Karl Strauss Brewing Company - San Diego (Downtown)

Brewery taproom, in central San Diego. Nice place, pretty spacey. Good atmosphere. Service was OK. Bartender was a little sketchy, but still OK. Selection is only own beers, reasonably, but still fairly large, and with some interesting special beers (imperial stouts). Overall, a nice place.

18 taps and several cans/bottles...San Diego, for sure requires you to have more than one liver...much more actually...

Overwhelmed by choices during my recent San Diego Beer Week sojourn, I did not give much thought to Karl Strauss; however, an exhausting trip to the nearby Maritime Museum, as well as an overwhelming thirst, led me to this downtown venue. Located on a generic block, the building can be spotted immediately identified from the massive leaf drapery that festoons its’ façade. Thus began, my tenth stop of the trip. Entering into the dimly lit interior, which has plenty of wood décor, can be found in any other restaurant in the city, I found a seat at the sparsely populated bar and was greeted by the cheerful and very exuberant 14-year old server (she was young, to say the least, but certainly not a pre-teen). Karl Strauss offers a wide range of brews; during my lunchtime visit, I was proffered with their Red Trolley Ale, Tower 10 IPA, Pintail Ale, and yet-to-be-named amber taken directly from the fermenting tank. While the beers cannot be compared to many of the local hop bombs, the beers here were pleasing and good accompaniment to the big and juicy cheddar burger. A pleasant experience nonetheless: decent beer, hearty chow, a friendly server who was liberal with samplers and another day in America’s favorite beer city.

Big brewpub, very central and close to our hotel. Visited for lunch on a monday. Classic clean US brewpub, tv,s , long bar. Some outdoor seating as well. About 10 - 12 tap's, 4 small batch beer. Quility of beers abit disappointing, A sweet sticky IIPA with old hops, a fruited Berliner weisse wich was sour/tart at all. Food was good and filling. Service and prices are fine.

Visited on a calm Sunday evening after a long flight from Sweden. The beers were decent as was the food. The service was really good. This is a rather large place located in Downtown San Diego. Well worth a visit if nearby.

An old building in the heart of downtown, with lots of wood, a big bar, and plenty of seating. Service was great, helpful, knowledgeable, and very present. Great selection, including most of the GABF medal winners, and some different experiments too. The beerfather of San Diego, the OG.

[11/2/08]

Beers not bad but nothing special. For this part of the world I expected a few more hops! It was interesting to see through to the brewery and see two big wooden barrels time fermenting a Belgian tripel... would love to try it when it comes on. Also impressive was a cask ale beer engine which is only used Thursday till the weekend which I understand but unfortunately I was there on Monday so it was out of use! Did not see any guest beers, just their own.