San Diego's Must Drink and See

[9Kegs]

We will be Craft Beer vacationing for a week in San Diego to start 2020. I have read a ton of older threads on here with a lot of great recommendations. I am reaching out to local home brewers and seasoned travelers for your expertise to make this an unforgettable experience. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[brewswithshoes]

Ah, San Diego. My beer home away from home.

You'll get lots of recommendations and you'll have lots of options from folks on here, but one of the coolest things we did on one of our trips there was to head out to White Labs.

Got a cool tour of the facility, with lots of access to the WL team to "talk shop" . The other really cool part of that visit was that in their tasting room you can do flights of the same wort fermented with different strains of their yeast. Such a cool experience for an avid home brewer.

Personal favorite places for us: Modern Times (been to 2 of their places, but i really like the one in Loma area); Pizza Port is great for good pizza and great beer; and from just a cool place to hang out and eat/drink the Stone World Bistro outdoor area is top notch.

There are a lot of cool little Taphouse kind of places that you will find all over. There's a pretty small, but good Mikeller location near Little Italy as well. I'm sure others will chime in with a lot more recommendations.

Bonus tip: resist the urge to use the scooter rentals when downtown while drinking !!!!!!

 

[DromJohn]

+1 on White Labs.

 

[jayrome2722]

We were there recently. I really liked Duck Foot and Pure Project out by Miramar. If you're a wine drinker at all you could take a day and go up to Temecula.

 

[MaxStout]

There are so many in SD, it would take you weeks to put a dent in the numbers. It might be more practical to concentrate on one or two localities. For instance, around Miramar there's a bunch of them. White Labs (a must-visit!), Ballast Point, AleSmith, and Green Flash are among the biggies. And lots a great smaller breweries. All within a few miles of each other.

 

[9Kegs]

We are definitely going to White Labs. I am hoping to smuggle some yeast back to Milwaukee.

 

[ShowStopper13]

As said there are a ton of places, my favorite is Pure Project and if you do drive to Temecula then go to Murrieta and hit Electric Brewing and 8 Bit Brewing.

 

[enkamania]

One of my favorites perhaps folks haven't heard of, is Societe Brewing.

 

[beer-me-now]

If you are going to be at White Lab's anyway, do yourself a favor and check out the Miralani Makers District (1.5 miles from White Labs). In a little industrial park area this district features a world class meadery (Lost Cause), a cidery (Serpentine), a winery (Charlie & Echo) plus 3 beer breweries not to mention some amazing food options. Close by is also Brewski's bar and arcade and a little further down the road is Mikkeler, Alesmith and Pure Project. World class food, beer, cider and mead all packed into that amazing part of San Diego. Enjoy your trip!

 

[smcinco]

Why types of beer do you like most?

 

[9Kegs]

Why types of beer do you like most?

I drink mostly malt forward styles.

 

[bkboiler]

As a long time on San Diegan I'd recommend Port Brewing and Pizza Port. They are separate entities and the former makes world class sour beers on par with Russian River.
the latter makes amazing IPAs and stouts.
Also, stone is still keeping it real and I'd recommend them.
I would not recommend Ballast Point, or Green Flash any more as there are better places to go see around the county that others have mentioned...

 

[MaxStout]

One of my favorites perhaps folks haven't heard of, is Societe Brewing.

Yes, one of my favorites, and it's not far from where we stay when we go to SD. That neighborhood (Kearny Mesa) has a bunch of breweries in and around. Kilowatt and Quantum come to mind, and there are a few others close by.

 

[crane]

I live in San Diego and agree about trying to focus on some locations where you can hit up several places that are close to each other. As others have mentioned the Mira Mesa/Miramar area has a lot to offer. Gravity heights just opened up there a few blocks from where I work. They have some great beer and good food.

Another great location is North Park. That's the neighborhood where I live. So many great places within a bike ride. Modern times tasting room, Hess brewing, Fall brewing. Tiger, Tiger is a great beer bar with food. Also the Homebrewer just down the street from Tiger, Tiger is a top class LHBS with tasting room with some great beer. Oh and there is the incubator with Eppig, Pariah, and June Shine hard Kombucha all in the same building. There's a bunch more in North Park that I didn't mention as well.

 

[9Kegs]

I want to to thank everyone for responding! One thing I forgot to ask is do I need a rental car? Sounds like parking is $$$$ and availability is limited, plus the fact everywhere we go we're drinking.

 

[brewswithshoes]

I want to to thank everyone for responding! One thing I forgot to ask is do I need a rental car? Sounds like parking is $$$$ and availability is limited, plus the fact everywhere we go we're drinking.

I've done both and it really depends on where you are staying and then visiting. When I stay in heart of downtown/ gaslamp quarter I no longer get cars as the hotel we stay at charges like 30/night or something for parking. Uber there has always been reasonable. But if you are planning to get out further (Torrey pines, Tijuana, etc) you'll want a car.

Another good option is an all day or multi day bike rental. Was a great way for us to hit a lot of breweries as well as to get around Coronado and out to the beach) We've used the bikes to get out as far as Stone Bistro garden area in Liberty Station and then all through Loma and Balboa Park as well. (Obviously pace yourself if drinking and biking[emoji15])

If the main purpose of the trip is a beer-cation then I'd say skip the rental car.

Enjoy the trip !!

 

[cdug619]

What area are you staying in? Chances are, there will be several around you to try. If you have ones that are must do's to hit, you'll most likely need a car. Our mass transit sucks here if you are not in the central southern part of the city.

Off the top of my head if you want to see WhiteLabs. Just down the road would be AleSmith in their new giant building. Mikkeller took over the old AleSmith spot. About a block down is another cluster of breweries. Duckfoot and Pure Project. Miramar area would be a good choice. You are sort of close to downtown as well. Deft is a great place for malty beers.

I live up in North County along the 78 (Hop Highway) which has another good cluster of breweries. Start at Stone just to see the garden which should be nice in Jan. Wild Barrel for some sours about 8 minutes away. Lost Abbey is about 1 minute for there (our fav, usually there most Friday's). From there you can head over to Churchhill's for grub and another excellent beer list from all over. Just a few miles away is another good bunch of breweries. First Belching Beaver location, Eppig just opened a huge facility. They have a lot of malty euro style beers. (also have a tasting room on the water downtown), Aztec and Rip Current are good choices as well.

If possible, can you maybe break up your hotel locations? The county is pretty big and might be easier to stay a few days downtown and some up in north county. We did that on a beer vacation to Denver/Ft. Collins.

Here are a couple of maps from the local beer magazine. List hasn't been updated online since August but if you navigate to the Read Our Magazine section, you'll get the most recent month and it should have an updated maps section.

Beer List
https://westcoastersd.com/san-diego-brewery-list/

Maps
https://westcoastersd.com/beermaps/

Cheers

 

[murphyslaw]

Puesto

 

[9Kegs]

cdug619-----We are staying on the northwest side of Balboa Park in the area between Marston Hills and Cambridge Square.

 

[cdug619]

cdug619-----We are staying on the northwest side of Balboa Park in the area between Marston Hills and Cambridge Square.

Cool neighborhood for food but not so much for breweries. Pure Project is closest to your area. The tap rooms on 30th street are a very short Uber away. Drive wise, I think the Miramar area is you best bet. Use that map from my post above and that should help guide you to the locations up there. Could always Uber up there and hit up a few within walking distance of each other. Or drive to a bunch a get some crowlers to go and take back to hotel.

For the Malty stuff, I'd still recommend Deft. You're about 5-10 minutes away. Morris is a former home brewer and is making some excellent euro inspired beers.

 

[9Kegs]

I want to thank everyone that responded once again and update where we visited while it’s still fresh in my head. Breweries/ taprooms stops were Belching Beaver, Fall, Ballast Point, Bolt, Mikkeller, Bottlecraft, Alesmith, White Labs, Stone, Modern Times, Deft, OB, Two Roots, and Kilowatt.

Sights included San Diego Zoo, USS Midway, Coronado Island, OB fishing pier, Torrey Pines State Reserve, La Jolla Cove, and Cabrillo monument.

White Labs gave us a personal tour thanks to Jeff who ironically also works at Deft brewing. Chris White walked through the taproom while we were there.

A special memory was in Point Loma at the monument. We watched the Theodore Roosevelt carrier leave on a 7 month deployment. There were many families watching their loved ones departing. Thanks to all that have served.

 

[Brooothru]

I want to thank everyone that responded once again and update where we visited while it’s still fresh in my head. Breweries/ taprooms stops were Belching Beaver, Fall, Ballast Point, Bolt, Mikkeller, Bottlecraft, Alesmith, White Labs, Stone, Modern Times, Deft, OB, Two Roots, and Kilowatt.

Sights included San Diego Zoo, USS Midway, Coronado Island, OB fishing pier, Torrey Pines State Reserve, La Jolla Cove, and Cabrillo monument.

White Labs gave us a personal tour thanks to Jeff who ironically also works at Deft brewing. Chris White walked through the taproom while we were there.

A special memory was in Loma Pointe at the monument. We watched the Theodore Roosevelt carrier leave on a 7 month deployment. There were many families watching their loved ones departing. Thanks to all that have served.

Just read the entire thread and it brought back many memories over more than a few decades of times I've spent in San Diego both in the Navy and in civilian life. Heck, I was even spending time there before the Coronado Bridge was built. My son travels there frequently on business and he's really a fan of the area as well. It got me to thinking that a trip to SAN might just be the cure for this East Coast winter gloom.

And then I got to your post describing your visit. I can't even begin to recount the times I've flown over Pt. Loma, or the times I've seen the fleet tied up at North Island, or wished Godspeed for the departing sailors and their loved ones left behind. So thanks for the kind words for those who have served, and especially for those who still serve.

"...for those in peril on the Sea..."

Brooo Brother