Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Where to pre-game the new Padres season

New spots to consider for an East Village pub crawl

Beers and a wall of lightning spewing ducks at the Duck Foot tasting room
Beers and a wall of lightning spewing ducks at the Duck Foot tasting room

The Padres have returned for 2019 and things are going to be different this year. Manny Machado different, sure, but I’m talking pre-game beer different. Since opening day 2018, the craft beer landscape surrounding Petco Park has changed significantly.

Ballpark neighbors Mission Brewery and Half Door Brewing remain top pre-game choices: Mission for its party-friendly brick warehouse space, Half Door for its Victorian patio setting and mastery of hazy IPAs. But Monkey Paw Brewing has closed, and four new craft brewing bars have opened. Here’s a look at your new options this baseball season.

  • Amplified Ale Works Kitchen + Beer Garden
  • 4150 Mission Blvd #208

If you show up early enough to grab a spot, the clear new favorite would be the Amplified outdoor restaurant and bar overlooking Fault Line Park, a seven-minute walk from the ballpark. Check the board for a pair of crisp Amplified lagers to match a sunny afternoon: Licensed to Pils or the less bitter Pocket Full of Helles. But it’s tough to go wrong with any IPA. Mediterranean food is on the menu, and they serve a full bar, in case you’re with non-beer fans, and there’s a coffee bar for your designated driver.

Sponsored
Sponsored
  • Duck Foot Brewing Co. | East Village
  • 550 Park Blvd Suite #2104

If you take the trolley to the ballgame (the smart way to go, by the way), step off at Park and Market and you’ll find yourself in front of the Duck Foot Brewing Co. tasting room and restaurant, a six-minute walk from the park. They installed a gluten free restaurant to go with Duck Foot’s flavorful lineup of gluten reduced beers, including sharable snacks and gluten-free cheesy bread. Ask if they’re still pouring Old Bro, a dry hopped hazy pale ale with notes of melon and berry; or Slow Burn, an earthy, chili spiced IPA. Most days you’ll find the Red Ale on draught, both carbonated and nitro.

  • Little Miss Brewing - East Village
  • 545 Park Blvd.

Just across the tracks from Duck Foot, another Miramar brewery recently opened a tasting room. Little Miss Brewing tasting rooms tend to have World War Two theme, and this one’s appears to be a cinder block bunker. But there’s colorful artwork all over the walls (and floors), and I found all beers half off before a recent home game. Fruit beer fans will appreciate a Grapefruit Blitz, a kettle sour that drinks like an adult Fresca, and Desert Fox, a wheat beer flavored with orange and vanilla that calls to mind a creamsicle.

  • Melvin Brewing San Diego Brewpub
  • 34 14th St Suite 109 and 110

Originally a Wyoming brewery that rose to fame on the IPAs of a San Diego brewing legend, this Melvins operates as a local brewpub that also serves the brand’s core beers. The venue mainly operates as a restaurant and bar, serving a unique combination of burgers and Thai food. But on game days they push tables together to make friends of Padres fans, a nine-minute walk from Petco Park. The best beer is the celebrated 2x4 IPA, which is at least as good as its reputation suggests. However, at 10-percent alcohol, it’s not a pre-gamer, unless you plan to nap through the middle innings. Better to try the house IPA, Tiger Style, at half the proof. Or stick to the Pilsgnar pilsner. Save the big IPAs for postgame.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Houston ex-mayor donates to Toni Atkins governor fund

LGBT fights in common
Beers and a wall of lightning spewing ducks at the Duck Foot tasting room
Beers and a wall of lightning spewing ducks at the Duck Foot tasting room

The Padres have returned for 2019 and things are going to be different this year. Manny Machado different, sure, but I’m talking pre-game beer different. Since opening day 2018, the craft beer landscape surrounding Petco Park has changed significantly.

Ballpark neighbors Mission Brewery and Half Door Brewing remain top pre-game choices: Mission for its party-friendly brick warehouse space, Half Door for its Victorian patio setting and mastery of hazy IPAs. But Monkey Paw Brewing has closed, and four new craft brewing bars have opened. Here’s a look at your new options this baseball season.

  • Amplified Ale Works Kitchen + Beer Garden
  • 4150 Mission Blvd #208

If you show up early enough to grab a spot, the clear new favorite would be the Amplified outdoor restaurant and bar overlooking Fault Line Park, a seven-minute walk from the ballpark. Check the board for a pair of crisp Amplified lagers to match a sunny afternoon: Licensed to Pils or the less bitter Pocket Full of Helles. But it’s tough to go wrong with any IPA. Mediterranean food is on the menu, and they serve a full bar, in case you’re with non-beer fans, and there’s a coffee bar for your designated driver.

Sponsored
Sponsored
  • Duck Foot Brewing Co. | East Village
  • 550 Park Blvd Suite #2104

If you take the trolley to the ballgame (the smart way to go, by the way), step off at Park and Market and you’ll find yourself in front of the Duck Foot Brewing Co. tasting room and restaurant, a six-minute walk from the park. They installed a gluten free restaurant to go with Duck Foot’s flavorful lineup of gluten reduced beers, including sharable snacks and gluten-free cheesy bread. Ask if they’re still pouring Old Bro, a dry hopped hazy pale ale with notes of melon and berry; or Slow Burn, an earthy, chili spiced IPA. Most days you’ll find the Red Ale on draught, both carbonated and nitro.

  • Little Miss Brewing - East Village
  • 545 Park Blvd.

Just across the tracks from Duck Foot, another Miramar brewery recently opened a tasting room. Little Miss Brewing tasting rooms tend to have World War Two theme, and this one’s appears to be a cinder block bunker. But there’s colorful artwork all over the walls (and floors), and I found all beers half off before a recent home game. Fruit beer fans will appreciate a Grapefruit Blitz, a kettle sour that drinks like an adult Fresca, and Desert Fox, a wheat beer flavored with orange and vanilla that calls to mind a creamsicle.

  • Melvin Brewing San Diego Brewpub
  • 34 14th St Suite 109 and 110

Originally a Wyoming brewery that rose to fame on the IPAs of a San Diego brewing legend, this Melvins operates as a local brewpub that also serves the brand’s core beers. The venue mainly operates as a restaurant and bar, serving a unique combination of burgers and Thai food. But on game days they push tables together to make friends of Padres fans, a nine-minute walk from Petco Park. The best beer is the celebrated 2x4 IPA, which is at least as good as its reputation suggests. However, at 10-percent alcohol, it’s not a pre-gamer, unless you plan to nap through the middle innings. Better to try the house IPA, Tiger Style, at half the proof. Or stick to the Pilsgnar pilsner. Save the big IPAs for postgame.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Too $hort & DJ Symphony, Peppermint Beach Club, Holidays at the Zoo

Events December 19-December 21, 2024
Next Article

Born & Raised offers a less decadent Holiday Punch

Cognac serves to lighten the mood
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader