New English Brewing has been quietly stacking up medals in San Diego since 2007, from Great American Beer Festival wins to a World Beer Cup bronze, without ever really leaving its own neighborhood. It’s still an independent, family-owned operation, and the beer only travels as far as its own taps and 16oz 4-packs.
Here’s the full current lineup, the story behind the brewery, and what the tasting room in Sorrento Valley is actually like.
The Story Behind New English Brewing
New English Brewing opened in 2007 in San Diego, and it’s still independent and family-owned today. Founder and owner Simon Lacey grew up in England but has lived in San Diego for years, and the brewery’s whole approach traces back to one line from him: he wanted to brew “something for everyone.”
That shows in the lineup. Rather than chasing one trend, New English brews across IPAs, stouts, lagers, fruit beers, Belgian styles and sours, and the range has picked up close to 50 medals along the way, including wins at the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup. San Diego Magazine and The West Coaster have both called it one of the best breweries in the city.
In 2018, New English switched its packaging to cans and gave the whole lineup a redesign built around a bold X motif, a nod to the brewery’s own belief that the best beers come from the intersection of innovation, learning, adapting and just being a bit bold about it.
Visiting New English Brewing
New English operates out of a 10,000 square foot facility in Sorrento Valley, with production, canning, tasting, food and events all on site. There are two adjoining tasting rooms: the Barrel Room, where large glass roll-up doors open onto a patio and garden with plenty of seating, and the Pub side, which has TVs for sports and a games room with darts. Between the two rooms there’s usually 15 to 20 beers on tap.
It’s built to be a hangout rather than just a stop for a flight. Dogs and kids are both welcome, food comes from rotating local vendors including Mom’s Pizza and The Crafty Taco, and the whole space leans casual: whiskey barrels doubling as tables, string lights overhead, a patio and lawn out back. If you’re picturing something closer to a backyard than a brewery, that’s roughly the vibe New English has gone for.
Address: 11545 Sorrento Valley Rd. Suite 305, San Diego, CA 92121
Hours: Monday to Wednesday 3-9pm, Thursday 3-9:30pm, Friday and Saturday 12-9:30pm, Sunday 1-8pm
Good to know: complimentary parking, 16oz 4-packs to go, and Tuesday’s “Toasting Tuesday” special runs $5 pints of Por Favor Pils from 3-9pm.
The Full Beer Lineup, Reviewed
Ratings below reflect aggregated community scores, not our own first-hand tasting notes, since New English is a San Diego-only pour and we haven’t been able to get bottles here. Descriptions come straight from the brewery’s own tasting notes and specs. Since none of these are sold outside San Diego, we’ve also flagged a similar beer you can actually buy after each one.
Pure & Simple IPA
Rating: 3.80/5 from 4,427 ratings · Style: West Coast IPA · ABV: 6.5%
West Coast style with Mosaic and Citra hops. Bursting with fresh tropical fruit aromas of melon, mango, guava and peach. Smooth with a hint of bitterness, refreshing and delicious.
Recognition: San Diego International Beer Competition Gold Medal winner.
Zumbar Chocolate Coffee Imperial Stout
Rating: 3.98/5 from 6,020 ratings · Style: Russian Imperial Stout · ABV: 9.3%
Dark and delicious Russian Imperial Stout. Smooth coffee flavor and aroma blend with mellow Belgian dark chocolate goodness, brewed with locally roasted coffee from Zumbar Coffee & Tea.
Recognition: Two GABF medals and Best of Show at the LA International beer competition.
Whole Lotta Hazy IPA
Rating: 3.79/5 from 1,487 ratings · Style: New England / Hazy IPA · ABV: 6.7%
Citra in the kettle with Mosaic and Simcoe dry hops. A complex yet approachable, smooth and refreshing New England style IPA with a solid haze and only a hint of hop bitterness.
Brewers Special Brown Ale
Rating: 3.62/5 from 3,051 ratings · Style: English Brown Ale · ABV: 6.6%
A core beer since New English opened its doors. True to style with English hops, malty, smooth and satisfying.
Recognition: World Beer Cup Bronze Medal, 2016. Known locally as “the best brown in town”.
Explorer ESB
Rating: 3.58/5 from 1,374 ratings · Style: Extra Special Bitter · ABV: 5.8%
A classic English-style pub pale ale. Malt forward with toffee and caramel notes, built on English Fuggle hops.
Recognition: Gold Medal, Los Angeles International Beer Competition.
Humbly Legit IPA
Rating: 3.62/5 from 2,288 ratings · Style: West Coast IPA · ABV: 7.5%
New English’s original West Coast style IPA. Cascade and Centennial hops give it pine and citrus notes with a flavor of Seville orange, and a touch of rye malt adds a hint of spice.
Por Favor Pils
Rating: 3.54/5 from 526 ratings · Style: Pilsner · ABV: 4.8%
A crisp, clean Pilsner brewed with Czech Saaz hops and American 2-Row barley, cold fermented for a pure, light-bodied beer that’s hugely drinkable with a character of its own.
Bloody Orange IPA
Rating: 3.69/5 from 510 ratings · Style: American IPA · ABV: 7.2%
Brewed with dried sweet orange peel and real blood orange fruit puree for a hint of color and a hit of orange zest. Mosaic dry hops add their own twist to this San Diego classic.
Hop Slap’d Pale Ale
Rating: 3.73/5 from 775 ratings · Style: American Pale Ale · ABV: 5.5%
Built around the mighty Mosaic aroma hop, dry-hopped at the same rate as a double IPA but packed into a crushable San Diego session beer.
Belgian Blonde
Rating: 3.61/5 from 105 ratings · Style: Belgian Blonde Ale · ABV: 6.8%
New English’s take on a classic Belgian Abbey ale. Golden blonde with a smooth, rich body and creamy white head, a slight aroma of cloves, and a hint of vanilla underneath the fruit.
Valley Fog Hazy DIPA
Rating: 3.83/5 from 200 ratings · Style: Imperial / Double IPA · ABV: 8.3%
Named for the morning marine layer that swirls around the brewery most of the year. A double hazy IPA packed with tropical fruit from Mosaic and Aloha hops, with a smooth, creamy texture.
Pacific Storm Stout
Rating: 3.63/5 from 1,335 ratings · Style: Irish Dry Stout · ABV: 5.0%
A classic dry Irish stout, poured from a traditional nitro faucet for a soft, creamy head atop a proper black stout.
Barrel Aged Brown Ale
Rating: 3.92/5 from 849 ratings · Style: Brown Ale, bourbon barrel-aged · ABV: 8.0%
Brewers Special Brown Ale aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels for a minimum of nine months, picking up hints of oak and vanilla for a smooth, aromatic result.
Vienna Lager
Style: Vienna / Amber Lager · ABV: 5.5% · not yet widely rated
Sometimes called an amber lager. Vienna Lager keeps the clean character of a lager while carrying a smooth creaminess and a light toasty maltiness. Very sessionable.
Local Lager
Style: Bavarian-Style Helles · ABV: 5.0% · not yet widely rated
A Bavarian-style Helles: refreshing with a smooth malt flavor balanced by delicate Noble German hops, built for a can’t-wait-for-Friday pint.
Berliner Weisse Kettle Sour
Style: Kettle Sour · ABV: 5.5% · not yet widely rated
Perfectly tart, crisp and refreshing, light and balanced, with a fragrant fruit aroma.
