Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Soda, swine, ice cream & beer

Beer floats traditional and avant garde at Soda & Swine

Beer float
Beer float
Place

Soda & Swine

2943 Adams Avenue, San Diego

I’ll admit it. When I heard the founders of Neighborhood, Craft & Commerce, and Underbelly were opening a place where the menu would be revolve around meatballs and apple pie, I had my doubts. Meatballs…good. Pie…good. But would it be enough? Turns out, it is. There’s usually a long line of diners craving meatball sliders, sandwiches or the traditional spaghetti set-up from the grab and go (or sit a spell) kitchen at Soda & Swine.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The savory fare is tasty if not a bit limited and, occasionally, over-seasoned. But what about the pie? I have no comment. I haven’t partaken. Not because I’m some un-American heathen bucking flaky apple goodness. That would be wrong. No, I’ve simply fallen for a dessert that I find impossible to pass up. It’s delicious, constantly changing, and—granted, this is the primary draw for yours truly—it’s made with craft beer. Enter the frothy world of Soda & Swine beer floats…and bring a spoon.

Because it looks good and tastes awesome

Craft beer is available on tap and in bottle at this venue as well as its next-door Siamese sister operation Polite Provisions. A devotion to serving craft that runs through all of the ownership's eateries means rotating stock of quality brews, including some that are harder to get a hold of. So, the offerings change often, which adds variety to a patron’s beer float possibilities.

The last time I was in, the draft list included a brettanomyces-laced India pale ale, a pair of hoppy double IPAs, and a cream ale. Not exactly what one would think of us the basis for a good beer dessert experience, but that’s what I ended up having. Now, don’t go thinking an IPA float is going to rock because, let’s be real here, bitter pine and iced-down, sugared custard are about as odd a couple as Oscar and Felix. But that cream ale poured over the soft-serve vanilla ice cream Soda & Swine spikes with copious amounts of earthy cinnamon—well, that was something special.

It helped that the cream ale was the product of one of San Diego’s best and most consistent breweries, AleSmith. As any fan of this particular style will attest, vanilla works perfectly with this beer. Additionally, the savoriness of the brew helped to neutralize the sweetness of the ice cream, and turned the float into more of a beverage than a dessert item.

Somewhere under all that mozzarella and marinara, there are three smoked pork meatballs

In search of a more traditional beer float, I also sampled chocolate ice cream submerged in Port Brewing's Board Meeting, a brown ale brewed with java from San Marcos outfit Ryan Bros. Coffee. It was easily the most obvious (and photogenic) choice, and though it was extremely flavorful and in no way undesirable, it lacked the otherworldly wow factor of the cinnamon-laced cream ale float.

Fortunately, variety is encouraged at Soda & Swine. Guests can choose their own beer and ice cream combos. As proven above, it pays to experiment—just maybe not with soft-serve and hop juice.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class
Next Article

WAV College Church reminds kids that time is short

College is a formational time for decisions about belief
Beer float
Beer float
Place

Soda & Swine

2943 Adams Avenue, San Diego

I’ll admit it. When I heard the founders of Neighborhood, Craft & Commerce, and Underbelly were opening a place where the menu would be revolve around meatballs and apple pie, I had my doubts. Meatballs…good. Pie…good. But would it be enough? Turns out, it is. There’s usually a long line of diners craving meatball sliders, sandwiches or the traditional spaghetti set-up from the grab and go (or sit a spell) kitchen at Soda & Swine.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The savory fare is tasty if not a bit limited and, occasionally, over-seasoned. But what about the pie? I have no comment. I haven’t partaken. Not because I’m some un-American heathen bucking flaky apple goodness. That would be wrong. No, I’ve simply fallen for a dessert that I find impossible to pass up. It’s delicious, constantly changing, and—granted, this is the primary draw for yours truly—it’s made with craft beer. Enter the frothy world of Soda & Swine beer floats…and bring a spoon.

Because it looks good and tastes awesome

Craft beer is available on tap and in bottle at this venue as well as its next-door Siamese sister operation Polite Provisions. A devotion to serving craft that runs through all of the ownership's eateries means rotating stock of quality brews, including some that are harder to get a hold of. So, the offerings change often, which adds variety to a patron’s beer float possibilities.

The last time I was in, the draft list included a brettanomyces-laced India pale ale, a pair of hoppy double IPAs, and a cream ale. Not exactly what one would think of us the basis for a good beer dessert experience, but that’s what I ended up having. Now, don’t go thinking an IPA float is going to rock because, let’s be real here, bitter pine and iced-down, sugared custard are about as odd a couple as Oscar and Felix. But that cream ale poured over the soft-serve vanilla ice cream Soda & Swine spikes with copious amounts of earthy cinnamon—well, that was something special.

It helped that the cream ale was the product of one of San Diego’s best and most consistent breweries, AleSmith. As any fan of this particular style will attest, vanilla works perfectly with this beer. Additionally, the savoriness of the brew helped to neutralize the sweetness of the ice cream, and turned the float into more of a beverage than a dessert item.

Somewhere under all that mozzarella and marinara, there are three smoked pork meatballs

In search of a more traditional beer float, I also sampled chocolate ice cream submerged in Port Brewing's Board Meeting, a brown ale brewed with java from San Marcos outfit Ryan Bros. Coffee. It was easily the most obvious (and photogenic) choice, and though it was extremely flavorful and in no way undesirable, it lacked the otherworldly wow factor of the cinnamon-laced cream ale float.

Fortunately, variety is encouraged at Soda & Swine. Guests can choose their own beer and ice cream combos. As proven above, it pays to experiment—just maybe not with soft-serve and hop juice.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Next Article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader