Hey guys, I'm going on a trip to Los Angeles area and San Diego in March. I'll have a car, so driving and getting around is no problem. Asking for a few tips! What beers do I definitely need to try and/or bring back to the UK with me? Where shall I go? I've had a search around on the forums and such, but is there anywhere I REALLY need to go, or need to drink, or good seasonal offerings around this time of year? I'm interested in single bottle shops too, as it'll be easier to get some home Last time I went I tried a few great brews and visited a couple of good places but I'd really like to experience a bit more this time!
There are world class pubs/breweries all around Southern California so you'll have no trouble finding good beer. I would suggest Alpine Beer Company which is in Alpine CA, not too far of a drive out of San Diego.
I'd recommend going to Beachwood in Long Beach, Noble Ale Works and the Bruery in Orange County, Societe in San Diego, Alpine as was mentioned earlier, the liquor store across the street from Alpine generally has some Russian River sours for sale that you should pick up, if you stop by Keg & Bottle in the College Area of SD they usually have some good bottles for sale that are overpriced, should definitely go to Toronado in North Park and Modern Times That's all i can think of off the top of my head
How long are you going to be in LA and San Diego for? Everyone above has pretty much mentioned the to go spots. If you're going to be here for an extended period of time here's a more in depth look into San Diego compliments of Xul... http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/visiting-san-diego-fall-2014.216013/
Biggest bang for your buck is always local beer fests, so keep an eye on event calendars. Lots of stuff for next year has likely not been posted yet. Check March 2014 event calendars, as well. For example, BA shows that last March there was... http://www.beeradvocate.com/events/info/65875/ http://www.beeradvocate.com/events/info/65527/ http://www.beeradvocate.com/events/info/66188/ http://www.beeradvocate.com/events/info/66504/ And BA missed this one... https://www.beeradvocate.com/ratebeer/?path=/event/24411/churchills-renaissance-rare-beer-fest-2014/ and check this one... http://www.sandiegobrewersguild.org/
You might be a month too early but Stone's Sourfest is rather enjoyable. Rip Current's 2nd anniversary is also middle of March.
Just to put this in perspective the state of California has half the population of your entire country. From LA to SD has about 1/4 of the population of your entire country.
If you're out here in early march there should be a few chances to queue for Pliny the Younger at bars around Southern California. Yes beer geeks over here queue for many different beer releases. You should bust your USA-beer-queue cherry while here.
There's always a couple places who will be tapping it 2-3 weeks after they receive their shipment... or longer... cough Haven cough Lucky Baldwin's cough
