Friday Beer Post: The remote awesomeness of Alpine Beer Company

If you were a brewer (if only!), and you had to imbibe something other than your own product, where would you turn?  Apparently, the answer for many of crew over at Stone involves a tiny brewery called the Alpine Beer Company.  When visiting my friend at Stone last month, he near demanded a visit to the joint, which included a trek to the far eastern edges of the San Diego area.  I was not to be disappointed.

Situated in tiny Alpine, CA, the nearly decade-old brewery has quickly gained a reputation for great brews and food.  It's somewhat awkwardly located in a tiny strip mall; the modesty of the brewery and tap room quickly giving way to the quality of its offerings.  They seem to be fellow worshipers of the all-mighty hop, as they offer 5 different varieties of "west-coast IPA," with the best being their Pure Hoppiness Double IPA.  A fantastically large amount of hops go into making this brew something to remember.  The blast of hops is certainly impressive, and welcome, but it doesn't necessarily overwhelm the beer experience.

PH is a fantastic brew for a hop-head like myself.  Picture ripped off from here.

The biggest surprise of the tap room, however, is the quality of their food offerings.  Some damn tasty BBQ litters the menu, and gives you more then enough reason to want for return visits.  The BBQ topped nachos were a hit, as well as the brisket plate.  Combined with the beer it made for a blissfully contented ride back into SD.

This gives you a good idea of the size of the bar.  Picture ripped off from here.

You have to drive a ways to get there, and it's in a very quiet, unassuming locale, but it's worth the trek out there if you're in the SD area.

 Happy Friday!