Category Archives: bars and restaurants

New York Times San Diego for Beer

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If you’re reading this blog it’s not news to you that San Diego is known for beer, but it’s nice to get some national recognition.

In the recent The 45 Places to Go in 2012 list in the New York Times Travel section San Diego gets a mention at spot number fourteen, but not for our near perfect weather, sunny beaches or delicious Mexican food. Instead they point out what makes San Diego really great: our brewers and beer culture.

Even in times of tight budgets, finely crafted beer remains a relatively approachable luxury, and few American regions have more brewing momentum than San Diego County. Maybe it’s time, then, to think about building a beer safari in the land of sunshine, fish tacos and hopped-up American IPAs.

On the brewery side Karl Strauss, Stone Brewing Co. and Hess Brewing get shoutouts. On the retail/bar side our friends at Bottlecraft along with the Pizza Port Bottleshop get mentiioned with Hamilton’s Tavern, O’Brien’s Pub and Local Habit.

And no talk of San Diego beer would be complete without mentioning San Diego Beer Week.

It’s worth noting that San Diego is one of only four US cities to make the worldly list. I don’t know how many people follow the recommendations of the NY Times Travel section when planning their vacations, but I’d be willing to be beer tourism is still on the upswing in this fine town of ours.

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A Beer Lover’s Guide to New Year’s Eve in San Diego

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New Year’s Eve and beer (well alcohol in general) seem to go hand in hand. As such, there are plenty of beer related New Year’s eve happenings in San Diego this upcoming Saturday night.

If staying at home is your thing

Starting Friday and going through 6pm Saturday Stone Brewing Co. will be releasing various beers from the past year at their Growler Fill Year in Review. Both the Stone Store in Escondido and South Park will be filling growler’s with limited and special release beers from the past year.

If going all out is your thing

Stone Brewing Co.’s New Years Eve Party at the Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens is the place to be. It’s not cheap (tickets will set you back $175) but it includes buffet dinner, live music, complimentary beer and a brewhouse dance party. Yes, you read that right, a brewhouse dance party.

If going to sleep early is your thing

Ring in the New Year with the Belgian’s at 3pm Pacific Time at Blind Lady Ale House. There will be a ton of great Belgian beer on tap of course. They’ll be open until 10pm if you decide to party a few hours into the (Belgian) New Year.

If you love Pizza Port but live in North Park

Head down to Toronado where starting at 11:30am and going through the night they’ll be filling all their taps with beers from all four Pizza Port locations. They say they’ll be posting the tap list to their website soon, but we expect there will be plenty of great beers no matter what they have.

If you want a cozy sit down dinner with great beer

Alpine Beer Co.’s Pub is the place to be. They’ll be serving a three course dinner with two beer (or wine) pairings for $35.95 which includes ‘Beeramisu’ Made with Captain Stout for dessert. Alpine Beer Co.’s pub is pretty small, so be prepared for it to possibly be a little crowded, but don’t let that deter you.

Didn’t find anything that sounded good here? Check out San Diego CityBeat’s comprehensive New Year’s Eve guide.

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Jolly Pumpkin Collababeire

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CollababeireA couple of years ago, Stone Brewing Co., Nøgne Ø, and Jolly Pumpkin got together to brew Special Holiday Ale in Escondido. After that the same recipe (which used chestnuts, juniper berry, white sage, caraway seed and rye malt) was brewed at both Nøgne Ø and Jolly Pumpkin’s breweries. The Nøgne Ø version came out about a year after the original brewed at Stone, and then Jolly Pumpkin version (dubbed Collababeire) was aged in oak barrels and released on a very limited basis earlier this year.

From what I’ve heard very few bottle shops in San Diego got this Jolly Pumpkin version when it was first released in the Spring. But now that it’s the Holiday season, it seems as if more is being released from the distributor. Bottlecraft posted on their New Arrivals page that they got some in, and while I haven’t heard about any other shops getting any, I’d be surprised if Bottlecraft was the only one.

The Jolly Pumpkin version is a great beer, and if you’ve hung on to the previous two releases makes for a nice tasting of all three together. According to Peter Rowe at Signon San Diego Stone, will be releasing some bottles at 11am on Sunday in Escondido. Rowe doesn’t specify if they’ll be for sale at the Stone Store for take away consumption, or in the Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens for on-premise consumption, nor does he elaborate on which version will be available, but regardless, they’re all pretty good. The original Stone brewed version seemed like it had dropped off a bit when I tasted it in the Spring, so I wouldn’t recommend holding any bottles past this Holiday season.

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More Pizza Port News

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Some more Pizza Port news to report following Monday’s post about Head Brewer and Director of Brewing Operations Jeff Bagby’s plans to leave Pizza Port to open his own brewery…

  • As reported by Barbara Henry at the North County Times, Pizza Port has plans to build a 37,050-square-foot new facility to be located in Carlsbad at Palomar Airport Rd and Gateway Rd. Not only will this be Pizza Port’s fifth restaurant location, but it will also serve as a production and distribution facility. The production side of things will brew beer and produce pizza dough in bulk for Pizza Port’s restaurants. Henry also  reports that it will also house a canning facility. It sounds like things are still in the early planning stages, so there’s always the possibility that plans will change, but Pizza Port beer in cans (and presumably wider distribution) sounds pretty cool to me. Pizza Port’s proposal goes before the Carlsbad’s Planning Commission tonight at 6pm. A copy of the report to the Planning Commission can be seen here.
  • I heard back from Jeff Bagby and he tells me that he’ll be staying on at Pizza Port through the end of the month. He says he’ll take a bit of time off before he starts full time on his own brewery project. He also mentioned that while his brewing position at Pizza Port Carlsbad will be filled by Ignacio (Nacho) Cervantes (as Gina Marsaglia told me), there is not as of yet a replacement for his operations position with Pizza Port. According to Bagby the recipes he developed while at Pizza Port are owned by Pizza Port and will stay with the brewpub.
This post was updated at 3:19pm on 12/7/2011
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Jeff Bagby Leaving Pizza Port, Plans to Open New Brewery

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Jeff BagbyI unfortunately wasn’t able to attend this past weekend’s Stong Ale Festival at Pizza Port Carlsbad (the beer list looked fantastic).

I did hear that Jeff Bagby, head brewer at Pizza Port Carlsbad has announced that he’s leaving Pizza Port with plans to open his own brewery. From what I hear he’ll be staying on in a consulting role for a while as he looks for a location for his future brewery.

Bagby has been the Head Brewer at Pizza Port Carlsbad since 2005 and I believe he has been Director of Brewing Operations for all four Pizza Port brewpubs. Under Bagby Pizza Port Carlsbad has brought home the “Large Brewpub of the Year” award at the Great American Beer Festival for the last three years as well as numerous medals.

I have an email into both Pizza Port and Jeff Bagby and will update this post if I get more info about who will become the new head brewer at Pizza Port Carlsbad or Bagby’s future plans.

UPDATE: Gina Marsaglia, co-founder/co-owner of Pizza Port had this to say: “Yes, Jeff is leaving and we are sorry to see him go, but luckily Ignacio Cervantes (Nacho) who has been the assistant to Jeff is going to continue to brew and some of our other guys are stepping up to fill most of Jeff’s duties until we find someone who will be a perfect fit. Hard to fill those shoes for sure!”

Photo from Jeff Bagby’s Facebook page.

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San Diego Beer Week – First Weekend

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San Diego Beer Week 2011 is underway and the first weekend is now coming to a close. I decided this year I needed to take things a little more slowly than I did last year (if I remember right I didn’t drink beer for about two weeks after SDBW 2010) so I missed a few things this first weekend (and surely will miss more events for the rest of SDBW) but here’s what I drank.

Golden Road Hefeweizen

Golden Road Hefeweizen

I started SDBW a night early at Tiger!Tiger! for their Golden Road showcase Thursday night. Golden Road is a new brewery in LA that opened just a couple of weeks ago. From what I hear they have no plans to start distributing outside of LA at this time, but decided to bring a few kegs down to Tiger!Tiger! for San Diego Beer Week. Co-founder Meg Gill (formerly of Speakeasy Ales and Lagers and Oskar Blues) and brewmaster Jon Carpenter (formerly of Dogfish Head) were on hand but I didn’t get a chance to speak with them.

They currently have three beers and brought all of them down. Hefeweizen is a nice flavorful hefeweizen that’s easy to drink and won’t knock you down after a couple of pints at 4.6% ABV. It’s a beer I wouldn’t hesitate to order again (especially on a hot day) but I’m not sure that it stands out when compared to other craft hefeweizen’s.

Point the Way IPA stands out for being full of flavor and on the lower side of the IPA ABV spectrum at 5.2%. The aroma was fantastic and while the flavor didn’t quite stand up to what I expected from the smell it was still good.

Burning Bush is a smoked IPA that was pretty interesting. The smoke was there but not overpowering. At 8% ABV it’s stronger than Point the Way IPA and much more malty. The hops are there, but don’t jump out nearly as much with the smoke and maltiness. And while it’s a very different beer, it reminded me a bit of Rumble (oak aged IPA) from Great Divide. The smoke really is very subtle, it’s there if you look for it but doesn’t overpower the rest of the beer.

Friday night I didn’t go out, opting to spend the night with the family sharing a couple bombers with my brother. We had the recent release of Ballast Point’s Victory at Sea along with Stone Brewing Co.’s 11.11.11 Vertical Epic. This might be my favorite batch of Victory at Sea to date. I don’t have any tasting notes from previous batches, but the coffee seems much more prominent in this batch. The vanilla is still there but it has a nice roastiness to it.

11.11.11 Vertical Epic is an amber colored Belgian-style ale brewed with chiles and cinnamon. I felt like there was a bit too much going on with it. The chile flavor is delicious, it’s right up front giving plenty of flavor without a ton of heat. It’s one of the most flavorful and not overwhelming chile beer’s I’ve had. After that though it seems to drop off a bit. I get some toffee like sweetness from the malt but I didn’t taste much from the Belgian yeast. The cinnamon came out at the end and I really didn’t like it. It wasn’t overwhelming but definitely there and was the last impression with each sip.

Saturday was the San Diego Brewer’s Guild Festival at Liberty Station. There’s a lot to be said about the festival itself, but I’ll leave that for another time. I had a number of beers, one or two I didn’t like at all, quite a few I thought were good and a couple I thought were great. Barrel Aged Tourmaline Trippel from Pacific Beach Ale House really stood out. I think they get passed over quite a bit because of their location but brewer Erik Jensen know’s what he’s doing and makes good beer. This was inoculated with Brett and aged in a previously used bourbon barrel for a few months.

Mary Jane IPA from Rock Bottom La Jolla also stood out. I didn’t get the ABV but I’d guess it’s in the 6-7% range. It was easy to drink with nice pine and tropical fruit flavors.

Green Flash’s 9th Anniversary IIIPA (not sure of the official name, one handwritten sign said Green Bullet but I don’t know if that’s the actual name) was also very good. It was big and hoppy with plenty of hop flavor along with the bitterness. Brewer Chuck Silva told me they used hop extracts in addition to the regular hop pellets. If you get a chance to try this I’d highly recommend it as it might not be around too long.

Later that night I went to Assembly, the vegan beer dinner I helped plan with LoveLikeBeer and Sea Rocket Bistro. The dinner went well with great beer from Jolly Pumpkin and delicious food from Chef Chad White. Fuego del Otono, La Parcela, Bam Biere, and Bam Noire were all served.

Bison Organic Chocolate Stout

Bison Organic Chocolate Stout and Barrel Aged Chocolate Stout

Sunday I stopped into Bottlecraft for the Bison Brewing event. They had Bison Organic Chocolate Stout and Barrel-aged Bison Chocolate Stout being served side by side. The barrel aged version was aged in Four Roses Bourbon barrels (and I was told but didn’t confirm it with the brewer) that they were second use barrels. It’s been a while since I’ve had the regular Chocolate Stout but I was reminded of how much I enjoy it.

The barrel aged version didn’t quite live up to my expectations, it was good but I think I enjoyed the regular version more. Gone was the subtle chocolate sweetness, replaced with a mellow bourbon flavor. At 6.1% ABV it’s lower in alcohol than many beers that are aged in bourbon barrels so it didn’t have the same mouthfeel that one might come to expect from barrel aged beers. Still good, but I’m plenty happy with the regular Chocolate Stout.

There’s still seven days left of San Diego Beer Week. If you’re looking for some things to do for the remainder check out these guides for my take on some of the best beer events and the best beer and food events.

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Blind Lady Ale House Meet the Brewer Tasting Flights

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Chuck Silva of Green Flash Leading a Flight Tasting During SDBW 2010

Chuck Silva of Green Flash Leading a Flight Tasting During SDBW 2010

Yesterday I posted a roundup of what in my opinion are some of the best events happening during San Diego Beer Week. (And also posted a list of some of the best looking food and beer events as well).

But I wanted to highlight a series of events that Blind Lady Ale House did last year and will continue to do this year, Meet the Brewer Guided Flight Tastings. Throughout the week they’ll have a handful of different brewers in leading tastings through some of their beers. Last year I went to guided tastings at BLAH with Mark Jilg from Craftsman, Chuck Silva from Green Flash and Pat Mcilhenney of Alpine Beer Co. All were extremely educational, there’s no better way in my opinion to learn about a beer than to hear the brewer himself talk about it while tasting it, and affordable. Last year prices were around $25 per event. I haven’t seen prices this year, but I’d guess they will be similar. In order to keep things fun and make sure everyone can hear and ask questions BLAH limits the size of the events, which take place in the Hamm’s Room (West room at BLAH). So make sure to get there early if you’re interested in sitting through one of these guided tastings.

Blind Lady’s Meet the Brewer Guided Flight Tastings start tonight (technically SDBW Eve) and go throughout San Diego Beer Week. The full schedule (subject to change, so check with BLAH) is below.

Thursday, November 3rd 5pm with Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey and Port Brewing Co.

Friday, November 4th 12:30-2:30pm with Jeff Bagby of Pizza Port Carlsbad

Sunday, November 6th 12:30-2:30pm with Mother Earth Brewing Co.

Wednesday, November 9th 5pm with Yiga Miyashiro of Pizza Port Ocean Beach

Thursday, November 10th with Chuck Silva of Green Flash

Friday, November 11th 12:30pm with Patrick Rue of The Bruery

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Sublime Ale House Opens in San Marcos

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Sublime Ale HouseEven though there are a ton of great breweries and a handful of great bars and restaurants up there,  I don’t make it up to North County to drink much. It’s so easy for me to have a beer within a short distance of my house at Toronado, Blind Lady, Hamilton’s or any number of other beer places that driving up to North County to drink beer just doesn’t make sense.

That said I do find myself drinking up north every once in a while, and last night I got to check out one of the newer beer-centric restaurants, Sublime Ale House during a media preview night.

Located in San Marcos’s Restaurant Row, Sublime Ale House isn’t far from Churchill’s Pub & Grille and while it’s certainly an oversimplification on one level Sublime Ale House felt like Blind Lady to Churchill’s Toronado. There is no judgement in that statement at all, I love both BLAH and Toronado quite a bit and my more limited experiences at Churchill’s and now Sublime have been great as well. But they do have a different feel from one another.

Sublime Ale House is bright without being too bright and feels like it has plenty of space. There’s a bar in the middle of the restaurant, with different types of tables spread throughout, some long picnic style tables and other smaller more intimate.

I’m told they have 56 taps (I didn’t count) and the draft list was good, a lot of local stuff, plenty of craft beer from the rest of the country, a handful of Belgian’s and a few other beers from Europe and Canada. Not a macro beer in sight on the draft list. They also have bottled beer but I didn’t look to closely at the list. I had beers from Pizza Port Carlsbad, Coronado Brewing and Iron Fist.

The food is upscale pub grub (Gastropub?), with salads, pizza, macaroni and cheese, burgers, sandwiches and more. The salad and pizza I tried were both good. You can see the full menu here.

With San Diego Beer Week events already showing up on their website Sublime Ale House is a great addition to ever growing craft beer scene in North County. There might not be enough to draw folks from central San Diego up just for food and beer, but if you find yourself up there, or better yet if you live nearby, check it out.

Fiery Mac & Cheese

Fiery Mac & Cheese

Mac & Cheese photo by Kinsee Morlan

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Assembly – Vegan Beer Dinner with Jolly Pumpkin at Sea Rocket Bistro

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AssemblyI’ve been busy lately which means blogging here hasn’t been happening as much as usual, but thankfully things seem to be slowing down for the next week or so leading into San Diego Beer Week. Look for an event round up, and a hopefully updated event calendar next week before SDBW gets underway.

And speaking of SDBW, I’ve teamed up with LoveLikeBeer to host an all vegan Jolly Pumpkin beer dinner at Sea Rocket Bistro. Chef Chad White is working on some amazing pairings for the four Jolly Pumpkin beers that will be featured that night.

Tickets are being sold in advance for the four course prix-fixe meal and it is expected to sell out. Last time I checked a couple days ago there were only a handful of tickets left, so if you’re interested in attending don’t wait to buy your tickets.

It’s not often you get to try four Jolly Pumpkin beers on draft side by side and from the ideas I’ve been hearing Chef Chad toss around the food menu should be spectacular as well.

In addition to the food and beer, limited edition prints (with Jolly Pumpkin beer mixed in with the ink!) will be available. They were created by local artist Josh Higgins who recently got appointed creative director for the Obama 2012 Presidential Campaign.

A portion of the proceeds will go to the local chapter of Engineers without Borders as well.

Click here for more info and be sure to buy a ticket soon if you plan on coming.

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Tiger!Tiger! Now Open

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Tiger!Tiger!Tiger!Tiger! the new bar/restaurant from the owner’s of Blind Lady Ale House opened it’s doors for the first time last week. They’re calling it an ultra soft opening for the time being but when I stopped by things seemed to be running smooth enough. I didn’t get a chance to eat while there, but heard from friends that the food is great.

The beer selection had many of the usual suspects often found at BLAH. Prices seemed similar.The space itself is pretty nice, with a long bar, a handful of picnic tables for seating and a couple of tables outside on the front patio.

For now Tiger!Tiger! is only a bar and restaurant, but co-owner Lee Chase told me recently that he’d like to use Tiger!Tiger! as a sort of pilot brewery for the soon to be expanded brewhouse at BLAH.

Located at 3025 El Cajon Blvd (just east of 30th Street), Tiger!Tiger! is currently open 5pm-Midnight Tuesday through Sunday. According to their website they’ll be adding lunch hours Friday, Saturday and Sunday soon.

Here are a few photos they posted from the first weekend.

Above Photo: Kinsee Morlan

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