I am visiting San Diego for the second time, staying at the Lawrence Welk Resort off I-15 and a bit north of CA- 78 Escondido. Last time, I got to Stone (nice beer garden!), Pizza Port (Carlsbad), Alesmith (Miramar), The Lost Abbey and others. Tried to get to Pure Project (Miramar), but they had a flood that day. I am looking for other suggestions in that area and will return to a select few (Belching Beaver and Pure Project are good bets). I have seen good mention of Eppig and Bagby for lagers, and North Park in a previous SD thread. Any suggestions? I will be there for the AFC & NFC Championships, as well, so I am looking for a good bottleshop so I can hang at the resort with a few bottles and be comfortable. Any suggestions there?
You're kinda way up in North County, but I'd recommend making your way to the coast and visiting any of the Pizza Ports. If you do make it down to North Park, you'll want to visit North Park Beer Co and Modern Times. There are also two bottleshops nearby, Bine and Vine, and Bottlecraft.
For being up in north county, could check out Holiday Wine & Liquor. They have a nice beer selection but not really a bottle shop when compared to the ones that tyrsis mentioned. If you make it only down to Miramar area, then SD Wine & Beer is the shop I would recommend. Can make-your-own 6pk of cans in the fridges and get a little discount. Otherwise, yes, hit up Bagby for lagers. Eppig is in a weird limbo right now with its sale, firing of employees, closure of locations, contract brewing now through Alesmith, and probably a ton of other shit.
Sticking in North County, you have Babgy along the coast in Oceanside, South O on the way to the Carlsbad Village area where you have Pizza Port and Pure Project. Then there’s Burgeon and you could end up at one of the Belching Beaver locations for dinner.
Thanks. I've been to Belching Beaver (Park Ctr Dr, Vista), but did not eat there. Maybe I'll get back there to eat and drink their amazing Deftones Phantom Bride. Again! Pure Project is on my list. They had a flood at Miramar on my last visit.
if you're looking for real good lagers, i'd recommend the puesto in la jolla. gonna beat eppig and bagby on that front quality-wise although prob only 4-5 lager offerings on tap (which may be more than bagby anyways..)
I’m still a newb to SD, but Abnormal Brewing is an ok spot and they also have great food. Best beer store I’ve come across is San Diego Wine and Beer in Mira Mesa (real close to AleSmith).
Thanks for your kind advice. I will look for SD Wine and Beer as I will visit Pure Project in Miramar. They were flooded on my last visit. Plus, the wife likes the "dispensary" nearby. Gotta throw her a bone on this trip.
You're too far; you'll need to commit further by some miles to venture into better avenues. your best bet as others and burrito reaper david have mentioned is: pure project, burgeon, pizza port, bagby. You can also go for harland considering you're wanting to try alesmith if possible. cheers
There’s a Pure Project tap room two blocks away from the Carlsbad Pizza Port or their main brewing location is about a mile from the Belching Belching Beaver Pub 980. So you don’t need to go to Miramar. In the Vista Business Park there are also plenty of other options which are fun but might not ever get mentioned on here.
Thanks! I have a 2019-2020 SDBG brewery map for locations, some of which have closed since my 2021 visit, so I'm good there. I just have to plan what breweries, then figure out my route for convenience.
Thanks, I see that on my map (see below). Just a choice of how I can group nearby breweries together for convenience.
Thanks. This appears to be a more updated, but similar map, to the one that I have from 2019-20 and reflects more recent closures, like Green Flash.
What's the word on Good Beer Company? I thought they were supposed to open up shop in Julian or nearby. We're heading to Pala Casino and planning to hit Julian for lunch on Saturday. Fingers crossed we'll get a break from the incoming rain. I know of NIckel & Julian breweries. But was hoping for Good Beer to be open by now. Not sure if our plans include North Park or Mcilhenney right now. Pala area is a dead zone. Last time the wife went to Pala she brought me some Rincon cans. Crap. Double crap!
