Visiting San Diego - Winter 2016

That's pretty funny about the Black Lagoon, but that makes sense. I thought it was pretty potent.

 

I just got back from my trip and have to say this list is pretty on point. I would definitely list Council as a place to stop though, just due to the Beatitudes alone. The Blueberry and 3 Berry were very good IMO and the others were well done too. The Bully Pulpit was pretty good as well, but the Gavel Drop had some clear flaws and the rest of the lineup was ok at best. Regardless, it is definitely worth a stop, especially if stopping at Societe anyway.

 

Council seems to be the spot that gets the most mixed reviews. Personally I don't think it's worth a visit even just to try the Beatitudes. You can get bottles of them all over the place. And their IPAs were some of the worst I've ever had. Definitely wouldn't bother with their IPAs when you have Societe so close.

 

Can I get a suggestion for a quick bite near modern times? Getting into town later than I expected so looking to eat quick and close so I can move on to the main event...

 

In-N-Out

 

That was lunch so hopefully other options exist...

 

Thanks pal. Got a hotel room 311ft from modern times which should settle my parking problems. A big burrito is just the trick. Cheers.

 

My buddy is dropping by BP Little Italy & Modern Times tonight, I suggested he stop by Bottlecraft as well. Any seasonal or out of distro stuff that he might should be on the lookout for, something that might not hit the LA area? Thanks!

 

They post on their fb and instagram new bottles that come in

 

Thanks for this amazing, informative thread. I'm heading to San Diego in a couple weeks and was wondering if russian river sours are distributed there or any noteworthy sours that are available. Thanks

 

Yes, but they do not last long on the shelf. A little longer than PtE bottles but not that much. We also have been seeing a little less distro of those sours as of late.

Your other choices would be 32 North (mira mesa), Council for their tart saisons (kearny mesa) these are also in bottles around town, Toolbox (vista), and I keep hearing that Kilowatt (kearny mesa, across a long parking lot from Councill) is making some solid stuff now and have their little sour series going on.

 

Thanks for replying! Are SARA, rare barrel, fw barrelworks, cantillon, etc. around stores? I've searched beer menus and taphunter but didn't see any. I wasn't sure if places even put those type of beer on their lists though. Sorry if this is a dumb question but I've never been to the west coast and am clueless!

Also was reading that bramble on rose is pretty amazing so would love to find a bottle or 2 of that.

 

SARA - nope
TRB - nope (not legally)
Barrelworks - Agrestic was around a while ago, otherwise nope
Cantillon - we don't get shelton distro, so nope

Occasionally a few places around town will get kegs of SARA and sometimes Barrelworks although that is incredibly infrequent.

Toolbox - Bramble on Rose is quite tasty, but I believe they finally sold out of bottles a couple weekends ago. IIRC it is still on draft though and at release they weren't allowing growler fills of it but that may have changed. Check their FB/IG accounts for their current draft list, they tend to keep it rather up to date.

 

Reaper got there before I did.

 

Ah crap, you are correct...I keep forgetting those are under shelton.

Edit: Actually I should have known better since I am constantly called up to EAH when they get in framboos, fou, and hommage bottles for onsite only.

 

This thread was very helpful for our recent trip out west (returned this past Monday). We were primarily in Palm Springs, but we finished the trip with the weekend in San Diego.

Day 1 - Flew into San Diego, got the rental car, then drove to Palm Springs by way of Alpine. Alpine's pub was closed for lunch so we got take-out lunch from the Mexican place right next door to Alpine's brewery location (Tapatios) and ate in the tap room instead. It was worth it... the carnitas torta was awesome.

We took the scenic route from Alpine to Palm Springs (instead of going back to San Diego and up the major highways). What an incredible drive! The vistas were amazing. The weather was also perfect and we had rented a convertible...

Day 2 - 5 - Palm Springs: Checked out Coachella Valley Brewing and La Quinta Brewing. Both were OK.

Total Wine in Palm Dessert was the only solid bottle shop I found in the area and I only bought beer for consumption for our stay in the area. Drank mostly Modern Times, Alpine, Bells, and a bottle of Abyss. They must have had 6-8 cases of FW Anniversary 19 sitting on the floor.

Day 5 - On our way back to San Diego from Palm Springs, we hit Bagby for lunch/beer (OK), Pizza Port in Carlsbad (Very good), and Alesmith (BA Speedway on tap!). Our accommodations were in the Gaslamp district.

Day 6 - Our Airbnb was within walking distance of 'The Best Damn Beer Shop'. Hit them on Sunday morning and bought some Pliny, 3 Fonteinen, Modern Times, and Prairie. Awesome selection overall. They had 12-bottle shippers for sale so I bought one and used it as a checked bag on my flight home.

We hit Snooze for brunch, followed by Modern Times (Point Loma) and Societe. Non-beer focused dinner in the Gaslamp area.

We thought about hitting some of the various beer bars, but we were getting our fill of beer at the breweries. We also didn't want to burn ourselves out and kept the number of stops reasonable.

Day 7 - Hit Stone Brewing at the airport for beers/lunch before flying home.

 

Thanks so much for the thread Xul. Very helpful.

I'm visiting April 9th through the 11th. Staying in Carlsbad. I'm hoping to spend Sunday the 10th exploring breweries.

Your Highway 78 plan looks like the way to go. Is it reasonable to ride bikes between all the stops? On Google maps it looks like San Marcos Blvd and Mission Rd are easily doable.

 

It's pretty hilly up and down some of these breweries so probably best to go by car