Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Not all that tasty, plus a hangover

Everything is great at Mamut Brewery. Except the beer.

The Classic Burger, keeping it real
The Classic Burger, keeping it real
Place

Mamut Brewery Co.

Calle Tercera #8161, Tijuana, BC

Situated on Third Street in what used to be the Foreign Club building, Mamut Brewing Co.’s main location is top notch. The old hotel is one of Tijuana’s oldest buildings. Legend says that the building was commissioned by Al Capone and that Charles Chaplin was a regular patron.

The entrance leads to a hallway with murals painted by artist Teak that invoke pre-historic times with cave paintings of mammoths being hunted. The space opens up to a roomy bar with multiple craft beer selections. They have a sizeable balcony that overlooks Calle Tercera.

Mamut’s balcony used to belong to the Foreign Club hotel, overlooking Calle Tercera. A steeple was common in old hotels.

Across the street from the balcony there’s a large mural of a mammoth, and there’s a mammoth-shaped oven in the kitchen. A mezcal room is situated next to the kitchen where they occasionally show movies. A few months ago they inaugurated their new concert space, which can host hundreds of people.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Three-cheese burger with caramelized onions

Mamut Brewery Co. also has another location in Plaza Fiesta. The extensive menu is identical, with beer, wine, mezcal, mixed drinks, pizza, burgers, fries, chicken wings, hot dogs, salads, and sandwiches. All for a low price (especially at the current peso exchange).

Street-style hot dog with bacon, onions, cheddar, and a lot of mustard

I have tried almost all of their menu, and I give most of it a favorable review. Nothing is over $5, except for some guest mezcales. The hamburgers get the best rating. Pizza gets the best value and a bonus point for originality (crickets on a pizza!). Chicken wings are abundant and cheap (regular quality). Their home mezcales are cheap — some smoky, some smooth, all of them good. The mixed drinks are better-than-okay for the price. I’m not a wine drinker, and I’ve heard mixed reviews about their wine, but I enjoyed the few I tried. And, again, super cheap.

I wanted their beer to be really good. Alas, it is not. I’ve been a patron of Mamut Brewery for over four years, since it opened on the top room of an art gallery in Pasaje Rodriguez. From there they acquired their own humble small room across the art gallery. You can still find this small room in downtown Tijuana today. Beer used to sell for 15 pesos back then. They filled growlers or one liter plastic bottles for 50 pesos. Now they sell pints for 60 pesos (40 pesos before 8 p.m.), which is still very cheap.

Their beer used to be good. The price, the humbleness, and lack of competition made the quality forgivable. If it wasn’t good, at least it was drinkable. Dry stout, black IPA, American pale ale…when they opened their Plaza Fiesta location they had a Double IPA that was beyond anything they had crafted before.

But they tend to not repeat their beer. In the years they have been active, Mamut has not been able to establish a recognizable beer for their brand. Every time I go to any of their locations the beer menu is completely new. Some beer styles I have never seen. The majority of them turn out to be barely drinkable. Their beer is also prone to give you a hangover. The quality has been constant ups and downs, and even the best ones last only a short while.

In spite of this, Mamut Brewery Co. still holds a place in my heart as the first craft beer that I got to know in Tijuana. Mamut has grown exponentially, covering too much ground, and their beer is getting overshadowed by stiff competition. Their original location continues to be a hub of activity for local artists and curious tourists. And at 40 pesos ($2.25 a pint), it is worth it just for the ambiance and to keep supporting what used to be the only craft brewery in downtown Tijuana.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Eurovan man can

Best services
The Classic Burger, keeping it real
The Classic Burger, keeping it real
Place

Mamut Brewery Co.

Calle Tercera #8161, Tijuana, BC

Situated on Third Street in what used to be the Foreign Club building, Mamut Brewing Co.’s main location is top notch. The old hotel is one of Tijuana’s oldest buildings. Legend says that the building was commissioned by Al Capone and that Charles Chaplin was a regular patron.

The entrance leads to a hallway with murals painted by artist Teak that invoke pre-historic times with cave paintings of mammoths being hunted. The space opens up to a roomy bar with multiple craft beer selections. They have a sizeable balcony that overlooks Calle Tercera.

Mamut’s balcony used to belong to the Foreign Club hotel, overlooking Calle Tercera. A steeple was common in old hotels.

Across the street from the balcony there’s a large mural of a mammoth, and there’s a mammoth-shaped oven in the kitchen. A mezcal room is situated next to the kitchen where they occasionally show movies. A few months ago they inaugurated their new concert space, which can host hundreds of people.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Three-cheese burger with caramelized onions

Mamut Brewery Co. also has another location in Plaza Fiesta. The extensive menu is identical, with beer, wine, mezcal, mixed drinks, pizza, burgers, fries, chicken wings, hot dogs, salads, and sandwiches. All for a low price (especially at the current peso exchange).

Street-style hot dog with bacon, onions, cheddar, and a lot of mustard

I have tried almost all of their menu, and I give most of it a favorable review. Nothing is over $5, except for some guest mezcales. The hamburgers get the best rating. Pizza gets the best value and a bonus point for originality (crickets on a pizza!). Chicken wings are abundant and cheap (regular quality). Their home mezcales are cheap — some smoky, some smooth, all of them good. The mixed drinks are better-than-okay for the price. I’m not a wine drinker, and I’ve heard mixed reviews about their wine, but I enjoyed the few I tried. And, again, super cheap.

I wanted their beer to be really good. Alas, it is not. I’ve been a patron of Mamut Brewery for over four years, since it opened on the top room of an art gallery in Pasaje Rodriguez. From there they acquired their own humble small room across the art gallery. You can still find this small room in downtown Tijuana today. Beer used to sell for 15 pesos back then. They filled growlers or one liter plastic bottles for 50 pesos. Now they sell pints for 60 pesos (40 pesos before 8 p.m.), which is still very cheap.

Their beer used to be good. The price, the humbleness, and lack of competition made the quality forgivable. If it wasn’t good, at least it was drinkable. Dry stout, black IPA, American pale ale…when they opened their Plaza Fiesta location they had a Double IPA that was beyond anything they had crafted before.

But they tend to not repeat their beer. In the years they have been active, Mamut has not been able to establish a recognizable beer for their brand. Every time I go to any of their locations the beer menu is completely new. Some beer styles I have never seen. The majority of them turn out to be barely drinkable. Their beer is also prone to give you a hangover. The quality has been constant ups and downs, and even the best ones last only a short while.

In spite of this, Mamut Brewery Co. still holds a place in my heart as the first craft beer that I got to know in Tijuana. Mamut has grown exponentially, covering too much ground, and their beer is getting overshadowed by stiff competition. Their original location continues to be a hub of activity for local artists and curious tourists. And at 40 pesos ($2.25 a pint), it is worth it just for the ambiance and to keep supporting what used to be the only craft brewery in downtown Tijuana.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Clikatat Ikatowi returns to the Casbah for October 8 show

Venue saw the band’s last performance over a quarter century ago
Next Article

Air toxins plague Escondido, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, Tijuana

"The smell has improved since Mexico turned their pumps on"
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader