Wow. It appears that I've let time slip away over the last few weeks. Sorry about that. I do still want to share my last brewery stop in San Diego, though. It's a good thing I liked this last brewery so much – makes it that much easier to remember...
Societe Brewing Company was not on my pre-planned list of San Diego breweries to visit. This stop was thanks to yet another wonderful suggestion from an employee at different brewery. Stone Brewing's Lead Indoctrination Specialist, Phil Macnitt, was kind enough to suggest this small, young brewery.
I walked into Societe on a Thursday evening and sat down at the bar. They had a very large taproom area with a clear, open view back to all the brewing equipment. I mentioned that Phil from Stone had sent me to sample all their delicious brews, then a well-versed employee named Steve was kind enough to guide me through all of their current beers.
Here are the beers in the order I tried them: The Harlot (Belgian pale ale), The Debutante (Belgian brown ale), The Apprentice (American IPA), The Pupil (American IPA), The Pugilist (Irish dry stout), The Butcher (Russian imperial stout). They were all excellent brews, but my favorites were The Debutante and The Butcher. Those two were absolutely amazing!
While I was sampling, Steve and I discussed the beers amongst other things. Apparently, the brewery was not quite a year old yet, but was doing very well. They had a lot of space to add fermenters and increase capacity. But the thing he was most excited about was their barrel-aging program. He pointed out their room full of beer encased in barrels of all sorts, and told me some of the brewer's plans for beers to come out of them.
After listening to all the enthusiasm swirling around those barrels, I think I may have to get back down to San Diego and revisit Societe. Not to mention how much I loved the 6 brews I sampled...