What’s Tapping (5/29)

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, Point Loma and Oceanside!

• AleSmith Brewing (Miramar): Anvil Pilsner, 4.9%
• AleSmith Brewing (Miramar): Clásico Oscuro Mexican-style Dark Lager, 5.2%
• AleSmith Brewing (Miramar): Currently Trending Cold IPA, 7.3%
• AleSmith Brewing (Miramar): Mango Tepache Wheat Ale w/ Mango, Pineapple & Cinnamon, 5.5%
• BattleMage Brewing (Vista): Verses of Victory English-style Brown Ale, 5.6%
• Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside, Escondido): Double Trouble Double IPA, 8% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside, Escondido): Eternal Summer West Coast IPA, 7.3% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside, Escondido): InMy Darkest Sour – Pineapple & Mango, 4.6% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Booze Brothers Brewing (Vista): Battle Haze Haze IPA, 7.2% (collaboration w/ Battlemage Brewing)
• Culture Brewing (Solana Beach, Encinitas): Rose XPA Extra Pale Ale w/ Rose Petals, 6.1%
• Dos Desperados Brewery (San Marcos): Sir Mix-A-Berry Hard Seltzer, 5%
• East Village Brewing (East Village): Lights Out German-style Schwarzbier, 5%
• East Village Brewing (East Village): Zeitgeist German-style Pilsner, 4.9%
• Embolden Beer Co. (Miramar): Pitching Citra Single-Hop Double Dry-hopped Hazy IPA, 7%

• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Citra!!! (It’s What We Like Here) Double Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 7.2% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Peacharine!? In This Economy?! Single-hop West Coast Pilsner, 5.6% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch, Carmel Valley, Bay Park, South Park): Miso Caramel Latte Golden Stout w/ Coffee, 6%
• Helix Brewing (La Mesa): Helix Pale Ale, 4.8%
• Hodad’s Brewing (Serra Mesa, Ocean Beach, East Village): Pier Pressure Double IPA, 8.5%
• Home Brew Mart (Morena): Lay Back & Groove IPA, 7%
• Home Brew Mart (Morena): Mix Tape Vol. 5 – Stra-TA-lus American Pale Ale, 5.5%
• Ketch Brewing (Kearny Mesa, Downtown, Point Loma): Red, White & Brew American IPA, 7.3%
• Kilowatt Brewing (Kearny Mesa, Ocean Beach, Oceanside): 250 kWh West Coast IPA, 7.4%
• Kilowatt Brewing (Kearny Mesa, Ocean Beach, Oceanside): Pickle Beer, 4.3%
• Kilowatt Brewing (Kearny Mesa, Ocean Beach, Oceanside): Pineapple Coconut Blonde Ale, 4.8%
• Mason Ale Works (Barrio Logan, Point Loma, Vista): Discount Stuntman Hazy Double IPA, 8.1%
• Nickel Beer Co. (Julian): Wreck It Greg Session IPA, 5.7%

• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Dank Material Triple Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 7% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Inversion of Time Triple Dry-hopped Hazy Triple IPA, 10% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Logjammin’ Lager Double West Coast Pilsner, 7.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Pizza Port Brewing (Carlsbad, San Marcos, Solana Beach, Ocean Beach, Imperial Beach): Old Friends West Coast IPA, 7% (collaboration w/ Craft Coast Beer & Tacos)
• Pizza Port Brewing (Carlsbad): You’re Killing Me Schmaltz! Cold IPA, 6.5%
• Pizza Port Carlsbad Village (Carlsbad): Sjøost West Coast IPA
• Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): Hello SD Murky Double IPA, 8.2% (collaboration w/ Highland Park Brewery) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): Solar Trade West Coast IPA, 7% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• San Diego Brewing Co. (Mission Valley): Beat L.A. Mexican-style Lager, 5.7%
• San Diego Brewing Co. (Mission Valley): San Diego IPA, 7.5%
• South O Brewing (Oceanside): Bag Limit Double Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 7.2% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station (Point Loma): Just a DIPA Double IPA, 8.5%
• Weir Beer Co. (Vista): As Told By Ginger Moscow Mule Cocktail Hard Seltzer, 10%

Gene Fielden | Bottlecraft North Park Manager

Greetings from Leipzig. This week’s column presents an overview of some of the delicious beers I have tasted on this trip:

Ayinger Lager Hell | Helles Lager (4.9%): The relatively new direct flights between San Diego and Munich on Lufthansa are a game-changer. Go to sleep in one beer city, wake up in another! After disembarking, I was determined not to succumb to jet-lag and tore around the city on a bike for four hours straight. My final stop before an early bedtime was at one of the locations of Ayinger dotting the Bavarian capital. The waiter ‒ a man with a Slavic accent wearing glasses, lederhosen and a broad grin ‒ welcomed me in and quickly brought a half-liter each of mineral water, Lager Hell and a pretzel (“Breze” in the local dialect). It was immensely satisfying in every regard. And thus began my journey!

Augustiner Lagerbier Hell vom Holzfaß;| Helles Lager (5.2%): The Lagerbier Hell from Augustiner is one of my favorite beers of all time, full stop. Yet hitherto have I only ever tasted it from a bottle. All over Munich, it can be found on draft ‒ but only at the Bräustuben (or “Bräustüberl” in Bavarian, indicating diminuitive) can it be consumed from wooden casks. This special treat only begins in the five o’clock hour each day, with the barrels cranked up from the cellar into the bar area via a complicated system of pulleys. Perhaps it was the convivial atmosphere ‒ shared seating and chatting with strangers and new friends is encouraged ‒ but it was so good that I just had to have another. Prost!

Bakalář Nealko | Non-alcoholic Czech Lager (0.3%): I used to live in Leipzig, and spent a great deal of time in and around the southern district of Connewitz, for it was on the way during my commute to and from work in the southwestern Saxon town of Plauen. The neighborhood is famed for a great many things, including the incomparable Conne Island, a combination community center, concert venue, food hall and ‘zine library. The tastes of its clientele have trended towards inexpensive but high-quality beer, with a noticeable influx from Franconia and the Czech Republic in recent years. A new one to me upon this return visit is Bakalář, a pale lager from the latter ‒ seemingly everyone drinks it now. As the non-alcoholic world of beer has also come a long way, naturally there is a version from the same brand! Avoiding the watery nature of so many N/A options, the Nealko has a snappy herbal finish that gives the drinker an impression of a real pivo. Na Zdraví!

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