Rough Draft Brewing Company

I’ve been to Rough Draft a number of times for work events where we’ve had one side of the brewery sectioned off for presentations and then headed to the other side for beer and food. The facilities have actually been pretty good for the presentations (we had a projector set up), but the seating is limited, so you can’t have too large of an audience for a seated presentation. Service has always been great during the events as well.
I was recently at Rough Draft and was pleasantly surprised that they now offer food! The food was delicious and there are a number of different items to choose from. We only had a few bites (soft pretzel, hummus, chips, bread), but they serve salad, sandwiches, flatbreads, meat/​cheese boards as well. I am not a beer drinker, but because of work, I have been here a few times. This last time, I tried the barrel-​aged emboozlement tripel and it was actually pretty good. It has a higher alcohol content, but I couldn’t tell (maybe because I drink gin). It was very good though!
Pricing for the food and for the beers was very reasonable. They also allow dogs in the tasting room. I’d definitely recommend Rough Draft if you are in the area!

We actually visited this brewery by accident on a brewery quest, and we’re pretty stoked that we did. It was a bummer that they only had one stout, but the beers are quite good, and it’s a great little place in the middle of a business district.
We were there pretty early on a holiday, but I can only imagine that it gets pretty packed, as the beers are great for a local spot and the food prices are excellent.

Pretty good beers! Brewed by a UCSD alumni. A good spot to taste a wide variety.

Good beers, good people. The food wasn’t that bad to boot. This place has adequate room for large parties as well. Went there for my fiancées last day of her old jobs happy hour, had corn hole indoors and enough room for her party. The only down fall is the Ale Smith is up the street. In the immortal words of Arnold «I’ll be back.»

I came here recently for lunch and was beyond surprised about how good the food tasted! I had myself a Caesar salad and it was delish!

**Remember to check-​in on Unilocal for $ 1 off a pint!**
Pretty much your average tasting room in a SD business park. Good beers, good environment. Simple, straightforward.
Love the giant space and the succulents at each table. Way to keep it hip!
I had the Hop Therapy and tried a couple others. Decent beer — would come back to try more. Service was really easy. And apparently some of the taps are out back? Idk, the lady took our order then walked away across the room and came back with our full glasses.
Rough Draft is pretty close to all the other breweries in Beeramar and Sorrento Valley. Great stop for a brewery run day!

Wow! Rough Draft is beer and food at it’s simplest element: good beer and good food. I had the Hop Therapy Double IPA (9%!!!) and a blue cheese panini. The sandwich had caramelized onions, bruschetta and blue cheese. It was so good I’m planning a second trip very soon just to relive the moment!
The bar is in the warehouse where they make the beer. Ropes keep people away from the tanks, but it’s all there! They also have some couches gathered around. Looked like some guys were having some kind of work meeting there with their laptops and work stuff out on the coffee table.
I like this place because it is smaller than other breweries nearby — and of course, the beer is as good as I could ever dream of enjoying. They also have 3 different growlers you can fill — and free wifi with the password written on the chalkboard so you do not have to ask.

Awesome brewery in the middle of a business district!
I came here on a Monday night & for a Monday, there was quite a few people. The vibe was mellow with plenty of seating to mingle. The beer was delicious! I got a pint of their Blonde for $ 4 & it was smooth, refreshing, & light. What is that delicious buttery smell in the air? Yes, that is popcorn, free popcorn, so do not forget to ask for some when you order your beer!

Came here for a private event! I’m not a beer drinker, but this place is cool. I will consider reserving a private room for parties or get-​togethers with friends. They allow you to bring outside caterers (food trucks) as well! YAY!

Had to pick up some Grapefruit IPA for my post NYE run. Happy New Year!!! Thinking of rehydrating after the run kept me going! Haha
Can’t believe it’s taken me 4 years to discover Rough Draft but I’m sold!
Got a Xmas 4 pack of their 22oz bottles and love the 2 I’ve tried so far. Can’t wait to see what else RD has in store for me!

Came here on a Saturday night as one of our personal brewery hop stops. The brewery was very spacious and more ventilated than other breweries in the area.
We ordered two tasters, What the Ale and Grapefruit Weekday IPA. The Grapefruit Weekday IPA was well balanced, not too hoppy and not too citrusy.
When we were about to pay and leave, we met the owner who made us feel really welcomed. He got us to stay and try the Sausagefest Ale. I normally don’t like earthy hints, but this beer was very enjoyable.
Overall, it’s a very nice place to relax and watch the game. My friend and I are definitely planning on coming back because word on the street is that they’re going to start serving food as well.

This is one of the nicer breweries in the area. It has a decent sized tasting room with tables, chairs, and even some TVs! There’s also free popcorn too. The beers are good and it goes well with the ambiance.
I’m a fan of their IPA and it never disappoints. I’m always in need of some Hop Therapy. There’s always a bunch of other beers on tap and they’re always drinkable. Whether you get a flight, a few tasters, or a few glasses, it’ll always be a great place to hang out with some friends.

This brewery had a cool vibe and I thought it was a nice lounge place.
I ordered the amber beer, and it had a good full flavor; it had a slight hint of cinnamon wheat flavor which was pleasant to the palate.
My friend got the Stout Stout Baby, which was smooth with hints of vanilla in it. Overall a great place to grab some good beers on the weekdays/​weekends, however you’re feeling!

Check in to get $ 1 off a pint, which are all reasonably priced. This was our first stop on our brewery tour. The vanilla stout and emboozlement were tasty. In the front they have 2 couches to hang out at. In the middle they have barrels and bar stools in addition to their bar area. They also have big tables in the back for bigger groups and for grubbing on food if you decide to order from a neighboring pizza joint, Pauly’s Pizza.

They just keep getting better and better. I’m now a hard core fan of Rough Draft, and recommend it anytime someone mentions they’re headed to this area for beer. The outdoor patio area is great on a gorgeous day, as is the plethora of seating they offer (I’ve even seen a group of business men finishing their day with their laptops — free wifi — and a pint.) I appreciate that they’ve often got sports on TV, because as much as I love my companions, sometimes I just want something to quickly change the subject to «hey, did I really just read that on ESPN’s ticker!!!» tends to work really well.
The price is right for refilling a growler, as per usual it goes up the more specialized the beer is, but I don’t feel like they’re over charging by any means. Last time I was in they had a beer of the week (month?) that was approx. half price for a taster or pint. I thought that was nice.

Really like this brewery! What I love (besides the beer) is the location is set up for people to be there! I love that. So many small breweries have small tasting rooms, but not so at Rough Draft. They have a decent sized bar, plus tables and even a sitting area with couches. They have some big TVs over the bar, so you can watch the game and I understand they also have a large area next door so that they can support having events at this location. On top of that, the staff was super friendly when we were there.
The beers are good. Now, I was the driver and so only go to taste, but I have to say that I liked the beers here. They have a good selection of IPAs which is my beer preference, but they also have some Belgian style ales (a couple STRONG ONES) and an amber. Most of the beers here are pretty strong. They do have one IPA that they call the Weeknight, which is a lower abv, but honestly, I didn’t care for that one so much. Did I mention the pricing is pretty decent and they do a happy hour style deal during the week where they pick one beer to be the beer of the week that is at a discount.
Overall, I definitely recommend adding Rough Draft to your list of SD breweries to check out… of course, the trickiest part is getting there. Get your GPS out! haha

Fancy pants if you have been to enough breweries, you realize having chairs at a tasting room is a big treat. The tier 1 kind is like those with food too, well, at least food trucks.
Rough Draft has no food offered, but at least there are chairs, bar tables, and comfy couches. You can totally take a nap on the couch after a few beers.
Beer selections is kinda limited compared to Green Flash or Karl Strauss, but they have a few kinds of IPA which is great if you are a fan of IPAs. They always have this weekdays IPA, the lightest IPA that I have ever had. So don’t feel bad having one with dinner on a Monday, it’s justified by the name of the beer.

Came here for happy hour with the boys. This is one of the larger breweries in the area and I really like how spacious this place is. Lots of parking out front and you don’t feel claustrophobic inside. The patrons are friendly and there were some guys next to us that chimed in to our convo at times.
There’s a couple of wall mounted TVs and the Chargers games were playing. COOL! I ordered the Blonde pint ($ 4), and used my Unilocal check-​in offer for a $ 1 off. YAY!
The free popcorn is a bonus! It was salty but it was perfect with the beer. YUM… The girls who worked behind the bar definitely catered to the guys. A couple of times, I felt they were ignoring me until I had to raise my voice a little to get their attention.
Towards the end (when last call was communicated) was when the girls came around with a more friendly attitude and asked if we wanted anything else.
Cool digs and good beer. Popcorn, TV and Chargers playing were all a plus!

Unilocal check in deal for $ 1 off a pint!
I liked the kick back atmosphere here. There are a few TVs to watch sports. Plenty of bar seating, some high top wooden tables and chairs. Perk: free buttery, salty, freshly popped popcorn. Pizza by the slice is served on the hour at 5pm, 6pm and 7pm. Best part: Dog friendly!

Yum! Yum! Yum! Yum! Yum!
What a cool brewery experience and so different! The tasting room was HUGE and really inviting. It’s great to be drinking amongst the multiple fermenters and to really see where the beer is coming from.
We went for 10 tasters to really get a solid feel for the brewery. As I am not so much an IPA girl i was still very impressed by the Weekday IPA– it had a hop flavor but was so complex that I would absolutely order a pint of it. The Freudian Sip was also wonderful as well as the Saison and the Amber Ale.
I was so impressed at the diversity here and the fact that they really use different types of fruit flavors like grapefruit and pineapple. In total we spent about $ 16 for the 10 tasters and split them between the 2 of us.
Bonus: Free Popcorn (the salty delicious kind that goes perfect with craft beer). Also, as it was pretty busy on this Sunday they actually had a pizza company come in and sell slices of pizza for $ 3. If I hadn’t just had lunch this would have been AMAZING! Food trucks are always great but if I don’t want an entire crazy ethnically driven food truck meal a good olé’ slice of pizza with a pint is the way to go!
I’m very excited to head back to this brewery and have a great time!