San Diego Beer Blog

After a heated soccer match there’s nothing I like more than opening up a quality ale and drinking it while cooling down. Today was a double header, picking up a couple of beers was a requirement. I wanted something a little different, I took my time and reviewed the stock at the liquor store. Lots of Belgium beers I’ve never had, a couple interesting looking East Coast labels, but nothing really caught my eye. Left Coast IPA? Hmmmmmmmmmm.

This IPA represents the West Coast with high honors and continues to build its presence throughout Southern California… Intensely bold hop flavors define this American-style India Pale Ale. Five different types of hops and imported English malts are used to maximize flavor and create fresh hop flavor and aroma. It is double dry-hopped in both the fermenter and serving tank to please any hop-head. Hop Drinkers, get ready, get set, go!

We have a winner! I grab a couple of bottles and head out.

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Alesmith X Extra Pale Ale is an outstanding example of a pale ale brewed here in San Diego by the masters at Alesmith. This hazy golden beer is 5.5% alcohol, hopped perfectly and absolutely delicious. I consume this brew on a regular basis.

American Pale Ale (APA) is a style of American beer based at least originally on beers of the British pale ale tradition. They are pale to amber in color and generally their flavor and aroma is centered around the citrusy and pine character of American hops with caramel-like malt flavors and fruity esters from the ale yeast playing a supporting role. The style evolved in tandem with a renewed interest in ales and the insurgence of microbreweries in the United States which brought about a new focus on American hops.
- Wikipedia American Pale Ale

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Driving up to Big Bear, I noticed a sign I’ve never seen before “Fresh Beer Brewed Here - 866-BEER”. Wait? There’s a brewery up in Big Bear? How did I not know this? Needless to say, I had to check it out before I went back home. It took a little convincing to get the crew interested in heading out, but I was able to wrangle a couple of guys for the mission.

Big Bear Mountain Brewery is located at 40260 Big Bear Blvd, 92315 in a large light yellow building. It’s hard to miss if you know it’s there, it’s the only yellow building in the area.

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The San Diego beer scene took a bit of a hit when the Liars’ Club closed its doors late last year. We were shocked and saddened by the news. Lots of rumors are floating around as to the exact reason it happened, but we won’t get into that here. The good news, they’ve reopened into a much larger, much nicer location in Alpine.

Last night Jorge, Gretty and I dared the drive out 8 East about 630pm. There was light traffic and we made it from my driveway (La Mesa) to parked in the back of their lot in under 15 minutes! I’ve spent over 15 minutes looking for parking at the old location.

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The Stone 11th Anniversary Ale does not disappoint. Weighing in at a hefty 8.7% you may assume it’s too big for your likings, don’t judge this beer by the numbers. The 11th Anniversary carefully balances many flavors to come up with a very enjoyable beer.

“The inspiration for making a Black IPA (or should we say “India Black Ale/ IBA”?) has been over a year in the making. As soon as we wrapped up the brewing of the Stone 10th Anniversary IPA, we started brainstorming ideas for the Stone 11th Anniversary Ale, and the Black IPA concept was born. This was a challenging brew to formulate and achieve what we considered the ideal flavor balance of intense up-front hops with balanced roasted malt flavors, a deep, rich flavor, and a hearty bitterness…”
Mitch Steele
Stone Head Brewer

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Whatever could go wrong, went absolutely horribly wrong. The Linkery’s entryway is full of their positive reviews and various awards they have received. This review will not be among them.

Somehow I knew that this night wasn’t going to be entirely enjoyable. Before heading to G’s house I had to make a pit-stop at the local ATM. I pull up to the machine, slip my card in, and press the “English” button. Then I wait, nothing happens. Hit “Cancel” nothing. “Spanish”, nada. The machine was completely locked up, thank you Diebold (and these idiots run our election?)!! After waiting for the system to timeout, the machine finally ejects my card. Onward to dinner…

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O’Briens Pub is our favorite place to grab some unique beers and excellent food. It’s not exactly a sports bar but they do show many soccer tournaments and Chargers games on their wide array of TVs. The large outdoor patio is the perfect spot to enjoy your food & beer while hanging out with your furry friends. Their massive bottle list and extensive tap selection boggles the mind.

Gretchen and I head here at least twice a month (sometimes more), our last visit was for the Chargers vs Packers game. The bar was about 60% full for the game with almost everyone cheering for the Chargers (minus Gretchen and some random old dude).

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The Mission Beach Liars’ Club is no more, check out the new Alpine location: Liars’ Club Alpine Tavern and Grill.

The Liars’ Club is one of San Diego’s premier beer related establishments. Located in Mission Beach about 100 yards from the Pacific Ocean it is the perfect place to enjoy a couple of beers and some delicious food while wandering around the beach or before a show.

On this particular Friday night Jorge and I were going to Canes (wow, that place sucks) for a Wolf Parade & Holy Fuck event.

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Great Success! After the issues that plagued their 8th anniversary celebration I haven’t returned to this Stone annual event. Time heals all wounds and I’m very happy to announce that Stone had a fantastic event. There was no line longer than 3 people and most of the breweries were on point. The free beer on the bus was an added bonus.

Jorge, Rhawnie, Gretchen and I joined up with 50 of our closest friends at O’Briens bright and early Saturday morning. After 30 minutes of Tom calling the laggers we were off on our great adventure.

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