Toolbox Brewing Co. - Vista, CA

I went over Memorial Day weekend and the beers are a mixture of really great to pretty meh. That Apricot X and Purple drink were phenomenal. My Cousin Strawberry was not good. I was disappointed with The Virgin Cherry. Everything else on tap was average to good/great.

 

So every other sour producer in Southern California is above average AND doing better than Toolbox? I can think of quite a few sour producers who I'd put below Toolbox so I'm curious who you're comparing them to.

I think their beers have been hit and miss so far, but I also think people need to utilize some context with the fact that they're rapid sour beers - not Berliners, but they're stylistically different from lambics, gueuzes, Flemish reds/browns, and other beers that take over a year to produce. I think that Toolbox's wood aged beers have the potential to reach that level of complexity with time, and even their stainless steel beers will gain depth in the bottle as their house culture does its thing, but the draft beers and fresh bottles are going to be lacking in complexity due to the nature of the style.

 

I'm excited about what's coming out of Toolbox. By my recollection, I think they've only been open since Sept '14. In due time, I'm confident they will dial in their recipes and take advantage of their developing barrel program.

 

Agree with this, wholeheartedly. I went the following weekend, and I felt the same about Virgin and Cousin. Apricot was really awesome. They actually had just tapped a keg of Peachin' Camaro, so I got to try some. I'm glad I had the opportunity to try it beforehand, because I would have been very disappointed with the bottle purchase. It tasted very vegetal. The peach was very subtle. It definitely got better as it warmed up, but it tasted more like a peachy white tea than a sour beer. In any case, I love what they're doing, and I can't wait to try more of their beer, as I imagine they're only going to get better.

 

FWIW, Handful of Peter was pretty simple and subtle on draft, but quite fruity and complex in bottles.

 

Agree with this. I remember when I picked up my bottle I had a taster and it was undercarbed not very complex at all and very subtle on the fruit, but I opened my bottle about 2 weeks ago and it was a night and day difference. I actually wish i had another bottle or 2 it was that good.

 

We went by recently and had a flight of Grass Fed Lettuce, Tart X with Apricot, the Blueberry sour, and Sweet Baby Trey. Honestly, they were all good, complex beers that are a welcome addition to the San Diego sour landscape. I Hope you can give them another try.

 

I had a flight from them the last time I was in town for work literally down the street and around the corner. I'm starting to get into sour beers more and they had some great offerings. I was not a fan of their Purple Drink; just not my style. I would have brought some bottles home if they were available. I like to see more and more sours/Brett beers readily available.

 

I was most impressed by Grass Fed Lettuce and Apricot X when I stopped by for the first time over the weekend. The others I tried were good, but those two stood out the most for me. They are still a young brewery and I think they have a lot of potential. Definitely looking forward to my next visit.

 

I just moved offices and am literally right around the corner from Toolbox now. I thought X Lupus was good, but the blueberries weren't very present. Grass Fed lettuce was great, and the first bottle of Virgin Cherry we popped was also really good. Last time I was in there their IPA was darn tasty, too. Now that I'm close, I'll spend more time there. Looking forward to checking out more of their offerings.

 

I still win, I'm across the parking lot.

 

Ha, nice! Whats good to eat around here? I need to find some hidden gem lunch spots

 

Hungry Bear deli. Not sure about other spots since I don't go out to eat lunch.

 

Thanks, I'll check it out.

My old office was right down the street from my house, so I used to go home for lunch. I'm gonna miss that.

 

Pizza Port Bressi Ranch is 5 minutes away.

 

Awesome, thanks!!

 

and of course for those nice longer lunch breaks, a bit east is Churchills Pub and Sublime Ale House.

 

Anyone know how busy it gets the first weekend after an online bottle release? I plan on stopping by sometime in the afternoon after some drinks at Societe.