Brews in the News is a section of our monthly print issues that takes a snapshot of what’s brewing in San Diego beer. Here’s the February 2012 edition:
WHAT’S DEAN UP TO?
San Diego Brewing Company head brewer crafting beers for CBC/World Beer Cup
On January 27th, Dean Rouleau’s “Double IPA Belgian Grand Cru” was born, and he plans on entering the beer at this year’s World Beer Cup held in San Diego. Rouleau steeped his creation in the mash tun using ten pounds of Cascade hops from local farm Star B Ranch, employed two different Belgian yeast strains, and will soon incorporate oak in some secret way. The expected release date for the public is currently unknown, but as soon as we know, so will you.
OUR BREWS IN OTHER NEWS
SD #14 on NY TIMES list of 45 travel destinations for 2012
Only four U.S. cities made the cut in the January 6th piece, three of which are in California (Oakland #5, Tahoe #30). Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Stone Brewing Company and Hess Brewing got nods on the beer-creation side, while bottle shop/tasting room duos Bottlecraft and the Pizza Port bottle shop were described as “staggeringly comprehensive.” Hamilton’s, O’Brien’s and Local Habit were rightfully denoted as “beer-obsessed.” San Diego’s home brewing roots were also referenced, as was San Diego Beer Week take four, coming in November.
MORE NATIONAL NODS
Draft Magazine Article Hits and Misses
On the cusp of its birthday, BLAH received its third consecutive nod in Draft Magazine’s annual “America’s 100 Best Beer Bars” write-up. The same article falsely stated that Hamilton’s (which made the list along with O’Brien’s) is “the oldest beer and wine bar in San Diego.” Prior to Hamilton’s opening in 2006, 1521 30th Street was Sparky’s; a long-time, divey neighborhood watering hole. The tavern’s website “about” section even states that it’s the “oldest beer and wine licensed location in San Diego.” Although the magazine mixed up its facts, we do agree with one thing– it’s one of the best places to drink craft beer in town. A big congrats to all three locations that made the 2012 list. (Note: Draft Magazine also failed to mention Bar Eleven as a “sister” location to Hamilton’s, stating only Small Bar and Monkey Paw as related pubs.)
COASTAL COLLABORATION
QUAFF and Widmer Brothers team up to brew Spiced IPA
A Spiced IPA recipe developed by members of San Diego homebrew club QUAFF is the fourth of five planned beers in the Rotator IPA series by Widmer Brothers Brewing, which marks the Portland brewery’s first nationally-released collaboration beer. Local homebrewers Paul Sangster and Chris Stawney brewed the winning recipe that was chosen in a blind tasting out of about 20 entries by QUAFF members. Spices used in this beer include malty Assam black tea, ginger, cinnamon, clove, star anise, black pepper, and cardamom. “The idea for this beer came from trying to integrate the interesting variety of spice flavors of chai tea with the fruity flavors of a West Coast style IPA,” Sangster said. The beer was first released to the public at 9 p.m. on January 30th at Blind Lady Ale House following a QUAFF-only event.
NEWEST ZEALAND
Owners of New Zealand-inspired Bare Back Bar & Grill open new Ocean Beach restaurant
From the team that’s behind Bare Back Bar & Grill’s downtown and Pacific Beach locations comes a new concept in Ocean Beach: Raglan Public House. Named after a similar beach town in New Zealand, the new restaurant/pub features recycled barn wood from the old Santee drive-in theatre, garage door windows onto Bacon St., great burgers, and a 24 tap lineup just steps from the OB Pier. Doors open in February (1851 Bacon Street).
CALI-CRAFTED
New brewpub coming to Pacific Beach
California Kebab, located on College Avenue across the street from SDSU, has been serving Doner Kebab-influenced flavors since 2009 along with a small but thoughtful craft beer selection. Now, they’re opening a new location, California Kebab and Brewpub, steps away from the Pacific Ocean at 4150 Mission Boulevard. Amplified Ale Works is the name of the brewing side of the operation, and Head Brewer and co-proprietor JC Hill says his 3 barrel system was one of the first sales of the newly-founded Portland Kettle Works in Oregon. Armed with two 7 barrel fermentors, Hill expects to fire up the kettle as soon as construction finishes; business partner Alex Pierson says that they’re hoping for a late February soft opening.
TASTING ROOM BOOM
Miramar-Sorrento brewery tract sees big changes
Moving from east to west: Ballast Point’s Scripps Ranch tasting room has undergone an extreme makeover, and a new tap tower is coming soon. AleSmith held a soft opening for their revamped Miramar tasting room on January 19th, and a grand opening party looks likely for late February. Rough Draft Brewing is hosting a soft opening some time in February at 8830 Rehco Road, and you must follow them on Facebook for a chance to score a ticket – UPDATE: Rough Draft announced on their Facebook that the grand opening is March 10th, 2011. The private invite-only party is the night before on March 9th. New English Brewing Co.’s tasting room opened January 26th just west of the 805’s Sorrento Valley Road. The Explorer ESB tastes great pumped from the cask.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO…
Karl Strauss Brewing Company (23)
Karl Strauss is celebrating its 23rd Anniversary with the 2nd annual Changing of the Barrels event on their actual anniversary, February 2nd. On that day, the 23rd Anniversary Old Ale goes on tap at all six Karl Strauss Brewery Restaurants and select beer bars in Southern California; 22oz bottles will be available early February.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO…
PubCakes (1)
Although Misty Birchall began delivering her tasty beer-infused cupcakes to local bars in 2009, it wasn’t until February 2011 that she moved into a storefront with Treehouse Coffee Co. in La Mesa. One year later, she’s celebrating with a beer garden on February 18th from 11a.m.- 5p.m. More details are available on the PubCakes blog.
HAPPY (BELATED) BIRTHDAY TO…
Blind Lady Ale House (3)
Blind Lady Ale House celebrated its 3rd Anniversary with a predictably odd and awesome six days worth of events. Besides commemorating the first beer it ever poured, Hangar 24, and, uh, upping the speed of a beer bar “crawl” to “Craft Beer Run,” BLAH also raffled off a prize package that includes sweatshirts, t-shirts and more, plus the only growler fills available of Automatic Brewing Company’s celebratory release, Three Speed Brown. All raffle ticket proceeds benefit Seeds at the City, the urban farm at City College.
GETTING THEIR FOOTING
Local homebrewers crafting Stumblefoot Brewing Co.
Bill Randolph and Pat Horton began as self-taught homebrewers about 10 years ago, and now they’re applying all the information they’ve learned over the years to open a new brewery in San Marcos. The Stumblefoot name “is a personification of the strides we have made in our brewing techniques,” according to their website, and Randolph said that “because we are building from scratch and scrap we are figuring out what else we need to pick up or make to improve the process (where application meets theory).” The brewers plan to craft some interesting beers, including “an original” Chipotle American Stout. When we know more about their tasting room opening, we’ll blog about it.
LIGHTNING STRIKES
Poway brewery picked up by distribution arm of Stone
Poway’s Lightning Brewery was picked up by the distribution arm of Stone Brewing Company in January. Stone also distributes locals Iron Fist, AleSmith, Port Brewing, The Lost Abbey, and Coronado within Southern California. On a side note, Lightning’s Old Tempest Ale has been re-named Old Tempestuous Ale following a cease and desist order from a winery. The beer is set for release in early February.
BEER WEEK BOOM
Data from San Diego beer’s biggest attraction
Surveys targeting out-of-towners during San Diego Beer Week showed a remarkable jump in hotel room stays over 2010’s figures. 1435 room nights, or $179,734 in additional hotel revenue was recorded in 2010, while 2011 saw 3612 room nights equalling $469,307 in additional revenue. VisionQuest, a professional survey company, compiled this data. Also, both the opening and closing events of Beer Week sold out, with 500 VIP tickets and more than 2,800 general admission tickets sold for the Guild Festival; 450 tickets were sold for the Beer Garden closing event at The Lodge at Torrey Pines.