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I do not know how one person can cover the vast San Diego craft beer scene. Too much. Way too much. But read HERE for info on four, yes four new breweries…
Doing a new brewery crawl might be an easier ask.
As traveling starts to ramp back up, where to drink guides are starting to ramp up as well.
And one place Angelenos might be looking to test the beer travel waters is San Diego.
Click HERE to get a nice listing of breweries that are coming to the city and county of San Diego.
One question has popped up a lot recently, what will be the first post-pandemic movie that you will sit in a movie theater and watch.
Well, I have an option for beer fans. Beer City San Diego. You can read more HERE about the documentary. You will get interviews with legends like Peter Zien of AleSmith among others.
Mergers and acquisitions news from South and South of us in Los Angeles. The 3 Local Brothers restaurant group, which includes beer properties Urge American Gastropub, Mason Ale Works, Beer Zombies Brewing and Ferrous Falcon is teaming will combine with TAPS Fish House & Brewery AND Newtopia Cyder. The usual greater buying power and other merger talking points were alluded to but the bigger news is they plan to have a new brewery in the Midwest.
When this Covid Pause is over, beer fans will need to make up lost ground and visit taprooms again, and to best prepare for that glorious day, you will need information. SD Beer News should be your choice for that news. Brandon Hernandez has been covering the scene and worked in it as well so he is uniquely plugged into what is happening. Head HERE to sign-up.
Non-Alcoholic East Coast brewer Athletic has pounced on the former Ballast Point “Trade Street” brewing facility and will be shipping their beer out the door in mid-May. This new production hub will increase their capacity and help them meet a demand across its 10 state distribution footprint. And maybe they will even add a taproom to this spot as well.
This story was recently in the L.A. Times….
It is rare that a government body is even a tiny bit pro-active but San Diego has seen the power of both biotech and beer and have created a new bank. One that will be filled with water and (hopefully) won’t increase taxes.
The city wants to take “stranded”, unused water from business ventures willing to part with it and offer it to water dependent companies willing to pay for extra. It is a clever idea and one that could conceivably work with other finite resources. It will be interesting if this project takes off and can be a model for other water districts.
I think it might be pretty safe to say that these curds and other cheesey products from Cheesesmith will pair well with beers from a certain brewery in San Diego.
Our last stop in San Diego is electrifying… Kilowatt Brewing. With Locations in Ocean Beach and Kearny Mesa.
Here are the beers that I would add to a taster tray….
Easy Crusher American Pilsner Pre-Prohibition style Lager – “Straw colored Pilsner based on recipes brewed before the Volstead Act of 1919 using Pilsner malt, flaked corn, and German noble hops.”
Wir Trinken! Festbier - “A smooth, pale German-style lager with a strong malt presence balanced with a light hop character.”
250 kWh IPA American IPA - “Features Kohatu, Rakau, and Falconer’s Flight hops, with piney, fruity & citrus notes.”
350 kWh IIIPA Triple IPA – “Triple IPA brewed with 40 lbs of 7 different citrusy and tropical hops.”
Coconut Chai Porter American Porter -” Brewed with chai spices and conditioned on toasted coconut.”
This new to 2019 brewery has some San Diego brewing history behind it. Gravity Heights has Skip Virgilio on board. That name may ring a brewing bell because he co-founded and was the original brewer at a little place called Alesmith.
The new venture is in Sorrento mesa and has a restaurant and a “lush outdoor beer garden”. Here are the beers that I would put into an initial taster tray….
Take Two Pilsner – “rich, pale lager with a crisp, rounded finish”
Brewers Best – “session ale with crisp bitterness and rich malt character”
SMS Pale Ale (Sorrento Mesa Standard) – “crystal malt provides depth for a refreshing, hop-forward classic”
Double Overhead – “piney and resinous, chewy malt presence provide balance”
Brewers Breakfast Stout – “roasty and velvet-smooth stout with coffee and chocolate tones”