Ballast Point Brewing Company, Scripps Ranch [CLOSED]

[NOTE: Ballast Point ceased brewing at this location in summer 2018, and by spring 2019 had closed the tasting room. Juneshine Hard Kombucha now brews here.]

The Scripps Ranch tap room is different than the other three Ballast Point locations. Like the other three, there is a large brewery at Scripps Ranch (from what I was able to gather from the bartender, the sours are mostly made at Scripps Ranch). Unlike Ballast Point Miramar and Ballast Point Little Italy, Ballast Point Scripps Ranch has no restaurant. (Neither does the Ballast Point Home Brew Mart location.) Scripps Ranch also has no inside seating, just a counter to stand at and a few barrels to rest your drink upon: all the seating at Scripps Ranch is at the nine hexagonal picnic tables on the long front deck. It was a pleasant and pretty scene on a sunny Friday afternoon around 4pm. Most of the tables were occupied already by then, and people were arriving at a steady pace to end their work weeks. (Unfortunately, there were quite a few smokers on the patio, and there was no way to avoid them.)

They had about 50 (!) beers on the draft menu, plus bottles and cans to go. I chose the Sea Rose (pale wheat ale with cherry, 4% ABV) since I wasn’t in the mood for a sour and it was one of the few other beers on the board that was brewed at the Scripps Ranch location. I have to report that it is my least favorite of the 20+ Ballast Point beers I’ve tried. It tasted like a macro lager to me. There was a tiny bit of cherry, a little tartness, but overall…meh, 2.75/5. Given that other Untappd users generally rate it higher, I wonder if the keg wasn’t old.

I did find the coolest beer coaster in existence, however, in the shape of the fish from the Sculpin label.

Parking is on the street. Service was very good. There is not much else that would draw you to the immediate area, although Newtopia Cyder is just half a mile away. It is also just a hop over the 15 to White Labs and the rest of the 21 breweries and tap rooms in “Beeramar,” including the main Ballast Point Miramar location (just 4.2 miles away).

www.ballastpoint.com     10051 Old Grove Rd, San Diego, CA 92131