Stumblefoot Brewing Co., San Marcos

Located in small, out of the way commercial space, Stumblefoot is a little hard to find. The entry on the parking lot side takes you through what is effectively the back end of the space, through a room provided as a space for children to spend time in. Through another door, the space opens up into the tasting room. The brewing area is through an archway into the adjoining suite in the building. The tasting room is small-ish, with just a few seats at the bar and a couple of tables. It feels a notch or two above hanging out in your friend’s garage.

Stumblefoot has gone through some transitions recently. Last year, it was being considered by the folks who opened Wild Barrel Brewing, but they discontinued that idea and moved to their newly-opened spot in San Marcos. Then, the company was sold to a new owner. There has been some continuity through the changes, though: the bar manager and head brewer are still in place. That means they are farther ahead in terms of beer quality and overall experience than most places that are under newish ownership.

They have suffered some equipment failures in recent months, which has meant that they are low on some stock and have run out of some staples. Fortunately, from what I heard, those troubles are behind them and they are (or are nearly) back up to full speed. There were only seven beers on tap when I was there, though a couple more were due to be ready soon.

I enjoyed my experience there, in part because the staff were all friendly and knowledgeable. The beer was pretty good, too. 

Chester (Brown Ale, 5.5% ABV).  Biscuity, sweet, lighter than a typical brown. 3.5/5

Double Peak (IPA, 7.3% ABV). Pretty good. Nothing remarkable. (Others on Untappd seem to like it a lot more than I did.)  3/5

Way Hopped Up (Imperial IPA, 8.1% ABV). Similar hop profile to Double Peak, though this is the DIPA. It works better here for some reason.  3.5/5

Strawberry Gose (4.5% ABV). Light and clean, the refreshing sour note is understated, and there is a slight sweetness from the strawberry.  3.75/5

Cher-ish the Journey (Berlinerweisse, 6% ABV). Subtle on both the sourness and the cherry flavor.  4/5

Peach Lichtenhainer (smoked sour beer with peaches, 6.1% ABV). Over-smokey, otherwise well made. 3.25/5 on its own. But it is *really* good mixed 50-50 with the cherry kettle sour.

Stumblefoot should please both sour-lovers and hopheads. 

stumblefoot.com     1784 La Costa Meadows Dr #103, San Marcos, CA 92078