Sunny Grove Brewing Company

Rarely do you find yourself in Santee unless you’re driving through or you live nearby, but had this on my list so we stopped for a pint. Not far from the highway and located in the classic California scene…an industrial business park. Clean and open space, standard for modern breweries. Owner and brewer is a great guy who is passionate about his operation and beers. Plenty of lagers and European styles, which these days is awesome as it seems every new brewery focused on hoppy beers. I had an English Mild! Food trucks and some good tunes out on the patio are an added bonus. Just wish this place was closer to civilization. Worth the trek? Maybe. Worth a stop if you’re in the area? Absolutely.

Bright, open warehouse. I like the vibe much better than the previous tenants. The white walls and the back warehouse gate being open makes the space feel huge. You can sit at the bar near the brewing, or you can sit at various tables, or on the faux-grass patio in the parking lot. Sports, movies, news on the various TVs. Loud rock music. Clean, modern vibe overall.

The beers were solid, especially for having just opened. I've been to a few openings that were pretty rough and got better with time. Right out of the gate they have a solid lager, an English mild and some good West Coast IPAs. The hazy was forgettable, but we can forgive that in these parts. Beer list is short for now, hopefully that will grow and diversify with time.

Solid addition to the generally lackluster East County scene, hopefully these folks will do well. If you're out in East County, this is worth a look, though not over McIlhenney or... well actually just McIlhenny, not much else in East County that's worth prioritizing. If you're near, give them some love.