San Diego Breweries

by | Jan 19, 2016 | Food & Drink, Travel, USA Travel

Looking back through my draft posts, I realized that I never completed the beer post from last year’s trip to San Diego. So! To keep better records, here is what we tried in 2016 and a list with brief comments from 2015.

January 2016

Ballast Point — I met friends here for a few samples while Eric was at his conference. I liked that you could get tasters of SO MANY beers. Beers sampled: Abyssal Dive (strong ale w/ currants) and Mr. No Show (brown ale w/ cinnamon and cardamom) – both were R&D options (limited runs), the strong ale was better.

2 Kids Brewing —We hung out here for a few hours, fueled by Cards Against Humanity and the tasty sushi roll place next door. Beers sampled: Winning! (chocolate stout), Asterix (Belgian golden), 2nd Anniversary (‘Old Fashioned’ strong ale), Apple Pie (spiced amber), Rebel Alliance (Imperial Stout collaboration w/ Intergalactic Brewing), and Satellite of Love (porter) – all the dark beers were good and Eric liked the Asterix best.

two_kids  IMG_20160109_145047

lost_abbeyLegacy Brewing — Beers sampled: Sleighwreck, Old Smokey, Clan Ross Scotch Ale, Czarface Russian Imperial Stout – Sleighwreck was the favorite.

Lost Abbey — A favorite of ours and all the usual suspects were on draft. Beers sampled: Avant Garde (farmhouse), Red Barn (saison), Lost & Found (Abbey dubbel), Serpent’s Stout, and Santa’s Little Helper (winter warmer) – always excellent and the food cart with NY-style pretzels and beer cheese added to the experience.

Toolbox Brewing — Specializing in sours, Spencer (the owner) was friendly and the space was inviting. Beers sampled: Apropos (Berlinerweiss w/ apricots), Bramble on Rose (barrel aged wild ale w/ blackberries), Life Gose On, and Bog Sauce (Berlinerweiss w/ cranberries and raspberries) – our favorite was the Bramble on Rose.

toolbox

iron_fistIron Fist Brewing — Beers sampled: Hired Hand (Saison), Spice of Life (Biere de Garde), For Whom the Bagpipes (Scotch Ale), and Velvet Glove on Nitro (Imperial Oatmeal Stout) – good beers but not very memorable.

Societe Brewing Company — Another revisit from last year! Beers sampled: The Madam (Belgian Golden), the Bellowsman (Smoked stout), and the The Debutante (Belgian Amber)

Council Brewing — If we lived nearby we would be here every week. No lie. Beers sampled: St. Nick’s Punch, Belgian Tripel, Pirate’s Breakfast (Imperial Oatmeal Stout), Not-Your-Normal Pumpkin Beer (sour!), Beatitude Citra Dry-hopped Tart Saison, Beatitude Mango Tart Saison (and a bottle of the Apricot Beatitude Tart Saison).

council

January 2015

Draft — A large place in Mission Beach with nice views and many local beers on draft. Also tasty food and a good brunch menu.

Amplified Ale Works — Mission Beach location with a good variety of options and nice sunset views from the patio.

Modern Times Bar — I really liked the Devil’s Teeth (baltic porter) but the other ones I tried were just so-so.

AleSmith — We visited right before they moved into their new tasting room. Beer selection was good but we can get most choices easily in NC.

Legacy Brewing — Beers are pretty good. Food was solid and they have a lot of games available.

Blind Lady Ale House — Dive bar vibe with a nice selection of craft beers.

Stone Beer Garden @ Liberty Station — Huge restaurant and beer garden. Lot of draft choices and delicious food.

Barrel Republic — This tap room allows you to pour samples based on how much you want to try and you pay per ounce. You start a tab and they hand you a wristband. Lots of options to choose from.

Societe — Creative names and delicious beer. The pizza from a food truck during our visit was also tasty.

The Tap Room — We came here for their Sour Beer Fest menu and discovered Almanac and a few other delicious CA sours.

Tagged with: beer! | San Diego

Our Itinerary

2024 Trips

San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Valencia, Spain (Mar)
Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Bari, Italy (Sept)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)

2022 Trips

Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)