Deft Brewing

Unlike San Diego's production breweries that show you the tanks through windows or rely on industrial-park square footage, Deft operates in a shared courtyard model that functions more like a European beer garden than a traditional taproom. You're ordering pilsners and porters from one counter while your friend gets a glass of wine next door and someone else is sampling mead—then everyone reconvenes at communal tables with pizza from the adjacent Pizza Cassette. It's a setup that handles groups with wildly different drinking preferences without forcing anyone into compromise.

The beer program skews German: reviews mention pilsners that taste like actual pilsners, not just pale lagers with marketing, and a stout-and-porter rotation that pulls the dark-beer crowd. The European comparison comes up repeatedly—people who've spent time in Germany recognize the restraint, the lack of gimmick hops, the focus on drinkability over novelty. This isn't a hazy-IPA factory.

The courtyard gets packed on weekends, especially when live music runs—expect to circle for seating after 6:30 on Saturdays. But that crowding also signals something working: people treat this as a destination, not a beer-and-bounce stop. The pizza operation next door functions as the kitchen—order at Pizza Cassette, bring it to Deft's tables, and the staff doesn't care. The Parliament pizza (white sauce, specific toppings that reviewers mention often enough to suggest consistency) pairs well with the porter.

Parking is easier than Old Town's tourist corridor but tighter than you'd expect for Banks Street—arrive early or plan to walk a block. Weeknights offer better seating odds and the same beer list. If your group can't agree on a drink category, this spot solves that problem without requiring separate stops.