Visiting San Diego soon- help please

[midfielder5]

hey my brew brothers and sisters, I am headed to San Diego in two weeks for my birthday.

I get to plan the Saturday itinerary for three breweries/tap houses via Uber or other hired DD, then Stone's Bistro in Liberty Station for dinner.

Suggestions welcome for the top 3 SD tour stops (not including Stone as that is locked in), please!

I like all types of beer. The locals w/ whom we are visiting mentioned Ballast Point, Ale Smith, Green Flash, Society Brewery. I haven't had any Society beers.
I was also thinking Modern Times.

I live in SF and know basic SD geography but not (yet) looked up where these places are. We are starting from La Jolla.

thanks in advance!

 

[jmendez29]

I visited San Diego last year and did the exact same thing. We hit up Stone but not the liberty station location. Ale Smith, Ballast Point, and Society were all places we hit up, but I enjoyed Society the best. We stopped by Green Flash but they didn't open until well into the afternoon, 4pm I think. We didn't want to wait around for another two hours just for them.

If you're around the area, I HIGHLY recommend swinging by White Labs. They have a sampling bar there. They will brew a 20 gallon batch and split it, then ferment with different yeast so you can taste what profile the yeast offers. If I had known that before we went there, then I would have dedicated more time to just that.

We also hit up Pizza Port, I think it was the Ocean Beach location, can't remember for sure. We don't have as ready access to the ocean as you do so that was more for novelty sake, but it was still very cool for us. And the pizza wasn't half bad either.

We also hit up a couple really small places based on recommendations by the hotel staff, I can't remember their names. But of the ones you mentioned, Society would be my pick. And White Labs if you have the time. But really, we weren't disappointed by any of the places we stopped. San Diego really was a fantastic beercation.

 

[MaxStout]

These guys have a pretty good map, aimed at visitors.

Some of my faves from past visits:
Stone
Ballast Point
Societe
Twisted Manzanita
White Labs

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Modern Times is very close to Stone Liberty Station, so I'd definitely do that.

 

[midfielder5]

thanks- great info!
Any one else?

 

[UKCatsFan]

Ballast Point fo shizzle !! :cross: Just sampled several offerings from Green Flash at a local tasting and they were all tasty.

If you're also looking for a good pizza and local pint, I would recommend Pizza Nova in Point Loma.

Enjoy.

 

[72hw]

+1,000 on White Labs - a definite must!

I also really enjoy visitng Coroado and the Belching Beaver tap rooms. The latter has two Randals, so they often have One Day Only beers... Sometimes they are outstanding!

Pizza Port is a lot of bang for the buck, I like the Ocean Beach location but parking can be a nightmare. It might be mentioned that The OB Pizza Port is very close to Aqua Adventures, where you can rent kayaks and get out on the bay. Interesting side trip to work up a thirst for sure!

 

[fsr_racer]

If you have the time, drive out to East County and visit Alpine Brewing. They are still fairly new, but a friend of mine swears by them. Also great mountainbiking country out there, if you're into that.

 

[72hw]

If you have the time, drive out to East County and visit Alpine Brewing. They are still fairly new, but a friend of mine swears by them. Also great mountainbiking country out there, if you're into that.

Agreed - Alpine is s fantastic, if out if the way, brewery. I heard recently that the taproom is closed though, something to do with Alpine being acquired by Green Flash. Might not be but would be worth a call to find out before heading up there!

 

[JC_Brewer]

I'm going to echo the comments about White Labs as well. As a homebrewer, it was great to be able to taste "different" beers with the only difference being the yeast that was pitched. I took notes and have applied them to batches that I've made since then (I went just over a year ago).

Stone brewery is a must as well although I've been told by friends of mine that are still there that the tour isn't what is used to be. I haven't done it so take that with a grain of salt. I have been to the Liberty Station location and you won't be disappointed. The duck tacos are fantastic.

The Blind Lady Ale House in North park was a great place with a lot of craft beers on tap. I used to live close to there so I frequented it often and is a cool hole in the wall.

Have fun. I miss San Diego terribly.

 

[TrickyDick]

Toronado, it's a beer bar.

Also there are a couple WFO pizza joints to try.
If you go to ocean beach, get a burger at hodad's.

Societe had some good stuff
I was underwhelmed with white labs tasting room frankly.
Stone is rightfully on the must hit list.

Have fun

 

[dhallman619]

Hey man,

With almost 100 breweries in San Diego County, you have plenty to choose from

1. White Labs- definitely a must (Miramar Area)
2. Modern Times- Tasting room in North Park, brewery in Pt. Loma
3. Belching Beaver- they have a tasting room in North Park, and their brewery is in Vista
4. AleSmith (Miramar Area)
5. Mission Brewery

If you want to try some small, lesser known ones, try Monkey Paw(16th street, downtown San Diego), Butchers(East County San Diego- Santee) and Acoustic Ales (downtown area- Hancock St.)

Any way you go in san Diego, you are bound to stumble upon a brewery. If you need any more suggestions, hit me up!

-Dan

 

[greenebo]

Hit up Coronado Brewing on the island. Nice restaurant and about a block from the bay, or about a mile to the ocean if you go the other direction. Ballast Point has their tasting room/LHBS on Linda Vista Road if you want to see what a SOCAL LHBS has to offer. Belching Beaver is about a block from The Homebrewer LHBS too they just opened their tasting room, kinda like Ballast Point but only open on the weekends for now.

 

[danzak]

Agreed - Alpine is s fantastic, if out if the way, brewery. I heard recently that the taproom is closed though, something to do with Alpine being acquired by Green Flash. Might not be but would be worth a call to find out before heading up there!

Yes Green Flash did acquire Alpine. Went to Green flash last week and to my surprise they have 5 Alpine beers on tap! So it's kinda like a 2 for 1 if you stop there.

Others I recommend would be:
-Society
- Mission
- the new ballast point on Carroll way (have over 30 taps and a restaurant)
- modern times

Enjoy!

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Yes Green Flash did acquire Alpine. Went to Green flash last week and to my surprise they have 5 Alpine beers on tap! So it's kinda like a 2 for 1 if you stop there.

Related question...

Can you get Alpine growler fills at the Green Flash tasting room?

Do you need an Alpine-branded growler or can you get the fill in an Green Flash-branded growler?

I would assume being under the same ownership, you can get the fills, but anytime the CA ABC is involved, I know to throw logic out the window.

 

[BarkingSpider]

Last time I was down I hit (Miramar area)

1. White Labs
2. Ballast Point
3. AleSmith

The Flying Leatherneck museum is a pretty cool thing to check out as well.

 

[JF_HBrews]

I visit SD on a fairly regular basis and I don't think you can go wrong with the 'tops' the others have listed. Before you go I would check out http://www.sandiegobrewersguild.org/ for a good visitor's guide and also the SD monthly paper/ad http://www.westcoastersd.com/ - pick up a hard copy at the fist brewery you stop at. I'd focus more on the neighborhood you are in, or would like to visit, and then choose a place. Pick from everyone's favorites above but don't be afraid to check out smaller off the beaten path places like Rough Draft. You'll have a better chance to talk beer at some of these smaller places. And you can be more local as opposed to running up and down the highways (have a DD!). Taster size pours are popular, and not frowned upon, in SD so you can eliminate the risk of buying a pint of something you don't like. Have a great trip!

 

[brdb]

White Labs, Ballast Point (Miramar), AleSmith, Green Flash, and Mike Hess (original location) are all within a few miles of one another and as someone previously stated, Modern Times isn't far from Stone Liberty Station. Also, Societe is basically right off the freeway if you're driving from Stone/Modern Times to any of the other listed breweries so it wouldn't be out of your way to stop there as well.

 

[ndinh]

1st trip to SD, hit up the usual suspects.
Stone, Ballast Pt, Societe, Lost Abbey/Port, Alesmith, G.Flash.

2nd,3rd,4th....trip, hit up the smaller places.
Rough Draft, Modern Times, Iron Fist, Mother Earth, Saint Archer.

At night, hit up the beer bars.
Toronado, Blind Lady, Hamiltons, Churchills (my fav), Monkey Paw.

Plan accordingly based on location because SD county is huge.

 

[anticrapple]

i am a huge fan of belching beaver. i highly recommend it. as everyone knows, SD is dominated by IPA's, so belching beaver offers a nice contrast. They make one of the best milk stouts imho. they have great variety, and the tasting room in north park is just a really cool place to hang out.

we take the dogs there all the time!

 

[danzak]

Related question...



Can you get Alpine growler fills at the Green Flash tasting room?



Do you need an Alpine-branded growler or can you get the fill in an Green Flash-branded growler?



I would assume being under the same ownership, you can get the fills, but anytime the CA ABC is involved, I know to throw logic out the window.

Yeah you can get alpine growler fills think they were running about $15. You know I was gonna ask about if you need an alpine growler when I was there but to got busy at the fill station as we were leaving so I didn't. I did see that they sold both GF and alpine growlers so idk?

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1425009825.454717.jpg

 

[TrickyDick]

Another counterpoint for the IPA beer scene is the Karl Strauss (?) brewery. Not sure where they are located but if you get burned out check them out.

 

[midfielder5]

Thanks to everyone who participated... much obliged!