Visiting San Diego - Summer 2014

Thanks

 

Nice work Xui, that is what beer advocacy is all about.

Cheers,

 

This is a pretty good guide.

 

Excellent work @Xul this will be an incredibly useful guide for my visit in September! Anyone interested in IP trades please let me know.

I will actually be staying at The Lafayette, which is odd as I found it before reading anything about it here. Beer aside, it looks like a cool hotel.

The only thing I would like more information on is the difference in bottle shops and bars. I know that there are reviews but it would be nice to have descriptions on those like you did for the brewery. Not taking anything away from the awesome guide you put together Xul!

This would also be very useful to me.

 

Seriously, look into Lyft or Uber. The drivers are much nicer and much more prompt, not to mention the service is incredibly convenient and cheaper than a cab.

 

Amazing post, thanks for this. I'll be heading out to SD late september. Was just wondering if anyone knows off-hand how many of these places are dog-friendly?

 

This thread has some kid-friendly info: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/san-diego-microbrewery-food.191183/

Also, re: the bottle shops there aren't any MAJOR differences. I'd say Pizza Port Carlsbad's bottle shop, while pretty good, is vastly inferior to the other ones mentioned. Best Damn Beer Shop may be the best, and the owner will every once in awhile just put out some rare beers from his cellar for sale on the shelf. Clem's also has a great selection, but is easily the most expensive. Because it's so expensive, you may find some rare beers there, just sitting on the shelf, but you'll have to be willing to pay. Also, they don't refrigerate a lot of their IPAs, which is kind of strange. Bine and Vine is a great place, but I feel like they get pretty limited quantities, and they run out of special stuff very quickly (I feel like there's a lot of empty fridge space there), so follow them on Instagram if you want to know about their daily arrivals.

The Bottlecraft locations are really cool, but they rarely have any "whalez," and when they do get them in, they sell extremely quickly. That being said, Bottlecraft in Little Italy is definitely worth a stop because you can drink there, so it's a cool opportunity to drink something that you might not buy or drink otherwise. Olive Tree and KnB are kind of similar in my mind, in that they both have very good selections, but save the really "special" stuff for regulars. Holiday Wine Cellar is great, but it's definitely the furthest away, out in Escondido, which is nowhere close to where you'll be

 

Thanks for the great advice.

I will be in Escondido as I am planning to visit Stone. How does Holiday Wine Cellar compare to BDBS?

 

Ahh gotcha. I think BDBS is better, but if you'll be out there, might as well stop in. Distillers Outlet in Poway is probably a top three bottle shop in the county. They get tons of crazy good stuff in. Most of it is for "regulars," hence I usually don't get an opportunity to try some of their rare bottles, but every once in awhile there's some awesome stuff on the shelf.

Also, I should make clear that I'm not just interested in "whalez," but we're kind of spoiled by having so many great, well-curated bottle shops that have great relationships with their distributors, that it gets kind of difficult to discern which ones are better than others. Sometimes it comes down to location and service. Almost all of these places have great service. Clem's sometimes has sub-par, aloof service, and actually the people at Bottlecraft Little Italy can be really grumpy and aloof. That's based on my observations of their interactions with other customers. They do have a kind of off-putting hipster vibe, so I just make my selections and pay without saying anything other than "thank you," and "have a nice day." The cashiers at Best Damn Beer Shop are pretty grumpy too, and when Sid and the other beer guy (his name escapes me at the moment) aren't there, the service isn't great.

 

My .02 as a recent visitor, my wife and I went without our toddler, however we do take note of these things, and it became a running joke how many breweries had at least one child there near the age of ours. Just to name a few off the top of my head: we saw kid(s) at Modern Times, Societe, Lost Abbey, Stone, and Ballast Point.

 

sooo when is this gonna be pinned?

 

may want to copy and save the main portion of info for future use, as you never know when (or why) a thread might vanish at any moment.

 

I'm thinking (hoping) that there will be enough guidance to this thread when new members post something that is covered here. Or they will find it in a search.

 

If you made a PDF I would be taking it to San Diego with me...

 

Psst, copy/paste.

 

I know. Was just thinking more elaborate visually.

 

They have chalk at lost abbey for the kids to draw on the ground if you ask for it