Imbibing Beers at Belching Beaver Brewery

After years of homebrewing, winemaking, and drinking great craft beer, Tom Vogel decided he wanted to open a brewery. Architect and friend Dave Mobley asked to partner with Vogel, and the rest is history.

The pair opened the Belching Beaver Brewery Vista location on October 22, 2012. A second location in the North Park community of San Diego opened in 2013.

Earlier this year owner Tom Vogel announced that Belching Beaver is building a five-vessel, 30-barrel production brewery at 1334 Rocky Point in Oceanside increasing production to 30,000 barrels annually with a max of 60,000 barrels. The location will also include a tasting room, which should open by the end of the year.

We visited the North Park tasting room during our recent trip to California. The cozy tasting room features hardwood floors and brick walls. Order at the bar, then grab a seat at a high table with metal stools.

The beers on tap during our visit included…

• Rabid Beaver Bite – 7% ABV Rye India Pale Ale; Brewed with a variety of specialty hops including Simcoe. The rye adds a spiciness to the malt flavor. This beer won a gold medal at the World Beer Championships in 2014.
• Saison de Beaver – 7.3% ABV Belgian Farmhouse Ale; Not your traditional saison.
• Easy Beaver – 4.7% ABV Session Wheat IPA; Every batch of Easy Beaver features a different strain of hops. Crisp, clean, and aromatic.
• Beaver’s Milk – 5.3% ABV Milk Stout (also on nitro); This beer is light, frothy, and silky with a slight coffee roasted beginning and a residual sweetness in the finish. This beer won a gold medal at the World Beer Championships in 2014 and 2015.
• Me So Honey – 5.5% ABV Honey Wheat Ale; This beer is smooth with lingering tastes of honey. This drinkable beer is made from wildflowers and cloves.
• Hop Highway – 7.3% ABV India Pale Ale; Named after California’s Highway 78, this India Pale Ale was brewed in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the city of Vista. Brewed with Galaxy, Falconer’s Flight, Southern Cross and Nelson hops giving notes of  grapefruit, passionfruit, and citrus. Won a silver medal at the World Beer Championships in 2014.
• Peanut Butter Stout – 5.3% ABV Milk Stout (also on nitro); It’s like dark chocolate Reese’s in a glass! This beer won a silver medal at the World Beer Championships in 2014 and a bronze medal in 2015.
• Sour Kettle Saison – with Blackberry and Raspberry
• All the Way – 10.8% ABV Triple IPA
• Great Lei – 6.5% ABV Piña Colada IPA
• Old Smokestack – 8.5% ABV Scottish Ale on nitro

There are several other Belching Beaver brews not on tap that are worth mentioning.

Horchata Imperial Stout is a 9% ABV Imperial Stout brewed with vanilla, cinnamon and rice malt. It won a silver medal at the World Beer Championships in 2015

Dammed!, an 8.8% ABV Double IPA, has more hops than logs in a dam! This beer hasthe spicy and earthy complexity of the hops without the harsh bitterness. This beer won a gold medal at the World Beer Championships in 2014.

Pound Town, a 10.3% ABV Triple IPA, is brewed with 5 ½ pounds of hops per barrel including Mosaic, Citra, Amarillo, Nelson, and Simcoe hops. This beer won first place at the Alpha King Challenge in 2014.

Ol’ Dirty is a 10.5% ABV Russian Imperial Stout aged in rye bourbon barrels. This brew won a gold medal at the World Beer Championships in 2014 and 2015.

Nutty Buddy Brown Ale is a 5.6% ABV Honey Nut Brown brewed with a local Orange Blossom Honey. Tail Slap’d XPA is a 4.9% ABV Extra Pale Ale loaded with Sorachi Ace, Simcoe, and Falconer’s Flight hops.

Beers are available in 8-ounce pours for $3 or $4 and 16-ounce pours for $5 or $6. Flights include any four 5-ounce pours for $12. Several Belching Beaver brews are available in 22-ounce bottles to go. Me So Honey and Hop Highway can be purchased in 6-packs on cans to go. Both 32-ounce and 64-ounce growlers can be filled to go.

Beaver swag includes T-shirts, tank tops, hoodies, beanies, hats, bottle openers, key chains, metal plaques, logo glasses, and stickers.

The Vista tasting room is open Monday and Tuesday 5 to 8 PM, Wednesday 4 to 8 PM, Thursday 4 to 9 PM, Friday 3 to 9 PM, Saturday 1 to 9 PM, and Sunday 1 to 7 PM. The Vista location features an outdoor patio that is considered one of the better al fresco brewery spots around.

The North Park tasting room is open Monday to Thursday 3 to 10 PM, Friday and Saturday noon to midnight, and Sunday noon to 10 PM. If you visit the North Park location, I highly recommend Tiger! Tiger! Located just around the corner, Tiger! Tiger! is known for high quality beer and food at an affordable price. Another nearby beer bar is Toronado. Just a ⅓ mile walk down 30th Street, Toronado offers 56 rotating, quality, drafts and a cask or two on the beer engines.

Belching Beaver Brewery, brewery, California, Dave Mobley, San Diego, Tom Vogel, Vista