Bagby Beer Company

Nice low rise building with open windows in the front. Clean modern decor, wood, tile, minimal lighting. 20 beers on tap, focused on traditional styles - lagers, english ales, belgians, only 1 IPA. The pint of Brown Ale I had was excellent. Didnt have a chance to have food

A few days in but a day or so before we have to go. Plans changing daily, hourly, as does when traveling with friends sans any kind of real agenda. Having nearly been killed by breakfast a go go, the late morning start became early afternoon. We need to go to Bagby. I don’t know why I feel we do, but I knows we do. I just knows it. A little drive up north, parked, and jaywalked to…

Standalone long low wood & window joint of a once upon a time car dealership. Enter in off the corner of the room, a wide open space. Two tone lime green walls at one end, white on the other. Roll up garage door panel window front wall with bar counter seating the length for nearly a dozen and a half. Concrete floors sided, black rafter ceiling with ducts blended. Spinnys across the room, drop spool lamps tracing the bar, and spots and track lighting about.

On the back wall, a straight wood board topped bar with a horizontal plank base, and seating for 15 of squishy squared cushioned stools. Gray subway tiled barback wall with a center 41 tap knob handle row stainless steel box over drainage. Glassware & tiered booze countered to the left, and glassware & wine taps to the right. A vertical draft board amidst shelved booze to each side of a center flatscreen above the taps. Cooler space below for bottle & can selections. Orval tin and a sign for the Orval Day venue fronting a giant Orval chalice on the tap box. And before I forget, this is a Zwanze location (respect, yo). A pair of loooooong shared hightops on cushy stools adjacent to the bar, and another one cornered on benchings.

20 house beers, 21 guest taps, and 8 wines. Hold on. So, 21 guest taps here at this bar, but there are, wait, what? 17 more guest taps served at the multiple bars throughout the facility? Ah, you lyin’. Went on walkabout to see what what for myself. Huge backyard space both in & outside with an outer pen duel bar counter seating for 28. And upstairs and all around. There are 4 bars in total; up front inside where I abandoned my friends, the corner outside down back there bar with a pizza oven (or so it’s loosely referred to or should be anyway), the growler fill space, and upstairs (more traditional seating + the rooftop deck).

But I’m here for the house beer; 20 of them, and I’m a-thinking I’d like to take a bunch of ‘em in. There were the ones I got to (Sweet Ride, German Pilsner, 4.7%, clean, bitter, nice bite; Upside Down Frown Brown, American Brown Ale, 6%, malty, good hoppiness, nice beer; Asphalt Jungle, Irish Dry Stout, 4.7%, on nitro, silky, good roast; Of Kolsch, 4.9%, pleasant fruity esters; Alt in the Family, German Altbier, 5.3%, bready, solid malt backbone; Ryet On Man, Roggenbier, 5.5%, spicy ryeness as it should be; On a Dubbel, Belgian Dubbel, 6.7%, candy sugar sweety; Herd of Turtles, Baltic Porter, 9.6%, iiiiiiiiinky, dark fruit, chocolate) and the ones I didn’t get to (Back Garden, English Pale Ale, 4%; Weisser Than I Look, Hefeweizen, 6.1%; Continental Cream Ale, 4.2%; All You Need Is Love, American Pale Ale, 4.8%; Street Red, American Red Ale, 5.8%; Pesky Neighbor, American Strong Pale Ale, 6%; Worker Bee, Golden Ale with honey, 6.5%; Dork Squad, IPA, 7.6%; Corn Star, Malt Liquor, 9.2%; Genius, Imperial IPA, 9.8%; Hop Whompus, Imperial Red Ale, 9.8%; Super Girl, Belgian Strong Pale Ale, 11.5%). The beers were all very good.

And the aforementioned 38 guest taps here, there, and everywhere; a mix of localish (Beachwood, Fall, Artifex, Hollister, Firestone Walker, Societe, Smog City, Pizza Port, Port Brewing, Alesmith, Sierra Nevada, Mikkeller, New English) and import. They’ve also got 20+ bottles & cans; I spy most of the Merchant du Vin collection minus Lindemans. (Lovely) Orval runs a cool $9.

Service was good. Seantending just now. We talked about Peter Gabriel, Orval, and Zwanze, as one does. Tunes, yes, they play the tunes; Psychedelic Furs, old Bowie, A Flock of Seagulls, the uge. Food, yeah, they’ve got food. Didn’t get into it as again, crippling breakfast. Still, wings would have been nice but it was not to be. Beers were clean and delightful, excellent variety. Glad we made it here. Ben is stretching his core, I think that means we’re moving on…

 

 

 

 

this place has been recommended to me so many times by trusted beer friends that we had to make the trip up north from where we were staying in san diego to check it out, a pretty drive up the coast to say the very least. their space is incredible, built in an old mechanic shop i believe not far from the ocean and easy to get to. they have a huge bar right in front when you walk in, but thats not where we hung out. there is a cool courtyard outdoor area and a staircase there that leads up to their wonderful rooftop, one of the best in the business. there is a great open air space there with ocean views and an indoor/outdoor bar and more dining area, we sat on the outside part of the bar and were serviced fantastically by the young man behind the bar there, attentive and friendly service, lots of beer knowledge, and right on with the suggestions. the selection here is absurd, seriously next level. they had maybe 20 of their own beers on, maybe more, and at least that many guest drafts including local heavy hitters and international beers alike. on top of all that, they have a dynamite bottle list that has some real gems on it, some of the headier stuff i saw anywhere on our trip really, so if you cant find a beer you like here, you arent a beer drinker. the in house beers are predictably excellent given the brewers pedigree. we were there in the morning and the day was already hot, so the highlights for us were the lighter ones, a nice honey blonde, a blood orange session hefeweizen, both perfect summery beers to start the day with. they had a solid looking brunch but we were just in for beers. i will definitely be back for food next time though, i could have sat here all day and explored the beer list, but alas we had places to be. such a great spot up on that roof, elite beer list, and some great stuff being made here. a highlight of our southern california trip for sure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stopped while on Beer Safari in No San Diego county. Knew of Jeff Bagby from Pizza Port but had not heard about his new brewery until this trip. Large building on main drag Oceanside. 23 Bagby Beer taps and 18 guest taps. Plus a good selection of well chosen bottles. Service was great with high knowledge conversations. Had a good time learning from and swapping beer stories with Camden (former fellow Marylander). Friendly mature beer people. Pride not pretension. Beer was top notch and food also very good...quality and selection.

 

 

 

I really enjoyed my time at Bagby, it was a large place with a really nice atmosphere. I liked how the bathroom sinks were Perlick style taps. The beer was simple, but good. I had a cream ale and a nitro pale ale, both were brewed on point, nothing fancy, and that's why I liked the beers so much.

Great tap list, service, and food.

 

 

 

 

Went to Bagby on a Thursday for lunch. The place is immaculate and I could imagine it would be incredible when packed. The beer was pretty good - great guest taps - and the servers were great!

 

 

 

Very new and nice set up. Visited early evening and found the place busy but not jammed. Dining area was full but found a comfortable table back in the patio area under a much appreciated heater this cool winter eve. Food menu looked to be a step up from typical Brewpub fare. Fish tacos, brussel sprouts and salads were all solid. Now the beer - only sampled 3 of their 12 in house beers, but all were good to great. Do not miss the fantastic Dork Squad. They also had another 15 or so guest taps. In a land of great IPAs do not miss this beer. Service was attentive but not terribly beer savvy.

Stopped by on a Monday night around eight. Decent crowd but not overly busy. Very cool vibe to the place. Excellent beer selection including ~10-12 house beers and a nice selection of other locals.

I really enjoyed the couple of house pale ales. Really, really nice. Also enjoyed the food. I was with three other folks, all veggies and we each got something different and shared. The brussel sprouts being the highlight.

If I lived in Oceanside I would most likely frequent this establishment. I hope to visit once more before heading out.

 

Not sure if the beer I got (hop crop extra pale) just wasn't my thing or what, but I really did not have a great experience. They seemed like they were trying to be a little too edgy by putting beer in all the food, giving it a very strange flavor. Beer gets a 3, while the food gets a generous 2. Thats about all I have to say about this place.

Great beer and great food. My wife and I had a great experience here and will return soon. The beer we tried was excellent. The place has numerous serving/tasting areas including a great outdoor patio area and a separate deck area with a little view of the ocean. A must try if you are in the area. Staff was very friendly to us,

 

 

Possibly Oceanside's biggest attraction for beer rests a short walk from the beach along the Coast Highway. While parking is limited to the street, finding a spot in the afternoon was not difficult. I was tipped off Bagby Beer Company by a co-worker who happens to live within walking distance of the brewery, hence my reason to visit after spending a short day in San Diego.

With such a large interior for patrons and more, bring a party of 20 should not be a problem here. The patio along the street was happening, and the bar was starting to fill up. After an hour and a half, the main area around the bar was nearly three-quarters full, showing that the word of Bagby Beer has spread around the community. There's another room behind the full which houses the brewhouse and extra seating (although no one was sitting around here). It was squeaky clean throughout the place, and that includes the bathrooms.


A small menu with bites like Belgian frites to plates for larger appetizers like bratwurst are available to compliment the beer. My frites were okay, but what made it fun to eat was that terrifyingly good beer cheese which comes on the side. My beers and food came out at a quick service, and the bar was well staffed for quick responses to what I may order next.

When I saw more than 40 beers on-tap, I wasn't sure if I was at a good beer bar or a brewery. "Only" 9 beers were house beers (English pale ale, wet hop ale, Irish stout, honey blonde, Imperial Red, e mais), however I heard talk that the house offerings are expected to double in the near future (another reason to return!). The two beers I had were more than decent, enjoyable beers for easy drinking. If you're too shy to try the house beer, go for the guest offerings (AleSmith, Unibroue, Weihenstephaner, Rip Current, Beachwood, Fruh, Hollister, Liefmans).

Don't leave out Bagby Beer if you're planning to visit Stone and Pizza Port. Simply a cool place to visit.