Last week we celebrated BEER WEEK in San Diego. To kick it off, I was invited to attend the Brewers Guild Festival here in
San Diego on the Midway Pier and it was a blast!
I started the morning off with my little
sister, Malyssa, running/walking/dancing the Color Run. If you have a chance to do a Color Run in
your area I definitely recommend it! After we rinsed off (scrubbed off) our Color Run glory we headed over to
the Midway to try some beers!
I am quickly becoming a beer festival junky so I feel like I
know how to attend a beer festival! Let
me give you a few tips before I talk about some of the great beers and food we
tried.
1.
Make sure you get VIP tickets if they are
available. This will allow you to spend
less time in lines and you also get a few extra souvenirs. Generally there is food in the VIP area which
helps you last throughout the festival without getting “sloppy”. You want to remember the beers you tried and
people you met!
2.
Show up early.
Most people show up late, so if you show up early (on time) you will get
to try many different beers without the lines.
Then once it gets crowded you can skip over to the VIP area to avoid the
lines and crowds.
3.
Don’t be afraid to pour out “one for the
homies”. I know people think of throwing
out beer or alcohol as “alcohol abuse”, BUT if you don’t like the beer then
just pour it out! No one will be
offended, and then you will have room in your belly for the yummy beers!
4.
Be aware of the volunteers. A lot of people come to beer festivals
thinking the people pouring the beer work for that brewery. Most beer festivals hire volunteers to do
this. Sometimes you can find people who
work for the brewery around the table or booth, but if you want to find out
more about a brewery and their beers your best bet will be to make note of the
logo then go find them in the VIP section.
Most brewers and brewery owners LOVE to talk about their beers. You just have to find them!
5.
Bring business cards. Beer festivals are a great way to
network. You already will have a common
ground in your love for beer, and you never know who you’re going to run
into. Anyone who likes to drink beer,
and even some who don’t, can be found at a beer festival. I have met some amazing people and connections
at beer festivals. The more people drink
the more they talk!
6.
Get a ride.
Obviously you should never drink and drive, but a lot of people think
they are going to “be ok” after a beer festival. Let me tell you, you will NOT be ok to
drive! Usually, there's tons of cabs
around the beer festival and sometimes even advertisements or booths for other means
of getting yourself home safely. If you
are in San Diego, I suggest using Uber.
They are a car service that you can call from anywhere in San Diego to
come pick you up. Just download the app to your smartphone and set up an account!
It’s a little more expensive than a cab, but definitely cheaper than a
DUI … plus you get to show up and leave in style!
We had a great time at this festival! Here are some of the pics to show for it!
Kas and I enjoying the sun on a beautiful San Diego beer festival day!
Malyssa and I next to The Midway! Shout out and thank you to our troops!!
Alchemy's Famous Bacon Pinwheel. You say bacon and I say YUMMY! These were pretty delicious and a nice treat to go alongside our beer tasting! Slater's 50/50 made a strong appearance along with Islands burgers!
Lighting's Electrostatic Ale and Manzanita's Witches Hair Pumpkin Ale were some of my favorites! I am usually a big fan of Coronado Brewing Company, but their Stupid Stout was .... stupid. Not a fan of that one.
Manzanita's Pumpkin Ale was serioously one of the best pumpkin beers I have tried this fall!! Its tastes like pumpkin pie all the way down to the crust a whipped topping! I don't know how they did it, but I felt like i was at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory at the end of his three course dinner gum with this beer.
HOPpenin' Fact of the Week:
President Obama is the first president in history to brew his own beer in the White House. He started off with a home brewing kit, but now has grown to a full on microbrewery. They have three different recipes. The most popular is the White House Honey Blonde Ale, they also make White House Honey Porter, and White House Honey Brown. All of the recipes call for honey from the beehives on the property. This is definitely a cause I can get behind!
Meanwhile at the Brewery:
On The Tracks have now set up a stage in the back of the brewery for live music on Saturday nights! Now you can stop by for some great beers and listen to some amazing music! Check out the Facebook page for more details and pictures! We also started cooking with beer this week, and had a mini "Friends-Giving". I will start posting our recipes soon, but feel free to share your own recipes as well!
Tess
On The Tracks Brewery
OTTBrew@gmail.com
5674 El Camino Real Suite G
Carlsbad, CA 92008
(760) 550-9688
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