Iron Fist Brewing

I’m not unfamiliar with breweries but I understand that for some newcomers, tasting rooms can be intimidating. This place is not like that. It has a welcoming large garage door entrance with food service and inside is a spacious tasting room. The gentleman who served us was very friendly and patient while we decided what beer to try. I visited on a Thursday evening so the place wasn’t too crowded. My only concern was the small bar area, but I’m not sure it would ever get packed enough for it to be an issue.

I like it so much I mentioned IRON FIST in my Futuristic Thriller, which is set 15 years in the future. It’s the only decent place to get a stout, and multiple varieties at that. Very pooch-​friendly, they allow you to bring your doggie in if he or she is on a leash. Super Friendly peeps behind the bar and lots of room to spread out. Sometimes the food wagons are a bit pricey, but if you need to eat it really doesn’t matter that much, does it? Enjoy!

Fun brewery located in Vista. They have plenty of indoor seating, and food trucks that regularly set up, as well as serving affordable $ 2 4oz pours, which are a must for those visiting several of the great breweries in the area.
I tried their 5^th anniversary scotch ale, along with the Belgium double. Both were pretty good. My third selection was their barleywine, which stole the show. It was lighter than most, but was rich and caramely like a great barleywine.
Overall it’s a great stop on any San Diego brew tour.

My first time here I came for a Unilocal event. This place is HUGH on the inside! Let me start this review by saying… Im not a total Beer fan like I am a Wine-o…however the beer that was suggested by the staff was really tasty! They have so many beers to choose from, the good news is, the staff is really knowledgeable so if you tell them what beers you typically like they will match it perfectly to the beer that they have on tap.

Came here for a Unilocal event recently and I am glad I did. It’s been a long time since we visited Iron Fist, so it was nice to be reminded of their awesome beer, location and food truck.
I’m a barleywine kind of guy and their version is one of the best. A little high on the ABV chart for most people but the taste is fantastic. Even my wife (who NEVER gets barrel-​age brews or barleywines) ordered one. She couldn’t see straight after but still, she loved it.
We ordered a fish taco and a foie gras and venison burger, as well as spicy pickles. All were fantastic and the truck is a terrific complement to the brewery.
There is plenty of seating, and lots of folks bring their dogs so be careful when running up to the counter for another barleywine or you might have an upset dog (and owner) to answer to ;)

Unilocal Brewventure last night at Iron Fist and it ROCKED!!! The beers are spot on with the Velvet Glove being my Fav of the night. Also had a Nelson the Impaler which was a good balance of bitter and citrus. They have food trucks outside as well so you can get a nosh before drinking!
Large seating area and the Beertenders were friendly and quick, even with such a big crowd. Met some awesome fellow Unilocalers to boot!!! This place is worth a visit or 20!!!

Yes, this is one more of the Unilocal Brewventure’s with the usual deal — a $ 10 for a 2 pints and keep the glass. First and foremost a big thanks to Trish S for organizing this event. The place is not huge, but can accommodate a big crowd, and what interesting it’s a dog friendly (I saw a few dogs around today). My selection of the beers — first was Nelson the ImPALEr — extra pale ale, light, but little bit on a bitter side (I’m still getting used to a bitterness of the ales), my second choice was a Renegade Blonde –Kolsh Style Blonde — no complains here. I’m looking forward to the next Unilocal Brewventure event.

Great space and very knowledgable friendly staff. Turns out I have a very specific taste I like for beers, sours, so they really didn’t have anything I loved. (Much more to do with me than them.) Others have shared how much they love their beers so I know they are doing it right.
Excellent service and a very friendly environment.

Cool dog-​friendly space and good beer. As with many local breweries, this one is located in an industrial area. The food truck parking is right in front of the lot. No beer is allowed outside, but there is a nice view of the sunset above that mini overlook if you come by during golden hour.

Good spot, tough to find at first. The highlight other than beer is the brisket that a company called GrillFellas dies in the parking lot (weekends I assume), it’s a very good add on to the beer.
I had the big kahuna and a couple of others that were all very good. Tasters are $ 2, so great value.
Service was quick and easy parking. I’m not a huge beer guy, but this place was fun! And good eats!

Nice and intimate setting this Brewery has a nice vibe to it. Oh and the beers are good too. I had the Iron Fist IPA over and over. It was my favorite and found out it was also at my Coronado Hotel Bar, Bonus. I would highly recommend using GPS if going and it is tucked away in an industrial park as is many other Brewery’s in the area.

So let me start by saying, I was the Designated Driver so I was able to to take in the full experience sober. The location was a little hidden in the very back of a business park, so at night a little harder to find. Walking up they had a food truck parked out front it looked like the food was really good (smelled really good) as well as several party limos parked in front. The inside had a good setup and so I was excited for my group to try the flights. Walk up to the bar and the bartenders were complete jerks… I was ignored then when they finally acknowledged us, I asked some questions about what he recommended regarding the flights and he acted like I was wasting his time and rolled his eyes. Maybe he didn’t realize I was sober and so I could see what he was doing, just so rude!!! Then he takes my card doesn’t ask me if I want it open or closed and walks away. So I am standing by the bar waiting for him to bring the card back he doesn’t even acknowledge me, so I finally wave him down and ask to close out my tap, he once again makes a face and tells me to come down to the other side of the bar, as I am walking down to the other side of the bar to close out my tap, he sees another guy who wants to close out and takes him in front of me… Granted the other guy had a bigger party and so spent more money but really such horrible customer service… Then later I go back to the bar to ask for a rag, to wipe down the beer soaked table and he tosses the bar rag at me. Every bar we went to on Saturday night was packed and every one but this one the bartenders had good customer service. Vista has so many breweries, why go to one where the customer service sucks??? So silly to have good beer, good location and HORRIBLE SERVICE!!!

My last visit here was a few years ago and I was happy to see nothing had changed. The beer selection was still good, the beers themselves pretty great, and service and atmosphere unchanged. Whenever I get a chance, I like to pop into this spot… maybe not as known as some of the other breweries but a little hidden gem among many.

Open, active venue with positive people service. Couple TVs to watch game, food truck on standby and then amazing beer with bigger than expected selection. Came for business meet but will be back to personally relax and take in vast amounts of superb brew.

Conveniently located in the midst of Vista’s Bermuda Triangle of Breweries, Iron Fist offers an astounding selection and has a well-​earned reputation as one of the must visit venues in this Mecca of microbrews.
I highly recommend to start with a flight which is very reasonably priced and will help you hone in on your beer of choice. Be extra cognizant of ABV here as it can be far too easy to let your passion for great beer and the plethora of flavors that will hit your palette overcome the wisdom of living life in moderation… even if you are just drinking flights! Balancing one high ABV with one low ABV is always a good policy.
Also, they generally feature gourmet food trucks and seem to have a different one for every day they are open. You definitely won’t have to drink on an empty stomach and can enjoy some really great cuisine to help soak up that alcohol.
Last but not least the schwag is excellent as well. I picked up a shirt on one of my last visits and it is one of my new favorites.
Great for large parties or small gatherings; well worth your time to check them out!!!

Iron fist is a cool industrial style brewery in a great location on the corner of Melrose and Sycamore.
I tried their barley wine which they warned me was sweet because of the raisins they used.
I love sweet beers and barley wines and I thought it was pretty darn good. I also had good food from happy food catering truck.
All in all a good brewery with so-​so décor.

One of my favorite breweries. The names great and the beers are good. They have a wide variety of beers. Last time I saw a couple of fruit combo beers which I am growing to like more. Definitely one of the places you need to stop by if you’re doing a brewery run.
They do offer tours, Mobutu I’m not really into that part of it so I’ve never gone.

What an awesome experience it was to visit this brewery that is practically right in my back yard. All their beers are available in 4 oz, 10 oz and 16 oz glasses. This is great as some of these beer go up to 12% ABV so a 4oz glass is great for the stronger beers. The night I was there they had a sushi truck which was an excellent compliment to their beers.
Five stars !!!

It never fails. If we want to enjoy a fantastic beer at our favorite micro, we instinctively head to Irons Fist! Try the new pilsner, Logan Lager! Bartenders are friendly, and know how to pour!

Iron Fist is a really cool brewery with friendly staff and some delicious craft brews. The place itself is the typical industrial setting with a bar and some high top seating set amidst a nice pet friendly environment. The brew varies but often some some delicious tastes, the dubbel fisted is freaking tasty. Overall, if you’re doing a north county brew tour, try and include Iron Fist if possible.
Pros–
Beer selection
Pet friendly
Large size
Friendly staff
Occasional food truck
Price
Cons–
Varying selection
Limited food
Lots of competition in the area

This was my 4^th stop on my brewery crawl. I wanted to try new beers that doesn’t make it out to Hawaii, and here I was in Iron Fist. Not disappointed at all.
Brewery and tasting room — tables and chairs placed in a sectioned of their brewery. To the point, I can chill with that. Parked in their lot right in front, walked passed a taco truck parked in front of their roll up door. Entering the brewery is the tap bar you’ll order from, then go enjoy a few steps to the right. A feisty friendly bartender sent me a big compliment and I immediately loved her! She was very helpful in my selection for my flight. It helped narrow my selection when I have had many of them. The price was good for a flight of four 5 oz tasters ($ 7). I enjoyed my choices.
Not a fancy place, the crowd was cool, outside food was permitted, service was fast, and the staff is friendly. Cool place to hang out and chill.

Immaculate, large brewery with tasting room inside with ample seating. Dog-​friendly inside is a big plus for us. 10 house beers on tap only, sample flights available for $ 7 for x4 4−5oz tasters in nice glassware in wooden palates for organization.
House beers were of «okay» quality with 1 of 8 we sampled being very good and 1 of 8 being quite bad. The rest fell in the average range. I would say about half of the beers on tap were non-​bottled special editions. The others were core brands that you can easily find in any reputable bottle shop.
Food truck available on Saturday starting at noon. Nice.
Resident hot-​shot brewer Ken Schmidt graced us with his presence today, which was very cool.

This place has awesome written all over it! Beer and even wine! Plenty of seating great prices and the tasting set for $ 7 bucks you can’t beat! Friendly service and a variety of selection for everyone. Want souvenirs? They got those too! They just need to add in some chick wardrobe ;)
One of my favs!

Iron Fist Brewing I just became a fan of your delicious craft beer. What can I say I just love great beer and here at Iron Fist you won’t be disappointed what they have you. The place ain’t that big, but they do have a lot of seating area plus it’s dog and kid friendly. They also will have certain food trucks that will show up there, so check out their website. That day it was the Pierogi Truck.
SERVICE: Super friendly and cool.
BEER I recommend :
Dubbel Fisted ABV 8.1%
Raisin Fist ABV 11.3% this one was fantastic!
Uprising IPA ABV 12% Great IPA so flavorful.
Velvet Glove ABV 9% My favorite. Great Imperial Oatmeal Stout.
Dark Days ABV 14.3% Stout Age in Rum Barrel. Freaking amazing. I was lucky enough to buy 3 bottles when I was there. 375ml (12oz)at $ 15 each well worth it.
Overall enjoyed our time here and left fisted in a good way !!!

This brewery is on the Hop highway (78). The four beers which were tasted there was a clear winner for both myself and Josh. The Uprising is a is a 12% ABV Belgian style triple IPA. This beer blew us way. Crisp clean with a slight alcohol finish. The other beers (see photo) were also really good but this one stood out of the crowd.
The tasting room is in an industrial park with tons of parking. They offered live music I with seating of about 60. Seating is all indoors. I would recommend a stop when in the area. The one star downgrade was due to no outdoor seating. The weather was great so it would have been nice to sit outdoors. The should follow Belching Beavers lead in the patio department.

Three beers here knocked my socks off with friendly unpretentious service. The Nelson the Impaler, the Velvet Glove, and Abuelita. Nelson is a solid pale ale made with Nelson hops. Reminds of a lifter easier to drink version of Alpine Nelson. Great stuff.
The velvet glove was smooth, caramelly, and spiked. A great stout.
I mixed nelson and velvet glove and got a fantastic craft black and tan.
On the way out I sampled Abuelita and mouth is a till dancing. Cinnamon, chocolate stout that was like an iced alcohol 11.5% hot chocolate. How do you spell DANGEROUS?

I have been to Iron Fist a few times. Once on a Tinder date like a year ago (yes, I admit I go on Tinder dates haha), another time on a party bus with a group of 50 people on a Saturday, and last night for a Sushi Smackdown event that they had the place closed off to the public. So having experienced this place in various settings, I have to say I’m a fan of this place!
The ladies behind the counter are very nice! I totally got laughed at last night though, because when I ordered my beer, I asked «can I get your lightest beer?» I’m nearsighted, so I couldn’t read the beer board! Anyways, this place has friendly service, my pint was $ 5, and this brewery is close to me! It was unbearably hot in there last night though, even with the garage doors open. So if it’s a hot day, be prepared to break a sweat.

A bustling brewery with friendly staff to boot!
We wandered in one Saturday afternoon and were greeted by the friendly beertenders right away. After we grabbed out drinks, we headed for a seat at one of the many barrels, but later changed our minds and headed deeper into the nook by the barrels where there were plenty of empty tables to be had. One thing’s for sure: plenty of space and places to set your drink down!
Beers were decent, I had Nelson the Impaler and the bf had a Counter Strike. We weren’t in the mood to grab a flight this time, so perhaps on the next visit.

I’ve been here how many times and haven’t written a review! Shame on me!
This is one of my favorite usual breweries around. With so many in such a short distance in vista– this place remains unique and different making it a must stop for both me and my boyfriend on our list of top local breweries.
My favorite beer is the Velvet Glove on Nitro which is an imperial stout with hints of chocolate and having it on Nitro makes it smoother. Just watch out Cuz this abv is a little on the high side (as is most of their beers) & can easily creep up. And I also like the Spice of Life. Just recently, as in today– they released three new beers, 2 of which I tried and loved! I had the «SB #8» which was a Kona Coffee Stout & the «IRS Coconut» which was their Imperial Russian Stout with Coconut and both were similar and delish!
Plus– if you pay $ 12 you can buy your personalized engraved glass and get a dollar off your beer each time! Way to go! And how many breweries can you go to where the owners feel like family and personally know you by name, or in this case, glass.
That’s what I love about this place. It’s all family run all the way down to the brewer, their son Brandon who definitely knows what he’s doing at such a young age (I believe he started brewing at 18). The beer here is phenomenal. And the atmosphere is open, great for large parties!

Iron Fist Brewing Company (Iron Fist) is a family-​owned and very dog-​friendly brewery located in Vista, California that started in 2010. In fact, they must be doing something right because they are opening up a satellite tasting room in the San Diego neighborhood of Barrio Logan in early 2015.
At first I thought Iron Fist was a reference to either the Marvel superhero by the same name, a socialist theme, or even something sexual. However, according to the lady pouring us beer, Iron Fist refers to beers that are «hand» made and the dictionary term which means bold, firm, and unyielding. Oh wait, that still sounds sexual!
Regardless of the true meaning behind their brewery, Iron Fist playfully uses the fist-​theme for an awesome logo and to name quite a few of their beers. They have a beer called the Hired Hand (saison with malt and sour notes), The Gauntlet (double IPA with grapefruit and citrus notes), and the Dubbel Fisted (Belgian-​style dubbel with rich chocolate, caramel, and plum notes)). I’m sorry, but when you call a beer Dubbel Fisted I can’t help but think… never mind.
And… true to their name, all their beers are definitely bold, firm, and unyielding. You won’t find any sissy lagers here. Therefore, in addition to the aforementioned beers, they also have a beer called the Spice of Life (a spiced ale with bitter orange peel and coriander) and one of my favorites, the Velvet Glove (an imperial oatmeal stout with strong espresso flavors).
So yes, Iron Fist brews some amazing beers, but what makes them even more paw-​tastic is the fact that not only do they allow dogs inside the brewery, they regularly host dog adoptions and they sell bite-​sized chocolates for $ 0.25 where proceeds go to helping dogs.
Therefore, if you are planning to visit the craft beer mecca of the world that is North County San Diego & San Diego, make sure to stop by Iron Fist in the City of Vista, which is sandwiched between Carlsbad and San Marcos.
Trust me when I say that you won’t regret fisting away Iron Fist beers into your face.
* If it is your first time, get a sampler flight of four tasters since it’s cheaper than getting individual tasters.
* Here’s a pro tip, take a photo of the beer menu so that you can choose your next beer beforehand if you are seated away from the bar area.
* Iron Fist has a huge tasting room and you can even rent their private event room that can hold 40 people for $ 200 per day for the duration of their standard tasting room hours. If only my office was closer, I would be petitioning the boss to have our meetings here. We would be so much more productive.