Sunday 25th of November 2012 06:49:38 PM

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On a warm Spring day, wife Persimmon & I high-tailed it to Oceanside Ale works for a taste or 3 -- or 4.

We'd been hearing about their beers and needed to find out for ourselves. What we found was, at least for us, not grand.

The folks behind the bar were nice enough but blanched a bit when we asked to sample every beer they had on tap. "Hmmmm," said the young pourer, "no one's ever asked for that before!" But then, to his credit, he pulled up the plastic cups (plastic cups??!!) & started to fill them. We stopped him, said it wasn't necessary to top them off...that we would share because, let's face it, we were looking at sampling 12 brews....at 4 ounces each....well, you do the math. We had another place we wanted to visit that day and needed to remain conscious.

The tasting room/brewery was not crowded.... so there was / is plenty of room to manuever. The music was low; no TV - all good things.

However, the beer was non-descript. Nothing really stood out. The IPA was a little bitter, the brown rather flat; the oatmeal stout watery; the imperial porter robust & full but lacked any unique taste.

The brewery is a little tough to find, hidden in the back of a business park one of the main drags through town. Best bet is to look for the motorcycles; this seems to be a favorite of the bikers.

Wednesday 27th of April 2011 09:44:22 PM

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This place exudes that raised truck, stars and stripes, God-Bless-America kind of vibe that's pretty common in North County. The bartenders were inhospitable and the old man cooking hot dogs in the back had difficulty distinguishing between the 2 distinct varieties of sausage he was cooking, so that our already unfortunate experience was prolonged while we waited for him to heat the correct style of dog. What perplexes me about this place is that it seems marketed towards people who normally prefer Coors Light. I'm sure this is just the kind of atmosphere some people are looking for, though, especially people clothed in wife beaters and iron cross tattoos.

Wednesday 9th of March 2011 01:36:51 PM

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oceanside Ale works is a great brewery and then some. It is a standing room only and it is always a good time. It is hidden from the first time goer but after you find it it turns into a hidden gem.

The beer there is premium beer and they have a great selection with lots of seasonal beers.

The staff is very knowledgable with every beer they serve or make.

If you go and they have big Ellies on tap its a must try.

Saturday 11th of April 2009 01:41:21 PM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

Small, up and coming brewery in Oceanside. Typical of several of the North San Diego County breweries, they are located in a business park so there is plently of parking on the weekend.

I suggest that you attend their frequent festivals throughout the year (chicken wings, chili) to experience the beer along with the crowd.

Good prices on their growler fills.

Variety of beer styles so everyone visiting should find something they like.

I like the fact that they are using local hops on some of their beers.