Pliny the Younger in San Diego, 2012

Tags

pliny the younger, pliny the younger san diego, pliny the younger san diego 2012, where to find pliny the younger in san diego

This post last year about where and when to find Pliny the Younger in San Diego got a ton of traffic and a whole bunch of folks told me it was very helpful. Since I’ve already been asked multiple times if I’ll be keeping a list this year I figured I should start. See last year’s post (linked above) for more info on Pliny the Younger and some notes about how quickly it tapped out at various bars in San Diego last year.

Pliny the Younger hits taps at Russian River’s Brewpub in Santa Rosa today according to their website. At the brewpub they have a dedicated number of kegs each day to make sure it lasts until at least mid February (meaning if they’ve sold enough one day it might be gone at 9pm, but they’ll have more on tap the next day when they open). Down here in San Diego we’re not so lucky. Most bars get a limited amount and it goes rather quickly, so if you want to get a taste don’t straggle, and be prepared for long lines, crowded bars (and sometime higher than usual prices for smaller than usual pours). But I think most people would agree, it’s worth the hassle.

It should be noted that we probably won’t see Pliny the Younger down here in San Diego for a week or two, I’d guess it will start showing up around town sometime between Feb 8th and 15th.

Below is a list of bars that I expect will be getting Pliny the Younger or have confirmed to me that they will be getting it. Any of the information could change, I suggest you check with individual bar’s if you want to be 100% sure, but I’ll do my best to keep this list updated.

Upcoming 2012 Pliny the Younger:

Blind Lady Ale House – Fundraiser, Monday 2/20/12 from 6-8pm. Tickets must be purchased in advance and will go on sale at 6pm today (2/13/2012). $16 for .25 liter of Younger, .25 liter of Elder and a raffle ticket. Read more about the fundraiser, all the details and buy tickets here. Tickets sold out in approximately ten minutes.

Churchill’s Pub – March 3rd for Churchill’s Renaissance via Beer Advocate

Downtown Johnny Brown’s – Friday, February 17th for a Russian River Night

Encinitas Ale House – They say they’re getting a full keg, no word on date it will be tapped.

El Take it Easy –  From their newsletter: “The Chef’s dinner at El Take It Easy featuring Pliny The Younger and other rare/allocated drinks, will be on Monday, February 27th.”

O’Brien’s Pub – via their newsletter. They’ll tap a keg on Saturday 2/11/2012 at 5pm. According to a comment below the keg ran dry after about 22 minutes.They’ll be tapping another keg for a charity event (proceeds going to local animal shelters and programs). There will be a sign up list at the bar, which your will be required to get a pour. Details will follow in their email newsletter next week (week of 2/12/12). They’ll tap another keg on Friday 2/24/12 at 11am.

Pizza Port Carlsbad – Saturday Feb 11th at Noon for the Brewbies Festival. As of this writing there are 40 $25 General Admission tickets left. Proceeds benefit Keep a Breast. Unconfirmed but according to this Untappd Checkin Pliny the Younger is on tap as of 4pm 2/17

Tap Room – Tuesday 2/21 at 5pm. And again Saturday 3/3 at 1pm for their 5th Anniversary Party.

Tiger!Tiger! – Saturday 2/25 12-2pm and Sunday 2/26 11:30-12:30pm. After selling over 100 ticket’s to the Pliny the Fundraiser night at Blind Lady Ale House in only 10 minutes, the folks at BLAH/Tiger!Tiger! were able to score a bit more PtY to make more money for a good cause. Tickets are limited to 75 people per day and go on sale Monday 2/20 at 7:00pm for Saturday and 7:30pm for Sunday. Same deal as before, $16 gets you a .25 liter of Pliny the Younger, a .25 liter of Pliny the Elder and a raffle ticket. (Dates above link to the online sales). Don’t straggle, they’re sure to sell out fast.

URGE Gastropub – Probably early March for a Triple IPA night, see comment below from Grant at URGE.

Suspected based on Previous Years (but not confirmed):

Pizza Port Ocean Beach

Past 2012 Pliny the Younger:

Breakwater Brewing Company – 2/10/2012 via Facebook and it’s gone.

Eleven – Tonight (2/13/2012) at 8pm. Pre-sale at 7:30pm. Reportedly sold out during pre-sale time, before 8pm tapping.

Hamilton’s Tavern – Tapping PtY at 3pm on Wednesday, February 8th.

Live Wire – On tap as of 9pm 2/8/12 – via Twitter One person on Twitter says it ran out the same night.

Neighborhood – Sometime mid February via their Twitter (warning bit of profanity at the link). A reader emailed to tell me that they got 2 kegs, at least one of which will go on at 4pm today (2/13/2012). This has not been confirmed by Neighborhood. (Also, see this tweet from Neighborhood)

Newport Pizza and Alehouse – Wednesday 2/15/2012 at 4pm. A reader wrote in to say that it was gone an hour and six minutes after they first started serving it.

Pizza Port Solana Beach – Someone emailed to tell me that they put PtY on last night and as of this writing (2/10/12 at 4:45pm) I see it listed on the tap cam. Gone from the tap cam.

San Diego Brewing Company – Tuesday, February 14th at 4pm

Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – 2/9/12 “At the Inside Bar Only!” Reports are that it ran out sometime around 6pm. A few people have told me that they’ve been told by bartender’s at Stone that they would have some Younger on tap Tuesday night, February 14th (not confirmed with Stone)

Toronado – 10am February 8th (they’ll be putting it on as soon as it shows up) and will tap a second keg when the first one blows per their newsletter. Toronado tapped two kegs, the first at 10am and the second when the first blew. The second ran dry around 12:45pm.They may also be tapping a keg when they open on Sunday at 11:30am. 10oz for $8 on Wednesday, “slightly more expensive” other times they tap it. 6pm tonight (2/14/12) for their last keg of Younger.

If you know of a bar or restaurant in San Diego that will be getting Pliny the Younger, or what day/time they’ll be tapping it, send me an email to get the list updated.

If you’re looking for Pliny the Younger in Orange County check out Craft Beer Culture’s list here.

Updated 2/17/12 at 4:04am

Monkey Paw, a new Brewpub Coming to the East Village from the Owner of Hamilton’s and Small Bar

Tags

downtown san diego beer, east village beer, east village brewpub, monkey paw brewpub, monkey paw downtown, monkey paw east village, monkey paw san diego, san diego brewpub, scot blair

Update: As of 5pm, Tuesday 8/23/11 Monkey is now open! Monkey Paw on Facebook.

If you’re reading this blog you probably recognize the name Scot Blair. If not you almost certainly will recognize the names of his drinking establishments: Hamilton’s Tavern, Small Bar and Eleven. Soon Downtown’s East Village neighborhood will have a new brewpub, courtesy of Scot Blair.

Monkey Paw will be located on the corner of 16th St at F St where the Jewel Box used to be. Blair says things are moving along well and he expects the bar and restaurant portion of Monkey Paw to open within 60-90 days in late summer or early fall. The interior space is being completely remodeled, with almost nothing remaining from before. When Monkey Paw opens it’s doors they’ll have somewhere between 35 and 43 taps, pub food similar to Hamilton’s and Small Bar with a great cheesesteak as well as quality spirits. But Monkey Paw won’t only be a pub like Blair’s other establishment’s, it will be licensed to brew on premise making it a brewpub. “A brewpub has always been what I wanted to go after,” Blair tells me as he explains the idea behind Monkey Paw.

The brewing portion of Monkey Paw will come sometime after the bar and restaurant portion opens, Blair says he hopes to be brewing by the end of the year but doesn’t yet know if it will happen. They’re still in the process of acquiring brewing equipment, which he tells me will be either a 7 barrel or 10 hectoliter (approximately 8.5 barrels) system. A brewer for Monkey Paw is lined up and they’ve been refining some of the beers they expect to brew at Monkey Paw on a homebrew pilot system but declined to name the brewer at this time. He did tell me the brewer is an award winning homebrewer, of which I have a guess or two as to who it might be, but won’t speculate right now. Beers brewed at Monkey Paw will get sprinkled around to other places, most likely Blair’s other bars and some beers might even make their way up the coast to LA or San Francisco, but not to expect the full lineup of Monkey Paw’s beers in one place outside the brewpub itself .

The downtown neighborhood’s have come a long way in terms of craft beer in the last fews of years and it looks like Monkey Paw will continue this trend with another spot to get great beer downtown in addition to quality cocktails and food in what Blair assures me will be an unpretentious environment that aesthetically looks different than his other bars.

Only time will tell what will happen with Monkey Paw and craft beer downtown, but if the success of Hamilton’s Tavern is any indication it could help turn Downtown’s East Village into a real beer destination as it adds to what is already there (Neighborhood and Mission Brewery).

Image via Monkey Paw’s Facebook Page

San Diego Beer Events May 26th– June 1st

Tags

Belgian Beers with Goat Chees pairing, Belgian Beers with Goat Cheeses, cigar city, green flash mira mesa, green flash moving, green flash vista closing, Insider Belgian Cream Ale, marron acidifie, new belgium beerbq, new belgium grand cru, new belgium super cru, pints for prostates, shipyard brewing company, veritas 009, veritas 009 release, whistle stop

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.  Not all of the beer events happening in a given week make it on the list below, I pick one or two per day to avoid information overload. Make sure to check out the Events page or the calendar below this post for all the week’s events.

Thursday May 26th:

It’s probably your last chance to get some of Automatic Brewing Co.’s latest beer, Insider Belgian Cream Ale brewed for in collaboration with FM 9/49 for the North Park Festival of the Arts Craft Beer Block. They’ll be offering it up at Blind Lady Ale House by the glass and growler from 5pm until it’s gone.

Friday May 27th:

Hamilton’s Tavern will be hosting their 3rd Annual Shipyard Brewing Company Lobsterfest with a ton of the Portland, Maine’s beers on draft, two casks and as the name implies, plenty of Maine lobster.

Saturday May 28th:

Saturday is going to be a busy day. Most of the hardcore beer geeks within a 200 mile radius will be lining up at The Lost Abbey well before 10am when they open for the Veritas 009 release. A bit was poured last weekend and reports are that it’s great. 750ml bottles will be $35 with a limit of four per person.

If you’re looking to stay more central Blind Lady Ale House will be doing Bruery flights to celebrate The Bruery’s Third Anniversary. They’ll have The Bruery/Cigar City Marrón Acidifié collaboration and more.

Over at KnB Wine Cellars they’ll be hosting a New Belgium BeerBQ. They’ll have some delicious New Belgium beers including the recently release Grand Cru and Super Cru as well as grilled foods made with New Belgium beer.

Sunday May 29th:

It’s Green Flash Brewing Co.’s last day in Vista, and they’re throwing a customer appreciation party to thank everyone before they close shop and head down south (see Wednesday, June 1st below). They’ll have complimentary food and prizes.

There’s also a special Sunday daytime Drinkabout benefiting Pints for Prostates. The free shuttle will run from 1-5pm, going to all the usual Drinkabout spots in addition to Whistle Stop and Eleven. $1 from every beer purchased at each spot will be donated to Pints for Prostates.

Monday May 30th:

It’s Memorial Day, but it’s also Monday, that means $3 local pint night at Toronado.

Tuesday May 31st

Up at Stone Brewing Co. World Bistro and Gardens they’ll be pairing Belgian Beers with Goat Cheeses. $39 gets you seven pairings total. These events at Stone have been selling out, so if you’re interested I suggest buying tickets ahead of time.

Wednesday June 1st:

If things goes as planned, Green Flash Brewing Co. will officially be opening the doors at the new brewery and tasting room in Mira Mesa to the public from 3-9pm. I expect them to open as planned, but double check before heading over there to make sure there wasn’t a delay in their opening. This is only the soft opening, they’ll have a big grand opening celebration later this summer.

San Diego Beer Events May 5th – May 11th

Tags

can cancer tailgate, firkin friday, flyin' HI.P. Hay, master pairings vegan beer dinner, maui brewing co, miho gastrotruck, night on adams, padres beerfest, sextant stout, tailgate beer, vegan beer dinner, wychwood hobgoblin

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.  Not all of the beer events happening in a given week make it on the list below, I pick one or two per day to avoid information overload. Make sure to check out the Events page or the calendar below this post for all the week’s events.

Thursday May 5th:

With Cinco de Mayo being such a beer drinking “holiday”, one would think there would be something craft beer related here in San Diego, just a few miles from the Mexican border, but if there is I couldn’t find it. So head down to Pizza Port Ocean Beach for their Wychwood Hobgoblin Keep the Glass night. I’ve never had the beer but I’ve heard good things, but just look at this glass.

Friday May 6th:

As with most Friday’s there’s Firkin Friday at Hamilton’s Tavern, this week with Ballast Point’s Sextant Stout aged on rum soaked oak chips.

If you’re looking for something a bit different head down to Petco Park before the Padres game for their first Beerfest of the season. From 4:30 until just before the first pitch at 7 they’ll be pouring beers from 25 different breweries. Admission to the Beerfest is free with your ticket to the Padres game and full size beers are just $5.

Saturday May 7th:

While not exclusively a beer event, Night on Adams is happening at various businesses up and down Adams Ave, there will be food, art, cocktails and of course beer. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night and it gives you an excuse to stop into Blind Lady Ale House.

Sunday May 8th:

Tailgate Beer is organizing a Can Cancer Tailgate party at Petco Park before the Padres game on Mother’s Day. $35 gets you a couple of cans of Tailgate beer, a t-shirt, brunch and tickets to the game. Get more info here.

Monday May 9th:

It’s $3 local pint night at Toronado from 6pm to close. I think Eleven is still doing their pint night as well (all draft beers) but I haven’t heard much about it lately. I’ve sent an email over to the folks at Eleven to confirm their Monday night special is still on. I’ll update this post if I hear back.

And Blind Lady Ale House, usually closed on Monday’s will be opening each Monday in May, bar only, no food. They’ll be showing a different movie each week and MIHO Gastrotruck will be serving up food for a few hours, this week’s film is Career Courier, a documentary about bicycle messengers.

Tuesday May 10th:

Stone Brewing Co.’s latest pairing dinner, Master Pairings: Vegan Beer Dinner is sold out, so if you haven’t bought tickets you’re not getting in. And it doesn’t seem like there’s much else going on this Tuesday night. There’s a vegan beer dinner happening later in the week at a North Park restaurant, look for a post with more details soon.

Wednesday May 11th:

If you didn’t get enough of Maui Brewing Co.’s beers while founder Garrett Marrero was in town last week you’re in luck, Small Bar is hosting an Aloha Happy Hour with some of Maui Brewing’s beers. I couldn’t get enough of the Flyin’ HI.P.Hay which doesn’t appear to be on Small Bar’s list, but there’s bound to be some other good stuff from Maui.

San Diego Beer Events April 14th – April 20th

Tags

2008 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine Aged in Red Wine Barrels, Beer and Chocolate pairings, bitter and sour night, Bombay By Boat IPA, Death and Taxes Black Beer, DoBelgo DIPA, downtown johnny brown's bitter and sour night, Ginger Big Eye, Master Pairings Beer and Chocolate, miho gastrotruck, moonlight brewing, Oakquinox, pizza port real ale festival, real ale festival, Reality Czeck Pils, stone oakquinox, Two Weeks Notice Gruit Ale

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Thursday April 14th: It’s not often that beers from Santa Rosa’s Moonlight Brewing show up down here in San Diego, but the folks at The Linkery will have four Moonlight beers on tap starting Thursday. They’ll have Death and Taxes Black Beer, Bombay By Boat IPA, Reality Czeck Pils, and Two Weeks Notice Gruit Ale. The Death and Taxes is in honor of Tax Day the following day.

Friday April 15th: The Real Ale Festival at Pizza Port Carlsbad gets underway, they’ll have over 50 cask conditioned beers which makes it the largest selection of real ale on the west coast. It takes place all day Saturday as well.

Another Tax Day celebration, Downtown Johnny Brown’s is doing their 3rd Annual Bitter and Sour Night featuring some of the best IPAs and sours around. The lineup looks stellar, if you’re a fan of either of those styles (which if you’re reading this blog I would guess you like one of them if not both) this night is highly recommended.

Saturday April 16th: The Real Ale Festival is happening all day, from 11am to 11pm. $30 gets you in with eight 4oz tasters. Starting at 7pm they’ll let you in for $20.

Sunday April 17th: If you don’t already have tickets for Stone Oakquinox you’re out of luck, it’s sold out. But do if you happen by Stone make sure you have your growler with you, they’ll be doing 2008 Stone Old Guardian  Barley Wine Aged in  Red Wine Barrels growler fills.

Monday April 18th: It’s $3 local pint night at Toronado from 6pm to close. I think Eleven is still doing their pint night as well (all draft beers) but I haven’t heard much about it lately. I’ve sent an email over to the folks at Eleven to confirm their Monday night special is still on. I’ll update this post when I hear back.

Tuesday April 19th: The Master Pairings Beer and Chocolate pairing at Stone sounds delicious. I’m not sure what beers they’ll be serving but it’s sure to not disappoint.

Wednesday April 20th: Third Wednesday of the month means it’s time for the DrinkAbout. No word on any of the specials this month but it’s sure to be a good time as always.

They’re also doing another beer pairing dinner at Homebrew Mart/Ballast Point Linda Vista with MIHO Gastrotruck and Fiji Yogurt. Fiji is making a Ballast Point Even Keel wort based Lemonade Ginger Sorbet flavored with Cascade Hop Oil. They’ll have a ton of great beers on tap including Ginger Big Eye and DoBelgo DIPA (Dorado with Belgian Yeast).

San Diego Beer Events April 7th – April 13th

Tags

2008 Stone Imperial Russian Stout, beer u: stouts, big sky brewing, citybeat festival of beers, hamilton's second saturday, progressive cask, rustic saison, sam adams perfect pint glass, samuel adams perfect pint, second saturday, sierra nevada second saturday, sierra nevada stout, sierra nevada torpedo ipa, silva stout, stone sunday funday, trumer pils, union jack ipa

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Thursday April 7th:

Pizza Port Ocean Beach will have some beers from Samuel Adams on tap, including Rustic Saison (which I haven’t tried yet, but hope it will be the subject of a Farmhouse Friday post in the near future). In addition to the beers from Sam Adams they’ll also have some Sam Adams Perfect Pint glasses available for purchase. There’s plenty of notes on what this glass does to accentuate the beer over on Sam Adams website. And they’re also pretty cool looking.

Friday April 8th:

Last week Blind Lady Ale House started opening up for lunch on Friday’s. And with their extended Friday hours came a “progressive cask” in which from the time they open at 11:30am until 2pm pints are only $2. Each hour after 2pm the price goes up a buck. So $2 until 2pm, $3 until 3pm, $4 until 4pm… you get the point. This week they’ll have a cask of Firestone Walker’s Union Jack IPA. They don’t expect it to last long, last week’s was gone before 2pm.

Saturday April 9th:

The CityBeat Festival of Beers is officially sold out, so if you don’t have a ticket already you’re not getting in. Lucky for you it just so happens to be Second Saturday at Hamilton’s Tavern. This month they’re hosting Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. They’ll have Sierra Nevada Stout and Torpedo IPA on cask as well as thirty other Sierra Nevada beers on draft. As always there will be complimentary food as well.

If you are headed to the CityBeat Festival of Beers (or just in the area) and want to drink beer before or after (or if the crowds become too much and you need to escape and grab a full pint of beer) Live Wire has you covered. Trumer Pils is hosting the after party, it might not be the beer geekiest of beers, but after four hours of unlimited beer drinking it might be just what you need to round out the evening. But if that’s just not your thing they’ll have happy hour pricing all day on all of their other taps.

Sunday April 10th:

Sunday’s tend to be one of the slower days for special craft beer events, luckily Stone Brewing Co. has been pulling out some great beers lately for their Sunday Funday growler fills. This week it’s 2008 Stone Imperial Russian Stout. Stone IRS is one of my favorite beers, especially aged a couple years.

Monday April 11th:

In addition to pint night at both Toronado and Eleven with $3 drafts in which Eleven offers all of their on-tap beers for $3 from open to close while Toronado offers locals for $3 from 6pm to close, Stone is also hosting the latest installment in their Beer U series. This month it’s Beer U: Stouts. $25 gets you a lesson in all things stout as well as tasters of eight different stouts, including the aforementioned 2008 Stone Imperial Russian Stout as well as one of my favorite beers to be released last year, Green Flash’s Silva Stout

Tuesday April 12th:

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Wednesday April 13th:

Small Bar will have a handful or beers from Montana’s Big Sky Brewing on tap. $5 gets you a glass to take home with your first beer in it, with subsequent refills only $3.50.

If you’re out in east county, El Cajon’s Main Tap Tavern will have Iron Fist’s Velvet Glove on cask with some glasses to take home. I’ve had Velvet Fist on draft and it’s delicious, I imagine it will be equally as good if not better on cask.

San Diego Beer Events March 31th – April 6th

Tags

hamilton's firkin friday, knb beerbq, mad river brewing company, shipyard brewing company, steelhead dipa, Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans, toronado tart tuesday

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Thursday Mar 31st:

I haven’t heard of anything special going on. If you know of something please email events@sandiegobeerblog.comto get it added.

Friday April 1st:

Mad River Brewing Company makes some seriously good beers. At last year’s Great American Beer Festival they won the Small Brewing Company of the year category and took home a gold, silver and bronze medal. Hamilton’s Tavern will have their Steelhead Double IPA on cask for this week’s Firkin Friday. Chances are good they’ll have a few other Mad River treats as well.

Saturday April 2nd:

Now that it’s spring it’s time for KNB Wine Cellars to start up their BeerBQ’s again. This time it’s with Portland Maine’s Shipyard Brewing Company. They’ll have around 15 beers from Shipyard on draft paired with traditional New England food. Check out more details on Facebook.

Sunday April 3rd:

Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans seems to be showing on draft at more bars and restaurants recently, but the only way to get some to enjoy at home is to get a growler filled at the brewery in Escondido. They don’t do fills all the time, so if you’re a fan head on up Sunday to get a growler full.

Monday April 4th:

Pint night at both Toronado and Eleven with $3 drafts. Eleven offers all of their on-tap beers for $3 from open to close while Toronado offers locals for $3 from 6pm to close.

Tuesday April 5th:

Toronado hasn’t announced many details on this one yet, but they’re calling this “Tart Tuesday” and say it’s a night sour lovers won’t want to miss. I expect Toronado will post more details here as the date nears.

Wednesday April 6th:

Small Bar will have some beers from Poway’s Lightning Brewery on tap with a keep the glass special. $5.50 gets your glass and first beer and refills are only $3.50 after that. No word on exactly what they’ll have on draft but Lightning is a nice change of pace from some of the overly hoppy beers around town.

San Diego Beer Events, March 10th – March 16th

Tags

2010 Double Bastard Ale with Chipotle Peppers, aha rally, aison du BUFF, american homebrewers association, brewbies, crime, Double Dry Hopped Lukcy Basartd Ale, Duet, Exponential Hoppiness, karl strauss 22nd anniversary vanilla imperial stout, laura ulrich, Mchilhenny Red, oak barrel aged Double Bastard Ale, punishment, stone brewing co march madness homebrew competition, Stone Imperial Russian Stout GK's Mad Man Mix, token imperial porter, while the wife's away ipa

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Thursday Mar 10th:

I don’t have many of the details on tonight’s “mini-Brewbies” Fest at Toronado, but they say they’ll have a few pink beers on tap and will be donating a significant portion of the money they make tonight to the Keep-a-Breast Foundation. There’s sure to be some great beer, and you’ll be supporting a great cause.

For those of you in the East County (of even if you’re not, it’s not that far of a drive) The Press Box Bar and Sports Lounge in Rancho San Diego/El Cajon is hosting Lightning Brewery. Head Brewer Jim Crute will be on hand with Lightning’s full lineup of beers. The $25 tickets include beer and food samples. If you’re set on going call ahead to reserve your spot. 619-713-6990

Friday Mar 11th:

Seems like it’s a slow Friday night beer-wise this week. Of course there’s always plenty of great beer around town, but Pizza Port Ocean Beach will be tapping a cask of While the Wife’s Away IPA at 5pm.

Saturday Mar 12th:

The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) is holding one of their homebrew get togethers (called the AHA Rally) at Stone Brewing Co. I attended an AHA Rally a few years back in Colorado and had a great time, I’m sure this one will be much larger with a lot more homebrew. The Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens sounds like the perfect setting. It’s free for AHA members or you can sign up at the door. Space is limited so RSVP (or get on the waiting list if it’s already full)

No Firkin Friday last night (at Hamilton’s Tavern anyway) means it must be Second Saturday. This month they’re hosting the Alpine Beer Co. They’ll have Duet and Token Imperial Porter with Oak and Vanilla Beans on cask and a whole slew of other Alpine beers on draft, including what is one of the last kegs of Exponential Hoppiness around. As with all Second Saturday’s, they’ll have complimentary food, this month an Irish feast with Mchilhenny Red Corned Beef and Cabbage, Token Porter Bread Pudding and more.

Sunday Mar 13th:

Know of a great beer event happening? Email events@sandiegobeerblog.com

Monday Mar 14th:

Pint night at both Toronado and Eleven with $3 drafts. Eleven offers all of their on-tap beers for $3 from open to close while Toronado offers locals for $3 from 6pm to close.

Tuesday Mar 15th:

Tipsy Crow is tapping a cask of Karl Strauss’s 22nd Anniversary Imperial Stout with Vanilla Beans. This is one of my favorite beers I’ve had on cask recently. There probably aren’t a whole lot of chances to get this on cask again. It’s good on draft, but great on cask.

This month’s installment of Chicks for Beer at The High Dive will feature Stone Brewing Co.’s Laura Ulrich (I wrote about Laura in the March issue of West Coaster). Ulrich, along with two other female brewers, brewed the first ever all female commercial collaboration beer earlier this year. Buy your tickets in advance and remember, this one is ladies only.

Wednesday Mar 16th:

The monthly DrinkAbout is happening at some of the Uptown bars. A free shuttle runs from 7pm-11pm between Hamilton’s Tavern, Station Tavern, Sea Rocket Bistro, Ritual Tavern, Blind Lady Ale House, Small Bar, Livewire and Toronado. There are sure to be plenty of specials but I’ve only heard of two so far. Sea Rocket will have flights from Manzanita Brewing Co. and Hamilton’s and Small Bar will have Brekle’s Brown, a new brown ale from Anchor Steam. This is the first time it will be on tap in San Diego and they’re doing a keep the glass special.

Up at Stone Brewing Co. they’re featuring Crime and Punishment keep the glass specials. Crime is Double Dry Hopped Lukcy Basartd Ale with chili peppers and Punishment is oak barrel aged Double
Bastard Ale with chili peppers. They glasses will be small (I can’t imagine wanting more than a taster of each) but you’ll get to take them home with you. They’ll also be filling growlers of Saison du BUFF, 2010 Double Bastard Ale with Chipotle Peppers, and Stone Imperial Russian Stout GK’s Mad Man Mix in the company store.

San Diego Beer Events, March 3rd – March 9th

Tags

2008 Barrel Aged Sea Monster Imperial Stout, 2009 Sea Monster Imperial Stout, Abandon Ship Smoked Lager, Abandon Ship Smoked Lager with Dried Smoked Chipotles, carnevale, Churchill's Finest Hour, churchill's renaissance, fiji yogurt, firkin friday, habanero sculpin ipa, knb bbq, miho gastrotruck, Old Tempest Ale, pliny the younger churchill's pub, saison de lente, Sea Monster Imperial Stout, sierra nevada week, Tongue Buckler

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Thursday Mar 3rd:

Ballast Point is teaming up with MIHO Gastrotruck and Fiji Yogurt for another casual beer dinner. MIHO will be serving Drunken Wild Mexican Shrimp and Grits prepared with Abandon Ship Smoked Lager and Fiji will have a Ballast Point Tongue Buckler wort based yogurt, flavored with Peanut Butter and Honey. Ballast Point will be pouring plenty of beers including Abandon Ship Smoked Lager, Abandon Ship Smoked Lager with Dried Smoked Chipotles, Habanero Sculpin IPA, 2008 Barrel Aged Sea Monster Imperial Stout, 2009 Sea Monster Imperial Stout and this year’s version of Sea Monster Imperial Stout. They’ll have recommendations on which beers pair best with what food. This all happens from 4:30-7pm at Ballast Point/Homebrew Mart in Linda Vista.

Friday Mar 4th:

Another Friday, another Firkin Friday at Hamilton’s Tavern. This week they’ll feature Poway’s Lightning Brewery with a cask of their Old Tempest Ale, their 9.5% ABV UK style strong ale. As usual Hamilton’s should have a couple other Lightning beers on draft as well.

Saturday Mar 5th:

Churchill’s Pub and Grille in San Marcos is hosting their second annual Churchill’s Renaissance. Starting at 11am they’ll have all sorts of delicious beers that don’t see the light of day too often. Sure they’ll have Russian River Brewing Company’s much sought after Pliny the Younger, but they’ll also have a ton of other delicious and rare beers including this year’s version of Port Brewing Co.’s Churchill’s Finest Hour, an imperial stout aged in Jack Daniels whiskey barrels. Get there early for the extra rare stuff.

Sunday Mar 6th:

Sierra Nevada Beer BrunchBQ Finale is happening at KNB Wine Cellars from 11am-3pm to finish off their Sierra Nevada week. They should still have plenty of great Sierra Nevada beers and some delicious food on the BBQ.

Monday Mar 7th:

Pint night at both Toronado and Eleven with $3 drafts. Eleven offers all of their on-tap beers for $3 from open to close while Toronado offers locals for $3 from 6pm to close.

Tuesday Mar 8th:

Ritual Tavern will be having a Fat Tuesday celebration. They’ll have The Bruery’s Saison de Lente and Lost Abbey’s Carnevale on draft. For food they’ll have fried oyster Po-boys, gumbo and beignets.

Wednesday Mar 9th:

Ballast Point and Green Flash are teaming up to take over all the taps at Rancho Bernardo’s URGE Gastropub. They’ll split URGE’s 51 taps fairly evenly and if you get there early you might even score a commemorative pint glasses to take home. No word on what each brewery will be brining but expect some great beers to be pouring.

Down at Small Bar they’ll be featuring AleSmith with some keep the glass specials and pint glasses to take home.

San Diego Beer Events, February 24th – March 2nd

Tags

2005 imperial russian stout, 2007 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine., black market rye ipa, eleven pint night, knb wine cellars pint night, le merle, lost abbey carnevale, north coast brewing company, old rasputin, san diego pint night, san salvador saison, scrimshaw pils, Tongue Buckler, toronado pint night

If you know of anything that isn’t on the events calendar, please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Thursday Feb 24th:

Pizza Port Ocean Beach is doing a North Coast Brewing Company keep the glass night. Old Rasputin has been one of my stand by beers for sometime while Le Merle and Scrimshaw Pils are recent favorites. They’ll have regular and Belgian-style glasses to take home as well as some other North Coast beers on tap.

Friday Feb 25th:

This Friday is the first ever Friday Afternoon Club (FAC) at Hess Brewing Company. They’ll have live music, catered food and $3 pints in your Hess Brewing Company glass. If you don’t have a glass yet you can buy one for $8 including your first beer.

Hamilton’s Tavern will have a cask of Ballast Point Brewing Company’s Tongue Buckler an Imperial Red for Firkin Friday this week. I haven’t had this years batch yet but I hear it’s good.

Saturday Feb 26th:

The Tap Room in Pacific Beach is celebrating their 4th Anniversary this weekend with a beer festival on Saturday. $20 gets you eight 6oz tasters. They’ll have a ton of limited and rare beers available for sampling.

Lost Abbey is hosting their fourth annual Carnevale, a Venetian-style Carnevale masquerade party from 7-11pm. Beers are all regular price but if you attend in costume food and entertainment are free. Check out their website for pictures from past years, it looks like a good time.

Sunday Feb 27th:

The Linkery is celebrating their Sixth Anniversary all weekend long (starting Friday) with their Festival of Sausages and Beer. They’ll have some great stuff on cask and draft all weekend in addition to their solid bottle lineup. They’ll have the declicious and locally sourced Ballast Point San Salvador Saison (which The Linkery helped source ingredients for and brew) as well as 2007 Stone Old Guardian Barleywine and a cask of Black Market Brewing Company Rye IPA in addition to some other great beers. Some stuff may run out, so if there’s a particular beer you’re especially interested in you may want to head down there earlier in the weekend.

Up in Escondido Stone Brewing Co. will be filling growlers of 2005 Imperial Russian Stout. This is a great beer with a few years on it, and in Stone’s cellar I’m sure this is holding up just fine. Sunday growler fills can be extremely limited. I’d suggest stopping by in the morning.

Monday Feb 28th:

Pint night at both Toronado and Eleven with $3 drafts. Eleven offers all of their on-tap beers for $3 from open to close while Toronado offers locals for $3 from 6pm to close.

Tuesday March 1st:

I haven’t heard of anything special going on. If you know of something please email events@sandiegobeerblog.com to get it added.

Wednesday March 2nd:

If you didn’t get enough $3 pints on Monday night stop by KNB Wine Cellars anytime Wednesday when they’re doing $3 beers.