Alright people – Time to get back to the Breweries, well, sorta. The last couple of posts have been a departure from breweries but not to worry, I haven’t forgotten YOTB’s mission. The Belching Beaver is brewery located in Vista with a tasting room in North Park. And by North Park I mean the El Cajon Boulevard region of North Park, not the super hip 30th & University area. I believe my exact notes regarding the location were: “Interesting part of town. Yikes.” However, being a resident of Downtown San Diego, I opted to check out the North Park tasting room rather than trekking up to Vista on a school night.
Parking wasn’t difficult to find (mostly street parking) but the tasting room did strongly warn us not to park in the empty parking lot adjacent to building. Apparently the owners of the lot tow people on the regular, even after hours. Jerks.
Why Belching Beaver you ask? As soon as I learned that you could order burgers from Crazee burger next door and have your food delivered to you in the tasting room, Belching Beaver moved to the top of my Brewery list. What more could you ask for: A decent burger and local craft beer from a Vista brewery without even getting the 5 North – sign me up!
I met a group of friends at the tasting room on a Wednesday night of what just so happened to be San Diego Beer Week. Upon arrival the tasting room was pretty empty but quickly started to fill up with people from an organized beer tasting group. I’m not sure if they coordinated their event with the tasting room or if their presence was a surprise but either way the Belching Beaver was not prepared for them. There was one girl working behind the bar the entire night serving a full tasting room – roughly 50 people. Bless her heart, she worked her butt off, but there was no way she could keep up with 50 people’s thirst for beer. Maybe it’s just me but if I were running a BREWERY during San Diego BEER WEEK I might staff up – just sayin’.
Most of their beers were offered in 8 oz pours for $3.00 – $4.00 or 16 oz. pours for $5.00 – $7.00. They also offered 4 oz. Taster Flights: Pick four beers for $7.00 or pick six for $10.00 (add $1.00 for premium beers, indicated in yellow).
There was a group of about 6 of us so we were able to sample nearly everything they had available. We ordered a variety of tasters and of course some full size beers when we found the ones we liked (and were able to place an order). However, for some of the premium beers it made more sense dollar-wise to order a few 8 oz pour rather than a flight of tasters. Here are some of the highlights:
Pumpkin Spice (I’m sure this one is seasonal) – If it’s even possible, this beer smelled better than it tasted. It had a spicy, cinnamon-y aroma that the flavors didn’t live up to.
Peanut Butter Stout – Now this beer is as advertised! It really did taste like a someone put a dollop of peanut butter in my beer. It was tasty, smooth and malty, but no hops. I’d call it interesting, not amazing. It was the kind of beer that you have to have one of, but at the same time, one is all you want.
Farmhouse IPA – Yum! This one was my favorite. It was darn a good IPA. The hops were present without overpowering the flavor. I made sure to note: Dad’s gotta try this. Now you know it must be good!
A few honorable mentions go to Nutty Buddy, Me So Honey (Chris’s favorite, although I’m pretty sure he just liked the name), and Tail Slapped.
Belching Beaver Taster – 6 beers
Overall Belching Beaver is putting out some unique beers with interesting flavors. They seem to lean more towards the darker beers (stouts and brown ale’s) and IPA’s although not exclusively. I appreciate their sense of humor and creativity in naming their beers. They don’t take themselves too seriously and it translate into the experience. If I came across their beer on tap at a bar I wouldn’t hesitate to order it. In fact, if you’re looking for some Belching Beaver near you, click here to see if a restaurant or bar in you neighborhood is carrying it!
Belching Beaver is definitely a do-over (in fact, I think some of our group went back the very next weekend!) although I’d hope to have better service the second time around. It’s a comfortable place to hang out, a fun beer tasting expereince and you can’t beat the convenience of the next door burger delivery service!
Bottoms Up!
-Amatece
Year of the Brew.2 