Things to Do in San Diego: Beer Week Edition - November 6-10, 2013

How’s your liver holding up? I know mine is starting to cry “Uncle” but there are still FIVE more glorious days of San Diego Beer Week to go! I’d have to say some of my highlights so far were the Victory at Sea event at Hamilton’s on Sunday, the 50+ IPAs at Toronado over the weekend and the opening night VIP Brewer’s Guild party was fantastic. I managed to hit most of the events I’d planned, and even a couple more that I hadn’t. So what’s good for the rest of the week? Read on after the jump for the things I’ll most be looking forward to. Cheers!





Wednesday November 6, 2013


Mo-stache for Mo-Beer at Belching Beaver Tasting Room (North Park) - This event, sponsored by the San Diego Beer Club meetup group, starts at 7PM in one of NP’s newest craft beer spots and will help raise awareness and money for “Movemeber.” Additionally, Belching Beaver will be offering $1 off pints and $2 off flights for this kickoff event.


ALL ABOUT BOOBS, SAUSAGES, AND BEER! at Acoustic Ales Tasting Room - Another SDBW charity event, this one is for the Boobies!! We all love boobies, so go show some support. The event will feature brats from Salt n’ Cleaver paired with Acoustic Ales in-house offerings.


Stone Brewing Co./Eclipse Chocolat Pairing at Small Bar - Get your sweet tooth on! Five rare Stone beers are paired with delicious truffles from Eclipse Chocolat. Five beer tasters and five truffles for just $20.




Thursday November 7, 2013


Societe Brewing Company Tap Takeover at Societe Brewing - The week long (and very tounge-in-cheek) tap “takeover” continues from my favorite new SD brewery. If you’ve never been to the tasting room, be sure to check it out. Great space, great staff and, of course, really great beers.


HAPPY HOUR W/ RIP CURRENT- SOCIETE - HESS at Hamilton’s Tavern - Three of the newest (and best) SD breweries on one night at the (arguably) greatest craft beer bar in town. Hard to argue with that one! There will be two different flights, one with IPAs and one with stouts and other additional beers available from each brewery as well. Pro Tip: Get both flights! Also, #teamApprentice.


Crooked Stave Brewery Night at Small Bar - Meet the brewer event from the great Crooked Stave out of Denver. Small Bar will have flights available, plus some bottles of the Beer Advocate “world class” rated L’Brett D’Or, a beer that has never been poured outside of the Stave’s tasting room. Whales bruh.




Friday November 8, 2013


Johnny Brown's IPA Night at Downtown Johnny Browns - while not quite as ambitious as some other IPA events, DTJB will still bring the goods with 21 taps of IPAs from Kern River, Pizza Port, Stone, Ballast Point, Green Flash, Port, Russian River, Bear Republic, Sierra Nevada and more.


NKOTB - Rip Current, Modern Times & Benchmark Keep The Pint! at Urge Gastropub - North County kids will want to check out this event, featuring these three rad breweries which have all debuted in the past year or so.


Tyson's Big Ass Barrel Aged Beer Blowout Bonanza! at O’Brien’s Pub - This is a SDBW stand by as OB’s and Tyson bring out all the barrel aged beers they’ve stashed away over the course of the past year to put them all back on at once. The list is HUGE and amazing, but highlights include brews from Firestone Walker, Drakes, Lost Abbey and more.


We Got The Funk! SOUR NIGHT! at Pizza Port Ocean Beach - If Barrel Aged beers aren’t your thing then go to the opposite extreme and get some delicious sours instead. A bunch of Russian River Sours among other breweries and, oh yeah...a little something called CANTILLION KRIEK! Get it.


Saturday November 9, 2013


Monkey Paw Tap Takeover at Amplified Ale Works- Head to PB for a full slate of great beers from Monkey Paw Pub & Brewery including the delicious, GABF Gold winner Bonobos.


Decadent Decade Of Stone Imperial Russian Stouts at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens (Escondido) - another good event for the North County kids (or those ready to make the drive up north) as Stone puts on a full TEN years worth of their always great IRS.


Hops With The Homebrewer at Tiger!Tiger! - Meet George from The Homebrewer shop in North Park who will regale us with his seemingly endless knowledge of all things brewing, in this case those wonderful things called HOPS! Sure to be a very informative and fun event, even if you’re not a homebrewer. This is a ticketed event and it sold out so fast they added a second session. Act fast and get them here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/510666




Sunday November 10, 2013


4th Annual Alpine (Up And) Downhill Challenge sponsored by Blind Lady Ale House - Not for the light-hearted, this ride from Blind Lady in Normal Heights all the way up the hill to Alpine for flights of Alpine beers and a pizza buffet and then a ride all the way back to BLAH. Wowzers! This ticketed event also includes a commemorative t-shirt. Tix here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/508306


"Beer Garden" at The Lodge at Torrey Pines - **  UPDATE SOLD OUT!! ** This is the official closing event for San Diego Beer week, featuring beer and food pairings from 12 great local chefs and 24 local breweries. Tickets here: http://arestravel.com/6367_attraction-tickets_a1363.html




Thanks to sdbwplanner.com for all the links and their easy to use planning site!

Things to do in San Diego: Beer Week Edition (Part II)

Ok, so the opening weekend of San Diego Beer Week 2012 is in the books, and while I didn’t get a chance to do everything I had hoped, I did have an absolute blast. With lots of quality time with good friends and (of course) some great beer to pair with the company, it was easily one of the better weekends I’ve ever spent in this fine city.

We started things off at Monkey Paw to try the Karl Strauss peanut butter cup beer, which tasted exactly as the name would suggest. From there we were on the move to the kick-off party and Brew Food book signing at Mission Brewery, which appeared to be a smashing success with a great time had by all in attendance. (Even if they did cover up the shuffleboard table for the event. Oh well, nothing’s perfect.) On Saturday I tried to work my way through 50 different IPAs over at Toronado, but was pulled away early as friends wanted to make a move to Monkey Paw to try the aforementioned Karl Strauss specialty, but sadly it was gone. (Luckily I was able to sample an 8 oz. pour of the Citra IPA from Kern River before we left Toro, which may have been the best beer I had on draft all weekend.) We were back at it again early on Sunday getting to Local Habit in Hillcrest bright and early to sample a cask of The Bruery’s “5 Golden Rings” a very interesting Golden Ale that is part of their “12 Days of Christmas” series which releases once a year. I haven’t had all the other releases, but this was my favorite that I have managed to try so far. After that we traveled over to Blind Lady Ale House who teamed up with the folks at Bine & Vine on Adams Ave. to throw what might have been the coolest bottleshare event ever convened. I had WAY too many special tastes to try mentioning them here (and boring you to tears, probably), but it was definitely the highlight of the weekend.

The best news? There are still SIX more full days of SDBW before it officially wraps up on the 11th. Like Part I, what follows is a brief listing of events that caught my eye. I’d recommend getting there early and often. If I missed anything too great to pass up be sure to let me know on the twitters (@mikebeebe). And if you see me out and about, please say hello!


11/5/2012
Hess Happy Hour 
Toronado (again!) will “welcome” their (soon to be) new neighbor to the ‘hood with this event featuring several Hess beers and (from what I’ve been told) a really fantastic keeper glass.

Beer, Art and the Artists!
The cool cats at Bottlecraft are hosting an art show, featuring art from (what else?) a beer label artist! Specifically the Ballast Point artist Paul Elder. Also, BP’s Colby Chandler will be on hand discussing beer. And drinking beer. And it’s free. Get some culture whilst you drink!

BEER WEEK BINGO
Bingo at Eleven is nothing new, but it is always fun. Plus all drafts are just $3. Bingo starts at 7pm.

11/6/2012
Kern River Brewing Co 
Surprise! Another Toronado event. (I may just move in for the week.) This one features the crew and (more importantly) the beer from the fabulous Kern River Brewing.

Night of a Million Zillion Speedways
If there is one event that is on everyone’s radar, then it is absolutely this one at O’Brien’s. With that in mind, expect lots of great beer but also lots of people. Is it worth it? That depends on your tolerance for crowds, but frankly...yes, it is worth it. The OB’s newsletter probably says it best: “FIFTEEN versions of AleSmith Speedway Stout on tap! It is pure insanity.“

(Also, it’s Election Day, so depending on the exit polls and your politics you may need several of these very strong beers.)

Beer Week!! Green Flash Night
A Green Flash event at my home base, bar Eleven. Delicious casks and walking distance home is a great combination. Incidentally, Eleven is also “home base” for a lot of GF employees...so this may end up being just like any other night. Which is fine with me.

Loci Habitus Returns! 
If you missed out on this Rye IPA from Hess to celebrate Local Habit’s 1st anniversary, then here’s a second chance to give this a shot. And if you were lucky enough to try it earlier this year AND scored the keeper glass, then bring that back in for $4 pours! (Note: an “I voted” sticker will get you this great price as well.)

11/7/2012
Monkey Paw Welcomes Sierra Nevada! 
I love the Paw, I love Sierra Nevada. The lineup hasn’t been posted yet, but you really can’t go wrong here.

Movie Night: Strange Brew 
One of my most favoritest movies ever (“Steamroller!”) screened for free at Sea Rocket in North Park, with drink and food specials as well. Go to there, ya hosers.

11/8/2012
Ommegang vs Lost Abbey - Battle of the Best Belgian Style Brewers in the Country 
Sublime Alehouse in San Marcos (SMBW?) hosts this “throwdown” between our very own Lost Abbey and Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY) - two of the finest (THE finest, probably) brewers of traditional Belgian style beers anywhere in America. Just like the title would suggest. Seriously though, this will be a delicious evening. Ommegang was my introduction to “craft beer” back in New York, and it still one of my favorites breweries to this day.

Brewmasters Dinner with Hess Brewing at Local Habit
This two session event sold out so fast they had to add a third session...which also promptly sold out. So unless you have your ticket, you’re not going. Which is really too bad because Chef Nick Brune is hands down the best chef in Hillcrest and Hess is one of the finest (and busiest) breweries in San Diego. If I could only attend ONE dinner during all of Beer Week, this would be the one.

She Likes Beer Pairing Dinner at The Range
While not strictly a “ladies only” event (as far as I know) this She Likes Beer will put the focus on all the women craft beer fans in San Diego and features “a four-course meal that will show off some of San Diego's greatest beer with a paired dish that compliments their flavors.”

11/9/2012
Hess Brewing Featured Flights 
Another Hess event at Local Habit (one of my favorite spots in town) will feature no fewer than SIX beers from Hess, including the delicious Loci Habitus Rye IPA, brewed up special just for Local Habit’s first birfday. PLUS as an added bonus they’ll be opening up at noon to serve lunch!! See you there! (UPDATE: I have since heard that LH will not be opening for lunch this day. Still worth seeking out Friday night though!)

Enjoy a tour and tasting of Home Brew Mart and Ballast Point Brewing (Linda Vista Road location) 
This “event” is actually happening several times a day EVERY day during Beer Week. Get a free tour of the BP brewing facilities in Linda Vista, and get a couple of samplers to boot.

And that’s it for me. I know I left off a couple of days at the end, but I just won’t be able to attend any events next weekend, so I am wrapping things up on Friday at Local Habit for lunch. There will be tons going on next weekend I am sure, so check out sdbw.org or sdbwplanner.org to see what’s happening.

Things to do in San Diego: Beer Week Edition (Part I)

If you like (love?) beer then you already know about the wide variety and selection of amazing breweries and craft beer bars around our lovely hometown. You also, no doubt, know that from November 2nd through November 11th we will be celebrating another San Diego Beer Week, or simply SDBW. Yes, that’s more than a week...in this town it needs to be. It’s no secret that as craft beer lovers we have an embarrassment of riches here in San Diego with the seemingly endless supply of great brews from amazing local breweries and some of the top craft beer bars in the Country. This “week” is enough to get even the most dedicated SD beer fan more excited than they have been since the Craft Brewers Conference was here in May. But while CBC was ostensibly for the “pros” this week is just for us, my fellow imbibers. 

Most (all?!?) of the craft beer bars, many many restaurants and, of course, every brewery around town have a full slate of dinners, special events, kegs and casks available to ALL of us. SDBW is so packed that I’ve given up trying to schedule anything definitively. I learned last year that the best laid plans are easily changed once you get out and about and end up moving to someplace completely unexpected or simply camping out where you started the night. That said I have been using the very good web app put out by sdbwplanner.org  to find events that sound interesting. Head on over yourself and give it a shot, or check the events calendar at the official sdbw.org site. (Note, these are far from exhaustive lists of all the events, tap takeovers and beer pairing dinners around town over the next 10 days or so, so be sure to check the website/facebook/twitter of your personal favorites as well.)

After the jump you’ll find a sampling of events that caught my eye at some of my favorite spots and/or what will be the most popular and widely anticipated events around town. I’d recommend getting there early and often. If I missed anything too great to pass up be sure to let me know on the twitters (@mikebeebe). I can’t honestly hope to make it to all of them, but I’m for damned sure gonna try!