Wild Barrel's hardline beer standard
"We want them to be great; if not, we're dumping them."
Ian Anderson 12:15 p.m., Oct. 21
Beer of the Week
High on the chai
Rock Bottom's chocolaty-spicy dessert-like beer
Vanilla, coffee, chilies…they’ve all had their time in the sun and their time in the fermenter as en vogue beer additives. Some were pretty obvious go-withs, while others (like, say, scorpion peppers and breakfast cereal) ...
The milk stout route
Mind, heart, and soul went into Ballast Point’s Oompa Lupus
I felt like I’d unwrapped a foil-sheathed candy bar to reveal a golden ticket and been ushered to the site where some of my favorite things are made — specifically, the exotic specialty beers of ...
Scorching Sculpin
Ballast Point’s habanero-laced IPA a commendable niche offering
I’ve been labeled a hot head in my day. No, not for having an incendiary temper. Sure, I get angry, but when you’re slight in stature like me you learn real quick that it’s in ...
LUP'd Up Singel (LUPUS)
Rhubarb and winey hops combine to give Monkey Paw charity beer outlandish character
There we were, Monkey Paw Pub & Brewery (and soon-to-open South Park Brewing Company) head brewer Cosimo Sorrentino and yours truly sitting across each other at his East Village stomping grounds. The topic, what to ...
Yiga, Kim & Joe
Saint Archer brewer duo know their way around coffee and beer
When I first met Yiga Miyashiro and Kim Lutz, they were collaborating on a coffee beer at the former’s former workplace, Pizza Port’s Ocean Beach brewpub. We sat together between the turning of valves in ...
Dank, sticky and impressive
Mission accomplished with first beer from Port/Lost Abbey's "Hop Concept"
In December, Port Brewing Company/The Lost Abbey announced the coming of a third brand called The Hop Concept. This seemed an odd route to go for a house already divided, but this is craft beer. ...
Beer to the Rescue: Hildegard IIIPA
Benchmark Brewing Company goes REALLY big for charity
Last week, I shared news of Beer to the Rescue, a year-long campaign raising funds for the Lupus Foundation of Southern California (LFSC) via sales of specialty beers from local brewing companies. The first of ...
All that…and less
Stone debuts gluten-reduced India pale ale
Prior to my Lupus diagnosis, doctors attempted to determine the cause of my symptoms, which included severe stomach pains and other gastrointestinal distress. At one point, they speculated that I might be gluten-intolerant. My heart ...
Oceanside Ale Works’ sour surprise
Oceanside brewery’s walk on the wild side is a pleasant stroll
San Diegans are fortunate to have a wealth of local sour beer options. Though lambics, gueuzes, Flemish reds and browns, and the like are quite en vogue, increased labor, costs, and lengthy maturation cycles make ...
All I want for Christmas is patience
Karl Strauss releases holiday ale designed to be enjoyed in 2021.
I don’t know about you, but the words “don’t open ‘til Christmas” come across like a mandate not to think about pink elephants. Once communicated, all I can think of is what I’m not supposed ...
A green holiday red ale
The winter version of AleSmith’s YuleSmith belongs on any hophead's wish list
Most holiday beers are high in alcohol, heavy in texture, and rife with flavors of winter spices, caramel, dried fruits, chocolate, and booze. The majority fall into two categories — Belgian strong ales and imperial ...
A Modern take on amber ale
Point Loma’s Modern Times updates a semi-forgotten classic
Remember when the most popular style of beer was amber ale, AKA red ale? Not Irish-style red or West Coast-style red... just a nondescript red ale that looked pretty much the same color as those ...
Beer Week surprise
A straightforward IPA from Mike Hess Brewing stands tall during SDBW
It was the best of times. No, really, it was the best of times! This year’s edition of San Diego Beer Week was one of the finest since the 2009 advent of this annual ten-day ...
Dark Days at Iron Fist
Vista brewery set to debut a rum barrel-aged imperial stout.
As temperatures begin their annual, wintry decent — OK, so we’re only talking a few degrees in sunny San Diego, but humor me — thoughts of tropical isles are hardly top of mind. But Vista’s ...
American Voo Doo
Oggi’s production arm releases two forms of its imperial stout.
The second I laid eyes on a bottle of Left Coast Voo Doo American Stout (produced by Left Coast Brewing Co., the brewing operation from which most of the beers of the Oggi’s brewpub and ...
