San Diego hidden gems

Live taplists:

http://www.pizzaport.com/grog/whats-on-tap/

 

that taco spot right there is ass, dont eat at it.

 

This isn't entirely true. In the past some wort has come from Ballast, other collaborating brewers, or been brewed on a (large) brewing sculpture. They also just hired a new headbrewer who has worked as a brewmaster at a number of different craft and larger breweries.

As I've said elsewhere (and others have pointed out), the beers at WL are specifically designed to be drank in flights to taste the effects of different yeast strains on wort. Sometimes the effects won't be pleasant or desirable (think of these as the equivalent of getting the Siebel Off Flavor Testing Kit for $5/flight instead of $150) whereas others compliment the base beer in surprising, delicious ways.

Obviously WL is most suited for the homebrewer, but any craft beer fan can take away some education and enjoyment from the experience.

 

Doesn't change that when they brew onsite...they're using 2 completely different brewing methods. A 20gal B3 flat and some sort of euro all-in-one 10gal system. This will produce 2 entirely different worts and they're not blending them together for a unified product before fermentation. Now, if this has changed then please let me know.

2nd, all the wort is fermented at the same temp, which will not highlight the yeast in the best manner possible if it's being used outside it's desired range. So while a yeast 'may' have good results, per their fermentation process it may be used outside it's desired temp range and thus produce a subpar beer.

An excellent idea in concept, but cost prohibitive to do it right.

3rd: they have a long-draw serving system off of 5 gal corny kegs. Just don't get there when it opens else all you'll be drinking is line beer.

 

AFAIK wort is either blended or only one is used per style group and there is more emphasis on only fermenting at the same temperature when it makes sense to.

The operation is not cost prohibitive necessarily, just takes a while to work out the kinks since it's quite different than a normal bar/brewpub. The Tasting Room is still a very new entity afterall.

 

Maybe they've changed the system since I last took a tour at that time there was zero independent fermentation temp control and if they have more than 4 beers under the same name using different yeast they are either using different wort from the two systems, or brewing 2x on teh 20gal B3. There wasn't a blending tank for wort prior to fermentation.

 

I just came back from my pilgrimage to beer Mecca, from Los Angeles to San Diego, my experiences as I well... experienced it

Alpine: It's about a half hour away from San Diego and the main breweries but the drive is beautiful and I believe it's worth it. I had the pulled pork as well as sweet potato fries which were really damn good. The portions were small but it was really well crafted. More importantly the IPA's are probably the best I've ever had and Odin's raven stout was really tasty as well. I was disappointing that they didn't bottle Keane Idea, hoppy birthday and Odin's ravin though. I would highly recommend coming down here.

Societe: The aesthetic and size of this building are nice, it has a old school bootleggers feel with ample room, very clean. They had 6 beers on tap which were very generic tasting, I didn't find much flavors in the IPA's or Belgian style beers. The tasting's are a dollar a glass though but since it is about 15 minutes away from the main breweries I wouldn't go back

Ballast Point: Several beers on tap and many variations of their bottled beers. It was packed full of people and had tasting for about 2 dollars and up. The pricing on merchandise is pretty high but the quality of beers is on point. I would recommend this spot for a nice variation on IPA's, stouts, and wheat beers. The Chili, lime, ginger Wahoo was very unique and tasty.

Alesmith: Probably the most "high end" looking brewery of them all. They have a delicious Vietnamese coffee speedway stout as well as cheap samples of all their beers. Though their system of taking orders seemed a bit scrambled, I can imagine on busy days of it taking a long time to get a pint.

Green Flash: The biggest brewery of them all, ample space and their system of taking orders is quick and efficient. They offer a lot of one dollar samples with generous portions. Though their beers weren't very flavorful, they did have a Serrano double stout that was tasty. Although it was the most efficient and biggest brewery I might have to avoid this one as well seeing as how the beers were not very good

Aztec Brewing: The only brewery to offer little snacks like pretzels. It had some pretty decent IPA's as well as stouts. The tastings were generous and cheap though they were served in plastic cups. This place had a lot of people and the workers seemed very new to craft beer. I found it funny that the owner was Caucasian seeing as how it is Aztec themed. It is a bit out of the way from the other breweries but I did find it worth visiting

Pizza Port Carlsbad: Big space and delicious pizza. The samplers are tiny and one of the workers seemed to have an attitude about things. I can imagine it gets annoying dealing with so many customers but it still was unprofessional. They offer a lot of other breweries beers but you can't taste them so expect to drop 5 dollars on a pint which you may not like. Their beers were decent but I didn't find them worth revisiting.

That's my long winded post, I got to alpine at 11 and even visited the beach and a mission on the way while I'm back home in LA at 11. I would highly recommend looking at the opening and closing hours as well as drinking tons of water because your palette will be destroyed while your buzz will be high.

 

Alpine portions too small?

 

Maybe he's used to the Cheesecake Factory / Claim Jumper portion size.

 

I had shared a sandwich with the misses. Don't get me wrong the food is filling and hearty but visually it looks small. I guess I should rewrite it since I was a bit buzzed as I wrote it Mr. Cosby.

 

That is a pretty ambitious schedule. Between Alpine and Aztec is 50+ miles

 

Are you seriously suggesting Wet n Reckless?

 

Ate at alpine yesterday and me and my wife both thought the portions seemed smaller, that being said we didn't leave Hungary

 

The Hungarian branch is know for skimping on the brisket. Try the original SoCal location and report back.

 

The funny thing is my dad is Hungarian

 

Shit. Great opp to insert a hilarious .gif ripped from reddit. Chance missed.

 

I know you love those gifs!