What’s Happening

Hello Fans of Great Beer!

The Belgian Beer Festival at Pizza Port Carlsbad is this Saturday, March 28th.  Tickets are still available for the night time session from 5 pm to 11 pm at the Pizza Port website – www.pizzaport.com.  More than 100 Belgian and Belgian-style beers will be availalbe including many rarities.  Cost is $40 which includes a Belgian beer glass and 8 taster tickets each good for a four ounce pour.  Additional taster tickets are just $1.  There are fewer than 150 tickets left as of Thursday morning and the cut off for pre-sale tickets is 8 pm on Friday the 27th.  Pre-sale tickets are sold out for the first session.  There may be tickets available on a walk-up basis, but only as space allows, so there is no guarantee unless you have a pre-sale ticket.  I hope to see you there!

On the pub front, we will tap a cask of Alpine Nelson Rye-IPA at 5 pm.  This is a great IPA and a rare treat on cask.  The beer uses New Zealand hops that create a unique fruity nose.  We have some great draft beers on tap right now as well.  Many of the Russian River kegs are still flowing – only two have blown so far.  Ballast Point’s Bourbon Barrel Black Marlin Porter and Victory at Sea Coffee Imperial Porter are both on tap and tasting very delicious.  If you missed the Gouden Carolous promo over the weekend, we have been rotating the beer back on tap.  Right now, we are pouring the Hopsinjoor which is a stong, hoppy golden ale with a very pleasant bitterness to it.  The beer was released last year for the 24 Hour Belgian Beer Festival – I remember it vividly because we were at the brewery 3 days before the festival and they wouldn’t let us try it.  But I have to say it was worth the wait and it was voted best beer at the festival that year.

Friday the 27th we host a New Belgium brewing night with four beers on tap – La Folie (barrel aged sour brown), Might  Arrow Pale Ale, Dunkleweizen 30 and the newly re-released Biere de Mars which has never been available in San Diego and hasn’t been brewed since 2004.  We will also have limited amount of NBB glassware for sale – we also have a few Gouden Carolous glasses for sale along with some cool Deschutes pint glasses.  Check out the Bacon Guinness Beer Cheese burger on the specials board – it really is as delicious as it sounds.  If you find yourself nowhere near the pub on Friday night, Pizza Port Carlsbad is hosting a pre-party for the Belgian festival at the pub featuring lots of draft Belgian beer (which should be on tap all weekend).

There are plenty of great soccer games coming up.  The USA men play at El Salvador at 6 pm on Saturday the 28th and then again on Wednesday the 1st vs. Trinidad and Tobago at 4:30 pm.  There are a ton of World Cup Qualifying matches coming up.  We have Setanta, Gol TV and Fox Soccer – anything that is on those channels we can show during business hours, or have taped to show later.  The UEFA Champions League resumes on April 7th and 8th at 11:30 am and we will have all four quarterfinal games on live.  Lindsey invites all Chelsea fans to watch the game against Liverpool on the 8th somewhere else.

Beer and Cheese Please!

Our next round of Beer and Cheese Pairings are coming up in April.  The first will be Wednesday, April 22nd at Taste Cheese Shop in Hillcrest at 7 pm.  The second will be Sunday, April 26th at O’Brien’s at 6:30 pm.   Cost is $40 and you can sign up at the pub (cash only please) or at Taste (find the link on our website).  If you sign up before April 1st, you will be entered into a drawing for a chance to help us pick the pairings.  It is a tough job of tasting lots of beer and cheese to find the perfect pairings for the class, but it is a job that I am willing to do for the greater good.  The classes are a lot of fun and are vey casual.

Our own Micaela Cano is being featured as the Bartender of the Month on Sign On San Diego!  You can watch her video interview by visiting: http://www.signonsandiego.com/feature/one-more-round/.  Micaela does a great job and seems very relaxed in front of the camera.  She is the first beer bar bartender they have featured, so instead of listing a favorite beer, they have a recipe for the Champliny – a half Champagne, half Russian River Pliny the Elder cocktail.  It is surprisngly good – especially during brunch for Chargers games.

I am working on an O’Brien’s bike jersey.  I am trying to gauge how many to order.  If you think you might be interested in one, please let me know and tell me what size you might want.  You can just reply to this email.  I will order extras no matter what, but I just want to size the order appropriately.  The same designer who did the Alpine bike jersey is designing the O’Brien’s bike jersey.

Next Week

I already have some great April events lined up.  It starts next week with our Make You a Fools day promo on Wednesday, April 1st.  It will feature four hoppy beers over 10% – one that sounds like icicle, one named for a mathematical function, one named for an ancient philosopher and lawyer and one named for an Indian King.  All of them will be on tap at 6 pm.  Thursday the 2nd we will tap a cask of Mission IPA at 5 pm.  Friday the 3rd we have the last keg of the Coronado Bourbon Barrel Belgian Stout.  The regular stout was great and I have not yet tried the Bourbon Barrel version, so I am very excited about this.  I’ll also have two Imperial Porters on tap that night from Full Sail and Shipyard.

Wednesday the 8th is our next Pizza Port Pizza Night with Vince Marsaglia.  Vince will bring down his incredible mobile pizza kitchen to create some tasty pizzas for us.  I imagine Pizza will be ready to order around 5:30 or 6 pm.  I will also be tapping some very rare kegs of Italian craft beer that I have been hoarding including Verdi Stout.  I will put a full list out before the event.  Lagunitas night will be Friday the 10th.  The pub will be closed Sunday, April 12th for Easter.

That is your good beer news for now.  Hope to see you in Carlsbad this weekend for a great Belgian beer!  Cheers, Tom

The Belgian Beer Fest is this Saturday, March 28th at Pizza Port Carlsbad.  Tickets are still available for the second session from 5 pm to 11 pm.  The first session is sold out.  Both sessions will have the same amazing beer line up of more than 100 beers.  Tickets are available online for $40 at www.pizzaport.com.  Buy them now to guarantee yourself getting in.  If the pre-sale tickets sell out, there may not be tickets at the door.

Our own Micaela Cano is being featured as the bartender of the month on SignOnSanDiego.com.  See her video interview at: http://www.signonsandiego.com/feature/one-more-round

Tonight, Wednesday the 25th we tap a cask of Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA at 6 pm.  On tap we will feature Bourbon Barrel Black Marlin Porter and Victory at Sea Imperial Porter as well.  Thursday’s cask will be Alpine Nelson Rye IPA.  Friday night we feature four beers from New Belgium including La Folie, Mighty Arrow Pale, Dunkleweizen 30 and the newly re-released Biere de Mars.

Look for a full email later this week.  Cheers, Tom

What a great weekend for beer at O’Brien’s!

The brewer from Gouden Carolous and the Het Anker Brewery in Belgium will be at the pub TODAY, Saturday, March 21st from 2 to 5 pm.  We will be featuring five different Gouden Carolous beers on tap including Cuvee van der Keizer Blue and Red, Hopsinjoor (hoppy strong blond ale) and Tripel.  It is a rare treat when we have a brewer come all the way from Belgium.  Gouden Carolous makes some of the best beer in Belgium and has also been a featured stop on our Belgian Beer Tour.  So please stop by and enjoy a Gouden Carolous beer with the man who makes it and help us give him a very warm reception in San Diego.

And as predicted, all 10 or our Russian River beers are still on tap.  Check the On Tap page of the website to see the complete line up.  We also have Russian River pint glasses for sale for just $3.  All but one of the Russian River beers are in full size kegs, so they should last at least through the weekend, if not longer for most of them.  This will be the last specialty draft beer we are likely to get for a little while from Russian River, so enjoy it while you can.

We got some new merchandise in last week.  We have several new girls shirts and tank tops and some that say “Well behaved women rarely make history”.  We restocked a lot of the men’s shirts and got some new ones in that say “IBUs we can believe in”.  IBU stands for International Bittering Units and is the measurement of how bitter a beer is.  Hats, workshirts and hoodies are all back in stock as well.  Check it all out next time you are at the pub.

This Coming Week

We have some great beer to drink next week.  Wednesday the 25th we have the return of Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA on cask at 6 pm with Bourbon Barrel Black Marlin and Victory at Sea both on tap.  Dorado has become a rare sight these days as Ballast Point is concentrating on bottled product at the expense of draft beer.  I can’t even remember the last time we had a cask of Dorado.  But I do remember it being delicious.  So don’t miss out on this rare double IPA treat.  The guys at the brewery are very excited about this batch of Bourbon Barrel Black Marlin porter.  I can’t wait to taste it either.

On Thursday the 26th, we have a cask of Alpine Nelson Rye IPA.  The Nelson uses New Zealand hops for a unique tropical fruit type aroma.  It is always great on cask.  Friday the 27th is New Blegium Night with three beers on tap and one more in the bottle.  We will have the newly re-released Biere de Mars, which has not been brewed since 2004.  Also on tap will be the Dunkelwiezen 30 and the new Mighty Arrow Pale Ale.  We will have the Dark Kriek in the bottle.

I have a very special promo planned for April Fools Day that will involve hoppy beers over 10% alcohol – one named for a mathmetical function, one named for an ancient philosopher and lawyer and one named for an Indian King – all on tap at 6 pm.  Wednesday, April 8th we are hosting Pizza night with Vince Marsaglia from Pizza Port and we will feature some very rare draft Italian craft beers.  And our next round of Beer and Cheese Tastings with Taste Artisan Cheese and Gourmet shop in Hillcrest will be Wednesday, April 22nd and Sunday, April 26th.  I will have more details in the next email.  For now, you can sign up for the class at the pub (cash only please) or at Taste (find their link on our website).  Cost is $40 and we will have about 7 beer and cheese pairings.

Belgian Beer Party

The Belgian Beer Party at Pizza Port Carlsbad is Saturday, March 28th in two sessions.  Tickets for the first session are nearly sold out.  I expect that the first session will sell out by the end of this weekend.  There are still plenty of tickets available for the second session.  Both sessions will feature the exact same line up of beer.  More than 100 Belgian and Belgian-style beers will be available for sampling.  The first session is from 10 am to 4 pm.  The second session is from 5 pm to 11 pm.  Pre-Sale tickets are available for $40 at the Pizza Port website – www.pizzaport.com.  Tickets will be $45 at the door, if there are any left available.  There will be 3 liter bottles opened every hour and the Pizza Port bottle shop will have glassware and full bottles for sale.  Look for a pre-party on Friday the 27th at Pizza Port Carlsbad with 10-20 Belgian beers on tap.

That is your good beer news for now.  Hopefully we will see you this weekend for a great beer from Russian River or Gouden Carolous!  Cheers, Tom

Hello Good Beer Drinkers!

The craziness of St. Patrick’s day is over and it is back to our everyday good beer enjoyment at the pub.  I had planned on taking this week off from sending an email, but the beer gods have set events in motion this week that they require you to know about.  The brewer from Gouden Carolous and the Het Anker Brewery in Belgium will be at the pub this Saturday, March 21st from 2 to 5 pm.  We will be featuring five different Gouden Carolous beers on tap including Cuvee van der Keizer Blue and Red, Hopsinjoor (hoppy strong blond ale) and Tripel.  It is a rare treat when we have a brewer come all the way from Belgium.  Gouden Carolous makes some of the best beer in Belgium and has also been a featured stop on our Belgian Beer Tour.  So please stop by and enjoy a Gouden Carolous beer with the man who makes it and help us give him a very warm reception in San Diego.

Tonight, Wednesday the 18th, we will be serving out the rest of the Alpine Boris Imperial Stout cask at 6 pm.  Thursday the 19th we have two local cask beers – Coronado Red Devil, a double Red and AleSmith ESB brewed with a special English yeast strain that was used for the upcoming Decadence release.  Both casks will be on tap at 5 pm and all of our local beers will be on special.  A few of the Russian River beers for Friday will already be on tap as well.  The NCAA tourney games will start on Thursday and run all day. We will have the tournament on channel 8 all weekend long.  Lindsey has packed up a bunch of her addictively good beer cheese to-go.  See what flavors are available on the board next to the draft list.

Russian River night is back on Friday the 20th.  We will have 10 beers on tap and a few more in the bottle.  We will have our 3 regular RRBC beers – Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig and IPA along with 6 TION beers including two barrel aged beers.  Check the pub for a complete list of draft and bottled beers that will be available.  We will also have some Russian River pint glasses for sale.  This will be a great night of Russian River beers and all but one of the beers will be in a full size 15.5 gallon keg (last time, nearly everything was in a five gallon keg).  So I expect every single beer to still be on tap for Saturday the 21st and most to still be on tap for Sunday the 22nd.  So if you can’t make it by on Friday, stop by over the weekend for some great RRBC beer.  I will have the complete draft list up on the website on Friday.

We got some new merchandise in last week.  We have several new girls shirts and tank tops and some that say “Well behaved women rarely make history”.  We restocked a lot of the men’s shirts and got some new ones in that say “IBUs we can believe in”.  IBU stands for International Bittering Units and is the measurement of how bitter a beer is.  Hats, workshirts and hoodies are all back in stock as well.  Check it all out next time you are at the pub.

Next Week

We have some great beer to drink next week.  Wednesday the 25th we have the return of Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA on cask at 6 pm with Bourbon Barrel Black Marlin and Victory at Sea both on tap.  Dorado has become a rare sight these days as Ballast Point is concentrating on bottled product at the expense of draft beer.  I can’t even remember the last time we had a cask of Dorado.  But I do remember it being delicious.  So don’t miss out on this rare double IPA treat.  The guys at the brewery are very excited about this batch of Bourbon Barrel Black Marlin porter.  I can’t wait to taste it either.

On Thursday the 26th, we have a cask of Alpine Nelson Rye IPA.  The Nelson uses New Zealand hops for a unique tropical fruit type aroma.  It is always great on cask.  Friday the 27th is New Blegium Night with three beers on tap and one more in the bottle.  We will have the newly re-released Biere de Mars, which has not been brewed since 2004.  Also on tap will be the Dunkelwiezen 30 and the new Mighty Arrow Pale Ale.  We will have the Dark Kriek in the bottle.

I have a very special promo planned for April Fools Day that will involve hoppy beers over 10% alcohol – one named for a mathmetical function, one named for an ancient philosopher and lawyer and one named for an Indian King – all on tap at 6 pm.  Wednesday, April 8th we are hosting Pizza night with Vince Marsaglia from Pizza Port and we will feature some very rare draft Italian craft beers.  And our next round of Beer and Cheese Tastings with Taste Artisan Cheese and Gourmet shop in Hillcrest will be Wednesday, April 22nd and Sunday, April 26th.  I will have more details in the next email.  For now, you can sign up for the class at the pub (cash only please) or at Taste (find their link on our website).  Cost is $40 and we will have about 7 beer and cheese pairings.

Belgian Beer Party

The Belgian Beer Party at Pizza Port Carlsbad is Saturday, March 28th in two sessions.  Tickets for the first session are nearly sold out.  I expect that the first session will sell out by the end of this weekend.  There are still plenty of tickets available for the second session.  Both sessions will feature the exact same line up of beer.  More than 100 Belgian and Belgian-style beers will be available for sampling.  The first session is from 10 am to 4 pm.  The second session is from 5 pm to 11 pm.  Pre-Sale tickets are available for $40 at the Pizza Port website – www.pizzaport.com.  Tickets will be $45 at the door, if there are any left available.  There will be 3 liter bottles opened every hour and the Pizza Port bottle shop will have glassware and full bottles for sale.  Look for a pre-party on Friday the 27th at Pizza Port Carlsbad with 10-20 Belgian beers on tap.

That is your good beer news for now.  Hopefully we will see you this weekend for a great beer from Russian River or Gouden Carolous!  Cheers, Tom

Hello Beer Fans!

Tuesday the 17th is St. Patrick’s Day.  We will have a ton of great beer and a bunch of fantastic food including Lindsey’s wonderful Corned Beef and Cabbage, Guinness Stew, Bacon and Guinness Beer Cheese Burger, Corned Beef Sandwiches, Ruebens and Irish Nachos and Guinness Beer Cheese Plates.  We will have Guinness along with Ballast Point Sextant Stout, Alpine Captain Stout, AleSmith Speedway Stout and Beamish Irish Stout (Murphy’s Irish Stout will replace the Beamish when it is gone).  And as an added bonus, we will have a full size cask of Alpine Boris Imperial Stout at 5 pm.  St. Patrick’s Day is always a fun party at the pub.  Stop by and catch your case of the Irish Flu for Wednesday!

A few tips on St. Patrick’s Day – there is no real better or worse time to come, we will be steadily busy all day long until at least 10 pm.  We don’t take any sort of reservations.  I would recommend finding street parking because the lot will be more of a nightmare than usual.  The walk will likely do you some good after drinking lots of stout.  All of the bartenders will be doing their best to serve everyone as quickly as possible, please understand that this is one of our busiest days of the year, even though it is a Tuesday.

While you are at the pub, check out our new Merchandise including new girls shirts and tank tops and a new men’s shirt – “IBUs we can believe in”.  We also restocked many of our other shirts.  Just check above the taps for current stock.

Thursday the 19th (see I skipped Wednesday, since it won’t really exist for most of us anyway) we have two local cask beers – Coronado Red Devil, a double Red and AleSmith ESB brewed with a special English yeast strain that was used for the upcoming Decadence release.  Both casks will be on tap at 5 pm and all of our local beers will be on special.

Russian River night is back on Friday the 20th.  We will have 10 beers on tap and a few more in the bottle.  We will have our 3 regular RRBC beers – Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig and IPA along with 6 TION beers including two barrel aged beers.  Check the pub for a complete list of draft and bottled beers that will be available.  We will also have some Russian River pint glasses for sale.  This will be a great night of Russian River beers and all but one of the beers will be in a full size 15.5 gallon keg (last time, nearly everything was in a five gallon keg).  So I expect every single beer to still be on tap for Saturday the 21st and most to still be on tap for Sunday the 22nd.  So if you can’t make it by on Friday, stop by over the weekend for some great RRBC beer.

Coming Soon

Looking further ahead, we have some great events planned.  Wednesday the 25th we have the return of Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA on cask at 6 pm with Bourbon Barrel Black Marlin and Victory at Sea both on tap.  On Thursday the 26th, we have a cask of Alpine Nelson Rye IPA.  Friday the 27th is New Blegium Night with a new Biere de Garde on tap.  I have a very special, and at the moment secret promo planned for April 1st.  Wednesday the 8th we are hosting Pizza night with Vince Marsaglia from Pizza Port and we will feature some very rare draft Italian craft beers.  And our next round of Beer and Cheese Tastings with Taste Artisan Cheese and Gourmet shop in Hillcrest will be Wednesday, April 22nd and Sunday, April 26th.  I will have more details in the next email.  For now, you can sign up for the class at the pub (cash only please) or at Taste (find their link on our website).  Cost is $40 and we will have about 7 beer and cheese pairings.

The Belgian Beer Party at Pizza Port Carlsbad is Saturday, March 28th in two sessions.  Both sessions will feature the exact same line ups of beer.  More than 100 Belgian and Belgian-style beers will be available for sampling.  The first session from 10 am to 4 pm has fewer than 75 tickets available  The second session from 5 pm to 11 pm still has a good number of tickets left.  Pre-Sale tickets are available for $40 at the Pizza Port website – www.pizzaport.com.  Tickets will be $45 at the door, so you can save a few bucks and gaurantee yourself getting in by purchasing in advance.  There will be 3 liter bottles opened every hour and the Pizza Port bottle shop will have glassware and full bottles for sale.  Look for a pre-party on Friday the 27th at Pizza Port Carlsbad with 10-20 Belgian beers on tap at the pub.

Hello Beer Lovers!

As usual, there is lots of good beer news for you this week.  It starts today, Wednesday the 11th, when we tap kegs of Alpine Nelson Rye IPA and Alpine Duet IPA tonight.  Both beers will be on tap by 5 pm – the Nelson is on tap already.  Pliny the Elder will be back on tap again today, too.  And for those reading this shortly after it goes out, we have the UEFA Champions League games today at 12:30 pm including Manchester United v. Inter Milan.  All of the games will be taped to show later tonight as well.  Lindsey will also have some new flavors of her delicious beer cheese out tonight.  And check out bottles of Ballast Point’s Vicotry at Sea Imperial Coffee Porter!

Thrusday the 12th we have a very special cask from Sierra Nevada – Imperial Smoked Porter.  This is a new specialty beer that I am very excited to taste.  Look for some great Cambazola cheese specials from the kitchen including the Cambazola burger and the Cambazola Chicken Melt.  We’ll also have a Sierra Nevada beer cheese for the evening.  Look for the new Oscar Blues Little Yellow Pils on tap.

Friday the 13th we have a very rare treat from Brew Dog in Scotland – draft Punk IPA.  We had the lads from Brew Dog by the pub when they launched their bottles in San Diego a while back.  Now they are trying out draft kegs.  The beer comes in a special recyclable plastic keg.  There were only a few kegs sent over on this test run and we were lucky enough to get one.  It is only an 8 gallon keg, so while it should last the night, it may not last much longer.  For Belgian-style beer fans, we will also tap a keg of the Allgash Four, which is a quadruple using four malts, four hops and four yeast strains.  And look for Humberto’s incredible Torta sandwiches on Friday all day.

St. Patrick’s Day

Next week we have St. Patrick’s day on Tuesday the 17th.  We will have an amazing line up of food including Lindsey’s wonderful Corned Beef and Cabbage, Guinness Stew, Bacon and Guinness Beer Cheese Burger, Corned Beef Sandwiches, Ruebens and Irish Nachos.  There will also be lots of great beer – and as you might expect – lots of great stouts.  We will have Guinness along with Ballast Point Sextant Stout, Alpine Captain Stout and we will rotate through Muprhy’s Stout, Beamish Stout and Pizza Port Seaside Stout starting this weekend.  And as an added bonus, we will have a full size cask of Alpine Boris Imperial Stout at 5 pm.  St. Patrick’s Day is always a fun party at the pub.  Stop by and catch your case of the Irish Flu for Wednesday!

Thursday the 19th (see I skipped Wednesday, since it won’t really exist for most of us anyway) we have two local cask beers – Coronado Red Devil, a double Red and AleSmith ESB brewed with a special English yeast strain that was used for the upcoming Decadence release.  Both casks will be on tap at 5 pm and all of our local beers will be on special.

Russian River night is back on Friday the 20th.  We will have 10 beers on tap and a few more in the bottle.  We will have our 3 regular RRBC beers – Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig and IPA along with 6 TION beers including two barrel aged beers.  Check the pub for a complete list of draft and bottled beers that will be available.  We will also have some Russian River pint glasses for sale.  This will be a great night of Russian River beers and all but one of the beers will be in a full size 15.5 gallon keg (last time, nearly everything was in a five gallon keg).  So I expect every single beer to still be on tap for Saturday the 21st and most to still be on tap for Sunday the 22nd.  So if you can’t make it by on Friday, stop by over the weekend for some great RRBC beer.

Coming Soon

Looking further ahead, we have some great events planned.  On Thursday the 26th, we have a cask of Alpine Nelson Rye IPA.  I have a very special, and at the moment secret promo planned for April 1st.  Wednesday the 8th we are hosting Pizza night with Vince Marsaglia from Pizza Port and we will feature some very rare draft Italian craft beers.  And our next round of Beer and Cheese Tastings with Taste Artisan Cheese and Gourmet shop in Hillcrest will be Wednesday, April 22nd and Sunday, April 26th.  I will have more details in the next email.  For now, you can sign up for the class at the pub (cash only please) or at Taste (find their link on our website).  Cost is $40 and we will have about 7 beer and cheese pairings.

The Belgian Beer Party at Pizza Port Carlsbad is Saturday, March 28th in two sessions.  Both sessions will feature the exact same line ups of beer.  More than 100 Belgian and Belgian-style beers will be available for sampling.  The first session from 10 am to 4 pm is more than 50% sold out.  The second session from 5 pm to 11 pm still has a good number of tickets left.  Pre-Sale tickets are available for $40 at the Pizza Port website – www.pizzaport.com.  Tickets will be $45 at the door, so you can save a few bucks and gaurantee yourself getting in by purchasing in advance.  There will be 3 liter bottles opened every hour and the Pizza Port bottle shop will have glassware and full bottles for sale.  Look for a pre-party on Friday the 27th at Pizza Port Carlsbad with 10-20 Belgian beers on tap at the pub.

I always like to support folks who support the pub.  And though no one really enjoys going to the Dentist, let me recommmend Dr. Craig Kubina.  Craig is a beer enthusiast and he and his wife Rachel just started homebrewing.  If anyone can make going to the dentist more enjoyable, it is Craig and his friendly staff.  His office is in La Mesa just across from Grossmont Center, near another excellent doctor – Periodontist Dr. Harold Gulbranson.  Harold is a long time homebrewer and pub patron and past president of the QUAFF homebrew club.  Both doctors are highly recommended and do excellent work.  Craig’s office number is 619-466-3271.  Why not go to a dentist that likes good beer?
 
That is your good beer news for now.  We’ll see you soon for a great stout beer.  Cheers, Tom

Hello Soccer Fans!

The UEFA Champions League first knock-out stage continues this week with games on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 10th and 11th.  And because we are on daylight savings time ahead of the rest of the world, the games will be on at 12:30 pm local time instead of 11:30 am, as they usually are.  All four games each day will be on tv, with two being live and two on delay.  I also have each game set up to tape for viewing later if you can’t make it by at lunch.

There are plenty of English Premier League games over the next two weekends including the Manchester United v. Liverpool clash this Saturday.  The United States will resume World Cup Qualifying at the end of the month on Saturday the 28th vs. El Salvador and on Wednesday, April 1st against Trinidad and Tobago.  Both games will be on tv with the sound on.

So here are the upcoming games:

Tuesday, 3/10:

12:30 pm – Liverpool v. Real Madrid – ESPN

12:30 pm – Juventus v. Chelsea – Setanta – also on at 5:15 pm

3 pm – Juventus v. Chelsea – ESPN Classic

3:30 pm – Pnathinaikos v. Villareal – Setanta

7 pm – Bayern Munich v. Sporting Lisbon – Setanta

Wednesday, 3/11:

12:30 pm – Manchester United v. Inter Milan – ESPN Classic

12:30 pm – Roma v. Arsenal – Setanta – also on at 5:15 pm

3 pm – Barcelona v. Lyon – ESPN Classic

3:30 pm – Barcelona v. Lyon – Setanta

5 pm – Champions League Highlights – ESPN Classic

7 pm – FC Porto v. Atletico Madrid – Setanta

Thursday, 3/12: UEFA Cup

12:30 pm – Manchester City v. Aalborg – FSC

12:30 pm – Udinese v. Zenit St. Petersbur – Setanta – also on at 5:15 pm

3 pm – Hamburg v. Galatasaray – Setanta

Friday, 3/13: UCL Replays

11:45 am – Bayern Munich v. Sporting Lisbon – Setanta

Noon – Barcelona v. Lyon – FSC

Saturday, 3/14:

On Tape – Manchester United v. Liverpool, Arsenal v. Blackburn, Everton v. Stoke

12:30 pm – Juventus v. Bologna

2:30 pm – Hull City v. Newcastle – FSC

3 pm – Manchester United v. Liverpool – Setanta

4:30 pm – Bolton v. Fulham – FSC

4:45 pm – Sunderland v. Wigan – Setanta

6:30 pm – Middlesbrough v. Portsmouth – Setanta

Sunday, 3/15:

On Tape – Chelsea v. Manchester City, Aston Villa v. Tottenham, Sienna v. AC Milan

12:30 pm – Inter Milan v. Fiorentina – FSC

3 pm – Chelsea v. Manchester City – Setanta

Monday, 3/16:

1 pm – West Ham v. West Brom – Setanta

Thursday, 3/19:

12:30 pm – Aalborg v. Manchester City – Setanta

3 pm – Galatasaray v. Hamburg – Setanta

Saturday, 3/21:

On Tape – Fulham v. Manchester United, Tottenham v. Chelsea, Newcastle v. Arsenal, Portsmouth v. Everton

12:30 pm – Roma v. Juventus – FSC

2:30 pm – Catania v. Lazio – FSC

3 pm – Fulham v. Manchester United – Setanta

4:45 pm – Blackburn v. West Ham – Setanta

5 pm – Houston Dynamo v. Columbus Crew – FSC

6:30 pm – West Brom v. Bolton – Setanta

7:30 pm – Chivas USA v. Colorado Rapids – FSC

Sunday, 3/22: More games to be announced

On Tape – Liverpool v. Aston Villa, Inter Milan v. Reggina

12:30 pm – Napoli v. AC Milan – FSC

2:30 pm – Manchester City v. Sunderland – FSC

Saturday, 3/28: More games to be announced

6 pm – El Salvador v. United States – World Cup Qualifying – ESPN networks

Wednesday, 4/1: More games to be announced

4:30 pm – United States v. Trinidad and Tobago – World Cup Qualifying – ESPN2

The Champions League Quarterfinals will start on April 7th and 8th.  We will have lots of World Cup Qualifying on the 28th and 1st.  We will be showing Spanish La Liga on Gol TV, but as of today, the weekend schedules were not posted.  Check out the new Bear Republic Apex IPA and on Wednesday the 11th look for Alpine Duet IPA and Nelson Rye IPA both on tap.  Cheers, Tom

Hello All,

We still have 5 Russian River beers on tap for Saturday including Happy Hops, Benediction, Blind Pig, Russian River IPA and Pliny the Elder.  We also have a fresh keg of Nelson Rye IPA on tap from Alpine.  We also the Karl Strauss 20th Anniversary Bourbon Barrel Tripel, Mission IPA and Alaskan Barleywine on tap.  And we have a very interesting beer from Swiss brewer Brasserie des Franches Montagnes – Abbaye de St. Bon Chien.  It is an 11% alcohol barrel aged brown ale with hints of fruit and a tart/slightly sour finish with very light carbonation.  If you like sour beers, this will be a good beer for you.

We just got our new merchandise in this week and we have some new women’s shirts and tank tops with new slogans including “Well behaved women rarely make history” and our Czech Proverb saying.  We have new Men’s T Shirts, work shirts and zip hoodies.  We have a new men’s slogan as well – “IBUs we can believe in” which come in a great new stone blue color.  Check for the new merch above the bar on your next trip into the pub.

This coming week at the pub, look for Alpine’s Nelson and Duet on tap on Wednesday, March 11th and Sierra Nevada Imperial Smoked Porter on cask on Thursday the 12th.  Friday the 13th we will be tapping some kegs from Allagash Brewing Company in Maine.  There will be Champions League soccer on Tuesday and Wednesday live at 11:30 am both days.  And St. Patrick’s Day is coming up on Tuesday the 17th and we will have a cask of Alpine Boris in addition to a great line up of stouts.

And Lindsey has lots of new flavors of the Beer Cheese available to go including an amazing one with Roasted Garlic.  Check the board by the tap list for the current selections.

BELGIAN BEER PARTY

Tickets for the Pizza Port Belgian Beer Party on sale now at the Pizza Port website – www.pizzaport.com.  The festival is Saturday, March 28th at Pizza Port Carlsbad in TWO 6 hour sessions – 10 am to 4 pm and 5 pm to 11 pm.  There will be more than 100 Belgian and Belgian-style beers available.  Admision is $40 and includes a Belgian beer glass and 8 taster tickets.  Additional four ounce tastes are just $1 each.  This is one of the best collections of Belgian beer in the country.  If the tickets sell out via the pre-sale, there will not be tickets available at the door.  So if you want to go, buy your tickets now.  The first session is more than 50% sold out already.  Look for a pre-party at Pizza Port Carlsbad on Friday, March 27th featuring 10-20 draft Belgian beers.

That is your weekend beer update.  Look for a full email this week with even more news.  Cheers, Tom

Hello Beer Fans,

Just a short web update this week.  We just got our new merchandise in today and we have some new women’s shirts and tank tops with new slogans including “Well behaved women rarely make history” and our Czech Proverb saying.  We have new Men’s T Shirts, work shirts and zip hoodies.  We have a new men’s slogan as well – “IBUs we can believe in” which come in a great new stone blue color.  Check for the new merch above the bar on your next trip into the pub.

We have some fantastic new beers on tap right now including: Ballast Point Sextant Oatmeal Stout on the nitrogen tap so it is extra creamy, Kern River IPA, Anderson Valley Double IPA and Rodenbach Grand Cru, Steenbrugge Dubbel and Palm Speciale are still on tap from our Friday night promo.  We also still have some of the great Palm and Steenbrugge glassware for sale – just $3 a glass.  And we have some great looking Deschutes pints for sale as well.  Look for some more Russian River beers on tap on Friday – see below for more info.

Thursday the 5th we tap the first of our two Sierra Nevada casks.  We don’t get many, so this is a special treat.  The first will be Chico IPA, a double IPA, tapped on Thursday, March 5th at 5 pm.  The second is an Imperial Smoked Porter that I can not wait to try on Thursday, March 12th.  I also have a 5 gallon cask of Green Flash Imperial IPA coming that I am going to try and tap for the 5th if it shows up in time.  If not, look for it on the 12th.  We will also have a Sierra Nevada beer cheese on the 12th.

And speaking of Beer Cheese, Lindsey has the Guinness, Bacon and Green Onion and the Guinness and Chipotle beer cheese this week.  It is a really incredible blend and the flavor of the beer is detecable.  Look for Beer Cheese Plates as well as To Go Tubs.  There will be plenty of Guinness and Cheddar Beer Cheese for St. Patrick’s Day.  Check the board next to the tap list for all of the current flavors available to go and the food specials board for the Beer Cheese Plate.

We will have a small Russian River day/night on Friday, March 6th.  We will have 6 beers on tap and 6 more in the bottle.  We will have Benediction, Happy Hops, Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig IPA and Russian River IPA on tap all day long – they are all full size kegs and none will blow before we close.  There will also be a keg of Pliny the Younger tapped at 11 am during lunch, so bring your drinking shoes.  We will have six more beers in the bottle including Consecration, Damnation, Batch 23 Damnation, Temptation, Batch #2 Supplication and Beatification along with 3 liter bottles of Damnation.  Our next Russian River event will likely be Friday, March 20th – check the email and pub for details.

New beers that you can look forward to over the coming weeks include: Hollister Bowling and Beyond double IPA, Alpine Nelson Rye IPA, Karl Strauss 20th Anniversary bourbon barrel Tripel, Deschutes Inversion IPA and Hop Henge, Lagunitas Hop Stoopid.

In other beer news, Alpine Beer Company has finally received their new ABC license.  This will allow them to finally start brewing into their new tanks and produce more Pure Hoppiness!  Hopefully we will see more of their great specialty beer on tap at the pub in a month or so.

BELGIAN BEER PARTY

Tickets for the Pizza Port Belgian Beer Party on sale now at the Pizza Port website – www.pizzaport.com.  The festival is Saturday, March 28th at Pizza Port Carlsbad in TWO 6 hour sessions – 10 am to 4 pm and 5 pm to 11 pm.  There will be more than 100 Belgian and Belgian-style beers available.  Admision is $40 and includes a Belgian beer glass and 8 taster tickets.  Additional four ounce tastes are just $1 each.  This is one of the best collections of Belgian beer in the country.  If the tickets sell out via the pre-sale, there will not be tickets available at the door.  So if you want to go, buy your tickets now.  The first session is 50% sold out already.  Look for a pre-party at Pizza Port Carlsbad on Friday, March 27th featuring 10-20 draft Belgian beers.

That is your good beer news for now.  We’ll see you soon for a great beer.  Cheers, Tom