Good Beer in San Diego

I'll be in San Diego the first week of February. I'll be staying right by the convention center and was wondering what were the best pubs in the downtown/gaslamp district.

Any ideas?

I'm not a down town guy (don't like the crowds) but if you get a chance we have a bunch of great brewery's. Ballast point, Pizza Port (Go to the one in Carlsbad) Stone Brewery, to name a few... Have fun.

rustym said:

I'll be in San Diego the first week of February. I'll be staying right by the convention center and was wondering what were the best pubs in the downtown/gaslamp district.

Any ideas?

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You can check out the Karl Strauss downtown location. If you are there on a Thursday night, they tap a different cask every week on that night.

I like the ambiance of The Fields Irish pub. Good live music almost every evening. The wood inside the pub apparently brought all the way from a pub in Ireland! Recently, they've also been carrying some of the San Diego craft-brews.

The Tilted Kilt right next to Petco park is an interesting location, mainly for the servers But they have a huge selection of beers as well.

Gaslamp Tavern is a good sports bar.

You need to go to the Yard House. That is all.

Great suggestions! I'll be there 5 nights so I've got a lot tor look forward to!

Toronado had tons of pizza port beers on tap as well as two casks (an ipa and a brown ale) when I was there earlier this week. The linkery is also very good. They also had a cask of arrogant bastard that had been cask-hopped with chinook when I visited Churchill's Tavern last week but that would be gone by now. But if they serve that kind of stuff I'm sure they will replace it with something good. It's kinda a drive from downtown though.

I would go to Stone to start with and then some of the other places mentioned as well.

I'll be there at the end of Feb and plan to hit up Stone (obviously!) but I hear that Alpine is also a good place to stop. Pizza Port will also be on my list...

Obviously the bottle shops for the Pliny. I am praying that there will still be some younger available somewhere too...

I was there a couple months ago for San Diego Beer Week and my favorite place in the Gaslamp District was the Tipsy Crow on the corner of 5th Ave and F Street. They had a really nice craft beer selection and very friendly, knowledgeable staff. We stopped in for a quick drink and to check out the hemp ale on cask that they were about to tap and ended up staying for at least 2 hours.

Right down the street is Analog Bar, a 70's-80's themed bar with a pseudo lounge feel. They don't have the best craft beer selection but do have some awesome happy hour specials (especially on Tuesday I believe) and delicious tater tot appetizers.

Outside of Gaslamp, you really should check out Toronado on 30th St. for possibly the best craft beer list in SD, the Blind Lady Ale House for another awesome beer list, and Stone's brewery (about 45 min north of town in Escondido) as it is pretty amazing. I would also suggest Port Brewing/Lost Abbey which are both in the same location in San Marcos. While you're there you can also visit Churchill's Pub for yet more great craft beer.

One more thing. Call Lucha Libre and reserve the Champion's Table for lunch or dinner some day. Go in, skip the line, get treated better than everyone else in the joint, and enjoy some amazing burritos while having fun basking in your own awesomeness.

Have an awesome trip!

Walking distance from the Convention Center:

http://www.neighborhoodsd.com/

And I highly recommend:

http://downtownjohnnybrowns.com/

A short cab ride:

http://www.toronadosd.com (my local hangout in North Park. They always have Pliny on tap).

Pizza Port have opened a new location in Ocean Beach, which is easily accessible from downtown:

http://www.pizzaport.com/

In South Park:

http://hamiltonstavern.com/

There are dozens more, but that's where I would start

If you're in North County visiting Stone, Pizza Port Carlsbad is one of my favorite venues.

Damn, I'm getting thirsty now.

Waterfront in Little Italy.

BTW, the food in Little Italy is outstanding.

If you go over the bridge, or take the ferry, Coronado Brewery has good beer and food. Monday's are all night happy hour and Wednesdays are fish taco night.

if you go to North County there are also a number of smaller breweries - Breakwater, Oceanside Aleworks and some others as well

Definitely check out Hamiltons and have some hop sausage.

You also have BLAH, which I highly recommend:
http://www.blindladyalehouse.com/

Stone
Lost abbey
Coronado brewing company
Pizza port
Karl Strauss

terrapinj said:

if you go to North County there are also a number of smaller breweries - Breakwater, Oceanside Aleworks and some others as well

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+1 on these as well. Very good beer

Awesome! I'm looking forward to it.

if you go to Stone try to go during daylight hours

they have really beautiful gardens and a nice outdoor bar area - food is very tasty albeit a little pricey but all locally sourced - i believe they give discount for AHA members as well

they also stop tours shortly after it gets dark i believe so thats another + if you intend to tour the brewery

terrapinj said:

if you go to Stone try to go during daylight hours

they have really beautiful gardens and a nice outdoor bar area - food is very tasty albeit a little pricey but all locally sourced - i believe they give discount for AHA members as well

they also stop tours shortly after it gets dark i believe so thats another + if you intend to tour the brewery

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They give extra taste samples to those who ask good brewing questions.

I don't remember if i got any extra or not

The best have already been listed, but if you're going north of downtown for Toronado or Blind Lady Alehouse the San Diego Brewing Company brew-pup is that way too. They're house beers are OK, but they usually have 30 craft brews on tap too. Food is pretty good...thinking I might for dinner tonight.