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San Diego has quickly become one of the world’s top destinations for craft breweries. Munich, Brussels, and Portland had all been leading the competition until America’s finest city joined the rankings. Over the past few years, San Diego has produced some of the world’s finest beers-winning numerous awards. Beer tourism is growing in popularity especially as new high-end brew is beginning to compete with wine as the drink of choice when dining at a fine restaurant.
San Diego beer travel is a new idea that many visitors are just catching on to. There are micro-breweries, brew-pubs, and restaurant-breweries located all over the county. Tour companies have now started offering brewery hopping tours to give you the flexibility of tasting multiple beers without the worry of driving home afterwards. People around the world are flooding into the small coastal city after hearing about what San Diego is doing in the beer industry. With 35 total breweries in the county and numerous medals from international beer competitions, San Diego has placed itself on top of the list of great beer cities to visit in the world.
Breweries: The 35 breweries are located all over the county so when you plan your vacation you should first choose several breweries you would like to visit and then stay close by. The best way to see several breweries in a weekend is to use the mass transportation in San Diego including the Sprinter in North County, the Coaster along the coast, and the Trolley around downtown. Here is a list of several breweries that you will want to visit on your next trip to San Diego.
(Image Source – Chris Radcliff)
North County:
1. Stone Brewery
2. Lost Abbey/Port Brewery
3. San Marcos Brewery
4. Green Flash Brewing
5. Back Street Brewery
6. Oceanside Ale Works
7. Breakwater Brewing Co.
8. Oggi’s Vista
9. Pizza Port Carlsbad
10. Karl Strauss Carlsbad
Downtown Area:
1. Gordon Biersch
2. Oggi’s Mission Valley
3. Firehouse Brewing Company
4. San Diego Brewing Company
5. Mission Brewery
6. Coronado Brewing Company
Beach Cities:
1. Pizza Port Solana Beach
2. Ballast Point Brewing Company Linda Vista
3. La Jolla Brew House
4. Pacific Beach Ale House
5. Rock Bottom La Jolla
6. Pizza Port Ocean Beach
Awards: San Diego has recently come back from the World Beer Cup with a total of 22 medals. Amongst those are nine gold medals including the Top Brewer Award in the Small Brewing Company category that went to Ballast Point Brewery. Another brewery who brought back several medals was AleSmith Brewing Co, they are currently San Diego’s most award-winning brewery.
Events: Not only do San Diegan’s produce some of the best beer in the world, they also love to celebrate their craft brew. San Diego hosts several annual events that draw huge crowds and sell out in advance. Here is a short list of events that draw visitors from all over the United States.
1. San Diego Beer Week – The official week to celebrate craft beer in San Diego. All pubs, restaurants, breweries take part in the festivities along with several other great beer tastings through the week. If you need a week to get away and taste great beer, come to San Diego in November.
2. Stone Brewery Anniversary – The brewery that put San Diego on the world beer map celebrates their anniversary every August with a special release.
3. “30th on 30th” – One of San Diego’s greatest beer neighborhoods gives you discounts for your pub crawl on the 30th of every month on 30th street.
4. Karl Strauss Brewery “Beach to Brewery” – Live music, bike ride from P.B. to the event, and plenty of great Karl Strauss beer on draft.
5. Pizza Port Carlsbad Festivals – Real Ale, Strong Ale, and Belgium festivals that bring the world’s best beer together on draft.
6. San Diego International Beer Festival (June) – Over 150 breweries show up to let you sample their beer. It is impossible to taste every beer that is offered.
7. San Diego Festival of Beer (September) – A great beer festival in downtown San Diego.
When you plan your next beer vacation to San Diego, please remember to drink responsibly and use mass transportation. You can spend an entire weekend in North County using the new Sprinter rail that takes you close to Stone Brewery, Lost Abbey/Port Brewing, San Marcos Brewery, Back Street, Oceanside Ale Works, Green Flash Brewery, and more. In the downtown area, jump on the famous San Diego Trolley and visit Ballast Point Brewery, Gordon Biersch, Oggi’s, The Firehouse Brewing Co., and San Diego Brewing Company. And if that doesn’t cut it, take 25 of your friends on a party bus and try to taste as many beers from different breweries as you can. There are more breweries than listed here and you can find out more information at the San Diego Brewers Guild web page. Cheers!
