BetterBeerBlog

On our way to San Diego, Sammy and I decided to stop by Pizza Port Solana Beach. For those who aren’t familiar with Pizza Port, let me give you a little history. There are 3 Pizza Ports. The Solana Beach location, opened in 1987, is the original followed by Pizza Port Carlsbad (1987), Pizza Port San Clemente (2003) and a 50% ownership interest in the production facility in San Marcos (2006) called Port Brewing but better known as Lost Abbey. Tomme Arthur is the original brewmaster at Solana Beach and the recipies he developed there are brewed at each of the Pizza Port locations.

Since then, Tomme Arthur has moved onto Port Brewing full time. Even though they all share the Pizza Port name, each Pizza Port location brews all their beers themselves. Port Brewing is responsible for brewing the Pizza Port and Lost Abbey beers for distribution purposes.

There is a small parking lot for that is shared by all the surrounding business. Parking can be a problem but we founded a spot a block away or so. They have a small outdoor patio area but the majority of their dining space is indoors.

When we arrived, Pizza Port Solana Beach was packed! There were so many people. I had thought we arrived at the tail end of the lunch hour but business was still going strong. There was a wide variety of people as well.

The Solana Beach location has a surfer motif for the decor. There are surf boards hanging from the wall as well as a skateboard or two. There are picnic bench style tables throughout the location and video games in the back. To the left is where you can order your pizza but you have to go to the bar to order your beer. Yes, you have pay for each separately. I think it’s silly to make the customer pay at two different locations but from watching business go, it makes for a very efficient process. Mike was the man slinging the beers during lunch but I failed to ask him if he was the head brewer or the bartender.

Sammy and I ordered a small “vegetarian” pizza called “Laguna”. It’s more of a New York style pizza with a thin crust but not as thin as a true New York style pizza. The tomato sauce is tart, the cheese melted, gooey and crispy in some areas. Olives, artichokes and onions make up the vegetables. This was a very good tasting pizza, just the perfect size for the two of us. Since this is a beer blog, it’s time we get to the beer.

Ghost Shark Session, 4% ABV

Sammy ordered a Ghost Shark Session ale. Ghost Shark Session is clear, dark caramel in color with an off-white head. Sweet and toasty aromas define the malt characteristic with slight grainy notes. The hop aromas are earthy in nature. The flavor closely mirrors the aroma. Toasty, sweet malt flavors are the first flavors to hit my tongue with a moderate hop flavor and bitterness in the finish. This is a well balanced beer of medium body and low carbonation that gives it a creamy texture.

Swami’s IPA, 7% ABV

Citrus, floral and piney hop characteristics define the aroma of this beer. Very, very nice. Swami is clear, pale amber in color with an off-white head. The malt flavor is clean and sweet but definitely playing second fiddle to the aggressive hop flavor and bitterness. This is a medium body beer with medium carbonation. Overall, a great example of an American IPA.

Belgian IPA, 8.5% ABV

This is an incomplete name. It’s really called Wednesday Belgian IPA or something similar. Anyway, This beer pours a cloudy, straw color with a white head. A sweet wheat malt aroma is balanced against a spicy, peppery Belgian yeast character. The fruit esters I’m picking up on are pear, apple and hint of pineapple. While not apparent in the aroma, the IPA part of this beer shows up in the finish where the hop bitterness hits late, and hits hard. It’s like a Belgian triple combined with an IPA (duh!) that showcases the best of both. This is a medium-high body with a high level of carbonation resulting in a spritzy and tingly mouthfeel.

Conclusion

For whatever reason, I keep forgetting that I am writing about craft beers. I must remember that my subject matter, at its very core, is an artisanal product. So when I make plans to visit a brewpub that is know for making exceptional, world-class beers, I have no idea why I have such high expectations for their actual locations as well.

Despite the world-class quality of their beers, Pizza Port Solana Beach is still, in essence, a pizza joint that makes its own beer. Their main clientele are the good people of Solana Beach and the occasional beer geek/tourist such as myself. Their pizzas are tasty, their decor appropriate and, most importantly, they have a very unassuming attitude about themselves. Sure, they have a small portion of their wall space dedicated to their trophies and ribbons but if you judge a place by their staff, you’d never pick this place out as being any more special than a Pizza Hut or Roundtable. To add to their awesomeness, they carry a very respectable guest tap list as well with a couple of notable northern California breweries as well.

If you’re a beer lover, than you must pay Pizza Port Solana Beach a visit. In fact, you should probably visit all their locations. Their Carlsbad location, in particular, has a very good bottle shop right next to it. How can you not love a place that makes excellent beer that sells the excellent beer of other breweries?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 at 11:13 pm and is filed under Beer in Review, Craft Beer, Reviews, Spotlight On. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.