Coronado Brewing Company is located in Coronado, the "island" across the bay from San Diego. Located on the east end of Orange Avenue (the main drag), we had lunch there while taking in some of the Coronado island atmosphere.

It’s a very picturesque brewery from the outside, though once again I was a total flake with pictures. The best picture I was able to find comes from its BeerAdvocate page:

Photo from BeerAdvocate

You can see (sort of) that it’s a cool brick building. They have some outdoor seating, and it all looks very inviting. There’s a good view of the bay and downtown San Diego, and it all has a bit of an historic feel.

Inside it’s very comfortable. To the right as you enter is a long room with tables and a fireplace and big screen television at the opposite end. To the left is the more immediate dining area and bar, and when I saw it I immediately thought of it as the "Yacht Club Room." It has that kind of feel—nicely upholstered booths, dark wood and stone decor, the wraparound bar. Definitely some great high-end atmosphere.

Here’s an odd thing, though: they no longer sell a sampler tray of their beer. Instead, you can buy individual five ounce tasters for $1.50 each. When I asked about this policy, they told me it was because people were ordering the samplers and then not finishing them; they would stop at a beer that they liked halfway through and order a pint of that instead.

Yes, I think this is a very dumb reason to not sell sampler trays, too. If the person pays for it, who cares if they finish it all? It’s just as easy to buy a pint and not drink all of that as well…

Another thing: they have a three pint maximum. (Or three glasses of wine, if that’s what you’re drinking.) Just so you know ahead of time.

So I ended up ordering five tasters in all:

USS Reagan Rye: Nice toasty grain and malty—slightly bitter. Crisp. Kind of a red ale quality. A little grassy (hops). Pretty refreshing with a bit of bitterness.

Bay Bridge Bock: Slightly fruity and malty rich. A hint of burnt sugar. Very decent amber bock.

Islander IPA: Nice and hoppy! Twiggy and resiny… almost a wet hop. A bit light in malt and mouthfeel… a little unbalanced with the hopping, but still nice and hoppy and refreshing. Citrus hops?

Nutter Brown: Chocolate and dark malts—darker (charcoal) than I’d expect for a brown… nice medium body. The black/roasted malt makes it dry.

Outlet Stout: Dry and dark—an Irish stout with more astringency. Very roasty—with a creamy texture. Burnt wood/soot? (That sounds grosser than it really is.) Nice and dark, smooth and dry.

Food was tasty. I had the special for that day, calamari tacos. They were good and filling, but spicy. Service was decent, too. Not as attentive as at Karl Strauss the night before, but helpful nonetheless.

It’s definitely a good place to try out, and the Yacht Club atmosphere is worth a repeat visit. It would be nice to sit outside, too, on a warmer day.

One last photo: they have humorous signs posted around the place, adding to the fun. The only beer one we saw, though, was this one:

So true, so true.