The San Diego area thread

[davemont]

I have that same bag and mallet

Bag and Mallet? Such a great hipster restaurant or brewery name.

 

[Tyrsis]

Bag and Mallet? Such a great hipster restaurant or brewery name.

you mean Bag & Mallet

 

[drbenzo1]

I have that same bag and mallet

Thanks for the Rum choice...

 

[drbenzo1]

Wow

 

[Sebowski1]

So angry!

Calmer than you are, dude.

 

[Sebowski1]

FWIW I had a pour, so **** you

I didn't think I was talking about you. But now.....

 

[drbenzo1]

 

[smithj21541]

I knew MT was going all in on hazy but...

 

[SerenityNow]

I <3 my Traeger!

 

[chemman141]

This is the biggest poser meme in the beer world right now. If barleywine was life you guys wouldn't let a keg of 2010 Alaskan Barleywine, the Tom Brady aka G.O.A.T barleywine, sit on tap at Toro for over 2 weeks. With most of that time priced at $5 a pour. And that's not the first rare barleywine I've seen get the Toro bargain bin pricing. Y'all some lying ass ******* and/or dontdrinkbeer kiss ass fanbois, in my imo. I can picture some poor brewers going all in on #BiL and then when they have to close up shop they're all "But they said barleywine is life."

I'd be all over that if I lived there/knew it was on.

 

[chemman141]

I <3 my Traeger!

Damn that looks amazing. Nice you were able to get that thermometer before Super Bowl!

 

[arren]

#talkcoffee: any good local beans lately?

I stopped by the new Mostra retail location (really cool place) and picked up some of their Hambela beans, and while the aroma kicks ass, the coffee is a little overroasted for my liking. I expected berry jam, but instead got bitter chocolate with a pinch of berry. I don't think it's user error either - I can typically tell when I **** up coffee with bad pourover technique.

 

[smithj21541]

#talkcoffee: any good local beans lately?

I stopped by the new Mostra retail location (really cool place) and picked up some of their Hambela beans, and while the aroma kicks ass, the coffee is a little overroasted for my liking. I expected berry jam, but instead got bitter chocolate with a pinch of berry. I don't think it's user error either - I can typically tell when I **** up coffee with bad pourover technique.

Von's la Costa is all in on mostra. They have pre-packaged and bulk available. Bulk is even a pretty reasonable buy.

 

[drbenzo1]

CoffeeCoffee in Luecadia is my go to. Very nice price for a reasonable bean. Hardly ever over roasted unlike LaCosta Coffee Roasters. Bleh.

 

[hi im richie]

#talkcoffeenoob

Do the local coffee roasters grind the beans for you? I have a hand grinder but if I can buy coarse ground beans at their spot, I will definitely do so.

 

[drbenzo1]

#talkcoffeenoob

Do the local coffee roasters grind the beans for you? I have a hand grinder but if I can buy coarse ground beans at their spot, I will definitely do so.

They do. But it’s best to grind at home to preserve freshness

 

[hi im richie]

They do. But it’s best to grind at home to preserve freshness

Didn’t even consider that, thanks for the heads up.

 

[Tyrsis]

Didn’t even consider that, thanks for the heads up.

A grinder is mad cheap, and is useful for other stuff (unless you already have a food processor.)

 

[rcubed1]

Or get a coffee mill and hand mill the coffee for a bit of a workout. Once of these days I'll get a pour over setup going but I want to get that nice temperature controlled electric kettle first.

 

[Tyrsis]

Or get a coffee mill and hand mill the coffee for a bit of a workout. Once of these days I'll get a pour over setup going but I want to get that nice temperature controlled electric kettle first.

I use a plain gooseneck kettle, and put hot water from my drip coffee maker (it has a separate thing for water) in it. It usually comes out a degree too cool, so I toss it on the stove for a second and boom - done.

 

[rcubed1]

Who wants to buy Depot Springs?

http://www.westcoastersd.com/2018/02/06/la-mesas-depot-springs-beer-co-project-a-no-go/

 

[DannyFullpint]

Who wants to buy Depot Springs?

http://www.westcoastersd.com/2018/02/06/la-mesas-depot-springs-beer-co-project-a-no-go/

I couldn't imagine having to write 400 words about some ******** nobody cares about.

 

[souredstouts]

CoffeeCoffee in Luecadia is my go to. Very nice price for a reasonable bean. Hardly ever over roasted unlike LaCosta Coffee Roasters. Bleh.

Plus it's next to surfysurfy. Hahahaha

 

[jwacky]

Who wants to buy Depot Springs?

http://www.westcoastersd.com/2018/02/06/la-mesas-depot-springs-beer-co-project-a-no-go/

I live near here, this project has been dead for a while. The guy is finally just admitting it. It always seemed like an odd location, sorta the northwest La Mesa/El Cajon intersection. It's not a very high traffic area and the facility itself seems rather large. Curious to see what becomes of the property. The community was tepid at best, but I think it was more because the guy also promoted it as a concert venue. Noise seemed to draw larger opposition than the brewing side ever did.

 

[LSUPT]

I live near here, this project has been dead for a while. The guy is finally just admitting it. It always seemed like an odd location, sorta the northwest La Mesa/El Cajon intersection. It's not a very high traffic area and the facility itself seems rather large. Curious to see what becomes of the property. The community was tepid at best, but I think it was more because the guy also promoted it as a concert venue. Noise seemed to draw larger opposition than the brewing side ever did.

Can breweries in California even obtain an entertainment license? I don't think I've ever seen shows at breweries other than special events (ticketed anniversaries and such).

 

[davemont]

Didn’t even consider that, thanks for the heads up.

Get a burr grinder (not a blade) when they have one at Costco (which I believe they currently do.)

 

[arren]

Or get a coffee mill and hand mill the coffee for a bit of a workout. Once of these days I'll get a pour over setup going but I want to get that nice temperature controlled electric kettle first.

You don't need a temp controlled kettle, just a gooseneck. I just got a temp controlled one as an anniversary gift and it's pretty handy, but the coffee it makes isn't any better or worse than when I used a gooseneck right off the stove. That said, the Fellow EKG is a temp electric kettle that is sexy as **** and I want bad.

The most important thing in a pourover setup is your grinder. A burr grinder is a must - blade grinders produce inconsistent grinds. You often end up with "fines" that can make your coffee overextracted and bitter.

The Capresso Infinity is a good budget option, I've seen it as low as $70, but personally I'd buy a few pastrystouts less and use that extra money for a Baratza Encore. At $130, it's pretty much the only grinder you'll need for the rest of your life if you're just doing coffee - and not espresso. The best part is they've constructed it with multiple fail points so if it breaks, you can easily fix it yourself.

Mine is nearly two years old and the motor crapped out on me, so I emailed them asking what to do; they sent me a motor for free, with the stipulation that i had to install it myself. Considering they publish repair vids on Youtube, it was pretty easy, even for a non-handy delicate man like myself. It works even better than before, like a completely different machine.

 

[Xul1]

The most important thing in a pourover setup is your grinder.

<snip>

Baratza Encore

+1 on both of those points. Baratza also periodically sells refurbs on their site if you want an even better deal. I've been incredibly happy with both my Encore and Vario and for the home grinder market - i.e. not going balls deep into espresso - you'd be hard-pressed to beat Baratza in general.

Variable temperature kettles definitely have value but it's more of a luxury for a pourover setup. I've coaxed better results out of some beans by varying temperature by a few degrees - something that would be far, far harder with a normal gooseneck kettle - but it's not at all essential to brew great coffee at home. If you don't already have a gooseneck kettle and don't mind spending a bit extra, the Bonavita Variable Temp Gooseneck is awesome. I and all of my coffee geek friends have it and have used the hell out of ours for years. That said, it's going to run you $30 or $40 more than a normal gooseneck kettle (roughly, going off memory of prices) so it's largely a question of budget and how much you like to tinker with minor differences in process.

 

[sdreaper]

You all definitely take coffee quite seriously. I am quite impressed. I wish I could get onboard, but I guess the cups I have tried (minus 1) have either been subpar or else just not with the flavor profile that fits my tastes. As such, coffee is pretty much dead to me outside of beers and making sure my better half always has some in the morning so as to not have to deal with her wrath. Like when her pot finally cracked a few months ago I paid to have same day shipping on a new one, just to make sure she would be good.

the Bonavita Variable Temp Gooseneck is awesome.

^I see a 1.0L one of these for $60ish shipped through Prime. That doesn't seem too terrible, regular price was like $100 though.

 

[Xul1]

You all definitely take coffee quite seriously. I am quite impressed.

You should see people who take home espresso seriously. It's another level. I'm not deriding it at all, I like to geek out on my hobbies and I fully respect people who take it as far or even further than I do, it's just amazing to read sometimes, and makes me happy that I'm quite content with my setup.

^I see a 1.0L one of these for $60ish shipped through Prime. That doesn't seem too terrible, regular price was like $100 though.

Yeah, it's frequently on sale for around $60. Well worth it at that pricepoint in my book but YMMV.