Helix Brewing

Great beers, wonderful atmosphere and people. Try the flight, all of their beers are distinct and worth a taste!

I was excited to try out this brewery after hearing about its awesome craft beer selection from my friend Jeff. Last night we stopped by for a couple pints… Wow… Amazing quality craft beer and great atmosphere. Staff was super nice… The place is very modern. We stopped by many breweries last night to celebrate my friends bday, this was by far the best! We even went back today before we left town to stop by and grab a growler to go! My favorite beer the mosaicolohic beer (it’s a double IPA 7.5%) and the active IPa. If your in SD go here u won’t be disappointed !!

We have been here twice so far. Love the décor and the fact that it kid and pet friendly. The reason I am giving four stars and not five is the following:
1. The first time we went, it was pretty cold out. All of the indoor seating was taken so we sat outside. They have two outdoor heaters and we asked someone to turn on. After 20 minutes, my husband finally turned one on by himself. Everyone outside seemed to flock to it so it was definitely needed.
2. I love that it is kid friendly and have seen a lot of kids there. I didn’t see any high chairs and recommend they get some to keep the parents coming back.

Great little place in La Mesa, blink and you’ll miss it. Really tasty dark beers and friendly people. We had two beer flights (4 4oz. tastes) and played some games. It was a little rainy, but there is cornhole and outdoor seating as well.

You know the feeling you get when you walk into a space and you say to yourself «Alright!»
Well last night I said that to myself as I walked down the alley past the the Bean Bag toss game and into their Courtyard. It was 6pm on a chilly east county evening and I had been meaning to go to Helix since I saw the permits go up on the door a long time ago, I should not have waited this long. Nice open space with plenty of seating on High tops around the large shade tree, long tables square tables etc. Well spaced with elbow room outside. Inside, lots of exposed brick and the Stainless Kettles at the far end and a large window into the keg room. Concrete bar and Old Timey light bulbs on Hemp rope finishes the Industrial look. Very nice use of indoor seating too.
They were rather busy last night, but, we were able to get right to the bar and order right away. Started with the King Rufus Stout and an Honor not Inner Porter. Both were very nice! Also had the Acid Drop and Black Eye Rye, which both represented their style very well. Acid drop in particular would be great this summer on that back patio!
God Save the cuisine was parked out front and we ordered some chips from them as a snack, which hit the spot. A band called Vimana was also playing, they set a nice mood for the joint.
Overall, the 4 adults and 4 kids in our party had a very nice time.
We will be back there soon and recommend that you try it out too

UPDATE:
I gave it another shot. I didn’t want to but I did. I went in, tried to order a beer– which I have done 100’s of times before and would brag I am rather good at, but could not get anyone to take my order. Then, when the guy sees me, he looks back down at the iPad and starts tapping away.
I stood there for 10 minutes. It was kind of busy, but I was the only one there looking to order. The rest of the bar patrons were yapping away and not facing the bar– typically great indicator they need a beverage.
Swear to you… I stood there 15 total minutes and then walked out. The food truck had a shrimp on it… yet… they had no food with shrimp. I found that to be weird.
Hey, I gave it another shot! I was even willing to eat food. Not shrimp, apparently, but something else that they may have carried.

This place is legit. The beer here is soooooo good! No food but great beer. I hear they have food trucks on the weekends. I had the «Happy Red Ale» Slightly hoppy with a yummy malty after taste. Enjoy. This is a hidden gem.

5 stars for the King Rufus Stout!
The guys working were very nice.
The place was clean.
And the beer was great!
I will be back!

Our visit was a Saturday around 7pm.
For things that the brewery can control, they definitely were worth the visit. The beer was pretty good. We’ll definitely be back for more of that.
The environment was okay. There were a LOT of kids. More than I have ever seen at any brewery. As a parent, I’m sure this is great, but they were taking up the main walk ways and it created a bit of a distraction. There was also a live band that wasn’t very good, just another distraction.
There are a lot of tables and stools and they’re all relatively comfortable.
Service is okay. Everybody we encountered was nice enough, but didn’t seem too stoked to be there. It was overwhelmingly busy, so this doesn’t count against them.
God Save the Cuisine was there that night. They have different food trucks and seem to keep that updated on their Instagram/​Twitter, which is rad.

Rad. Another local brewery in the hood. Even uh, rad… der… yet, is that it is within a few hundred feet from another local brewery also located in the confines of an otherwise craft beer-​less corner of La Mesa. Things are definitely starting to look good around this area now.
Sometimes it isn’t the size that matters, but what you do with what you have that proves impressive. At least that’s what I tell the ladies anyway. However, what may not work for me, definitely works in the case of Helix Brewing.
Helix doesn’t have quite as much space as their neighboring brewery but what they actually did in regards to the space is really impressive. You can tell a lot of hard work went into the place. The inside is moderately sized with some tables and a very cool, rustic bar/​beer menu complete with chalked in names, descriptions and prices accompanied with ropes and Edison bulbs for décor. The outside is a really nice, open seating area with tables, some planted trees and even some misters scattered about for when the weather is extremely warm. Now that I think about it, there actually is a pretty good amount of space… Anyway, overall, I really like the layout here as it provides for a very relaxing and enjoyable drinking experience.
I came here with my brother and a friend a few weeks ago and they had 8 beers on tap when I was there. They were a solid variety ranging from a very light Bavarian Weizen, a Pale Ale and a tasty Red. In regards to IPAs, they had a session, Rye and Black Rye. All of which were enjoyable but I really love Rye IPAs. They also had a nice Porter as well as and Oatmeal stout. An outstanding selection all of which were good enough to not recall any real clear favorites but since I wasn’t driving, after my taster flight I did go back for a Red and The Bavarian.
To really knock it out of the park, their pricing is excellent. They offer 4, 8 and 16 ounce drinks and some of their pints are as low as $ 4-​$ 5, which is stellar for craft beer. The staff is extremely cool as well.
Anyway, I really love this brewery due to the fact that they have a lot going for them. They’re very local for me, they have great beer, and in addition to their cool layout, the staff is excellent as well.
I’ve been to several breweries but it’s always the ones closest to home that I hold closest my heart… err…liver. Anyway, I’m counting down the days until my next visit. See ya there.

Interesting location.
At first I was confused by it.
I had to double back and one way street it but I found parking right in front.
Then, I felt a little weird stumbling through the cornhole game to get to the bar. Dudes were cool about it though.
After an awkward beer ordering situation I tasted my beer, made my way to the beer garden, and calmed the F down.
This place is so chill.
Nice music, fresh air, sunny garden action and GOOD BEER.
I’ve been to a few obnoxious breweries lately with flat nitro beer and hipster crowd banter so I expected nothing less.
Helix is just better than the rest.
What is meant to be enjoyed here is what it is.
Good beer in a chill environment.

Thanks for the great beer Kayla and Cameron! My favorites were Black Eye Rye and the Pale!
I would love to see trivia at your new location!

Love this place — my husband and I have been there a bunch of times… super nice owners/​staff, really nice space (they did a great job with the design/​aesthetic), great prices, nice crowd! Great variety of food trucks which is nice! Want to give this place a 4+++++++! Only suggestion would be to add some non-​alcoholic drinks (canned soda even would be fine) for the DD or kids. Love the Acid Drop
— can’t wait to try some different beers from them.

I want to give this place 5 stars BUT I’ve only been there once and didn’t get to try all of their beers. What I can say based on my first experience there is that the beers that I tried were delicious and the place had a really cool vibe about it. They had live music on the Saturday night when I went there and the place was jammed packed! The fact that it was crowded didn’t hinder my experience at all, in fact, it actually enhanced it. The crowd that was there was awesome (like most craft brewery crowds). Some people were playing corn hole outside while some people were actually dancing to the live music which was actually a nice site to see.
I will most definitely be coming back here, but from what I can see this is definitely the best Craft Brewery in the east county of San Diego.

Helix brewing is now one of my top 3 favorite breweries in San Diego. They have a really cool almost New Orleans vibe going on with the brick warehouse being converted and the vines growing in the back. I really like that they have 10 beers already on top and ready to go I really enjoyed the red and the oatmeal stout. Kinda packed and a lot of kids but I enjoyed the blues band and food truck. Will be back often.

Wow!
Clean, cool, friendly, mister system on the patio, great music, and the beer is unique and refined. What a unique little place. They also have food trucks to keep people comfortable. I will definitely be back. Actually, this place is giving all my other favorite beer bars a run for their money. — Watch out competition!, this place is on fire!

Please go to their IG account @helixbrewingco and look at the oldest pictures, they show what the space originally looked like. Wow, right?
I like the «industrial backyard garden» vibe and think that the lighting outside works with the laid back casual flora. Inside it’s more industrial with the sort of nautical rope and rebar foot rest (dig it). The bathrooms have the recently popular shared sink area outside, great for calling people out for not washing their hands, but the bathroom doors need that foot press/​hook thing. I haven’t been curious enough to ask about the green house looking thing in the back, too busy drinking beer.
I recently suggested they install a chalk board for score keeping on the bag toss and security cameras throughout. It’s uncommon for a brewery to get broken into, but I’m looking at the place (1 way street, close freeway access, poor lighting around location, places around them keep very different hours, close neighbors and mostly street parking are all things burglars look for). What are they going to steal the beer, no, but B&E’s are not to be overlooked. They keep water for dogs seeing as they have a brewery dog Tucker and water for humans on the bar with cups. If you ask nicely they may give you cold water they keep in the cooler. I kind of liked the fake plastic wooden topped steel high chairs. I wasn’t a huge fan of the entrance on the right and having to walk thru a bag toss game each visit, but assuming people aren’t DB’s it should be fine.
They are getting more merch and growlers very soon (middle of September). Prices are reasonable and their menu of 8 is not too big or small for their capacity. I’m glad they have a stout on nitro offered along with a variety of ale’s and ipa’s. I love a good IPA, but some places forget not everyone likes them as much.
I was not a fan of their Wiezen or their Ale, found them boring and not refreshing. I did like the Red Ale, great mouth feel, body. The IPA wasn’t a true West Coast which would turn away hop heads. The Rye had bite which I liked, but the black rye was bold, fantastic, filling, like a stout with a Double IPA fill. The oatmeal in the stout was hinting and the porter was a tad forgettable. Great names, nothing too crazy. Dog and kid friendly to a certain extent, not much in the way of ventilation, natural cross or artificial. I like them a lot and despite people’s concern both them and Bolt will do just fine being this close together. It’s not like Breweries are failing in SD, which means were not saturated and Helix is a welcome addition to both East County and San Diego’s brewery family.

I finally got a chance to stop by Helix Brewing Co., and I was pleasantly surprised. I really like the character of the building. They’ve managed to keep the industrial feel of the neighborhood intact, while creating a space that feels warm and open. Obviously a lot of thought was put into the planning and layout of this space. It’s definitely patron friendly. There is indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating is shaded. If you’re sitting inside, they do have a tv for viewing sports. There’s also a water cooler with cups for patrons to help themselves. It’s dog friendly.
Right now they have eight beers on tap. We got tasters and tried all eight. I would never hold myself out as a beer expert, so I usually just ask Walter to order for me since he’s good at figuring out what I like. Even with the tasters he can predict which ones I will like. Neither of us liked the Acid Drop. I know that for me it was just too sweet tasting, I’m just not into that. I did like the Red ‘N Active and the Active IPA from the first set of tasters. On the second set of tasters I preferred the Galaxy Rye and the Black Eye Rye. Both of which were IPAs, I guess someone is sneaking them into my palate. I didn’t like the King Rufus Porter, which was a chocolate rye porter. I’ve tried other chocolate porters and this one just didn’t do it for me. I did think the Honor Not Inner, the oatmeal stout, was smooth and enjoyable. We ended up ordering pints of all the IPAs and sharing.
Service is very friendly here. They just recently opened. I called ahead on the Sunday afternoon to ask if they were kid friendly and they said yes. I brought my son with a bag of Legos and he sat at the table and did his own thing. They have a small amount of apparel available for sale, they did say they have more coming in this week. Parking is tight. You need to park in spaces that aren’t reserved for the nearby businesses, ie, not the tow away spaces. If you’re not from or familiar with the area, it may be confusing the first time you come here. Don’t worry, your GPS isn’t tripping. It’s just a crazy business loop. Welcome to La Mesa. Have some beers and enjoy life.

I have to say that this new brewery is not only a great addition to the East County collection of breweries, but the greater San Diego area as well, given they are making some fine brews.
I had the opportunity to try two: the Helix Pale Ale and the Galaxy Rye IPA. They both had their great moment. The Pale Ale was a lighter roast and had a good balance between a malt flavor and hops. It was light than IPA which I liked very much.
On the other hand, the Galaxy Rye IPA was a big surprise because I am normally not a IPA drinker and this got me hooked! The rye worked really well and even gave the beer a slight citrus finished with its full bodied bodied flavor. I have to admit, it went down easily as it favored my palate and provided a great quiet buzz, so to speak.
The brewery has a great outside patio with misters to keep you cool on those warm days. The employees were all up beat and friendly. I would especially like to thanks the young lady who turned my friend and I to the Galaxy IPA. Great stuff!

Sweet new brewery in town ! Slightly small but very unique selection of beers ranging from Bavarian Weizens to a Chocolate Stout. Mostly IPAs and Ale here. Sweet patio with enough shading and bags to play. Inside seating available with open windows. Vibe is «chill» and non pretentious. Tucker, the brewery’s dog, roams around freely– super sweet, loves attention but is independent. Soft opening came with amazing tri-​tip sandwiches and spicy beans. Hoping they will have a food truck around ! Parking may be a little tough, the streets have some side parking parallel to businesses that are not marked as Private Only… so watch for those ! Thank you all that made this happen !!!