May 8, 2012
Off the hook awesome tap list had a great brew here with great friends and loved every minute of it This was a great stop here during the Craft brewers Conference.

November 4, 2011
Stopped in for a few brews based upon the good reviews here. They had a pool table in use. There was a friendly customer telling us about some of the beers. Unfortuneately for me and my friend, the tap handles were on the back wall and hard to read. As far as we could tell, there were about 20 handles of a good cross section of high quality beers. There was no beer list. Friendly bartender. We enjoy a couple and the bartender said while they had no food, there was a pizzeria a couple doors away we could bring in food from there. Neighborhoods a bit rough, while we were waiting for our taxi to return to squad cars arrived in a pincer movement and with lights flashing to do something in back.

December 28, 2010
I liked this. Good selection of beers, diverse crowd, rocking choons. A little divey but fun. If this was my local (as I know it is someones!) I wwould be very very happy.

March 1, 2010
Sunday night. Maybe 20 people other than me. Some hipster, some not. PBR 24ozers all around, but I am drinking a (slightly old) Alesmith IPA--can you even find fresh pints or bottles nowadays? Either way, it was five bucks. Gogol Bordello plays in the background, the "Stand By Me" song following. 24 taps--Curieaux, PP Midnight Sessions, Damnation, Racer 5, Bashah, Black Butte, and Delirium the standouts right now. Dark, divey, playing a DVD of Blazing Saddles, and that’s good enough for me. Also a fair amount of booze that you’d find at a regular bar, so non-beer geeks can be happy. Shit dude, they do have Anchor Old Potrero for six bucks a shot. Nice. Also, no BMC on tap. Pretty small. The bartender seemed to know his shit and was friendly enough. No food.

December 16, 2009
Live wire is a cool dive bar if you happen to end up there. Juke box aint half bad, the crowd is a bit hipster, but that’s ok. The beer selection isnt anything amazing but it certainly is one of the best dive bar beer selections...in fact, sometimes I find strange things on tap that I havent seen anywhere else.

July 14, 2009
Wish they’d expand the bottle list. I feel this place pulls of one of the most progressive beer programs I’ve ever been to. Yes you can get a PBR tall boy, but right along side Pliny the Younger, or St B abt 12. Seen them launch new breweries, Russian River Brewing’s 1st account in San Diego... and new brews from Airdale. No other beer bar around has cocktails, thus a friendly place if you are with someone who doesn’t want beer. No "food" on site but Pizzaria Louigies just moved in and Mama’s Bakery are within 25 feet and serve up great food for great beers. Not to mention prices. Day in and day out the cheapest prices in town on the best beers. Throw in the super comfortable bar chairs and booths and you’ve got a winner. More often than not i’ve walked in and seen a beer and said "wow they have this on tap, never even seen this on draft before". Great service to boot.

August 12, 2008
This place is certainly unique. For a little dive bar, this place has an amazing number of beers on tap. And for a beer specialty bar, this place is...well? A dive with a neighborhood feel. Being in a walkable neighborhood is a huge plus, and it’s right next to Mama’s wraps, if you want to get some kickass Lebanese food. Not only this, but their happy hour is $1 off ALL beers, 7 days a week, and lasts from 5-8PM. Talk about ideal! I love it! And they do have a great jukebox with some random old school music in it. People tell me that this place gets insanely loud later at night, but during happy hour times it is pretty laid back, so you can get whichever atmosphere you want! This place is really worth checking out.

January 2, 2007
Another great San Diego Dive bar with a good beer selection. You will always find Alesmith, Stone and Russian River on tap, mixed with a few other local and California beers. If they have some good bottle, like Bear Republic Ho Rod Rye or Alesmith Yulesmith...they’re only $6...great price for a bomber. The service is usually pretty good. Like the others have said, it’s nice to go get a $5-$6 dollar double drink in a pint glass once in a while there, too.

December 16, 2006
This is really a great bar, I’m glad Naven added this to the site. It reminds me a lot of one of my favorite bars in New York City, The Grassroots Tavern. The biggest difference between these bars though is this bar serves real beer and has a pool table instead of dart boards. The hours have changed they are now open at 5pm on weekdays. They have a great selection of taps, 2 russian river, 3-4 Alesmith, and 2 stone and when I was there one of the stone included Oaked Arrogant Bastard. Good Prices and a Great Happy Hour. Also the nice thing is that your friends who may not be as into beer as you can go and get other stuff.

September 29, 2006
For nearly a year now, I have been debating whether or not to enter this bar into the data base. You see, I love this place, and I want it to be all mine. But, the people are so nice here and they have worked hard to get great beers on tap....that I think it needs to be said.....the Live Wire is excellent. They typically have at least 10 excellent selections, usually consisting of something from Russian River, Stone, Reaper, Green Flash, etc. They have great taps here. The bartenders are generally friendly and responsive. When you dont feel like a beer, they put their mixed drinks in a Pint Glass......that is awesome. The only downside is the lousy hours. They dont open until 8 pm everynight, except for Friday, when they open at 5pm for their happy hour. Which, is one of the best deals in town. A great beer bar.