Posts Tagged Coaster Saloon
#WavesBro: City’s beaches go from craft beer afterthought to destination
There are many possible reasons why San Diegans aren’t cool to the idea of going out for a beer in Mission or Pacific Beach. It could be the gratuitous display of abdominal muscles; the cognitive dissonance of mingling imperial stout-sipping with sunny, outdoor activities; the painful memory of the erstwhile Liars’ Club; the areas’ propensity for attracting snowbirds.
However, all these perceptions don’t conform to the current, growing reality of the beaches’ craft beer scene, which is booming and demands notice.
“People don’t associate [Mission Beach] with good craft beer, but with domestic macro beers,” Darren Renna says. Renna is manager of the half-century-old Coaster Saloon that underwent an artisanal beer makeover after a kitchen fire in 2007. Recently, Renna increased the taps for a second time — it’s up to 52 — and added a monthly cask night focusing on local brews. Macro brews aren’t out entirely, though, and will still have a presence on the tap list.
Renna mentioned that he sees an uptick in the number of craft beer consumers in his establishment, but there’s still a long way to go in changing the neighborhood’s perception. After all, Bud Light keg-stands on the beach are a thing of the recent past.
“PB has long been characterized by over-consumption and DUIs, but a lot of that comes from the influx of day visitors on the weekends,” J.C. Hill adds, a long-time Crown Point resident. Hill also owns Cali Kebab, and is co-brewer at the attached Amplified Ale Works in Pacific Beach. “It has a club scene reputation.”
“I was the same as any other craft beer drinker; I went to North Park when I wanted a good beer,” Renna says. “But I think the crowd will flip.”
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Weekend Beer Forecast 8/3 – 8/5
Although this weekend is a relatively quiet one in the beer world, I submit this handful of events for your consideration.
Friday 8/3
Urge 2nd Anniversary
Rancho Bernardo’s beer powerhouse is celebrating their 2nd year in business. For the occasion, Urge has commissioned Mother Earth Brew Co. to create two beers: an Imperial Saison brewed with agave nectar, orange blossom honey, and coriander; and a Pale Ale brewed with orange blossom honey, coriander, and lemon grass. First 100 guests get an anniversary pint glass. There’s also an anniversary burger being crafted, and a free t-shirt to the first 50 people who order it. In Urge’s words, “This. Is. Going. To. Be. Awesome.” I agree. More info on their website.
Coronado Jasmine Ginger Orange Avenue Wit cask @ The Coaster Saloon
The Coaster is located right by the beach. Orange Avenue Wit is a perfect beach day beer. ‘Nuff said. Down a few beers and watch Zonies try to surf at Wavehouse.
Saturday 8/4
BrewFest Encinitas
A fun beerfest last year, you can read our recap in the archives. The first incarnation of this festival served great beer and food with minimal lines and drama – we expect the 2nd BrewFest Encinitas to be excellent. New for this year: VIP area featuring special guest Jeff Bagby along with some crazy beers (try Karl’s Tart of Darkness). Tickets are $40 and VIP is $65. Click for tickets, participating breweries, VIP beer list.
2nd Annual SD Craft Beer & Cocktail Showcase @ El Dorado
This is going to be cool. $25 scores you 10 craft beer/cocktail tasters from San Diego’s finest brewers and bartenders. In addition, there’s live music, art, and more. Info and tickets, here.
Urge 2nd Anniversary
Day two. This session probably won’t be as rowdy as Friday, but it will still be packed. More info on their website.
Sunday 8/5
Urge 2nd Anniversary
Day three. This will probably be the most low-key session. More info.
Photo: Ryan Lamb
Perfect Storm: Weekend of 6/29 Packed With Beer Events
Through cosmic happenstance, this weekend, specifically Saturday, is absolutely PACKED with beer events. Below is a listing of what’s going down 6/29-7/1 with a few lines of explanation.
Friday 6/29
3PM — Cismontane Rare Draft & Cask @ Ritual Tavern
I’ve been watching Santa Margarita’s Cismontane Brewing Co. appear on draft lists around town recently – worth a look!
430PM — 1st Anniversary Celebration @ Local Habit
In celebration of Local Habit’s first, there will be a special beer brewed by Hess Brewing, a menu that’s been created by popular vote, and several excellent draft offerings. Also, there’s a custom glassware giveaway to the first 40 patrons. To read more on this, click here.
5PM — Firkin Friday w/ Green Flash @ Hamiltons Tavern
“Dueling casks” of Green Flash Retro Extra Pale Ale — the company’s first beer recipe from almost ten years ago — and Imperial IIPA will start flowing at 5.
6PM — AleSmith Decadance 2012 Cask @ KnB Wine Cellars
KnB puts it best: “[You] won’t see this baby again any time soon!” Cask starts pouring at 6PM.
730PM — Ballast Point Night @ Coaster Saloon
Coaster Saloon has been working on their craft beer program. This eve the Saloon is partnering with the MeetUp.com group San Diego Craft Brew Society. Coaster will have Habanero Sculpin on cask along with Sea Monster Stout, Longfin Lager, and Piper Down Scottish Ale. More information can be found here. If you haven’t been to the Saloon, it’s steps away from the beach and the weather should be awesome.
Saturday 6/30
10AM — Cismontane Beer for Breakfast @ Small Bar
If you haven’t been to a Beer for Breakfast by Small Bar, you’re missing out. Be prepared to eat and drink and accomplish little else afterwards (I recommend napping and/or hanging out by a pool). If you need a break from the beer, try one of their Bloody Mary’s (made with Ballast Point’s Bloody Mary mix).
11AM — 1st Anniversary Celebration @ Local Habit
The celebration continues into Day #2 and starts at 11AM. First 40 people in the door get a custom Hess / Local Habit glass to commemorate the occasion.
12PM — KnB4 @ KnB Wine Cellars
To celebrate their 4th, KnB is going insane. A tasting garden will pour rare beer from bottles & kegs, and they’ll also be selling rare bottles from their cellar. Among the many taps offered will be their collaboration Gose beer by Monkey Paw Brewing. There will also be a 225 pig roast. Click here for the full details.
1PM & 5PM — Grand Opening @ Societe Brewing Co. (SOLD OUT)
12 in ’12 member Societe opens their doors officially. Sold out 
3PM – AleSmith Summer YuleSmith cask @ Ritual Tavern
If you haven’t tried this year’s Summer YuleSmith, you should. It is awesome.
4PM — Green Flash Beer Pairing Dinner @ Phileas Foggs
Poway’s Phileas Foggs is hosting a 5-course dinner paired with Green Flash beers. For more info, click here. Tickets are $45
4PM — Pints for Pups @ Mission Brewery
Hang out with some dogs and drink Mission’s beer while raising funds for guide dog training.
5PM — 30th on 30th
Each month on the 30th, the businesses on uptown’s 30th street serve up awesome beer and food. Click here for more info.
6PM — 4th Anniversary Party @ Main Tap Tavern
All day food specials ($5 meatball sandwichs) and, of course, awesome beer from El Cajon’s reigning beer bar. Live music with American Midnight goes on at 9PM.
Sunday 6/31
11AM — 1st Anniversary Celebration @ Local Habit
The celebration continues into Day #2 and starts at 11AM. First 40 people in the door get a custom Hess / Local Habit glass to commemorate the occasion.
430PM — BeerNerdz Gluten-free Beer Blind Tasting @ Bottlecraft
Gluten-free beer is a growing trend these days, and BeerNerdz has teamed up with Bottlecraft to put on a blind tasting of the latest in GF offerings. For more info and tickets, click here.
This list of events was derived from our Event Calendar.
Dispatch from the Front 03/08/11
Missing in March
While we included a great number of women in our most recent issue, we realize that it’s incomplete. If we left you out, it’s not a character judgement – we just ran out of space. Sorry!
DrinkAbout with Manzanita @ Sea Rocket
Four beers from 11 in ’11 member Manzanita Brewing will be featured at the ‘Rocket. Riverwalk Blonde, Rustic Horizon, Gillispie Brown Ale and a Double Dry Hopped IPA cask will be served in a $10, 6oz pour taster flight. Manzanita’s beer gets better every time I try it, and now that it’s on the swanky seafood DrinkAbout stop that is Sea Rocket Bistro, I have another excuse to experience their deliciously developing brews.
Firestone Walker’s Matt Brynildson to make rounds in SD
On the 18th, Firestone Walker’s brewmaster will be in town at Hamilton’s for Firestone’s Firkin Friday. The following day, he will play host for the Grill at Torrey Pines’ Craft Beer Pairing Dinner – where his beer will be paired with the culinary talent of the Grill’s Kyle Bergman. Grill manager Stephen Kurpinsky sent me the following: “5-course family style dinner featuring all pork dishes from 2 heirloom, Vande Rose pigs, paired with delicious beer from Firestone Walker! Union Jack IPA (ON CASK! Really excited, it will be our first firkin tapping at The Grill,) Red Nectar Ale DBA (Double Barrel Ale) and Double Jack Abacus (First time that this rare, barrel aged barley wine will be released in the San Diego market!)” $55 for the best food & beer pairing you’ll find in town. For reservations, 858-777-6645.
Coaster Saloon
Upcoming Lightning Events
I’m really digging Lightning’s beers as of late (Prognosis: temporary hop overload.) My timing is excellent because they’re doing more and more events all over town. Today, they’ll be doing a pairing at Sammy’s Woodfried Pizza in Scripps Ranch, and tomorrow, they’ll be doing another pairing at Press Box Sports Lounge.
Coaster gets crafty
I sat down with Darren Renna of the Coaster Saloon on Monday. He brought me up to speed on the beachside bar/grill’s increasing craft beer program. Here’s the rundown: 32 handles, plans to rotate out 3-4 taps per month (with bi-weekly tap line cleanings, I’m told), a cask night in the works, and upcoming beer + food pairings with BBQ. We’re supportive of the Coaster’s commitment to local craft beer. Darren explained the reasoning behind his choice to embrace better beer: “Local breweries won’t try and shove beers down your throat, and they have a vested interest in their product. Also, it’s easy to switch things up if a beer isn’t working out.” He also asked me to let local breweries know that there’s interest in doing a featured brewery/keep-the-glass night, and there is plenty of room for a jockey box. On April 8th there’s a keep-the-pint w/ Ommegang. Also, I learned that the Coaster Saloon was one of the first Ballast Point accounts ever, and a ominous cult named the Theosophical society used to run Point Loma.
AleSmith Pairing @ La Gran Terraza
Located on the USD Campus, budding craft beer location La Gran Terraza will host Peter Zien for an AleSmith pairing dinner. The last pairing was with Stone and was ~$22 + tax & tip, so we’re assuming that AleSmith’s pairing will follow suit. 5 courses of gourmet food with generous pours at a great venue makes this one of the best secrets in San Diego Beer. At the gated USD entrance, make sure to let the guard know your intentions so you can get a free parking permit.
Dispatch From the Front: Moving & Shaking
Newly-charted Territory
We now distribute to over 90 locations in San Diego County. No matter what part of town you are in, there’s San Diego beer there. Newest distribution spots? Hoffer’s Cigar Bar in La Mesa, Press Box Sports Lounge near Jamul, Stadium Sports Lounge, Lumberyard Tavern & Grill in Encinitas, and Picadilly Market in Poway. Got suggestions on great craft beer spots? Call our hotline at 619.796.5719
New staff
We’ve been quiet because we have been busy interviewing and training our recent new hires. We’re positively delighted to have Brandon Hernández on board as the newest WC Staff Writer. Look for Brandon to raise our level of editorial quality as he draws on experience working for Celebrator, Pacific San Diego Magazine & the Food Network, amongst others. Brandon’s work will appear in March’s West Coaster.
Also on board is Austin Gage, who is our new Advertising Executive. Austin is an old friend who has the gift of gab and experience as a salesman for Time Warner. If you own a business related to craft beer in the San Diego area, expect a phone call from Austin. If you think we can help your business, please advertise.
Matt Akin moves to La Jolla Brew House
One of the AleSmith greats is now head brewer for the storied La Jolla Brew House. We’re going to give him some time to brew something before we grill him with questions. Another talented brewer arrives at LJBH, and we are hopeful that good beer will ensue. Any restaurant that serves pretzels as big as your head, has a dog friendly patio with sweet couches, and brews decent (and improving) beer is cool with us. While opinions of LJBH are varied, we at West Coaster maintain that LJBH has the potential to be a fantastic craft beer location. (You can get what’s left of Travis Smith’s beer for $2 a pint until it runs out)
White Labs expanding
We ran into Chris White of White Labs last week while distributing. Breaking ground in ~2 weeks, the new White Labs expansion off Kerney Villa will allow for 5 times more yeast production and should be open by June. There will be a public tasting space, and on-site workshops and homebrewing classes will be open to the public. Look for WC Staff Writer Sam Tierney to tell you more in the March issue.
Coaster Saloon adds taps
Already boasting a decent local craft beer selection, West Coaster learned that the iconic Coaster Saloon will be adding 12 (mostly local) taps. After a few (dozen) rides on the rickety Dipper, nothing goes down smoother than some cold San Diego flavor. Alongside Luigi’s & Sandbar, Mission Beach now enjoys a budding little craft brew scene along with its blissfully sterotypical West Coast lifestyle.
Exponentially Hoppier
On Friday we traveled to the most Eastern outpost of local craft beer, Alpine Brewing Company. The ~30 minute trip requires a pulled pork sandwich and a glass of one of the finest IPAs this county can produce. Last Friday’s distribution run was planned, however. The big, mean Exponential Hoppiness was being released. While dining, Alpine brewer and fellow North Parker Cy Henley came and said hello. I asked him what made this run of Expo different, and he replied that this batch was less heavy on the oak with more hop flavor. He also said it was his favorite batch of Expo in recent memory, and we’re in accord. Did you know it’s also available in bombers? We didn’t.
PubCakes
We wrote about the new PubCakes/Treehouse Coffee Co. storefront in our February issue, and the Grand Opening party on Saturday did not disappoint. Around 3pm, about 50 people were walking in and out of the beer garden stationed next door, with more having arrived earlier. As we reached the cash register, owner Misty Birchall told me, “I ran out! And I made 600!” Misty even had to limit customers to 1 PubCake per person. If you’re looking for that perfect beer-related Valentine’s Day gift, the 7229 El Cajon Blvd. storefront right off the 8 highway (70th Street exit) will be open from 7am-4pm Tuesday-Saturday.
