Crave – food & drink
In 1989, Karl Strauss Brewing Company opened the doors to its first location at 1157 Columbia Street in downtown San Diego—the first new brewpub in the city in over 50 years. It began with 3 beers and now brews over 30 beers a year, including 6 core beers and a host of specialty beers & seasonals. The brewery restaurant now has multiple locations in San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles.
I began going to Karl Strauss (KS) at its original downtown San Diego location. Next, I became a fan of the hard-to-find Sorrento Mesa location at 9675 Scranton Road (the Japanese garden and koi pond surrounding the brewery provide an incredibly scenic setting for drinking beer). And, the Red Trolley Ale I enjoyed there years ago was my gateway to the bolder West Coast red ales that are my favorite today.
Most recently, I visited one of the newest KS locations—4S Ranch—at 10448 Reserve Drive in the Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego. On this visit, a Dark Surf Nightly reader and I each did a Taster Flight ($5) of 4 beers. I sampled the:
- Karl Strauss Amber, the original flagship beer. KS says the imported Munich malts give the beer a deep bronze color and the crisp toasted malt flavors of a Vienna-style lager, balanced by subtle Cascade hop undertones. I found the KS Amber to be lighter and a bit maltier than many San Diego ambers I’ve tried, which is probably why KS calls it “San Diego’s original session beer.”
- 4.5% ABV (Alcohol by Volume)
- 18 IBU (International Bitterness Units)
- Availability: 24/7/365, kegs, 6-packs and 12-packs
- Red Trolley Ale was originally brewed as KS’ first holiday beer. It’s brewed with caramelized malts which give it its light copper-ish color, and balanced with a mix of hops. This is an Irish-style red, which means it’s lighter in flavor and maltier (sweeter) than West Coast red ales. You can tell it’s on the light side of the bitterness spectrum by the IBUs.
- 5.8% ABV
- 17 IBU
- Availability: 24/7/365, kegs, 6-packs, and 12-packs
- Pintail Pale Ale is a a dry-hopped pale ale that features Motueka hops from New Zealand’s South Island for a tropical aroma, and American-grown Cascades for a citrus hop flavor. KS calls it “the perfect session beer for hop heads” and I think that’s an apt description. To me, this pale ale smells and tastes of fresh Cascade hops, and it provides the perfect balance of bitterness and sweetness.
- 5.3% ABV
- 47 IBU
- Availability: kegs and bottles
- Wreck Alley Imperial Stout—named for an area off the coast of Mission Beach where several ships are sunk—is as dark as the depths of its namesake. Brewed with darkly kilned malts, cocoa nibs, and Ethiopian coffee beans, Wreck Alley has rich layers of dark chocolate, toffee, and an espresso-like roast. Usually, I find the strong alcohol flavor of imperial stouts to be a bit overwhelming, but that’s not true with Wreck Alley. It’s nicely balanced with rich flavors of espresso (definitely stronger than coffee) and bittersweet chocolate. But be careful—the 9.5% ABV can sneak up on you.
- 9.5% ABV
- 50 IBU
- Availability: limited release in kegs and 22 oz. bottles
After our beers, we shared a meal of the Mixed Organic Green Salad ($8.25) and Crispy Calamari ($11.50). The salad was huge, so easy to split into 2 portions. It featured a mix of greens, romaine, gorgonzola, toasted almonds, tomatoes, and apples, with a tangy fushia-colored raspberry-hefeweizen balsamic vinaigrette. (Mesquite grilled chicken breast can be added for $5.25.) The calamari—which was lightly breaded, fried, and served with a tasty chili aioli dipping sauce—paired nicely with the salad.
An even better deal is happy hour, Monday through Friday, 3-6 p.m. Beers, wines and flights are $4, and selected appetizers are $5—like calamari, boneless wings, spinach dip, spicy hummus & flat bread, or chile lime fries.
