Nice cans…and bottles Four local breweries start packaging their beers

Belching Beaver Brewery's new bottled beers spotted at Bottlecraft in Little Italy

In this age of nanos and neighborhood-geared breweries, many brewing companies’ beers will only ever be available at their tasting rooms or, at best, on draft. In the case of the latter, most of those accounts will be spots not too far from the breweries where the beers were birthed. Right now, only about a third of San Diego’s brewing companies bottle or can their beers, but that number is on a rapid rise. In the past two months, four companies have moved into the packaging phase of their operations.

Place Helm’s Brewing Company 5640 Kearny Mesa Road, Suite C/N , San Diego

Place Belching Beaver Brewery 980 Park Center Drive, Suite A, Vista

The first to get its beers in portable containers was Helm’s Brewing Company. Three of that Kearny Mesa-based business’ beers— Captain’s Pale Ale, Wicked As Sin Rye IPA, and Hop the RIPA (red India pale ale) — are being self-distributed in 22-ounce bottles. Twenty-two ounce water mammal-adorned bottles from Vista’s Belching Beaver Brewery are also trickling their way into the market. Available brews include Me So Honey honey ale, Hop Highway 78 India Pale Ale and Dammed! Double IPA.

Place Twisted Manzanita Brewing Company 10151 Prospect Avenue, Santee

Place BNS Brewing & Distilling 10960 Wheatlands Avenue #101, Santee

Several weeks ago, Mobile West Canning, a mobile canning operation, dropped by Manzanita Brewing Company to package all of the Santee company’s core beers in 12-ounce aluminum cans. The first beer to be packaged was Chaotic Double IPA, with Riverwalk Blonde and New Horizon Red Ale following shortly after. Depending on beer style, the canned brews are available in four- or six-packs at Manzanita’s tasting room. Just a mile north, Santee newcomer BNS Brewing & Distilling Company is moving forward with plans to bottle its beer. Expect to see its Ma Deuce Double IPA sometime in March.