I truly needed a vacation.
This year has caused a bit more wear and tear on my body, mind and soul than normal. Add in the heat and a feeling of staleness about my work, and I was desperate to get away. I originally planned to escape to Northern California, but due to an unforeseeable circumstance, I had to be a bit more last-minute and flexible—so I headed to San Diego.
Not to say that San Diego is at all a last resort. It’s one of my top choices as a destination for getting out of town, period. Since the pandemic, I’ve had a tendency to avoid plans to leave town, and instead stay as close to home as possible. But as I drove down to my vacation rental near the downtown area, I vowed to break through this tendency. If you really need reasons why, then you probably haven’t experienced any of San Diego County’s beauty, but read on, and I will give you some fresh excuses to visit—from a beer perspective, naturally.
My first stop was Burgeon at the Arbor, Burgeon Beer Company’s bistro in Little Italy. As I’ve stated in past columns, I adore their beer, and the small but excellent food menu at The Arbor makes it an easy choice for a meal. I could almost smell the sea air as I ordered half-pints (please, local breweries, bars and taprooms—offer half pours, for the love of Odin!) of a one-off West Coast pilsner, Twin Fin, and a special version of their Treevana IPA with Trainwreck terpenes added for flavor and aroma. (Yes, the terpenes are from cannabis; no, they do not contain THC). The former was a great accompaniment to the Korean-style fried-chicken sandwich, and the latter was a fruity and dank twist on an already dank and citrusy beer.
Mirroring my trip last year, I walked across Little Italy to Bottlecraft and their excellent tap-and-bottle collection for more half-pours. This time it was Lizard Jim from Green Cheek; a New Zealand-hopped pale ale from Oregon’s pFriem Family Brewers; and a small pour of a very big and rich barrel-aged imperial stout with licorice and cinnamon from Fremont Brewing. All were excellent, and the last one was so decadent that I bought a bottle I could share with my friends.
Out of curiosity and for science, I then walked across the street for a nightcap at Ballast Point‘s taproom. I ordered a beer that I used to love before the changing of ownership (twice!), Grunion Pale Ale. It was nothing like I remember it being, sadly, but wasn’t at all bad.
The next day, after a delicious and nostalgic lunch and a nap (shout out to Bronx Pizza in Hillcrest for their authentic New York-style pizza and calzones), I decided to have dinner and a beer at North Park Beer Co. Inside their taproom, Mastiff Kitchen specializes in sausage, and they do it well. I had a smoked Andouille sausage, and it went perfectly with my Munich-style Helles lager. (German beer + pork is one of the easiest pairings of all time.) My friend James joined me for an after-work pint, and we walked across the street to Bottlecraft’s North Park location to get beer to take to his house, where I joined him and his girlfriend, Meg, to meet more friends via the Discord app to watch a terrible movie, Meg 2: The Trench (no relation to James’ girlfriend). I cannot recommend the movie, but I can recommend the company, the Burgeon Treevana IPA, and the Enegren smoked lager I enjoyed.
My hosts retired early, so I decided to walk down the block and try Black Plague Brewing. I started with what I figured is a make-or-break beer for any brewery—a lager. The Oracle of Time Czech-style pils was very good. This immediately made me perk up and scan the menu for more. Half-pours make this a viable strategy—you can cover more of the tap with less inebriation and fewer calories. Since their first lager was good, why not a second? The Prince of Bavaria Oktoberfest lager was even better—a malty beer that was dry and crisp to help balance each sip out. There is a great pleasure in finding a gem of a brewery you hadn’t paid much attention to—especially when their beer is available locally.
I was lucky enough to have my trip coincide with North Park Beer Co.’s seventh anniversary party. They invited many breweries across the country to bring at least one keg of whatever they wished. It was crowded, but I was lucky enough to find a spot at the bar, where very busy bartenders were kind enough to come by and refill my taster glass with whatever I wanted. The highlights were Cellarmaker’s Mo’ Simcoe IPA (they make this beer with varying hops, and I’ve been lucky enough to have a few of those variants); all of North Park’s anniversary beers (a hoppy pilsner, an IPA, and an incredible barrel-aged imperial stout with pistachios and vanilla, the latter being my favorite of the event); Russian River‘s barrel-aged peach lambic-style sour ale; Quebec-based Messorem’s imperial stout that tasted of incredibly rich chocolate; and, the surprise of the day, Alvarado Street‘s Fuzzy Navel sour ale that tasted like (you guessed it!) a fuzzy navel cocktail.
A week in San Diego for me simply contains too much to recount in these confines. Join me next month, where I get into a special invitation to a cidery whose creations I reviewed last month—and to see if I ever make it home from one of my favorite places on the planet.
Brett Newton is a certified cicerone (like a sommelier for beer) and homebrewer who has mostly lived in the Coachella Valley since 1988. He can be reached at caesarcervisia@gmail.com.
