What’s Tapping (7/24)

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): X Extra Pale Ale, 5.3%
• Athletic Brewing (Miramar): Chelada Amada Non-alcoholic Michelada-style Brew, < 0.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Ballast Point Brewing (Little Italy, Miramar): Bikini Bottom Pale Ale, 5.6%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Little Italy, Miramar): Cancun Mexican-style Lager, 5%
• Ballast Point Brewing (Little Italy): Cancun Mexican-style Lager w/ Serrano Pepper, 5%
• BattleMage Brewing (Vista): Fel Energy Melon & Lemon Hard Seltzer, 5.8%
• Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside, Escondido): Gleaming the Brew West Coast IPA, 7% (collaboration w/ Tarantula Hill Brewing)
• Brewjería Co. (Chula Vista): Flor y Fuego Mexican-style Amber Lager, 5.1%
• Deft Brewing (Bay Park): Black Forest Summer Schwarzbier, 5.3%
• Deft Brewing (Bay Park): Deft Hef Hefeweizen, 5%
• Deft Brewing (Bay Park): Deftly Hallows Foreign Extra Stout on Cask, 7.9%
• Deft Brewing (Bay Park): DeftTouch of Apricot Belgian-style Sour Wheat Ale w/ Apricot, 5%
• Deft Brewing (Bay Park): Sunset in Bruges Flanders-style Sour Red Ale, 5.4%
• Docent Brewing (Carlsbad): Self Titled Petit Saison, 5.3%
• Docent Brewing (Carlsbad): Tiny Umbrellas EZ IPA, 5.8%

• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Like a Million Suns Double Dry-hopped Hazy IPA, 7% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): The Mystifier Cold IPA, 7.2% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Naked & Famous Fizz Agave Hard Seltzer, 6% (collaboration w/ Tip Top Proper Cocktails) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): A New Path to Pave West Coast IPA, 7% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Straight from the Keller Unfiltered German-style Pilsner, 5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch, Carmel Valley, Bay Park, South Park): Strawberry Mango Fluff Ale w/ Strawberry, Mango & Marshmallow Fluff, 5%
• Julian Beer Co. (Julian): Hillside Rendezvous Specialty Saison, 5%
• Julian Beer Co. (Julian): Silk & Honey Wheat Ale w/ Honey, 6%
• New English Brewing (Sorrento Valley): Explorer Extra Special Bitter, 5.8%
• Nickel Beer Co. (Julian): IPA 666, 8.7%
• Night Parade Brewing (Scripps Ranch): Kanaloa German-style Kölsch, 5.5%
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): City of the Future Triple Dry-hopped Hazy Double IPA, 8.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Crown-Fu! Triple Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 7.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Pizzaiolo Italian-style Pilsner, 5.2%
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): TDH Aroma Constrictor Triple Dry-hopped Hazy IPA, 7% – PURCHASE ONLINE

• Owl Farm Unique Fermentations (Vista, Oceanside, Fallbrook): Tangerine Tango Tangerine Wheat Ale, 5.5%
• Pizza Port (Ocean Beach): Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout, 10%
• Pizza Port (Solana Beach): Broken Chairs Porter, 5%
• Pizza Port (Solana Beach): Oscar Wanted a Brown Ale English-style Brown Ale w/ Coconut, 5%
• Pizza Port Bressi Ranch (Carlsbad): Lemon Berry Swell Fruited Wheat Ale, 5%
• Pizza Port Carlsbad Village (Carlsbad): Bee Hazy Hazy IPA, 6%
• Pizza Port Carlsbad Village (Carlsbad): Slot Surfer West Coast IPA, 7.3%
• Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): Falling Awake Murky Double IPA, 8.3% – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): Janet’s Brown Ale, 7.5%
• Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): Riising Tide West Coast IPA, 7% (collaboration w/ Riip Beer Co.) – PURCHASE ONLINE
• Quantum Brewing (Kearny Mesa): Chain Reaction Session IPA, 4.9%
• Quantum Brewing (Kearny Mesa): Yellowcake Triple IPA, 10%
• San Diego Brewing Co. (Mission Valley): Beat L.A. Mexican-style Lager, 5.7%
• San Diego Brewing Co. (Mission Valley): OG IPA, 7.5%
• Societe Brewing (Kearny Mesa, Old Town): The Bachelor Single-hop IPA w/ Tangier, 6.5%
• Stone Brewing (Escondido, Oceanside, Downtown, Point Loma): O’side Oasis Cold IPA, 8.9%

Gene Fielden | Bottlecraft North Park Manager

The theme of this week’s column is “old favorites”. These are the sorts of beers that are always available and may potentially be overlooked in the quest for novelty, but can always be depended upon.

Russian River Blind Pig | West Coast IPA (6.25%): Before Russian River Brewing opened their Windsor, California facility, Blind Pig was not to be found in bottles around San Diego. Locating it on draft in my neighborhood ‒ whether at the now-shuttered Toronado, Tiger! Tiger! Tavern or eternal survivor Live Wire ‒ was reason for jubilation, and usually caused me to stop reading the draft-list any further. Carrying on the name of Vinnie Cilurzo’s first brewery, a Temecula operation that was active in the mid-to-late 1990s, Blind Pig is a marvelous expression of classic Pacific Northwest hops, with that ineffable citrus/pine dichotomy that forms deep memories. The lower ABV (alcohol-by-volume) ‒ especially compared to bigger brother Pliny the Elder ‒ means that Pigs often come in multiples. Cheers!

Rothaus Tannenzäpfle | German Pilsner (5.5%): I first encountered Rothaus Tannenzäpfle while living in Germany in my early 20s and have enjoyed drinking it immensely ever since then. Originating from the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) in Baden-Wüttemberg, this southwestern German Pilsner has a soft-water rounded malt profile capped off with a herbal Noble-hop finish from the Tettnang and Hallertau. Tannenzäpfle translates to “pine cone” (as depicted on the label’s woodcut-style iconography) and has the same word-stem as Tannenbaum… i.e. Christmas tree! Prost!

Brasserie d’Orval | Brett Pale Ale (6.9%): The most singular of Trappist beers. Is there any beer like Orval? Fermented with Saccharomyces (i.e. brewer’s yeast) but bottle-conditioned with Brettanomyces (a famed wild strain imparting rustic barnyard aromas), the final beer is hugely carbonated and bracingly dry. The associated iconic bowl-shaped chalice is a treasured piece of glassware in our collection and is gladly broken out for any occasion that a guest wishes to drink an Orval on the premises at Bottlecraft North Park. À votre santé!

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