Viewpoint Brewing Co., Del Mar
I really liked this place. The setting next to the lagoon is beautiful. The interior design is unique, beautiful and comfortable. They have corn hole and skee ball. The service at the bar was excellent from all four people I talked with. The beer is very good and will get even better–they just opened, and in fact they have been selling so much of it that they are having a hard time keeping up right now. They were pouring six house beers during my visit and aim to ramp up to 18 over time. Parking will be their limiting factor–there’s not much room in their own lot, and the paid lot across the street can be expensive. Also, they should change from open seating to host/ess-guided seating. I’d prefer to see their regular food menu from 4pm instead of 5pm. But other than those quibbles and needing to work out the kinks that come from being new, this place great.
The Mandarina IPA was my favorite of the seven house beers I sampled; it is up there with some of the best beer I’ve had in San Diego. All the beer was at least good and I’d drink any of it again.
Experiment A (Kolsch hopped with Chinook, 5.5% ABV). A lot more flavor than most Kolches I’ve had, a style I am generally not a fan of. This has more malt and way more hop flavor. Good. 3.25/5
Blonde Ale (5.4% ABV). Very nice. Clean, fruity, refreshing. 3.5/5
Session IPA (5.4% ABV). Full flavored. Fruity, piney, slight earthiness on the bitter finish. 3.5/5
Mandarina (IPA, 4.5% ABV). Super. Tropical-fruity, soft mouthfeel, clean, fresh. 4.25/5
French SMASH Saison (7.7% ABV). I don’t usually like saison but this one wasn’t too “Belgiany”… flavorful, clean. “SMASH” in case you don’t know means “single malt and single hops.” 3.25/5
Chinook SMASH (IPA, 5.2% ABV). A solid IPA. I like that the ABV’s here are not through the roof. 3.35/5
Red Rye IPA (6.7% ABV). I was looking forward to this and it did not disappoint. Sweet, spicy, hoppy. 3.75/7
I look forward to returning to Viewpoint Brewing to try out the food and enjoy the setting. I’m excited to see how their beer program will grow.
http://viewpointbrewing.com/ 2201 San Dieguito Drive, Suite D, Del Mar, CA 92014
