Legacy Brewing Tap & Kitchen, Miramar

With a long low counter and a scattering of low tables, this felt a bit more like a diner than a typical tap room. A little variety is a nice thing! There are two long high tables on the patio. Parking is easy. There was only a small crowd there on a Tuesday mid-afternoon. The food looked and smelled good but I had just eaten so I did not try it.

I was greeted immediately and ordered a flight, with the bartender’s recommendation on a couple of them. I did not try That Guava Beer, which apparently is their best seller/most famous, but I did try the Hellacious Guava IPA (5.9% ABV) which is described as a blend of That Guava Beer and a hop-burst IPA. In this one, the guava is very subtle; it lends a sweetness that contrasts with the hoppy bitterness, but I did not taste much guava flavor. I might have liked either of the component beers better, and rated Hellacious at 3/5 (or, on my scale, drinkable but ordinary).

Next up I tried the Orange Blossom IPA (6.7% ABV). Perhaps the batch I tried was older or less successful than usual. I thought the orange flavor was too dominant and came across almost like Orange Crush, and I felt a dirt/astringent finish on the back of the throat. People rate it very highly on Untappd (average rating 3.86) so I am doubting my evaluation, but I gave it a 2.5/5.

I generally love brown ales, so I was very disappointed to have to rate Founding Father’s Nut Brown Ale (5.8% ABV) at just 2.25/5. Its root-beer-like flavors confuse the palate. It is too sweet, lacking depth. In these respects it is like no brown ale I’ve had before. Again, Untappd likes it a lot better than I did (average rating 3.6) but several recent commenters agree that it root beer-y, overly sweet and thin.

I will grant that by the time I got to Warrior Monk, Mad Dog IIPA (8.2% ABV), the shine had come off this place. With that caveat, my rating was 2.5/5. A Beligian IPA is not something I’ve tried before, and it struck me as confused as the name. Besides the Belgian yeast esters, it had a sweet/toffee taste, a nose like weed, and an unfortunate dishwater finish. Ratings on Untappd are more divergent than anything I’ve ever noticed before: In just the last couple of weeks, ratings range all the way from 5/5 to 0.25/5. That suggests to me a bad batch or bad lines ruining a normally good beer.

Quality control does not seem to be top-of-mind at Legacy. I’ll check out their headquarters in Oceanside to compare.

http://legacybrewingtapandkitchen.com/     7060 Miramar Rd, Ste 100, San Diego, CA 92121