Brewery Trail: San Diego, CA

Coronado Brewing Co., Ballast Point Brewing Co., and Green Flash Brewing Co.

(Sorry for the lack of pictures.  Blogger makes it really difficult to post multiple pictures.  I have to move to a real website soon. If you want to see more pics, email me. Thanks!)

Two weekends ago I went on a San Diego brewery trail, which included the breweries of Ballast Point, Coronado and Green Flash.  First up was Coronado.  When we arrived, it was a lot smaller than I expected for a brewery that bottles and distributes their beer.  I wasn't expecting anything like Stone's brewery, but something a little bigger than what seemed to be a little in-house microbrewery or brew pub.  I asked our server if we can get a tour with no luck.  He said they are expanding and will soon be giving tours, but they currently cannot give tours because of the lack of space inside the brewery. That was a bummer.  Anyways, me and my sister each got their five beer sampler.  Both samplers had the same four beers, Orange Ave., Golden, Mermaid's Red, Islander IPA, with a fifth one that we got to choose from a list.  I got the Idiot IPA and I honestly forgot which one my sister chose. It doesn't really matter because none of the beers were anything special or memorable.  They were all pretty watery and lacked in flavor.  There was also a menu of craft beers that they served from other breweries. It wasn't on the list, but I have been dying to try a couple beers from a brewery in northern California, Russian River Brewing Co.  So I asked if they served it, in the off chance that they did but didn't have it listed.  They didn't have it, nor did they have any of the beers they had listed.  So it was a pretty wasted trip to Coronado Brewing Co.  Not only was their beer average and couldn't get a tour, I couldn't even try any other quality beers from other breweries. Luckily it was only a 10 minute drive.  Up next was Ballast Point Brewing Co.

Five beer sampler at Coronado Brewing Co.

After a 15-20 minute drive, we arrived at Ballast Point Brewing Co.  It was located in a nice commercial area, with corporate offices and buildings, similar to the area which Stone Brewing Co. is located.  We walk into the small tasting room, where there we about 10 people inside.  They had all nine of their beers on tap, also a small fridge with bombers and six packs of some of their beers.  I was even happier when their big flat screen TV was airing the UNLV vs UCSD game.  Not only was there good beer, but I got to watch the game I was expecting miss.  So we ordered one full sampler of nine beers from Amber, the tasting room manager.  Man, do they make good beers! Their selection ranged from IPAs and porters to stouts and pale ales.  They were all excellent beers, but if I had to choose my favorite, it had to be the Sculpin IPA.  It was malty and had nice hop additions and a nice, full body.  We got there around 2 pm, but there next tour wasn't until 5 pm and we couldn't wait around until five.  We talked to Amber and told her we were from out of town and explanined how far we had to drive to be there.  She finally caved in and agreed to give us a private tour, which was really nice of her!  Nobody else was on the tour but me, my cousin and my sister.  She showed their whole indoor operation of fermentation tanks, whirpools, mash tuns, etc.  They also had a giant lagering and conditioning fridge.  This thing was huge! There were hundreds of kegs with cases and cases of beer stacked along all 4 walls.  The kegs were all different and creative, one of which, a jalapeno pale ale, really caught my eye.  It sounds so good!  She told us that they are expanding and growing so fast that they actually had to put some tanks outside, behind the building!  Inside, there was also a small distillary tucked away in the corner where the brewers are distilling liquors, such as whiskey and vodka.  It was awesome! Not only do they brew award winning brews, their liquors have also won numerous awards.  Amber also told us of the laid back nature of the brewery.  She said one brewer actually came across a bunch of meat that he didn't know what to do with, so he smoked the meat right there in the brewery. It was pretty funny.  The tour was so great that I didn't even think about taking pictures.   After it was over, we bought some bottled beers and Bloody Mary mix made by the brewery.  We thanked Amber for the awesome tour and headed to Green Flash Brewing Co., which was right down the street.  Luckily, we left just in time as a couple brewery tour buses pulled up.

Four of the nine samples from Ballast Brewing Co. inside the tasting room

You would never guessed Green Flash's was a from the outside of the building.  It looks like a really nice and big corporate building from the outside.  We walked into the huge tasting room, which happened to be right inside the actually brewery.  You had to tasting room and bar and on the other side of the 4 ft tall gates, which was where the brewery was.  We ordered their sampler, which must have included 11 or 12 different beers.  The beers ranged from a barley and saison to an imperial IPA and a Trippel Ale.  They were all great and we finished them in no time.  As we were sampling the brews, there was the owner of the brewery just casually walking in and about the tasting room talking to different people.  I went up to him and introduced myself.  I was telling him how great his brewery is and asked him a bunch of questions. He even gave me the email address for his head brewmaster, Chuck Silva.  He was a really nice guy, but seemed a little buzzed, not that I can blame him.  If I had access to beer that good anytime I wanted, I would do the same.  Afterwards, we signed up for the tour and were on it about 20 minutes later.  Our tour guide was the same guy I had when I visited Stone Brewing Co. about a year ago.  This brewery was huge compared to Ballast Point.  Their tour was pretty boring and didn't even compare to the one we got at Ballast Point.  After the tour, we sampled a few more beers and asked the guide why he was working for Green Flash.  He said that Stone was becoming a "circus" and he wanted to be back working for a smaller brewery again.  I bought a shirt and a couple bottles of their Barleywine and took off.

Aging casks at Green Flash Brewing Co.

With the exception of Coronado Brewing Co., it was a great time with some great beers. I have to say that Stone and Green Flash better watch out because Ballast Point has the beers to give them a run for their money.  With the addition of Stone and Pizza Port last year, I have visited five breweries in San Diego and still have a bunch more to go.