{"id":3398,"date":"2011-12-09T12:56:47","date_gmt":"2011-12-09T20:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=3398"},"modified":"2011-12-11T20:27:38","modified_gmt":"2011-12-12T04:27:38","slug":"the-friday-five-5q-w-nickie-pena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2011\/12\/09\/the-friday-five-5q-w-nickie-pena\/","title":{"rendered":"The Friday Five: 5Q w\/ Nickie Pe\u00f1a"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nickie Pe\u00f1a currently works at the Stone Brewing Company Store in Escondido and just recently completed her tour of duty as an SDSU intern with West Coaster. <\/em>So, today, our industry member five question-interview is with her. Thank you Nickie!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Nickie at the Brewers Guild Festival<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What are your top 3 Stone Beers?<\/strong>
\nI find it a little concerning how much I get asked this question since I\u2019ve been a Stone Brewing Co. employee. It\u2019s really hard to pick beer favorites or top choices in a single category. I don\u2019t have children, but it has to be on the same level as picking a favorite child. Almost all of Stone\u2019s beers have something to offer based on their ingredients. To help me combat this question (or some form of it), I created categories. My desert island beer<\/em> is Stone Ruination IPA. Seriously, I can drink this beer anytime. The best pairing beer<\/em> is Stone Smoked Porter. Because you can match this beer with vanilla beans, chipotle peppers, BBQ or simply just another Stone beer, it definitely deserves this title. My favorite style of beer<\/em> from all Stone brews is any recipe that has been double-dry hopped. Hops are amazing. I mean really, what else can I say?<\/p>\n

Craft beer businesses to watch in 2012?<\/strong>
\nI can\u2019t really say there\u2019s a specific business I will be watching, but I definitely will be keeping an eye on Jeff Bagby — if you\u2019re reading this right now Bagby, I apologize in advance for appearing somewhat creepy. But really, who wouldn\u2019t be excited about a recent GABF award-winning brewer starting his own brewery? He’s set the bar quite high for himself, so it’ll be interesting to see how his “personal brews” stack up.<\/p>\n

\n

Beer-y New Years resolutions? (i.e. new beers to try, new places to visit)<\/strong>
\nHaha, I can\u2019t really say I have one. However, I have decided to display a year-round festive tree in my house. The decorations will be based on all the new breweries I plan to visit or different beers I will have tried throughout 2012. As I go, I will add a new coaster, rare beer bottle cap or just a random beer artifact to my tree. By the end of the year, my tree\u2019s ornaments will be complete. Plus, it might be the end of the world as we know it, but I\u2019ll feel fine…<\/p>\n

What craft beer trends have you noticed recently?<\/strong>
\nLately, and possibly because of SDBW 2011, I have noticed a lot more beer and food pairing events being held throughout San Diego at places like Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, The Lodge, Firefly at the Dana and even the Handlery Hotel. These are great! It\u2019s an awesome way for the hospitality\/restaurant business to merge with SD\u2019s growing craft beer industry and put on exceptional events. However, I have to complain about all the meat-loaded meals I\u2019ve come across. If I had the beer and fresh food ingredients available to me, I\u2019d put on a killer vegetarian beer pairing. Plus, I\u2019m not alone. I\u2019m sure other vegetarian craft brew enthusiasts would appreciate more meat-free events!<\/p>\n

\n

Your new favorite spot? Or your favorite \u201clocals only\u201d spot?<\/strong>
\nHonestly, because of you \u201cWest Coaster<\/em> dudes,\u201d URGE American Gastropub in Rancho Bernardo has become one of my favorite places to visit. Every time I make it into this place, I\u2019m impressed by their tap list. They seem to have awesome connections with their craft beer accounts. Plus, I\u2019m consistently satisfied with their service. Together, a great tap list and good atmosphere are always a perfect combination for satisfying locals in the area. Including this great joint, Churchill\u2019s Pub & Grille would definitely be considered a \u201clocals only\u201d spot. Again, I love that this establishment is very close to home for myself and other coworkers. At nearly every occasion, their tap menu is different from the previous visit. Churchill\u2019s frequently brings in regulars and locals, like myself, by delivering a great beer selection and friendly service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nickie Pe\u00f1a currently works at the Stone Brewing Company Store in Escondido and just recently completed her tour of duty as an SDSU intern with West Coaster. So, today, our industry member five question-interview is with her. Thank you Nickie! What are your top 3 Stone Beers? I find it a little concerning how much […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-san-diego-beer-beverage-news","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdtr4y-SO","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3398\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}