San Diego Brewery Tour

Ha, between Phil's & Salt Lick you just listed the most touristy trap bbq in San Diego and the most touristy trap bbq in Austin (a city where there actually is good bbq).

 

Does anyone have any experience/advice on using public transportation to get to some of the breweries? I'm staying by the beach in San Diego next week but want to get out to a few places and I won't have a car.

-Green Flash, Ballast Point, and Alesmith all seem pretty close so I was thinking of hitting that up as one trip.

-I was also considering taking the coaster train up to carlsbad to hit pizza port and the bottle shop and then get over to port/lost abbey.

-I really want to get out to Alpine as well but it seems like that might be a little insane (2 buses and a light rail).

I've been to some of these places during previous visits, but this time I'll be without a car. Thoughts/suggestions?

 

What beach are you staying by?

I think there's a shuttle from the Sorrento Valley coaster stop that would drop you pretty close to Green Flash. Green Flash, Ballast Point, Alesmith, Hess, and White Labs are all in the same general area (by San Diego standards) but not within walking distance or anything. Probably not a ton of cabs around there either.

Getting to Alpine via public transportation would be a real chore; I would definitely not suggest doing that.

No matter what, it's going to be pretty difficult to get around the county without a car. Everything is pretty spread out and public transportation isn't great (especially once you get out of the main city area).

 

You're right, my bad for calling it BBQ! Grilled meat with BBQ rub and sauce is more appropriate . It's still damn good though, and people love it because the beef ribs are excellent (even if they're not BBQ).

They may be tourist traps but they're also awesome. I've also been to Franklin, Rudy's and Lambert's BBQ in Austin so I have a sample too with which to compare...Franklin has the best brisket around IMO but Salt Lick has by far the best location and facility.


FWIW I was at Alpine again two nights ago on Saturday. Ordered a combo plate of the ribs and brisket with fried pickles. The pickles are tasty and the BBQ is better than I remember, so I retract my previous statement that the food is nothing to write home about. My only complaint is that they only had 1 bottle of Nelson left for sale...bummer! I did get a glass of the Chez Monieux and BBA Odin's Raven.

 

Pizza Port Solana Beach is the OG location.

 

Public Transportation in this town sucks, it's too spread out.

via Coaster you could hit PP Solana Beach and PP Carlsbad. Not sure about the Sprinter over to Lost Abbey.
Forget about Alpine.

Your best bet is taking a cab to 30th St and hitting all the beer bars there. You'll get more beers on tap.

Also depends on which beach you're at. If in OB there's Newport Pizza, Olive tree and PP OB.
If in PB there's the Tap Room which is essentially the taste of San Diego.
If in La Jolla, well, you're fooked.

 

Stone is a nice visit just because of the gardens and stonework. I really enjoyed Port/Lost Abbey. They had a awesome couple tending bar just because they enjoy doing it, lots of barrels to look at, and did I mention they had about 15 beers between both brands to try!