Summer Travel - San Diego

Summer is rapidly approaching, we have had our first 100 degree day in Phoenix and more are on their way. If you are like the typical Valley resident, thoughts are turning to how to cool off during June, July and August. Typically, I prefer to stock my fridge with great beer, shut all the blinds and hide from the heat for three months. It appears that not everybody likes that method of surviving the heat. Some of you like to get out of Phoenix for a few days or weeks. The only problem is figuring out where to go, and where are you going to find great beer when you get there. I want to spend some time looking at great summer destinations and give you some idea how to make a little beer holiday out of it.

San Diego, which bills itself as “America’s Finest City”, certainly has some of America’s finest beer. Known for top notch breweries and great beer bars, and average high temperatures around 77 in the summer, there is plenty to do for a craft beer fan. All of San Diego County is a tourist hot spot in the summer, and good beer is available everywhere.

Assuming you make the drive in on Interstate 8, just as you leave the Cleveland National Forest, you will come upon the town of Alpine, and just south of the Interstate in Alpine, you will find Alpine Brewing. These guys make a variety of great beers, but are renowned for their IPAs . And why not? Year round selections include Pure Hoppiness and Duet, but if you can find Exponential Hoppiness, Nelson (a golden Rye IPA featuring the Nelson Sauvin hop out of New Zealand) or O’Brien’s IPA, you have a real treat. Pick up a couple of growlers for your room.

Once settled in you can find great breweries everywhere. Head up to the North County area in San Marcos to check out Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey. A quick drive north on the Escondido Freeway and then west on Ronald Packard to San Marcos will get you to the brewery located just off the Packard Parkway. Your best bet is to go Friday after 4:00 PM or Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Tours are informal and last about 20 minutes, but the tasting room is a great place to hang out, the staff are friendly and the beer is some of the best available. Say hello to Terri and Sage who help staff the tasting room. After enjoying some fine beer and the functional beauty of the brewery, take a trip to Escondido and visit the Stone World Bistro for a bite to eat. In addition to great beer brewed in the attached brewery, you will find many guest taps, outstanding food and an outdoor garden that is very relaxing. With a menu of world inspired cuisine featuring locally grown small farm ingredients, you can enjoy a nice meal either inside, on the open air patio or in the one acre organic beer garden.

Alesmith Brewery is located just north of Miramar Road between the 805 and the 15. For the past 15 years this tiny brewery has put out a variety of handcrafted artisan ales. With an award winning head brewer and a dedicated staff, its no wonder that every beer from them is a gem. Make time on either Friday or Saturday afternoon to stop in and see what they have to offer. From Alesmith, head east on Miramar across the 15 and you will be in the area of one of the best kept secrets in San Diego beer, Ballast Point Brewery. Actually, all the folks in San Diego know what a great brewery Ballast Point is, but sometimes they get lost amongst all the celebrity brewers that come from California. But recently being named Small Brewery of the Year at the World Beer Cup should change all that, sounds like they may be approaching the realm of celebrity brewers. You can’t go wrong with any of their beers, the Calico Amber, Wahoo Wheat and Big Eye IPA are all particularly good, but keep any eye out for some of their specialty beers such as Sculpin, Dorado or Victory at Sea. Even well kept secrets have well kept secrets, and Ballast Point’s is their Homebrew Mart. Located on Linda Vista, not far from Hotel Circle, the front of this store is a typical home brewing supply store, but in the back is a small tasting area where you can sample many of the great beers that Ballast Point puts out.

There are many other fine breweries in San Diego, but the county also is home to some of the best beer bars in the state. Starting in the downtown area, you can find The Yard House and right next door to that is The Local Eatery. The Local is everything you would expect in a neighborhood watering hole, including great beer. Look for some rarities from Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey as well as other California breweries on tap here. A little further away, in the Gaslight District is Downtown Johnny Brown’s. With 18 taps of craft beer, the occasional cask conditioned special and good food, this is a can’t miss spot.

As you venture a little out of the downtown, there are many more beer bars. Try Hamilton’s off of 30th Street. The oldest beer and wine license in the county and a certain pride in being descended from Sparky’s which they describe as a “beloved dive bar” gives you an idea right away what you are dealing with. Plenty of taps and even more bottled beers on their menu. They even have a tab on their web site for their juke box. Continuing north on 30th Street you come across The Linkery and The Toronado San Diego. Named after the famous beer bar in San Francisco, The Toronado does its northern sister bar proud. Nothing but specialty beers, a bottle list to die for and an appealing food menu will make this stop a memorable one. Go a little further north and a little bit west and find O’Brien’s Pub. Not a big place, they still manage to fit in over 20 taps and a great bottle selection. O’Brien’s is one of those places that always attracts the best beers and the best drinkers. And while at the beach, hit up the Pizza Port restaurants in Ocean Beach, Solano Beach, Carlsbad and even San Clemente (if you get that far north)

San Diego is a great area to visit and we hope that now, armed with a little beer knowledge, you can make it an enjoyable trip. Later, we will take a look at San Francisco and Colorado as summer beer destinations.