Category Archives: beer stores

San Diego Brewed: Alpine Pure Hoppiness

Posted on by
Reply

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

Pure HoppinessIf you read this this blog regularly you may have noticed I haven’t been posting much. After the holidays things got extremely busy at the day job. While working ten, twelve and even sixteen hour days there wasn’t much time to focus on beer. Lucky for me things seem to be slowing down now.

But it was last week, after one of those ten hour days that I decided I needed a beer. I stopped into Bottlecraft after work looking with nothing specific in mind but had a few ideas about what I was looking for: hops, a reasonable price, and something I hadn’t had in a while. Without knowing it before hand, Alpine Beer Co.’s Pure Hoppiness was exactly what I was looking for at $8 for a 22oz bomber.

I’m a big fan of Alpine’s beers, especially their IPAs, but for some reason I haven’t had Pure Hoppiness in awhile (I tend to find myself drinking the lower ABV beers, Hoppy Birthday and New Millennium, or the extreme triple IPA Exponential Hoppiness when I’m drinking Alpine).

All sorts of hop aromas fill the air as soon as you start pouring: citrus, pine and that hop smell that’s often described as “tropical fruit” that I can never quite put my finger on which fruit that might be (mango if I had to guess).

For a big hoppy beer Pure Hoppiness is less bitter than one might expect, but with plenty of great hop flavor, pine and citrus standing out to me the most. There’s a tiny bit of sweetness, very light tasting, almost like honey.

San Diego has plenty of choices for hop heads, and Pure Hoppiness stands out among the best. Alpine’s beers have always been pretty easy to get at the brewery and it seems to me like there’s been a bit of an uptick in distribution over the last year or two. Alpine is planning a pretty big expansion, so we may start seeing more of their beer out and about when that happens.

Bottlecraft

Share

New York Times San Diego for Beer

Posted on by
1

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.

Share

San Diego Brewed: Ballast Point Sculpin

Posted on by
Reply

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

Ballast Point SculpinBallast Point Brewing Co.’s Sculpin IPA is a beer that I assume most people reading this blog know fairly well. At 7% ABV it’s right on the IPA/DIPA brink. It’s 70 IBU with a pretty light body and low malt profile which makes the hops really stand out.

Sculpin took the gold medal at the 2010 World Beer Cup in the IPA category, and it’s not hard to understand why. The hops jump out at you in both the smell and taste. It’s hugely fruity and juicy with smells and flavors reminiscent of all sorts of fruits: mango, peach, and apricot. I don’t get a ton of citrus flavors from it, but some people do. It’s not overly bitter, there’s plenty of hops but they showcase flavor over bitterness.

This is a beer that folks all over the country (and world) seek out, but we’re lucky enough to be able to get it year round with ease. Get a growler filled at the source (Ballast Point has two brewery locations with tasting bars/growler fills in San Diego) for the freshest possible taste. 22oz bombers typically cost between $7-8 while six packs of 12oz bottles go for around $15. I picked this 12oz bottle up at Bottlecraft for $2.50 (broken down from a six pack).

Bottlecraft

Share

Jolly Pumpkin Collababeire

Posted on by
1

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.

Share

San Diego Brewed: Manzanita Brewing Company Where There’s Smoke

Posted on by
4

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

Manzanita Brewing Company Where There's SmokeWhere There’s Smoke is a fairly new release from Manzanita Brewing Company. I didn’t know much about it before picking up a bottle earlier this week at Bottlecraft ($6.75 for 22oz). I’m pretty sure Manzanita was pouring it at The Brewer’s Guild Festival last month, if I remember right a friend even mentioned that it was one of his favorite beers at the fest, but I didn’t get to try it.

All I knew about it before picking up the bottle was that it was a smoked beer, I didn’t know it was made with rye, nor did I know it was brewed with chili peppers. While I enjoy both from time to time, neither smoked beers nor chili beers are big favorites of mine, but since I’d heard good things I decided to give Where There’s Smoke a try. And I’m glad I did, it’s a delicious beer.

It’s much darker than I expected, I’m not sure why I thought it would be a lighter beer, but for some reason I though it would be more of a caramel color. The smell tells you right away that this is a smoked beer, there’s tons of smokey malt with just a hint of spicy pepper smell.

The first sip is all smoke, it’s not overwhelming but I didn’t get much else to begin with. The heat from the chili peppers was mostly non-existent until swallowing, when a pleasant spiciness emerged. Not a taste bud scorching heat, but a good flavor with enough heat. As I drank more I started to get a bit of spiciness up front that seemed different than the chili pepper heat on the end. I’m not sure if this spiciness was from the rye or if that was just my taste buds playing tricks on me. There wasn’t any grainy or bread-like flavors that some rye  beers can have.

I’m not sure if Where There’s Smoke is a limited release, seasonal or if it will become a regular release, but I’d recommend trying it if you get the chance.

Bottlecraft

Share

San Diego Brewed: Green Flash Double Stout

Posted on by
1

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

Green Flash Double StoutFor some strange reason (that I haven’t really been aware of until now) I often pass up Green Flash’s Double Stout, a 8.8% ABV Double (Imperial) Stout in favor others. I’m not really sure why that is, Silva Stout, the bourbon barrel-aged version of Double Stout that was first released last year was probably my favorite new beer to come out of a San Diego brewery in 2010, but for some reason I passed over Double Stout regularly when looking to drink a bigger stout. Thankfully I picked one up recently and won’t be neglecting it any more.

Double Stout isn’t the biggest stout around, many Imperial Stouts are coming in upwards of 10% these days, but it is insanely drinkable. Double Stout is 45 IBU, but I don’t think many people would describe it as hoppy. It has a fair amount of roasty bitterness, but think dark chocolate instead of coffee.

Green Flash uses oats in the grain bill to give it a smooth, creamy mouthfeel which I think adds to the chocolate comparison. In addition to the dark chocolate roastiness there’s also some toasted malt flavors, not a grainy texture but tasting like toasted grains. This all adds up to a nice rich and easy to drink stout.

Double Stout comes in 4 packs (12 oz bottles). I picked this bottle up at Bottlecraft as a single for $2.05, well worth the price (that’s the equivalent of a $3.75 22oz bomber).

Bottlecraft

Share

San Diego Brewed: Ballast Point Victory at Sea

Posted on by
1

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

Victory at SeaThe most recent release of Ballast Point’s Victory at Sea (an Imperial Porter with coffee and vanilla) is my favorite batch yet. It’s a big beer, 10% ABV, but it’s dangerously easy to drink. Past years releases of Victory at Sea have always been good, but there’s something about this one that’s just great. Ballast Point uses cold brewed coffee from Caffe Calabria in North Park and the roasty coffee seems to come through much more than I remember it previously.

The vanilla is still present, and comes through mid sip along with some chocolate like flavors. There isn’t much hop bitterness, far more coffee roastiness, and the alcohol is there but pretty well hidden. Like I said it’s dangerously easy to drink.

Coffee flavor in beer can fade rather quickly. But big dark beers like this can age wonderfully. I highly recommend picking up a few bottles and drinking some fresh and aging some if that’s your thing. And be on the look out for Bourbon Barrel-aged version of Victory at Sea on draft popping up around town (especially at Ballast Point’s two locations) every once in a while.

Typically Victory at Sea is released once per year and usually sells out pretty quickly. I picked up a few 22oz bottles at Bottlecraft for $7.75 each (which I’m pretty sure was cheaper than buying at the brewery). Worth every penny.

Bottlecraft

Share

Radio and TV

Posted on by
Reply
NBC San Diego Explained at Bottlecraft

Shooting at Bottlecraft

Last week I was a guest on KPBS Midday Edition, along with Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens pastry chef Andrew Higgins, we talked about some of the things going on during San Diego Beer Week. KPBS put up a blog post about it and you can listen to the segment on that same page.

Tomorrow around 6pm (or today, Wednesday 11/9 if you’re reading this in your email) I’ll be on an NBC San Diego/Voice of San Diego segment called San Diego Explained about San Diego’s beer industry. I’m not sure exactly what will be discussed, and I think my interview will be a small part of the larger overall segment, but it should be interesting, even to people that know quite a bit about our local beer community.

Photo: Brian Jensen/Bottlecraft

Share

San Diego Beer Week – First Weekend

Posted on by
1

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.

Share

San Diego Brewed: AleSmith IPA

Posted on by
Reply

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

AleSmith IPAAleSmith IPA recently picked up a Silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in the American-Style Strong Pale Ale category. It might seem weird that a beer called IPA and marketed as such would be entered in any category other than an IPA, but that’s one of the interesting things about beer judging, brewers get to choose which category to enter their beers in (although the American-Style Strong Pale Ale and American-Style India Pale Ale categories are very similar).

Until recently AleSmith IPA was bottle conditioned resulting in some sediment in the bottom of the bottle which could cause for a cloudy beer if not poured carefully. But AleSmith got a new bottling line this summer which allows them to force carbonate some of their bottled beers and results in a nice clean looking beer.

AleSmith IPA has a big hoppy smell and a taste to go along with it. There’s a lot of pine and citrus bitterness fairly well balanced by some slightly sweet caramel like malt and maybe just a bit of toastiness from the malt as well. In San Diego, the land of big hoppy IPAs this might be considered a balanced IPA, but that’s not too say that it isn’t hoppy.

At 7.25% ABV it’s a bit warm from the alcohol, constantly reminding you that it’s not a low ABV beer, but it’s still pretty easy drinking. It finishes dry with a bitter pine like hop finish.

This isn’t the hoppiest of West Coast IPAs, but it’s no slouch. No complaints here especially because it’s widely available and reasonably priced.

AleSmith doesn’t date their bottles so make sure to buy from a shop that has good turn over (I picked this bottle up for $5 at Bottlecraft and it was pretty fresh). The bottles still mention being bottle conditioned even if they’re from the new bottling line and were force carbonated, so don’t let that fool you into thinking you’re getting an old bottle. Just hold the bottle up to the light and look for sediment in the bottom, if it’s clear you can be fairly certain you’re getting a bottle from the new bottling line.

Bottlecraft

Share