The 3 Local Brothers (3LB) hospitality group has been working to establish a presence in Carmel Valley for roughly three years. The entrepreneurs behind artisanal-beverage-driven eatery concepts The Barrel Room, Urge Gastropub and Brother’s Provisions, they had originally endeavored to bring a version of the latter to a strip mall development smack-dab in the mostly residential community, but ended up changing and expanding the project into a dual-brand, two-venue experience appealing to beer fans, oenophiles, cocktail enthusiasts, and foodies. As a result, today, The Barrel Room restaurant and a tasting room for 3LB’s Mason Ale Works brewing interest will both open to the public at 5550 Carmel Mountain Road.
While The Barrel Room is more of a straightforward interpretation of its Rancho Bernardo progenitor, offering upscale casual fare in tandem with a carefully cultivated wine list, the Mason venue is arguably the most unique of any satellite tasting room in the county. It all has to do with licensing and 3LB’s desire to do as much as possible with the liberties afforded by the City of San Diego.
The first feature helping set Mason’s new spot apart is a food menu consisting of items pulling from the Urge Gastropub canon of comfort fare: chicken wings, poutine, salads, pizzas, sandwiches, and desserts. It is produced in a kitchen abutting the bar and served at that angled service area, as well as nearby high-top tables, a reclaimed-chic indoor dining room, and extensive outdoor patio. Mason isn’t the only local tasting room to come across more like a restaurant. Alpine Beer Co. (a Green Flash Brewing entity), Bolt Brewery, Coronado Brewing, and Legacy Brewing all operate eateries masquerading as satellite sampling spots, but Mason has more differentiators in its arsenal.
3LB made the decision to add spirits to its fluid offerings. In doing so, its staff developed an octet of cocktails, all designed to spotlight different Mason beers. The Cherry Chocolate Head Change incorporates Mason’s Stout, Cash, which is married with Wild Turkey 101 rye whiskey, Luxardo cherries, lime juice, egg whites, and simple syrup, while Yellow Gold uses a softer base—Mason’s Willy Time Belgian-style witbier—as a canvas for Buffalo Trace bourbon, elderberry liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup, and peach bitters. Rather than assert their presence, the beers act as a mode of conveyance that blends into the finished products, as all cocktail ingredients should.
Thirty-eight different bourbon, rye, Scotch, Irish, Canadian and Japanese whiskeys are also available on their own, including five single-barrel varieties from Elijah Craig, Jack Daniel’s, Knob Creek, Old Forester, and Woodford Reserve. Back on the beer front, Mason’s opening-day lineup includes 19 ales and lagers, including award-winners and rarities. Mason beer is also available to-go, as are beers from other breweries, a feature of the aforementioned Brother’s Provisions concept that, thanks to licensing, found its way into the Mason offshoot.
The Carmel Valley Mason spot serves as a full-fledged restaurant experience, while making good on what customers expect from a brewery tasting room—a deep-dive into a brewing company’s beery portfolio. It’s also a good first act for those looking for a pre-dinner tipple prior to eating at The Barrel Room next door. With such versatility, it should appeal to many in its surrounding neighborhood, which thus far, has had rather little exposure to San Diego’s craft brewing industry.