Groundswell Brewing – Community Tasting Room

Kevin Rhodes, owner of Groundswell Brewing, told me that he had originally thought of the name “Community Brewing” when he was starting operations almost four years ago.  He eventually settled on the name Groundswell denoting a small group moving things in a big direction.  But his tasting room in Grantville, at 6304 Riverdale Street, certainly seemed like a community gathering.  Even early in the afternoon, people were coming in and out on a lunch break or just because they were in the area.  My bartender Ray was highly knowledgeable and invested in the success of the operation as well. The tasting room, also the original brewing site, is very comfortable for a relaxing afternoon of beer tasting.  It is dog and kid friendly, although I saw neither on my visit.

Rhodes provided some background on the Groundswell operations and his future plans for the brewery.  He moved operations to the former Twisted Manzanita location at 10151 Prospect Ave. in Santee this year, with a grand opening last February.  This provided increased production capacity, while still maintaining the tasting room in Grantville.  He is also getting set to open a kitchen in Chula Vista along with the already established tasting room, which officially opened on December 17th.  When asked about the emphasis on tasting rooms, Rhodes replied that they provided a solid foundation to maintain future growth for the business. 

Although Groundswell has gone through some changes in head brewers, Rhodes still sees the brewery as producing beers with more moderate alcohol content than others in San Diego.  Quaffable and crushable might aptly describe his product.  He is making beer with great flavor, balanced, and easily drinkable.  The exception to the mild ABV rule is the highly popular Oathkeeper and Oathbreaker stout series, which are typically Christmas releases.  These stouts also went into cans on December 16th.  The new year should bring the release of an Imperial IPA and then a new release every month.  Groundswell will release its first hazy IPA in 2018. 

I started off tasting with some milder, sweeter beers. When I sip a flight of tasters, I usually move from mild to hoppy and then to darker and stronger beers.  My first taster was Tropical Hefeweizen, a great start.  Galaxy hops offset by a mild nectar flavor give this wheat ale extra character. A great beer to get your friend started on craft beer is First Date Blonde Ale. It was a is on the sweet side but still balanced.  Belgian Pale had characteristic spicy esters with floral notes.  All of these beers were on the sweeter side. 

Rhodes remarked that Undulation White IPA is the brewery’s flagship offering. I started my IPA samples there. Undulation’s dry hopping hits your nose and palate first, then the wheat kicks in and smoothes out the whole experience.  This beer feels full in the mouth, so you will want to savor it.  Quattro IPA, uses a blend of four hops to give an intense floral smell and taste, offset by some melon sweet notes. Hubba Hubba IIPA is big and bold with the Galaxy hops dominated bitter flavor.  This has plenty of malt to keep it tasty.

Piloncillo Brown, brewed with the eponymous Mexican sugar in the boil, is toasty brown that is very drinkable. A lighter porter with coffee and vanilla notes, Pull My Porter is a very drinkable porter. Mocha Milk Stout was slightly bitter with a surprisingly dry taste.  The chocolate was subtle in this stout. I finished with Oathkeeper Russian Imperial Stout, my favorite beer of the day. This is a very rich caramel boozy beer. It should be sipped slowly to enjoy subtle notes of chocolate and spice.  I hope to try the canned version soon.

If you haven’t been to Groundswell in a while, it’s time to come back to sample the new beer and enjoy the beer drinking community.

Kevin Rhodes at the Groundswell tasting room in Grantville.

This article was originally published in the Clairemont Times on page 13.