Comments on: Men’s Journal gets its Best Beer Town facts wrongs and slights Portland

By: Mercer

Mercer — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:14:57 +0000

as Native San Diegan, and a former Portland resident, I too, was a bit blown away by San Diego’s ranking (in fact, kind of sheepish). But I have to say, SD does have some great beer here. San Diego tends to like “hoppy beer” and pale ales; not my favorite. I think because of our nice weather, it makes sense. Me, I like lagers. Also places like Blind Lady Alehouse is a welcome addition to the beer scene. The thing I miss about PDX is the pubs!! San Diego is more bar-ish, and it bugs. More beach oriented…it’s annoying. I’m probably the only native here who could care less about the beach and ocean.

But quantity doesn’t trump quality.

By: brian

brian — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:12:54 +0000

+1 on san diego. I agree with the notion of men’s journal and of the commenter above. There are some very innovative and groundbreaking brewing coming out of here.
To continue the list above: coronado brewing company, ballast point, the bruery, airdale, port ocean beach, lagunitas….

By: cdubs

cdubs — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:11:31 +0000

i don’t think the sheer number of breweries is the crux of the article. who the hell cares about quantity?? everyone knows that Portland and it’s surrounding areas have long since been a beer mecca. it’s common knowledge. (and frankly i’m surprised that you’re not more upset that portland trailed NY on the list)

but the fact remains that in recent years SD has pulled away from the pack as far excellence in craft beer production.

with wins that include small brewery of the year, 2007: The Lost Abbey, and
large brewpub of the year 2009: Pizza Port Carlsbad at the Great American Beer Festival, san diego is proving to the rest of the country that it is a major player in the beer game.
in fact, if SD county had entered the competition as a state, it would have placed fourth overall. only Colorado(45), California(39)(including SD county’s 14), and Oregon(22) scored more medals.

if Men’s Journal got their facts wrong on the sheer numbers, then shame on them. but more importantly, if Stone brewery is “the only one” you could think of, i STRONGLY suggest a trip to SD to see what you are missing. the stuff coming out of there is phenomenal, and diverse(to the folks who think all they do is potent IPA’s, you are mistaken).

but don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself. the weather is always warm and the beer is always cold.
i recommend The Lost Abbey, Pizza Ports: Carlsbad, San Clemente, or Solana Beach, Stone, Greenflash, AleSmith, and Mission, to name a few.

cheers.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:27:36 +0000

SDBeerFan –

Looks like 23 in metro area – http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?region=2
And 17 in Portland proper – http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?region=1

By: SDBeerFan

SDBeerFan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:22:41 +0000

21 Mcmenamins in Portland metro? Really?

By: gal4giants

gal4giants — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:42:30 +0000

lowering/lower expectations/standards isn’t a good argument. I think San Diego metro does deserve props but really does Men’s Journal really have big client base? I most likely am an idiot & the answer is yes.

Most who care do know that Portland is beervana, shame on mj for not stating this fact but many are now coming out of the closets & showing that beer doesn’t only come with crazy ibus ….giving even more props to pdx.

By: PDXLovesBeer

PDXLovesBeer — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 06:54:33 +0000

PDXers bleed brew. Not only do we have much higher per capita brewhouses than San Diego, which is a much better measure than the also higher total number, and you can ask just about anyone on the street where a good brewpub is, but the Portland International Brewfest and The Oregon Brewer’s Festival should put PDX over the top.

By: MateoSantaigo

MateoSantaigo — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:42:12 +0000

First, Amen Banjo.

Second, I look forward to visiting Portland. But as a local San Dieagan, where else can you go Snowboarding in a blizzard of a morning with a locally brewed coffee porter or breakfast stout, and Surfing in the afternoon in 70+ F temp with another locally brewed IIPA or Lager? I know that doesn’t exactly correlate to “beer culture”, but seeing as ours is a newer culture- we have less of a reputation to live up to. Look at Lost Abbey for an example- rosemary, raisins, black currants? WTF? Crazy good delicious yes, traditional NO.

All that being said, I’d say that It’s more of a tie between the two cities rather than one is better than the other. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. As brew towns, but basing it off of sheer number of breweries is a fallacy.

In Conclusion:
Maybe the authors of MJ went down to TJ and got a BJ while writing their list.

By: Nas

Nas — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:09:07 +0000

As a proud San Diegan and beer fan, I can only say…too bad about the Men’s Journal list. As a resident of SD County, I certainly know that Stone is the pride of our beer-culture, but I also know its way too far to drive from where I live (Santee) on a regular basis. Cheers to Portland, a town I look forward to visiting again, and amen to Banjo.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:16:23 +0000

Banjo – AMEN!