The Bar Towel

Thanks for the update. Hoping to head back down to SD for the AHA Conference this year and there are still spots on the to-do list outstanding!

One I forgot to mention was Toolbox up in north county. Only been open a few months but the locals seem to be loving them. They had 5 or so brett offerings on tap plus a few sours and the usual high quality DIPA of that area. I wasn't overly impressed with everything, but it's a nice change of pace from other breweries in SD.

If anyone's heading down to SD and would like a refresher, I did a podcast this week with the President of the SD Brewers Guild. Some highlights from a local's perspective about what's going on.

http://www.bartowel.com/san-diego-beer-paradise/

As mentioned in the pod, Ocean Beach continues to improve as a beer destination, as alongside the Pizza Port there are tap rooms for Mike Hess, Culture Brewing and Helms Brewing there now. A great place to stay & drink and not have to worry about getting around.

Heading to San Diego in late September. Put the guide below together using combined RB/BA place scores and plan on hitting most of these spots. Just wondering if there are any glaring omissions that are worth visiting (I'm aware that the original Stone, Lost Abbey, Russian River, etc. are outside the city). Also seeking advice on the best neighbourhood to stay in San Diego proper for a beer geek / foodie. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Breweries / Brewpubs:
Stone: Liberty Station – RB: 98 / BA: 90 / CS: 94
AleSmith Observation Room – RB: 97 / BA: 82 / CS: 90
Ballast Point: Little Italy – RB: 96 / BA: 79 / CS: 88
Green Flash: Mira Mesa – RB: 96 / BA: 77 / CS: 87
Societe Brewing Company – RB: 94 / BA: 80 / CS: 87
Modern Times Beer – RB: 90 / BA: 83 / CS: 87
Pizza Port: Ocean Beach – RB: 94 / BA: 78 / CS: 86
Pure Project – RB: 88 / BA: 82 / CS: 85
Monkey Paw Pub & Brewery – RB: 91 / BA: 77 / CS: 84
Mikkeller San Diego – RB: 87 / BA: 81 / CS: 84
Coronado Tasting Room – RB: 85 / BA: 83 / CS: 84
Mike Hess Brewing – RB: 91 / BA: 75 / CS: 83
Half Door Brewing – RB: 87 / BA: 79 / CS: 83
Fall Brewing Company – RB: 86 / BA: 78 / CS: 82
Council Brewing Company – RB: 85 / BA: 78 / CS: 82

Bars / Eateries:
Toronado San Diego – RB: 98 / BA: 90 / CS: 94
Hamilton’s Tavern – RB: 98 / BA: 90 / CS: 94
Urge American Gastropub – RB: 95 / BA: 89 / CS: 92
O’Brien’s – RB: 94 / BA: 88 / CS: 91
Neighborhood San Diego – RB: 91 / BA: 86 / CS: 88
Tiger! Tiger! Tavern – RB: 88 / BA: 86 / CS: 87
Slater’s 50/50 – RB: 88 / BA: 85 / CS: 87
Live Wire – RB: 88 / BA: 82 / CS: 85
Waypoint Public – RB: 85 / BA: 83 / CS: 84
Sessions Public – RB: 82 / BA: 85 / CS: 84
Brothers Provisions – RB: 80 / BA: 88 / CS: 84
Blind Lady Ale House – RB: 91 / BA: 75 / CS: 83
Newport Pizza & Ale House – RB: 88 / BA: 75 / CS: 82
Underbelly North Park – RB: 80 / BA: 82 / CS: 81

Stores:
Best Damn Beer Shop – RB: 96 / BA: 88 / CS: 92
Bine & Vine Bottle Shop – RB: 93 / BA: 91 / CS: 92
Bottlecraft: Little Italy – RB: 94 / BA: 88 / CS: 91

Modern Times Flavordome, right next door to a great ramen restaurant, Underbelly. Just down the street is another Bottlecraft location, North Park.

Don't miss the Anvil & Stave tucked in the corner inside AleSmith. This place is as close to heaven as possible for me, hands down my favourite beer spot anywhere - it has their barrel aged offerings, several variations of Speedway, they even let you try your own blends. This, Mikkeller and Pure Project are all a stones throw apart...

Delaque wrote:Modern Times Flavordome, right next door to a great ramen restaurant, Underbelly. Just down the street is another Bottlecraft location, North Park.

Don't miss the Anvil & Stave tucked in the corner inside AleSmith. This place is as close to heaven as possible for me, hands down my favourite beer spot anywhere - it has their barrel aged offerings, several variations of Speedway, they even let you try your own blends. This, Mikkeller and Pure Project are all a stones throw apart...

Really appreciate this info. We're most likely staying in North Park, so the Modern Times/Underbelly/Bottlecraft trio will be on our radar. Will remember Anvil & Stave when at AleSmith. Glad to know that Mikkeller and Pure Project are nearby. This is why it's worth seeking advice on beer forums! Cheers.

Bumping this thread to seek BTers advice on whether it's worth renting a car to visit some of the suburban/out-of-town breweries in the SD area.

If we were to go this route we're thinking of heading north to Escondido (Stone) and San Marcos (Lost Abbey), but also considering Alpine (35 minutes east of downtown) and/or other spots.

Given that there's lots of great options in the city proper, and Stone has a taproom in Liberty Station, I'm not quite sold on the idea of heading out of town, but if there's some great experiences to be had I can be convinced otherwise.