Take it from the tap: Beach, please

Aug. 30, 2018 11:42 AM PT

Need a beach escape or just a really tasty cold one? Baja’s Colectivo Surf Tasting Room has it all.

Go: Colectivo Surf Tasting Room (formerly Cerveceria Surf Sushi Pub)

Know: Five miles south of Rosarito Beach’s film studios, this new brewpub draws customers with fresh, sustainable seafood and fresh Baja California craft beer. After rebranding to Colectivo Surf Tasting Room this summer, they now offer organic wine, coffee and mezcal, in addition to sushi and brews.

Pro tip: On a warm evening, skip the indoor dining room for a picnic table on the tarp-shaded outdoor patio. There, soak up the soothing ocean views and a casual, rustic atmosphere.

Glow: Scanning the taps there are five Surf beers, plus ales from Insurgente, Agua Mala and Transpeninsular and other Baja brewing stars. Try the Surf Hazy Pale ($4) paired with the spicy tuna roll ($8).

Crow: Ezki De Basabe, Surf’s brewer, learned his craft up the Pacific coast at San Diego’s Home Brew Mart. He’s excited to be part of Baja’s booming beer scene. “We have the best breweries in Mexico,” he said.

Colectivo Surf Tasting Room: At the 41 Kilometer sign, Rosarito, Baja California, (52) 1.661.125.4144 (Note: this is an international call), colectivosurf.com

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Peter Rowe

Peter is a freelance writer who writes about beer in his bimonthly column Brewery Rowe for the San Diego Union-Tribune. He worked as a reporter and columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune from 1984 to 2020. A native Californian who grew up in Encinitas, Rowe is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Northwestern University. He is past president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and a former Fulbright scholar. He has won a few journalism awards, but would trade them all for a chance to avenge his 1994 “Jeopardy!” loss. Married to a terrific woman who has saved him from errors in writing and in life, he has three sons.