Founded in 2015 by La Mesa native and civil engineer Cameron Ball, Helix Brewing on Commercial Street produces craft beer on a 10-barrel Portland Kettle Works system named for the Mt Helix peak where Ball grew up. The 2,000-square-foot facility splits evenly between a production cellar housing four fermenters and four bright tanks and a tasting room pouring 12 taps, with four lines drawing directly from the brights for tank-to-glass freshness — a brewpub-scale setup that contrasts with the full-kitchen restaurant model at La Mesa Village anchors like Farmer's Table La Mesa. Ball focuses on hoppy ales, rye-infused beers, and session-strength IPAs, rotating small batches through styles that include a Black Rye IPA, Chocolate Rye Porter, Oatmeal Stout, and a 3.7% ABV Bavarian Weizen called Acid Drop. A 1,600-square-foot outdoor beer garden hosts rotating food trucks, live music on Friday and Saturday evenings, and Thursday trivia, drawing from the same La Mesa dining audience that frequents the artisan-deli counter at BMH Italian. The brewery's maximum annual capacity reaches 3,500 barrels on the existing footprint, with exposed-brick walls and open wood trusses giving patrons a full sightline into the brewing process from every seat in the taproom.