Helm’s Brewing Co.

Helms brewery is one of my business neighbors, I stop in occasionally and get a beer, my favorite is the beeruccino with a coffee and chocolate note.
This is a dog friendly brewery or you can bring your dogs and children and have a family time in a nice setting

So we had been here awhile and had a few pints. Ordinary industrial park setting. Mostly 3 – 3.5 star beers. I was set to try just one more, depart, and then assign 3 stars to this micro-​brewery.
And then it happened. I ordered a ($ 6.50) pint of Dark Waters, their 9.3% ABV version of a belgian strong ale. Very flat brew providing a softer, fuller-​mouth feel. Excellent balancing of a well-​spiced belgian with the punching power of a strong ale. Dark Waters is deep (pun). A great beer worthy of 5 stars. And if they be brewing up Dark Waters, that mere fact makes thus a 4 star place…
Their 6.8% black IPA (‘Black Pearl’) was solid if non-​remarkable. Toasty. Malty. I suggest warming up for Dark Waters with a Black Pearl to set up your palate. Then get ready to dive deep! Come on in — the ‘Waters’ fine…

I’ve had a couple of their beers at festivals and I finally made the voyage to the tasting room. The beertender was a super jovial long haired man. He was talkative and knowledgeable. I feel bad for forgetting his name, but whomever you are, bravo sir. Thanks for making my experience so enjoyable.
The beer was delicious. I rarely ever get excited about pale ales but boy did I love the Captains Pale Ale. Hop the RIPA was also quite good. Go get a flight so you can try them all. I will definitely be coming back to Helm’s.

So I just tried to come here… it is a Friday night at 8pm and they close at 9pm. We are walking up and we hear the person working there say «fuck» so we we walk in and I ask, «oh we’re you about to close?» (knowing they don’t actually close until 9) and the person says «Yeah…» So I said that we would just leave and they responded «sorry about that». If it is a Friday night at you are advertising that you are open until 9 you better accommodate people that come at 8… San Diego has a plethora of amazing breweries and I will not be wasting my time with such terrible customer service.

Helm’s Brewing Co. is your typical small brewery in the Convoy area. Same set up and everything. I came here on a whim with my pops during his birthday week to check it out as we try to go to all the new breweries in town. We tried about five beers and they were all fairly average, I like beer so I enjoyed them I suppose. Nothing really stood out, but nothing was repulsive either. The biggest problem was that no one was behind the bar when I was there for an entire half hour. Yes they were open. I literally had employees walk past me and had to summon them and get their attention. One of them was loading up a truck and I don’t really know what the other was doing, either way no one was being served. There are tons of breweries in San Diego now and if you’re not able to stand out or serve your customers then customers will go to the other brewery.
TLDR; Don’t bother.

Not only did we love the beer here, but the service was also top notch. The bartenders seemed to know everyone by name. It was a very friendly, family oriented atmosphere. It’s dog friendly and has plenty of room for people and their pooches. My hubby and I bought some merch and needed a bag to carry it in since we were walking to some other breweries. The bartender went to her car and got us one of her own reusable bags! That’s some amazing service!

This small operation is located near the end of Kearny Mesa Rd just north of Clairemont Mesa Blvd. If this is your first time, you might need to drive around the warehouses a little bit to find the place. Just keep an eye out for their sign. They open both ends, so you can enter from either side. They have a small but decent selection of beers. Beeruccino is pretty good stuff and is probably the reason why you’re here. I love a good porter or stout and the Beeruccino was what brought me here. It was indeed as good as advertised. It won a best 5 of San Diego award back in 2013. They have other types of beer, so it would be best to get a flight to check them out.

Located behind the Harley dealership on Kearny Villa. You’ll have to be a little more attentive in finding this brewery since its nestled a little bit deeper from the Main Street without any extra notable signs.
Aside from its location, it’s actually a decent brewery with a standard line up of beers. Their award winning Beeruccino was my fave — the rich sweet malty coffee tasting Porter. «Hop the RIPA» is a nice version of a red eye IPA.
Wicked as Sin amongst the staples is drinkable in large quantities and their Low Tide Blonde Ale has a quenchability and slightly sweet finish.
Not bad at all for a stop on the Kearny Mesa beer circuit.

Great micro-​brewery in Kearny Mesa. Good beer nice atmosphere. I would have given 5 stars, but they need more seating. Try Wicked as Sin if you like IPAs.

Cute, quaint brewery in Clairemont.
The place is in the middle of an industrial park so you cant really see it by the freeway or the street that it is located in, you have to make a turn to get to it.
There was a good selection to choose from, of pale ales, blondes, coffee-​like ones and more. I would say at least 10 on tap to choose from.
Very simple atmosphere, the service was a little slow but we werent in a rush so it was fine.
Good space to go to happy hour or grab a beer if you are in the area.
And. my favorite — dog friendly!

Helms is tucked away in an industrial park, but it is awesome.
The staff was really nice when we went there, and they had some pretty good beers on tap as well.
I love that they are experimenting with home brew setups in the front of the brewery.

I went to a Unilocal event late last year and got the beer-​ichino and loved it so decided to give this place a try after work one day last week. Nice establishment and fairly easy to find with gps. Brought my growler and got the ‘wicked as sin’ fill for $ 18. Got some tasters and liked the stouts and wicked as sin and the other ipa. Friendly staff and dog friendly with some games in the back to play.

Like many breweries, this place is in a small industrial are tucked away at the edge of neighborhoods where you might be. Perk is that there is plenty of parking and dogs are welcome.
Beers are great, games are available to play, sports is on the TV, and the staff is friendly

Enjoyed stopping in to this brewery very much. It has a nice casual vibe and the beer is good! Really enjoyed the Ripaccino beer. It reminds me of Thanksgiving because it has a spicy flavor. They also have a great food truck featuring lobster faire from Maine, which we can attest is excellent, as we had it it at the Farmers Market in Hillcrest last week. Love the great smell of seafood while enjoying this beer, as it goes with the nautical décor in that it’s called Helms.

GREAT VIBE! Very friendly staff, no hassle to get to. No traffic to deal with as it’s just past Dan Diego Harley and frequented by dog lovers with the animal hospital next door.
Met a couple of the owners, Clayton and Robert. They were helping out behind the bar as well as make everyone feel right at home.
A warm, comfortable place with great brew! Thoroughly enjoyed the Black Pearl!
Thanks for the hospitality guys! I’m sure you’ll be seeing me again!

One of the many breweries in the surrounding areas. Stopped by after Societe Brewing Company. Definitely smaller with more of an intimate feel than Societe. Very friendly with sampling beers. For stout lovers, I’d recommend Chocolate Stout. Absolutely loved Hop The RIPA! Would recommend for any IPA lover.
It’s right in the middle of an industrial park, and about 5 – 10 minutes from five other breweries. Worth the visit!

Type.. .. .. .. .. .Brewery Tasting Room
Location.. .. .…Industrial Zone
Prices.. .. .. .…Normal
Tap Selection.…Extensive, 10 House Beers
Bottle Selection. .Possibly to go
Full Bar.. .. .. .. .No
Samplers.. .. .. …Yes, $ 1-​$ 2 per sample
Full Pours.. .. .. .Yes
Beer Level.. .…Below Average to Poor
Food Level.. .. …n/​a
Staff.. .. .. .. .. .Friendly, Engaging
Growlers.. .. .. …Yes
Noise Level.. .. .Loud
Décor.. .. .. .…Warehouse
Good for Kids.. .No
Parking.. .. .. . …Shared Lot
Cash Only.. .…No
Recommended. .For ticking, sure
Comments: One of ~80 SD County brewery tasting rooms to get your beer tick on. Beers here had a decent variety of styles plus a cask version of sorts, but the quality was lacking with some very bad offerings. So unless you are solely interesting in trying new beers, I’d safely say «skip it.»

Amazing first time here! Brian was very friendly. The atmosphere was open, very clean, and inviting. It’s tucked away at the end of the business district but it’s a really nice find! The board games offered are plentiful and in great condition.
My favorites are the Beeruccino and the Black Pearl but I love dark beers. The pale ale was delicious too. I’m not a big fan of IPAs but they are definitely filled with lots of amazing flavors and I would highly recommend them.
Overall, I’ll be back again for a nice, clean inviting atmosphere, friendly service, and great tasting beer. What more can you ask for?

I visited this brewery when a friend had a fundraiser here. It was cool for the brewery for working with her to help her raise money for a charity so kudos to them for that.
It’s your typical industrial brewery tasting room so not a lot going on in terms of ambience or décor but I didn’t expect any different.
I had a few tasters and a pint of one of my selections. I thought none of the beers I tried were standouts. Nothing wrong with them but also nothing special or unique about any of them. But in a town full of craft beers, a brewery really needs to step up its game to be a standout or to garner anything more than 3 stars in my book.

This place is a cool biker brewery. It has an open, warehouse feel to it and is in a industrial area near a few bike shops and motorcycle repair shops. We went on a night where they had fruity pebble beer on cask and it was very sweet. It smelled and tasted very much like fruity pebbles. I enjoyed it, but it’s not a beer that I would consider drinking on a regular basis. I was able to try some other tasters… Wicked as sin was my favorite to taste and I almost purchased a growler of it. The reason I didn’t was because my boyfriend reminded me that it wasn’t a brewery that we frequently visit because of location.
I would definitely go back and try more special beers again, but I might not make a stop on a regular night.