All About Brewing

Love getting my brew supplies here. Both Jim and Dennis are really friendly and helpful. I like how coming from La Mesa its very conveniently located right off the 8. They have several recipe kits that as a novice brewer have been really helpful jumping off points for me to put my own spin on. The recipe kits are also great for the times when im in a rush and dont have a lot of time to spend in the store. Thanks guys, keep up the good work!

Looked like a great home brewing supply store — but I was seeking a brewery! I.e., somewhere to drink beer! Oops.

I enjoyed shopping at All About Brewing. They were attentive, helpful and knowledgable. I went in with an interesting recipe from HBT and they were able to help me piece together everything I needed. When a question came up on a hop variety they didn’t have, they took the time to research a suitable substitute and explain the differences. Their prices are a little lower than HBM and very competitive for the rest of the area Home Brew Supply shops. I will be shopping there again soon for my first Lager brew and some equipment upgrades!

I have been using all about brewing exclusively for almost three years now. Jim the owner and Dennis have always given me great, useful, and honest advice.
I’ve always appreciated the more personal feel of the store vs. some of the other stores around San Diego. I find that there prices are fair compared to other stores in San Diego and most internet sites.
Working right around the corner form this store my opinion is biased but I’ve come to consider this place to be my «cheers». I even like to spend my lunch breaks just chatting.
These guys are genuine beer lovers and have always helped me get my batches off the ground successfully.

This is an extremely well stocked, conveniently located just off the freeway location. Easy in and out. If you’re new to brewing, I highly recommend their FREE, yes FREE monthly class which is very informative and helpful. Far preferable to the $ 20-​$ 25 a few places charge for the very same thing. They’re true pros; walking encyclopedias on the brewer’s art and their expertise will be a real asset to you. If you buy a kit, the instructions are broken down into a simple step by step process and it’s very easy to follow. They’re anxious to help, and very forthcoming with information. We’re giving them all of our business!

Great place to find anything and everything related to making that amazing ice cold glass of greatness! As for the prices they are the best in the county! The owner has a great passion for making beer and he wanted to open a place where he could share that passion with fellow san diegans… I highly recommend you try this shop out!

I came to get my co2 tank filled for my kegerator and I left with a ton of knowledge and tips on keeping my kegerator low maintenance. The guy I talked to (i believe to be the owner) gave me all sorts of ideas to improve my keg experience without trying to up sell me a bunch of stuff. I’ve been thinking of brewing at home for a long time and knowing there is a great place in east county closes the deal. Great work!

I live in La Mesa and i’ll be honest; trekking all the way over to Linda Vista to the Homebrew Mart can be a long round trip drive. So i decided to give All About Brewing a shot.
They do have a decent selection of grains and equipment. They have an okay selection of hops and yeast. They have a meh knowledge of brewing help. Don’t get me wrong — their customer service is attentive but i wasn’t impressed about the responses i got back when engaging the guy who worked there about brewing.
I’m a yeast and hop girl and love to experiment with different flavor profiles through those avenues. I brought along my hop catalogue and asked about some speciality hops. The guy just shrugged his shoulders and said what was in the fridge is what they had. I then asked the guy working there about a yeasts. I stopped in my tracks when he asked what a Wit was. Seriously?! A Wit beer? A Witbier? A Weissbier?
Deciding that maybe that experience was a rarity i went back to get bottles for my brew a few weeks later and it was the same guy working there again. He just didn’t seem into the beer thing. Which, is disappointing. Although the Homebrew Mart can be super busy at least everyone working there is totally into brewing and exceptionally knowledgable, or at least curious enough to ask you about why you want the flavors you’re looking for.
By no means do i ever need excellent customer service because i know that’s becoming a lost art. But the craft beer scene in San Diego is like this wonderfully awesome community, especially among homebrewers. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a better level of interest from one of the few supply shops in the area. At least get a customer service employee who enjoys brewing! I’m even more bummed that Home Brews & Gardens closed now.

Wow, this place has gone way downhill in the past 6 months. First of all, they lost the best part of their shop, Greg. Greg was a very knowledgeable, and experienced brewer. The last time I was in, the guy working the counter (the only one in the shop), told me he has never even brewed before. When they were out of the hops we wanted, he referred my friend directly to a generic hop sub chart, I had to tell him that none of the hops listed were a decent sub for Amarillo, contrary to the chart. Pretty bizarre to have someone with zero related experience working at your specialty shop. The prices seem to be higher on average, especially if you get an AHA, or similar discount at other shops. Each time I see the owner, he seems disinterested, and not pleased with the fact that I’m only buying one or two ingredients, as opposed to my entire grain bill. Overall, there are just too many choices in San Diego to keep going back to this place. Maybe if you’re in a pinch, or can’t drive out of El Cajon you can go for it, otherwise you owe it to yourself to take a short drive to North Park, or Linda Vista Road, you’ll see the difference immediately!

100^th REVIEWWWWwwwwwwwwwww… crickets…chirp…
It has been awhile since I posted a review but this place needs to be recognized for any home brewer, aspiring home brewer, or just a plain craft beer lover. Come here and buy your ingredients. Lots of grains, hops, yeast, and extracts are a tad higher than the online retailers but you don’t have to wait a week for it to ship. Also that liquid yeast that is supposed to be kept cold won’t be sitting in a package in the sun after a long trip from the Midwest. All About Brewing has a nice grain mill, and a great selection for a small homebrew supply shop. I’ve been here on multiple occasions when I want to brew something and I don’t want to wait for it to ship. I even got some parts from here to make my 10-​gallon mash-​tun which has made all grain brewing much easier.
For people who have never brewed beer before, they have everything to get you started. This place also sells beer kits that are clones of your favorite beers. I like the saying, «If you can make macaroni and cheese from a box, then you can brew beer.» It’s true. Brewing beer can be as simple as dumping malt extract into boiling water, adding hops, and then yeast when it cools. If you have been doing this hobby for awhile, this place is pretty well stocked with multiple types of grain, hops, and equipment that you might need in that «oh sh*t, I’m out of this or need that brewing day moment.»
If you do get into homebrewing, your spouse may be annoyed that half of the garage is filled with carboys, boil kettles, mash-​tun, hoses, etc, etc, more equipment, etc, boxes of bottles, 2 keg dedicated beer fridge, etc… But man this hobby is fun, and the best reward is the great beer you will make.
All About Brewing, you are a great homebrew supply shop and I raise my glass to you. Cheers.

I have to up the stars to 5. The service is outstanding and the prices are better than any local shop that I’ve found. I’ve also moved to Santee so this makes it a no brainer to make it my go to spot for any home brew supplies, whether it be equipment or ingredients.

Finally, I don’t have to go to Homebrew Mart in San Diego to get supplies. For me, It is great not having to drive 20 miles west!
Prices and selection are good. The store is clean, well laid out and Jim the owner is really nice. Plus, his customer service is above par!
I would give it 5 stars if he was open Sunday’s and had extended hours on Saturday’s.
I recommend that you give this place a try.
Cheers

I love this place. Not as large (or crowded) as the other guys, but I have found everything I have needed. The pre made kits are excellent, and they will even fill (swap) your co2 cylinder for you. I love being able to tackle my grain bill and co2 needs in one place!

I stopped by here last weekend for the first time after hearing about it from some other QUAFF members. It’s great not to have to drive far for ingredients!
The store we very clean and well laid out with bulk grains in the center and specialty grains in bins on the wall. They have a motorized mill that did a great job crushing for me. I have been all-​grain brewing for a while, but have yet to invest in a mill, so having a shop with a quality mill is important. Yeast was pretty fresh, although they didn’t have my first choice, I was able to find a suitable alternative. Prices were pretty reasonable for a smaller LHBS, and I’m willing to pay a tad more to support a local business.
They also have lots of small repair parts, clearly labelled and organized, so it’s nice to have them close by when an emergency arises.
The owner (Jim) was away from the shop, but his father (also Jim) was filling in and was a super nice guy. Thanks for the great conversation while milling 25lbs of grain!
Stopping one short of 5 starts due to a slightly small inventory assortment, but you can’t fault them too much since they’ve only been open since April! I’ll revisit this review in a year. Looking forward to many batches with this shop.

I stopped by on a whim and was very impressed. They have fantastic grain prices and very reasonable equipment prices. Friendly guy knowledgeable and helpful.

It’s awesome to have a homebrew shop in El Cajon; that alone would get me in the door. But this place has great prices too. Some of the best prices in town on malts, yeast, hops, and extract.
The owner is friendly and recognizes you once you’ve been in a few times. He also has a kegerator in the back so you can try some of his homebrew.
The only reason I give 4 starts instead of 5 is I would like to see an expansion of inventory. They have lots of the standard ingredients, but I’ve occasionally had to hit a second store to find something more rare. But the place is new, so I’ll give it some time. Great shop!

I am glad to see a brewing supply store in east county. As well as home brewing supplies they carry a large selection of keg and draft beer dispensing hardware, fittings etc. The owner, Jim is very friendly and helpful and he knows alot about brewing beer at home.

The owner, Jim, is a very friendly guy and is looking to do right by his customers, taking any suggestions for products they don’t currently have very seriously. They have quite a decent selection already, with most grains you could need and a motorised Barley Crusher to chew through it for you. There is also the expected cleaning and sanitising solutions, bags of DME at a quite reasonable $ 12-​$ 13 for 3lbs, and a variety of racking/​kegging/​misc equipment that you might need.
I’m very excited to see how All About Brewing progresses, as I think they fill sorely needed LHBS gap out in East County, and they are quite literally right off the 8 Fwy on Johnson, right across from the mall so it’s easy to get to and find. I will most definitely be going back!