San Diego Beer Events May 12th – May 18th

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added. Not all of the beer events happening in a given week make it on the list below, I pick one or two per day to avoid information overload. Make sure to check out the Events page or the calendar below this post for all the week’s events.

Thursday May 12th:

LOVELIKEBEER is putting on their first all Vegan Beer Dinner at Sea Rocket Bistro tonight from 6-10pm. Each food and 6oz beer pairing is $10 and 10% of the night’s sales go to the International Rescue Committee.

Friday May 13th:

Seems to be a quiet Friday in regards to beer. Blind Lady Ale House will be doing another Progressive Cask with lunch as they do most Fridays. They haven’t announced what the beer will be but it’s sure to be something good. And only $2 from 11:30am-2pm with the price going up by a buck per hour after that until it’s gone.

Saturday May 14th:

It’s going to be a busy Saturday. If you don’t have tickets to the sold out Lost Abbey/ Port Brewing 5th Anniversary Party don’t fret, just head over to Karl Strauss’s main brewery in Pacific Beach for their 8th Annual Beach to Brewery festival. There will be some great local music and of course great beer on tap.

But that’s not all, 2nd Saturday at Hamilton’s Tavern this month is featuring Stone Brewing Co. The lineup looks pretty good with some barrel-aged and vintage Stone treats, many Stone collaborations and of course some free grub.

Sunday May 15th:

Just a few blocks from 30th Street in the heart of North Park during the North Park Festival of Arts is the Craft Beer Block. $25 in advance, or $30 at the door gets you ten tasters from over 20 breweries.

Monday May 16th:

Monday marks the start of American Craft Beer Week so there should be plenty of great beer events going on throughout the week.

Beer U: Inside the Craft Beer Industry at Stone Brewing Co. is sold out, but in celebration of ACBW Stone is dedicating all the taps in the Bistro to Southern California breweries so stop in and have something local.

Tuesday May 17th:

Ladies only: Chicks for Beer at The High Dive hosts The Lost Abbey. $25 in advance, or $30 at the door gets you five tasters and food pairings in addition to learning a bit about beer.

Wednesday May 18th:

Third Wednesday of the month means it’s Drink About time! Get on the (free) bus and head to some of the best beer bars in the city.

Stone is teaming up with a couple brewers from Japan to brew a Green Tea IPA as a benefit beer. Ex-Stone brewer Toshi Ishii (now of Ishii Brewing Co.) will be on hand with Bryan Baird of Baird Brewing Co. to brew it up with Stone’s Mitch Steele and company. As with most Stone collaborations they’ll be hanging out afterwards, from 4-6pm at the Bistro to chat with beer drinkers.

As if all that wasn’t enough, May 18th is officially Ballast Point Day here in San Diego and they’re heading to The High Dive to celebrate. They’ll have 20 BP beers on tap (including Barrel Aged Sea Monster Stout, Barrel Aged Tongue Buckler, and Barrel Aged Victory at Sea) as well as four cocktails made with Ballast Point spirits.

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San Diego Beer Events March 24th – March 30th

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Thursday Mar 24th:

Pizza Port Ocean Beach is doing a Pizza Port Keep the Glass night. They’ll have a tun of Pizza Port OB beers as well as a few favorites from the other PP locations. They’ll also have some treats from Lost Abbey as well including Red Poppy.

Friday Mar 25th:

More Pizza Port fun, Downtown Johnny Brown’s is doing a Pizza Port/Port Brewing Co. night with 17 different beers on draft. They’ll also have a cask of Mango Mongo DIPA.

Live Wire might not be the first place you think of when you think craft beer, but some say they’re the original San Diego beer bar. They’re featuring a Firestone Walker showcase with four draft beers, including Firestone Walker 14th Anniversary as well as a cask of Union Jack IPA.

Saturday Mar 26th:

My friends over at West Coaster, Awesome Beer Drinkers and Best Damn Beer Shop have teamed up to host a charity beer tasting at The Beer Company downtown. They have an insane VIP bottle list lined up as well as a more standard regular session with a chance to try five beers from The Beer Company, including three never seen before.

Sunday Mar 27th:

Jean Van Roy, owner and brewer at Cantillon, producer of some of the world’s most sought after sour beers will be at Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens Sunday afternoon. They’ll have Classic Gueuze on draft and six other Cantillon beers available in bottles. All Cantillon beers will only be available at the outside bar in 4oz pours only.

The Handlery Hotel & Resort is hosting the Second Annual Mission Valley Craft Beer Festival, Suds for Surgeries to benefit Fresh Start Surgical Gifts. They’ll have unlimited tasters as well as food and live music, all for a good cause.

Monday Mar 28th:

Another European brewer will be in town, this time it’s Iacopo Lenci from Italy’s Bruton Brewery. He’ll be at Hamilton’s Tavern with five of his beers.

Tuesday Mar 29th:

I haven’t heard of anything special going on. If you know of something please email events@sandiegobeerblog.comto get it added.

Wednesday Mar 30th:

There’s a lot going on for a Wednesday night, but BrewDog night at URGE Gastropub looks the most promising. They’ll have two different kegs of BrewDog’s Paradox Imperial Stout aged in different Scotch Whiskey barrels and have it on cask as well. They’ll have kegs of the 18.2% ABV Tokyo as well as the BrewDog/Stone Brewing Co. collaboration Bashah. They’ll even send you home with your own BrewDog glass.

San Diego Beer Events, February 10th- February 16th

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Thursday, Feb 10th:

Toronado will be opening early at 10am to tap Pliny the Younger. If it hasn’t been delivered yet they’ll let everyone in to wait for the delivery driver. They promise to have an empty tap, clean lines and that the keg will be delivered cold. Say goodbye to your productivity for the rest of the day. For more on Pliny the Younger around San Diego click here.

For Dogfish Head night at O’Brien’s Pub they’ll put on nine DFH taps and have two more beers in bottles. They’ll have 60 Minute IPA, Bitches Brew, Palo Santo Marron, Pangaea, Chateau Jiahu, 90 Minute IPA, Chicory Stout, Raison D’Etre and Indian Brown on draft and bottles of Burton Baton and Midas Touch.

Friday Feb 11th:

Downtown Johnny Brown’s is having a mini Belgian keep the glass with Rodenbach and Palm. They’ll have Rodenbach Vintage, Grand Cru and Palm Belgian Pale. Rodenbach will be $12 with glass and $6 refills while Palm will be $6 with glass and $3.75 refills.

Saturday Feb 12th:

There’s so much going on this Saturday it’s hard to pick just a couple things going on. First and foremost it’s Hamilton’s Second Saturday, this month with Karl Strauss Brewing Co. They’ll have 22nd Anniversary Vanilla Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout and Backlit India Black Ale on cask with plenty of great Karl Strauss beers on draft. I’m especially looking forward to trying the pilot batch of the Belgian-style they’re brewing with Flying Dog as well as their Saison and Flan-Diddly-Anders Red. This month is Mardi Gras themed and they’ll have plenty of New Orleans influenced food.

Automatic Brewing Co. will be tapping a keg of Will Powered Oatmeal IPA when Blind Lady Ale House opens at 11:30am Saturday. This was the beer brewed especially for the Cancer for College benefit with Will Ferrell they held last week.

The Lost Abbey will be releasing bottles of 2011 Red Poppy when they open at noon. I got a chance to try this on draft at Eleven recently and it is good! Bottles will be $15/375ml with a limit of six. They’ll also be releasing Port Brewing Co. Mongo in bottles as well. The bottled version is finished with Simcoe hops and I’m told that it’s even better than it is on tap.

O’Brien’s Pub will also be tapping a keg of Pliny the Younger at 4pm and the 2nd Annual Brewbies Festival, benefiting The Keep A Breast Foundation is happening at Pizza Port Carlsbad. For more on Pliny the Younger around San Diego click here.

Sunday Feb 13th:

Head to Stone Brewing Co. where they’ll be filling growlers of 06 06 06 Vertical Epic Ale. This one was a Belgian Strong Dark Ale which was recently on tap for Stone Winter Storm and folks say it’s holding up well, probably even better and more mellow with some age.

Monday Feb 14th:

Monday’s have become pint night with both Toronado and Eleven offering $3 drafts. Eleven offers all of their on-tap beers for $3 from open to close while Toronado offers locals for $3 from 6pm to close.

Tuesday Feb 15th:

Chicks for Beer at the High Dive is hosting Colby Chandler and Ballast Point Brewing Co. This one is ladies only and they should have some good beer and food pairings. I’m not sure what exactly what they’ll be pouring but I hear the excellent Habanero Sculpin will be on draft.

Can’t attend Chicks for Beer? Blind Lady Ale House will be tapping a keg of the ever-so-sought-after Pliny the Younger when they open at 5pm. It will probably go fast, and there will probably be a line. For more on Pliny the Younger around San Diego click here.

Wednesday Feb 16th:

The third Wednesday of the month means that it’s time for the Drinkabout. The monthly event means a free shuttle runs between Hamilton’s, The Station, Sea Rocket, Toronado, Ritual, Small Bar, Blind Lady Ale House and Livewire and most of the bars have drink and/or food specials. Small Bar is doing the “Night of the Bastards” with Arrogant Bastard, Oaked Arrogant Bastard, 2009 Double Bastard, 2010 Double Bastard, 2010 Dry Hopped Chipotle Double Bastard, 2010 Lucky Bastard, and 2010 Dry Hop Lucky Bastard all on draft. Three 6oz tasters will set you back $6.

San Diego Beer Events, January 20th- January 26th

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Jeff Hammett

If you know of anything that isn’t on our events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Thursday, Jan 20:

Stop into Eleven for a Bear Republic Brewery Racer 5 IPA and keep the glass. The first one, including glass will cost ya $4, after that it’s only $3 refills for the rest of the night.

Friday, Jan 21:

Two parties, one celebrating the old and one celebrating the new are happening tonight. West Coaster is holding their launch party at The South Park Abbey. They’ll have special West Coaster beer glasses, beers from Hess Brewing Co., including a specially brewed West Coaster IPA and some never before seen beers from Coronado Brewing Co. including a Black IPA, a Belgian IPA and more. Yes I do write a monthly column for West Coaster, sure I’m probably a bit biased, but there will be some great beer and this will be a fun time.

Up the road a little ways O’Brien’s Pub is celebrating their 17th Anniversary. They’ll have plenty of great beers from the various Pizza Port locations as well as some special bottles from Lost Abbey. Owner Tom Nickel recently helped brew Nickel Bag at Pizza Port Ocean Beach. This Double IPA was the last beer he brewed before leaving Pizza Port Carlsbad in 2005.

Saturday, Jan 22:

The Lost Abbey is hosting an open house from 12-6pm to show off their new space from their recent expansion. They’ll be doing tours of the new space and just might have something special on tap.

Saturday afternoon the website Awesome Beer Drinkers are teaming up with Best Damn Beer Shop to host an Awesome Beer Tasting. $35 gets you ten three or four ounce pours from their impressive list of beers. The tasting is happening at The Beer Company downtown and they recommend purchasing tickets in advance through their website.

Sunday, Jan 23:

Know of a great beer event happening? Email events@sandiegobeerblog.com

Monday, Jan 24:

If you don’t have tickets to Stone Brewing Co.’s Beer U: Strong Ales it looks like you’re out of luck as they’re sold out according to the website. But fret not, head down to North Park for some $3 beers. As always Toronado is doing their local night, all local beers are $3. This week Eleven is also doing $3 beers but there’s isn’t limited to locals. Any beer on tap, all night long, $3. I’m not sure if this will become a regular thing but I hope so.

Tuesday, Jan 25:

Are you a homebrewer? Thinking about homebrewing? The local homebrew club QUAFF holds their monthly meeting the fourth Tuesday of the month at the All American Grill in Hazard Center. Check out their website for more info.

Wednesday, Jan 26:

Alesmith is releasing their Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy Scotch Ale 2009 and bottle sales start at 2pm. But don’t think you can just waltz down there and pick up a few bottles. Sales will be limited to four per person and will sold based on numbers handed out at 10am. MIHO Gastrotruck will be around starting at 1:30pm serving lunch. From what I’ve heard this beer is worth taking a good portion of your day off work, if past barrel-aged bottle releases at Alesmith are indication this one will go quickly.

A bit later Hamilton’s Tavern and Small Bar will be hosting Rob Todd from Allagash Brewing Co. They’ll have plenty of his beers on tap at each bar. Todd will be at Hamilton’s from about 4-6:15pm and Small Bar from about 6:3o-8:30pm.

Know of anything going on Tuesday or Wednesday? Email events@sandiegobeerblog.com
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Holiday Beer Flight at Blind Lady Ale House

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Jeff Hammett

Left to Right: Port Santa's Little Helper, Scaldis Noel, Delirium Noel, Avery Old Jubilation, Affligem Noel, Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza

Blind Lady Ale House put on six Holiday themed beers this weekend and offered a flight of the similar but each unique beers to make it easy to taste them all.

I’m not sure if the flight is still on at Blind Lady Ale House, but they surely will have many if not all of these beers available for at least a few more days. The beers in the flight were: Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza, Affligem Noël, Avery Old Jubilation, Delirium Noël, Scaldis Noel, and Port Brewing Co.’s Santa’s Little Helper. Below are some brief thoughts on each.

Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza is 9% ABV and a deep reddish brown color. It smells like it might be a bit sour but the taste isn’t too sour. There are hints of oak (it’s aged in oak barrels) and the alcohol is apparent. It’s slightly sweet and malty with tastes of holiday spices that I couldn’t identify. This was my favorite beer in the flight.

Affligem Noël The board at BLAH said this beer was 6.5% ABV, but everything I can find online says 9% ABV. Either way the alcohol wasn’t nearly as apparent as the previous beer. It’s fairly sweet with some subdued fruity tastes. There’s sweet spices (the board at BLAH said cinnamon). It’s malty but less caramelized than I had expected

Avery Old Jubilation, another dark and malty winter warmer, this one comes in at 8.3% ABV. It had the hoppiest smell of all the beers but the taste was very malty and sweet up front. It had a bit of a bitter hoppy aftertaste but was well balanced.

Delirium Noël this one comes in at 10% ABV and the alcohol was pretty apparent. It was malty with sweet holiday spices coming through. The Belgian yeast comes through as well in this beer and the hops were nowhere to be found. This isn’t a bad beer, but might have been my least favorite in the flight.

Scaldis Noel this is the only beer in the flight I had never heard of. At 12% ABV it was the strongest of the flight and the alcohol heat was apparent in the smell and the first taste. It smells and tastes fruity as well with malty caramel or toffee like sweetness. The finish was a bit bitter but not so hoppy.

Port Brewing Co.’s Santa’s Little Helper is about 10% ABV and was very different than the rest of the beers. I think all the others would be considered “Winter Warmers”, high ABV, malty beers. This one is an Imperial Stout. It’s hoppier than some Imperial Stouts but the roasted barley and high alcohol comes through as well to balance the hops out. It’s not too sweet but has some chocolate notes.

San Diego Beer Week: Days Five, Six and Seven

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Jeff Hammett

Eric and Rebecca Giddens of Kern River Brewing Company

An alternate title for this post could be: “Stouts, Stouts, Stouts (and an IPA or two)”

Tuesday was Kern River Brewing Co. night at Toronado. Eric and Rebecca Giddens and Kyle Smith of Kern River were on hand and brought with them Just Outstanding IPA, Citra Double IPA, Class V Stout and Class X Stout.

Just Outstanding IPA is well, just outstanding and since I had already had it before both bottled and on tap, I decided to skip it that night and try the other offerings. I chatted with Eric Giddens from the brewery for a while about it’s namesake mountain bike trail. And let’s just say a road trip to Kernville is being planned. I was most looking forward to the Class X Stout, and it did not disappoint. Class X Stout is the bourbon barrel aged version of Class V Stout, a respectable beer in it’s own right, and it was really interesting to be able to drink the two beers side by side. Class X Stout starts out as Class V Stout but is 100% barrel aged for eight months which changes the beer dramatically. Both were being served on nitrogen at Toronado, so it’s hard to compare them to other stouts served on CO2, but comparing them to each other was easy.

The Class V Stout had a very strong roasted smell and taste. It wasn’t quite a coffee characteristic, but the roasted smell and flavor were very aggressive. The Class X Stout on the other hand smelled of bourbon and bourbon, vanilla and chocolate were all very apparent in the taste. It had some roasted characteristics but they were definitely more subdued than the Class V Stout. I would really like to try Class X Stout on CO2, so I could better gauge how well it stands up against other barrel aged stouts, because on nitrogen I have to say it is fantastic. Citra DIPA is another great beer from Kern River Brewing Co. My experience with Citra hops is limited, but this one is great. It has a big citrus hop smell and taste, it’s fairly fruity but seems to be more lemon or orange than the typical grapefruit flavors of a lot of IPAs.

Wednesday night started at the new URBN pizza joint in North Park. They were holding a special media preview night at I had a few slices and some beer on the house. It was New English Brewing Co. night so I started off with a Trooper’s Tipple IPA. It’s an English style IPA which uses East Kent Goldings hops, it’s low in alcohol at 4.8% ABV and is fairly malty, but according to New English it’s a fairly classic example of the English IPA style. It was fairly light and refreshing, but I had to move on to something heavier next and had a Dogfish Head Chicory Stout. This 5.2% ABV has strong roasted and maybe even burnt flavors reminiscent of dark black coffee. It was bitter but not from the usual hop bitterness found in most beers. Chicory is used by some people as a decaf coffee substitute as it has a similar flavor which I think came through well in this beer.

After URBN I headed down to Neighborhood where they were featuring The Lost Abbey and Port Brewing Company. I opted to go with the barrel aged again and ordered a Deliverance. Deliverance is a a blend of bourbon barrel-aged Serpent’s Stout and brandy barrel-aged Angel’s Share. I have never had Angel’s Share, and have only had non-bourbon barrel-aged Serpent’s Stout, so this was mostly new to me. Deliverance is good and is maybe my favorite beer I’ve had from The Lost Abbey so far (my experience with The Lost Abbey has been fairly limited, that is being rectified). It hada strong bourbon smell and taste, I couldn’t detect much brandy, along with roasted flavors from the Serpent’s Stout. The alcohol taste and heat was much strong on this than other barrel aged stout’s I’ve had. It was definitely a sipper and not something that could be drank quickly.

That finally brings us to Thursday when I stopped into Karl Strauss in Sorrento Mesa for lunch where I had a SDBW Stout. This dry stout is around 5% ABV but is pretty flavorful. I’m a big fan of Imperial Stouts, and typically shy away from the lower ABV stouts, but I really enjoyed this. It’s brewed with Star Anise and has a slight liquorice flavor. The roasted barley flavors mostly overpowered the liquorice, but too strong of liquorice flavors could be too sweet. The body was a bit thin but I felt it had a great flavor, I would have preferred a bit more liquorice, but I’m probably in the minority on that one.

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2010 Great American Beer Festival San Diego Winners

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Jeff Hammett

To say that Pizza Port, and specifically Pizza Port Carlsbad did well at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival would be an understatement. Pizza Port Carlsbad took home the award for Large Brewpub of the Year for the second year in a row, along with seven medals including 3 gold. Pizza Port San Clemente took the award for Small Brewpub of the Year. In addition to Pizza Port Carlsbad’s seven medals, Pizza Port Ocean Beach, Port Brewing Co., The Lost Abbey, Stone Brewing Co., Ballast Point Brewing Co. and Karl Strauss Brewing Co. all brought home medals.

In all San Diego County breweries took home 15 medals listed below. The full list of winners can be seen here.

Gold:

Category 13: Out of Category – Traditionally Brewed Beer, Ballast Point Brewing Co. Fathom IPL
Category 44: English-Style India Pale Ale, Pizza Port Carlsbad Beech Street Bitter
Category 55: Irish-Style Red Ale, Karl Strauss Brewing Co. Red Trolley Ale
Category 68: Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale, Pizza Port Carlsbad Revelations
Category 77: Scotch Ale, Pizza Port Carlsbad Reed’s Wee Heavy

Silver:

Category 5: Herb and Spice or Chocolate Beer, Stone Brewing Co. Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle
Category 6: Coffee Flavored Beer, Pizza Port Carlsbad Coffee Monster
Category 11: Other Strong Beer, Port Brewing Co. Panzer Pilsner
Category 51: English-Style Mild Ale, Pizza Port Ocean Beach Skidmark Brown
Category 56: English-Style Brown Ale, Pizza Port Carlsbad Good Grief Brown
Category 76: Imperial Stout, Pizza Port Carlsbad Night Rider Imperial Stout

Bronze:

Category 13: Out of Category – Traditionally Brewed Beer, Port Brewing Co. Hot Rocks Lager
Category 16: American-Style Sour Ale, The Lost Abbey Red Poppy
Category 58: American-Style India Black Ale, Stone Brewing Co. Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale
Category 71: Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout Pizza Port Carlsbad Port Truck Stout

Port Brewing Sues Moylan’s Brewery Over Trademark Infringement

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Jeff Hammett

It’s always a shame to see one brewery sue another, but as The North County Times reports that’s just what’s happening with Port Brewing Co. and Moylan’s Brewery right now.

According to the article, Port Brewing Co. has sued Moylan’s Brewery for trademark infringement over their use of a Celtic cross on a tap handle. To most beer geeks the Celtic cross image and tap handle are fairly synonymous with The Lost Abbey (whose beers are produced by Port Brewing Co. ), the Celtic cross is so much a part of their image that they have a page on their website devoted to it. According to the article Port Brewing contacted Moylan’s earlier this year but they were not able to come to an agreement, hence the lawsuit.

There seems to be so much camaraderie in the craft beer industry, we hope that the two can work it out and come to an agreement that is amicable to both sides.

Hamilton’s Second Saturday and Toronado 23rd Anniversary, Saturday August 14th, 2010

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Jeff Hammett

There are plenty of great beer events going on this weekend (click on over to our events calendar to see them all) but two of them look to be extra special so we thought we should highlight them.

Tomorrow being the second Saturday of the month means it’s Second Saturday time at Hamilton’s Tavern. This month they’re featuring San Diego’s own Ballast Point Brewing Co. They’ll have Sculpin IPA and Brother Levonian Saison on cask, as well as the following Ballast Point beers on draft: Victory at Sea, Barrel Aged Sea Monster (nitro), Barrel Aged Black Marlin, Cocoa nib Black Marlin, Sea Monster Stout, Abandon Ship, Fathom IPL, Sculpin IPA, Barrel Aged Piper Down, Sour Wench, Brother Levonian Saison, San Salvador Saison, Barmy Ale, Oktoberfest, Three Sheets Barley wine, Barrel Aged Three Sheets, Yellowtail, Calico, Big Eye, Black Marlin and Wahoo.

As with most (all?) Second Saturday’s there will also be food: San Diego Back County Buffalo Burgers (gardenburger for veggies), housemade sour wench brined pickle chips, Sea Monster BBQ Sauce and Sculpin Beer Mustard, Black Marlin Porter Texas Beans with Chorizo Hop Sausage, Yellowtail Potato Grautin, Housemade Salt –n-Vinegar Chips, and Summer Fruit Cups.

We’re looking forward to trying San Salvador Saison, the San Diego inspired Saison, Ballast Point recently brewered with the help of The Linkery.

Tomorrow also happens to be Toronado’s (the original in San Francisco) 23rd anniversary. They’re having a big party up in San Francisco, but lucky for us Toronado SD is also celebrating. Starting at 11:30 am they’ll have Lost Abbey 2010 Cable Car and Port Brewing Co.’s 547 Haight on draft. They’ll have plenty of other great beers including: Night Rider Imperial Stout, Great American Brown, and ‘Twerp from Pizza Port Carlsbad. Mongo IPA, Devotion, Gift of the Magi, Road to Helles, and Hop 15 from Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey. As well as Alpine Exponential Hoppiness, Duet, Bad Boy, and Tuatara Session and more White Knuckle IPA from Marin Brewing and Speakeasy’s Big Daddy IPA.

If all that wasn’t enough, they’ll have some bottles of Russian River’s Toronado 20th Anniversary in the cooler.

Pizza Port Big Wednesday Belgian IPA takes Best in Show at 2010 SD International Beer Festival

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Jeff Hammett

The fourth annual San Diego International Beer Festival will be taking place at the San Diego County Fair from June 25th-27th. And while the beer isn’t flowing to the general public yet, the judges have tasted and had their say.

Pizza Port Solana Beach took the Best in Show award for their Belgian IPA Big Wednesday. I’ve never had a chance to try Big Wednesday, but am definitely looking forward to it. I’m a big fan of Belgian IPA’s and even got a chance to brew one at Ska Brewing Co. in Durango, Colorado with Head Brewer Thomas Larsen earlier this year (you can read more about that here and here).

Pizza Port wasn’t the only winner from San Diego. Plenty of other breweries placed in various categories including Ballast Point Brewing Co., Alesmith Brewing Co., The Lost Abbey, San Diego Brewing Company, Coronado Brewing Co., Breakwater Brewing Co., Pacific Beach Alehouse, Karl Strauss and Lightning Brewing Co.

Check out a PDF of the full list of winners here.

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