The San Diego area thread

[Xul1]

While we're on the topic of ****** aspects of craft beer, **** party buses:
1) Roll into Lost Abbey early this afternoon and see a party bus. No biggie, I just wanted to pick up my Veritas bottles, have that taster and split. More crowded than I'd prefer but whatever, I have no desire to hang out at Lost Abbey anyway.
2) Head over to Toolbox, grab a few half pours and it's quite chill...until that same party bus heads over to Toolbox and unloads 20+ people on a tasting room with one bartender working. He looked ******* thrilled. Close out and split.
3) Hit up Mikkeller a little while later and it's a bit more crowded than usual for mid-afternoon, but not too bad. Grabbed a couple tasters, just about finishing them up and I'm contemplating my next move when up rolls another party bus. Grab cans and gtfo.

Really makes me nostalgic for the days when Abby banned that **** from Alesmith...

 

[evilc]

Party buses are the herpes of craft beer.

 

[rcubed1]

At Alesmith now, quite busy but found a quieter corner at the bar.

 

[evilc]

Anybody been buying the Cutwater cans? Gin and Tonic so damn refreshing. Not a gin fan either. ****, I bought 8, missing 6. The Bloody Mary cans are perfect. Something changed in the Rum and Cola.....same percentages but the cola flavor is way more pronounced. Prefer the previous BP iteration.

 

[arren]

Anybody beem buying the Cutwater cans? Gin and Tonic so damn refreshing. Not a gin fan either. ****, I bought 8, missing 6.

They taste the same as the old ballast point cans?

 

[Sage1]

While we're on the topic of ****** aspects of craft beer, **** party buses:
1) Roll into Lost Abbey early this afternoon and see a party bus. No biggie, I just wanted to pick up my Veritas bottles, have that taster and split. More crowded than I'd prefer but whatever, I have no desire to hang out at Lost Abbey anyway.
2) Head over to Toolbox, grab a few half pours and it's quite chill...until that same party bus heads over to Toolbox and unloads 20+ people on a tasting room with one bartender working. He looked ******* thrilled. Close out and split.
3) Hit up Mikkeller a little while later and it's a bit more crowded than usual for mid-afternoon, but not too bad. Grabbed a couple tasters, just about finishing them up and I'm contemplating my next move when up rolls another party bus. Grab cans and gtfo.

Really makes me nostalgic for the days when Abby banned that **** from Alesmith...

I was at Societe on Thursday and for some reason a tour limo pulled up (420-related maybe?) and it warmed the cockles of my heart to see how mad the bar staff were that they showed up. They weren’t allowed in (visibly drunk – plus, just no).

 

[evilc]

They taste the same as the old ballast point cans?

3 out of 4 do...only the Cola is different. Edited my post a bit.

 

[rcubed1]

Council has and will probably start cranking out BA saison now.

San Diego's foeder program is very young. Stone screwed this up and should of had one going years ago. But Berlin and Richmond.

 

[arren]

Council has and will probably start cranking out BA saison now.

San Diego's foeder program is very young. Stone screwed this up and should of had one going years ago. But Berlin and Richmond.

Of all the breweries to grasp the AWA baton, Lost Abbey should've been it.

 

[rcubed1]

Of all the breweries to grasp the AWA baton, Lost Abbey should've been it.

Agreed but Tomme is old school. They did add 3 giant foeders to the mix recently.

 

[SanDiegoJoe2011]

Council has and will probably start cranking out BA saison now.

San Diego's foeder program is very young. Stone screwed this up and should of had one going years ago. But Berlin and Richmond.

I forgot about Council despite grabbing 2 more bottles of Wax Poetic. I've enjoyed most of their BA saisons/wild ales, but they're just not a brewery I tend to think much about. I dont know if it's because I was never into their core beers, geography, or because the only beers available around town are their Tart Saison beers.

 

[rcubed1]

At Council right now and it's dead. Woople Dust is along the lines of what you are looking for, just more tart the those other breweries you mentioned.

 

[theconductor]

I had a pretty stellar mixed fermentation saison at Pure on Thursday.

 

[Phischy1]

I forgot about Council despite grabbing 2 more bottles of Wax Poetic. I've enjoyed most of their BA saisons/wild ales, but they're just not a brewery I tend to think much about. I dont know if it's because I was never into their core beers, geography, or because the only beers available around town are their Tart Saison beers.

It's a 3bbl brewhouse. They make very little beer for distro beyond their tasting room. They are the most successful nano in the county.

 

[arren]

Carton of Haze review: same ****, different label. It's so one-dimensional that you can't even really make out distinct hop characteristics. What a bummer.

 

[blackzag05]

blackzag05 and benbikes4beer hate me for this, but I’m generally not a huge fan of Blind Pig. It’s a totally ******* different beer at the source though – if that was my local I’d take down pints of that.

Boooooooooo

 

[theconductor]

Plenty to do in Oceanside these days: Bagby of course but also Local Tap House, Barrel Republic, Urge/101 Proof, The Flying Pig, Breakwater, Pacific Coast House (PCH), Surfside Tap Room. Coffee at Revolution Roasters, breakfast at Beach Break or Swami's Cafe.

Thank you for this recommendation. Some of the best sandwiches that I've ever had. Awesome staff and environment. Beer list was slightly above average and the Bloody Mary was delicious. With all of the we spent outside of the immediate area, Bagby was the only other Oceanside spot we hit. Other than the Pier View Coffee Shop!

We looked in Barrel Republic, saw that it was a "pour it yourself" place and kept going.

You guys have it good down there. I can't wait for my next trip in July!

 

[reidjoshua1]

Ramming down Reality Czeck at Moonlight's "tasting room" (cheap patio furniture in a warehouse) is pretty much heaven. Russian River can be fun if you manage to get a table with a minimal wait, but **** trying to go there in the evening.

Eat dinner at Flavor Bistro/drinking all their Moonlight taps, then walking a block to Russian River.

 

[cquiroga]

Does anybody know why there isn't anybody in SoCal making world class farmhouse beers like SARA? And if they are, who is it and what should I be looking for?

If we're talking "SoCal" and not just "San Diego County," I would highly recommend giving Cellador Ales a try. They're super-small and sort of hard to find (but easy if you follow their social media, or if you're down with buying beer on their website and having it shipped to you in California). They don't do much draft, and make small batches of 100% barrel-fermented beers. Lots of variety with fruit additions and such, and some of the beers teeter into the "too sour" territory you're trying to avoid, but I think some of their "simpler" beers would scratch that SARA itch. In Principio comes to mind. And their ++Good series of dry-hopped tart saisons are really nice. For my money, I think some of the best things they've done have been the ones that fall on the lower end of acidity, which is a great, refreshing change of pace in the modern "more flavor=better flavor" beer nerd climate. They're a really young brewery, not even a year old yet, but I think they're doing some wonderful things that are worthy of your immediate attention, and they're definitely ones to watch as they grow and hone their craft.

Monkish is making some nice tart saisons that can hang with the big boys too, and their mixed-fermentation barrel program creations are thankfully priced toward the low end of the market for comparable stuff. Haiku de Saison is sort of Cellarman-ish, and a great beer to seek out. $16/750 mL bottle ain't fucken bad.

I've heard great things about Gunwhale Ales along this front, from a guy I trust who also looks for exactly what you are describing.

 

[Xul1]

Eat dinner at Flavor Bistro/drinking all their Moonlight taps, then walking a block to Russian River.

RIP Flavor Bistro

 

[rcubed1]

Thank you for this recommendation. Some of the best sandwiches that I've ever had. Awesome staff and environment. Beer list was slightly above average and the Bloody Mary was delicious. With all of the we spent outside of the immediate area, Bagby was the only other Oceanside spot we hit. Other than the Pier View Coffee Shop!

We looked in Barrel Republic, saw that it was a "pour it yourself" place and kept going.

You guys have it good down there. I can't wait for my next trip in July!

Yeah I don't go to LTH for their beer list. My only complaint is that they don't rotate taps enough. Barrel Republic usually has the best tap list in Oceanside. Had some KBS on draft there last week. Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[Tyrsis]

RIP Flavor Bistro

Huh? Is Flavor gone?

 

[Xul1]

Huh? Is Flavor gone?

Yeah, it closed late last year. Considering how popular it was, I have to imagine they'll re-open in some form eventually.

 

[DannyFullpint]

If we're talking "SoCal" and not just "San Diego County," I would highly recommend giving Cellador Ales a try. They're super-small and sort of hard to find (but easy if you follow their social media, or if you're down with buying beer on their website and having it shipped to you in California). They don't do much draft, and make small batches of 100% barrel-fermented beers. Lots of variety with fruit additions and such, and some of the beers teeter into the "too sour" territory you're trying to avoid, but I think some of their "simpler" beers would scratch that SARA itch. In Principio comes to mind. And their ++Good series of dry-hopped tart saisons are really nice. For my money, I think some of the best things they've done have been the ones that fall on the lower end of acidity, which is a great, refreshing change of pace in the modern "more flavor=better flavor" beer nerd climate. They're a really young brewery, not even a year old yet, but I think they're doing some wonderful things that are worthy of your immediate attention, and they're definitely ones to watch as they grow and hone their craft.

Monkish is making some nice tart saisons that can hang with the big boys too, and their mixed-fermentation barrel program creations are thankfully priced toward the low end of the market for comparable stuff. Haiku de Saison is sort of Cellarman-ish, and a great beer to seek out. $16/750 mL bottle ain't fucken bad.

I've heard great things about Gunwhale Ales along this front, from a guy I trust who also looks for exactly what you are describing.

All Highland park saisons.

 

[Tyrsis]

Yeah, it closed late last year. Considering how popular it was, I have to imagine they'll re-open in some form eventually.

Didn't know, that sucks. I had the best butternut squash ravioli there last time...

 

[Tyrsis]

All Highland park saisons.

Highland Park may as well be in Canada to us San Diegans.

 

[arren]

Highland Park may as well be in Canada to us San Diegans.

Carlsbad is Canada to San Diegans

 

[cquiroga]

All Highland park saisons.

Love HPB, but in my experience, their funky beers often lean too far into that lemony realm to make a good recommendation for the OP.

For those of us who can hang with a little higher acidity, they're some of the best beers around, for sure.

 

[Tyrsis]

Carlsbad is Canada to San Diegans

I used to think like that. Funny what a long commute will do to you

 

[sdreaper]

Carlsbad is Canada to San Diegans

Can confirm. Went to Lost Abbey to collect my Veritas bottles and forgot my passport at home. Greatly concerned I couldn't get back across the 78 without it.