San Diego Pub Crawl
9 December 2007
Scott and Stan took advantage of a free evening after a meeting to explore the beer offerings available in the Gaslamp section of San Diego. We took the trolley into town and got off at the Padre's stadium and walked back to our first stop at the Gaslamp Tavern at 5th and E. We reviewed the tap list and decided on a Ballast Point Yellowtail Ale to quench our thirst after the long walk. Yellowtail did its job, but I found it to be in need of a little more hops. We followed up with New Belgium's season offering 2 Below Ale. This was a big improvement over the Yellowtail and a good winter ale. Natalie, our server was a wonderful source of information about bars in the Gaslamp District.
.......................................................................................... Our server, Natalie...................................Stan, Natalie and Scott
Our next stop was the Bitter End where we tried Karl Straus Amber Ale and New Belgium Fat Tire. Our most memorable observation besides the great old building was the bar stools - a guy could sit here for a long time (if they had a more diverse tap selection).
Down the block and to the right we found a Rock Bottom Brewery. Always looking for something locally brewed, we decided to stop. Our server Theresa didn't want her photo taken (something about the witness relocation program) so she will remain anonymous. She was very accomodating and gave us a few free samples. We also got a chance to talk to Jason, the Asst Brewmaster. We tried the Point Break Pale Ale, Regatta Red and
....Stan holding up the wall...............................Rock Bottom Brews.......................................................Jason, Assistant Brewmaster
Feeling the need to get on with our mission to explore, we stopped at Henry's Pub where we had a good conversation with Gentry, the bartender. We also met Wendy a world traveller who needs more pages in her passport .
...................................................................................Gentry our bartender............................................Henry's Bar
.............Scott, Wendy and Stan
Our next stop was Mickey Rotten's (recommended by Natalie at Gaslamp Tavern). We immediately ran into the Miller Lite Girls who were doing a promotion at the bar. We explained that we really didn't like Miller Lite, but they talked to us anyway. We entered their contest and actually won a CD (Mutemath). We enjoyed a few Stone's Arrogant Bastard Ales while we chatted up the Lite Girls Teryn, Brittney and Nicki.
...................................................................................................................Teryn, Stan, Nicki, and Brittney...................The Crawlers and the Lite Girls
................................Stan and Nicki
Onward we trecked to The Field where we had a Murphy's Irish Stout with bartender Shane. We also talked a bit with Linda, a nurse in San Diego.
................................................................................................................................Shane our Bartender.............................................New Years Countdown Clocks
...............................Stan and Linda
We moved on to the Blarney Stone - looked pretty good from the outside and we were on an Irish Pub roll. Unfortunately not much was happening here, so we had a Guinness and moved on. There were plenty of big screen TVs here, so it may be a good choice for soccer or football games.
We heard that there was an Australian Pub in the District and finally found Bondi. Thinking Australian, this was not what we envisioned. Bondi is a very hip and ultra modern place that has is anchored to Australia only through the unrecognizable marsupial posters behind the bar and its native tap offerings. Bondi had Boag's Draught, Gage Roads Pure Malt Lager, Cooper's Sparkling Ale, Barons Black Wattle Superior, and Cooper's Original Pale Ale on tap. We tried the Cooper's Pale Ale and the Sparkling Ale - both quite good.
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Sam and Jeff
........................Most unusual lighting........................................Some Type of Marsupial in the Background
Well by this time we were starting to fade, but we had heard of a bar with 100 draft beers on tap so we had to struggle on. After stumbling a few blocks we arrived at The Yard. The bar was very impressive with a seemingly endless line of taps. If this was the starting point, we probably would never have left. The excellent selection would meet any WBAS member's tastes. We had a Bear Republic Racer S IPA and some mini cheese burgers. Due to the fact that we had to leave for the airport at 0400, we thought it best, although regrettable, that we depart and catch a cab back to the hotel.
.................................................................................................Taps Continued Around the Other Side of the Bar...................................Renee our Bartender
Disclaimer - the participants in the San Diego pub crawl assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the information included on this page. Notes became more difficult to decipher as the night progressed.