Thanks for sticking with us while we took a little holiday break. Give us a few weeks to repopulate our calendar with events and to get this blog back on its regular schedule. Here is some beer news gathered over the holidays. Only four days in, it’s apparent that 2012 is going to be a MASSIVE YEAR for San Diego beer!
The Sun Also Rises
Our good friend, culinary wizard, and fellow Toronado barfly Brandon Brooks is leaving his roost at Ritual Tavern to pursue a new venture: SOL Markets (SOL = Seasonal, Organic, Local). He’ll partner up with a small team and the market will open in Liberty Station in the coming months. And yes, there will be beer in the form of a tasting bar. We’ll keep you posted once things develop. More info from our beer and food writer Brandon Hernandez can be found here.
Liberty Stationed
Speaking of Liberty Station: Slaters 50/50, Oggi’s, Tender Greens, and Sammy’s are already open and serving craft beer. SOL and Stone are set to open this year. Bear witness to the birth of a formidable craft beer destination.
Smoke Signals
The smokey sandwich chain from Arizona opened a franchise location near SDSU last year. Now, they have taps. I’m heading over to check this place out in the next few days, but serving local beer to college students is brilliant. If I owned a brewery, I would be very interested in serving my product to this demographic. Get ’em hooked early!
From Riches to Raglan
From the proprietors of the successful and classy New Zealand-themed Bareback Bar and Grill restaurants comes the Raglan Public House. Named after an iconic Kiwi beach town, this restaurant is set to open in around three weeks on the corner of Niagara and Bacon in Ocean Beach. We actually got scooped by Kiwi publication The Marlborough Express (the owners of Raglan requested back issues to adorn the walls). Read more, here.
Trading Up
Also in Ocean Beach, Sea Trader is vying for craft beer customers. The small liquor store has been working diligently to beef up their bottle selection over the past few months. If you’re wondering what that means: I just picked up a bottle of Alpine Duet, St. Feuillien/Green Flash Brewing’s Biere de L’amitié, and Port Brewing/De Proefbrouwerij Signature Ale. If you’re in the area looking for bottled brew, we suggest you check them out. Sea Trader is also right around the corner from staunch local craft beer supporters Olive Tree Market & Tasting Room. Between those two shops you can really do some damage. Please be sure to tell them West Coaster sent you!
Barrels of Fun
Karl Strauss is hosting their 23rd Anniversary party on February 2nd dubbed Changing of the Barrels. We went to last years and it was AWESOME. Great industry mixer with Karl’s finest brews alongside munchies. See pictures from last years event here, and buy tickets here.
West Coastin’
February will be our 12 in ’12 issue, and March will be our Ladies of Local Beer issue. These are monster issues that were wildly successful and popular (PDF) last year. Feel free to whisper in our ears with recommendations! Leave a comment below or email me mike@westcoastersd.com.
That’s all for now. Welcome to 2012