try all nine of the different beers offered at the time. Each taster was priced at $1, but this was a small price to pay to enjoy great craft brews.
Among my favorites were Ichabod, Duet (IPA) and Pure Hoppiness (IIPA). All of there beers were great and exhibited a great deal of local character. You could tell by tasting the beers, talking to brewers and locals and observing others that Alpine Beer Co. is highly revered in the community of Alpine.
I enjoyed the trip all together and will be sure and visit again. Some, but few negatives were the small space and the distance between me and their location. Despite these, Alpine Beer Co. is well worth the trip. It was enjoyed by all.Listed in: It's all about the beer
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Review from D B.
San Diego, CA
11/7/2007
During the SD Wildfire Season 2007, my buddy and I went east on CA-94, looking for a fire, but found Alpine Beer Company. We got lucky.
As bartenders at one of San Diego's high-end ale houses, we knew of Alpine's Pure Hoppiness, and we also knew that it was tasty and delicious. Little did we know that the Irish Red and the Willy Vanilly would rock our worlds, too!
We had tasters, and tasters, and tasters, and tasters. I even took a picture: http://pesotum.com/htm...
We brought home four growlers on that trip.
When we returned to San Diego, my buddy and I took less than 2.5 hours to drink all four growlers of Alpine Ale and Irish Red.
The beers are all top notch. -
Review from Brad P.
Chula Vista, CA
10/16/2011
Great short drive out of San Diego and well worth it, but be careful as the beers are a little strong. The Duet, Nelson, and WHALE are my favorites. The beers may be my new favorites. You should buy the 22oz bottles if you want some to go, or the growler, but the growlers are a bit expensive.
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Review from Austin D.
5/1/2010
What can you say about a company that makes the THIRD BEST IPA IN THE WORLD (along with several other medals at the 2010 World Beer Cup), yet still keeps it real the way they do at ABC? This is a small operation that looks like it's still run by the family.
We stopped in for a flight after a long day of mountain biking at Cuyamaca. After passing it twice, we stopped the car (to look at the Yelp photos) in order to finally figure out where it was. (Yelp FTW!)
We tried four tasters (for $1 each), and they were all out of this world. I could tell you what they were, but by the time you read this, they'll probably be onto some other fabulous concoctions.
They have great prices on their beer, which is sold by the bottle, growler, or keg, as well as some cool logo-ed schwag (I got some Sock Guy socks with the logo on them). -
Review from Bart P.
San Diego, CA
5/30/2007
Funny how this is listed under "Night Life", but it's beer and I guess people only drink beer at night.
Alright, this is a brewery, and a great one at that. They make some of the finest ales in San Diego county with notables that include Pure Hoppiness, Nelson, Duet and the deadly Exponential Hoppiness. They have a small tasting room where you can sample their current offerings, buy some schwag and fill your growlers (those half gallon jugs) on the cheap.
Great beer, great brewery. I stop by every time I visit my folks up in Alpine. That said, they're pretty glad that the brewery exists as they see a lot more of me these days! -
Review from Phil O.
San Diego, CA
8/1/2010
Not much beats a bunch of great, fresh brews served in the warehouse itself and that is what this place is all about. Served with a smile and some great smalltalk, this is a great place to bring a couple friends to. Just do not bring a large group--it only fits about 6 customers comfortably (or 15 uncomfortably!).
Love the signage and gear they sell--its pretty funny and/or catchy. Only negative here: Standing room only (no seats whatsoever) so don't look to relax. Note: in late August 2010 they are purportedly opening an attached restaurant, so that will take care of this negative. Even now, its not enough to warrant a full-star decrement here... -
Review from Chuckie G.
San Diego, CA
6/27/2009
Made a couple of trips to Alpine Beer Co. recently.
Their beers are second to none. They make some of the best IPAs I have ever tasted and their half Captain Stout and half Willy Vanilly mix is rather delightful. I'd put this as a "must try" for anyone looking to sample San Diego county's finest beers.
My only nitpick that the tasters are served in plastic cups. I really would have liked it in a glass. They have such a quality product they might as well present it like one.
All in all great product and great people. I'll let the glassware thing slide and give them the full five stars.
And while we're on the subject of Alpine Beer Co, what is with the "Drink Alpine or Go to Bed" tag line? What does that even mean!? -
Review from Becky B.
San Diego, CA
6/27/2009
Who cares that it's in Alpine. Who cares that you can't find it on tap anywhere local. Saddle up, get out there, and try this stuff. If you're a microbrew lover, this is your new spot. I admire the balance in Pure Hoppiness, and applaud Alpine for somehow making a vanilla flavored microbrew that doesn't taste gross.
Bonus: the relatively affordable glassware and growler refills *almost* make up for the gas money.
I agree with Chuckie on the plastic taster cups. Glass tasters would heighten the experience. However, Five stars are still very much deserved. -
Review from Joe O.
San Diego, CA
4/25/2008
Probably my favorite Brewery in the greater San Diego area next to Alesmith. I stop in about every week on the way home from work for a growler fill. Pat and Val are usually in on the afternoons and they are always receptive to questions and always keep me updated about their upcoming projects.
As for the beer, Pure Hoppiness is my staple, but I do enjoy the Captain Stout and the Irish red. If you can get the Duet or the elusive Exponential Hoppiness you are in for a real treat. Other notables include the Nelson IPA which is their version of a Rye IPA, and they released the O'brien's IPA recently which is also excellent. I know they are tucked away in Alpine, but a trip up here is definitely worth it for the beer alone, no matter where you live in San Diego. Plus the Liar's club is right up the street.
As it stands, this is a great brewery run by people who love the craft of brewing and it really shows, keep up the great work guys.
Drink Alpine Beer or go to Bed!
