Upon hearing that the Beer Bloggers Conference of 2014 was to be in San Diego. I knew that I would be either stopping by before or after. Little did I know, I would go mid-conference to their FlavorDome on Upas Street.
But that is what transpired. The dome has a ceiling of lampshades. Coasters are hard disks. Extra hard disks are re-purposed as art on the walls. The bar has a base constructed of VHS containers and the whole decor screams, Jess from New Girl. You could call it twee or precious but it certainly is designed. What I liked is that the space has big windows for daydreaming and no TV’s to be found.
And there is beer….
This was the taster tray with Universal Friend, Grapefruit tinged Fortunate Islands on cask, Black House on Nitro and a Belgian Strong by the quirky name of New Harmony. The taster pours are ample so be prepared to drink. My favorite of the quad was the Universal Friend. The Pinot Grigio notes were there but were in addition and not blunt force to the palate. The essential Belgian qualities were there in abundance as well. Second in the ranking was the cask. The grapefruit really added some pith to the citric hoppiness already evident in Fortunate Islands which is one of my favorite beers. Black House and New Harmony were the bottom and a bit off from the front runners. I think I expected more from Black House on nitro. It was fine but it didn’t wow me.
With a grain of salt, I had been drinking at the conference so my taste buds may have missed some subtlety but I was quite glad that I visited plus you can order tacos from the hip Perlas nearby and have it delivered to your beer.