Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Beer's birthplaces vs. home sweet home

A post-European perspective on San Diego's beer scene

For years, I stowed away as much extra money as I could muster, storing it in the bank and fighting the urge to spend it on big-screen TVs, musical instruments, or bottle after bottle of high-priced craft beer. Truth be told, it wasn’t that tough. I was on a mission with a brilliant light at the end of my frugal tunnel. I was saving my money so that I could go to Europe. But this wouldn't be just any trip. It was a two-week trek centered around visiting the best brewing destinations London and Belgium had to offer, a trip I returned from just before Christmas.

Once I’d secured the large chunk of change required to embark on this journey, I started reading up on the aforementioned regions. I was so deeply entrenched in texts on the U.K., Belgium, and both countries’ brews that I could almost taste the lemony witbiers, the peppery saisons, the biscuity pale ales, and the roasty porters. So, by the time I arrived, I was beyond parched and ready to experience them all firsthand.

I spent the next 14 days, touring breweries including Fuller’s, Meantime, The Kernel, Westvleteren, Malheur, and Cantillon; hitting up beer bars; and crawling to pub after pub, many of which are regarded by locals and visitors alike as European beer industry forerunners. I was about three-and-a-half days into the London leg of the trip when I was gripped by an intense craving for a myriad of things—more hops, more defined flavors, more alcohol, more innovation, and more than anything, something different!

By the time we arrived in Belgium, I was clamoring for something made with a fruitier yeast strain and registering above five-percent ABV. I didn’t have to look far to find hundreds of beers that fit that dual bill. The country was my oyster. Whether you’re in the industrialized metropolis of Brussels or the medieval storybook town of Bruges, you can nary go a block without stumbling on a purveyor of singels, dubbels, tripels, quads, lambics, gueuzes, krieks, or saisons. Therein lies the glory and the letdown. That’s about all you’re bound to find.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Though I am spoiled from a craft beer perspective, I’m not bagging on London or Belgium. I in no way tired of the lovely Belgian beers I tasted while in-country, but by the time I departed, I was more than ready to head home. Now, if I lived in, say, Helena, Montana; Augusta, Maine; Topeka, Kansas; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; or any city lacking San Diego's advanced craft brewing culture, I’d have probably been quite sad to leave, finding it hard to disengage my death-grip on a champagne bottle of Malheur Dark Brut.

But because I live in America’s Finest City—a place where almost every single style of beer the world over is not only represented, but crafted either well or exceptional to the point of being named the best in the entire world—frankly, I was headed to a better place. Plus, you try finding innovative things like a nectarine quadrupel, Vietnamese coffee imperial stout, fruitcake beer, or habañero IPA on the other side of The Pond. It ain’t happening, but all of these and so many other examples of innovation are on-tap on a near daily basis in San Diego.

It’s awesome to get back to beer’s roots and, even more than that, experience different surroundings and different cultures. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t share with my fellow San Diegans, just how fortunate we are thanks to the determined, learned, and talented artisans manning (and womanning) our county’s brewhouses. The world is our oyster every day (we even have many of the beers I came across on my trip in bottles at our beer bars and bottle shops). I’ve seen the other side of the mountain, and it’s beautiful…but it ain’t San Diego. It’s good to be home!

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Pranksters vandalize Padres billboard in wake of playoff loss

Where’s the bat at?

For years, I stowed away as much extra money as I could muster, storing it in the bank and fighting the urge to spend it on big-screen TVs, musical instruments, or bottle after bottle of high-priced craft beer. Truth be told, it wasn’t that tough. I was on a mission with a brilliant light at the end of my frugal tunnel. I was saving my money so that I could go to Europe. But this wouldn't be just any trip. It was a two-week trek centered around visiting the best brewing destinations London and Belgium had to offer, a trip I returned from just before Christmas.

Once I’d secured the large chunk of change required to embark on this journey, I started reading up on the aforementioned regions. I was so deeply entrenched in texts on the U.K., Belgium, and both countries’ brews that I could almost taste the lemony witbiers, the peppery saisons, the biscuity pale ales, and the roasty porters. So, by the time I arrived, I was beyond parched and ready to experience them all firsthand.

I spent the next 14 days, touring breweries including Fuller’s, Meantime, The Kernel, Westvleteren, Malheur, and Cantillon; hitting up beer bars; and crawling to pub after pub, many of which are regarded by locals and visitors alike as European beer industry forerunners. I was about three-and-a-half days into the London leg of the trip when I was gripped by an intense craving for a myriad of things—more hops, more defined flavors, more alcohol, more innovation, and more than anything, something different!

By the time we arrived in Belgium, I was clamoring for something made with a fruitier yeast strain and registering above five-percent ABV. I didn’t have to look far to find hundreds of beers that fit that dual bill. The country was my oyster. Whether you’re in the industrialized metropolis of Brussels or the medieval storybook town of Bruges, you can nary go a block without stumbling on a purveyor of singels, dubbels, tripels, quads, lambics, gueuzes, krieks, or saisons. Therein lies the glory and the letdown. That’s about all you’re bound to find.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Though I am spoiled from a craft beer perspective, I’m not bagging on London or Belgium. I in no way tired of the lovely Belgian beers I tasted while in-country, but by the time I departed, I was more than ready to head home. Now, if I lived in, say, Helena, Montana; Augusta, Maine; Topeka, Kansas; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; or any city lacking San Diego's advanced craft brewing culture, I’d have probably been quite sad to leave, finding it hard to disengage my death-grip on a champagne bottle of Malheur Dark Brut.

But because I live in America’s Finest City—a place where almost every single style of beer the world over is not only represented, but crafted either well or exceptional to the point of being named the best in the entire world—frankly, I was headed to a better place. Plus, you try finding innovative things like a nectarine quadrupel, Vietnamese coffee imperial stout, fruitcake beer, or habañero IPA on the other side of The Pond. It ain’t happening, but all of these and so many other examples of innovation are on-tap on a near daily basis in San Diego.

It’s awesome to get back to beer’s roots and, even more than that, experience different surroundings and different cultures. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t share with my fellow San Diegans, just how fortunate we are thanks to the determined, learned, and talented artisans manning (and womanning) our county’s brewhouses. The world is our oyster every day (we even have many of the beers I came across on my trip in bottles at our beer bars and bottle shops). I’ve seen the other side of the mountain, and it’s beautiful…but it ain’t San Diego. It’s good to be home!

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Imbibe blares, "Blair's the man!"

Next Article

Duck Foot steps out

Don't call their beer "gluten-free," but it comes close to it
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader