What’s Tapping (4/6/23)

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. 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!

• Arcana Brewing (Carlsbad): Dark Magician Mead-Braggot Hybrid w/ Black Currant, 9.5%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Miramar, Little Italy, Morena): Oatmeal Export Stout, 7.7%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Miramar, Little Italy, Morena): Wiscommon Rye California Common, 5.3%
• Bear Roots Brewing (Vista): Bear Star Galactica Galaxy IPA, 5.9%
• Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside, Escondido): Skeleton Krew California Pilsner (collaboration w/ Craft Coast Beer & Tacos)
• Booze Brothers Brewing (Vista, Oceanside, Fallbrook): Mango Tropics Hazy IPA, 6.7%
• Creative Creature Brewing (El Cajon): Adam West Coast IPA, 6%
• Culture Brewing (Solana Beach, Encinitas): Dark Berry Sour Ale w/ Acai, Blackberry, Blueberry & Elderberry, 5.8%
• Culture Brewing (Solana Beach, Encinitas): Encinitas Hazy IPA, 7%
• Culture Brewing (Solana Beach, Encinitas): La Cerveza Mexican-style Lager, 4.7%
• Dogleg Brewing (Vista): The Tradition Peach Pilsner, 5.1%
• Duck Foot Brewing (Miramar, Leucadia): POG Beer Slushie w/ Passionfruit, Orange & Guava, 5%
• East Village Brewing (East Village): Happy Accident Vienna-style Lager, 5.6%
• Embolden Beer Co. (Miramar): Baja Negra Amber Mexican-style Lager, 4.5%

• Embolden Beer Co. (Miramar): Early Nights Black IPA, 7%
• Eppig Brewing (Vista, Point Loma, La Jolla): Wake Up & Slay IPA, 7.4%
• Guadalupe Brewery (Vista): Nuestra Señora Barrel-aged Imperial Stout w/ Vanilla, 14.5%
• Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch, South Park, Bay Park, Carmel Valley): Tropical Daydream SOur Ale w/ Guava, Mango, Peach & Apricot, 5%
• Hopnonymous Brewing (Kearny Mesa): Iris and the Giant Peach Kettle Sour Ale, 7.1%
• Hopnonymous Brewing (Kearny Mesa): Lite as a Feather Rice Lager, 4.9%
• Hopnonymous Brewing (Kearny Mesa): Slammin’ SD Hazy IPA, 7.2%
• Jacked Up Brewery (Escondido): Apricot Amber Ale, 7%
• Jacked Up Brewery (Escondido): Dragonfruit Triple IPA, 11%
• Jacked Up Brewery (Escondido): Hazy Talk Hazy IPA, 7.6%
• Karl Strauss Brewing (Downtown, Sorrento Mesa, 4S Ranch, Carlsbad): Squawk Box IPA, 7% (collaboration w/ Green Cheek Beer Co.)
• Kilowatt Brewing (Kearny Mesa, Ocean Beach, Oceanside): Chicks & Stones West Coast IPA, 8%
• The Lost Abbey (San Marcos, East Village, Cardiff-by-the-Sea): Peach Afternoon Barrel-aged Sour Ale w/ Peach & Tea, 6%

• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill): Keen On Peacharine Triple Dry-hopped Hazy Double IPA, 8.5%
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill): Memento Mori Double Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 7%
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill): So Hot Right Now Double Dry-hopped Cold IPA, 7% (collaboration w/ Flatland Brewing)
• Plan 9 Alehouse (Escondido): Foo’s Gold Lager, 4.5%
• Plan 9 Alehouse (Escondido): Positive Mental Radness IPA, 7%
• Poor House Brewing (North Park): Shan Diego Blonde Ale w/ Grapefruit, 4.9%
• Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): Joshua Tree Facelift West Coast IPA, 5.5%
• Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): Kubaba West Coast Pilsner, 5.5%
• Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): Murkeley Murky Double IPA, 8.5% (collaboration w/ Fieldwork Brewing)
• TapRoom Beer Co. (North Park): How Original English-style Dark Mild Ale, 3.9% (collaboration w/ Mason Ale Works)
• Voodoo Child Brewing (Scripps Ranch): Cafe de la Vida Coffee Cream Ale, 4.7%
• Wild Barrel Brewing (San Marcos): Cherry Flanders Barrel-aged Sour Ale, 8.2%
• Wild Barrel Brewing (San Marcos): White Rabbit Belgian-style Witbier, 5.5%

Gene Fielden | North Park Bottlecraft Manager

Madewest / Ghost Town Short-Lived | West Coast IPA (7%): Based in Ventura, Madewest Brewing makes quietly professional beers in an unassuming and unpretentious manner. But every now and then, they hit us with a terrific IPA as part of their Short-Lived series, always in collaboration with a rotating dramatis personae of breweries. This latest iteration was brewed with Ghost Town Brewing out of Oakland, whose beers are never seen around here. Two eponymous ghosts make an appearance on the label, driving off in an old-timey jalopy (replete with a white-rimmed spare tire directly behind the driver’s side door) with a sign affixed to the tailgate announcing “JUST BURIED”. The beer itself boasts a medley of hops, with Columbus and Mosaic in Cryo form, plus Strata and recurring newcomer HBC 586. Drink this one now, as it will not live long!

pFriem Lager | Pale Lager (5%): A new core lager from pFriem Family Brewers is reason enough to walk over to your nearest beer shop! Called simply “Lager”, this gold 12-ounce can contains an uncomplicated and altogether refreshing light lager. This will henceforth be available on a year-round basis, but honestly, the timing could not be better as we slide into summer.

The Lost Abbey Peach Afternoon | Fruited Sour Ale (6%): Combining deep-seated devotion to two otherwise disparate flavors–barrel-aged sour beers and tea–The Lost Abbey has repackaged Peach Afternoon for the general public. Hitherto only available in corked-and-caged 750-milliliter bottles for members of their Saints & Sinners club, this beer is now to be found in 16-ounce cans for the season. A golden sour ale matured in French oak before being dosed with peaches and white tea (!), this is a fantastic sour beer with an unbeatable price-to-value ratio.

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