CA beer travel question.

Craft in S Korea has gotten more popular in the last 6 years. There was almost none 6 years ago on my visit there. Last Oct I was shocked to see the amount you could buy there. I wish I knew how to post pictures here. The bottle shop I visited had 3 coolers full of bottles and cans. Plus another long shelf full of beers. I bought a bottle of Sculpin, Modern Times can, Revolution Anti Hero can, and one other I don't remember. I paid $35+ for 4 cans/bottles. plus next door at the Cinder Bar I had 2 glasses of Lost Coast Indica IPA. That was another $20.

 

I haven't looked for it in a few years, but Russian River used to be easier to find in Portland than most places in CA!

 

If you won't be traveling for another 5 months, the weather will be beautiful in Portland by then. Seattle too.

 

It's not that they don't prepare the food. But they have basically a pizza oven and a mixer for the dough. They don't have ovens and burners for making sauces and stocks. Most of the stuff is from a package, sauces etc...They don't have a full kitchen to do most basic production of house made products, so lots of stuff is pre bought including dressings, sauces for wings etc.

I guess what I'm trying to say is our beer loving Korean friend is getting too hung up on Russian River as a must go destination.

California has a great history for famous beers. But Oregon has more beer per city block than California. As a destination Oregon is a broader and accessible path to travel for hoppy American beer. Our Korean friend wants hoppy American beer, he can get more for less money in Oregon.

The food is also remarkably better for beer pairings in Oregon. Here in California the most famous breweries are using low cost pre made ingredients and charging a premium. I'd rather pay top dollar for good food and good beer.

 

Drink (and eat) alpine or go to bed

 

Portland would be a fine choice - I've certainly had great times there. Oregon does have a much better beer culture than pretty much anywhere else I've been - though I'm not sure how much that actually matters if you're doing a beer-centric trip. The downside of that beer culture is that I found people to be hyper-local, even at the expense of quality. Why bother traveling 10 extra minutes when the place right down the street is 90% as good? Which leads to a whole lot of pretty good beer establishments with few standouts.

San Diego would probably be my top choice. You'll get the beach/surfing that everyone associates with California (and the beautiful people surrounding it). Using an uber/lyft/public transportation you'd be able to get to a bunch of cool beer spots with some of the best beer in the state. You get some of the large craft beer pioneers, but a bunch of new up-and-coming ones as well.

 

It is a little out of the way, but if you have the time and liver capacity while in the northern part of san diego county I do recommend stopping off at the Cork & Craft in Rancho Bernardo since they house Abnormal Beer Co.

 

If California is the destination it will be fun. My suggestion is simple economics...more beer more food, I like that. But in the future we should all be able to help guide NerdBoy to greener pastures.

Maybe a slightly more expensive California trip will be beneficial to encourage more meaningful moderation.