Beers from Overseas

[Chris P]

Hi all,

In March I am going to LA (and San Deigo for a day) and I am trying to hunt down Pliny so I can finally say I have had it and have seen some bars which almost always have it so if I cant find a bottle anywhere at least I will have it fresh... but I digress.

When I come back I hope to bring back some nice bottles with me and not have them confiscated or have to pay hundreds to keep them.

Maybe looking at up to 10 bottles of whatever...

Also I am stopping in Fiji for a few days on the way back so if I get stung I hope not to get stung there too!

Just after others advice and experiences with this sort of thing.

 

Any advice will be duly noted and appreciated.

 

Cheers all

[Chris P]

Awesome so I should be not too bad if I keep to around 6 big bottles sort of thing. I will just have to make sure those are ones that can keep a while and I will just have to suck it up and drink all the fresh IIPAs etc... Spose someone has to do it =)

[Gareth G]

or just stash some more in your boogie board bag - that usually works a treat

[Chris P]

This should also work a treat to bring back some expensive unmarked hop flowers too yes?

[Greig McGill]

Now that I *wouldn't* do. If you get caught bringing in something which is a biosecurity hazard, well, let's just say I wouldn't want to be you! :)

Overdoing it on beer merely denies the govt a tiny bit of excise tax (oh, my heart breaks...) but bringing in hops with something nasty on them could kill an entire industry.

[Chris P]

Sorry Greig just being a bit cheeky there. I wouldn't dream of it. I buy my hops from Ross if I need anything outside of our great kiwi hops anyways.

The good thing on the beer allowance is I have managed to use my wife as a mule for my needs also instead of her getting anything so should be good for maybe 15-20 odd bottles if I have my best smile on that day.

[nzbrewer]

You should be able to find Pliny on at Toronado in San Diego.

Pliny in bottle is a shade of how awesome it is on tap. I have had week old Pliny brought to me in NZ and it is very disappointing. 

Taking beer to the US is very easy. My last trip in September I took 24 x 500ml bottles. I have only been stopped once, I got quizzed, and the Customs officer was more interested in talking about homebrewing than how much beer I had. The problem I foresee now is that I can take as much beer as I have weight allowance and tshirt to wrap bottles.

San Diego for a day is very hard to do because there is so many great places to visit. Where are you staying? Will you have a car to get around?

[Chris P]

I am staying on 4th ave and hitting up the local to do the night tour of Stone and Green Flash. I do have a car but after the tour I won't be driving. I was thinking of going to Hamiltons or Monkey Paw or Neighbourhood bar but have heard of Toronado. These would all be a taxi away I would imagine. I should look up their location compared to 4th Ave.

[Jos Ruffell]

If you're planning to visit Stone, I would definitely drop into Lost Abbey / Port Brewing - extremely close and they operate a great tasting room. Port brewing's Mongo is right up there for West Coast IPA's.

Pizza Port Carlsbad is also worth a visit, and they have a fantastic bottle shop next door. It could be a good option for finding a bottle of Pliny though it can be quite hard to find bottles of it in SoCal. 

If you stay the night in San Diego, don't bother with downtown, stay in North Park, it's where all the top bars are - Blind Lady Alehouse, Tiger! Tiger! Hamiltons, Live Wire, Torranado etc. 

Other breweries worth visiting would be Ale Smith, Societe and Iron Fist is quite interesting. On the drive down, Beachwood in Long Beach is great as well.

Have fun - you could easily spend a week knocking around there :D

[Chris P]

Alas. I am now able to disclose that I am not going to San Deigo anymore as the wife is pregnant and we are staying at the northern part of LA near Universal.

I have compromised to the point of hitting select bars and am trying to go to the tasting room for Stone in Pasadena if I can find an easy way to get there.

I was also going to stay in Anaheim which would have equalled a trip to Beachwood but this is now changed to a one day visit for the Disneyland experience and it is by bus so out of my control.

I hope to find some near by bottle stores to bring back a few strong ales and the like to enjoy in NZ/when the little one arrives (probably BarleyWines/Imp Stouts)

 

Cheers for your input though mate

[Jos Ruffell]

Not to worry. Next time you can make it down South there will be another 5 or so new breweries to check out!

Try see if there is a BevMo store near where you are staying. They have very extensive craft selections.

[Barleyman]

Deschutes make some excellent dark ales/porters/stouts.

http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/

They`re from Oregon, but you should be able to find sixers in any Vons supermarket in SoCal.

Sierra Nevada make a beast of a Barley Wine.... Bigfoot...again, easy to find & high quality.

http://www.sierranevada.com/beer/high-altitude/bigfoot-barleywine-s...

[Chris P]

I have seen a few places near by such as Bevmo that have both of these plus the likes of Green Flash and Stone. Hopefully Russian River even though many places don't always advertise it.

Alpine is at two stores I know of so will try and grab some but the likes of Bigfoot and other strong ales/dark ales and Barley wines are what I will bring back.

Cheers