Welcome to San Diego Beer News‘ weekly list of beers tapping for the first time or returning to beer lists at breweries throughout San Diego County, including links where you can find additional info or purchase the beers online. For more details regarding release/tapping dates, times and locations, consult the official website or social-media accounts of the brewing companies listed.
And keep scrolling for Bottlecraft staff recommendations about beers they are excited about that can be found at their bottle shop locations in North Park, Little Italy and Point Loma!
AleSmith Brewing (Miramar): Handgeplukt Kriek, 6.6% (collaboration w/ Lyons Peak Brewing)
Athletic Brewing (Miramar): Winter Wonder Non-alcoholic Winter Warmer, < 0.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
Ballast Point Brewing (Little Italy): ‘Tis the Season Pale Saison, 6.2%
Bay City Brewing (Point Loma, East Village): Chug Dealer Mini IPA, 3.5%
Burning Beard Brewing (El Cajon): Postmodern Prometheus – Sidecar Edition Cognac Barrel-aged Imperial Stout w/ Orange, 13.5%
California Wild Ales (Point Loma, Ocean Beach): 3rd Block from the Sun Hazy IPA, 6.7%
Deft Brewing (Bay Park): Curly Tail Irish-style Red Ale on Cask, 5.4%
Deft Brewing (Bay Park): Legion’s Revenge Extra Special Bitter, 5.8%
Docent Brewing (Carlsbad): Forgot Your Password English-style Barleywine, 9.6%
Dos Desperados Brewery (San Marcos): Pancho Villa Double IPA, 9%
Duck Foot Brewing (Miramar, Leucadia): St. Alfonso’s Pancake Breakfast Imperial Stout w/ Coffee & Maple Syrup, 12.8%
Eppig Brewing (Point Loma): Try This! West Coast Pale Ale, 5.5%
Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): All Razzle No Dazzle! Double Dry-hopped Hazy IPA, 7% – PURCHASE ONLINE
Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Coco Mesa Coconut Rye Stout on Nitro, 6.6% – PURCHASE ONLINE
Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Good for Morale Czech-style Pilsner, 4.6% – PURCHASE ONLINE
Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): This One’s for the Birds Double Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 7.4% – PURCHASE ONLINE
In honor of today’s holiday, Green Cheek Beer Co. is releasing a “thankful-style” double dry-hopped West Coast IPA called This One’s for the Birds
Green Cheek Beer Co. (Oceanside): Tomorrow’s Yesterday Double Dry-hopped Hazy Double IPA, 8.6% – PURCHASE ONLINE
Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch, Bay Park, South Park): Lost Translation Fresh Stout, 8%
Julian Beer Co. (Julian): Cider Project Hard Cider, 7.8%
Kilowatt Brewing (Kearny Mesa, Ocean Beach, Oceanside): Christmas Ale w/ Honey, Ginger, Nutmeg, Cardamom & Cinnamon, 8.2%
Little Bird Brewing (North Park): Chicken Hawk Double IPA, 8.5%
Little Bird Brewing (North Park): Murder of Crows Hazy IPA, 6.5%
Mason Ale Works (Barrio Logan): Crusher West Coast IPA, 6.9%
Mason Ale Works (Barrio Logan): Fruit Bomb Sour Ale w/ Black Currant, 5.2%
Mcilhenney Brewing (Alpine): Alpha Therapy West Coast IPA, 7%
Mcilhenney Brewing (Alpine): Bourbon Barrel-aged Molotov Special Imperial Stout, 13%
Michi Brew Co. (San Marcos): Shasta West Coast IPA, 6.8%
Nickel Beer Co. (Julian): 12th Anniversary Bourbon Barrel-aged Imperial Stout, 11%
Nickel Beer Co. (Julian): Green Truck Wet Hop Double IPA, 8%
Nickel Beer Co. (Julian): Julian Apple Pie Ale, 6%
Night Parade Brewing (Scripps Ranch): Candygram Salted Caramel Stout, 7.3%
Night Parade Brewing (Scripps Ranch): Pi-R-Squared Pumpkin-spice Ale, 5.5%
North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Art Is Hard Double Dry-hopped Hazy IPA, 7% – PURCHASE ONLINE
North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Double Constrictor Triple Dry-hopped Hazy Double IPA, 8.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
This Friday, Harland Brewing is re-releasing Lost Translation, a “fresh stout” brewed with black, chocolate, oat and double-roasted crystal malt
North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): Live Your West Life Double Dry-hopped West Coast IPA, 6.9% – PURCHASE ONLINE
North Park Beer Co. (North Park, Bankers Hill, Pacific Beach): McNair’s Scottish-style Amber Ale, 5.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
Pizza Port (Ocean Beach): Jetty IPA, 7.2%
Pizza Port (Solana Beach): Dizzy Edge New Zealand-style Pale Ale, 5%
Pizza Port (Solana Beach): Time Trap New Zealand-style IPA, 6.2%
Pizza Port Carlsbad Village (Carlsbad): Raceway Wets Coast IPA, 7.3%
Pizza Port Carlsbad Village (Carlsbad): West West Y’all Cold IPA, 6.4%
Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): 8 Rays Filipino-style Lager, 5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): Peak Ascension West Coast Double IPA, 8.3% – PURCHASE ONLINE
Pure Project Brewing (Vista, Carlsbad, Miramar, North Park, Bankers Hill): Super Beta Murky IPA, 6.5% – PURCHASE ONLINE
Quantum Brewing (Kearny Mesa): Boron Brown Irish-style Brown Ale, 5.5%
The Roadies Brewing (Vista): Headbanger Double IPA, 8.5%
The Roadies Brewing (Vista): Watcha Say West Coast IPA, 7.3%
Seek Beer Co. (North Park): Dangerous Optimism West Coast IPA, 7%
Sunny Grove Brewing (Santee): Porch It Pale Ale, 5.4%
Viewpoint Brewing (Del Mar): Cold As Ice Cold IPA, 6.3%
Viewpoint Brewing (Del Mar): Train to Del Mar West Coast IPA, 6.5% (collaboration w/ RŌM Beer Co.)
Gene Fielden | Bottlecraft North Park Manager
A very special Black Friday edition of the picks this week!
OEC Coolship Lager Black | Czech-style Dark (Tmavé) Lager (5.4%): Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores (OEC), a dog-Latin translation of “Order of the Eccentric Boilers”, is the in-house brewery at B. United International. The latter firm has been operating out of Connecticut for decades, importing wondrous oddities from around the world. Meanwhile, OEC cooks up stellar lagers and ales inspired by the Old World. This roasty edition of their Coolship Lager is double decocted* before resting in an open-topped vessel known as a coolship (derived from the Flemish koelschip). Lagers such as these are a wonderful way to demonstrate that “dark” and “heavy” need not be synonymous in beer!
* for the word stem, please refer to the title of the brewery
Prairie Christmas BOMB! | Spiced Imperial Stout (13%): The flagship offering and calling-card of Prairie Artisan Ales out of Oklahoma is BOMB! ‒ that exclamation point is part of its name. An unsubtle imperial stout loaded with coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla and chiles, it is one of those beers wherein the alcohol is dangerously well-hidden. Indeed, the warming chiles act as a masking effect! Every year around this time, joining BOMB! on the shelves is the Christmas edition ‒ all of the above plus the wintry spices of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Sugar, spice and everything nice!
Fremont Bourbon Barrel-aged Dark Star 2025 | Barrel-aged Imperial Stout (15.7%): The year-round base edition of Dark Star by Fremont Brewing might be one of the best value-to-price ratios for an imperial stout on the market these days. A single 12-ounce can of this 8% ABV (alcohol-by-volume) oatmeal stout will not even set you back three dollars at Bottlecraft, inclusive of sales tax! Having said that, the barrel-aged edition is a wonder to behold, with five malts layered together and aged for up to two years in 7-to-12-year Kentucky bourbon casks, then blended for consistency’s sake. Enjoy with friends and loved ones on what passes for a cold evening around here.
Click here to explore the quality beers at Bottlecraft’s three San Diego locations