Visiting San Diego

Societe & Stone in Liberty Station. And there are a lot of good craft bars in North Park.

 

Stone beer is overrated. Location is nice.

Depends entirely where you'll be.

 

1) Societe
2) Alpine (worth the effort)
3) Green Flash

I'll echo the sentiment on Stone. Not worth it. Had friends come in from out of town pumped to go there, warned them and they went anyway. Afterwards they said that they should have listened to me.

 

I'd recommend Alesmith over Green Flash if you are doing a brewery, but if you are near San Diego State (meaning Mission Vallley most likely), you really ought to go to Toronado. You will not find a bigger tap list, especially of beers local to San Diego, and if you go at the right time you might find enough Alpine beers on tap that you don't need to go up the mountain to experience them.

Plus, the Islander rocks!

 

My pick would be Alesmith for a tasting excursion, but if you go there you might as well drop by Green Flash and/or Societe as well! Given that you're staying downtown I totally recommend hitting up Stone Liberty Station as one of your "must-see" stops. They've got some great food so it would make for a great dinner plan, and I'm pretty sure they always have 3 brews that are unique to that location. Plus you'll be in town during Double Bastard season so that alone is worth it. Definitely make a reservation if you want to eat there, otherwise there are multiple bars inside. I'd also check out some brewery websites to see if there are cool events going on. Enjoy the Pearl Jam Show!

 

Not meaning to thread Jack, but have similar questions. I'll also be visiting San Diego(Temecula* area) the 14-18th of November. I've been told that we are doing some sort of multiple Brewery tour near Temecula not sure which breweries though. Any Beer stores, Bars, or Limited Bottles worth seeking out in the area? I like trying new beers, and am wanting to take a few back with me to Texas. Ill have a rental car, but not wanting to spend too much time driving around. Thanks.

 

Your best bet is to travel 25 minutes south in North County San Diego for highly regarded breweries. Temecula is known for wine and there are dozens of wineries in the area. Their brewery's are not that well known.

Lost Abbey/Port (San Marcos)
Rip Current (San Marcos)
Stone (Escondido)

 

I'm always on the look out for new stores I haven't been to, and there is one I'd like to visit next time I'm in Temecula. Liquor Depot. They seem to get good reviews on various sites. Might be worth a stop.

 

In Temecula I do like what Ironfire is doing. As far as San Diego a definite stop to me is Societe, Modern Times would also be a cool place to check out

 

If you only have time for 2-3 spots, don't leave town to hit places like Stone (Escondido), Port or Alpine. There is plenty of deliciousness in town.

For most bang for your buck, hit taphouses, not breweries, unless you are the type that prefers hitting breweries (like me).

 

If you don't go to Alpine, don't even go to San Diego.

 

If you are driving from Temecula to San Diego you will go right by Societe on the 163. From Societe it is not that far to Alpine, worth the detour. Personally I would leave Temecula in the morning to be at Alpine when they opened and then head back via Societe and then Lost Abbey.

 

Hit up San Diego Brew Project and you can skip 95% of the local breweries.

 

quoted for truth.

 

They only have the main stuff. Good for newbies or for people ticking breweries, but not good for breadth.

 

Agreed, but I think it is a good place for out of towners to narrow down where they would like to go or not.

 

Must stop for me: Alpine

If I didn't live in SD, and I was visiting, I would be happy to just hit Alpine one day and then the next day hit Societe in the afternoon and go to Obrien's for dinner.

Actually....I live in SD and I'm still happy to just do that.

(I'm also a fan of Pizza Port because they have really good pizza, they make great beers and usually have other great breweries on tap)

 

Thanks for all the input. I'm bookmarking this page to make plans. Any bottle shops, or releases on tap around that time I should be looking for?

 

If you're staying in the Gaslamp, you could do worse than to visit Neighborhood for lunch/dinner. A fairly large, diverse tap list, and I'm a huge fan of the food. Mmm, the Local Animal. My mouth is starting to water. It's on G street.