Living in San Diego - Beer

Beer

Well, frankly I'm not too keen on American beer. However, all is not lost. There are a large number of micro-breweries in California although not as many as there could be this far south.

If beer to you is one of life's essentials and you're a Brit living in San Diego, you've come to the right place.

Where to buy British beer in San Diego

• "Beverages and More" ("BevMo") Liquor store on Carmel Mountain road. From north on I-15, exit CMR and enter the first plaza on the right. Turn right past Good Guys and you should hit it. Good choice of British and worldwide beers including German, Italian. If you are just shopping for BEER (and other alcohol) then this would definitely be my recommended destination. If beer is just a secondary item on your shopping list for the day (perish the thought) then one of the stores below may be a better match. BevMo website . 11475 Carmel Mountain Rd .
• Whole Foods Market have a decent selection of more interesting beers from around the US and a few international as well. They also have a stunning cheese selection - if you are looking for European cheese, go here! Whole Foods is a full size supermarket with a 'health'/'natural' slant. You will find a good fruit selection, full-size full-service meat and fish counters and everything from cereals and milk to olives and imported wine. Whole Foods Market website . 8825 Villa La Jolla Drive . Be warned, if you like good food then you will likely leave wondering how on earth you spent so much yet only have enough for the weekend's meals. :-)
• Cost Plus World Market. Cost Plus stock various items from around the world including furniture, tack, condiments, wine and of course, most important - beer. The selection of British beers is fairly small but since they also carry British and European chocolate, a visit is still worthwhile. Other stock items including a selection of kitchen implements, plates, dishes, various foods from around the world, etc, etc. Cost Plus website . 8657 Villa La Jolla Drive Suite 117 .
• Trader Joe's. Be careful visiting Trader Joe's - I always feel poor walking out of there! Anyway, they stock European beers and always seem to have a few British and Irish offerings. Trader Joe's is a basically a small upmarket supermarket. You will find salads, meats, varii canned goods, bread, frozen veg, etc etc. Expect what you find to be a little on the expensive side but good quality and more unusual brands not carried by the mainstream supermarkets. Trader Joe's website . 8657 Villa La Jolla Drive .
• [added Sept 2006] Yet another upmarket supermarket - Bristol Farms has replaced Albertsons in UTC. A few breweries represented and a good selection of British beer. I left happy with a lovely pint of Old Speckled hen in a draughtflow can and a four-pack of Stewarts original "Fountain Classic" Ginger Beer. Now, I've been trying to find a ready supply of decent ginger beer and I think I've found it. It's got to be a good sign when the warning on the bottle reads "Contents under pressure; bottle may burst or cap may blow off causing eye or other serious injury". And sure enough this is a ginger beer which delivers on taste and spice. Bristol Farm's website . 8510 Genesee Avenue .
• "Shakespeare's" pub near the airport has British beer on tap but some of my friends have complained that it was watered down sometimes.
• British Delights isn't a store in San Diego and they don't even stock beer but if you absolutely HAVE to have some salt-and-vinegar crisps to go with your beer then this is the place. britishdelights.com.

Beer monologue

Beer in food

Well, Guinness may be a meal in itself but what better than beer and food than beer and beer IN food! A man after my own heart has written the the cooking-with-beer recipe book "Beer Inside". Even some puddings! Another book I found written by Lucy Saunders - although it's out of print. Try Abebooks.com or eBay.

Beer update May 2005:

I found a new beer at Trader Joe's this month - Mackeson's XXX triple stout. It's jolly good stuff. I stocked up today just in case they switch it out for something else. :-)

As mentioned below, the local micro-breweries are pretty good. They may not be to your taste - recommend trying them though. Karl Strauss Brewery Gardens serve beer and some pretty good food as well. We've been to their Sunday brunch a few times - beer for breakfast if you can handle it! (Juice, Bucks Fizz ("Mimosa") are also options). Recommended but make sure you book a table before Sunday.

Beer update April 2004:

American beer appears to have grown on me - at least to a certain extent. Drinking beer cold has definitely grown on me - cold beer in the warm sun feels a lot better than warm beer. It's still difficult to imagine why Budweiser is called "King of Beers". But anyway, there's quite a bit of Micro Brew stuff (Sam Adams, Karl Straus - reasonably widely available).

Guiness...

Guinnes is readily available in draught cans, draught bottles and original stout bottles (eg at VONS). And Guinness can be found at various bars... one proviso... I ordered Guinness at a bar and the barman proceeded to *pour* the bottle into a beer glass!!! ACK! As any Guinnesss drinker knows, the can widget is designed to pour a good head into a glass and the bottle widget is designed to create a head inside the bottle as it is raised and lowered to your thirsty mouth... so you can understand my despair as a flat Guinness was poured into my glass... Ah these little things are sent to test us.