San Diego County — ahem, the Capital of Craft, ‘cause we’re kind of a big deal — makes a lot of great craft beer. With 180+independent brewing facilities and counting, local brewers constantly tap into creativity — for recipes, collabs, and the names of their beers. 🍻
As we wrap up Drink Up Week, we’d like to raise a glass to 11 super San Diego-centric brews whose names draw inspiration from our beloved communities, lovely landscapes, the Padres + cool local culture. Cheers.
Hey, we’d recognize that shoreline anywhere. | Photo via Monica Garske + SDtoday
Pizza Port is known for its lineup of locally-inspired grog + stellar can art honoring our coastline, and the brewery’s Swami’s IPA gets us stoked, every time. First brewed in 1992, the name pays tribute to Swami’s Beach in Encinitas and, as the brewery explains, “our favorite local surf break nestled below a spiritual enlightenment temple that sits on the cliffs above.”
Style + Flavor: A 6.8% ABV West Coast Style IPA with a profile of citrus + pine and a crisp finish.Get it at Pizza Port’s brewpubs or in cans all over town.
A tribute to late PadreslegendTony Gwynn — aka “Mr. Padre” — AleSmith collaborated with Gwynn’s team in 2014 to create a brew fit for a baseball + San Diego icon. The brewery says .394 — a nod to No. 19’s career-high batting average achieved in 1994 — honors “the city he loved.”
Last month, when we asked San Diego Brewers Guild executive director Paige McWey Acers which craft beer is “just so San Diego,” she went to bat for this brew, telling SDtoday: “AleSmith’s .394 is kind of that unofficial official San Diego beer. The history of the beer — the relationship with the Padres + Tony Gwynn, that story is so special to San Diegans.”
Style + Flavor: According to AleSmith, based on Gwynn’s tastes, he wanted the beer to be “light with a kick.” The 6% ABV golden pale ale is full of American hop flavor + aroma, “with a subdued bitterness and a malty, sweet finish.” Get it online, in stores, or at AleSmith’s Tasting Room.
We gonna rock down to Orange Avenue. | Photo via @coronadobrewing
Named after the street that runs through the heart of Coronado Island, Coronado Brewing Co. says this beer is synonymous with SoCal sunshine + West Coast vibes.
Style + Flavor: The 4.2% ABV wheat ale is bright + citrusy.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” — Part 1 in Concert |Fri., July 29 + Sat., July 30 | 7:30 p.m. | The Rady Shell | $30+ | The San Diego Symphony Orchestra performs the score to the franchise’s seventh film while it’s projected on screen. 🪄
Saturday
The Britt Challenge | Sat., July 30 | 8 a.m.-5 p.m. | 841 ½ Orange Avenue in Coronado | $15+ | Do you have what it takes to complete this CrossFit challenge? 🏋️♂️
City Heights Farmers’ Market | Saturdays | 9 a.m.-1 p.m. | Fairmount Avenue + Wightman Street | Free | Shop for fruits, vegetables + hot foods with live entertainment and activities. 🫐
Summer Moonlight Cinema | Sat., July 30 | 7-9 p.m. | One Paseo | Free | It’s the final installment of this summer series: Enjoy “Sing 2” under the stars on the lawn behind Harland Brewing Company — bring blankets + chairs. 🎬
Sunday
San Diego Padres vs. Minnesota Twins | Sun., July 31 | 1:10 p.m. | Petco Park | $27+ | It’s military appreciation day at the ballpark with a special salute to the US Navy. ⚓
David Gray | Sun., July 31 | 8 p.m. | Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU | $39.50+ | The British singer-songwriter performs his “White Ladder: The 20th Anniversary Tour.” 🎸
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” | Sun., July 31 | 8:15 p.m. | Rooftop Cinema Club Embarcadero | $18.50+ | The 1992 Kristy Swanson + Luke Perry flick turns 30 — and still slays at this screening on the terrace of the Manchester Grand Hyatt. 🦇
We have amonthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.
Laura Price, Beverage Ambassador at the Cutwater Spirits Tasting Room + Kitchen (9750 Distribution Ave.), shared a few recipes with us for #DrinkUpSanDiego so you too can mix it up like a pro at home. Many of these drinks also have a little nod to San Diego life in their names, and we just love that. Cheers, Laura.
Cutwater’s “Sunset Cliffs” cocktail. | Photo via Cutwater Spirits
“Sunset Cliffs”
1.5-oz Cutwater Gin
0.5-oz Aperol
0.75-oz cantaloupe syrup
0.75-oz coconut yogurt
0.75-oz lemon juice
Directions: Add all ingredients to a cocktail tin with pebble ice. Shake tin and pour into a rocks glass. Top with more ice and garnish with 3 frozen cantaloupe balls on a cocktail pick and a marigold flower.
Directions: Add ingredients except sparkling rosé to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain over fresh ice in a wine glass and top with sparkling rosé. Garnish with a curled lemon twist.
76º | Low clouds breaking for some sun | 0% chance of rain
Sunrise + Sunset
Rise: 6 a.m.
Set: 7:49 p.m.
Tide
Low: 5 a.m. + 4:11 p.m.
High: 11:27 a.m. + 10:21 p.m.
Development
Chula Vista +the Port of San Diegobroke ground on the $1.3 billionGaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center — the Port’s first-ever hotel in Chula Vista, set to open in 2025. The ambitious bayfront project will feature 1,600 rooms, new restaurants, and rec facilities — and create 4,000 permanent jobs. 🏗️ (Times of San Diego)
Community
Plans to build 30-ft walls through the historical binational Friendship Park at the US-Mexico border will continue regardless of opposition from activists who worry the barriers will lead to the park’s permanent closure. Activists + some congressional leaders want the US Border Patrol to pause construction to evaluate the impact. 🇲🇽 (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Opening
A restaurant + bar that doubles as an art galleryopens tomorrow at 133 S. Coast Hwy. in downtown Oceanside. KNVS will feature quarterly rotating exhibitions with menu items themed to fit each show. “The Floral Guild” is the first exhibition — on display through October — so expect flower-inspired dishes. 🖼️ (Eater San Diego)
Job
Want to get paid to be scary? SeaWorld San Diego will bring back its spine-tinglingHowl-O-Scream event on select nights from Fri., Sept. 16-Mon., Oct. 31 — and the theme park needs a “Scare Squad.” Live auditions are open for 300+ actors for the creepy, Halloween-themed attraction. 👻
#DrinkUpSanDiego
Draft Republic North City added weekendlunch service + nightly live music to its offerings. The San Marcos restaurant — known for its extensive tap list — is now open starting at 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays + Sundays. 🍺
Outdoors
Women in the Wild — a county Parks and Recreation program — will host a 9 a.m. wildlife photography hike on Sat., Aug. 20, at the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. Bring your camera or smartphone for photography tips as you learn about the park + many birds who call it home. 📸
Shop
Talk about an epic garage sale. The San Diego Automotive Museum will sell vintage car parts + tools tomorrow from 7-10 a.m. at its storage facility in National City — so, gearheads, get yourselves to 600 W. 12th St. Proceeds will help keep the museum in Balboa Park runningat top speed. 🏎️
Edu
UC San Diego professor of chemistry + biochemistry Neal K. Devaraj is one of only nine scientists named a Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellow (VBFF) by the Department of Defense. Recognized for his work “engineering dynamic lipid compartments for an artificial cell,” he’s the first VBFF from the university since 2015. 🔬 (UC San Diego News Center)
Plan Ahead
Bazaar del Mundo in Old Town San Diego will host its Latin American Festival & Mata Ortiz Pottery Market on Fri., Aug. 5-Sun., Aug. 7, featuring works of 20+ artists from countries like Mexico, Peru, and Ecuador. Artists will showcase embroidered clothing, handwoven textiles, jewelry, and ceramics at the colorful marketplace. 🖌️
Announced
Congrats to reader David K. who was randomly selected to win $1,000 cash as a thank you for completing our recent product survey. David has been contacted by our team. Thanks to all of you who let us know your preferences about our product so we can continue making it better. (Didn’t share your thoughts? You still can.)
Local
In case you missed it, SDtoday just launched our very own membership program. Membership starts at just $25 and helps keep our local news products free to all San Diegans — plus, members get perks like birthday deals, personal shoutouts, Six & Main discounts + more. Sign up. 🎉
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Coco Maya — a new concept by Miss B’s Coconut Club — opened its doors in Little Italy earlier this month (at the former site of Prep Kitchen). The “Yucatan-inspired” restaurant is all about Latin American + Caribbean cuisine, but we also hear its cocktail program is worth a toast. 🍹
Tropical rum-based drinks shine here, plus recipes with agave spirits and, of course, coconut. The lovely concoction above is the “Caribe Welcome” made with house rum blend, apricot brandy, lime, fresh coconut water + coconut cream — all served in a fresh coconut. 🥥
Pro tip: Coco Maya’s Happy Hour is from 3-5 p.m. daily (closed Tuesdays). If you’re having dinner here, make reservations ahead of time ‘cause this spot is poppin’.
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Editor’s pick: With beverages on the brain for Drink Up Week, I explored a couple of downtown Happy Hours — you know, for research (this gig is hard, y’all). 🍹
I ordered a purple-huedvodka lemonade at Gaslamp Tavern ($2 off) and my husband got the $5 “mystery beer.” At The Tipsy Crow — where they list Happy Hour deals on a TV screen with graphics like the Stock Exchange — I chose a $7 cherry vodka + soda.
Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Um, is that a whole chicken inside a Bloody Mary? 10 local cocktails + mocktails you’ve gotta see to believe.
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