Try this eastern loop that takes you through El Cajon, Alpine, Julian, Ramona, La Mesa and Santee. If you want to do the full loop, you'll need the entire day, but you could also break it into just the northern breweries (Ramona and Julian) or just the southern breweries (Santee, Alpine, La Mesa and El Cajon). You might also want to consider booking a brewery tour that will chauffeur you around while you enjoy a few samples at each stop.

Three San Diego County self-guided brewery tours that combine great breweries and craft beers with locations that are easy to get to from one another.

It's no secret that craft beer lovers are a generally hip and cool lot who relish the opportunity to sip a few cold ones with friends, talking about hopes, dreams, and hops. The craft beer community, in turn, embraces the idea that a tasting room or beer garden should be a comfortable, laid back, friendly atmosphere that encourages relaxation and the pure enjoyment of great brews. To that end, many tasting rooms around the county have been intentionally designed to feel like the living room or rec room of your own house.

Throw back a West Coast IPA or two at one of these amazing watering holes in San Diego and you won't regret it.