Is it Mead you're looking for?

Yesterday, the beau and I took a jaunt up to Oceanside for the most traditional of drinks ... honey wine, mead! It's touted as the ancestor of all fermented drinks, so no wine, no beer, no gross-tastes-like-vinegar kombucha without it. And wouldn't the world be a little darker for it?

Anyway, this place is tucked away in an industrial office complex, I guess you would call it? It's a bit tricky to find, but am I ever glad we did. This mead, you guys! We tried 6 different varieties -

On tap:
Orange blossom - this was the sweetest of the bunch, with a very strong honey flavor. That sounds obvious, but when did you last have a wine that had a strong grape characteristic? This was brewed with orange blossom honey, that is, honey from bees who pollinate orange groves almost exclusively.

Ginger - this was my favorite of the first four, though if you ask nicely they may pour you a half ginger half orange blossom, which was amazing. This was pretty dry, brewed with ginger and black tea, and a wonderfully complex brew.

Sassafras - Give it a chance. The first sip was funky ... like, wasn't sure if I was gonna drink it levels of funky. But after two or three sips, this grew on me in a big way. It still wasn't my favorite - mead that reminds you of rootbeer is definitely an acquired taste - but it was definitely worth the 2 oz taster.

Sour - This was the house favorite, the guys behind the bar couldn't get enough. Truth be told, I am generally not a fan of sour beers, so I was trepidatious. But the sweetness cut the sour, and it was far more palatable than I thought it would be!

 Drinking like a nord!

Eventually, the ginger ran out (we were enjoying it a bit too much), and was replaced with the Savage Bois. Oh, the Savage Bois! Hands down my favorite ... we ended up buying two bottles, along with a bottle of the sour. We also got to try their Golden Jun, their version of kombucha but a billion times better. Brewed with honey and green tea, it's probiotic and low in alcohol (about 1.5%).

The guys behind the bar, Alex and Ryan, were great - we only planned on staying for a round, but they made it so much fun we ended up staying for a few hours and had a few glasses of mead. Deelish!

Ballast Point, India Street

Brew Tour!

San Diego is pretty well known for their beers - we have Stone, Karl Strauss, Green Flash ... the list goes on and on! Today though, we're taking a gander at Ballast Point's newest location over on India St.

I've been to a few of their locations, and while their beer tends to be a bit hoppy for my typical taste, they always have something new, fun, and worth a try. Their Little Italy location, though, takes things to a whole new level. They have experimental brews here, made by employees, that are sold nowhere else. And man, do they get crazy and delicious!

 "Dedicated to the Craft" indeed!

I tried the Agave Cream Ale, Q.U.A.F.F., and a few others that I forgot to post on ... and they were nothing if not inventive! My favorite was one the beau got, a (I think) Calico IPA on cask with  vanilla beans ... oh, oh yes, a thousand times yes. If it's still there, get it. Yowzah. Hoppy without being overwhelming, lightly sweet, and a bit spiced from the fresh vanilla, oh my. Most fun of all is that we went during ComicCon and everyone was dressed up! Our bartender had a mid-change Supergirl thing going - sweet and so adorable and knowledgeable!

Also awesome? Three tasters for $5, and a kitchen - if you go brewery hopping, you need that food to soak up all the tasty goodness. The beau says they have amazing pretzels, good enough to give Stone a run for its money, and that's saying something ... more on Stone some other time.

Follow me on Untappd @thehoppypoppy, and tell me about your favorite local brewery below!

America's Finest City

I know - so boastful, San Diego! Someone needs to pop that ego bubble ... but it's unlikely to be me. I'm a pretty big fan, to be honest.

There's so much to do, so much to see, so much to eat, so much to drink! Yeah, this is going to be a lot of restaurant and brewery reviews, but if you ever come down to visit, I'll be tagging my top spots with "Numero Uno" - follow the bouncing tag!

Hang loose, bros and brosephinas.