There really isn’t much in this world that can beat spending a day learning about beer, getting buzzed on free samples and dining on excellent food at one of your favorite craft breweries. Stone Brewing Company in Escondido, California has long been a personal favorite of mine when it comes to quality beer, so you can imagine how geeked I was to tour their facilities and taste a number of fresher-than-fresh beers. I even learned a thing or two, which made the trip more than just an excuse to drink in the middle of the day. It was somewhat educational, too!
Stone was formed in 1996, and three years ago the brewery moved from San Marcos to Escondido. Their current facility has a capacity of 70,000 barrels per year. They have their own on-site bottling line, a distribution wing, and a 300+ seat restaurant that features organic, free-range local ingredients with over thirty beers on tap, only eight of which are brewed by Stone!
Here are my photos from the trip, with witty captions supplied by me:
Very corporate-looking exterior
Get it? It’s a giant stone, in the foyer of the Stone Brewery!
The facility includes 1-acre of gardens, in which we roamed while awaiting our 2:00pm tour
A row of huge containers where mashing, percolating and boiling occur
Each container holds 11,000 gallons of beer. That’s enough to enjoy one six-pack every day for the next 65 years of your life.
Bottling line. It was just upgraded with a longer track, which allows them to bottle 370 bottles per minute (they used to only get 250 bottled per minute)
Hello free samples. Goodbye, sobriety!
Stone Pale Ale. The best it’s ever tasted, too!
Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens
Hey Ian, I’m drunk at the Stone Brewery, what are you doing…being a “lawyer” or something?
Spud Buds: “Our Stone IPA organic garlicky mashed potatoes, balled up, and deep-fried in our Arrogant Bastard Ale batter. Served with a side of our Stone Smoked Porter-BBQ sauce for dipping.” Grade: A
Grilled Buffalo Burger: “A tamarind-glazed buffalo patty with pickled red onions, roasted garlic mayo and a butter lettuce served on a Caramelized Onion Roll from Sadie Rose Bakery, with Chile-Lime Chips and Sriracha pickled cucumbers on the side.” 3 BBQ Duck Tacos: “With pasilla chile-Stone Smoked Porter BBQ sauce, corn tortillas, micro greens. Vella asiago cheese, salsa fresca & pineapple habanero salsa. Served with coconut black beans and Spanish style short-grain brown rice.”
Grade: A
I think she’ll have a bright future selling beer, what do you guys think?
For a more detailed review of my experience, you should check out the WFMU blog tomorrow at 9:00pm EST!
Nebula – Fields Of Psilocybin
The Rolling Stones – Sometimes Happy, Sometimes Blue
Miles Davis – Vote For Miles
Shoukichi Kina – Haisai Ojisan
The Electric Prunes – The Great Banana Hoax
