San Diego recommendations (so many options)

In January I did Mikkeller, Modern Times Lomaland, Abnormal and Resident. The stand out was MT. Resident and Mikkeller very different atmospheres (Resident a loud sports bar with full food and liquor and Mikkeller more of a quiet euro hipster hang out) but liked them both. Abnormal was so so.

Going back this Sunday through Wednesday. On a bit of a lager kick at the moment although IPAs are always welcome too. Was thinking of trying some combo of Eppig, Fall, North Park Beer Company and Rip Current’s north park location.

May try to get up to Societe (saw they just tapped a new Helles I think) and Pure Project (got Murklands in Vegas recently and was excellent) as well.

Any recommendations on Sunday for a place near downtown-ish with TVs to watch the March madness basketball? Looks like Half Door has TVs so was thinking of trying that. Staying in hotel circle.

And any recommendation on a bottle shop by Hotel Circle? Last time did a BevMo in the mall across the freeway from hotel. It was decent. Was hoping to try something different this time.

Thanks BA’s!!

 

http://www.westcoastersd.com/san-diego-beer-calendar/

have fun

 

Bottlecraft Liberty Public Market....just a short uber down Rosecranz, can even tick MT:lomaland on your way if you really wanted to. Has TVs, obviously a solid taplist, food for days, and great bottle selection.

 

So this is embarrassing but I tried to go there last time and walked around for 15 min looking for it and couldn’t find it. Gave up and went to Stone at liberty station instead. Is it on the second floor? A basement? The whole barracks thing was a little confusing but where the map on my phone said it was....it was not.

 

i got this david:

look for mastiff sausage company then right behind you will see a hall; walk forth & welcome to what I call the cafeteria of variety; it's on your right. Enjoy.

 

Ha....I was just going to say that if you are outside, look for the tractor that kids play on and it is right inside. Alternatively you could just shout "Hey Lance!" while inside and he would likely respond....then just go towards his voice.

Edit: This map might help you out...top is North

Bottlecraft is #4 - http://libertypublicmarket.com/market-map/

 

number 4 is what you're looking for

 

Got it thanks guys

 

I cannot keep my daughter off that tractor.

 

Burgeon is awesome but they are also on tap all around town and I don't visit the brewery directly because it is so out of the way. Even if I am coming along the 5, it is a bit of a drive inland so I haven't made the stop in a while. I need to go up there again soon though.

 

I love this location, with all the varieties of food it's awesome. I remember when I picked up a bunch of BA MP coconut, coffee & reg along time ago. Do they still allow you to bring a bottle from elsewhere(home) and open it ? I asked about a year ago, and said it wouldn't be a problem. Don't know if anything has changed.

 

They do allow it and have a relatively cheap corkage fee. Sometimes they wave it if you already purchased a pint....rarely....but sometimes.

 

I’ve been in San Diego just over 48 hours and I’m just about completely worn out. I’ve hit it pretty hard, going to Pure Project, Alesmith, O’Brien’s, Crack Shack, Modern Times, Burgeon, Toronado and Slater’s 50/50. Most of those were very quick visits, but I’ve also done the zoo and Legoland with the family.

I’ll give more of a report once I’m done, but I’d say Modern Times has been my favorite spot so far.

 

Finished my trip on Thursday. Didn’t get too many chances to go out but here’s my take:

Societe - I went there 4 years ago and liked it. Great IPAs at that time. Went back and it was like nothing had changed. Mostly the same beers and recipes on tap. New additions were lagers and sours. Their Helles and Czech Pilz were both great. Everything else 4 years later feels like the rest of the beer world caught up to them and has begun to pass them by. Their two staple IPAs: the pupil and the apprentice were still good, solid but nothing that stands out in today’s market. Their Russian imp stout the Butcher was also still good, they should get that in some bourbon barrels. Every beer was well made and to style but nothing really stood out.

Modern Times Point Loma - went here twice because it was so amazing and close to hotel. The best beers, set up and atmosphere I’ve ever experienced. Pure awesomeness. Their hazy IPAs are incredible and the best I’ve had: Stencil Crew is the top beer now I’ve ever tasted and all their other IPAs were wonderful too: Blanc on Blanc, Topolobampo, Essence Glider, Outside World, MetaBaron, Super Compiler. An epic list of their heavy distribution beers (approx 8) and then about 15-20 super unique, delicious taps. Great barrel aged stouts and fruit laden sours too. They also had a quality dortmunder export, Dort, and fruit and spiced lager, Bogus Totem. Can’t say enough about how great this place was. Bottle station, Crowler fills, coffee cafe, etc.

 

Went to a handful of breweries today and really, nothing compares to modern times. That bogus totem was great.

 

Actually, I take that back. Abnormal was good because of Cafe Dino. I love that beer.

 

I agree with you completely @MonkeyBread .

Great summary of the two breweries you mentioned. While I agree that Societe is in some ways being surpassed by other breweries that are innovating, I also think they are going to weather any storm due to the quality of the beers they are brewing just like Russian River doesn't bother with chasing trends and does just fine.

Of course if you are interested in the modern examples of styles then absolutely Modern Times is the place to go. Their hazy IPAs are my favorite around town for now and they have even greater variety now that they have opened their LA and Portland Oregon locations.

 

I left San Diego last Wednesday, but was busy with the rest of my vacation so am just now getting a chance to report back on my experience.

First up was Pure Project. I only had about 30 minutes there, as I got there just before closing, but this place was nice. Both beers I had (Keep Amurka Dank and Sign of the Times) were really tasty, and I traded for a bottle of Nine Nights with Cinnamon while out there, so I'm looking forward to that as well. This place has a REALLY chill atmosphere, especially considering I was there on a Saturday night.

Alesmith - this was probably the one I was looking forward to the most just because I'm such a fan of BA Speedway Stout and its variants. I got to have DB Speedway and Sea Salt BA Speedway, both of which were excellent...with the Sea Salt being the best beer I had on my trip. Those guys seem to make BA stouts that are right in my wheelhouse. This also didn't seem very busy at all for a Saturday night, so it was nice and relaxing to hang with a couple buddies there.

O'Brien's Pub - my buddy took me here after the first two spots to keep drinking. Good little spot with lots of tap options - I had Pliny, a Revision hazy, 2011 BBA Sea Monster and a Rip Current beer. Needless to say, I had enough to drink at this point!

The next day I went to Modern Times Lomaland Fermentorium. I tried a few different beers there - 2 hazy (Blanc on Blanc on Blanc and Stencil Crew) and Devil's Teeth Rum Rye & Barrel Cuvee. All were very good, with Stencil and Devil's Teeth being pretty exceptional. Added a 4 pack of Stencil Crew to the order I had place online from the recent release. This was my favorite place of the trip, although I could see their prices being a drawback from buying a lot of their stuff. I also visited Crack Shack earlier in the day. I thought that was OK - not bad, but nothing to go out of the way for or to wait the 45 minutes or so that we did. Had a Karl Strauss Mosaic Session IPA while there that was pretty good.

The next day I stopped in at Burgeon after taking the family to Legoland. I liked the inside of this place and they had a vibe that was welcoming...and allowed for my 7 year old to come in with my wife and I while our youngest napped. The beers itself were fine, nothing blew me away, but I enjoyed Dutchman's Pipe w/Espresso and Vanilla bean the most. I stopped in at Toronado this day as well for a very quick beer because I knew they had Blind Pig on tap, and really wanted to take the opportunity to have that on tap. It was good as expected...that place had a nice taplist as well, but I had to be on my way after one beer. We had dinner that day at Slater's 50/50, and thought that was just OK - again, not bad, but nothing I'd go out of my way for. Had an Offshoot beer and Rsident beer while I was there, both of which were serviceable.

We had lunch the next day at The Local / Resident. I really dug this spot, perhaps because it seemed to work well with kids. Had one Resident beer, as well as The Pupil by Societe. Both solid beers, and I really enjoyed the food I had (Local Moco). I had a drink later that night with a buddy at Bottlecraft Little Italy - small spot, but I got to try BA Peche Mortel, which was cool to have.

I also hit a couple bottle shops while I was there. I went to Krisp / Best Damn Bottle Shop and Bine & Vine. Both had really good selections, and I was able to get stuff like Pliny, Monsters Park Mexican Chocolate, Revision cans, Pugachev's Cobra and another BA stout recommended by one of the workers. For some reason I thought Krisp might be a tad high on prices, as they only sold the Revision cans as singles and I think they were $5+ each can. But, I believe the Pliny was $6.99, which I think is the going rate, so maybe it was just me.

All in all, I was very impressed with the beer scene there and can't wait to get back! I was pretty worn out considering I did all of the above as well as family stops at the Zoo, Legoland, La Jolla Cove and Midway Museum.

 

Hopefully this doesn’t start a huge debate, but when my family goes on vacation we always like to seek out Mexican restaurants. I know SD must have hundreds of options. So, what are the best non-taqueria Mexican restaurants of SD?

 

Tough question as everyone will have differing opinions. I don't go to a sit down restaurant all that often but if I did I would say Lolita's or Ponce's.

If you are wanting quicker eats, any *to's should do the trick, my favorite being a Rigoberto's off Miramar Rd.