Newly-charted Territory
We now distribute to over 90 locations in San Diego County. No matter what part of town you are in, there’s San Diego beer there. Newest distribution spots? Hoffer’s Cigar Bar in La Mesa, Press Box Sports Lounge near Jamul, Stadium Sports Lounge, Lumberyard Tavern & Grill in Encinitas, and Picadilly Market in Poway. Got suggestions on great craft beer spots? Call our hotline at 619.796.5719
New staff
We’ve been quiet because we have been busy interviewing and training our recent new hires. We’re positively delighted to have Brandon Hernández on board as the newest WC Staff Writer. Look for Brandon to raise our level of editorial quality as he draws on experience working for Celebrator, Pacific San Diego Magazine & the Food Network, amongst others. Brandon’s work will appear in March’s West Coaster.
Also on board is Austin Gage, who is our new Advertising Executive. Austin is an old friend who has the gift of gab and experience as a salesman for Time Warner. If you own a business related to craft beer in the San Diego area, expect a phone call from Austin. If you think we can help your business, please advertise.
Matt Akin moves to La Jolla Brew House
One of the AleSmith greats is now head brewer for the storied La Jolla Brew House. We’re going to give him some time to brew something before we grill him with questions. Another talented brewer arrives at LJBH, and we are hopeful that good beer will ensue. Any restaurant that serves pretzels as big as your head, has a dog friendly patio with sweet couches, and brews decent (and improving) beer is cool with us. While opinions of LJBH are varied, we at West Coaster maintain that LJBH has the potential to be a fantastic craft beer location. (You can get what’s left of Travis Smith’s beer for $2 a pint until it runs out)
White Labs expanding
We ran into Chris White of White Labs last week while distributing. Breaking ground in ~2 weeks, the new White Labs expansion off Kerney Villa will allow for 5 times more yeast production and should be open by June. There will be a public tasting space, and on-site workshops and homebrewing classes will be open to the public. Look for WC Staff Writer Sam Tierney to tell you more in the March issue.
Coaster Saloon adds taps
Already boasting a decent local craft beer selection, West Coaster learned that the iconic Coaster Saloon will be adding 12 (mostly local) taps. After a few (dozen) rides on the rickety Dipper, nothing goes down smoother than some cold San Diego flavor. Alongside Luigi’s & Sandbar, Mission Beach now enjoys a budding little craft brew scene along with its blissfully sterotypical West Coast lifestyle.
Exponentially Hoppier
On Friday we traveled to the most Eastern outpost of local craft beer, Alpine Brewing Company. The ~30 minute trip requires a pulled pork sandwich and a glass of one of the finest IPAs this county can produce. Last Friday’s distribution run was planned, however. The big, mean Exponential Hoppiness was being released. While dining, Alpine brewer and fellow North Parker Cy Henley came and said hello. I asked him what made this run of Expo different, and he replied that this batch was less heavy on the oak with more hop flavor. He also said it was his favorite batch of Expo in recent memory, and we’re in accord. Did you know it’s also available in bombers? We didn’t.
PubCakes
We wrote about the new PubCakes/Treehouse Coffee Co. storefront in our February issue, and the Grand Opening party on Saturday did not disappoint. Around 3pm, about 50 people were walking in and out of the beer garden stationed next door, with more having arrived earlier. As we reached the cash register, owner Misty Birchall told me, “I ran out! And I made 600!” Misty even had to limit customers to 1 PubCake per person. If you’re looking for that perfect beer-related Valentine’s Day gift, the 7229 El Cajon Blvd. storefront right off the 8 highway (70th Street exit) will be open from 7am-4pm Tuesday-Saturday.