Coronado Brewing Company is one of the breweries that built San Diego’s reputation, and it is still going strong thirty years in. Brothers Ron and Rick Chapman opened a small brewpub in their hometown of Coronado in 1996, when the county had only a handful of breweries. Today the company brews in Bay Park, pours across multiple taprooms, and distributes to more than a dozen states, all while keeping the laid-back coastal identity it started with.

The basics

• Location: 170 Orange Avenue, Coronado (original brewpub); 1205 Knoxville Street, San Diego, Bay Park (production brewery and tasting room); 875 Seacoast Drive, Imperial Beach (CBC Pier-Side)
• Founded: 1996, by brothers Ron and Rick Chapman
• Known for: West Coast IPAs, Weekend Vibes IPA, Salty Crew Blonde Ale, 2014 World Beer Cup Champion Mid-Size Brewery and Brewmaster, 2024 Brewbound Craft Brewery of the Year

The taproom

The original Orange Avenue brewpub sits a block from the Coronado Ferry Landing, and it still feels like the heart of the company: a comfortable pub with booths, a wraparound bar, and a full food menu of burgers, salads, and pub fare. The Bay Park tasting room at the production brewery is the place for the fullest tap list, with around twenty beers pouring and a view of the brewhouse. The Imperial Beach location, CBC Pier-Side, adds a beach-town restaurant with sixteen taps right by the pier. All three are easy, family-friendly stops, and the Coronado pub pairs naturally with a day on the island.

Standout beers

• Weekend Vibes IPA: The flagship West Coast IPA and the beer that put modern Coronado on the map, tropical and juicy with a clean bitter finish, and a Great American Beer Festival bronze medalist.
• Salty Crew Blonde Ale: A collaboration with coastal apparel brand Salty Crew that became a core beer, easy-drinking, light, and built for the beach.
• Islander IPA: The beer that started it all, a World Beer Cup gold medal winner in 2014, balanced with grapefruit, apricot, and tangerine notes over a pine backbone.
• Orange Avenue Wit: A Belgian-style witbier brewed with local oranges, refreshing, citrusy, and named for the brewpub’s street.
• Nado: A jasmine-rice lager with a crisp, dry finish, a gold medal winner at the 2024 World Beer Cup and proof that Coronado does more than IPAs.

Our take

Coronado Brewing earns its veteran status. The portfolio is focused rather than sprawling, the flagships are genuinely good, and the three taprooms each offer a different but equally pleasant version of the same coastal experience. Our only caveat is that adventurous drinkers may find the core lineup familiar rather than boundary-pushing, though the rotating Chasing Waves series and seasonal releases fill that gap. For visitors and locals alike, the Orange Avenue pub remains one of the classic San Diego beer experiences, and Weekend Vibes remains one of the county’s best everyday IPAs.