The one thing the central coast lacks is a home brew supply store. Most of supplies came from a…read morelocal vendor when I lived in NorCal. Since the move south and retirement I told myself I would get back into brewing. on my most recent trip to San Diego, I was fortunate enough to visit a few breweries in Vista and stopped by SoCal after seeing an AleSmith West Coast IPA recipe featured on their site, I called ahead of time, and the gal was nice enough to start filling my order. My brother-in-law and I arrived and walked in, greeted by the owner's mom. I told her I had called and she was currently milling my grain for me. It had been near 6 years since my last home brew (www.contributingfactorbrewing.com) and I was excited to bust out another all grain recipe. Now if I can only remember the steps. But that too was included in the recipe. Really a great, one stop show for all you beer needs. To be honest, I had no idea on the price but when I didn't have any other options available at the time, this worked out. That said, I have bookmarked them for future purchases, either online or in person. They might be a few dollars more, but it's a local, family run business. Who can't get behind that. So, thanks SoCal for my brewing supplies. Looking forward to an 8 hour brew day and getting my feet wet in the world of home brewing!

Super happy with SoCal Brewing Supply! It has been a few years but I am getting back into…read morehomebrewing. It is great to have such a thoughful, well-stocked, knowledgeable, customer-focused brewing supply operation right here in North County. Their selection is great, their website for ordering grains is intuitive and easy, my order was completed on time, and their customer support and communications was terrific. Highly recommended.

I am not sure why I never reviewed Bear Roots. I have been a "loyalist" member since I moved to…read moreVista, in late 2019, They remained opened during COVID: you could go refill your growler on the curb, that was fantastic! Welcoming environment, super clean and overly friendly staff, we always have fun at Bear Roots! They now have a pool table and many board games, special events (loyalist parties, trivia, music...) But most importantly... the beers! I love their light blondes/lager, the Mexican and Italian ones are fantastic! My mom loves their IPA (the "Deep Rooted"). Regulars are very friendly as well. Highly recommended!

Good beer and good times here! Came last Thursday and they had a food truck and a dj spinning salsa…read moremusic! There are also board games to play. Extra points for being dog friendly! Thanks Yadi

It's a subsidiary of Bear Root brewery (the main brewery) located on S. Santa Fe…read more 90% of the staff who will great you there also work at the main location. The place features a smaller selection of beers than the one on S. Santa Fe (detailed menus are available online) however the decor and vibe is delectable! (lot of green, wood, trees, private room...) Good ambiance, friendly patrons, this place features board games and also weekly trivia. You will also find plenty of food options around. Note that your "loyalist badge" works in every bear roots location!

I went there Sunday afternoon.. According to the sign in the window, and what I saw online, they…read morewere supposed to open. This is the second time I have tried to stop by and had the same experience. There are plenty of good breweries around. I'll not be going back..

I was in need for some Mead. Twisted Horn came to mind since I came across it on Eventbrite on…read moredifferent occasions. Honestly, it was kind of tricky locating it based on my GPS but I found it. There was no problems with parking which was great. As compared to the outside, inside was a very pleasant surprise. I loved the decor and Nordic/Viking vibes. The friendly guy behind the counter was really helpful in my decision to go with Musashi. I took a sip and thought to myself, "Ohhh Mead INDEED!". What a nice escape!! My honey-wine was a winner. To the Yelp Community at large, you're in for a swwweet treat. :-)

This place is a gem. Very clean and organized, a cool Nordic vibe and they have a ton of board and…read morecards games to play with friends, and trivia night. Their flights have number tags by the glasses, and you order cider by number. The meads and ciders are really good quality, the flavors are complex and not overly sweet. The servers are very knowledgeable and helpful about all their beverages. Very cool place to just visit and relax and have a drink.

Raging Cider and Mead continues to not disappoint! Every time I visit here we are kindly greeted…read moreand served great product. It's a cozy establishment where you'll meet and make new friends fairly quickly here. We did! On our most recent visit we purposefully planned a meet up with a few friends of ours. Perfect Homey and cozy place to do just that. This business hosts a fun movie night on Thursdays. Although they don't have food on this night...you are allowed to bring in outside food and snacks. Our new friends provided popcorn for all the guests to share. That was awesome! I love places that bring these things together. Nice people and great brews! No brawls but only good vibes and laughter found here! The movie really helped too. We all had a blast. We got a flight of cider and a flight of the mead. Both styles of brews were great. I learned that the honey is sourced from vista and Escondido. Their product tends to be on the drier side and the mead more semisweet than too sweet. They do have fish fry-day on Fridays and we will come back for that in the very near future! I'm a sucker for fish n chips (with malt vinegar) and food when I'm enjoying a good brew. It's another hidden gem located in the furniture store area in San Marcos. On our previous visits we took advantage of the garden-esque patio seating in the front. Looking forward to our next visit here!

Raging Cider and Mead Co. in San Marcos is the spot for mead and cider lovers! This small and…read moreintimate tasting room specializes in high-quality, small-batch mead and cider, with rotating seasonal flavors that keep things fun. From dry to semi-sweet to fruity or spiced, there's something for everyone. Standouts include their crisp hibiscus cider, traditional mead, and unique barrel-aged options. The space is small, but welcoming, with knowledgeable staff who love to share what they do. It's a great place to try authentic cider and mead. If you don't know where to begin, ask for recommendations based of your palate. They've got a dog-friendly patio, which is a huge plus, and there's plenty of parking, making it super easy to stop by. The patio is shaded and covered by passionfruit vines. There's even an apple tree too! Raging also hosts a variety of events, like trivia nights and food truck pairings, that make each visit a little different. If you're in the area (or even if you're not!), it's well worth the visit. Support a local, family-oriented business doing something unique, and doing it well! Check their hours, since they are only open Friday through Sunday.

Great experience, fun and chill vibes and amazing food…read more Stopped by on a Sunday afternoon after some errands. Tried a flight of a few beers and ordered wings (Buffalo was perfect, not too saucy) and carne asada fries (great blend of cheeses, generous meat portion and pico) - all were delicious Such a cool place, plenty of tv's, games and seating. We will be back!

Great atmosphere, beer options, and food! My friends and I love to come here for trivia night…read more Really great way to connect with friends and/or meet new friends. Really easy to order inside and receive a text when your food is ready. I like to switch it up with different food options but one of my favorites is the Huli Huli chicken sandwich. Just a great size, wonderfully flavorful, and filling.

This place is small but I love it because they have music but it's not too loud. Seltzer is so good…read moreand the beer is awesome. Super friendly atmosphere.

This place is pretty nice. They have some really strong beers which gets you really messed up. No…read morefood but they have nice snacks and plenty of tvs with the game on. They have indoor and outdoors seating. All in all very chill spot.

Stopped by Colab Public House recently and it did not disappoint. Easily one of the best Old…read moreFashioneds I've had in North County--perfectly balanced and smooth. The vibe here is always on point--laid back, good energy, and a great place to hang out. Really excited to see Mexico City Cuisine back too. The food was excellent--fresh, flavorful, and definitely worth coming back for. This spot just keeps getting better every time I visit.

Honestly, what a terrible experience…read more We are new to the area and decided to try this winery this past Friday, hoping we had found a place we could enjoy and return to. The wine was good, and the redheaded bartender was genuinely kind and pleasant. Unfortunately, that's where the positives end. A woman with curly hair came storming over to her husband, screaming and cursing at him in front of everyone. Then, as if that wasn't enough, she turned her attention toward the couple he had been talking with and started yelling at them too. It completely destroyed the atmosphere. We came to a winery to enjoy some wine and relax--not sit through someone's loud, aggressive public argument. It was embarrassing, uncomfortable, and incredibly disruptive. I couldn't believe this was happening. What should have been a nice Friday evening turned into an extremely uncomfortable experience. Good wine and a nice bartender don't make up for an atmosphere like that. We are new to the area, and unfortunately, this was our first impression. We won't be back and definitely won't recommend this establishment.

We had an awesome time on the patio with our server Corinne. She gave great recommendations and…read moremade it easy with all the kids we brought. Food was great on top of it all. Thank you

We visited on Wednesday after spending the day at Legoland. I purposely held off on writing this…read morereview because I wanted to see if I'd feel differently after having some time to reflect. Unfortunately, after thinking it over, I still feel the same way. Our family decided to come to Karl Strauss Brewery for dinner since it was close by. We were looking forward to relaxing and enjoying a meal after a fun day at the park. When we arrived, the hostess was very friendly and got us seated quickly, which we appreciated. Unfortunately, that's where our positive experience ended. The restaurant was extremely busy, and it took quite a while before our server came to greet us. We were able to order waters, but even those took a long time to arrive. After another long wait, we finally ordered our appetizers. Our original server, who I believe said her name was Noemi or Naomi, came across as overwhelmed, stressed, and like she didn't enjoy her job. While I understand restaurants get busy, her attitude made us feel like we were an inconvenience. She wasn't very attentive, especially to our kids, who had been at Legoland all day and were extremely hungry. She never came back to take their food order, and we found ourselves waiting longer and longer without any communication. Eventually, another server took over our table. She was incredibly kind, friendly, and apologetic. We explained that we had already been waiting a long time and just wanted to place our food order to go so we could get our hungry kids back to the hotel. She handled the situation professionally and did her best to help, which we truly appreciated. If you're dining with young children, I'd keep in mind that service may not be the best fit if your family needs an attentive server or timely service. Waiting extended periods without updates can be especially difficult for tired, hungry kids. It's disappointing because the restaurant itself seemed nice, and the hostess and second server were both wonderful. Unfortunately, the experience with our original server left a bad impression. While I understand busy nights happen, the lack of attentiveness and communication made for a frustrating experience, and because of that, I don't think we'll be returning.