If you’re looking for a beautiful place to visit that has way too many choices of breweries to visit, San Diego is the place. We were there last month and it was tough. So little time and so many breweries.
The San Diego Brewers Guild’s “Craft Beer Map and Guide” lists 96 breweries in the area (www.sandiegobrewersguild.org). We started out at Ballast Point Brewing (9045 Carroll Way). The last time I was here, there was a small tasting room. Business is apparently very good, for they have moved into a huge facility with a beautiful bar and indoor and outdoor dining areas. The architectural touches are in keeping with their nautical theme and this is definitely a place to stop.
The next day we stopped at Stone Brewing’s Liberty Station location (2816 Historic Decatur Road) in the Point Loma area. Liberty Station is a former Navy base taken over by private development using the old Navy buildings. We thought Ballast Point was pretty cool, but this place knocked our socks off. What they have done with the former mess hall and surrounding area is incredible. Both indoor and outdoor dining and beer tasting is available. This place should be high on the list of anyone visiting San Diego.
Our last stop was Modern Times Beer in the industrial area of Point Loma (3725 Greenwood St.). This was quite a change from Stone. Modern Times is in an old warehouse with no attention paid to architectural finishing. But it works. One of the two-story walls is adorned with a mural made of colored Post-its.
All of the places we went serve a variety of good beers. Three down, 93 to go.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is purchasing another craft brewer. The sale of Seattle’s 18-year-old Elysian Brewing was announced in January. Kind of interesting for a craft brewer that used the tagline “corporate beer still sucks.”
Even more interesting was A-B’s Budweiser Super Bowl commercial that dissed craft beers even as they purchase craft brewers in the Northwest and New York. The commercial was titled “Brewed the hard Way” and the voiceover said “let them sip their pumpkin peach ale, we’ll be brewing us some golden suds.” This is extremely ironic as Elysian makes pumpkin peach ale and one of their most popular beers is their fall pumpkin ale.
The commercial also trumpets that Bud drinkers “like to drink beer brewed the hard way.” The hard way? In huge automated factories? Craft beer production is easy?
As a small businessman myself, I really appreciate the monetary and sweat equity craft brewers put into their breweries. It’s a hard business. And I respect their right to cash out. But, once a craft brewery is taken over by a mass brewer, I’m not buying the product anymore.
I am concerned that over time some smart MBA at the big brewer is going to start tinkering with the acquired brewer’s processes and that quality will be degraded. I’m going to support the little-guy-owned craft breweries.
