San Diego craft beer enthusiasts heading to Rosarito Beach for the weekend might be surprised to learn they no longer have to wash down their fish tacos with bland Mexican lagers. Thanks to an influx of skilled brewers, beer boards here aren’t much different from those at your favorite neighborhood pub or tasting room. West Coast IPAs and hazy IPAs are everywhere, and you can usually find a solid pale ale, Irish stout, or blonde ale.
And if you happened to visit Rosarito Beach last weekend, as I did, you’d have discovered an even greater variety of craft beers from all over Baja at the Rosarito Beer Festival.
Read more: Rosarito Weekend Itinerary for Grown-Ups
The Rosarito Beer Festival
The Rosarito Beer Festival, while not nearly as large or as old as Ensenada’s, attracted hundreds of old and newly converted hop heads from Baja and Southern California to the Las Rocas Resort & Spa. Twenty-seven breweries and home brewers poured at the 8th annual event, held on the southern end of Rosarito Beach, across the highway from the enormous Christ of the Sacred Heart statue. Breweries from Rosarito, Tijuana, Ensenada, and Mexicali were all represented.
Suds flowed, local rock bands jammed, EDM pounded, Gen Zers and Millennials danced, and tacos and bratwurst cooked for nearly 12 hours at the 37-year-old seaside resort.
Festival Standout: Chinesca Brewing, Mexicali
I never imagined I’d find beer heaven in Baja — but then, I didn’t count on meeting Alfredo Rodriguez, a former opera singer turned brewing whiz, at a festival in Rosarito. After my first sip of Rodriguez’s Chamagosa (“the dirty one,” or hazy one) IPA, I knew I’d be spending much of my evening at his booth.
The 6.2% hazy from Rodriguez’s Chinesca Brewing in Mexicali had that same silky-smooth, low-bitterness, juicy hop profile that’s distinctly Pure Project — my favorite San Diego brewery.
“We wanted our hazy IPA to be easy drinking,” Rodriguez said, “but to also have a lot of aromas from the hops.” The Chamagosa — rated a more than respectable 3.85 on the beer app Untappd — is also the brewery’s most popular beer.
Rodriguez grew up in Los Angeles and started studying music at UCLA, eventually graduating from Chapman College in Orange County with a vocal music degree. He fell in love with hops when his wife bought him a home brewing kit. He moved to Mexicali — where his parents and wife were raised — in 2011, and opened Chinesca a few years later. It’s one of 30 breweries in Mexicali.
“There are a lot fewer people drinking beer after the pandemic; a lot of young people are drinking seltzers,” Rodriguez said. “But the people who are drinking beer have evolved palates. They’re more careful about what they drink.”
Where to Drink: Rosarito’s Best Tasting Rooms
At a glance:
- Tinta Negra — Downtown, Benito Juárez Blvd. · Try: the Oaxacan-chocolate brown ale
- Delliott’s — Boulevard Popotla · Try: the Surfing Mulito West Coast IPA + the beer-marinated bratwurst
- Colectivo Surf — Highway km 41 · Try: the Japanese Lager with a tuna tostada
- Patio Popotla — Near surf spot K38 · Try: the double IPA, and the ocean view
Before the festival, I toured several of Rosarito’s tasting rooms to get a sneak peek of what I’d be drinking all weekend. Here’s where to go.
Tinta Negra
Address: Blvd. Benito Juárez, Playas Rosarito, 22700 Playas de Rosarito, B.C., México
Phone: +52 661 107 1602
When our group strolled into Tinta Negra‘s tasting room on Benito Juárez Boulevard, we were greeted by an energetic 33-year-old Eleuter Vargas, who’s been brewing for eight years at the downtown location, tucked into Hotel Festival Plaza. Vargas farms his own Citra and Galaxy hops a few blocks east of his tasting room. Yet somehow, he doesn’t drink — or even taste — any of his beers.
“I have tools that give me percentage of acidity, bitterness units, and everything else I need to measure beer,” he said. “It’s like a chemistry problem.”
I’m not generally a fan of brown ales, which typically taste a little too metallic. But I was impressed with Vargas’ 6.8% brown, brewed with Oaxacan chocolate. It paired nicely with a slice of chocolate cake that Vargas baked using hops from his mother’s backyard. My second favorite was the watermelon ale, a smooth 8% double IPA that waits until the end to explode with fruit flavor.
Delliott’s
Address: Blvd. Popotla km 29, Hermenegildo Cuenca Diaz, 22710 Playas de Rosarito, B.C., México
Launched inauspiciously during COVID, Delliott’s was founded by husband-and-wife duo Jorge Delgadillo and Janette Elliott — hence the name, a blend of “Del” and “Elliott.”
“We started selling beers and burgers; people were eating in their cars,” Delgadillo said. “They just wanted to get out of their house. They were happy — people were coming here two to three times a week.”
Local hop heads are still coming to Delgadillo’s charming tasting room on Boulevard Popotla several times a week to taste the former sound engineer’s IPAs, pales, reds, blondes, and stouts.
“Eighty percent of our customers are locals, Americans (ex-pats), or Mexicans,” said Delgadillo, casually dressed in khaki shorts, a brown “Slam Diego” t-shirt, and a green-and-white Delliott’s ball cap. “As soon as they sit down, we know what they want to drink.”
Like most tasting rooms in San Diego, Delliott’s top sellers are the hop-forward beers: the 7% Surfing Mulito West Coast IPA and the 6.3% Bruhazy IPA.
“Mexicans, we still drink Coronas or Pacifico, but it’s not our first choice anymore,” said Delgadillo, who homebrewed before opening his own taproom.
Delliott’s top seller from the kitchen is his wife’s beer-marinated German bratwurst, served with bell peppers and onions.
Colectivo Surf
Address: Kilometro 41 carretera libre Tijuana Rosarito – Ensenada, 22710 Playas de Rosarito, B.C., México
Phone: +52 661 125 4144
The massive surf-themed tasting room right off the main highway at kilometer 41 is aptly named: Colectivo Surf‘s owners not only brew beer, but also make wine from Valle de Guadalupe, artisanal mezcal, and organic coffee. Founded in 2018 by an American surfer, Colectivo began brewing in Ensenada, then expanded to 15 taps after adding two stainless-steel tanks to the patio a few years ago.
I enjoyed the Peanut Butter Stout and the Hazy IPA, but the Japanese Lager hit the spot with the Bluefin Tuna Tostada and Yellowtail Tiradito. My wife took a break from beer and was happy with their Grenache.
I’m not usually fond of mezcal — a little too smoky for me. But the artisanal batch we sampled was incredibly smooth. We were invited to pair it with sautéed King Scorpion, a northern Mexican specialty from Coahuila. But I passed — too many bad scorpion memories from my Arizona years.
Patio Popotla
Whether or not it has the best beer in Rosarito is up for debate, but Patio Popotla easily has the most breathtaking views of any tasting room in Baja — and possibly in California. The expansive outdoor patio overlooks the Pacific near the famous surf spot K38.
When Eden Gomez purchased Sin Fronteras two years ago, he immediately wanted to shift the vibe. He started with the name change.
“The locals were not feeling this bar,” said Gomez, an award-winning 37-year-old brewer who began brewing nearly 20 years ago in Guadalajara. “I wanted to change the concept to a Mexican bar. I’m 100% Mexican, and I wanted to share my culture, my music, my food, and my beer.”
Still, Gomez acknowledges his Mexican-themed brewery wouldn’t exist without hops from Yakima, Washington, malt from Europe, and yeast from California. And he admires a lot of U.S. craft breweries, especially his favorite, North Park Brewing.
“Their IPAs are on another level,” Gomez said. “They are so innovative; they’re not scared to try something new. Everyone is striving for that, especially me.”
As locals move from smoother, lighter lagers to stronger, more complex ales, Gomez is getting bolder. One of his most recent creations, an 8.0% double IPA, wouldn’t be mistaken for one from North Park — it had a crisp, piney flavor without a boozy, malty finish.
Getting There and Back
Anyone who frequently visited Baja before the SENTRI/Global Entry system was instituted 30 years ago remembers the nightmarish 4-to-5-hour waits driving north across the San Ysidro crossing after a fun weekend in Mexico. The SENTRI lane — if you could locate it — has reduced those waits to as little as 15 minutes.
Since I’d arranged a shuttle to move my wife and me between activities during our four days in Rosarito, I opted to walk across the San Ysidro crossing for the first time in more than 20 years. We took an Uber from our Carlsbad home to the pedestrian border crossing. If you drive across, you’re not asked for any documentation on the way into Mexico — but walking in, we were asked for our passports (not our Global Entry/SENTRI cards).
We packed lightly; I had a duffle bag and my new canvas Airback, with vacuum-compression technology that maximized my packing space and helped me stay organized. My wife had a small carry-on style suitcase and a VentaPak backpack, designed with superior airflow and comfort. Her back stayed remarkably cool throughout the trip, despite the 80-degree temperatures in Rosarito.
When we approached the border on the way home, I thought we were doomed: the line snaked all the way back to the street. But with our Global Entry/SENTRI cards, we bypassed the long lines and gleefully crossed in 10 minutes.
Dave McKibben visited Rosarito as a guest of COTUCO Rosarito, the local tourism board, which hosted his accommodations, meals, and activities. All opinions are his own.
Last Updated on July 22, 2026 by Maria Haase
