San Diego Weekend Beer Events Thursday 9/22 – Sunday 9/25

Tags

2007 Stone Imperial Russian Stout, adams avenue beer taste, Ballast Point Behind the Brewery, beer for boobs, Beer for Boobs fundraiser, Dark Seas Russian Imperial Stout, Dorado DIPA, miho gastrotruck, San Diego County Beer Fair, Schooner Fresh Hop Ale, Stone Imperial Russian Stout

I’m hoping to get back into the habit of regularly posting beer events. I won’t be posting all events, and just because an event isn’t listed doesn’t mean it isn’t worth going to. I’ll just pick one or two a day. I try to keep the Events Calendar up to date, so check it for the full list of things going on around down. If you know of a beer event that isn’t listed send me an email, events@sandiegobeerblog.com

I’m also testing out a new format, instead of posting a weeks worth of events at once, I’ll be posting the weekend events on Wednesday night or Thursday and then posting on Sunday or Monday if there’s anything noteworthy going on Monday-Wednesday of a given week.

Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011:

The “Behind the Brewery” beer dinner’s at Ballast Point Linda Vista/Home Brew Mart are always fun. MIHO Gastrotruck pulls up behind the brewery and pairs their food with some of Ballast Point’s beers. It’s also the last day to get growler fills of Dorado DIPA and the first day to get your growlers filled with Schooner Fresh Hop Ale.

New Mission Brewery release - Dark Seas Russian Imperial Stout

Down at Mission Brewery they’ll be unveiling Dark Seas Russian Imperial Stout at 5pm with a cask tapped at 6pm. We hope that this is the first of many new and seasonal beers to come out of their new space. They’ll also have a food truck on site.

Friday, Sept. 23, 2011:

Up in North County Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Company is hosting a Beer for Boobs fundraiser. $10 gets you a commemorative pint glass and two pints of anything on tap.

Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011:

Some people say that the San Diego beer festival market is getting saturated, and that could be the case, but don’t let it stop you from checking out one of the two festivals happening today. The San Diego County Beer Fair is happening at Liberty Station. Prices range from $35-50 for 12 4oz pours.

Over at the Adams Avenue Street Fair they’re having the Adams Avenue Beer Taste and billing it as the cheapest beer tasting event in San Diego. $20 gets you 12 4oz tasters.

Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011:

Stone Brewing Co.’s Imperial Russian Stout gets better with age, stop by the Stone Company Store in Escondido to pick up bottles that Stone has properly cellared since 2007 starting at 11am when the store opens.

Advertisement

Ballast Point Indra Kunindra

Tags

alex tweet, colby chandler, indra kunindra

This beer is like no other beer I’ve ever had before. Brewed with madras curry, caynne pepper, cumin, toasted coconut, and kaffir lime leaf, Indra Kunindra is a 9% ABV stout brewed in collaboration with homebrewer Alex Tweet. Indra Kunindra was the winner of Holiday Wine Cellar’s 2nd Annual Homebrew competition last year, which is why it was chosen to be brewed at Ballast Point and I believe it is Ballast Point’s entry for the Pro-Am competition at the National Homebrewers Conference going on in Mission Valley right now.

Indra Kunindra smells like walking into a highly aromatic Indian food restaurant. It smells like a plate of curry was set down right in front of me. The taste is much the same, I tasted cumin and coconut and a bit of citrus which I can only assume was the kaffir lime leaf. I felt the heat from the cayenne pepper soon after I finished my first sip, but it wasn’t an unpleasant heat. The beer felt much thinner than I expected from a 9% ABV stout, but that isn’t a complaint just an observation.

The four ounce taster, which cost me a dollar plus tax at Ballast Point Linda Vista/Homebrew Mart, was probably just the right amount of this beer that I would want to drink in one sitting. One friend told me the aftertaste lingered unpleasantly for quite a while, which I didn’t experience but I could easily see that happening. As soon as I took my first sip I did immediately wished I had some food, something like a garlic naan bread. This is a beer that seems like it was made to go with food, but you would have to be careful to find the right combo where the beer wouldn’t overpower the food.

The June issue of West Coaster has a recipe for a scaled down version of Curry Stout that looks to be very similar to this one as well as a recipes for Prawn Curry with Fresh Pineapple & Asparagus and a Curry Paste courtesy of Ballast Point’s Specialty Brewer (the brewer that collaborated with Tweet on this beer) Colby Chandler.

Edit: Ballast Point recently received label approval for 22oz bottles of Indra Kunindra

San Diego Beer Events June 9th– June 15th

Tags

2008 Barrel-Aged Speedway Stout, 2009 Barrel-Aged Decadence, black ops, blind lady ale house mini sour fest, blue bridge coffee stout, Consecration, coronado black ops, frogs breath ipa, miho gastrotruck, miho gastrotruck anniversary, miho gastrotruck pint giveaway, national homebrewers conference, national homebrewers conference san diego, nhc events, Red Poppy, san diego beer hall, summer yulesmith, Tanzanian Devil, Treasure Chest

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. As always, events are subject to change, check with the venue putting on the event before hand for more details.

Thursday June 9th:

Stop by AleSmith for a special preview cask of Summer YuleSmith, it’s only a ‘pin’ (smaller than a firkin) so stop by early if you’re interested in trying it. AleSmith is open today from 2-7pm.

Friday June 10th:

This Friday kicks off the San Diego Beer Week Preview Weekend with the Beer Hall at The Lodge at Torrey Pines. It’s $65 per person for beer and food pairings from some of San Diego’s best breweries and restaurants in an amazing venue.

Friday is also the release of Treasure Chest, a Belgian Pale Ale from Green Flash with proceeds benefiting Chicks for Beer. It’s only available in 12oz bottles and only sold by the case at the Green Flash tasting room

Saturday June 11th:

Second Saturday at Hamilton’s Tavern hosts Coronado Brewing Company this month. They’ll have plenty of great beers including the newish Black Ops (Black IPA) and Frogs Breath IPA, as well as the Blue Bridge Coffee Stout which I’ve heard good things about. The food theme this month is Baja Fish Fest.

Sunday June 12th:

The Sierra Nevada beer dinner at O’Brien’s Pub is almost sold out, so hurry if you’re still looking for tickets.

Homebrew Mart/Ballast Point will be teaching a homebrew class at their Linda Vista location. If you’ve never homebrewed before (or even if you have) learning to brew with some of the pros will be sure to teach you some tips on making great beer.

Monday June 13th:

As always Monday night means $3 local pint night at Toronado.

MIHO Gastrotruck will be celebrating their 1 year anniversary at Blind Lady Ale House from 6-8pm with a pint glass giveaway for the first 50 customers.

Tuesday June 14th:

Automatic Brewing Co. kicks off their CASKoDAY at Blind Lady Ale House with a new cask of Tanzanian Devil, a 3.6% ABV coffee mild. They’ll be tapping a new cask every day until Saturday.

Wednesday June 15th:

With the National Homebrewers Conference in town this upcoming weekend there’s sure to be plenty of events going on. Wednesday seems to be the kick off with all sorts of options.

AleSmith will be releasing bottles of their 2008 Barrel-Aged Speedway Stout and 2009 Barrel-Aged Decadence at noon. Tickets which will allow bottle purchases must be picked up at 8:30am.

Blind Lady Ale House is doing a Mini Sour Fest with plenty of great stuff on draft including Lost Abbey Red Poppy and Russian River Consecration and more. They’ll open for lunch at 11:30am.

It’s also the monthly DrinkAbout with plenty going on at all the various area bars, be sure to check the calendar below for all the details.

San Diego Beer Events April 21st – April 27th

Tags

Automatic Quartz Japan IPA, Boon Kriek, cy henley, double jack, easter beer brunch, firkin friday, Garrett Marrero, john trogner, latis imports, maui brewing co, mitch steele, pale 31, palm, Rodenbach Grand Cru, Rodenbach Vintage 08, Steenbrugge Tripel, stone Cherry Chocolate Stout, stone collaboration, troegs brewing co., Trooper's Tipple IPA, union jack, Why Not? Wheat

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 April 21st:

Head down to Pizza Port Ocean Beach where they’ll be featuring New English Brewing Co. for their keep the glass night. They’ll have Why Not? Wheat and Troopers Tipple IPA for $5 with $3 refills (or if you have enough glasses already you can just enjoy a pint for $3).

Friday April 22nd:

Hamilton’s Tavern will host Firestone Walker for this week’s Firkin Friday. They’ll have Double Jack and Pale 31 on cask with Pale 31, Union Jack, Double Jack and an unannounced special beer on draft.

Saturday April 23rd:

Small Bar has a delicious brunch and for this month’s Beer for Breakfast they’re featuring the beers of Latis Imports. That includes Rodenbach Grand Cru and Rodenbach Vintage 08 as well as Boon Kriek, Steenbrugge Tripel, and Palm. They’ll even give you discounts on refills and send you home with a glass.

Sunday April 24th:

If you don’t have Easter plans with the family (or can convince your family that beer is a necessary component of brunch) head on up to URGE Gastropub for their Epic Beer Brunch. $45 presale ($50 day of) gets you a four course brunch with beer pairings. Tax and gratuity are included, this looks like quite the deal.

Monday April 25th:

Blind Lady Ale House is opening their doors Monday night for a special fundraiser for Japan. $35 tickets will get you food samples and beers (donated by many local breweries). They’ll also be debuting Automatic Brewing Co.’s latest beer, Automatic Quartz Japan IPA brewed with the help of Cy Henley from Alpine Beer Co. It’s 7% ABV and made with 12% rice grist and Nelson hops with ingredients donated by Alpine and Home Brew Mart. There will also be a raffle for some wonderful prizes. All money from ticket sales and the raffle go to International Relief Committee’s fund for Japan. The event is limited to 150, so make sure to get your tickets before it sells out.

Tuesday April 26th:
The monthly QUAFF homebrew club meeting takes place at All American Grill in Mission Valley at 7pm, but if you need some homebrew goals to aspire to, head up to Stone Brewing Co. from 4-6pm for their Meet the Brewers: Collaboration Day Wrap-Up. Stone’s Mitch Steele is teaming up with Kevin Sheppard and Jason Fields, homebrewers whose Cherry Chocolate Stout won Stone’s Homebrew Competition last month and will now be brewed on Stone’s brewing system for commercial release. As with most (all?) previous Stone collaborations, they’ve also invited another commercial brewer, this time it’s John Trogner of Pennsylvania’s Tröegs Brewing Co. helping out with the brew.

Wednesday April 27th:

Maui Brewing Co. might be based in Hawaii, but founder Garrett Marrero grew up here in San Diego. He’ll be at URGE Gastropub with seven Maui beers. The first two-hundred people will also take home a Maui Brewing Co. pint glass and a festive lei.

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, January 27th- February 2nd

Tags

22nd Anniversary Vanilla Imperial Stout, automatic coffee imperial brown ale, Belgica Belgian Ale, Bloody Larry, Chipotle-Cocoa Nib version of Black Marlin, Claymore Scotch Ale, Compunction, Consecration, Damnation, Dried Guajillo Calico, Espresso Yeti Imperial Stout, firkin friday, Fresh Hop Pale Ale, Habanero Sculpin, Hades Belgian Pale Ale, Hercules IIPA, Hibernation Old Ale, jolly pumpkin, jolly pumpkin flights, karl strauss 22nd anniversary vanilla imperial stout, karl strauss changing of the barrels, miho gastrotruck, Mortification, o'brien's russian river consumpTION, Oaked Yeti Imperial Stout, Old Ruffian Barleywine, Perdition, redemption, Rejection, Roasted Pasilla Yellowtail, salvation, samuel smith brewery, Sanctification, smoked baltic porter, Supplication, Temptation, titan ipa, toronado pint night, toronado san diego pint night, yeti imperial stout

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

Thursday, Jan 27:

Homebrew Mart (Ballast Point’s Linda Vista operation) is teaming up with MIHO Gastrotruck for a casual beer pairing dinner with a focus on chili beers. Ballast Point has infused five of their beers with chili peppers: Chipotle-Cocoa Nib version of Black Marlin, Roasted Pasilla Yellowtail, Dried Guajillo Calico, Habanero Sculpin and Bloody Larry (BP Bloody Mary Mix and Abandon Ship Smoked Lager) and they’ll make recommendations for food to pair with it. Fiji Yogurt next door will have a Mango Lime Thai Chili yogurt with Ballast Point beer. Tasters will be $1 and food prices will vary.

Friday, Jan 28:

Iron Fist Brewing Company (I’m not sure, do they still hold the distinction of being San Diego County’s  newest brewery?) has come a long way in a few short months. They’ll be at Hamilton’s Tavern for Firkin Friday with a special cask of an IPA/Belgian-style brew aged in white wine barrels with Brett. They’ll also have plenty of their other beers on draft.

Saturday, Jan 29:

It’s Russian River ConsumpTION weekend at O’Brien’s. They’ll have 17 Russian River beers on tap including 11 Belgian-style “TION” beers. They’ll have: Damnation, Salvation, Supplication, Temptation, Consecration, Perdition, Sanctification, Mortification, Compunction, Redemption and Rejection along with all the hoppy beers Russian River is also known for. They have full kegs of all the beers so they expect them to last throughout the weekend.

KNB Wine Cellars is featuring Great Divide Brewing Co. Saturday night. They’ll have Yeti Imperial Stout, Oaked Yeti Imperial Stout, Espresso Yeti Imperial Stout, Old Ruffian Barleywine, Hades Belgian Pale Ale, Hibernation Old Ale, Smoked Baltic Porter, Titan IPA, Hercules IIPA, Fresh Hop Pale Ale, Claymore Scotch Ale and Belgica Belgian Ale all on tap.

Sunday, Jan 30:

Automatic Brewing Co. (the brewery housed at Blind Lady Ale House) will be unveiling their latest beer Sunday morning for BLAH’s 2nd Anniversary. This Coffee Imperial Brown Ale comes in around 8.3% and is damn good (I got a sneak peak last weekend). For the first time they will be offering a limited amount of growlers, which are being pre-sold through Brown Paper Tickets. They’ll also be doing Jolly Pumpkin tasting flights that afternoon. (BLAH is having special events throughout the weekend, click here for more info on the rest of the events).

Monday, Jan 31:

Monday again which means local pint night at Toronado. $3 pours on all local beers.

Tuesday, Feb 1:

Throughout the month of February Eleven, Hamilton’s Tavern and Small Bar will be showcasing the beers of Samuel Smith Brewery. And they’re kicking things off with some glass giveaways to the first 25 people to buy a bottle. They’ll have different bottles at each of the bars throughout the month for $5 for 18oz.

Wednesday, Feb 2:

Karl Strauss is celebrating their 22nd Anniversary with a party to show off their 22nd Anniversary Vanilla Imperial Stout in it’s full barrel-aged form. Tickets are $50 which gets you tasters of 100% barrel aged 22nd Anniversary (the regular release will be blended with fresh beer) as well as a taste of the 23rd Anniversary beer before it goes into barrels. They’ll have food, live music and send you home with a bottle of the 22nd Anniversary Vanilla Imperial Stout and a commemorative snifter. Buy tickets in advance at the Karl Strauss website. They’re only selling sixty so this will probably sell out.

Local Brewers on KPBS These Days

Tags

colby chandler, kpbs, paul segura, san diego craft beer, shawn dewitt, these days

Yesterday the local KPBS morning show These Days had three local brewers on to talk about local beer and the upcoming San Diego Beer Week:  Paul Segura, brewmaster for Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Colby Chandler, brewer for Ballast Point Brewing Company and general manager of Home Brew Mart, and Shawn DeWitt co-founder and original brewmaster for Coronado Brewing Company and current Vice President of the San Diego Brewer’s Guild.

If you missed it live, you can download or stream the half-hour segment on KPBS’s website.

The KPBS Culture Lust blog also took a look at the local craft beer scene yesterday in this post.

San Diego Beer Week 2010 Preview Weekend, June 10-13

Tags

bear republic brewing co., beer hall, black lightning porter, fairweather pale ale, firkin friday, hamilton's padres day, mission valley craft beer festival, san diego beer week preview, san diego beer week preview weekend, san diego beer week'nd, san diego beer weekend, speedway stout, speedway stout ice cream, suds for surgeries, the lodge at torrey pines, world cup san diego

Sure, it’s only Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean it’s too soon to start thinking about the upcoming weekend. Especially when that weekend just so happens to be the preview weekend for the 2010 San Diego Beer Week (sometimes cleverly referred to as San Diego Beer Week’nd). The first ever San Diego Beer Week took place last November, and the second year of the event will be taking place this year from November 5-14, but there’s just so much great beer around that they have decided to hold a special preview weekend.

San Diego Beer Week Preview Weekend events starts Thursday evening with a beginner brewing class at Home Brew Mart taught by Ballast Point Brewing Co. brewer Doug Duffield. Homebrewing is a great way to learn about beer and is fun and delicious. This class will go over the basics of brewing and will brew a 5 gallon batch. The class is limited to 30 people and costs $10. Call (619) 295-2337 to reserve a spot. And if a beginner brewing class would be too basic for you, stop by Home Brew Mart on Friday for a 10% discount on all products.

If you would rather drink beer than learn how to make it Thursday night both Ritual Tavern and Hamilton’s Tavern have you covered. Ritual Tavern will host a very special blend of Alesmith Brewing Co.’s Speedway Stout. Starting at 8pm they’ll have a 3 year blend of Speedway, 2008 and 2009 were barrel aged and blended with fresh 2010 Speedway Stout and Ritual Tavern will be pairing this with homemade Speedway Stout ice cream. This will be a unique beer, one you probably won’t ever get to taste again. Speedway Stout is in my top 10 all time favorite beers. I’m excited to try this.

Over at Hamilton’s Tavern they’re doing their Firkin Friday a night early on Thursday hosting Lightning Brewing Co. They’ll have Fairweather Pale Ale on cask and Elemental and Black Lightning Porter on draught.

Friday is Allagash Night at Downtown Johnny Brown’s (in case you missed the Allagash flights at Blind Lady Ale House this past weekend, or just want more). They’ll have Curieux, Victor, Victoria, Confluence, Wit, Interlude, Odyssey, Fluxus 09′, Four and Dubbel as well as BBQ brisket in a Curieux sauce. Also Friday night is Beer Hall at The Lodge at Torrey Pines. Seven chefs will join seven brewers to pair beer and food. It’s $60 per person and 10% of the proceeds will go to the San Diego Brewer’s Guild. Click here for the menu and beer pairings.

Saturday Ballast Point Brewing Co. will be hosting a tasting of their three beers that won the World Beer Cup Champion Small Brewery. That’s Sculpin IPA, barrel aged Piper Down Scottish Ale and Fathom India Pale Lager. Also on tap will be 3 Sheets Barleywine aged on 3 Sheets rum soaked oak chips. That all happens at Ballast Point Brewing Co. in Linda Vista from 1oam-5pm Saturday. After that head on over to Hamilton’s for 2nd Saturday with Bear Republic. There will be casks of Racer X Imperial IPA and Big Bear Black Stout and 18 Bear Republic beers on draught as well as complimentary BBQ from the kitchen.

Sunday wraps up San Diego Beer Week Preview Weekend with the 4th Annual Hamilton’s Padres Day (which as of this writing it appears as if there are still tickets available) for $45 you get field level tickets at Petco Park, a Hamilton’s baseball jersey, transportation from Hamilton’s to Petco and back, two drinks at the pre-game party at Downtown Johnny Brown’s as well as craft beer on the bus.

Sunday is also Suds for Surgeries, the first ever Mission Valley Craft Beer Festival at The Handlery Hotel. $30 gets you unlimited beer and food tastings.  Participating Breweries on hand will be: Airdale, Ballast Point, Coronado, Firehouse, Green Flash, Karl Strauss, Mission and Stone Brewing Co.

And if all that weren’t good enough, the 2010 FIFA World Cup gets started Friday June 11th. Plenty of bars around San Diego will be showing the games and offering drink and food specials. One game which ought to be pretty good and draw a crowd is USA vs. England on Saturday. If you know of any other beer events this weekend, or have a favorite bar (with a great beer selection) to watch the World Cup leave a comment below.