Our three weeks in San Diego wrapped up with us moving from Escondido to the downtown area. After arriving at our hotel, we journeyed to Liberty Public Market, home to Stone Brewing’s Liberty Station location. There, we took part in the brewery’s Cookies on Tap cross promotion with the Girl Scouts. For $15, we received a flight of four beers (5oz pours), each paired with a Girl Guide cookie. Our favourites of the set were the White Ghost Berliner Weisse with Savannah Smiles and Exalted IPA with Samoas combos.

The next day was largely spent exploring Balboa Park, prior to visiting Modern Times Brewing. After a brief wait to get into the popular site, Mrs. Sip and I shared their OG Edition Flight, containing the Lomaland Saison, Black House Stout, Fortunate Islands Wheat, and Blazing World Amber. This was a pretty good deal for $8.

For dinner, we returned to Liberty Public Market and the Corvette Diner. For beverages, I got the Mike Hess Corvette Grazias, while Mrs. Sip went with a very tasty Chocolate-Peanut Butter Milkshake. As for food, we both went with burgers, with my selection being the Brenda variety and Mrs. Sip choosing the Breakfast at Tiffany’s option. We also received a free appetizer (Ginormous Chicken Fingers), thanks to signing up online through the Cohn Restaurant Group. The diner was a lot of fun with video games and other entertainment going on throughout our meal.

The next day, we tried to stop at Ballast Point Brewing in the Little Italy area of San Diego, but had trouble finding parking and also noticed the place was quite busy. When we finally found a spot for our vehicle, I wasn’t willing to pay $15 to park and then wait to be seated when all we wanted was a drink, so we abandoned the visit. We will have to try again another time.

Instead, we made our way to Coronado Island, home to Coronado Brewing. Although we were told getting a seat would take half an hour, we were seated almost immediately. We decided to split a flight of their brews, picking the Coco Chaos IPA, Large Barge Weizenbock, Mean Tajin Mango IPA, R&D Blonde Stout (Nitro), and R&D Peach IPA. We also added a taster of Barrel-Aged German Chocolate Cake on the side. Our favourites were the Coco Chaos, Large Barge and Blonde Stout.

After walking around the Coronado Island marina for a bit, we played a bit of craft brewery roulette with Mrs. Sip selecting Little Miss Brewing, simply because of the name and having Baby Sip in tow. What a random choice this was, as we ended up at funky little joint, with a neat vibe. Here, we split another flight, including the Kilroy Irish Red, Riveter American Wheat, Havoc American IPA, Indie Coconut Porter, and Ida Belgian Tripel. The Irish Red was the best of the bunch for both of us.

On our last day, prior to heading to the airport, we ventured to San Diego’s Old Town. Our first stop was Cafe Coyote for lunch, which is a must-hit eatery. Mrs. Sip ordered their Sangria, while I went with an El Burro (tequila, ginger beer, lime) cocktail. For food, we split the Tres Coyote Taco meal (shredded beef, shredded chicken, carnitas), as well as a Cheese Quesadilla, which we received for free, thanks to a coupon from our hotel.

At the airport, we enjoyed a pre-flight beverage at Stone Brewing. Mrs. Sip went with a guest tap of Refuge Brewing Blood Orange Wit, while I went with Stone’s Mammoberries Golden Stout. I had previously seen this brew at the Liberty Station location, but neglected to order it. Thankfully, I remedied that glaring error here, as it was a tremendous ale, with flavours of coffee and raspberry. This was a nice liquid bow on our February in San Diego County and the start of my eight months of parental leave!