California Wild Ales

Do you want to hang with people that genuinely love their job? Do you enjoy beer? If yes, definitely check out California Wild Ales! There’s two locations (hot tip-the OB one streams most Phish shows when they’re playing), this review is for the Midway district spot, which usually hosts the live music shows they have. Unassuming on the outside, the interior is a funky industrial type vibe. The taps are up a flight of stairs, which may pose an issue for some with mobility issues, though I believe you can scan QR codes on tables downstairs to order and have your drinks brought to you. From hazy IPA’s, to fun sours, to almost syrupy stouts, there’s bound to be something for everyone-they also have NA flavored sparkling water for those that don’t drink. There’s a bunch of board games up top to keep you entertained, if your companion isn’t a great conversationalist. Lots of seating, but it does fill up quick when there’s a music event, so get there early to snag a chair. Again, super fun and wonderful staff, and delicious brews-you really can’t go wrong here!

What a great place for an intimate gathering of San Diego’s brownest. Beer: dank, delicious, delightful Staff: attentive, astute, pathetically pleasing. Came for Buckingham Ween and partied like it was 2025.

This is a small, wild, brewery with pronounced beer, especially sours, and they are definitely unique! From the style on the walls to the style in the beer barrels, this isn't a brewery you will soon forget! Even the games strewn about are different and have character. Apparently, they have a fan who hand builds these games for them, complete with some wood burned art. The owner/bartender while we were there was too busy on his phone to chat but with all the games, it was all good. If you go, enjoy looking around, or playing some games or simply sit and sip.

Came here on a Friday night around 7pm. Planned to stay for a bit, but this place was poppin (couldnt help but to stay much longer than expected). They had live music which was awesome. Staff is great even the band was super cool. Beers are amazing!! Second time I come here and definitely won't be the last. Would visit more often if I was a local.

Top notch barrel aged sours in a fun and funky tap room with a really cool vibe! Some of the best sours I've ever had. I researched places before my first trip to California in April of 2019 and this place was recommended. We look forward to visiting every time we go now. Great people, sublime beer! If you love sour beer don't miss this spot!

If you’re into real barrel aged sours this place is worth stopping in. They have two locations so if you’re looking for tons of people on a given night and good drinks look to the OB taproom, but if you want to sip some sours with a little more intimate atmosphere this is industrial spot is where you want to be. Although the GIANT screen they does makes it a potentialhot spot for sports nights and I hear Phish concerts. Beers - like a true sour beer establishment, lots of fun experimentation, and a brewer that is critical and excited about what they are pouring. The most notable on my visit was the locally sourced dragon fruit (red pitaya) which had almost some blueberry notes due to the souring and the German Chocolate Cake which was both rich and mildly sweet but perfectly balanced where I could see having multiple pours without a creeping saturation due to sweetness. The Yerba Matte was also excellent, lite, fizzy with some citrus and mint notes, definitely a beer I’d enjoy on a warm day. If you aren’t a sour drinker their Clean Beers, or at least the IPA I had was spot on; crisp, floral and to my preference, lacking a heavy sweet backbone.

New brewing & taproom location is great! 🥳 Even more awesome beers, friendly and knowledgeable staff, and a huge projector screen showing sports & whatever you want to watch by request. I love California Wild Ales🔥- went to their Sorrento Valley location for years and I'm happy to see them thriving in the new Point Loma / Midway location. They have perfected the craft, never releasing a beer until it meets their high standards for quality. Zack and Heather are the employees who guided me through my experience- always enthusiastic and professional when explaining the beers. I love this place. No doubt about it.

If you are in the area, make sure to stop by this creatively inspired Brewery. A Graphic designer Chicago native, (the owner) moved to California to start his dream and raise a family. His thoughtful design and warm family friendly environment makes this place welcoming and a joy to be around! While my family and I were In town for the Bears game, we were enticed by the eclectic and colorful ambience while walking by. (Free hot dogs served on game days were really just icing on the cake!) Little kids were whizzing by on wheeled stools, we took a jump back in time to enjoy coloring books, bar games, blocks, a Lego wall and alphabet wall, a mirrored wall with a beautiful crystal chandelier and adorable hanging plants, and enjoyed the view of cozy corners of couches with people gathered around laughing, cheering and watch their kids play-> You really cannot look for a better place to be and enjoy time with those you love! 🫶🏼 Thank you for an amazing memorable experience during our stay, we will never forget it and can't wait to come back!

Dog friendly, good variety of beers. Relaxed vibe, fun decor, nice seating. Night bartender was super helpful. Second favorite brewery in OB.

Love their brews, love the feel and vibe of the place. It was one of the more expensive brewery trips we've had, but they're also serving up some tart and tasty sours that make up for the cost. Plus, we did buy merch before leaving, so that's on us. Anyway, we ended up here because Kilowatt rekindled the love of sours in my husband. A quick Google search alerted him to California Wild Ales, and off we went. They do have an impressive number of sours on tap, which pleased my husband to no end. I started with a half pour of the Red Dragonfruit (as tart as expected, its punchiness came in waves); went with the Blood Orange Dark Saison next (didn't get the citrus, it was all bite); moved on to the Peach, Green Tea and Honey (such an explosion of flavors, I couldn't pinpoint any one note or profile, but it was tart); and finished the day with the Red Dragonfruit. My husband had the Pickle Sour (I still don't know how his stomach could handle that, it was like a boozy jar of Vlasic); the Lady in Red, the Up the Hill and ended on the Pickle Sour. He's still talking about the sours here, and hinting that he wants to go back so I'm sure we'll end up on their comfy couch again real soon.

Never enjoyed talking to a "bartender" more, she was super knowledgeable but not just about the drinks. Had a great conversation about art, mental health, bee keeping, you name it. Thank you!

This is a hidden gem in sorrento valley and a great place if you like sour beers! It's tucked away in a business lot and you'll see a small sign above the door. Walk through the barrels and you'll be led to the nestled, cute and quaint brewery. They have a wide selection of them on tap and $4 for 5oz and $8 for 10oz. There's so many unique flavors like dragonfruit, spicy berry and pickle!! I tried the spicy pickle flavor and I really loved it. I'm not a big fan of sour beers but I love pickles so it was really enjoyable and unique. Some flavors are bottled that also sounded really yummy like blueberry pie! There's also more flavors you can purchase by the bottle. There's a couple of small tables and one big couch indoors and some concrete tables/chairs outside within the business lot. There's also a couple of board games like chess and jenga. Dogs are allowed! Overall such a cute and chill spot to stop by.

Fun spot to grab a beer, play some games, and just hang. They are dog friendly and had a few fury friends hanging out as well. They seem to have a focus on sour beers as that was the majority of their menu. Lots of unique options!

Located in the middle of a storage/industrial park in Sorrento Valley. Super small business with charming Star Wars themed interior and ales/beers. All of the ales are sours. Cute environment to hang out. C3P Orange - satsuma Orange, sour and light, must try Mango Fett - lightly spicy, outstanding Mango - tasted generic after Mango Fett, sour Cucumber & Salt - not carbonation so you won't get full, very light Jabba the Hopp - Citrus, floral, sour finish RJB - brett hopps, cab franc, Carlsbad blueberries, yum Dark Side - this is really sour, beet, pomegranate, hibiscus. Healthy. Blueberry Muffin - tasted more like raisin muffin, buttery Impartial Storm Trooper - pear and cinnamon Overall, it is a bit pricey for the price of the crowler. Tasting price is fair. If you like sours, it is worth it.

HYPES: California Wild Ales is an awesome brewery in sorrrento valley! And has easily been my go-to spot for delicious sours. Try the blackberry jam if you love sours, too! The owner Bill is extremely kind! He and his staff have created a super vibey home away from home and it's evident they really care for the community. Way to go, CA Wild Ales! GRIPES: none! this place is damn near perfect! :)

I was visiting from out of town, & I am always down for a good brewery! This place specializes in sours and I love sours so my friends and I had to check it out. We ordered a flight (my favorite being the blackberry jam) and sat down to chill. Steve, one of the employees came and sat down with us and showed us some dice games. It was such a good time! I loved this place!

Top tier vibe and great ale definitively where to go and bring your friends! Service was dope and the owner wasn't opposed to non-paying customers using the restroom which is fantadtic cause it's already hard to find a restroom in San Diego as is. Definitely headed back on our next trip.

Some of the best sours I've ever tasted. We got a huge flight and loved all of it. Would definitely come back and recommend this place for my sour loving friends. Also a cute little space

We found California Wild Ales on a very quiet day where we ended up being the only people there before closing. We picked up a couple of tasters and there were so many things to try! The person pouring for us was very chill and helpful. The sours were all unique and amazing. We wish we had a place that focuses on sours near where we live! Overall we loved our experience here, all of the sours, and the artwork on the cans are super fun.

Great little hidden spot by my home that we had no idea even existed! Great selection of tasty sours. For a nice reasonably price. 4.00 for a 5 oz. pretty filling too. Really nice service also. The woman that was there yesterday was very nice and very welcoming and she thanked us for coming in which i always appreciate when businesses do this ! Its a small but very comfortable joint. About 18.00 for 4 of the 5 oz pours!

If you're into sours then this is certainly the place for you. They aren't my first choice - a bit strong in taste for my preferences but I welcome any diversity in the San Diego microbrewery scene that isn't so heavy on the hops and IPA's. The place is difficult to find. I had never come to these buildings on Sorrento Valley road before and I honestly thought it was storage. There is a little door with a sign that looks like a monster from Where the Wild things are and stepping through past some barrels a comfy space lined with mirrors is revealed. There is no set flights and one can get 5 oz pours for $4 each to mix and match to your own liking. Full pours are also available. I had the opportunity to try the pineapple upside down cake and the passion fruit flavors. The namesake flavors were evident and I did enjoy them. Now that I know this place is here there's a a chance they'll start growing on me.

These were the worst sours I've ever tasted. Both of the ones that I tasted tasted like vinegar. And I've tasted in excess of fifty sours. Just, no.

This brewery opened about 10 months ago, and specializes in sour ales. We were saddened by the closing of Council and Toolbox, but excited to try out some new brews here. It was a quiet Saturday afternoon in the taproom, which is located in Sorrento Valley. We sampled the 8 beers on tap, plus some of the 2014 Orval that the server shared with all the patrons because apparently we happened to come in on Orval Day. My favorites of the lineup were the Kiwi Persimmon Passionfruit, Peach and Nectarine, and Passionfruit. I was not a fan of the funky blends but they weren't bad. Overall really glad we happened upon this brewery on our quick weekend trip to San Diego, and look forward to seeing what else California Wild Ales will offer in the future!

Amazing beers! Small little hole in the wall brewery with tasty nerd themed sour beers! Can bring outside food in (recommended) as there are no food options in the adjoining areas. Limited hours so call before hand. Awesome collection of to-go bottles as well.

Sweet little tasting room for specialty beers, sours to be specific. Great vibe, amazing beers and the crowd was super friendly and atmosphere was awesome! We will definitely be back

The drinks were good but didn't really enjoy the atmosphere at this location , everyone was too drunk and the music was too loud. Looking forward to checking out the original location when back in town. Also, while dancing inside, someone trashed/ took our food. Not cool peeps ...

I'm so happy I discovered this place! I am a sour beer lover and am always disappointed to see only one or two on tap at any brewery, so to come here and see 10 different options was so exciting. They do small pours and you can even do a flight of all ten beers on tap. The standout was definitely the mango jalapeño (Mango Fett), but I was happy with all of them that I tried. I appreciate the uniqueness of ingredients and flavors and will keep coming back for the new brews. They also have an Ocean Beach location!

This place is awesome! Super hole-in-the-wall vibe. I mean, you literally walk into a garage, through a narrow hallway on barrels on either side to the tasting room. It's casual, funky, and the beers are *chefs kiss* delicious. Not to mention, if you like Star Wars, do your self a favor and visit this spot. The labels are extremely creative and many of them play off of Star Wars. I am so stoked I found this place. Thank you, CA Wild Ales!

I really enjoy the variety of sours this team produces. Also, recently, they have added a tasty IPA as well which helps to break up the sours. I am a fan!

What an amazing place, with amazing beer and and amazing vibe. They specialize in sour beers, which, as I understand it, can be more difficult to make than other styles. They nail it here. I had one of theirs (mango) at a beer share event recently and was really impressed. The ones here are even better. About 16 beers on tap, most sours. I started with an Over the Hill hazy while picking my flight, and it was very good. They also have a lager, ipa, pale ale, a couple seltzers, and one or two more hazies. But the sours are where it's at. I got 4, and the owner threw in a small taster of a blueberry one that was just added - thanks! All were great (and I rated on Untappd), but the Viognier ("Vee-on-yeah") - A Funky Wine Grape Sour was especially good. I also really like the fun, playful aesthetic, with games, Legos and wild creatures featured prominently. Friendly for dogs, children, and people who like good beer.

Zach, Zack? Was AWESOME! Great energy, great conversation, amazing knowledge of the whole process. ....These Sours are so amazing. This is a must try for any drinker. The vibes are fresh and served cold with a smile of course. His co-owner does all the ink! - artwork. This is totally a labor of love. Did I mention their will be another local long the coast? ...OB area. These guys are a contender for the Big Bang Theory of Breweries.

We had a great time with Bill! The beers were delicious and of course sour lol. The names of the beers definitely describe exactly what you're drinking and the ambience of the brewery made me feel comfortable and clean my entire visit. Great beers, great conversations, and an overall excellent environment to spend Friday date night in. Also, one of the cleanest breweries that take precautions necessary to keep their patrons happy and healthy while battling the pandemic. Thank you guys, see you soon

The location is a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of place, but hard to forget once you're there. With the closing of Toolbox, San Diego was definitely needing a brewery dedicated to sour beers. I understand that sour beers are not for everyone's palates, but I can profess that this is my favorite sour beer joint outside of where I currently live in Ohio. There was an exceptional amount of beers on tap, and I had the pleasure of trying each and every one of them. There was great variety in the one type of sour beer they brewed, with a few beers dedicated to changing the hops on just one type, the Peach Nectarine. It was cool to taste the variety in these variations of the Peach Nectarine. I was the only one there on a weekday afternoon, which gave me the chance to chat up one of the owners. He was awesome to talk with and gave me a lowdown on their history and brewing process. The taproom itself was a little bit of a work in progress as far as elegance, but offered a nice view of all of their kegs, and there was plenty of seating. I am excited for this brewery to see them become more popular and branch out to even more types of sour beers. California Wild Ales has their identity in sour beers, and they do it well.

If you like sours - visit this place Great vibe, super nice brewer, excellent flavors! Advice: try the mega flight!

If you're a fan of sour beers, look no further than this local gem! With a rotating tap list of 10 amazing sours, you'll be sure to find something for you... from their classic Salted Yuzu to a more hoppy Tangerine with Citra to the amazing new Blueberry Pie! The flavor combinations are unique and work so well, like the Cherry and Peppercorn. Billy, Zack, and Cameron have really created a great space for sour fans and beer enthusiasts of all types. Much of the interior is decorated with up-cycled materials and the details they put in to incorporating the barrel components throughout the room are so much fun! The guys also really make a point to interact personally with everyone that comes in and will gladly explain each beer offering so you know what local fresh ingredients went into each keg as well as the fermentation/aging process used to get their outstanding flavors. I always look forward to visiting and trying their latest beer release! If you're a sour fan, be sure to add this funky place your brewery tour list, you won't be disappointed!

Delicious sour beer. The cutest small family owned brewery. If you like sour beer or are curious, you must must go check this place out! We just planned our whole vacation around a visit here and it was sooo fun!!!

LOVE their sours! Sours are my thing so it's nice to have a cool spot in San Diego to get some bottles and try new ones on top. We're obsessed with their pickle Rick, please bring it back!

In a sea of microbreweries in SD, it's so difficult to find one that offers sour beers at all, let alone, offer some amazing ones. My partner, our two pups and I were on a trek to find a brewery that would have more than one sour on tap, and we stumbled on this gem offered mostly, if not only, barrel-aged sours and wild ales. We sampled all the sours they offered on tap, which were all equally great, plus we bought out as many bottles as we could fit in our trunk. Another plus is that it's dog friendly indoors, and the owner was super cool throughout with his recommendations and service. Definitely one of our top breweries to visit while in SD!

First and foremost, I want to thank Zack for driving all the way down to National City to deliver our order. I love sour beers and they aren't as easy to come by. The blueberry pie sour was absolutely phenomenal. I'm excited to try the black and blue as well as the spicy gose loco. I will definitely continue supporting this awesome brewery!

I took a hike from Rancho Penasquitos through the Penasquitos canyon trail knowing this brewery in Sorrento Valley existed. After the hike ended my friends and I sought it out. The place is tucked deeply away in a small office complex just off the 5 freeway. We nearly walked right by the entrance. Inside I liked the feel of the decor. The back wall has some slightly elevated seating and a bunch of differently framed mirrors. The place feels a bit like you're in a subterranean basement for some reason. Kinda dark and filled with aging barrels. We got a super flight to share with every Ale they brew. I like the place, check it out and grab a bag of chips and dip while you're at it!

Came out from the SGV to pick up my Peach & Nectarine bottles that were purchased online a few months ago. I really appreciate them not having a strict pick up date I had to get my bottles by. When I messaged them through Instagram, they kindly replied that I didn't have to worry and they would hold my bottles. Finally made it out and was AMAZED by EVERYTHING they had on tap! A TRUE Sour house! Zack was a great host and educated us on just about everything they had to offer! One of my favorites had to be their Salted Yuzu! Served right from the bottle! My wife loved their Guava and Cherry Cobbler! The Cherry Cobbler literally tasted like a pie with crust and all! I look forward to them doing a Pie Series and bottling up the Cobbler and their Blueberry Pie. I truly look forward to our next visit out to SD just so stop by here again! Cheers Zack and the California Wild Ales Crew!

If you are looking for a wide variety of sour beers, look no further. California Wild Ales has it all from light and refreshing brews to ones a hell of a kick. The staff is so knowledgeable about their beers and they all make you feel like you're right at home. By far one of my favorite places to grab a beer in San Diego!

San Diego has needed a strictly sour based brewery for quite some time. The venue is 75% barrels and the rest is left to the tasting room with a bar separating the two. I came in a couple weeks ago and was greeted by Cameron and Zack, the owners/founders of the place. The options are endless with lots of fruited sour options, between me and the girlfriend we got a taster of everything on the menu which amounted to over ten tasters. Our favorite of the day was the Peach/Nectarine which also had a bottle release happening that day, we had to pick one up. In a city full of breweries dominated by hop filled brew houses pumping out IPA's its a really refreshing change of pace to have this tart/refreshingly sour juice dedicated place here in Sorrento Valley.

So happy to find a sour ale brewery on my trip to California! While sours are common and easy to find in Cincinnati, other cities don't seem to be so lucky. You can taste the passion and quality in these delicious Wild Ales and especially after talking to the 3 guys who own/run it. I'm also now basically an expert on their beers as I tasted every last one of the more than 10 on tap, plus even a margarita that has not been released yet (it was delicious, even warm and non-carbonated, so stay tuned until it's ready!) They offer 5 and 10 ounce pours, so it's easy to taste them all, especially if you share with friends. I was also happy to bring home a couple of 500 ml bottles (750 ml also available). If you like sours (or want to give them a try) you MUST come here!

Came here about a month ago for a team happy hour. Really nice ambience. I am not much of a beer aficionado so I just had a few of their samples. I really liked the flavors of the ales they brew. This was my first time tasting brewed sour ales and I would say I liked them. The owners of the place were really friendly and overall we had a good time. Will definitely come here again

I was greeted by a very friendly staff upon arrival. The flight of beers was very good especially if you like sour or tart beers. I would definitely recommend a trip to visit this place. It's different and a nice break from the typical IPA forward joints.

Such a disappointment. I am amazed at the reviews for this place. I love sours and appreciate a brewery focused on entirely on sours. I know this place is very new in the sour game, so it makes sense that they need some time to develop some amazing beer, however I was disappointed in every beer I tried (I tried everything on tap which was over 10 different beers). The guy working was super nice, and again I understand they are new and likely need more time to develop, so why the harsh rating? The price is absolutely ridiculous here. These were by far the most expensive beers (even the tasters) I have seen at a brewery yet-- I could have gone to Cascade for cheaper and had some much better beers. I was so shocked at the price/quality discrepancy, I would not recommend or return.

The team working were very nice. We actually came back a second evening on our 3 day trip to San Diego. The gentleman behind the bar went out of his way to help us learn the dice game they have! So many fun things and so many delicious sours! We bought some beer glasses to bring back to Minnesota! Loved it!

My husband and I spent a week and a half road tripping around California and hit up a ton of breweries on the way, but this one was easily my favorite. We tried everything they had on tap and every one of them was fantastic. One of the owners, Bill, was pouring for us and sat and chatted with us and the couple other guys at the bar for a few hours. It was a great experience, these guys know what they're doing!

Doesn't get any better then this place! These guys are making magic and I want to be in the front row! WOW! Barrel aged sours with mouthfuls of flavor and deliciously smooth taste. The beers are so well balanced! My wife and I just couldn't get enough! My wife and I are big craft beer fans and travel a lot to different breweries. We came from Florida for a road trip across Cali. This was by far the best stop of the trip and we went to close to 20 breweries on the trip. I've been to the Jester Kings, Rare Barrels, Funkatoriums, Angry Chairs, and a lot of the other underground sour players. But I have to say these guys have there stuff together. Recommending this place isn't enough, I want to invest in this place! Oh and the staff, so friendly, down to earth and knowledgeable! Just go check these guys out!

Another hidden joint that is worth the find. Brother came into town and is a fan of sours. This place is the spot, from amazing customer service which in detail explain each beers and mega flights available to try all the beers. We were impressed! Initially not a fan of sours but this place made me change my mindset. Very good beers and love trying something different. Will come again!

California Wild Ales, absolutely delicious seasonal sours. If you're looking for an excellent sour that'll take your palate for a ride, or the perfect gift for that special someone, CWA has got somethin for you. I actually got draaagged here by a friend, but ever since I tried the Salted Yuzu sour, they can't keep me away. Since enlightenment, I've had the pleasure of experiencing nearly a dozen other offerings from California Wild Ales and have yet to be disappointed by any of their beers. Honestly, give these guys a try, and by try i mean try not to leave with a case of their absolutely awesome california wild ales. I mean it, they're the best, really, but to be sure, drink em all!

Very cool place good service great beers with strong personality. And super cool logo of the brewery.

The beer is good, mostly sours. There's about ten different beers and the flavors range from Carlsbad blueberry to Meyer lemons. The location is very nondescript. The taproom, located at Suite L & M, is in the middle of several brown suites and there's plenty of parking in the back where the "Grandma's Kitchen" sign is.

Delicious and amazing selection of sours. There's always something new on rotation. Their pastry series is so good. Try everything but definitely get the cobblers!

Yum!! Loved to the contactless ordering and ability to pay without contact. All the server had to do was deliver our food and cocktails to our table!!

10 high quality, creative, rotating barrel aged sours on tap and bottles to go. Very cool, knowledgeable owners and nice relaxing interior. Pretty off the beaten path, but that's fine. Barrel aged sours take a very long time to make (e.g. a year in the barrel after brewing) compared to a couple weeks total for a ubiquitous SD IPA, so don't expect any $5 pints. Oh, great music piped in as well assuming you like funky, jammy stuff. Only public place I've heard Garaj Mahal (beside seeing 'em live in a few towns). Very cool...

Hidden gem in Sorrento Valley. Great sour beers. Dog and kid friendly environment. Owners are warm and inviting. I would definitely return with my friends and family!!