What’s Tapping (1/30)

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): My Bloody Valentine Hoppy Red Ale, 6.7%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Little Italy): Victory at Sea Imperial Porter w/ Coffee, Vanilla & Spiced Rum-soaked Sugar Maple Spirals on Cask, 9.3%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Miramar, Little Italy): Charybdis Double IPA, 8.2%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Miramar, Little Italy): Piper Down Scottish-style Ale, 5.3%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Miramar, Little Italy): Spruce Tip IPA w/ Sitka Buds, 7.5%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Miramar, Little Italy): Victory at Sea Imperial Porter w/ Coffee & Vanilla, 9.3%
• Barley & Sword Brewing (North Park): Defense of the Realm London-style Brown Ale on Cask, 3.1%
• Barley & Sword Brewing (North Park): Wheeler’s Patent Irish-style Stout on Nitro, 4.5%
• Bay City Brewing (Point Loma, East Village): Tucci Gang Italian-style Pilsner, 5%
• Bear Roots Brewing (Vista, Escondido): Latham Red IPA w/ Raspberry, 8%
• Belching Beaver Brewery (Oceanside, Vista, North Park): Beaver’s Milk Nitro Milk Stout, 5.3%
• Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside, Escondido, North Park): Day Walker Red Ale, 6.1% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside, Escondido, North Park): Gothica Mexican-style Lager, 5.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside, Escondido, North Park): In My Darkest Sour Kettle Sour Ale w/ Raspberry, 4.6% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Blue Fire Brewing (San Marcos): Midnight Hoppy Black Lager, 6.5%
• Brewjería Company (Chula Vista): Separate Reality Russian-style Imperial Stout, 9.1%
• Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad, Vista, Escondido, Downtown): For the Love of Beer IPA, 6.3% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad, Vista, Escondido, Downtown): Mind Elevation Double Dry-hopped Hazy IPA, 6.8% – PURCHASE ONLINE

• Burning Beard Brewing (El Cajon): Atlas Complex Baltic-style Porter, 8%
• Burning Beard Brewing (El Cajon): Whips & Furs Hazy IPA, 7.2%
• Deft Brewing (Bay Park): DoubleDeft Secret DoppelSticke Altbier, 9.2%
• Deft Brewing (Bay Park): Not-So-Austere Abbot Belgian-style Blonde Ale, 6.6%
• Docent Brewing (Carlsbad): Vision Trick Rye IPA, 6%
• GOAL. Brewing (North Park): Year of the Mamba Rice Lager, 5%
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): ‘Member Nectaron? West Coast IPA, 7% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch, Carmel Valley, Bay Park, South Park): Everbright Sour Ale w/ Strawberry & Passionfruit, 6%
• Helix Brewing (La Mesa): MTNS New Zealand-style IPA, 7%
• Helix Brewing (La Mesa): Trail Shoes Oatmeal Stout w/ Coffee, 6%
  Home Brew Mart (Morena): Earle of Dachshund Black IPA (collaboration w/ QUAFF in memory of Katie Earle)
• Home Brew Mart (Morena): Teeth of Time Baltic-style Porter, 7.6%
• Karl Strauss Brewing (Downtown, Sorrento Mesa, Rancho Bernardo, Carlsbad): 36th Anniversary Bourbon Barrel-aged Imperial Pastry Stout, 13%
• Karl Strauss Brewing (Downtown, Sorrento Mesa, Rancho Bernardo, Carlsbad): Full Suit Belgian-style Brown Ale, 6.3%
• Ketch Brewing (Kearny Mesa): Pacific Swell West Coast Pilsner, 5.6%
• Mcilhenney Brewing (Alpine): Parallel Paradise Double Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 6.9%
• Mother Earth Brew Co. (Vista): All Purpose Pilsner, 5%
• Nickel Beer Co. (Julian): Larry’s Place West Coast IPA, 6.8%
• Nickel Beer Co. (Julian): Take a Hike Pale Ale, 5.6%
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Coleman to the Max Double Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 6.9% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Fatamorgana Triple Dry-hopped Hazy Triple IPA, 10.2% (collaboration w/ Omnipollo) – PURCHASE ONLINE

• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): NP Munich-style Dunkel, 4.8% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Sweet 16 Speed Double Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 6.2% (collaboration w/ BLAH Brewing) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Pizza Port (Imperial Beach): Kickstart Kolsch, 5.4%
• Pizza Port (Imperial Beach): Silver Strand Blonde Ale, 5.5%
• Pizza Port (Imperial Beach): Southbound & Down West Coast IPA, 7.1%
• Pizza Port Carlsbad Village (Carlsbad): Underwater Fog Hazy IPA, 7%
• Prey Brewing (Vista): Birthday Cake Sour Red Wine Barrel-aged Imperial Stout w/ Chocolate & Almond, 11.3%
• Prey Brewing (Vista): Life & Death Hazy IPA, 6.3% (collaboration w/ TapRoom Beer Co.)
• Protector Brewery (Miramar, Downtown): Organic Non-alcoholic Lager, < 0.5%
• Protector Brewery (Miramar, Downtown): Organic Non-alcoholic West Coast IPA, < 0.5%
• The Roadies Brewing (Vista): Deceptacon West Coast IPA, 7.2%
• The Roadies Brewing (Vista): Sound System West Coast Pilsner, 5.6%
• San Diego Brewing Co. (Mission Valley): Hey! Cerveza Man! Mexican-style Lager, 5.7%
• San Diego Brewing Co. (Mission Valley): San Diego Hazy Pale Ale, 5.1%
• South O Brewing (Oceanside): Find a Way West Coast IPA, 7.2% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Sunny Grove Brewing (Santee): TGIF West Coast IPA, 7.2%
• TapRoom Beer Co. (North Park): Tiffany Blue Double Dry-hopped West Coast Double IPA, 8%
• Viewpoint Brewing (Del Mar): Mexican Tornado Mexican-style Lager, 5.5%
• Weir Beer Co. (Vista): Rocco’s Modern High Life American Lager, 5%

Gene Fielden | Bottlecraft North Park Manager

June Lake Lil’ Walker | West Coast IPA (6.4%): This heralds our first drop of cans from June Lake Brewing! Nestled in the Eastern Sierras, this brewery first turned heads around here when pouring at a past Burgeon Beer Co. anniversary festival, where you’ll always find a collection of extraordinary hop-focused producers. Lil’ Walker is a flagship offering, with Krush and Mosaic hops in the whirlpool and Citra, (more) Krush and Nelson in the dry-hop. The delightful citrus/pine dichotomy and firm clean bitterness makes this beer both innately familiar and yet new to form.

Gold Dot Export Lager | Dortmunder-style Export Lager (5.6%): During these bitterly cold weeks of what passes for winter in San Diego, one may wish for a lager with a bit more oomph. This style emanating from the industrial western German city of Dortmund fits the bill! Boasting a more generous malt-bill than most other pale lagers, this is a beer to sink into your couch with, ideally under a shawl or a purring cat. At the time of writing, we have this on draft at Bottlecraft North Park, so stop on by to taste before committing to a can or four?

Founders Double Oaked KBS | Bourbon Barrel-aged Imperial Coffee Stout (12%): I have been in the craft beer world long enough to recall when the Kentucky Breakfast Stout by Founders Brewing was a once-a-year event, limited to as little as a single bottle per person at any given shop. Those wishing to compile a measly four-pack would have to hit multiple stores, or even follow the delivery trucks around! Nowadays KBS is freely available on our shelves, and new variants come around only sporadically. This edition has a second spell in wood for another layer of oakiness plus a dollop of nostalgia.

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