What’s Tapping (12/25/25)

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 staff recommendations about beers they are excited about that can be found at their bottle shop locations in North Park, Little Italy and Point Loma!

• Arcana Brewing (Carlsbad): Dark Magician Fruit Ale w/ Black Currant & Honey, 9.5%
• Artifex Brewing (Oceanside): AXPA Extra Pale Ale, 4.2%
• Athletic Brewing (Miramar): Round of Cheers Non-alcoholic Brut-style IPA, < 0.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Bear Roots Brewing (Vista, Escondido): Deep Rooted Double IPA, 8.9%
• Blue Fire Brewing (San Marcos): Chamomile Blonde Ale
• Booze Brothers Brewing (Vista, Oceanside, Fallbrook): Skullmates Hazy IPA, 7.5% (collaboration w/ Tarantula Hill Brewing)
• Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad, Vista, Escondido, Downtown): Lagoon View Double IPA, 8% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Chula Vista Brewery (Chula Vista, Eastlake): Southern Bliss New Zealand-style Pilsner, 5%
• Craft Coast Beer & Tacos (San Marcos, Oceanside): Old West American IPA, 7.4%
• Culture Brewing (Solana Beach, Encinitas): Pine IPA, 7.1%
• Deft Brewing (Bay Park): Night of the Living Deft Imperial Stout, 9.3%
• Deft Brewing (Bay Park): Patio Hops & Geysers Fresh-hopped Pale Ale, 5.6%
• Docent Brewing (Carlsbad): Church on Time Double IPA, 8.4%.
• Docent Brewing (Carlsbad): Double Nickels Pale Ale, 5.5%
• Docent Brewing (Carlsbad): Ourglass IPA, 6.5%

• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): The Gift That Keeps on Gift’n Double Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 7% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Heaps Metric Red Mango Ice Cream Smoothie Sour Ale, 6% (collaboration w/ One Drop Brweing) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Hops for the Holidays ’25 Double Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 7.5% (collaboration w/ North Park Beer Co.) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Left Handed Giant English-style Dark Mild on Nitro, 3.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Super Ultra Sooo Wild Double Dry-hopped Hazy IPA w/ Fruit Terpenes, 7% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch, Bay Park, South Park): Cherry Limeade Sour Ale, 6%
• Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch, Bay Park, South Park): Wainui New Zealand-style IPA, 6.5%
• Home Brew Mart (Morena): Do We? We Do! American Wheat Ale, 5%
• Home Brew Mart (Morena): Snowflakes in the Sand Winter Warmer, 6%
• Julian Beer Co. (Julian): Pistol Whipped Hazy IPA, 6.6%
• Kairoa Brewing (University Heights): Original Banana Stand Barrel-aged Imperial Stout w/ Banana & Cacao, 14%
• Little Bird Brewing (North Park): Never More Barrel-aged Imperial Stout, 12.1%
• Mcilhenney Brewing (Alpine): Parallel Paradise West Coast IPA, 6.9%
• Michi Brew Co. (San Marcos): Superior Imperial Porter w/ Coconut

• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Friends & Neighbors Vienna-style Lager, 5.3% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Jasper Triple Dry-hopped Hazy Double IPA, 8% (collaboration w/ Fidens Brewing) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Validation Double Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 7.2% (collaboration w/ Fidens Brewing) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Novo Brazil Brewing (Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, Ocean Beach, Mission Valley): Baby Mango Session IPA w/ Mango, 3.5%
• Novo Brazil Brewing (Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, Ocean Beach, Mission Valley): El Hefe Bavarian-style Hefeweizen, 5.2%
• Novo Brazil Brewing (Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, Ocean Beach, Mission Valley): Rye’d the Wave Double Dry-hopped Rye IPA, 5.8%
• Novo Brazil Brewing (Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, Ocean Beach, Mission Valley): Samba Session Stout, 3.3%
• Pizza Port (Solana Beach): Sunset Escape Hazy IPA, 7%
• Poor House Brewing (North Park): Tangled in Light Farmhouse Ale, 6.8%
• Prey Brewing (Vista): Imperial Coconut Porter, 10.3%
• Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): Parallax Murky IPA, 7% (collaboration w/ Artifex Brewing) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): Triple Dry Hyped Murky Triple IPA, 10.3% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• The Roadies Brewing (Vista): Wrecking Ball West Coast Pilsner, 5.8%
• Seek Beer Co. (North Park): None the Wiser West Coast IPA, 6.1%
• Seek Beer Co. (North Park): Rich Rewards Hazy Triple IPA, 10.2%

Gene Fielden | Bottlecraft North Park Manager

Kern River Bad Santa | Doppelbock (8.5%): In the gleefully filthy 2003 film Bad Santa, Billy Bob Thornton plays a con-man, safecracker and all-around morally reprehensible man. Posing as a mall Santa, he and his elfin accomplice Tony Cox (who played in Ewok in The Return of the Jedi!) rob their workplaces blind, then lay low for eleven months before emerging to start the inside job all over again. Directed by the criminally underrated Terry Zwigoff, this film also marks the final appearance of the late lamented John Ritter. Trust me when I say this flick is not for children! Kern River Brewing has brewed a strong malty lager for the season ‒ enjoy with a shot of Old Grand-Dad and don’t you dare shoplift when Bernie Mac is the head of security!

Corsendonk Christmas Ale | Belgian Winter Ale (8.1%): Hailing from Turnhout in northern Flanders, about halfway between Antwerp and Tilburg, Brouwerij Corsendonk only sporadically sends its Christmas Ale in our direction. This is an auspicious year! A deep ruddy red-brown hue with caramelized candi sugar, expressive Belgian yeast and a dollop of coriander, this is a lovely winter ale for the coming storms.

Pizza Port Santa’s Little Helper | Imperial Stout (10%): More than two decades after the first beer under this name was brewed at Pizza Port Solana Beach, it has undergone a full recursion to origin. Long under the aegis of Port Brewing, with variations (coffee, hazelnut) presenting themselves in the interim, Santa’s Little Helper is now a beloved seasonal in the familiar six-pack of 16-ounce cans format that Pizza Port has popularized. An unabashed imperial stout with no additives, this little helper will assist you as well as Santa in having a delightful holiday season.

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