San Diego - early 2018 recommendations

Eppig and Gordon Biersch for their lagers.

 

Another vote for Eppig here

 

Bottlecraft Liberty has 1 tv, none at Modern Times IIRC

 

Alesmitt/Mikkeler and I will throw in Pure because it is like a 10 min walk from alesmith are absolutely worth the drive if you like the stuff they distro. The stuff they have on tap is generally much better and alesmith always has some barrel aged stuff on tap + anvil and stave. When I am down there I do the Alesmitt/Mikkeler/Pure/Societe loop.

 

I'm going to Carlsbad in April for a week. Loved Rip Current last time and plan to go again. I will drive farther than you, but have a 11 yr old which will limit locations.

I plan to hit the following:

• Pizza Port Carlsbad
• Rip Current - North Park
• Alesmith
• Societe.

Anyone have recommendations for other spots which are kid friendly?

 

Bagby is super kid and dog friendly as it’s also a restaurant. Burgeon in Carlsbad is good. Close by you have Toolbox. Just tried Twisted Horn (mead & cider) which was good. They had board games. Rip Current San Marcos is just a little further. Rip Current probably has the least amount of kids. Make sure it’s not Pizza Port Bressi as downtown Carlsbad always has a better taplist IMO. Have you had lunch/dinner at Churchills?

Here’s something else to maybe give you ideas.

http://www.westcoastersd.com/2017/12/21/best-san-diego-breweries-right-now/

 

For your sunday I too would vote for Bottlecraft Liberty Station. There are 2 tvs. I would opt to post up at the bar on the west side. Smaller area, tv right there as well as televisions showing the current taplist (typically 18-20 offerings). And if the tap list doesn't strike your fancy, you can always go grab a bottle from the fridge and purchase/drink that instead. There are also a slew of eateries inside there so I would imagine that you could find something to have for lunch.

Another option would be going downtown to Resident Brewing / The Local. It is a restaurant that has a brewery attached to it. They have plenty of televisions for you but I think it would be busier than Bottlecraft. There would also be less bar space to grab a seat.

Modern Times is TV-less on purpose.

Here is the link to BC Liberty Station taplist: https://www.bottlecraftbeer.com/pages/whats-on-draft-liberty-station
Ha..Fremont BBA Dark Star, no big deal. =P

You can see the other locations draft list as well from the drop down menu.

 

2nd on Bagby - solid house beers and very good guest taps too. Tons of space for kids to hang. Just a few minutes down Coast Highway you also have Urge Gastropub that has in house Mason Ale Works beers and a ton of guests too.

I brought my kid to Rip Current San Marcos once, though it was earlier in the afternoon and I didn't have an yissue.

 

Booze Brothers is very under the radar and making great beers if you happen to be in the Vista area. Also Belching Beaver just re-modeled their original location into a brewpub so they also serve wine if you traveling with someone not into beer. Worth checking out or go to their downtown Vista spot and also hit up the Mother Earth tap room (and order pizza from Urbn across the street).

 

Thanks for info. Bagby has been on my list, along with Churchills, but I haven't been to either one. Great to know that Rip Current San Marcos will allow kids and thanks for the link!

 

Tasters / Halfs / Fulls

 

Your list of
Fall
Half Door
Resident
North Park
Rip Current
Belching Beaver
Is a great start. I would add to that Chuck Alek for their excellent lagers and my favorite ESB around town. You should also consider Modern Times if you are at all into IPAs to try what is to me the peak of local hazy IPA. They have made massive strides in the past year and a half getting closer to the big hazy breweries. Out of the others already listed above, Fall and Rip Current have the best regularly available lagers.

 

If you're out near Societe again, O'Brien's is a decent beer bar that usually has a good taplist.

 

What's the experience at Abnormal Beer Co like? Worth hitting up?

I'll be in San Diego next week with my wife and our 1 year old, thinking about hitting it up during the day - as we'll be in RB. I haven't heard many people on the forums here comment about Abnormal.

 

Easy pass, their IPA’s are mostly average, not a fan of their manager. Their stouts are really good and worth a pour if something good is on, if not, not worth the trip.

 

Abnormal has great food and solid lineup of beer. Though I haven't been back in a while since an IPA can release missed the mark to me. Fairly chill spot overall and a great guest tap list. You can always try a splash of a few different beers to confirm that you enjoy it prior to ordering a full pour or do a full flight.

 

If you can go during happy hour, their wings are excellent and even if the Abnormal beer list isn't exciting, they should have some good guest taps. I mean, the wings are excellent regardless of the time of day, but they're not cheap at normal pricing and quite frankly the atmosphere isn't particularly great, so going during happy hour helps make it more tolerable from the standpoint of not overpaying for the experience. Not an essential stop, though.

 

@Rbarnes4381 @sdhopaddict @Xul thanks for the info guys, much appreciated.

The other spots on my list are:

MT
Alesmith
Societe
Lost Abbey (picking up Peach Veritas)
Stone (outdoor space for kid to play)

We used to live in LA, and would visit SD, but it's been years. Any other recs? Especially up and coming spots are appreciated too, don't have to be kid friendly as I'll be going out with family kid-less also.

Any vegan food recs are also appreciated.