What’s Tapping (10/17)

Welcome to San Diego Beer News‘ weekly list of beers tapping for the first time or returning to beer lists at breweries throughout San Diego County, including links where you can find additional info or purchase the beers online. For more details regarding release/tapping dates, times and locations, consult the official website or social-media accounts of the brewing companies listed.

And keep scrolling for Bottlecraft staffers’ recommendations about beers they are excited about that can be found at their bottle shop locations in North Park, Little Italy, Point Loma and Oceanside!

• AleSmith Brewing (Miramar): Evil Dead Red Ale, 6.66% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Athletic Brewing (Miramar): Stump Juice Non-alcoholic Autumn Brown Ale, < 0.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Ballast Point Brewing (Miramar): Dead Ringer Märzen, 6%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Miramar): Laughing Wolf Pan-Pacific Lager, 6%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Miramar): Manta Ray Double IPA, 8.3%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Miramar, Little Italy): Pumpkin Down Spiced Scottish-style Ale, 6%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Miramar, Little Italy): Roggenmutter Imperial Hazy Rye Ale, 8%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Miramar, Little Italy): Triple EXP Pale Ale w/ Experimental Hops, 6%
• BattleMage Brewing (Vista): Second Wind 7th Anniversary Extra Pale Ale, 5.5%
• Bay City Brewing (Point Loma, East Village): Chilly Nelson Cold IPA, 6%
• Bay City Brewing (Point Loma, East Village): Power Play West Coast IPA, 6.9%
• Bay City Brewing (Point Loma, East Village): Tucci Gang Italian-style Pilsner, 4.9%
• Belching Beaver Brewery (Oceanside, Vista, North Park): Negra Castillo Mexican-style Dark Lager, 5%
• Belching Beaver Brewery (Oceanside, Vista, North Park): West Coast Terps West Coast IPA w/ Terpenes, 7%
• Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside, Escondido, North Park): Here Today Gone Tomorrow New Zealand-hopped IPA, 7% (collaboration w/ Harland Brewing) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside, Escondido, North Park): Olde Ways American Light Lager, 4.2% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad, Vista, Escondido, Little Italy): Sticky Fingers Fresh Hop Double IPA, 8.2% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Deft Brewing (Morena/Bay Park): Dark, Light & Scrummy British-style Dark Mild Ale, 3%
• Deft Brewing (Morena/Bay Park): DeftHopt Amber IPA, 5.5%
• Deft Brewing (Morena/Bay Park): Deftly Hallows Foreign Extra Stout, 7.3%

• Deft Brewing (Morena/Bay Park): Sunset in Bruges Flanders-style Sour Red Ale, 5.7%
• Deft Brewing (Morena/Bay Park): There is No “I” in Deft Saison, 6.1%
• Dogleg Brewing (Vista): Backspin IPA
• Duck Foot Brewing (Miramar, Leucadia): Cascade Crusade West Coast IPA
• Duck Foot Brewing (Miramar, Leucadia): Poison Apple Beer Slushie, 5%
• East Village Brewing (East Village): Flight of the Peach Ale w/ Peach, 7%
• Embolden Beer Co. (Miramar): Dark As Day Horchata Golden Milk Stout, 6% (collaboration w/ SouthNorte Beer Co.)
• Five Suits Brewing (Vista): Drippin’ in Ice Belgian-style Blonde Ale, 6.5%
• GOAL. Brewing (Alpine): Alpine to the Blvd West Coast IPA, 6.7% (collaboration w/ Mcilhenney Brewing)
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Flying with a Purpose Wet-hopped West Coast IPA, 6.8% (collaboration w/ Bale Breaker Brewing) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Fun is Work Belgian-style Table Beer, 4.3% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Sandcastles in Oceanside Lager, 5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Texting in T9 Hoppy Blonde Ale, 5.7% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): When You Need to Disappear Extra Pale Ale, 5.6% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch, Carmel Valley, Bay Park, South Park): Blackberry Cherry Sour Ale w/ Blackberry, Cherry & Vanilla, 6%
• Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch, Carmel Valley, Bay Park, South Park): Poof’s Porter, 6.5%
• Helix Brewing (La Mesa): Puff Puff San Diego Pale Ale, 5.5%
• Helix Brewing (La Mesa): Stoner Moment IPA, 7%
• Heritage Brewing & Barbecue (Oceanside): Loser Lite American Light Lager, 4%
• Heritage Brewing & Barbecue (Oceanside): My Cousin Vinny Double Dry-hopped Pilsner, 5%

• Hopnonymous Brewing (Kearny Mesa): Thaï-me of My Life Mango Sticky Rice Kettle Sour Ale, 7%
• Mcilhenney Brewing (Alpine): Dankster For Life West Coast IPA, 6.7%
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Bird Park Bohemian-style Pilsner, 4.7% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Hop-Fu! Double Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 7.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Tiki Blaster Sour Ale w/ Pineapple, Tangerine, Coconut & Nutmeg, 6.4% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Wave Punch Triple ry-hopped Hazy Double IPA, 8.4% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Prey Brewing (Vista): Kairi Japanese-style Lager, 5%
• Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): The Serpent’s Head West Coast IPA, 7% (collaboration w/ Ghost Town Brewing) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): We Are the Mirage Murky Double IPA, 8.3% (collaboration w/ Everywhere Beer Co.) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Quantum Brewing (Kearny Mesa): Quantum Quad Belgian-style Quadrupel, 10.8%
• Rouleur Brewing (Carlsbad): Bunny Hop 9 Rotating-hop IPA, 6.3%
• South O Brewing (Oceanside): Alpha Graves House Triple Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 7%
• South O Brewing (Oceanside): Hill Street Honey Ale, 4.7%
• South O Brewing (Oceanside): London Leather Extra Special Bitter, 5.6%
• TapRoom Beer Co. (North Park, Pacific Beach): Jagged Hedge Wet Hop West Coast IPA, 6.5%
• WestBrew (Vista, East Village): Baja Blasted Hard Seltzer, 5%
• WestBrew (Vista, East Village): Haterade Hard Seltzer, 5%
• WestBrew (Vista, East Village): Ono Punch Hard Seltzer, 5%
• WestBrew (Vista, East Village): Strawberry Kiwi Hard Seltzer, 5%

Gene Fielden | Bottlecraft North Park Manager

Sometimes there are just so many fantastic new hoppy beers available at once that we have to profile three of them in a single column.

ISM Kiwi Fingers | West Coast IPA (6.8%): ISM Brewing is on a roll. Every West Coast IPA we receive from them ‒ whether on draft or in cans ‒ has been just incredible. This latest packaged offering contains no kiwi fruits but plenty of Kiwi hops (i.e. those emanating from New Zealand). A healthy dose of Nelson brings all the intense Sauvignon Blanc and gooseberry aromas one could hope for, with a harmonic resonance of Citra for zesty undertones behind.

Fremont Head Full of Fresh Hops | Hazy IPA (6.8%): While the majority of fresh-hopped (AKA: wet-hopped) beers we receive each harvest season are West Coast IPAs or clear pale ales, there are a few key examples of turbid ones to mention! The final such release by Fremont Brewing each year is a riff on the brewery’s immensely popular Head Full of Dynomite [sic] series of hazies. For 2024, Fremont selected HBC 1019, a new experimental varietal from the Hop Breeding Company. A number of these new-wave hops evince aromas that transcend the traditional citrus/pine dichotomy, tending towards tropicalia, and this is no exception. I detect honeydew melon, peach rings and Seville orange in this one, but crack one open yourself so we may compare notes!

Alvarado Street Freshest Cargo | West Coast IPA (7.2%): The title of this beer is all too apropos, as it arrived on a stacked pallet at Bottlecraft North Park late last week. At the time of this writing there is a keg on draft and cans in house, but they are flying out the doors again at rapid clip! A collaboration with the incomparable Bale Breaker out of Yakima, Washington, this one is for those who love Citra. A half-ton of these delectable cones were loaded onto an Alaska Airlines plane ‒ the carrier receives a mention in the credits ‒ and rushed to the Alvarado Street brewhouse, wherein they promptly entered the kettle mere hours after picking. Take a load off with this one!

Click here to explore the quality beers at Bottlecraft’s four San Diego location