san diego

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…

The season has begun! We’re not talking about springtime, although that came in last month with scattered showers and even a hint of some May flowers.  We’re not talking about sports, although there are various events and seasons going on there, too. No, what we’re  talking about is that most important of seasons in southern California: that of the craft beer festival.  It kicked off this year with the acclaimed Citybeat Festival of Beers, an afternoon fair that offered music and food as well as local beer that ranged from the mainstream to the obscure. Starting May 1st, and continuing through the 3rd, Temecula is hosting its annual Southern California Homebrewers’ Festival at Vail Lake. It ran into some problems last year because of legislative issues, but this year it’s going strong and promises to be a fun time, so…

The spring equinox came in unremarkably, with little fuss and fanfare and the mild temperatures characteristic of this time of year. Enjoy the mild cloudy weather while you can. Spring in San Diego may come in like a lamb, but it always goes out like a lion. After we get past “May Gray” and “June Gloom,” which is never too difficult to be around to begin with, the famous golden southern California sunshine paints our cliffs and beaches and warms our deserts and mountains. For now, though, it’s the perfect time to sit and watch the flowers bloom. There are some great beers that pair perfectly with the first blush of spring around here! A good floral saison is generally known as a summertime beer, but of course, the rules are a bit different in southern California. Here, it’s quite…

The blustery weather has blown through San Diego, rain has come and gone, and for the first time in a couple of years, flowers are nodding in the breeze. The drought might not be completely over, but this spring is a welcome respite! We think that a little celebration is definitely in order, especially since Easter’s almost here and, as we’ve mentioned before, Easter and beer have quite a lot of history in common. Bavarian monks used to brew beer for Lent, a fast that lasts about a month and a half. The beer, Dopplebock, was brewed to be “liquid bread,” so it was dark and hearty, offered a lot of nutrients, and packed quite a punch – often up to 13 percent alcohol! This probably made the Lenten season, which ends with Easter, a lot easier to bear. Beer,…

Image Source: Flickr user Mark Gstohl Mardi Gras is almost here! This is one of the best times of year to be a lover of food and drink. It’s related to Carnaval, which comes from the phrase “carne vale,” or “farewell to the flesh,” and in the Christian calendar is the time of feasting before the self-deprivation of Lent begins. The Mardi Gras feasting and partying day is also known as Shrove Tuesday, the day that precedes Ash Wednesday. Both days are known as “moveable feast” days, which got their name because their dates move throughout the year in relation to Easter Sunday, which is always held on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Northern Hemisphere’s spring equinox. That’s a mouthful, so to speak. But we love moveable feasts so much that’s what we do! Every…

  Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Saint Patrick's Day is a Christian feast day that is celebrated as a holiday in Ireland and Northern Ireland.  It's also a special day in America, and around the world, for members of the Irish Diaspora. Oh, who are we kidding! It's one of the best days of the year for beer lovers. Especially since we now don't have to settle for green beer which, let's face it, isn't anywhere near as good coming up as it is going down.  But now that San Diego is truly a full fledged mecca for beer lovers, with a strong population of Irish people and Irish-Americans to boot, Saint Patty's is way more than just a day to imbibe. It's a day to savor!   Instead of going green this year, why not go red?  Red ales are…

Happy New Year! `Tis the season to look back on the preceding year and make resolutions for the following one.  But, as news story after news story tells us, we’re doing it all wrong by focusing on the negatives instead of the positives. Anyway, as you may already know, we don’t really believe in resolutions around here, because they’re so easy to break – only 23 percent of people who make resolutions keep them!  Instead, we tend to follow the research that indicates good habits are easier to pick up if they’re folded into our everyday lives slowly, over time, and with lots of rewards. However, I suppose in this instance we’re going to make a resolution after all. Really, it’s the same one we always make, and it’s pretty easy to keep. Best of all, our resolution contains its…

Spotlight on… Café La Rue! We've been talking about some of our favorite places to get eats as well as drinks lately.  Right now, it's Café La Rue's turn!   Café La Rue is a relatively new place in an old haunt – the bar and bistro reopened last year at La Jolla's historic La Valencia Hotel, which is known as "The Pink Lady," after closing down for a makeover and taking over the space of an iconic bar called The Whaling Bar – traces of which still live on in its décor and some of its drinks. Café La Rue has also updated its menu, favoring simple foods but with a European flair: their dishes include smoked cheddar bratwurst – made with IPA beer cheese – and pork belly confit poutine.  Delicious!  Even their french fries are simple yet superb: they're…

The holidays have barreled down on us like a freight train and suddenly, it’s almost 2015.  Are you prepared for the parties and gifts?  How about dinners with family and friends? Prepared or not, there’s very little that can’t be improved with the proper application of delicious wine and beer, so here are some of our suggestions to help you add to your holiday spirit.  Enjoy! First of all – what do your winter holiday plans entail? If you’re looking for last-minute gifts, the following beers are timely and delicious.  If you don’t celebrate (or are just boycotting the holidays this year) we think that the best thing you can do is treat yourself, whether it’s celebratory or “just because.”  The best way to do that, in our opinion, is to sample some of the many legendary San Diego beers…

It’s officially time for the Christmas countdown! Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, you can’t help but get caught up in the holiday spirit – lights are twinkling against our gorgeous California sunsets, the malls are full of specials (and people!) and there’s just a certain feel in the air as the days get shorter and cooler. It’s also a great time of year to start switching up your wines.  This cooler weather is not only welcome, it lets you consider completely different tastes and flavors!  Light and fruity, for example, is nice enough in the heat, but what you really want during a December downpour is a good, bold red or a hearty white. Luckily, the jamminess and spiciness that chilly weather really demands is readily available from California wines!  Here are some good picks for sitting inside and…