(August 26, 2014 at 2:03 am)Polaris Wrote:(August 26, 2014 at 1:40 am)rexbeccarox Wrote: Yup. That's me!
I'm drinking another Sculpin with grapefruit. Yummmmmm! I have a Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Stout bomber I might have to consume in a bit. Very few hops are needed, but it's like dessert.
The Habenero Sculpin is one of my favorite IPAs and Belching Beaver is one of my top San Diego breweries....I'm picky, so I have yet to have a top 5 despite trying the beers of at least three dozen.
Oh yes... the habanero. It's like somebody dropped a burlap sack of peppers into a barrel and nobody noticed until they had a pepper beer. It's ridiculously yummy. I can only have one, though, or else my mouth feels like its erupting! Have you had the grapefruit? Great summer IPA; refreshing, but at 70 IBUs, still hoptastic.
My top five in the area are:
5. Aztec in Vista: solid beers. Their Chipotle IPA is top-notch.
4. Stone: Stone would go in the top one or two, but they're on a different level, monetarily, from anyone else on the list.
3. Green Flash: their West Coast IPA was my first IPA love. I think they have a lot of fun with their beers.
2. Mother Earth: I know these guys; I have hung out with these guys. They know beer; they love beer; and it shows in their extensive, and always beautiful, tap list.
1. Ballast Point: Sculpin, Big Eye, Yellowtail Pale, Black Marlin, to name a few. Perfect beers, every time. Not to mention they are now also a distillery.
*Special mentions go to Iron Fist, where I love the owners/employees AND the people who go there; for me, very few of their beers are my favorite styles. What they do (mostly Belgians) is perfect.
Firestone Walker, whose beer is amazing, but their brewery is in Paso Robles, very far from San Diego.
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.