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Happy New Beer: 2012's Best Breweries

There were more new brewery openings than there were months in 2012, and the field is as varied as it is extensive, ranging from veteran brewers looking to challenge the big boys to guys with ...

Fall Forward

San Diego beer-pairing with autumnal cuisine.

Autumns are short in America’s Finest City. The transition from summer’s dog days to mall-Santa season seems like it happens in the blink of a sunglass-shielded eye. But it’s worth taking time to enjoy this ...

Brew Ha Ha

Places to Grab a Cold One

Monkey Paw For most, laying claim to three of the most widely respected craft-beer bars in a city obsessed with artisanal suds would be enough. But not for Scot Blair. The neighborhood-watering-hole mogul behind Hamilton’s ...

Beer Town

Passing by this constantly packed spot in the East Village, one would never guess the perseverance it took for owner Arsalun Tafazoli to force it down downtowners’ gullets. His goal was to provide the perfect ...

Best Oktoberfest Beers in San Diego

October! Oktoberfest! Time for a party! Karl Strauss was my first local beer, way back when I first moved to town, so I put in a call to the brewery’s PR manager, Melody Daversa (858-273-2739, ...

Beer Heaven: Hoppy Daze in San Diego

"I like my beers like I like my women," says the guy on the stool next to me. "Bitter and strong." Chris Dunn’s in the military. He’s here with Betsy and Clementine. Uh, they’re not ...

Frozen Beer, As Crows Fly, 3D Fireworks

Howdy, Matt: The other day I had a couple of brews that I’d left out and they were warm, so I put them in the freezer to hurry up the cold. These were beers in ...

Brewery Tours

The man needs a large Father’s Day gift. He’s been pouring his energy into his work, fixing our bathroom, gardening, playing kickball with the kids, and performing lots of loving acts of service for his ...

Brewskies

Beer and rugby are more or less synonymous. — Chris Laidlaw I like to think of myself as pretty hip. It’s not as if I’m walking around with an iPad or anything, but when it ...

Our Favorite Drinks and Where We Drink Them

There are times, sometimes in the midst of otherwise polite conversation, when it comes out that I make my living writing for the Reader. The follow-up to this revelation is almost never “Oh, that’s right, ...

Breakfast Beer

"End Times Christian Soldiers Mission," says the church near Oak Park School. Lord, why does everyone love this "end is nigh" stuff? I'm aboard the 955 bus, heading south toward National City. On the other ...

Tanning Light, Beer vs. Soda, 420

Heymatt: If I replaced the fluorescent bulbs five feet above my head at work with bulbs from a tanning bed, would I give myself a nice year-round tan or a bad case of cancer? — ...

Beer Me! (1870s Style)

Beer garden at City Brewery, circa 1870s. In 1868, the same year Austrian brew-master Christian Doblier established San Diego’s first brewery in Spring Valley (Chollas Valley Brewery), City Brewery opened on the northwest corner of ...

Beer Goggles, Mr. Yellow, Pea Jacket

Mr. Alice, Sir: I’ve never seen you or anybody else for that matter take on this situation. Maybe the answer is too obvious, but I don’t understand how. I like frequenting upscale bars and mingling ...

Bugs in My Brew

“Before brewers became cognizant of microbiology and sanitation, I imagine there were a lot more sour beers,” says Mitch Steele, head brewer for Stone Brewing Co. “It’s not only bacteria but wild yeast as well ...