Need help narrowing down my SD trip

Rip Current is a mile away from Churchill's. Latitude 33 is a few miles away from Rip Current. Lost Abbey is between Stone and Churchill's. I'd cluster Latitude 33 in with Rip Current and Churchill's. If you can handle 5 places in a day I'd do all those together. Pizza Port Carlsbad is probably a 15 minute drive from Latitude 33.

 

1. Alpine. 25-30 by car from downtown on a weekday afternoon. If you can make it, do.
2. Societe. About 20 minutes by car. But on tap at plenty of downtown locations. Don't miss their beers right now. Pupil, Apprentice & Butcher are must drinks. Might as well go a bit further and hit up Alesmith on the same day.
3. Pizza Port. If you go to Carlsbad, take the train. You can drink a bottle on the way back.
4. Ballast Point Loma Vista location. Smaller than the main brewery, but MUCH closer to downtown.
5. Lost Abbey. Hit them up if you go to Stone. Well worth the extra few miles.

Pubs
1. Toronado. Best tap list in SD. Ritual across the street is smaller, but more relaxed and always has a great list as well.
2. O'Brien's. Hit them up after Societe.
3. Alpine Pub. Go on Tuesday. Pub opens at 11. Brewery at noon. Fill up on food, then fill a few growlers.
4. Local Habit (Best brussel sprouts in SD. Also, a well curated tap list containing several beers you might not find anywhere else.)
5. Tiger!Tiger! & Blind Lady. Both are awesome foodie joints with solid tap lists. Look for their in-house Automatic Brew.
6. Downtown Johnny Brown's. Hidden gem downtown. Best craft beer bar in downtown, by far.
7.Monkey Paw. Since you're downtown anyhow, you might as well head over to Monkey Paw. Very good brewpub with Philly Cheesesteaks.

Bottleshops
1. Best Damn Home Brew Shop downtown. Close to you, and you won't find a better bottle selection anywhere in SD. Fair prices, too.

I would stay away from Slaters and any place in OB/PB. Most of the downtown/Gas Lamp joints aren't worth their weight in parking tickets, except for Downtown Johnny Brown's.

Alpine would be an afternoon trip, with virtually no other stops nearby.

Societe/O'Brien's would get you up into Clairmont Mesa, where you could also hit up Alesmith, Hess, Helm's. Might even be able to do these on the way to Stone. North of Stone, you've got Lost Abbey, Iron Fist, Offbeat & Belching Beaver. But that would be a very, very full day.

You could easily spend a day exploring the 30th street corridor. Toronado, Ritual, Poorhouse, Bottlecraft, Carnitas Snack Shack, Urban Solace (best SD restaurant, in my book) Hamilton's, Alchemy. Monkey Paw isn't much further, and you might as well stop in at Counterpoint on the way.

 

If by family you are including kids, note that Blind Lady (during the day), Coronado's pub on Coronado and Slaters will be the most kid-friendly. Taking the ferry or water taxi over to Coronado and touristing around there can be followed by a stop at Coronado without being too beer-centric.

Every place on your list could have beer that is pretty limited and all of them are generally decent places to go. PB in general tends to have a college-aged crowd and can be annoying in general. Main Tap, Hoffers and Alpine are not near anything else and you will not be maximizing your time by going to them. You could head to Alpine then hit Main Tap and Hoffers on the way back but it would require more car time between stops than say going to Alesmith, Ballast Point, Societe and OBriens or hitting the 30th Street corridor.

That being said, make Societe a priority. Their beers are fantastic and not available outside of SD.

You could definitely make a good day out of places near your hotel - Downtown Johnny Browns, Monkey Paw, Mission Brewery, Neighborhood and Karl Strauss.

 

Yeah, the Loma Vista BP is the homebrew mart. It was their original location, and right now they are transitioning it into their small batch brewery. They usually have 12-16 BP beers on for tasters and growler fills. Usually a bit different tap list than up at the Grove brewery, but just as good. $1 tasters, slightly smaller due to liquor license. They do a good job with a tap list cam at their website. They have limited bottles, usually whatever the seasonal releases are.

Alpine is so much fun.

Hamilton's on 30th also a great bar food cafe attached. They start serving later in the day. Check out their menu- similar to Alpine, slightly greasier. The food at Toronado is probably the best "bar" food in San Diego. No deep fryer, lots of interesting options. Pork Belly skewers and the potato pancakes are killer.

 

Well, The Bruery is near Disneyland.

 

Wait, what?

 

How exactly is Alpine "fun"?

 

I would skip Stone for dinner, very bland food. Go for the beers, walk the grounds and then goto Churchill's for dinner. The food is so good and they have 57 taps, which usually are pretty damn good. Lost Abbey can be a really short stop, as the majority of time they don't have much on draft besides there regular lineup.

 

Same with my family. I also really enjoy it. Hard to beat the outdoor seating and garden there.

 

OP, ignore this.

Pizza Port OB is arguably the best PP location. Plus Olive Tree Market is a fun stop, especially when the tasting room is open and their restaurant 2 doors down called Kecho's is very good too. Plus there is Newport Pizza which has a great tap list and OB feel to is. Slaters a great family place, or to go watch a game. They have a great number of beers on tap. Lastly, there is Raglan Public House and Sessions public. Both are decent food and beer options. I tend to like the food better at Sessions, but it is a slower paced place and service isn't always the best.

edit: almost forgot, the Harp usually has Alpine on tap too. And there is OB noodle house, one of the best Happy Hours. The place gets loud in the evenings (blaring music) so i typically avoid it then. However the tap list and food is good.

 

There is a Hodad's on B'way downtown now, as well.

 

Last night in OB, if you were so inclined, mrelizabeth (if that is your real name):

All within walking distance. No bus, bike, or cab needed.
Half off 40+ craft taps for happy hour and a bowl of Pho at Noodle House (always have Societe).
Nelson on tap at The Harp
Sucaba on tap at Raglan
'07 Angel Share on tap at Newport Pizza (carb'd and not infected!)
40+ taps at Pizza Port including an awesome new DIPA from OB's new brewer, Calrsbad's old brewer, Nacho.
By then you might be hungry and hit late night happy hr at South Beach for $3 Lobster and Fish tacos and $3 Sculpins.
Mondays....

But by all means, stay out of OB, mrelizabeth. We have a nice quite beach community here and we aim to keep it that way.