Beer tastes better when freshly brewed, just as cars perform better when their gasoline is freshly squeezed from a fossil. Tipple a tenderly crafted brew with today's Groupon to Mission Brewery. Choose between the following options:
- For $40, you get a private beer tasting and brewery tour for up to 10 people (an $80 value).
- For $15, you get $30 worth of craft beer pints, bottles to take home, flights, and t-shirts.
Mission Brewery's hop wranglers brew a kaleidoscope of award-winning beers within a historic brewery building. Bands of up to 10 ale aficionados can tour the immaculate sud-sculpting facility, which is housed within the exposed brick and lofty ceilings of the historic Wonder bread building, exploring the equipment, learning beer-brewing steps, and hearing moral melodies sung by malt-slinging oompa loompas. A flight of beer for each visitor lavishes taste buds with a sampling of the brewery's masterpieces. Those who opt to kick back and savor a pint ($5–$7) can choose from among the brewery's six varieties served on-site. The gilded hues of brews such as the Kölsch-style Mission blonde and the Bavarian-fashioned Mission hefeweizen burst with crisp flavors and complex fruitiness, while the powerful hops of the Mission IPA, Shipwrecked Double IPA, and enigmatic maltiness of the Dark Seas Russian imperial stout, a new release available September 22, force reeling taste buds to register for karate lessons. Imbibers can also take a batch of bottles home ($7.49–$10.49), or don a brewery T-shirt ($18) to tout their lager loyalty.
Mission Brewery
The early 20th century birthed the first incarnation of Mission Brewery, in which California newsboys and other pre–Jazz Era scallywags tossed back their sudsy concoctions before Prohibition closed its doors. Despite its short tenure since its reestablishment in 2007, Mission Brewery has already snatched medals from the Great American Beer Festival and other competitions for its pantheon of brews. In its tasting room, patrons claim bottles or sample draft beers that include the Bavarian-style hefeweizen with hints of banana, clove, and pear; a russian imperial stout; or the Shipwrecked Double IPA, a strong concoction that, like walking on hot coals, benefits from a liberal use of hops. Located just a few blocks from the San Diego Padre's Petco Park, guests can enjoy tours through the rows of gleaming vats in the brewing chambers, which are housed in the historic Wonder Bread Building, rumored to be haunted by multicolored polka dots.