My dad will be out in San Diego for business this weekend, and I've asked him to pick me up some beer that we don't have access to here in WI. So two questions: 1) He's staying in the Hilton Bayfront. Any good/decent shops in that vicinity? 2) I am somewhat familiar with Russian River, Green Flash, AleSmith, and Lost Abbey, any other local breweries that make something I should try? Thanks, I appreciate the help!
My favs: Best Damn Brew Shop (downtown) Olive Tree Market (OB) Bine and Vine (Normal Heights) As for your other question, the answer is ALPINE. Can we get a SD beer resources thread stickied or something?
I brought it up a while ago in the Feedback forum, but no traction so far: http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/regional-stickies.6649/#post-278049
Best Damn Beer Shop (inside of Krisp market, which used to be Super Jr Market) is about a mile away. Bottlecraft is about 2 miles away in Little Italy (nice walk along the harbor to get there or a short trolley ride) Do you get Ballast Point in WI? Second Alpine as well, though their beers are hit or miss outside of the brewery which is 40 miles or so from where your dad will be staying.
Dropped in Bottlecraft a few weeks ago for the first time, it's a pretty nice shop. Jeff, when you say hit or miss outside the brewery I assume your referring to the recent Pure situation ? Cheers.....
That must be what he's referring to, I'd think. Though, from what I understand, some shops get stuff directly from Alpine (like Bine and Vine) and some shops get Alpine via distribution. The latter, obviously, is going to be less consistent in terms of how old it is, if it's been kept cold, etc.
Can't say for sure what he meant, but I would read it as availability, not QC - the QC issue exists/existed regardless of whether the beer was purchased at the brewery or at a retailer. However, availability is hit or miss at any given retailer. Some spots are slightly more likely than others, but there's no one that I'd confidently tell someone "Store X will have {Duet|Pure|Nelson} in stock."
Yes, I meant availability, not QC. If there are bad bottles they'll be bad no matter where you get them. (And really th bad bottles are a very small percentage of Alpine's overall bottle output) Not a lot of shops get Alpine, and when they do the good stuff (Duet, Pure, Nelson) tends to sell out fast.
How's the selection at The Boulevard Wine & Spirits? This deal is happening right now... https://www.halfpricesandiego.com/index.php
