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NewkyBrown

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I am going to San Diego for a week in
April. Can anyone recommend any good
craft breweries or pubs to try. Are any kid friendly?
Thanks in advance.
 
Pizza Port!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love the one in Carlsbad. It's a pizza joint that brews their our beer. It is a very casual environment. Some people go there in shorts & t-shirt and others in a nice button down shirt. Some nights/days local sport teams have pizza parties there and some nights it's just a few locals hanging out.

E
 
Where are you staying? Off the top of my head there is:
Stone
Green Flash
Lost Abbey/Port
Alesmith
Societe
Ballast Point
Coronado
Karl Strauss
On the Tracks
Oceanside Aleworks
Hess
Wet n Reckless
Rough Draft
New English

and I know I've forgotten a ton.

The white labs tasting room is really cool too!
 
Wow. Loads of suggestions, thanks. Staying in the Old Town so fairly central I believe.
 
Don't forget
Fezziwigs
Belching Beaver
Mother Earth
Latitude 33
Aztec

Those are all North County, but definitely worth your time. If you are down in San Diego proper, I would prioritize Ballast Point, Societe, and Alesmith.
 
Definitely make your way to Karl Strauss. I moved back east a couple years ago and that is the one brewery I miss above all others. Consider that you can probably get Stone and Alesmith at your local craft beer joint, but you probably won't be able to get Karl Strauss. Also, if you decide to make a day of it in Carlsbad, you can easily hit up Pizza Port for some delicious Lost Abbey/Port brews(and an impressive guest beer list as well).

If you are looking for ale houses where you can taste all of them in one place, I would recommend Neighborhood in downtown or the Encinitas Ale House if you find yourself in North County.

Edit: Just noticed you mentioned kid friendly. Karl Strauss and Pizza Port are restaurants and would be considered totally okay for kids. Neighborhood and EAH during the afternoon would be the same but can get filled up with intoxicated adults later in the evening.
 
NewkyBrown said:
I am going to San Diego for a week in
April. Can anyone recommend any good
craft breweries or pubs to try. Are any kid friendly?
Thanks in advance.

You need to try Alpine Brewing. It may be off the beaten path but you will not find it in many places. For eats and a brew, Pizza Port as stated but I highly suggest OB Noodle House. Pizza Port has several locations that should suit you and is most kid friendly. You will find a lot of cool pubs in North Park. Stone Gardens will be your Mecca. SD and North County have so much to offer in craft beer, it is dizzying. Too many to try and list.
 
Thanks for the great info. Kind of wish I was going without kids now! So many places/beers to try!
 
PackerfaninSanDiego said:
Alpine Brewery is probably the best IMO....looks like a hole in the wall from the road, but their beer is top notch!

I agree. To OP: skip every other brewery in SD and goto Alpine. Alpine rules, all others drool.

T
 
I think that right now my absolute favorite place is Mike Hess. Go now while the brewery is still nano (they're building a new big brewery in a new location). The atmosphere in that little storage space brewery is fantastic. The beer is great and the people that hang out there could not be friendlier. Say hi to Steph (she used to work for Rogue).

2nd favorite place is Societe, simply because The Pupil is my absolute favorite beer coming out of San Diego. One of the absolute best IPAs I have ever had. Great tasting room, the only thing that separates you from the brewery is the bar. Very friendly folks there too, like Steven the tasting room manager. My advice, go around 3-4PM and you might get to see the brewers at work and get some food from one of the lunch trucks.

3rd favorite would be Alesmith, I liked it better before the new bigger tasting room but still a great spot. I used to work a few blocks away. Speedway Stout is one of my favorite beers, my friends have had kegs of Speedway going in their kegerator for at least 5 years nonstop.

Ballast Point, massive selection of great beers and they usually have some interesting barrel aged varieties. I personally don't like the atmosphere as much here because it seems to be a focus for beer bus tours and the place is usually jam packed with drunks. I prefer the Ballast Point tasting room at Home Brew Mart, same great beer and a more intimate atmosphere.

Stone, you have to visit just because, it's worth a pilgrimage.

I don't find anything about Karl Strauss appealing but that's just me.

Pizza Port is awesome, I have really only been to the San Clemente location recently but they make killer pizza and the Shark Bite Red is always a great go to.

There's also Coronado and Green Flash, neither of which I managed to drop into on my last trip home so I don't know about the atmosphere these days.
 
Tupperwolf said:
I think that right now my absolute favorite place is Mike Hess. Go now while the brewery is still nano (they're building a new big brewery in a new location). The atmosphere in that little storage space brewery is fantastic. The beer is great and the people that hang out there could not be friendlier. Say hi to Steph (she used to work for Rogue).

2nd favorite place is Societe, simply because The Pupil is my absolute favorite beer coming out of San Diego. One of the absolute best IPAs I have ever had. Great tasting room, the only thing that separates you from the brewery is the bar. Very friendly folks there too, like Steven the tasting room manager. My advice, go around 3-4PM and you might get to see the brewers at work and get some food from one of the lunch trucks.

3rd favorite would be Alesmith, I liked it better before the new bigger tasting room but still a great spot. I used to work a few blocks away. Speedway Stout is one of my favorite beers, my friends have had kegs of Speedway going in their kegerator for at least 5 years nonstop.

Ballast Point, massive selection of great beers and they usually have some interesting barrel aged varieties. I personally don't like the atmosphere as much here because it seems to be a focus for beer bus tours and the place is usually jam packed with drunks. I prefer the Ballast Point tasting room at Home Brew Mart, same great beer and a more intimate atmosphere.

Stone, you have to visit just because, it's worth a pilgrimage.

I don't find anything about Karl Strauss appealing but that's just me.

Pizza Port is awesome, I have really only been to the San Clemente location recently but they make killer pizza and the Shark Bite Red is always a great go to.

There's also Coronado and Green Flash, neither of which I managed to drop into on my last trip home so I don't know about the atmosphere these days.

Thanks Dude that's great info. Might be giving the zoo and sea world a miss now!
 
As a homebrewer white laps is a must Imo. Also if you hit up Home Brewmart /Ballast Point location, Coronado Brewing just opened up their new brew house and tasting room right around the corner from there. Two stops that are very close to old town.
 
Thanks Dude that's great info. Might be giving the zoo and sea world a miss now!

I would pass on Sea World but definitely go to the zoo. It's one of the best zoos in the world, plus my sister is a senior animal trainer there. :mug:

I grew up in SD but am not living there, I did just get home from a 2 week trip where I tried to get some beer tourism in. I wish I still lived there so I could be more in touch with the beer culture because there is a LOT going on.

Check out www.westcoastersd.com for a good calendar of beer events!

Good bars are Tap Room in Pacific Beach, Blind Lady Ale House in Normal Heights, O'briens in Kearny Mesa.

I missed out on visiting White Labs but would definitely like to check it out, from what I understand you can do a tasting of the same brew that has been made with multiple different yeasts. I also didn't know Coronado opened up a spot near Home Brew Mart.
 
Literally you do not have enough time. Pick your favorite styles then focus from there, I work in SD, across the street from Green Flash and there are 5 breweries from my office to the freeway if not more. Rough Draft, Ballast Point, Hess, Alesmith, Green Flash, Wet n Reckless (super small and unknown but good beers). I would say Karl Strauss is good for a family stop, I like the Piggy Bank Mac n Cheese. I have taken all of my small children to Stone, it is a nice place for kids. Same with Pizza Port, but I rarely take my kids to the other tasting room only places.
 
For Kid friendly, id definitely do societe, mother earth, or pizza port. I've taken my kids to each several times. Alesmith is ok for kids too. Alpine has really good food in addition to their beers.
 
I have got to second or third Lapine. If you are up for a bit more of a drive, it is worth it. God I love their beer.

Seriously though, there are so many awesome places here that you might be better off just hitting one of the great craft beer bars around town so that you can try it all. Societe's new Roustabout DIPA is awesome.

Also have to give props to the Encinitas Ale House which has an insane tap list. Check out their website for info on the latest.
 

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