This may be remembered as the year the craft-beer boom finally hit the South Bay. The brewery count south of the 54 is up to three, and rumors swirl about existing breweries planning to open …

In September, Rip Current founders Paul Sangster and Guy Shobe brought five beers to the Great American Beer Festival, the nation's biggest beer contest. The former homebrewers returned victorious, with two medals and the distinction …

I hit the food court at Zion Market recently. The large Korean supermarket in Kearny Mesa has a great number of distinct little businesses under its roof, and I cruised the pan-Asian area for a …

The best thing about my house is its location — just a few short blocks from Hamilton's Tavern. This is by design. The slightly divey taphouse has been one of our city's champions of craft …

Casting my vote at the Reader Feast food and drink festival this year was easy. Yes, eventual winner Half Door Brewing Co. rightfully earned its victory with a combo of tasty beers and ahi poke …

These days many restaurants opening in Liberty Station are an offshoot of a successful business from another part of town. Soda & Swine, Fig Tree Café, and the incoming Buona Forchetta have all taken advantage …

Early September saw one of San Diego's most accomplished craft-beer talents open a new brewery in Carmel Mountain Ranch. Second Chance Beer Co. launched with a trio of beers made by Marty Mendiola, a credentialed …

While in a grocery store recently, I came across a couple of guys who were ordering vast quantities of salads and meats from the deli counter. They said they were hosting a casual wedding reception …

Pumpkin season comes earlier every year. Ballast Point released its seasonal Pumpkin Down in the middle of August, and I was not ready. I've never been enthusiastic about the pumpkin-spiced beverage trend, and its appearance …

KNB Wine Cellars recently celebrated its seventh anniversary, and while I’ve perused the bottle shop a few times and even checked the taplist, it occurred to me I’d never eaten from the restaurant portion of …

Monkey Paw, ChuckAlek, and Nickel Beer have joined Ballast Point, Coronado, and Hess in using locally grown hops. Because some people want their beers fruitier, pinier, and/or spicier.

A recent social-media surge around the hashtag #southbayuprising has been calling attention to the proliferation of craft beer in the South Bay. While the recent addition of Border X Brewing, Novo Brazil Brewing, and a …

Back in 2013, a change in California law allowed individuals to sell food prepared in home kitchens. Such “Cottage Food Operations” also applies to coffee, and for nearly a year husband-and-wife team Scott and Brielle …

More big changes in the old guard of San Diego brewing. Longtime Green Flash brewmaster Chuck Silva announced his resignation, effective Monday, September 28. In a press release, Silva revealed he's leaving San Diego altogether …

San Marcos Brewery Rip Current was named Very Small Brewing Company of the year at the Great American Beer Festival last week. The 33rd annual competition took place in Denver, and when winners were announced …

When I started reviewing our local variety of restaurant delivery apps last year, I didn’t think the series would last long. But new companies keep hopping into the market, and now I’m starting to wonder …

I first got turned on to ¡Salud! at the Reader’s Tacotopia event last May. I’d like to say I remember exactly which tacos I tried that afternoon, but let’s face it, I ate dozens, and …

When Jesse Pine and his wife Agi moved from San Diego to Costa Rica three years ago, they found a craft-beer scene in its infancy. "It was kind of a struggle, because you could really …

Sometime late in August, about 21 months after signing a lease on a small Kearny Mesa industrial space, Morgan McCarty completed the long, arduous permitting process required to launch Magnetic Brewing. When was it specifically? …

Amid the startling number of new breweries opening these late summer months, some of the county's oldest and largest breweries are also making news with changes in packaging, production, and personnel. Coronado Brewing Company They …

Along with the proliferation of craft breweries in San Diego has come a proliferation of beer-pairing dinners, and even brunches. While fine-dining restaurants have long offered multi-course tasting menus paired with a sommeliers' choice of …

Cameron Ball spent nearly three years planning Helix Brewing Co., and the long effort paid off when La Mesa's second brewery and tasting room opened in late August. In fall 2012 the young home brewer …

When you circle the block a few times to find parking in Hillcrest and then find a 30-minute space for an errand that lasts all of five minutes, do you leave straight away? Me neither. …

Craft beer's most talked about investor sheet gave Midwest macro beer a toehold in San Diego this week when Miramar-based Saint Archer Brewing sold a majority stake to Chicago-based Tenth and Blake, "the craft and …

Eating good sushi in San Diego often means visiting a strip mall. Many count Pacific Beach’s Sushi Ota among the best in town (it’s next to a 7-Eleven), and Kaito Sushi holds it down in …

While the awning out front still reads “Salty Paw Dog Wash and Grooming,” Mike Hess Brewing's new Ocean Beach tasting room began serving beer on August 28. The modest space on Voltaire Street runs exclusively …

Local coffee enthusiasts got a rare glimpse into the supply side of specialty coffee when a farmer from El Salvador paid a visit to Bird Rock Coffee Roasters for a pair of Meet the Grower …

When I visit a restaurant for the first time without knowing much about it, my usual MO is to ask a server for recommendations. When I got to the Vista location of Hungry Bear Deli …

Wet-hop beers have started showing up in tasting rooms. The recent proliferation of hop farms in San Diego County has allowed some brewers to get hops on the same day they were harvested. Most of …

As may be apparent to anyone who's driven Interstate 8 west of the 5 lately, Bay City Brewing Co. officially opened for business on August 18. The brewery operates with a 700 sq. ft. tasting …

A new craft-beer concept plans to launch in Vista this month. Bear Roots Brewing Company will open in September as a home-brewing supply shop before adding a brew-on-premises workspace and brewery/tasting room later this fall. …

I’ve been running into a lot of cold-press juice places lately, which can be tough on the wallet, because however tantalizing and often organic the craze is, a 16-ounce bottle of juice tends to cost …

When the Brew Project set up shop inside Mission Hills wine bar 57 Degrees in 2013, it became the first all-San Diego tap list in town. Now, Project cofounder Beau Schmitt has partnered with former …

I’m probably not the only person in town with a poké-salad obsession, which should bode well for a new shop that soft opened in Hillcrest a couple of weeks ago. Poké Go turns the cubed …

As if it weren't already hard enough on a beer reporter's narrative flow to discuss the multi-label San Marcos brewhouse known as Port Brewing and the Lost Abbey, earlier this year it launched yet another …

Google describes Supannee House of Thai as a “No-frills Thai restaurant,” and having driven past the ho-hum storefront several times without going in, I assumed this was accurate. Sharing a drab shopping center lot with …

The Coast Highway in Encinitas is home to another coffee shop. Vista-based roaster Better Buzz opened a 1900-square-foot storefront on August 8. It’s the sixth shop for the retail chain, which also has locations in …

August 21st marked the opening of Little Italy's latest beer-tasting room, as La Mesa–based Bolt Brewery began serving beer at the corner of India and Grape streets, in what used to be the North End …

While ordering food at Carnitas Snack Shack recently, I noticed a sign pointing out that I could choose to have my favorite poutine delivered. They’ve signed on with Give Me Delivery, yet another web- and …

Just as locally grown hops are starting to find a place in San Diego beer, exotic foreign hops have also begun to capture beer drinkers' imaginations. The fruity, winy Nelson Sauvin variety out of New …

Since I haven’t taken a yoga class in a while, I’ve needed something to fill me with that sense of self-righteousness that comes from doing something more healthy than those around me. Being in Encinitas …

By this time next year, Miramar should have not one, but two cideries. Not long after craft brewer St. Archer announced plans to acquire a wine license and pursue cider production, a new enterprise has …

Keeping track of all the breweries in San Diego County is tough, whether you're a beer reporter or attentive enthusiast. When I think about it the other way around, I marvel at how many have …

The end of August marks 20 years since I’ve bought or eaten anything from McDonald’s, a boycott stemming partly from politics, partly revulsion, and mostly by the lack of nutrition of the chain’s cheap foodstuffs …

Often lost in the discussion about how many beer producers call San Diego County home these days is the impact on the economy — and particularly on local employment. According to the City of San …

When I hear the words Little Italy and dessert, I think of gelato or tiramisu. After my first visit to iDessert, I don’t know what to think. The high-concept dessert spot is the brainchild of …

While checking out a preview event for the new Iron Fist Brewing Co. tasting room in Barrio Logan, got a sneak peek of a new restaurant that will soon be the craft-beer spot’s neighbor. MishMash …

When Blue Bridge Hospitality announced the list of all-local concessions participating in its Liberty Public Market last month, The West Bean was revealed to be the company chosen to represent San Diego coffee in the …

Back in 2010, Stone Brewing CEO Greg Koch described the problem of gray-market beer being sold to foreign markets during a video interview with Australia's Brews News website: "Unethical retailers or wholesalers here in the …

Filipino cuisine has been tabbed by food experts and national magazines as “the next big thing” for several years now. While San Diego does offer a number of restaurants serving traditional dishes such as lumpia, …