Mason Ale Works
California
A small but powerful craft brewery in San Diego, California, is dedicated to quality and consistency with their flavorful lineup of food-friendly classics.
Mason Ale Works was founded in 2015 by brothers Zak and Nate Higson and their childhood friend Grant Tondro, the masterminds behind some of San Diego’s popular dining and imbibing establishments including The Barrel Room, a wine bar/bistro, and Urge Gastropub. It has been their goal from the beginning to provide guests with high-end options in relatively ‘under-served’ communities of San Diego. The different restaurants have helped teach the trio how to adapt to changing tastes and trends, and they want each unique entity to have its own personality, reflecting the community of which it is apart. With the success of each of their establishments, it is certainly clear they are doing something right.
The concept for Mason Ale Works came about when the 3 Local Brothers (the parent company behind these brands) decided to open a second Urge Gastropub location and they wanted to have a brewery built in. The craft beers would be clean, flavorful, food-friendly classics that would, of course, complement the delicious gastropub menu. Mason Ale Works’ first beers debuted in late 2015 and, to no surprise, they were an instant hit with consumers.
In 2017, 3 Local Brothers opened their flagship location for Urge and Mason Ale Works in the North County community of San Marcos, California. Here, a large 15-barrel brewhouse allows for increased beer production and distribution, and a new barrel-aging program they’ve dubbed ‘Snale Works.’ There is also a large outdoor space for bocce ball and Giant Jenga, and an entire bowling alley built in. In 2018, Mason Ale Works opened Mason Ale Works Tasting Room + Kitchen, a satellite tasting room in Carmel Valley, which offers a wide range of award-winning beers, spirits and chef-crafted food inspired by the entity’s Urge Gastropub menu. It has been incredibly popular with locals.
Mason Ale Works’ beers are crafted by Lead Brewer Jon Jimenez who works closely with the Urge chefs to develop interesting new beers - and new dishes - to complement one another. Their focus is to make the beers as true to style as possible, while still keeping them unique and experimenting with hop treatments, different yeast strains, barrel aging and various adjuncts - with quality and consistency in the forefront.
We hope our Craft Beer Subscription members enjoy these selections from Mason Ale Works, and definitely check out the brewery if you’re ever in San Diego. Cheers!
