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SD BREWS IN THE NEWS


Month in Review Continued from Page 3.


60% new membership tonight, a testament to [assistant organizer] Camille’s great work.” He continued, “We’re about to celebrate four years running, and the club is going strong.” – For photos, click over to our Facebook @ facebook.com/westcoastersd, album: Week in Review, January 18-22. Rock Bottom is having a Beer & Chocolate dinner on Saturday, February 12th from 6:30-9:30pm. Check out rockbottom. com/la-jolla/events for more information on this and other events.


Bruski House Opens in Scripps Ranch Continuing the boomtown theme that’s taken hold of San Diego Beer, the newest beer-centric restaurant Bruski House had its official Grand Opening on 1/11/11 after two soft openings. We called owner Bruce Nguyen ,a SDSU grad and Scripps Ranch resident, and asked him why he chose Scripps Ranch for his venture. “We’re longtime residents who wanted to create a comfortable place to hang out. On day


between Ballast Point’s Colby Chandler & The Grill’s Stephen Kurpinsky and Kyle Bergman, was a showcase of Ballast Point’s specially brewed chili beers paired with The Grill’s culinary talent. At more than 60 people, the event was oversold, but The Grill being the pros that they are had tables for everyone. So how was the pairing? Thai spiced blackened shrimp skewers paired with Ballast Point’s Bloody Mary Mix & Abandon Ship Smoked Lager came together for a spicy and smokey starter […] My mouth aflame, the curry spiced pork loin & the Smokin’ Hot Habanero Sculpin IPA created the apex of the event. Further ignited was my very public love affair with Sculpin, as well as my palate. The fire extinguisher pairing was mexican chocolate cake and the Smoked Chipotle Cocoa Nib Black Marlin Porter.


– For complete article and photos, visit westcoastersd.com/?p=394


Big Sky Drops on Hamilton’s Hamilton’s Tavern hosted Big Sky Brewing Co. from Missoula, Montana for their “2nd Saturday” event held every second Saturday of the month. The Hamilton’s crew worked tirelessly to fix some keg issues, and then came


IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SERVE $1 BEERS,” he managed before disappearing back to the bar. I found CityBeat Advertising Account Exec. Jason Noble, and asked him how this Beer Club stacked up against the others. “This is the craziest by far. We had 450 RSVPs, and nor- mally you can count on half of the RSVPs not showing – this time over half showed. I think this huge turnout is thanks to the neighborhood craft beer scene & the pedestrian setting of South Park.” I asked him for more informa- tion regarding the clandestine craft beer collective and its next meet-up, and he declined comment. The first rule of Beer Club is that you do not talk about Beer Club…


- Keep checking sdcitybeat.com for more information on the next Beer Club meet-up.


WC Launch Party We hosted our Launch Party this past Friday, and were comprehensively overwhelmed by the response we


Olive Tree Continued from Page 1.


Bruski House Grand Opening January 11


one Bruski got swamped at 11am with a line going out the door,” said Nguyen. Indeed, while the Miramar/Scripps Ranch area is heavily saturated with breweries, there’s few places with food + local taps. Thanks to Laurel P. for calling the West Coaster Hotline (619-796-5719) with this tip! – For complete article and photos, visit westcoastersd.com/?p=358


Happy Birthday, O’Brien’s! We have much respect for Tom Nickel for many reasons, and one of them is the time he puts into the frequent O’Brien’s newsletter. Here are some clips from the latest newsletter that give a glimpse into the early days of San Diego Craft Beer: “This weekend (January 22nd & 23rd) we celebrate 17 years of great beer at O’Brien’s. From the time that original owner Jim O’Brien opened in 1994, O’Brien’s has been a home for San Diego’s great beer. The pub was the first account for many of the county’s breweries including the one we will feature this Friday, Pizza Port. Lindsey and I took over the pub from Jim in 2003 and since then the beer scene has only gotten better […] When O’Brien’s opened, Stone, AleSmith and Ballast Point all had yet to brew a batch of beer. The transformation in our beer scene is stunning – and thankfully we all reap the benefits, one pint at a time.” Happy 17th to O’Brien’s from all of


us at West Coaster.


Crash Course in Great Taste Recently, I crashed The Grill at Torrey Pines for Ballast Point’s beer dinner. The dinner, a result of long interaction


I’ve poured almost every beer style out there.” Customers to the tasting room mostly come from the neighborhoods of Point Loma and Ocean Beach. The frequent Beer Club is where Mike has the most fun. Hoarding choice bottles specifically for the club of around 140 people, a $25 annual fee gets you a free glass and 5% off bottles in the store, as well as first dibs on whatever shipment the Olive Tree receives. You


Mountain s’mores @ Hamilton’s


through with larger-than-normal pours at discounted prices much to everyone’s delight. “This is the most beer we’ve ever had on tap anywhere,” stated Matt Long, Head Brewer at Big Sky Brewing Co. Not only was there great beer, but Big Sky brought the food for the party, too. Deer, antelope, and Elk were hunted, dressed, frozen, and flown out by Big Sky. Every 2nd Saturday Hamilton’s serves the food at no charge as a thank you to their customers, and these delicacies were no different. Touted as a veritable Mountain Feast, there were many hungry beer-lovers in attendance. As the food made its way out, the patient audience buzzed as if they were waiting for a concert to start. Then, Hamilton’s rocked. – For photos, click over to our Facebook @ facebook.com/westcoastersd, album: Big Sky Drops on Hamilton’s


CityBeat’s Beer Club features Ale- Smith


CityBeat‘s Beer Club met from 7-9pm January 5th at The South Park Abbey for $1 12oz pours of AleSmith’s ESB and X. I was mortified at the scene of a line going around the corner of the Fern St. fixture, but thankfully I got inside before The South Park Abbey reached capacity. Upon entering I saw Adam Neitzke, one of the proprietors, hurriedly moving about like a captain securing the hatches in a sudden squall. “Some party you throw!” I yelped over the crowd. “THIS


NHC Continued from Page 1.


The conference was said to be at 50% capacity, but the Town and Country Resort recently decided to upgrade the event to a larger venue, thus allowing for 30% more attendees. West Coaster


is devoting the June issue to homebrew- ing and the conference; we are also working with the NHC & PubQuest to develop a visitor/participant map & guide to be distributed with every issue.


received. Our apologies to those who showed up and didn’t get a glass as almost all of them were sold out an hour and a half into the event! We hope to throw another party like this soon, and it won’t disappoint. The West Coaster IPA is still available at Hess Brewing under the name “Solis Occasus,” meaning “where the sun


Sam Tierney, Alma Baeza & James McCann, ready to launch


sets” in Latin. Big thanks to The Rezsonation and DJs The Office Twins for providing the music, Hess for the beer, SPA for the space, and everyone who came out to support us – we’d love to hear your feedback on our first beer event.


can sign up in person at the Olive Tree Marketplace. For the uninitiated, if you take your receipt from the tasting room into the Market, you receive 10% off your craft beer purchase. Plans are in the works to provide food. Meat and cheese plates will appear on the menu within two weeks, and the food offer- ings will develop from there. Hours of the current tasting room are Thursday through Saturday, 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Insider tip: an Olive Tree Market Café is going to open a few doors down in the summer.


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