The San Diego area thread

[arren]

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.



^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.

Coffee from different regions has different profiles. You can have some jammy fruity funky deals from Africa, or have some coffee flavored coffee from South America if that's more what you're into.

Also at some point you realize that just because a coffee shop offers fancy coffees doesn't mean they're good at it. I've stopped getting pourovers from Dark Horse because their baristas have disappointed me hard twice.

 

[SerenityNow]

#TalkCoffee time! I make coffee by Chemex, V60, Aeropress, French Press, Espresso, and Vaccuum Siphon. Love my Bonavita kettle variable temp. A no brainer way to quickly achieve a variety of temps required by different coffee brewing approaches (Aeropress brews can be lower in temp than Chemex, V60).

I’ve tried grinding for a while on a relatively cheap Black & Decker burr grinder, but it’s not uniform enough & can’t get fine enough for espresso. Kyocera hand grinder is portable (good for camping etc) but a damn pain in the ass. I am really liking the Rancilio Rocky doserless grinder in terms of uniformity, but it’s huge and messy (for me because I probably am screwing up somehow). I still have a lot to learn but its a fun obsession for me.

Can’t make a decent espresso yet. It’s the hardest off all the methods I’ve tried. I can’t tell if my espresso machine just really sucks or I’m getting the grind size wrong. Currently, takes way too long to pull a shot.

 

[Tyrsis]

Shuffleboard table is up at NPBC. Dartboards next week. Foosball TBD

The shuffleboard table is nice as ****
Come get owned, nerds

 

[souredstouts]

#TalkCoffee time! I make coffee by Chemex, V60, Aeropress, French Press, Espresso, and Vaccuum Siphon. Love my Bonavita kettle variable temp. A no brainer way to quickly achieve a variety of temps required by different coffee brewing approaches (Aeropress brews can be lower in temp than Chemex, V60).

I’ve tried grinding for a while on a relatively cheap Black & Decker burr grinder, but it’s not uniform enough & can’t get fine enough for espresso. Kyocera hand grinder is portable (good for camping etc) but a damn pain in the ass. I am really liking the Rancilio Rocky doserless grinder in terms of uniformity, but it’s huge and messy (for me because I probably am screwing up somehow). I still have a lot to learn but its a fun obsession for me.

Can’t make a decent espresso yet. It’s the hardest off all the methods I’ve tried. I can’t tell if my espresso machine just really sucks or I’m getting the grind size wrong. Currently, takes way too long to pull a shot.

How much have you played around with the grind size? Also, how full is your porta filter? The best is to go to smart and final or Vons or somewhere where you can get cheap beans and mess around from there. Once you have it dialed in, get better beans but you may want to increase the grind size a little bit. I have found that fresher roasted beans like a larger grind than older beans when pulling a shot.

 

[blackzag05]

I wanna shuffle

Shuffleboard table is up at NPBC. Dartboards next week. Foosball TBD

The shuffleboard table is nice as ****
Come get owned, nerds

 

[blackzag05]

Black Plague puts on skate shows and live bands inside the brewery all the time.

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).

 

[DannyFullpint]

Shuffleboard table is up at NPBC. Dartboards next week. Foosball TBD

The shuffleboard table is nice as ****
Come get owned, nerds

ENOUGH OF YOUR BEER TALK.

 

[LSUPT]

Black Plague puts on skate shows and live bands inside the brewery all the time.

Nice. Good to know if I make it up there. Almost every brewery I went to in North Carolina has a stage of some type or another. I'm just surprised more breweries out here don't have them. I'm sure zoning, noise ordinances and whatnot make it more difficult here.

 

[Sebowski1]

Nice. Good to know if I make it up there. Almost every brewery I went to in North Carolina has a stage of some type or another. I'm just surprised more breweries out here don't have them. I'm sure zoning, noise ordinances and whatnot make it more difficult here.

I don't think the city of San Diego has given a brewery a cabaret license yet. Oceanside has.

 

[Tyrsis]

ENOUGH OF YOUR BEER TALK.

Nah you're right, let's get back to coffee talk

Only plebs use a burr grinder. I run my beans through a grist mill in a windmill that is powered by the San Diego river.

Then, I don't actually drink them like some sort of peasant. I just snort three feet lines of that **** off the back of the Columbian who picked them.

Once I poop it out, I freeze it and resell it as Kopi Luwak.

 

[sdreaper]

FWIBF tickets acquired. Booked room at the Adelaide months ago, before they started doing their 3 night minimum.

 

[arren]

How much have you played around with the grind size? Also, how full is your porta filter? The best is to go to smart and final or Vons or somewhere where you can get cheap beans and mess around from there. Once you have it dialed in, get better beans but you may want to increase the grind size a little bit. I have found that fresher roasted beans like a larger grind than older beans when pulling a shot.

Generally a good idea, but as you get further into coffee you realize that every single specific bean has their own sweet spot that you'll need to dial in. Eventually you'll find a recipe/process that goes well for 90% of all beans, but every so often you'll find a coffee that doesn't match that recipe. I actually prefer coarser grinds in older beans, because it tends to cut down the bitterness and brightens up the coffee a bit.

I mean essentially, as long as you know the basics of the coffee extraction process, you're good:

Overextracted = bitter
Underextracted = sour
Finer grind = extract more
Higher temp = extract more
Coarser grind = extract less
Lower temp =extract less

 

[Tyrsis]

FWIBF tickets acquired. Booked room at the Adelaide months ago, before they started doing their 3 night minimum.

If they start doing three nights, I ain't staying there. **** that ****.
But yeah, got tix

 

[SerenityNow]

How much have you played around with the grind size? Also, how full is your porta filter? The best is to go to smart and final or Vons or somewhere where you can get cheap beans and mess around from there. Once you have it dialed in, get better beans but you may want to increase the grind size a little bit. I have found that fresher roasted beans like a larger grind than older beans when pulling a shot.

Still playing with it. Heard 0-10 was good on a Rancilio Rocky, so tried setting 5. Next time will try coarser in case I’m grinding too fine. Tried different amounts in my portafilter. 17g is hard to load with the Rocky without spilling. I tried 14g and had a good shot with older beans, and then 2 bad shots with newer beans! So, maybe everything points to coarser grinds needed.

 

[reverseapachemaster1]

Nah you're right, let's get back to coffee talk

Only plebs use a burr grinder. I run my beans through a grist mill in a windmill that is powered by the San Diego river.

Then, I don't actually drink them like some sort of peasant. I just snort three feet lines of that **** off the back of the Columbian who picked them.

Once I poop it out, I freeze it and resell it as Kopi Luwak.

*Colombian

 

[SerenityNow]

I just snort three feet lines of that **** off the back of the Columbian who picked them..

I prefer Ethiopians

 

[drbenzo1]

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).

Endcastle played at both Aztec and Iron Fist in the last two weeks... fwiw... and I saw them at Booze Brothers last year.

 

[chemman141]

FWIBF tickets acquired. Booked room at the Adelaide months ago, before they started doing their 3 night minimum.

Wow, it's insane just how BADLY the hotels gouge for this fest. It's honestly shameful and full shitlord status.

 

[sdreaper]

Wow, it's insane just how BADLY the hotels gouge for this fest. It's honestly shameful and full shitlord status.

Welp....could be worse. Prices could be comiccon levels of insane.

 

[chemman141]

Welp....could be worse. Prices could be comiccon levels of insane.

Those are somehow worse? Wow, at least that is in SD and not ****** ass Paso Robles.

 

[Xul1]

I tried 14g and had a good shot with older beans, and then 2 bad shots with newer beans! So, maybe everything points to coarser grinds needed.

Older beans are going to pull a different shot from newer beans. The advice of using old beans isn't bad from the standpoint of practicing the mechanics of pulling shots - tamp and rough dosage - but you're going to have to re-dial it in when you load up new beans. My advice is to find a blend you like for espresso and stick with it, and yeah, you're unfortunately going to run through some beans the first time you really dial it in. You'll still have to make minor tweaks from time to time but once you've got it more or less dialed in, you mostly won't pull bad shots aside from human error.

 

[Original Fake]

FWIBF tickets acquired. Booked room at the Adelaide months ago, before they started doing their 3 night minimum.

I knew I wouldn't be able to go so I didn't bother booking a room before I left last year. That's pretty ridiculous.

 

[Tyrsis]

Aw shiiiiiiet, Roustabout is on.
Time for a Societe trip.

 

[rcubed1]

Aw shiiiiiiet, Roustabout is on.
Time for a Societe trip.

I know! I'm long over due for one anyway.

 

[drbenzo1]

Aw shiiiiiiet, Roustabout is on.
Time for a Societe trip.

According to Untappd I haven’t had any in 3 years... I don’t believe that... love that beer

 

[arren]

Aw shiiiiiiet, Roustabout is on.
Time for a Societe trip.

Keep forgetting how close my work is to that place. I think a lunch is in order there this week.

 

[smithj21541]

Man I wish that place was easier to get to from Canada. drbenzo road trip this weekend??

 

[drbenzo1]

Man I wish that place was easier to get to from Canada. drbenzo road trip this weekend??

I am actually driving to Santee for a party Friday afternoon... may stop in. Do they fill growlers? I could bring one back

 

[smithj21541]

Not sure but I can drop you mine tomorrow just in case.

I remember them doing 1l fills in the past. Anyone confirm?

 

[smithj21541]

http://www.wweek.com/bars/bar-revie...-brewery-pours-good-beer-at-very-high-prices/
Raises some interesting points. But the understanding I have is they are using that as a production facility for the pacnw so tasting room sales would seem to be a bonus for them rather than a primary source of income.

Edit: link added