NYE in San Diego?

Toronado normally does an epic "tap takeover" with all Pizza Port beers, but with Bagby gone not sure if that is still happening.

 

The Stone event is awesome, it's just about $100 too expensive. NYE for the most part in SD is not very interesting, beer wise.

 

Fixed it for you.

 

Yeah I just saw that it's only $99 this year, but no beer. How weird

 

Not interesting compared to where?

 

Most cities. San Diego seems to celebrate other nights in a much bigger fashion (e.g. Fat Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo), at least to me. I guess one could go to the La Jolla Hyatt and watch their version of the Times Square ball drop - oooh, how exciting.

It's amateur night, anyway.

And jeremyf - I don't think most Pizza Port locations stay open to midnight, much less do anything for New Year's. That isn't their vibe.

 

I will disagree - the NYE parties I've been to downtown are better than anything outside of Vegas. Way better than the ass-cold clusterf*ck that is NYC or even SF. Actually, SF is really, really lame. So are Seattle and Portland.

SD is actually pretty great, usually because the weather is nicer than in many other parts of the US. I think it's also a top 10 destination city for New Year's according to Hotwire.

I cannot comment on any beer-related events because I don't usually spend NYE doing beer stuff. It's more of a dinner/bar/nightclub kind of an evening. And that Stone Event has always been stupidly overpriced.

Either way, count yourself lucky because it's better than SF.

 

I don't think there really has been a craft beer - NYE tie in. Very few of the joints in San Diego that cater to craft beer drinkers stay open that late at night. It seems more craft beerish to have a small bottle share at home for New Year's.

I'll give you that there is definitely action downtown that night, though I've always disdained most things Gaslamp (I'm too old and never was that pretty). Still, in terms of party nights in San Diego, it doesn't seem to get the press than some of the other evenings.

 

last year i was gonna go to some NYE beer fest at the handlery or something, which i was really looking forward to. i remember them cancelling it like the week before.

 

I hit stones nye party last year for the first time. Even though the price tag was intimidating, once we got there we knew we got a great deal. Everything was a 10 to sum it up, even for the one girl with us who didn't know about beer. There were several different stations of food and drinks set up in different areas, even in the brewhouse. This was great because it spread people out and made it feel not crowded as well as keeping lines from forming. In fact the only line that existed was at the mac n cheese cooking station. This was because it was basically like a mongolian bbq set up where you pick everything you want, then its cooked on the spot. Obviously the line for that got insane and I said to hell with that. However, (dramatic pause) when two of our group made it thru the line. We tasted their creations and all agreed that it was worth waiting in line for after all. Of course the other food, prime rib, sushi, ect was all in keeping with stones attn to higher quality. I was concerned about how the night was structured when I looked at the announcement at first. Meaning how there was a specified time that dinner was happening, then desert, cigar lounge and such. Mainly I was worried though about having a nice dinner in the allotted time frame without rushing or missing something. I say this only cause you might be thinking the same, and to that I say don't worry at all. I was surprised to find there was an excess of time, and options.
On to the drinks. Honestly they had something for everyone. From the beer geek who wanted the 06 DB, to the wine or sake drinker. Later, as the night went on people moved into the large bottling area that had been going on all evening with a DJ, stage, lighting, seating, and extra bars. I noticed nobody who was too drunk, rude, or more wild than the crowd was comfortable with. We all rode out the night drinking, dancing, and taking advantage of all the goodies laid out for everyone.
My recommendation to anyone who is wanting to avoid being stuck in gas lamp chest to ass with a bunch of jackasses getting hammered. Make the drive to stone, chill in a excessively comfortable environment and be pampered surrounded with strangers that are friendly. Its worth the money.