North San Diego Trip: Pizza Port Carlsbad, Belching Beaver, Aztec Brewing

Just a quick trip down to San Diego County with some friends on a Saturday afternoon a couple of weeks ago.

We started off at Pizza Port - Carlsbad because we know that they always have a great selection of beer, awesome pizza, and a relaxed atmosphere (although it was really crowded). The Grapefruit Puncher was probably my favorite. Instead of the grapefruit coming from the hops, it tasted like they used real grapefruit juice. My other favorite was the Schanerberry (Belgian blond with passion fruit & blackberries). For pizza we knocked out a large Lahaina (Canadian bacon, pineapple, green bell peppers & onions).


While eating, we took a look at the Pacific Beer Map and noticed that there were about 5 breweries within a mile or so of each other in an industrial area just a few miles inland in Vista, CA. So we headed out for a little adventure...

First stop was Belching Beaver. I suppose we couldn't resist the name! They have a nice little set up going on there with the brewery in view in the back and a tasting counter and tables in the front. Outside they had a food vendor cooking up so good smelling snacks.

We went ahead and tried samplers of all 11 beers they had on tap that night. We liked the Saison de Beaver, Me So Honey (honey wheat), and the Peanut Butter Milk Stout was also interesting. After enjoying the tasters, picking up a few souvenirs, and posing for some pictures with the comical beaver art... we were off.






The next closest place we saw on our map was Indian Joe Brewing. We were excited to try the place because you could see the flashing LED open sign from way down the street. Sadly though we were met head on at the front door at 8:57 pm where we were told that they were closed. The half way open front door was pulled out of our hands and then the lady walked over and turned off the open sign. It actually worked out well though because.....


Right down the street was Aztec Brewing. We didn't realize it, but it was their 2nd Anniversary party and the place was busy. They had live music and food for the party. I saw a flyer that said they were selling tickets for the event, but I guess they just let us in because it was getting later in the evening.

We went for a taster of all 12 of their beers on tap (there was a lager that wasn't on the tasting menu). They were all nice beers and did a great job of showcasing different malt profiles. I'm not a big coffee fan at all, but surprisingly on of my favorites was the Coffee Blond. We also liked the Sacrifice Red IPA and the Poco Gigante IPA.

Too much fun for one night. Hopefully we will get a chance to make it back down to San Diego County soon. It seems like new breweries pop up faster that I can visit them. I will accept the challenge though!

Craft Beer in Japan (Tokyo)

My wife and I were fortunate enough to make it over to Japan for a week. Unfortunately though, I only had one day to hit craft beer places in Tokyo...

It really seems like from reading online and talking to people who have been there before that the craft beer scene is really starting to take off big time. And its not just bringing in a bunch of killer craft beers from San Diego County (although they do have a lot!), but there are some great Japanese craft breweries that are producing beers that could go head to head with anything from Southern California.

I have to start with a side note. I am a huge IPA fan, but I usually try a variety of beers. After 6 days in Japan surviving on yellow fizzy beer, combined with a lot of the Japanese craft beer selections being IPA's, most of the brews I tasted were IPA's. So here we go.

My first stop was Craft Beer Market (Toranomon, Tokyo). This was first on my list because it was one of the only ones that I could find that was open around lunch on a weekday. A side benefit was that this place is known as having the most economical prices in Tokyo (under $10 for a pint!). Their craft beer menu was all Japanese.

I tried the Ryujinshuzo Ozenoyukidoke IPA, Shigakogen AfPA (they told me the style was an African Pale Ale!), Baird Brewing Suruga Bay Imperial IPA, Baird Brewing West Coast Wheat Wine 2012, and the bartender's choice for my last beer before they kicked me out to close after lunch the Iwatekura Oyster Stout served by beer engine (they assured me that real oysters were not used in the brewing or fermenting process, just oyster shells...).




While tasting the brews I tried their set menu lunch with a small soup and a plate with a bunch of curry beef and rice. It really hit the spot when washing down those IPA's!

My next stop that evening was Good Beer Faucets (Shibuya, Tokyo). These guys are known for their good selection of beers from around the world with quite a few being from Japan.

Dede the owner was there when I came in. I tried Nide Beer Monster C IPA (Japan), North Island IPA (Japan), Nogne #500 Imperial IPA (Norway), and another taste of Baird Brewing Suruga Bay Imperial IPA. While there I met a really nice Japanese guy that was crazy about craft beer. He let me know that one of his favorite beers was on tap at a craft beer place not too far away. It was actually on my list to visit, so we walked over together.

After a short walk we made it to Craftheads (also in Shibuya not too far of a walk from Good Beer Faucets). It was down in a basement and was pretty busy. We immediately went for the 3 Floyds' Zombie Dust (Indiana).










After enjoying a few $13 pints of Zombie Dust we called it a night. Sorry about the blurry picture. It was pretty dark in there.












Overall, you could really tell that the craft beer scene is taking hold in Japan. I look forward not only to getting back over there again, but to finding some of the great Japanese beers here on tap somewhere.

One really cool thing about Japan... they sell beer in public vending machines and it is legal to drink in public!

OC Breweries: Valiant Brewing (Grand Opening), Old Orange Brewing, and Noble Ale Works

This last weekend was the grand opening of the newest brewery in Orange County, Valiant Brewing Company (Orange, CA). I had a chance to check out their website before going over there and it seemed like their beers listed were primarily strong ales.







I got to Valiant just a bit after the doors opened at noon and the place was packed. I had heard about these guys a while back, but then things were quiet for a while. It's great to see that they got things up and running. Upon entering you immediately noticed that they have put a lot of time and money into their whole setup. Everything is still brand new and shiny and it looks like they have quite a bit of room to expand.

For the grand opening they only had 3 brews on tap: Mavericks Mighty Ale (Bitter), 31 King's (IPA), and Veranda (French Ale). They all had a nice malt profile, but not too much hoppiness. I think the Veranda was my favorite. It was a bit sweet and masked the alcohol well. I can't wait to get back there once they have more on tap!






They serve all their beers in branded glasses!

FYI, the industrial park where they are located in is a bit tricky to find. Look for this sign when you are on Batavia and then follow the driveway back along the drainage ditch. They are tucked away back on the left.

Since Valiant was super busy that afternoon, we made our way down to Old Orange Brewing Company (Orange, CA). It's literally two blocks South on Batavia. I like Old Orange because they always have a wide variety of brews on tap.

With tasters at $1 ($2 for some of the strong/special beers) I usually just make my way right down the menu.I think my favorite was the Thumb Master Double IPA.










After a bit it seemed like a number of people from the Valiant grand Opening had filtered over to Old Orange so it started to get packed too. The only solution was to hit another brewery just a mile or so away!

Noble Ale Works (Anaheim, CA) is a cool little spot to hit before an Angels or Ducks game because it is right near the stadiums (Valiant and Old Orange are really close too). They usually have some interesting stuff on tap.








The most memorable was their Good Time Imperial Stout with Morita chilies and yellow curry (2nd from the right). It was pretty hot.











Looking forward to some warmer weather to visit all of these places again!

San Diego Trip: Alpine Beer Co. and Pacific Beac AleHouse

A couple of weekends ago my wife were down in San Diego County, so we took a little extra time to visit some brewpubs. If you've got to go somewhere to eat, it might as well have some great beer!

On Friday night we made our way down to Alpine Beer Co. (Alpine, CA). This place was highly recommended by a friend and we weren't disappointed.

It's a tiny little place in town and has a really cool mountainy cafe character. It was pouring rain outside too, so that added to the feel!

We got started with the six sampler of Willy Vanilly, Alpine Ale, Mandarin Nectar, Duet, and Pure Hoppiness. My wife liked the Willy Vanilly the best due to the fresh vanilla taste and I enjoyed the Mandarin Nectar the most as the honey used as a fermentable gave the beer a unique taste.








The food at Alpine Beer Co. was killer too. We started out with the pulled pork potato skins (special) as an appetizer and then finished off with a spicy chicken sausage sandwich. Both were great.

The next day we were down in Point Loma and randomly selected Pacific Beach AleHouse (San Diego, CA). It was right down on the beach and I can imagine this place gets crazy in the Summer.

I went for their standard taster of Good Times Gold, White Wash Wheat, Crystal Pier Pale Ale, Promiscuous IPA (in place of Amber Wave that was tapped out), and PB Porter. My favorite was the Pale Ale.

For food, the Rattlesnake Flatbread was very good. The lobster mac and cheese was way too pricey.

2012 California Brewery Tour

Last July, my wife and I took a trip up the coast of California from Orange County to San Francisco and then cut across to Lake Tahoe. My goal was to hit as many breweries as possible that I hadn't been to before. Before the trip we had discovered the Pacific Beer Map. It was incredibly useful in mapping out our stops.

Day 1:

Our first stop after getting out of the L.A. area was Island Brewing in Carpinteria. This one was a recommendation from some friends because it had a cool location next to some train tracks and is just a stone's throw from the ocean. When we pulled into town it took a minute to find it as the GPS took us to the wrong side of the building. We saw some signs after coming around the corner, parked, and made our way in. It was a perfect Southern California day, so the outdoor patio right next to the railroad tracks was packed. We made our way into the tasting room and it was packed too, but we managed to grab two seats at the bar.

There was a good selection on the tasting board and I went for the sampler. That day there were so many people in there that they didn't have enough taster glasses, so they gave me my selections as glasses came available and were washed. I went for the Paradise Pale Ale, Island Pale Ale (IPA), Jubilee Ale (old Style Ale), Night Sail (Black IPA), and Blackbird Porter on Nitro. All were good. We enjoyed that place for a while and then hit the road.





Next brewery was Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. in Buellton. Our friends that recommended Island Brewing had actually brought me a growler of Figueroa's IPA on one of their previous road trips (thanks Jen & Blake!). I really enjoyed it and couldn't wait to get back there with my empty growler. They are located not too far from the 101 in an industrial area. It's really easy to find. Once inside we could tell that they have spent some money on the place. All of the decor and branding was top notch. The tasting room with a view into the brewery showcased some beautiful equipment.

I got my hands on a taster of Wrangler Wheat, Hoppy Poppy IPA, Hurricane Deck DIPA, and Davy Brown Ale. The wheat and IPA were my favorites, but I would have to say that the IPA tasted a little "green" and possibly needed to condition a bit longer. After talking with the servers it sounded like they were running at 110% capacity so they may have been pouring beers a bit before they were completely ready. It still tasted great though. A full growler of IPA and we were on our way!



That night we were staying in San Luis Obispo, so we grabbed dinner at SLO Brewing Co. We grabbed a table upstairs. The waitress was really cool and let us know about an online coupon that they had for $2 off any stein of beer. I went for their IPA on Nitro. I think the IPA was just good, but putting it on nitrogen made it great. I am easy to please I guess!




Day 2:


The next morning we were making our way through Cambria when a little microbrewery caught my eye that was right off the main road. Cambria Beer Co. is a little hole in the wall with a small tasting room and brewery that were in a building about the size of a 2-car garage. It was early enough that they weren't open yet, so we hung out for a few minutes.






The owner opened up the place and set me up with a few tasters of Mudhoney Oatmeal Stout, Toyon Amber Ale, and Ghost Belgian Wit. It was just a bit after 4th of July, so he said that they had run out of a number of their brews, so they only had these three on tap. My favorite was the Oatmeal Stout, so much so that it got me thinking that I would make an oatmeal stout as my next home brew batch! It doesn't get much better than randomly finding a tiny little microbrewery that is only a few months old and then getting to chat it up with the owner about some great brews.

The rest of the day we spent making our way up the coast through Big Sur, cruising around 17-Mile Drive/Pebble Beach, and Monterey.

We stayed that night in Santa Cruz. The weather was crappy (welcome to Nor Cal!) so we stayed in that night.

Day 3:

First thing next morning I was ready to hit one of the breweries that I had seen online. Santa Cruz Ale Works said their tasting room was by appointment only, so I gave them a call and they said I could stop by. I think the owner was a bit surprised to see me there, maybe because it was 9 am or so on a Tuesday morning. I guess I tend to lose track of time while on vacation! The owner was really nice and their brews were good. We chatted it up for a bit, I forgot to take pictures, and then we headed for San Francisco.

I planned on making it to either Anchor Brewing or Speakeasy while in San Francisco, but I had tried quite a bit earlier to get a reservation for a tour at Anchor and it was unavailable and Speakeasy was not open the days we were in SF. Luckily there were a few other places to hit in the city.

The first afternoon we were in the neighborhood of Thirsty Bear Brewing Co. so we stopped by.

They had 9 house brews on tap, so of course we went for the 9 beer taster! My wife really liked the Golden Ale infused with vanilla beans. The rest were good too. After finishing our appetizer and beer taster it was back out on the streets.















Day 4:

The next morning we were over in Haight-Ashbury. We had heard a lot about Magnolia Pub & Brewery, so I couldn't wait to get there. The server must have known that I was a beer fiend, because she sat us at a table that was directly above the vent in the floor where you were overcome by the sweet aroma of beer being brewed in the basement!

We went for the 6 taster of Big Cypress Brown, Blue Bell Bitter, Possum Pale Ale, Spud Boys IPA, Proving Ground IPA (cask), and a Pomegranate Cider. The beers were all very good and the cider was refreshing. My favorite part was the size of the individual tasting glasses and the cool rack that it came in. As each taster had to be close to 6 ounces, the taster was a great deal and was easily enough for two people with lunch (we had the burger and it was really good).

That evening we had a chance to make it by 21st Amendment Brewery / Cafe / Bar before meeting some friends for dinner. The place was packed when we got there, but we managed to grab a table on the 2nd floor. They had 8 house beers on tap, so I went for it! They were all really good, but my favorite was the Brew Free or Die IPA. Off to Thai food for dinner.

  Day 5:


We are cutting across California to make our way over to Lake Tahoe. On our way through Sacramento we planned on stopping by Hoppy Brewing Co. for lunch. We had been to Hoppy before on a previous trip, but couldn't wait to get back for the great food and brews.







Of course we went for the full 9-beer taster and as always they were very good (a little bit of everything to keep the wife and I happy). Last time we were there they had a Scotch Ale as their seasonal selection and it was killer.







On the way up to Lake Tahoe we stopped by Jack Russell Brewing Co. in Camino, CA. The area has quite a few apple orchards, wineries, and other touristy things. Jack Russell was a pretty simple metal building in the middle of a field, but once inside we were greeted with a tasting board with 12 beers.

We were still full from lunch at Hoppy Brewing Co., but managed to try each of their beers. I liked that they had a coupe of beers on tap that were the same base beer with a small change like their Tangerine Ale / Apple Ale and their Irish Red / Raspberry Red. If we ever have the chance to make it by there again, we will definitely try to hit the meadery and winery. A growler full of the Strong Blonde and we were off to Lake Tahoe to relax for a few days and then head home.