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Labor Day is almost upon us again – already!  It’s been an odd year, thanks to an El Nino that has kept things unseasonably warm, but now that warm weather is going to be a blessing, because this is the official weekend Americans love to get out and fire up their barbecue. Burgers are the traditional grilled food of choice, but there’s no need to worry too much about pairing your beer to your food. Since Labor Day is a time to hang around outside with friends, consider pairing your drinks to the weather instead! Since the odds are that it’s going to be a warm day, stock up on light beers with light flavors and a relatively low alcohol content so that you don’t get thirsty and end up taking an impromptu nap and missing the party! IPAs, or…

We’re coming up on the end of August, the slow and heavy days where nothing seems to happen and the bustle of early summer has been replaced by sleepy, sultry afternoons.  These are the Dog Days, so called because Sirius, the Dog Star, rises with the sun this time of year, at least in our hemisphere. It’s also the quiet interlude before Wine Country’s biggest time of year: the harvest!  This is a great time to travel to California if you don’t live here, or explore the region around you if you do, because there are all kinds of events that take place around harvest season. Harvest time lasts a couple of months, because some grapes take a little longer to ripen than others or are left a little longer on the vine.  It starts around September (although some grapes…

The dog days of summer are upon us. Hammock Day, July 22, 2015, is a way to celebrate the warmest days of the year by embracing the sunshine, grabbing a drink, and – you guessed it – basking in a hammock. San Diego Beer and Wine Tours invites you to enjoy the rest of your dog days by partaking in one of their various excursions which allows you to sit back and enjoy the best brews and wines of San Diego, car-free! Their all-inclusive tours offer a VIP experience for you and your party to indulge in a “vine to glass” or “hop to table” experience with local food and wine or beer appreciated at the production facilities. The best part being that there is no need to drink and drive. Their guided tours provide transportation between the vineyards, winery,…

Oh, hey! It’s nearly July 4th already?  How did this happen so fast?  It feels like just yesterday that we were waiting up to see in the new year, and here it is Independence Day. We love the Fourth of July.  It’s nice and warm, the day is long and punctuated by food and cold drinks, and at the end of it we get fireworks!  Usually, we put up a guide to pairing wines and beers with your barbecue foods, but this time, we’ve scoured the web to find ways for you to work your favorite drinks into your favorite summer recipes. If you’re grilling beef, accompany it with a porter or stout reduction sauce to simultaneously tenderize it and bring out the smoky tanginess of the beer.  Reductions are super easy and really delicious – all it means is…

We officially entered summer in the northern hemisphere this week! So far it’s looking like a wonderfully mild summer – the stuff dreams of people who aren’t lucky enough to live here are made of.  It also is looking more and more likely that we’re entering an El Nino season, which means we might not have to worry so much about drought in the near future.  Hooray! So now that we’ve finished talking about the weather, let’s talk about what makes the summer so special in southern California – specifically, San Diego. If you think it’s because of the beer, give yourself a gold star.  It’s definitely the beer! Summer is when all the best local IPAs start to really shine, and they really are the best local IPAs.  West Coast IPAs were born and perfected right here in San Diego….

San Diego is famous for many things – the sun, the surf, the craft beer (of course), and in the past few years, Comic-Con has made headlines all over the word.  The convention started out in 1970 as a tiny group of comic book aficionados, and since then it’s not only become a model for conventions worldwide, but also blossomed into a huge annual event that brings hundreds of thousands of people to San Diego. Comic-Con is great, not only because it’s a lot of fun even if you don’t attend the main event there’s still a ton of fun stuff going on all over downtown.  And luckily, you’re not the only person who’s noticed that Comic-Con and beer are a perfect combination. It looks like beer events with a proudly nerdy flavor are here to stay. So how’s your…

It’s one of the best weeks of the year! American Craft Beer Week starts today, and it’s gonna be a good one. American craft beer has only gotten better and better every year. This week starts today, and runs all the way through Sunday, May 17th, so you have plenty of time to get your tastings on! This week exists to honor the thousands of American brewers who have made the United States one of the world’s premiere beer destinations. The epicenter of this movement is California, and the absolute heart of the American craft brewing community is right here in San Diego. That’s why we feel particularly blessed to live right here! Not only is the weather fabulous and the scenery unbeatable, it’s also one of the best places on earth to be a fan of excellent beer. That’s…

Happy Mother’s Day! This is the weekend people acknowledge and celebrate motherhood, whether you have one, are one, want to be one, or just appreciate moms. There are days to honor women and mothers all over the world, but the one in the United States has a fascinating history. Mother’s Day, in its original incarnation in the US, actually started as a way to stop wars.  In the late 1800s, Julia Ward Howe was so horrified by the Civil War’s effects on individuals and families that she wrote a poem exhorting women to keep their husbands from fighting, and pushed for a Mother’s Day of Peace. This was ultimately unsuccessful, but a generation later, Anna Jarvis successfully petitioned the American government to dedicate one day a year to mothers.  It was signed into law in 1914. Today, we just want…

It’s almost time for that most beloved of beery holidays, Cinco de Mayo. Whether it’s a reason to go party, or just to throw a backyard fiesta, we’re in your corner! But we also wanted to share a little-known fact about Cinco de Mayo. You probably are already aware that it’s not Mexican Independence Day, which a lot of people in the United States thought for years.  In fact, it’s barely acknowledged in most of Mexico.  It’s actually the day that the Mexican army beat back French forces, then thought to be the best in the world, during 1862’s Battle of Puebla. This victory was a source of enormous pride for people in Mexico, but even more so for people outside Mexico – especially the many living in California. Californios began to celebrate May 5th starting the next year, even though…

Photo Courtesy: Flickr user Identity Photogr@phy It’s Friday the 13th. The name of the day alone can inspire a superstitious shiver. There’s even a name for fear of it: paraskevidekatriaphobia. It causes all kinds of issues, because so many people won’t travel, get married, or even leave the house on this date! But really, it’s nothing to be afraid of. First of all, it’s Friday. That in and of itself is a wonderful thing! Second, what’s wrong with poor number 13? It didn’t do anything to anybody. When you dig a little deeper into the origin of just why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky, it becomes extremely interesting. First of all, thirteen has been considered a strange number in many different cultures for centuries, although not necessarily an unlucky one. Historians think this might be because of simple mathematics:…