Savagewood Brewery - Scripps Ranch, CA

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Savagewood Brewing Co.

Looking over what we have posted, I thought it was time to highlight one of our local breweries and discuss Cervesas.  Savagewood is a recent entrant is the brewery scene in the neighborhood.  They bought out O'Sullivan Brother's about 18 months ago.  We enjoyed O'Sullivan Brothers as they had a number of good malty beers and didn't simply try to appeal to the IPA mainstream here in San Diego.  Unfortunately, that may have contributed to the ultimate selling of the resources to Savagewood.

Savagewood is your typical brewer who sets up shop in the commercial building where the majority of the space is taken up on the brewing equipment and the remaining space is turned into a "tasting room".  Once Savagewood took over the O'Sullivan Brother's space, they painted the walls and changed the look, seeking a younger, more hip vibe.

We hadn't been to Savagewood in several months, still pining from the loss of O'Sullivan Brother's, we had avoided what is actually the closest brewer to us until we learned that they were brewing a collaboration with Hob Coffee, one of a favorite Coffee Ride shops.  The beer, Blackwood, a Coffee Vanilla Ale would inevitably be compared to one of our all time favorite beers, Cake is a Lie, by Intergalactic Brewery. 

The Kid and I, swung into Savagewood while returning home from the local bike shop where the Kid is a member of the shop's club.  We both were anxious to try Blackwood, and a half pour on this warm afternoon sounded very appealing.  The parking lot had a few more cars then what O'Sullivan Brother's usually had, and there were a couple of individuals sitting in the outdoor seating area in front.  The beer menu had been updated and was larger with a few unique mixes that sounded interesting.  We each got a half pour of Blackwood, the Coffee Vanilla Ale had a nice aroma, matching its' style.  The pale yellow, somewhat hazy appearance contrasted well to the style and flavor of the beer.  For those who haven't tried a Coffee Vanilla Ale, the aroma and taste will have you expecting a a much darker beer.  The beer was very good, not up to the level of Cake is a Lie, but given that Intergalactic is closing, Blackwood may become our beer of choice.

Savagewood impressed us with their expanded menu, Movie and Free Pizza night offerings and a less industrial appearance than O'Sullivan' Brother's.  And given that it is just over a mile from the house, I am sure we will be back.

As told by Fabrece:

 San Diego is home to over 100 different breweries at the time of this post. Savagewood is on the of the most recent to move into Scripps Ranch at the time of this post, moving into a previous breweries location. After going to their initial opening, I haven't been back for months because of all the other options. They had a collaboration with on of the local coffee shop, House of Black Coffee, and on a whim we decided to go back. The beer was excellent as well as several of the other collaborations they had on tap. I'm not normally a fan of IPAs, but their Key Lime Pie IPA had me tasting a nice subtitle hint of lime with a creamy finish. Not only do they interact with other establishments, but they host many events in their tap room including pizza days and movie nights. 

 The only draw back for this brewery is the seating area. The industrial look is alright, but I wish they changed the tap room a little more because it reminds me of O'Sullivan's. The main compliant is there isn't any AC and you sit with all the kettles. This can be very hot and now that it is summer cold beer can only do so much. 


Location: 9859 Hibert St, San Diego, CA 92131, USA

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