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52 Weeks: Hamiltons Tavern, San Diego, CA
The Tap List at Hamiltons Tavern. Glorious.
(4 to go! We are dedicated!)
Hamiltons Tavern
1521 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92102
(619) 238-5460
Hours: M-F, 3PM-2AM and Saturday/Sunday 1PM-2AM
Rank: 4.2/5
Type of Establishment: A place to disappear from the sunny outdoors and get lost in a beer or 5.
Visit: This was stop 3 or 4 during out San Diego Beer Week trip. It was Marin Brewing Co. night with tons to offer from the Northern California brewery.
Beers on Tap (at time of visit):
There are so many, but here goes most of them.
Marin San Quentin Breakout
Marin 2009 Old Dipsea
Marin Tiburn
Marin Hoppy Holidaze
Marin St. Brendans
Marin Tripel Dipsea
Marin 2008 Chocolate Porter
Marin Star Brew
Big Sky Moose Drool
Marin IPA
Marin 21 Something Year Old with Brett
Marin 2007 Old Dipsea
Marin 2008 Old Dipea Bourbon Barrel
Green Flash Fizzy Yellow
Bottle List:
With an updated bottle list on their website, Ill let you check it out for yourself! Beers of note: Brewdog / Mikkeller Devine Rebel; Deschutes The Dissident; Firestone Walkers 13th Anniversary; Alesmith Decadence 2009 and so many more, all at reasonable prices!
Food Options:
Usually there isn’t a menu. The day we went, we were lucky enough to encounter a full spread buffet with cupcakes to top it all off. But on your average day, come full or leave hungry.
Bar Opinions:
After hitting up several amazing beer locations in San Diego, we wanted to keep the vibe and our buzz going so we headed to Hamiltons Tavern.
The sun was blazing outside, but as we stepped inside, I felt worlds away. Hamiltons Tavern is just that, a tavern. When I think of a tavern, I think of a dark, eclectic space with minimal access to the outside world (maybe a couple of windows in front). Hamiltons is lit in a way that creates a comforting ambiance, one that protects you from the mutation of impending drunkenness. Well not really, but it sure feels that way.
Today, Hamiltons was packed with beer lovers as Marin Brewing Co. was featured across the taps. We had the pleasure of trying Marin’s 21 year old (old ale) with Brett, Brass Knuckle IPA on cask and Old Dipsea Barleywine. We sipped on these amazing brews while chatting with the head brewer of Marin. A passionate, humble man who knows his beer and brews some pretty incredible recipes.
We stayed at Hamiltons for quite some time, admiring the beer while chatting up locals, brewers and bartenders. Hamiltons is spacious (although cramped today) with a long wooden bar, pool tables and high ceilings. A great place to spend a laid back Sunday afternoon or a energetic Friday night.
Back in Seattle, The San Diego Hangover Lingers…..
starting your day right - lots of cold water & Alpine's Bourbon Barrel Barleywine & Chez Monmee Kreik
We had a hectic weekend, bouncing from wondrous beer excursion to the next. San Diego had its way with us. We will need some recovery time to get over having to leave that beautiful place.
But quickly, I wanted to check in and thank those of you that followed us during our excursions, via Facebook and Twitter. I realize that the updates trickled off by Sunday. That’s for good reason, as our energy had faded.
San Diego Beer Week was a smashing success, according to most of the bartenders, brewers and owners that we spoke with during our trip. But, I’m fairly sure the 10 day event wore them thin, and they were pleased to see it end.
We met some pretty amazing people, including Marin Brewing’s Arnie Johnson, Allagash Brewing’s Rob Todd, and the wonderful bar staff duo of Steph and Bob at Alpine Beer Co. During the next week, we hope to discuss more about where and what to do next time you visit San Diego.
For now, my favorites from our visit:
Coolest Place to Have a Pint – Hamilton’s Tavern – Awesome atmosphere, excellent grub and just an amazingly cool place.
Best Staff to Cure a Hangover - Alpine Beer Co. Brewpub – Steph and Bob helped us out of our slumber, thanks to amazing sour beer, the best IPAs and some smoked chicken wings.
Best Bar Experience – Blind Lady Alehouse – Serving flights via amazing bartenders will hook you everytime.
The Full Day – Stone World Bistro – The first place I have visited (since Water Street – RIP) where I could spend 12 hours. Not the hippest place, but a world of its own.
Best Brewery to Visit – Port Brewing/Lost Abbey – No food, little culture – all brewing. Check out the barrel room and die.
Best Place to Eat (and drink beer) – Small Bar – Something called Pork Desayuno (eh?) rocked my world.
Stay tuned for more on San Diego Beer Week 2010.
Off To San Diego Beer Week, But What The Hell Is The Full Rack?
oh how you tempt me, Full Rack.
Airplane headed to San Diego – I love you. Get
me there quick and safe, for I have drinking to do.
The Beer Blotter squad is off to San Diego to enjoy a little San Diego Beer Week before it fizzles out (its ends on November 14th). We should get a few spots in – nothing crazy (completely psychotic).
The list of intended venues: Hamiltons Tavern, O’Brien’s Pub, the Linkery, Live Wire, Toronado, Ritual Tavern, Blind Lady Alehouse, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Pizza Port Bottle Shop, Alpine Beer Company, Stone Bistro & Brewery, Lost Abbey/Port Brewing, Alesmith Brewing, Ballast Point Brewing…….I mean, we’re not crazy or anything – just motivated.
So, expect to hear a little about San Diego and its amazing beer scene in the coming weeks. I cannot wait to get my hands on some Alpine Beer Co. IPA.
The Full Rack
But, what of last night? What is the full rack you ask (or you don’t but I’m telling you anyways)?
The full rack is a name we gave to the best beer experience ever at Uber Tavern. Uber recently decided to add 4 oz servings to their beer menu – an unbelievably amazing and genius concept.
Well, Uber has 17 taps. 17 taps + 4 oz servings = The Full Rack. Get it.
We had the ultimate in beer tasting last night. Our Full Rack included Southern Tier Oat, Echte Kreikenbier, Cascade Autumn Gose, Cascade RyePA, Deschutes Hop Trip and another 12 delicious beers.
There is no better way to enjoy a plethora of beer in one sitting. Visit Uber Tavern and thanks to Charlie for having us last night.
Beer Weeks: San Diego Preview This Month; Philly’s Shebang Begins Friday
Beer Week 09 - Over. Beer Week 2010 - just getting started.
Well, I just so happen to be headed down to Southern California in 9 days (oh yeah!) and in my initial research of the scene, I stumbled upon some nice news that might be helpful for our California readers:
Did you know that San Diego Beer Week is doing a preview event June 10-13? Pretty awesome, I know.
San Diego Beer Week is a 10 day event that goes down from November 6-15, 2010. The event is widely regarded as one of the greatest beer celebrations across America. Like Seattle Beer Week, San Francisco Beer Week, and Philadelphia Beer Week (which begins this Friday, June 4!) the event not only celebrates the region’s brewers, but brewers across the country and globe.
Well, this year beer fans in San Diego decided that they could not wait until November and incorporated a 6 month San Diego Beer Week’Nd in to the schedule. Breweries like Ballast Point Brewing and pubs like Hamilton’s Tavern have already announced events spanning the whole weekend.
The events page is actually frighteningly empty at the current time. But, we would expect to see others like Lost Abbey, Stone Brewing, San Diego Brewing, Green Flash Brewing and Alesmith Brewing announce similar events.
You can follow the events listings for San Diego Beer Week’Nd at their webpage, or on Facebook and Twitter.
***DONT MISS: PHILLY BEER WEEK STARTS THIS WEEK***
We would be remiss to not mention that Philadelphia’s Beer Week begins this weekend.
The Philly Beer Week events page says that there are 1000 events at 195 venues. Thats intimidating. I hope that you East Coast beer lovers make it out to some of these events and report back.
One really cool feature for Philly Beer Week – they have an iPhone Application to follow the events. Download it here.
One recommended beer event? Zythos America on June 13, 2010. Wow, this is an abbreviated version of the epic Belgian Beer Fest that goes down every March. If you are in Philly, do not miss this chance to meet over a dozen of Belgium’s finest brewers.
Beer Trip: Where Should Beer Blotter Go in So Cal?
San Diego's Hamiltons Tavern will not be missed - but where else do we go?
Fresh off a trip to Washington DC, a month back from Tampa, FL and just two months back from our epic adventure to Belgium – Beer Blotter hits the road once again.
To celebrate the birthday of one of our writers, we are headed down the coast to Southern California to visit Orange County and San Diego County.
Now, we have enjoyed beer for quite some time. But, we have yet to experience beer the So Cal way! So we are very excited about this new trip down south, inevitably to sample some of the world’s greatest hoppy ales!
We are looking for some pointers on “not to miss” venues for our trip. Of course, we are expected to try and jam a lot into our 3 day trip. For starters:
Port Brewing/Lost Abbey Brewery – San Marcos, CA
Alesmith Brewing – San Diego, CA
Ballast Point Brewing – San Diego, CA
Hamilton’s Tavern – San Diego, CA (excited for their wings!)
Oggi’s/Left Coast – Huntington Beach, CA (i’m a sucker for Hop Juice)
Here are a few of the issues presented, please try and solve, if you can:
- I cannot find the time to make it out to Alpine Beer Company. While this stabs me in the heart, because they make the best IPAs on earth, Im wondering if anyone has a clue on where to go to get their beer on tap? I am thinking Hamilton’s is a good start?
- I will be staying on Orange County – but I am not finding too much other than brewpubs (Oggis, Karl Strauss, etc.) Does anyone know of any bar that should be visited in the Costa Mesa, Newport, Huntington area?
- We have a limited time, so I need to bunch places together. If you know of a nice cluster, let us know. This was the idea behind Ballast Point and Alesmith – who are right across from each other.
- Anyone have a nice bottle shop in Orange County to share?
That’s it. Of course, we really appreciate all the help! Please leave your comments below, or e-mail us at beerblotter@gmail.com!
