Kegs have been hoarded, tap lines cleaned, and lineups finalized. It’s go time in the San Diego beer world. Lots of hard work has gone into this 6th incarnation of the 10 day confederation of beer events that is San Diego Beer Week. With 20+ events on the first day alone, tough decisions must be made as to which events will be attended.
As much as my soul wishes to taste all of the beers at all of the places during SDBW, my liver is the one that has to deal with all the alcohol. Plus, drunk driving sucks. I’m limiting myself to three events a day max, with an emphasis on trying tasty, new things. Here’s what I came up with:
11/7 Friday
Stone Rare Beer Breakfast @ Stone Brewing Co. Escondido
Whale hunters will be pleased with the offerings from Crooked Stave, Russian River, Firestone Walker and much more. $65 gets you fifteen 3oz tasters, an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, a cool taster glass and more.
Urge Beer Run: Day 2
The guys from Urge road tripped from San Diego to Seattle, packing the RV with treats from breweries along the West Coast. With beers you just don’t see coming on tap from Oregon & Washington, this is a good stop for beer tickers looking to try something new.
Guild Fest: VIP Brewer Takeover
One of the three official Brewers Guild events for SDBW, the VIP Brewer Takeover on Saturday evening is not to be missed. There’s a good chance you’ll get to say hello to your favorite brewer and the tap list is pretty solid. I’m going to taste Queen of Tarts by Karl Strauss, Green Flash’s Hammie’s 8th Anniversary Wheat Wine & the 12th Anniversary Sour Pale Ale, Twisted Manzanita’s Serenity, Rip Current’s IIIIPA, and New English’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Brown. I’m also looking forward to checking out all the newer breweries as they’re anxious to show off on their 1st Beer Week. Tickets are $75 for unlimited tasting of food and beer.
11/8 Saturday
San Diego Brewers Guild Festival
The largest of the three official San Diego Brewers Guild events of SDBW, this will be a snapshot for the current state of San Diego Beer with unlimited tastings from over 50 SD-county breweries. My personal favorites on the list include Electrocution by Amplified Ales and Stone Liberty Station’s Witty Moron. I’ll be looking to try beer from newcomers 32 North, Bagby, Dos Desperados, Fallbrook, Prodigy, Toolbox and Urbn St.
NorCal Beer Night @ Hamilton’s Tavern
Hammies is orchestrating a massive taplist with lots of Northern California beers you just don’t see much of down South. Marin Brewing, CellarMaker, Social Kitchen, Magnolia, Moonlight, Moylan’s, Iron Springs and many more will be on tap.
11/9 Sunday
Green Flash Smokeout @ Carnitas Snack Shack
The realm of tasty that is Carnitas Snack Shack is hosting the 6th Annual Green Flash Smokeout. Green Flash will have Chuck Silva & Dave Adams curating on hand to talk about Green Flash happenings and any of the beers on tap. The food will be killer. This one will put you in the right place for our next event pick:
The World’s Biggest Bottle Share on 30th Street
I love DrinkAbout and I love bottleshares. This is a hybrid of those two things taking place in the greater North Park area. A bus will connect Polite Provisions, Ritual Kitchen & Beer Garden, Waypoint Public, Bluefoot, Brabant, Station Tavern, Alchemy, and Hamilton’s. $20 gets you a t-shirt, bus access from 12P-6P and a commemorative taster glass. Bring a few bottles to share with friends new and old while enjoying discounts at each of the stops. Cool new concept from the South Park Business Association.
11/10 Monday
Fishing with the Brewers @ Fathom Bistro
The pub on the pier is getting together some friends and going fishin’. For $70, you get a fishing pole with hooks, weights and bait that are yours to keep. You also get breakfast, lunch and a t-shirt, too. Cast lines and hang out with Adam Avery of Avery Brewing, Chuck Silva of Green Flash, Jamie Floyd from Ninkasi, Bear Republic’s Richard Norgrove, AleSmith’s Bill Batten and Yuseff Cherney of Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits. Beers from each of the respective brewery will be on tap, and the view is awesome.
Brews, Views and Chews @ Tom Ham’s Lighthouse
Across the bay, the iconic Tom Ham’s Lighthouse is hosting a mini-festival including another fantastic view of San Diego. $40 gets you tasters from Ballast Point, Lost Abbey, New English, Ironfire and Acoustic Ales with food from Hanis Calivn (Carnitas Snack Shack), Lance Repp (Tom Ham’s), Chad White (Comun Kitchen) and Don Morales (Bali Hai). There will be live music and a silent action also.
Modern Times Tasting @ SD TapRoom
TapRoom is arguably the most San Diego proud bar with a well curated local-centric taplist to boot. Modern Times is one of my favorite breweries at the moment, and their newer beers like Universal Friend and Aurora have been bold and delicious – complimenting their sessionable core lineup nicely. Starts at 8PM.
11/11 Tuesday
Full Table by Benchmark Brewing Co.
We’re big fans of Matt Akin and Benchmark Brewing. Their subtle but skillfully brewing style is no better explained than by a sip of their core offering Table Beer. For this event, there will be a dozen different variants of Table Beer. This is a great way to taste how things like switching the yeast or barrel aging affect a beer. Flights of 6 are $12 and individual tasters are $2. Benchmark is very close to Groundswell Brewing and San Diego Brewing Company, both worthy of a visit afterwards.
Ice Cream Float Night @ Tap That Tap Room
Tap That will have a full selection of beers ready to be augmented with a scoop of ice cream. You can’t go wrong with beer floats with Karl Strauss’ Peanut Butter Porter and Belching Beaver’s Peanut Butter Stout. Tap That also has bottles and kegs to go, so if your fridge or kegerator needs a SDBW-reload you can do that, too.
11/12 Wednesday
Crushed & Karl’d Brunch
Pacific Beach’s Karl Strauss is bringing beer for brunch at the new Crushed on Garnett Avenue. Making great use of the old Ciro’s draft system right out of the gate, this new spot is a promising addition to the rapidly expanding Pacific Beach Better Beer Circuit. Brewmaster Paul Segura will be in attendance. Crushed is an easy walk to Tap Room, Barrel Republic, Iron Pig and Amplified, also.
Pizza Port Showdown @ Sublime Ale House
Sublime is putting beers from all SD-county Pizza Ports on tap and pitting them against one another. Taste beers from Nacho Cervantes (Ocean Beach), Devon Randall (Solana Beach), Sean Farrell (Bressi Ranch) and Mike Abuchon (Carlsbad) and vote for your favorites. The winner gets a trophy and beers the beers organized into four categories: Hoppy, Belgian, Dark and Brewers Choice. Beers on tap include: Bacon & Eggs, May the Port Be With You, Barrel Aged Export Stout and Fresh Hop Grapefruit Tap.
11/13 Thursday
Nickel Beer Night @ West Coast BBQ
Nickel Beer Co. owner and West Coast BBQ co-owner Tom Nickel makes some quality beer out of Julian. This is a great way to taste a few of his beers and eat some BBQ from West Coast’s huge smoker. Smoked Beer Cheese plates and Hot Links available for munching.
No Border: Craft Beer & Tacos with Insurgente Brewing @ Tacos Perla
From Tijuana to North Park, Cerveceria Insurgente will be on tap at Tacos Perla. The two brothers Ivan and Damien Morales have been very busy since we featured them in our August 2011 issue of West Coaster (check out our archives: https://archives.csusm.edu/westcoastersd/editorial). Baja beer has been growing at an incredible pace, and this is one of the breweries we’re most excited about south of the border.
Love Your Mother Earth Brewer @ Ritual Kitchen & Tavern
Farm to table pub Ritual will host Vista’s Mother Earth Brew Co.’s Kamron Khannakhjavani for a beer pairing dinner. Mother Earth’s beer has been tasting really good lately, and Ritual Tavern is the perfect setting for a low key beer dinner.
11/14 Friday
Ballast Point Tap Takeover @ The High Dive
The friendly neighborhood pub High Dive has for years been Ballast Point Home Brew Mart’s break room. Owner Ingrid also recently married BP’s brewmaster Yuseff Cherney. Both of these things mean that you can expect the best from Ballast Point’s beers and spirits to be available: check out a list: http://www.highdivesd.com/events/sdbw-ballast/
Council Brewing Progressive Tart Saison Night @ Council Brewing Co.
One of San Diego’s newest and most promising breweries will be rotating on kegs of their low-ABV, high flavor Tart Saison. Variants include Mango, Pomegranate and Nelson-hopped.
Meeting of the Guilds @ Toronado
Featuring beers from the San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco Guilds, this is a great chance to taste beer from our Northern friends. Ladyface, Strand, El Segundo, Eagle Rock and more will be representing Los Angeles. San Francisco will be represented by Magnolia, Thirsty Bear, Almanac along with several others. Plenty of San Diego beer, too, but for this one I’ll be trying to tick off new beers on Untappd.
11/15 Saturday
The Bruery Secret Stash @ The Joint
There’s lots of good beer in Ocean Beach these days. Plan to spend some time in the neighborhood and start with The Joint, a funky Spanish / Japanese restaurant that will be serving up rare beers from The Bruery on Saturday. Afterwards, check out the new Culture Brewing Co. tasting room and don’t forget to see what neighbors Raglan, OB Noodlehouse II, and Pizza Port are serving. After your OB beer day, take a unsober selfie on the pier and send it in to us.
East County Hop On, Hop Off Brew Bus
This is a great way to easily check out what East County’s brewing scene is all about. Organized by Urbn Street Brewing Co., a bus will run from 5-10PM and visit BNS Brewing & Distilling, Twisted Manzanita Ales, Main Tap Tavern in addition to Urbn St. The bus is free.
Barrel Republic 1st Year Anniversary
The one-of-a-kind, pour-it-yourself beer bar is going insane all SDBW, but on the final Saturday of Beer Week Barrel Republic is celebrating their 1st Anniversary. The concept is cool and there will be more good beer available then you can shake a Willi Becher at. With loads of proper glassware, you can taste beer at your own pace and in whatever quantity you prefer. Beers on tap will include Telegraph Brewing Co. Rhinoceros 2012, Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Velvet Merkin aged in Tequila Barrels, Hangar 24 Craft Brewery Pugachev’s Cobra 2013 and more.
11/16 Sunday
The Beer Garden @ The Lodge at Torrey Pines
In years past, the official closing event of San Diego Beer Week has been a one-stop shop for the finest in SD beer and food in an absolutley stunning setting. With 24 breweries and 12 restaurants being showcased on the edge of Torrey Pines Golf Course, this is a worthy finishing act for the previous 10 days. https://www.sdbw.org/event-info/10-the-beer-garden
November is also our 4th Anniversary at West Coaster. We launched during Beer Week 2010, and this post has photos and covers from the past four years. Don’t forget to check out our November 2014 issue online or in print. Thank you very much for reading!
