Acoustic Ales

I’ve been wanting to visit this place for a long while now after having several of their beers around town and at their Encinitas Ale House affiliate. All of their beers are quite good and have funky musical names (e.g. Mosh Pit), and they have some amazing ones only available at their brewery. The location is easily accessible off the red line trolley between downtown and Old Town stations. Great lineup of drafts you can sample small pours, and catch a game on TV at the bar or play some chess or sit in some cushy chairs in the living room seating. The staff were friendly. I highly recommend this place, and shall return.

Beers were pretty good. In a town that is IPA crazy this is a nice departure from bitter beers. I got a flight of 4 beers as a taster and enjoyed 3 of the 4. Very cool atmosphere. Small area that is not too loud or Ballast Point busy. Perfect for the introvert that has anxiety in large groups. I would definitely go back. Highly recommend this place.

Came here during a microbrew crawl of sorts (on the way to Modern Times) on a weekday night, and found their beers to be mediocre, but their service and ambiance a full 5 stars.
Discovered Acoustic when I was mapping my way from the SAN Airport towards La Jolla area, and found that there were a few microbreweries worthy of checking out on the drive back up. We stopped by Acoustic and were pleasantly surprised by their large selection and variety of beers from IPA’s to stouts! There is free wifi and one awkward bathroom for your excretory needs. I loved our server, who was a cheerful and respectful lady taptender. She gave us a lot of time and provided the perfect amount of information for our first-​timer experience.
I enjoyed their sofa couches (in one corner), but they also had plenty of bar seating and a few high-​top bar stools/​tables for smaller groups. It’s a cozy space, with customers sitting in close proximity to one another. They should have ambiant rock/​indie music playing in the background… that seems like the vibe of this place. But they also have dusty Scrabble if you are desperate to play some games with your fellow beer lovers.
We easily found street parking outside, and the directions to this place were not hard to miss. I would totally come here with friends or even a small crew if I find myself near this place again. However, the crowd here seems a bit older (30 yo+). My friends and I were definitely the only 20 year olds in this joint. But that’s always refreshing, because it’s comforting being around a more mature group of beer appreciators.

They have a few selections that are not terribly Hoppy. The place is nice and clean. Good service when we went. Beers were good. All in all a decent brewery.

There is a parking garage underneath the little plaza that you can pay for or you can park on the side street.
Came in and the first thing I noticed was how cozy and rustic the place was. We were greeted by the super friendly bartender who helped my friend and I choose a flight of beers. After ordering, we sat down in the some comfy leather couches to chat. The flight came in this awkward tray which made it difficult to bring from the bar to the coffee table. It didn’t deter me from the super hoppy beers. My favorite was their double IPA and Pale Ale, their darker beers tasted almost like a wine/​whiskey. There wasn’t too many people there but those who came seemed like regulars or people visiting from out of town. They had multiple games and boxing matches going on in different parts of the bar. I would come back to try more of their beers but would want someone else to drive because of how strong their beers are.

We came in looking for your beer «The Groupie» but they were out at the time. Our bar tender Jordan was awesome and was able to recommend other beers that were delicious. Will be back again!

Nice brewery with large comfortable leather couches. I sat at the bar and I noticed a lot of first dates occurring. The beer is great. I got the flight and took home the brown ale that had James Brown on the bottle, I forgot the name. Prices are good, a flight which had an upgraded beer and a bottle to go came out to about $ 20.

My fav. Place to get a local brew. These guys know what they’re doing. Always a friendly face at their tasting room

Awesome brewery! Great comfortable seating. Dog friendly (they gave him treats too!) wide selection of beers– amazing Belgian style and casks on tap. Adam the bartender was a super cool dude. Highly recommend this place for a nice pint!

Reunited with some friends here. Had a couple great beers with peanuts. Friendly bartenders. Smaller than i expected… they have comfy couches and can get super hot inside on a summer day.
Anyway… I recommend for a good happy hour with friends.

Type.. .. .. .. .. .Brewery Tasting Room + Lounge (?)
Location.. .. .…Old Mission Brewery complex
Prices.. .. .. .…Normal
Tap Selection.…18 House Beers
Bottle Selection. .Bottled house beers to go
Full Bar.. .. .. .. .No
Samplers.. .. .. .Yes
Full Pours.. .. .. .Yes
Beer Level.. .…Average to Good
Food Level.. .. …n/​a
Staff.. .. .. .. .. .Friendly, engaging
Growlers.. .. .. …Yes
Noise Level.. .. .Chill, Bar & Lounge
Décor.. .. .. .…Dark carpet and leather sofas
Good for Kids.. .Who brings their kids to all of these bars?
Parking.. .. .. . …Street parking, possibly private lot that was never found
Cash Only.. .…No
Recommended. .Yes
Comments: Acoustic is located in a totally weird location. It is inside the old Mission brewery historic brick warehouse that looks abandoned, but has been revitalized. I didn’t see any signs for Acoustic anywhere so just had to trust Google maps. Now, finally, it seems they put up a large sign. Inside, it is decorated like a swank night club and lounge with a fancier looking bar, dark lighting, leather sofas, and dark carpet. Acoustic had a huge number of house beers on tap, up to 18 with cask and nitro taps. Lots of beers I have never seen around town. Staff was very friendly, prices normal, and now they bottle with their different core brands available to go. Fun place, would recommend.

Cool little spot to grab a good beer and eat some goldfish crackers. I love some of their darker beers that you won’t find at other breweries in an IPA city.
It’s also dog friendly.
A hidden gem when it comes to San Diego breweries.

Oh boy, great beer/​good friendly service.
Hard to go wrong, no food but worth a visit.
Also bottled beer to go.
Try the Imperial Chocolate Stout.

Nice tasting room, we had 2 flights & really liked the beers! Comfotable, seating, no outside seating, which was a bummer. We found this spot after spotting a delivey truck & talking with the driver, Alex who convinced us to stop in & try the Strawberry Blonde, it was yummy! Great summer beer! I would give 5 stars if there was outside seating!

As said by Mike P… parking is a bit confusing. So let’s start with what not to do (and this does not detract at all from the brewery). If you are coming from south of the brewery as I was. You may end up on Washington St West but you can’t turn right on Hancock St to park in front along the street. So you continue west on W Washington and make the next right turn… almost an alley… NO… do not do this. This is the right turn of fail. Complete with a handful of people waiting for the train at the station laughing as you now have to go into reverse (no place to turn around) for a block and then back your ass up onto busy Washington.
So then you go to Pacific Highway and make a right on I think Noell St. Is this some known underage streetwalker corner hang out. I tried to not make eye contact when stopped at the light here, but there was certainly some glances over to size me up as a possible patron. Um. no. Just looking for a beer, thanks!
Finally turn right on Hancock. They may have been spots to park closer (and yes, there were)… but I was traumatized that I picked the first spot that was open.
Oh… the brewery? Awesome. 5 stars. The server was great, she had good recommendations and knew her stuff… plus she was very easy on the eyes. Beer was good of course. And the ambiance was chill and laid back, not too loud which for me at this point was a huge. I could sink into that overly soft leather sofa and relax.
So the skinny? Go here, but overshoot it so you are driving south on Hancock if you are coming from the south.

I love sitting on the couches and drinking beer in this place. The beer is really good, haven’t been disappointed with anything I’ve tried. The vibe is chill.
We came in on a slow Sunday afternoon to try some yummy beers. It was relaxing talking with friends and drinking. The ambiance of the place is almost like an old fashioned theater. Maybe it’s that red curtain that’s hanging. The couches and chairs and leather and plush and there are bar stools around the bar.
I love how they made all of the beer art into posters and they are available for purchase. I like to collect stickers from the breweries and they didn’t have any out or available. It would be cool to get some of those labels as stickers because the art is so cool.
I’ll definitely be back when I want to just kick back and chill with some awesome beer.

Visited the place last night with three Brits one of them being my husband. All four of us walked in and realized it was a damn cool place. Very cool, small place reminding us of true English Pub located just next to Mission Brewery. On the walls there is this wall paper picture depicting old brew house from early 1900 with few local cowboys in black and white which I think is pretty neat.
Their beer selection is very nice and everyone would find something there. Since my palette desires Hafenwizer like beer I had to try a bit of their wheat beer first which i didn’t care for as it was too dry and lemony. Instead, I ordered The Groupie Strong Belgian Blonde Ale 8% which was on a sweeter side.
They have only one bathroom, which in my view is not well utilized because its oversized in comparison to what it has inside (a urinal and a toilet). They could have made two toilets out of it. After I had my beer induced pee I was looking for the bloody sink… nowhere in the bathroom to be found. I was thinking, hell no I am not shaking any mens hand in this place… Well, i was later enlightened that the sink is just outside by the entrance to the bathroom… regardless, I was observing other guys leaving toilet and none of them stopped to wash their hands… VERY NAUGHTY!!! The men in my company were behaving much better.

Another solid SD Brewery conveniently located right off the Washington Street trolley station and pretty much right in the heart of Middletown. Apparently it is located in the oldest Brewing Facility in SD (Mission Brewery Plaza) and is the first brewery to return there since 1912 after prohibition. So that’s a cool little factoid I learned during my visit there.
History lesson aside, they have a cool tasting room with some great seating options such as tables, lounge chairs and of course, a bar. The atmosphere is very relaxed, almost like a speakeasy, cool wood finish décor, an old Gramophone/​Phonograph sitting behind the bar and some other similar era décor. It all makes for a great environment to kick back a couple cold ones.
Speaking of cold ones, they have ‘em. Several beers on tap, some on nitro and a couple on cask. Offered in tasters, pints, kegs and even 22oz bombers, the beers rotate with season and availability. They also have a cool little booklet that gives you the description and rundown of the standard beers available.
The staff running the bar a very cool, informative and friendly which adds to the overall comfortable feeling of this place. So far so good.
I had tasters of the «Witte Snake», «Mad Dub», a Belgian Quad (forgot the name), «Mosh Pit», «Shake Your Money Maker», and I think it was called «You’ll Hop your Eye Out». I enjoyed all but favored the Witte Snake, Shake Your Money Maker and Mosh Pit. Additionally, there are plenty more that I want to try so that’s always a good thing… I think.
The only real downside, and I’d have to agree with Diego on, is the price of the tasters really seem to add up. For 6 tasters, the bill came out to $ 15. So when you do the math, that’s essentially 24oz, which is 1.5 pints, which comes out to roughly $ 10/​pint before tip. So I guess you really need to choose your tasters wisely and find your favorites so that you can just go for the full pints and come out ahead. Granted, their tasters aren’t *excessively* high compared to other breweries but they are just enough to make them add up a little quicker.
With that said, it’s definitely not a deal breaker and definitely not enough to keep me from coming back, especially considering it’s convenient location. Now that I have a good idea of what my favorites are, I’ll surely be back to grab a pint or two.
Acoustic Ales, I’m a fan.

In sticking with the musical theme, I present you with this song I wrote in honor of Acoustic Ales, to be sung to the tune of Amazing Grace (naturally).
A-​couuuuu-​stiiic Ales,
How sweet the taste
That saved a drunk like meeeeeeeee.
I once was thirsty
But now, I’m not.
And now, I have to peeeeee.
You don’t have to say it, I already know– I’m an artist. But enough about me, let’s talk about the damn beer!
I’m a huge fan of Belgian beer and they have lots of it! From the super strong, high ABV to the light and drinkable, they have it all. I can’t say for certain whether I have a favorite yet because every time I try a new one, I think I’ve found my new favorite!
I love that they now have bottles that you can buy and take home with you and their growlers are some of the coolest I’ve seen (they’re little mini kegs– how neat is that?!). Also, their staff is not only friendly, but super knowledgeable. I love picking their brains about the different types of brews they have!
The fact that this place is within walking distance of my home is either a really good thing or a really bad thing. We’ll have to wait a few years and ask my liver!

Acoustic «Mother Effin» Ales, my lord how I love you. I love you for many reasons; you’re next door, you’re in a historic brewery, your beers are diverse and drinkable, and you have some seriously comfortable seating. Even on rare occasions you talk a food truck into coming by and parking their greasy rear in front of the building so I can curb my drunk munchies.
Staff is super nice and knowledgeable about their beers and will hold your hand down «this is real beer alley» so you can be introduced to quality brew other than «your fave, Blue Moon». But seriously, Acoustic ranks up there with the big boys like Coronado, Stone and Lost Abbey. And if sitting down isn’t an option, they now bottle quite a few of their beers for purchase.