Alpine + ?

Skip the big guys since you can get them at home and hit up Societe and Modern Times. MT will be pretty close to your hotel and Societe is an easy trip.

You can also do Pizza Port OB for some food and great beer close to the hotel.

 

Alesmith would be worth a visit if you want to try some of their one-offs / brewery only beers, but I'm an Alesmith groupie so keep that in mind. I concur with the others, though - you've got to try Societe. Modern Times is good rec for people staying downtown.

 

I would hit Stone for sure, beautiful facility. Also hit Societe, they are making some great IPAs there and I like the atmosphere there.

 

If you want to go to Stone, go to the new Liberty Station facility - it's far closer to where you're staying, and you can easily go to both Modern Times and Stone Liberty Station one after the other.

Aside from that, concur on Societe, with Alesmith also being worthwhile for the one-offs, as HeavySpeedway said.

 

I second this, but would also add; go to Pizza Port Ocean Beach.

Modern Times is great, and should be a fairly quick stop if you are just getting tasters. The new Stone has very nice grounds and a good tap list (they have a bunch of tap list and beers brewed on site). I would recommend getting food elsewhere though, unless you are looking for a "finer" dining experience. Pizza Port is great. About 50 beers on tap (guest, theirs, and other Pizza Port locations). The food is pretty good, and the staff is awesome. Hell, I am planning on doing these stops (maybe not Stone) on Friday since I have the day off and I live in the area.

 

go to the pub in alpine on wednesday and as for the buffalo wings, well done. then come back here and thank me later.

 

Kind of surprised Modern Times is getting so much love. Societe for sure. I might suggest O'brien's for their tap list. It's not the most pleasant location and a bit out of downtown, but you have a good chance of tasting beers from here and elsewhere in the state. And the Tofu House (don't let the name fool you) next door has unreal food, try the stone hot pots.

http://sandiego.taphunter.com/location/OBriens-Pub

 

Yep, and they're nailing all the styles as well. I was much more impressed by them than Rip Current, for example. I never knew San Diego IPAs could be so bland...

 

If you're doing Alpine between Thursday-Sunday you should stop at Benchmark. New place that is killing it and right off the 8 on the way to Alpine. Double check their hrs though.

 

Go to Stone in Escondido to experience it and have good food, beer, an ambiance.

Go to any of the other places recommended if drinking great beer in an industrial park is more you and your groups style.

 

Not to toot the Modern Times horn again, but their tasting room has more character than a lot of bars that I've been to (the surrounding area certainly has it's own character as well, though that doesn't matter much once you step inside). Societe isn't all that bad either. I'd agree that Stone Escondido is worth seeing if they have the time to drive up that way, but breweries have actually been putting some thought into their tasting rooms as of late.

 

I'm on the fence for MT. A lot of hype but need to see how the beers develop. Theyre clean and low abv, but nothing draws me to seek them out. Tasting room feels like a Craig's list acid trip.

Over O'Brien's I'd hit Toronado. More taps and thus variety. If you don't have a lot of time in town go where you can get more bang.

Ocean Beach Pizza Port has a lot more going for it with house beers and guest taps.

Stone is so beyond overrated. Other than Enjoy By, there's not much worth seeing.

Benchmark is an interesting stop while headed east to Alpine. Like MT they're doing mostly lower abv beers.

Rip Current has a very wide variety and styles of beers on, 20 currently. They make some styles no one else does. If in north county ty they're with a stop in.

 

Could not agree more on the mediocrity of Rip Current. I always laugh at how misnamed Lupulin Lust is. It's shamefully behind most San Diego IPAs.

 

Fuck that noise. Pizza Port, son.

 

I think the Carlsbad PP may be my favorite place in SD. The OB one is great too but I just don't like hanging out in OB as much. I don't know of another brewery that makes so many different beers so well and always has a fantastic taplist (including some really good guest taps.)

 

I've been there a dozen times and never considered it to be that way. Sure, there's people there, but I've never had any problem finding room or getting beer.

I mean, I bet it sucks Saturday nights, but I imagine every restaurant in town worth going to probably sucks on Saturday nights.

 

exactly what angrygrimace said. Friday and Saturday evening it can be packed, just like any other popular good place. Even still I was there last Friday around 8pm and it was not that bad. I can see familes with kids not enjoying it, though it is fine for them around 5pm or during the week. But it is a bar, and in the evenings and on the weekends the atmosphere resembles that. If you are free during lunch time I recommend going then, they have a great lunch special for a salad, slice if pizza, and a house beer.