800,000 barrels of beer on the wall...
October 28, 2015
News & Stories
San Diego breweries that left a mark in 2015
Two poems by Tim Eddy
Little Square Bales A high sky is here with that breeze from the west. Talkin’ rain Monday. Sabbath won’t be no day of rest. My brother’s out there now, baking up to the rake. Roll …
October 28, 2015
The Gloomies' synthy surf trip
Andy Craig likes to surf. He grew up soaking in Encinitas beach bliss. But he also needs to rock. The mellow overload caused Craig to escape to New York. “San Diego is a good surf-culture …
October 28, 2015
Local coffee beers, blondes, creams, wheats, Germans, and Belgians
Hot coffee beers New English Brewing Company, Zumbar Chocolate Coffee Imperial Stout — 9.3% ABV Made in collaboration with Sorrento Valley neighbor and coffee roaster Zumbar, this reigning gold-medal coffee beer parlays a blend of …
October 28, 2015
Flamenco virtuoso Fred Benedetti breaks down his hits list
"Most people would know me as a classical guitarist who also plays flamenco and ethnic-flavored music,” says Fred Benedetti, who cites among his most inspirational predecessors “Andrés Segovia, Pepe Romero, John Williams, and then move …
October 28, 2015
Eat it with your gums
Areekah? Eureka! Yemeni cuisine ancient and, in Southern California, rarified.
October 28, 2015
Blues bad boy Jonny Lang grows up
Years ago, blues guitarist Walter Trout (who recently came back from the near-dead) saw the handwriting on the wall. “Every town I go to has got its own teenaged guitar slinger these days,” he complained …
October 28, 2015
Chango voodoo
Josh Becker (aka Chango Chango) from the group Botanica Chango sums up his band’s sound as being “voodoo pop.” What is voodoo pop? Well, let’s examine “BB and the Beat,” currently available on the band’s …
October 28, 2015
San Diego's best bottle shops
What kind of beer do you crack open for refreshment when you get home at night? These are the best places in the county to stock your fridge or beer cellar. Bottlecraft The many positive …
October 28, 2015
Truth is, Oscar season is upon us
Cate Blanchett is seated before a panel of aggressive, mostly male Republican types, being grilled about her involvement in a scandalous, headline-grabbing story. A quick-to-YouTube camcorder doc titled Hillary Goes Benghazi? Not yet. Truth is, …
October 28, 2015
Yes, there will be Harleys in heaven
Interview with Pastor Al Hester of Evangelical Free Church of America
October 28, 2015
Beers that impressed the experts in 2015
Some guys try new beers for a living. I asked these local craft bar and bottle shop beer buyers to discuss a few local beers that have stood out to them in 2015. Scot Blair …
October 28, 2015
Uphill both ways to El Cap
Take a strenuous hike to enjoy views from the Cuyamacas to the Coronado Islands.
October 28, 2015
Theme park celebrity
Natalie Emmons’s road to becoming a Japanese pop star began with a meeting of foreign-exchange students six years ago. “I always had a fascination with Japan,” says Emmons, who was raised and still lives in …
October 28, 2015
What warrants Halloween immortalization?
Go as Kim Kardashian’s glistening buttocks.
October 28, 2015
Servants of cinema
A little over a year after pouring wads of dough into building a new screening facility for the San Diego Central Library to ostensibly house their popular Film Forum program, Ralph DeLauro, series curator for …
October 28, 2015
HOA tricks, lies, and deceives ... and residents still don't care
“Why are all these foreclosed homes submitting ballots?”
October 28, 2015
SD County tap houses
Tap houses are where beer enthusiasts comingle to talk about the great ones and the weird ones, to compare notes and to show off their respective palates. In the best tasting rooms you may find …
October 28, 2015
San Diego's best IPAs, sours, browns, reds, session ales, and pales
Incredible IPAs The style that put San Diego on the world beer map tastes great at nearly every brewery in town, and naming just a handful as the best would short-change everybody. I tried to …
October 28, 2015
Good for the gander?
Even a staffer for Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer, uber-champion of the big-money real estate industry, can turn out to be a NIMBY, the acronym for “not in my backyard” used derisively by the mayor’s wealthy …
October 28, 2015
New breweries to watch
There are 18 new breweries in the county this year? That’s as of October. It’ll take days for you to try them all. So I advise you to prioritize these promising upstarts. Second Chance Beer …
October 28, 2015
San Diego’s income and poverty numbers better than most
If you want a cushy life, be a bureaucrat, lobbyist, or politician.
October 28, 2015
San Diego’s tastiest tasting rooms
Breweries like to set aside some comfortable space for guests to enjoy a few beers. Many, maybe even most, could best be described as utilitarian. But these breweries went the distance to make sure their …
October 28, 2015
Thoughts on the late Bill Kolender
That’s Pretty Sorry I read your obituary on Bill Kolender. All you could do was dig up dirt on the poor guy, huh? Matt Potter, that’s pretty sorry. I’ve lived here for 51 years, and …
October 28, 2015
Best brewpubs, greatest gastropubs, and beautiful beer gardens
San Diego’s best brewpubs If tasting rooms exist to serve fresh beer to beer enthusiasts, brewpubs place a premium on serving fresh beer alongside good food. These spots foment a greater felling of community, attract …
October 28, 2015
Record-release roundup
Victoria Wasserman’s release party for Victoria Naomi STFU happens October 29 at House of Blues. “I’ll be giving out CDs and performing some of my favorite Amy Winehouse songs, as well as my own material,” …
October 28, 2015