Ballast Point – Little Italy

I don’t normally Unilocal but I love the people and beer here. Food is pretty good for a brewery but I usually just drink here. Lived across the street last year and am just down the street now. Pretty much the only place I consistently go to in little Italy. Waterfront is great too but the staff is what keeps me coming back.
Sometimes it may take a couple minutes to get your beer but it’s just because the staff takes their time and helps each customer find something they will enjoy.
Take care of your employees and they will take care of you! Exhibit A — ballast point little Italy.
I’ve never seen this place slow.

Huuuuuge list of BP beers on tap (some R&D, all of the classics, some fruity/​pepper fusion variations). They do 3 4 oz tasters for 5 dollars (I believe), so you can pick and choose what you like. This was my first time having the jalapeño sculpin-​YUM! Also had the Calico (amber ale) and a ginger IPA as well. They have an amazing outdoor area, so we set up out there and had plenty of space to spread out. I would advise coming before 2 on the weekends, after that it fills up pretty quickly.
When we came the bathrooms were being renovated, so that was somewhat of a cluster. but hopefully that will get sorted out soon. Beer = more than 1 women’s bathroom needed.

It was our buddy Danny’s birthday weekend and beer tasting is how he wanted to spend it. Who are we to deny him. 1^st stop, the Ballast Point tour. We just read that Constellation Brands just bought Ballast Point for a billion dollars. Our thought was, «Great, another one sells out to Big Beer!» During our tour, we had to ask. Yes, in fact it’s true, Ballast Point was sold for a billion dollars but with creative control left to the Ballast Point team. Who are we to judge, we’d sell out for less than a billion. ;) Our tour guides were super informative and fun.
After our tour, it was time for lunch so we grabbed a table outside.
Here’s what we had:
Me: Pale Ale and Grilled Fish Sandwich
Hubby: Grunion Pale Ale and the Pomegranate & Commodore Stout Short Rib
For the table: Pork Belly Mac n Cheese, Truffle Fries and Wahoo Beer Steamed Mussels.
Everything was delicious! A great way to spend an afternoon in sunny Southern California.

Great selection of beers, but not a whole lot of service — we got there to find it was super loud and we weren’t sure whether or not there was table service. Eventually I figured out that you have to order beer from the bar, and food from a side counter, which will be brought out to your table by number.
The beer selection was interesting — from their simple staple Sculpin IPA to a bunch of experimental beers. Overall the beer selection wasn’t bad.
We ordered some curry wings, because they sounded like an amazing companion to beer. They turned out to be (I can only presume) quail wings, tiny and covered in a sweet glaze that was only vaguely curry flavoured. The beer was good so I can handle that the wings weren’t great — and it didn’t wind up spoiling a later snack stop at Crack Shack.

Great service and great beer. Ballast Point in Little Italy is the perfect staging spot before a nice dinner or a night out in town. It is a lively place with just the right noise levels for a good conversation or social time with a mixed crowd. The pineapple and grapefruit sculpin were my favorite but try a variety of beers to find your favorite. I’ll be back!

Came to check out this place while I was visiting the area over the holidays. Sooo many options to choose from! Felt like a kid in a donut store. Good company, good burger (w/​toasted buttered buns!) and yummy brews, what more can I ask for :)

Came here the other day with a friend who was completely hungover (bad idea because I was the only one drinking).
So if you never been here before. Right when you walk through the door there’s a bar. You order there and pay or keep the tab open and then you sit down. There isn’t a server to wine and dine you, so suck it up. If you want food, to the right of the bar there’s a food area. You order there and they give you a number and basically they’ll bring it out to you.
So they do flights of the day, the day we went there was a spicy flight. So there was.
Thai chili wahoo — the wahoo has a hint of orange already so there’s a tiny hint of Thai chili and lime, I enjoyed this very much
Habanero sculpin — I love sculpin but this was just too much. The habanero was in your face. I couldn’t enjoy it. I’ve had stone beers with habanero in it which I like but ballast point gave this a definitely huge kick
Fresno (idk) — can’t remember if I liked this sorry
And then I came back for three more 4oz tasters which was 3 for 5 $
Peppermint victory at sea — this is a strong stout. I enjoy the regular victory at sea. Not sure if I enjoyed the peppermint I was just wondering if it would taste like a mint chocolate kind of thing lol
Sculpin on nitro — didn’t taste as smooth as I thought it would be
Wahoo — this is real good for a light beer
My friend has the Orange fathom, she wasted her money on it and didn’t taste it but I did. It was okay I thought it had a weird after taste
So onto the food we had the truffle fries that was absolutely amazing. And I ordered the duck nachos. The ingredients sounded weird but it was pretty good.
Def. would come back. And for those who said they are heavy handed with the pours. That is true! As someone else said «they are generous bastards!»

Condensed version of the Granddaddy of the locations on Carroll Road. Quick service and showcases their incredible selection of flavor-​packed beers.
Tried the ahi poke (yum!) and the mole burger (you better like mole!) which proved a very nice spot for dinner and out of towners. baby friendly with a ton of seating.

There are so many awesome ballast point beers are on tap here and it’s a really cool space. I got a flight to sample more of the specialty beers.
The food ordering set up is a little weird, some of my group had trouble bouncing between a few different lines so giving the place a small ding for that but generally the service seemed pretty quick.
Outdoor seating score: 4
Really cool outdoor seating area with a fire pit, heat lamps, and lots of comfortable seating.
The brewery is near the airport so the one downside is you hear a lot of air traffic while you’re out there.
Loved this place and the beer, would absolutely come back next time I’m in town!

I think that it would be best to preface this with the words,“when are we all going to stop pretending like beer tastes good?”
So, that’s out there now. I’m not a beer drinker. I’m just not. I drink water everyday. I think that about sums up my opinion of beer. That being said, I did taste a really good «Banana Foster» beer. Is that even supposed to be a thing?
It’s a sports bar, with few TVs. It has a gift shop? That’s odd. There are too few bartenders for a half mile long bar. The food is ok. The Calamari is… ok. The truffle fries are… wow…I’ve had way better. I mean, are we having a truffle oil shortage that I’m not aware of?
Take this review with a grain of salt. I’m not a beer person.
Yet, I’ve had service at a bar before. I know what good bar food taste like. So… there’s that.
P. S. I miss the days when a frisbee was just a fucking frisbee.
P. S.S. The clientele is truly tourist crap.

Five stars for the beer, 3 for the rest. Of course, come for the Victory at Sea specialty brews. The orange and coconut are divine. Didn’t have any food, but it looked decent. Seating is all sorts of crazy, so just wait around for people leaving the bar area and thank them when they leave. The restrooms are a bit of a mess. The ladies room is tiny and can get sloppy. No bueno. Oh well, hopefully you’ll still be giddy from the great beer that the other stuff won’t matter.

Hands down the best brewery I’ve been to in San Diego! Stopped by here early Thursday afternoon and the place was packed. Very friendly and helpful staff.
I was able to sample a few beers and had their cheese & charcuterie board, although it wasn’t that great. I’m sure the other food dishes are awesome though. This review is strictly about beer and service :)
Beers sampled:
Medusas Head, Grunion PA, Thai Chili Wahoo, Calm Before the Storm, Sculpin, and Longfin IPA.
All refreshing and delicious. Even decided to bring home 2 growlers as early Christmas gifts. I’ll definitely make a stop by here every time I visit SD.

Not only do they have great beer, the food is also delicious. Huge fan of the fish tacos. Kale salad is also great. My newest love is the Blue Cheese Duck Nachos, exactly that, with pickled onions (more of this would be better) and micro greens. Thought it was a prefect portion for one person.
My favorite beers are the Longfin Lager and Big Eye IPA. Try to come her every time I’m in San Diego.

Um YUM! You want comfort food without feeling TOOO COMFORTED (read fat) try Ballast. Sure they have great beers too and awesome cabanas that fit 20 people for $ 100 rental fee (awesome because there is no food minimum; you don’t even have to order food!) But the food is just yummy.
I really like their trio of 3 wedge salads. The bacon and blue cheese is perfect.
There is always ample seating and the place is always abuzz with people but never too crowded. I’ve always been able to find a seat.
Throw an event here. Have a business meeting. Meet with friends. I’ve done it all and this place is that versatile to satisfy.

I’m no connoisseur of beer, so I will review this place based on some of the food we had, and the overall atmosphere and enjoyment I had of the beers.
They had spicy beers here, which isn’t something I see at most breweries I’ve been too. The spiciness actually makes the beer a lot more palatable to me, since I’m not that big of a beer drinker to begin with, so I quite enjoy some of the hotter ones.
The food was pretty decent too, and the atmosphere was nice to just talk and try different things.

After last year’s trip to the Ballast Point tasting room, I wondered if my review was a little harsh. After a return visit, I’ve determined it wasn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Ballast Point beers. The Sculpin is probably one of my favorite beers. I went nuts trying to track down the Grapefruit Sculpin when it was new to Philly.
In my dream trip, I would have arrived to the tasting room and ordered the Pumpkin Down. Unfortunately, they no longer had it. When I asked if that meant just on tap or if they had bottles, the guy said they were completely out. It is what it is, however I was crushed. Although not super crowded, I felt rushed by the bartender when trying to come up with my «plan B.» He did nothing wrong, but I felt he could have been a little more personable to someone who traveled cross country doting on their beer.
I went with the Dorado since it’s not too prevalent back home. While not the brew I sought after, it was excellent and I was happy again.
Bottom line, I’m still not majorly impressed by this tasting room although I’m massively impressed by their beers. Perhaps if I sat in the outside patio area and was humored a little by the staff, I could have been swayed a bit. I’m probably going to buy a six pack of Sculpin at home tonight, no harm was had.

So amazing. Must try if you’re in San Diego.
Came during the peak of summer when it was really hot. The store wasn’t air conditioned well to accommodate the heat and the people.
The plan was to park here and then use the bike rental thing that’s nearby to bike around the rest of the city. But the bike rental thing didn’t work properly grr. so we ended up just driving back home.

I found heaven.
My friend and I went twice on our trip to San Diego.
Saturday Night: The place was pretty busy but the layout has plenty of seats and areas to hang out. We ordered two flights, three 4oz pours of any beers of your choosing.
Monday Afternoon: Stopped in before the MNF game and there was a good amount of people inside. There were so many different beers on tap since our Friday visit and when I inquired about the changes. They informed me that there was an anniversary party the night before and a lot of the specialty beers were made specifically for the party. So we got REALLY lucky.
We ordered food: Bavarian Style Pretzels served with Sculpin beer cheese, Ballast Point Burger with fries & Tuna Tartare. Oh and we had two flights each as well. :-)
The staff was extremely friendly and knowledgeable of the beers. If you order a flight of different beer styles they will tell you what order you should drink them in. The food was great and the beer was EXCEPTIONAL.
If you are a fan of beer, Ballast Point is a to do MUST if you are ever in the San Diego area.

Indra Kunindra. Seriously. If you’re up for something different, check that one out. It’s a love it or hate it kind of beer, but if you love it you’ll LOVE it.
Anyway, just had to get that off my chest. Definitely check this place out if you’re in the area. We went through the menu and selected a flight of six, and we weren’t disappointed by any of them.
After that, we had a couple of full-​size glasses (including the Indra Kunindra, obviously). We didn’t stay to eat, but the menu looked pretty good!

I love Ballast Point beer… I just didn’t like the setup of this brewery.
You have to wait in line to order your beer at the bar. And the line is so long! You have to get lucky to snag a seat at the bar. Even if you’re sitting at the bar, it is so hard to get the attention of any bartender because they’re swamped with people in line placing their beer orders.
I just felt really overwhelmed here and couldn’t enjoy my beer as much as I’d like. If you order a beer, take a seat, and would like to order another glass, how inconvenient is it that you have to wait back in line for it? Not down.

Me gustaron mucho las cervezas, pero eso de estarse parando y estar pidiendo me hace darle una estrella menos, crispy calamari muy rico, charcuteríe & cheese no me gusto mucho que digamos, pero el ambiente es muy agradable.