Breadmaking in San Diego: Great Classes, Great Breweries, Great Times
- Caitlin Jewell
- May 23
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 28
Where Craft Beer Meets Artisan Bread
There's something magical brewing in San Diego, and it's not just the beer (though there's plenty of that too). About once a month, I pack up my bread-making gear and head south to San Diego for what's become one of my favorite Grainbakers traditions: teaching bread classes at some of the city's most exciting craft breweries.
I absolutely adore San Diego—the sunshine, the people, the energy—it all fuels my soul. The breweries I work with here are truly some of the best in the country. When I'm not teaching, you’ll usually find me working out of the Pizza Port San Marcos conference room, parked next to the legendary Stone Brewing gargoyle like it’s my office buddy.
Why San Diego?
San Diego has exploded as one of America's premier craft beer destinations, with over 150 breweries dotting the county. The city's beer culture isn't just about quantity—it's about quality, innovation, and community. These values perfectly align with what we do at Grainbakers: creating delicious, sustainable whole grain bread while bringing people together.
The symbiotic relationship between breadmaking and brewing goes back centuries. Both start with grain, both rely on fermentation (though very different kinds), and both transform simple ingredients into something extraordinary. At Grainbakers, we've embraced this connection by incorporating spent grains—the malted barley left over after brewing—into our whole grain bread recipes.
My Favorite San Diego Brewery Partners
After years of teaching classes across San Diego, I've developed some favorite brewery partnerships. Each location brings its own unique vibe, exceptional beers, and enthusiastic community to our breadmaking classes.
Pizza Port
This iconic San Diego brewery chain has been a cornerstone of the local beer scene since 1987. What makes Pizza Port special is their commitment to both great beer and great food—making them a natural partner for Grainbakers. Their relaxed, beachy atmosphere creates the perfect setting for rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands in some dough. Their award-winning beers like Swami's IPA pair beautifully with our whole grain breads, especially when we incorporate their spent grains into the mix.
Burgeon Beer Company
With their commitment to environmental sustainability, Burgeon is a kindred spirit to Grainbakers. Their Carlsbad tasting room features living plant walls that reflect their name (which means "to grow or flourish"). The team at Burgeon enthusiastically provides us with spent grains that give our bread a distinctive nutty flavor. Their Mixed Greens IPA and Carlsbad Crush are frequent favorites among our class participants.
Pure Project
If you're looking for a brewery that treats beer-making as an art form, Pure Project is it. Their focus on "farm-to-table" brewing—using seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients—meshes perfectly with our approach to breadmaking. Classes at Pure Project often have a special emphasis on unique flavor profiles, where we match their innovative beers with complementary bread flavors. Their minimalist, nature-inspired tasting room provides a zen-like atmosphere for learning the meditative practice of breadmaking.
Lost Abbey
For those drawn to brewing traditions with deep historical roots, Lost Abbey offers an atmosphere steeped in Belgian and French brewing heritage. Their barrel-aged beers provide complex flavor profiles that inspire some of our most interesting bread variations. There's something special about making bread in a space surrounded by wooden barrels aging extraordinary beers—it connects you to centuries of craft tradition.
Societe Brewing
Precision and excellence define Societe Brewing. Their meticulous approach to brewing resonates with the careful measurements and techniques we teach in our breadmaking classes. Their spacious tasting room accommodates larger classes, and their wide variety of beer styles means everyone finds something to enjoy while their bread bakes. The spent grains from their Belgian-style ales create a particularly wonderful flavor in our whole grain loaves.
What to Expect at a Grainbakers San Diego Class
When you join us for a class in San Diego, you're in for a treat. Our 90-minute sessions are hands-on, fun, and designed for all skill levels. You'll mix, knead, and shape your own loaf of whole grain bread using spent grains from that very brewery. Many of our brewery partners also feature food trucks on-site, so you can make a complete evening of it.
What makes these classes special isn't just the bread or the beer—it's the community that forms. There's something about creating food together that breaks down barriers and builds connections. I've seen strangers become friends, couples have unforgettable date nights, and families create new traditions—all while learning to make delicious whole grain bread.
The Science Behind Spent Grain Bread
For the curious minds out there, let's talk a bit about why spent grains make such a wonderful addition to whole grain bread:
Flavor complexity: Spent grains have been malted and mashed, processes that develop complex sugars and flavors that carry over into your bread.
Nutritional boost: These grains still contain significant protein, fiber, and nutrients even after brewing.
Texture: Spent grains add a delightful chewiness and character to the bread's crumb.
Sustainability: Using spent grains diverts brewery waste from landfills, giving these nutritious ingredients a second life.
Each brewery's spent grains have a unique character based on their beer recipes, which means bread made at Pizza Port will taste different from bread made at Pure Project. It's this variation that keeps me excited about returning to San Diego month after month.
Join Us in San Diego
Ready to experience the joy of breadmaking in one of America's greatest beer cities? We typically host classes in San Diego about once a month, rotating between our partner breweries. You can find our upcoming schedule and book tickets at our San Diego events page.
Whether you're a local looking for a unique night out or a visitor wanting an authentic taste of San Diego's craft culture, our classes offer an experience that engages all your senses. You'll leave with a freshly baked loaf of whole grain bread, new skills, and memories of a uniquely San Diego experience.
The beautiful thing about bread is that it's been bringing people together for thousands of years. In San Diego, we're keeping that tradition alive—just with a craft beer twist that makes it distinctly Californian. Teaching in San Diego was a total highlight of our Grainbakers tour. Between the sunshine, the wildly passionate beer community, and the creativity of the local brewers, every class felt like a celebration. We hosted pop-up breadmaking events inside some of the city’s most beloved breweries, where guests rolled up their sleeves, worked with fresh spent grain, and left with golden loaves and huge smiles. The love was mutual—San Diego Beer News even covered our classes, calling it a “delicious new take on brewery events.”
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