Little Miss Brewing, Escondido

Little Miss Brewing’s third tasting room opened in Escondido in late summer 2019. (The others are in La Mesa and East Village in downtown San Diego, in addition to the Miramar brewery.)

The company’s theme is WWII Allies, and this location is themed after the USSR. It is a slightly odd choice to adulate Russia in the current political climate, but what evs.

Like the other locations, the interior design is more than a little slapdash. It is all “homemade”, and it looks it. Details like not bothering to iron the wrinkly Soviet flags on the wall add to a slightly depressing feeling. (Now that I think about it, maybe that’s perfect for the Soviet theme.) The bar top is rough and uncomfortable to lean on—they need to do another coat or two of epoxy. If I had paid someone to make a bar top and this is what they gave me, I’d fire them on the spot.

Besides some cheap red fabric and a few poorly painted hammer-and-sickle symbols, you couldn’t tell it is USSR themed. There’s nearly nothing that references WWII except the grimacing-bomb-shaped tap handles which they have at all their locations. I don’t see the point of having a theme if it isn’t executed well.

That said, even on a random Thursday at 3pm, right after opening time, they have eight customers. They are offering community and a gathering place that some people clearly like.

At night, with the room more dark, I expect it would be quite cozy.

I’ve had Little Miss beer quite a few times over the last couple of years. Much of it has been good, some not good at all, and it has rarely IMO risen to the level of great. Today I had a rye barrel aged imperial stout called Devil’s Piano that I thought was excellent. It wouldn’t be out of place along with Karl Strauss or Alesmith beers of that ilk (though it isn’t quite that good).

Service is something they do well, which is probably a big factor in the community they are already building.