Breweries in the city of San Diego are prohibited from hosting live music events by the same license that allows them to brew beer. However, many North County breweries can, and do, and one of …

The pale wood panels lining the weatherbeaten two-story storefront of China Max may not inspire a lot of confidence to the casual passerby, but during its fifteen years operating on Convoy Street, the Cantonese restaurant …

It’s been about two years since Chula Vista brewery Boochcraft introduced the concept of high alcohol kombucha to the craft beverage market. At that time, the mixed fermentation business had the capacity to produce about …

I usually skip the plantains. Oh, I’ll take a courtesy bite, but only to prove I don’t like them. I did something similar in high school, when, struggling to read the unabridged Moby Dick, I …

San Diego's fourth largest brewery, Green Flash Brewing, is in the process of being dissolved, and with it Alpine Beer Company, the cult beer favorite Green Flash acquired in 2014. That’s the reporting coming out …

Craft beer trade group the Brewers Association has been releasing its annual trove of data about the industry, revealing a trend in national statistics in 2017 that often, but not always, reflected what we’ve seen …

I think it’s safe to say that kombucha’s not a fringe beverage anymore. At least here in California. Once the domain of health food shops, these days I find the probiotic tea in gas stations, …

It was only a couple months ago the Reader reported Oceanside Ale Works had shut its doors as the result of a partner dispute. As of March 17th, its doors are officially open to the …

Council Brewing Co. announced Tuesday that it had purchased the brewhouse and lease of Santee brewer Finest Made Ales, between Gillespie Field and Highway 52. Council will operate it as a second brewhouse and tasting …

Several local booze businesses have acquired hardware for their tasting rooms, thanks to a slew of medals won at recent competitions. First up, newcomer Lost Cause Meadery earned a silver medal at The Mazer Cup, …

Over the past few years, Denmark has gained a reputation as being the happiest country in the world. And that might explain why there’s not an abundance of Danish restaurants here — happy people don’t …

Over the weekend, several outlets reported that Green Flash Brewing has placed its recently built Virginia Beach brewery on the market to sell. This morning, reports out of Virginia indicate a “closed for business” sign …

What do vegan, gluten free, and paleo diets have in common? Nuts and seeds, mostly. But, if you’re in Leucadia, they also have Nectarine Grove. The counter restaurant opened a couple months ago, and, against …

Council Brewing Co. announced Tuesday that it had purchased the brewhouse and lease of Santee brewer Finest Made Ales, and will operate it as a second brewhouse and tasting room. In a blog posted to …

The last time I passed through this part of Poway, this was a bagel shop. Now the counter service eatery has been converted to a GreensPlease, a mini chain that also has a drive thru …

With the opening of Shank & Bone in February, North Park finally got the contemporized Vietnamese restaurant its hipster heart craved. Taking over the space previously occupied by Japanese gastropub The Safe House, the new …

"We're open!" So shouted a tasting room employee of Beach Grease Beer Co. at noon, Saturday, March 10th as the new beer company opened for business in Vista. A hint of surprise could almost be …

Six years ago this month, Rough Draft Brewing opened as something like the 37th craft brewery in San Diego. Today there are over 150. "I didn't know that we would have 100 breweries open up …

Booze is kind of a nebulous term to describe fermented and/or distilled beverages. So it seems fitting that Vista beer company, Booze Brothers Brewing Co., would spin-off a brand of beverages that hang at the …

There are a dozens of good reasons to visit the Bagby Beer Company pub in downtown Oceanside, and most of them fit inside a pint glass. Yes, the gastro-brewpub launched by O.G. San Diego brewmaster …

The first thing we learn about the lonely film character Dominique Bretodeau, of the 2001 French cinema masterpiece, Amelie, is that every Tuesday, he roasts and carves a whole chicken for himself. Before he even …

When the new year began, South Park found itself trending downward in the coffee department. The end of 2017 brought with it the closing of longtime community hub, Rebecca’s Coffeehouse. For a quarter century, Rebecca’s …

Longship Brewery opened in 2016 with two specific areas of interest: Vikings and beer. Thanks to a new lecture series Longship is hosting in its Mira Mesa tasting room, beer fans are getting an opportunity …

Fruit salads, smoothies, açaí bowls: all kinds of stuff we're all supposed to fit into our healthy diets. Those are the offerings I've always associated with Señor Mango's. Back when I lived in North Park, …

Statistics released by the U.S. Treasury bureau that regulates sales of alcohol indicate that, in 2017, beer production in the U.S. dropped by its highest rate in 14 years — 2.75 percent — to its …

It looks like I've missed many opportunities to visit Rock n' Jenny's Italian Subs. The East Coast style Italian deli has been dishing up sandwiches and pasta since 1989, and I've always driven right past …

The brewhouse at 1795 Hancock Street has produced a lot of beer for a number of breweries over the past two decades, and as of last week it's changed hands once again. Part of the …

Better Buzz Coffee is on the move. The Vista coffee roaster has opened its eighth coffee shop in San Diego, its fourth in just over two years. However, while most Better Buzz shops have been …

At the North Park street corner where Ritual Tavern sat for the past decade or so, a new, neighborhood-oriented bar and eatery has opened, refurbishing the space and offering a different interpretation of the gastropub …

It doesn't make moonshine, but no distillery in the county better reflects the history of the backyard still than San Diego Sunshine Craft Spirits. Sunshine opened to the public two years ago this week, in …

To my knowledge, I had never eaten Somali food prior to walking into Faridas Somalian Cuisine a couple weeks ago. Had anyone bothered to ask, I would not even have been able to identify a …

One of Oceanside's newest beer companies sold its first bottles of beer to the public this week, but you probably didn't get one. Horus Aged Ales doesn't have a public tasting room, nor even the …

In late 2014, local journalist (and former Reader “Beer News” columnist) Brandon Hernández was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic, inflammatory disease affecting 1.5 million Americans. When Hernández looked around for information and support, he found …

The distinctive A-frame storefront design of 2611 El Cajon Boulevard gives it the appearance of a mid-century motor lodge or roadside diner, and a diner is what it has been for decades, even as the …

With each coming new year, the San Diego Brewers Guild elects new leadership. For 2018, local craft beer's trade association will be led by Rip Current Brewing cofounder, Paul Sangster. 1. What are the top …

Shake Shack has landed in San Diego, and appears to be multiplying. The East Coast burger chain launched in the UTC mall last summer and opened its second Mission Valley location at the end of …

The battle between San Diego independent breweries and Big Beer continues, and this time the fight is going to federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Escondido-based Stone Brewing, long one of the most …

Look near the top of any Thai restaurant menu in America, and you're sure to find one Thai dish in particular: Pad Thai. However, as chef Nattapon "Nat" Thitathan explained to me in a recent …

San Diego's got no shortage of bay views or craft breweries, but until now we've been short a bay-view brewery. Enter the Eppig Brewing Waterfront Biergarten, an indoor/outdoor tasting room that directly overlooks America’s Cup …

While snappy terms such as "farm to table" have gone from trendy to passé due to misappropriation and overuse, the locovore movement remains relevant. Personally, I find comfort in the simplicity of knowing where my …

The Bell Marker brewpub opened in the Gaslamp Quarter late January, having polished up the brewhouse and restaurant space of defunct downtown brewery known as the Beer Company. The Bell Marker is part of Artisanal …

When North Park's D’Angelo Pizzeria closed in late 2017, I failed to notice. The small pizza shop on 30th had a mostly hyper-local following for at least the last decade, and though I must have …

Belching Beaver Brewery debuted its new Pub 980 concept in January, taking the unusual step of converting the tasting room of its original Vista brewery location into a casual eatery with a taproom bar. Since …

Rubio's Coastal Grill turns 35 this year. I've always known it better as Rubio's fish tacos. Some might also remember a time it was called Rubio's Baja Grill. When the first location opened back in …

A large group of San Diego beverage producers have brought home a pile of medals from a prestigious national competition, and this time we're not talking about beer. The San Diego County Vintners Association reports …

I would spot Da Chicken Coop across the narrow parking lot as I approached Coop's West Texas BBQ. Both Lemon Grove restaurants are the work of namesake owner Bradrick "Coop" Cooper, which made me hesitate …

I'm always glad to see a good food truck make the move into a regular restaurant. I'm doubly glad when it's one of my favorite taco trucks, triply happy when it moves into a fixed …

Back in 2013, Reader Beer News reported that a planned local brewery, Absolution Brewing Company, had made the decision to join the unsaturated Los Angeles beer scene, rather than San Diego. Having thrived in its …

With the explosion of San Diego breweries opening over the past three years, most of the new crowd of beer businesses have tenaciously sought to market their brands and attract beer fans to their tasting …

Bivouac Ciderworks has opened in North Park. San Diego's latest craft-beverage business becomes the tenth in San Diego to make hard cider and the first to follow a sort of cider brewpub model. It doubles …