I saw that, will be interesting to see if stronger crackdowns become constant or if it goes in waves.
@kmcnair is the Saturday night BA stout/barleywines still a thing at The Dark Bar? I'll be in town this Saturday and wanted to stop by if so.
Spending my last day in San Diego; this time a vacation as most of my trips here are business. Was able to hit Bottlecraft and I'm making a return visit as today is the 15th anniversary event. Plenty of collabs. Ballast Point was an easy trip albeit not exciting, but enjoyable. Same with Stone in Liberty Station; mostly a nostalgia visit. A visit to Lost Abbey's church was cool to visit, though I was slightly disappointed in the vibe and taplist. I walked down to Burgeon at the Arbor today and they never fail to have good stuff. For any folks visiting with an emphasis on trying local beer; I would recommend staying near Little Italy (Hilton's Homewood Suites was a great choice this trip). So many walkable breweries and Bottlecraft is a great place for beer to go if you don't buy at the brewery. Kudos to the San Diego Zoo for having Pure Project cans. I all, a solid trip and one without renting a car. A couple Uber rides but mostly a fun walking tour.
Last year, we stayed at Hilton near Liberty Station which was another good option. We were able to walk to Burgeon and Stone, and I had a longer walk to Lost Abbey Church. Agree with the cool to visit, but I was disappointed in the tap list (probably because I was a fan boy of theirs when I got back into craft beer 15 years ago). Similarly, I have been a fan boy of Ballast Point, but when I checked out their tap list, it was not even remotely interesting other than basic stuff.
We made a trip to Liberty Station (wife loves Breakfast Republic). I'm and fan of the older breweries, and Ballast Point had some solid options though obviously nothing to rave about. I've been a Lost Abbey fan since Tomme Arthur poured my Angel's Share sample at Savor Craft years ago. I just was hoping for more of an experience. Bottlecraft's anniversary event was the highlight. For us, the short walk to most of the places makes being north of gaslamp a much better option.
I feel many folks share this opinion because of its posturing as the "church." When I was craving a belgian blonde, clean saison, or quadrupel, it was the only game in town. Can't tell you how many times i started drinking here, lost track of time, then had to Uber home to City Heights at padres traffic surge pricing.. which still never deterred me. i also thought TNT pizza a couple blocks away was by far the best slice in the city, so it always made for a nice 1-2 afternoon visit i really miss the church!
