Question for those in San Diego

Am in town and want to go around to some of the breweries but have a 4 month old, does California law allow him to be in the breweries?

I know that Stone & Pizza Port (as well as Karl Strauss & Coronado) will be fine, as those are also restaurants. One advantage to Stone & Pizza Port (particularly the Carlsbad location) is that their restaurants have a lot of guest taps, so you can sample some fine beers from a lot of the local breweries just by visiting them. Stone isn't overwhelming loud, but Pizza Port is a bit louder, so with a 4 month old I might not bring the kid during naptime unless he's a heavy napper.

I don't know about the ones that are purely tasting rooms -- my wife doesn't drink beer so if I'm going to a tasting room only, I leave the kids with her! Hopefully someone else can chime in.

I would go to Stone. They have a nice, quiet garden area...as long as it isn't too hot. Plus they have a lot of other local beers on tap.

My little guy is awesome in public, the louder and more people around the better he will be. I was planning stone, pizza port, ale smith and green flash.

Also I am staying in the miramar/Mira Mesa area kinda close to ale smith. Is there a good bottle shop around here?

I know Pizza Port, Alesmith, Hess (you are by them), Ballast point (the home brew mart location in Linda Vista) all allow kids. If you can afford the drive, you HAVE to drive to Alpine brewing while you are here, its the best (they allow kids as well).

If you can't, you must head to Obrien's Pub in Kearny Mesa. It is relatively close to you, they allow kids, and have a fantastic tap and bottle selection. Its my favorite beer bar.


For bottles, my favorite place has been Clem's bottle shop and deli. But I hear great things about Bine and Vine (in the same area), so I'd check them out. You'll have to drive a bit though...

Prymal said:

Also I am staying in the miramar/Mira Mesa area kinda close to ale smith. Is there a good bottle shop around here?

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Man, you are in the SPOT! I live in MM, so if you don't feel like travelling you can hit up Alesmith, Green Flash, Ballast Point, Hess, WnR, Rough Draft, and then Karl Strauss for dinner. I've definitely seen kids in the Green Flash tasting room, so I'm fairly sure you're good no matter where you go.

Not much in the way of local/mom-n-pop bottle shops in MM, but there is a Bevmo on the corner of Camino Santa Fe and Mira Mesa Blvd that has an incredible selection of craft beer, particularly San Diego beers. Avoid the manager if you can- he loves to talk about beer but doesn't know crap about it. He'll talk your ear off if you catch his eye in the beer aisle.

Another beer related destination in Mira Mesa is White Labs. Their facility is just off Miramar Road near the 15. They give tours and tastings, IIRC.

evrose said:

Another beer related destination in Mira Mesa is White Labs. Their facility is just off Miramar Road near the 15. They give tours and tastings, IIRC.

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Good call! Totally forgot about the WL tasting room. Only been there once, but it is SO COOL to try the same beer fermented with a bunch of different yeasts. Epic.

Thanks everyone for the advice. My group, of which I am the only beer geek, made it to Stone, Lost Abbey, Green Flash, Ale Smith, & Pizza Pot Solona Beach all in about 9 hours. I tried to talk them into White Labs but everyone was pretty burnt out which I understood. All in all I sampled 34 beers had 3 pints and walked away with 6 bottles to either bring home or drink over the next 4 days. A great time was had by all and I think a few people may have educated their palates which was fantastic to see.

Sounds like an excellent trip!