We had at least two choices in this neighborhood tonight, but we got waylaid a teeny tiny bit...
First of all, I'd been meaning to go here since passing it by a few months ago when in the area with TC and TORC (the day we went to BLAH, had Free Slurpees, and saw Paul Horn's artwork at ArtLab Studios). Secondly, I remembered seeing one of my old posts in which Dennis and I embarked on an epic South Bay Food Crawl back in April 2011. One of my original stops was supposed to be South Bay Drugs in Imperial Beach which was legendary for their wide craft beer selection. Unfortunately, South Bay Drugs closed that spring and just recently reopened here in Normal Heights as Bine and Vine! Same owner, same bat channel....Third of all, I just had to check it out for 'research' purposes! Maybe pick up a beer or two for Bert...
This used to be another liquor store; I don't recall the name or what it looked like before this.
Nice, bright and well stocked. Here's the view from the back wall. Wines in the middle. Beers all along the walls arranged by size. The owner, craft beer specialist Geoi (pronounced as 'Joey') Bachoua was not working that night. However, we did meet Stephen Ansley, the wine buyer/sommelier of Bine and Vine. I asked for his advice on dark beers that had chocolate and/or coffee overtones to them. He was very helpful and made several suggestions. I'm not much of a beer drinker but if I do drink it, I usually like the darks and usually with ice cream.
When I do go again, I'd like to bring Bert and hopefully meet the owner. I'd read so much about him and was so disappointed that his store closed in IB. I'm glad that he's in a more "accessible" place and also one where more people would be apt to visit. South Bay Drugs was a bit out of the way, although I do like the name 'South Bay Drugs'. Sounds so shady!
The older gentleman who rang me up at the counter said, "Oh, you missed Geoi! He's my grandson!". I thought that was so endearing! The proud grandfather!
Here were my purchases - a gift, if you will, for Bert. The one on the left is local, Alesmith - Speedway Stout; the other was from Denver Colorado - the Yeti Imperial Stout, which he had later that evening with ice cream (me too!). It was smooth and rich...We're saving that Speedway. Look at the size of that damn bottle!
My friend noticed a bottle on the bottom most shelf before we left Bine & Vine. She recognized the "Flying Dog" logo because she just read this article about the owner from her University of Notre Dame alumni magazine. After conversing with Stephen, she decided on getting a couple of bottles for her husband and father in law who are also alumni. This is what she chose:
The other half of the bottle said "BITCH"! That's right, RAGING BITCH! It is one of their biggest sellers, I wonder why, heh. So funny especially since my friend is such a non-cusser and the picture of pure innocence.
Bine & Vine
3334 Adams Ave
San Diego, CA 92116
(619) 795-BINE (2643)
www.bineandvine.com
More info here:
Beer Advocate, Rate Beer, San Diego Tap Hunter, The Beer Circle, and the reviews from yelp
Plus a very good article on the owner when South Bay Drugs was still around:
Imperial Beach News
So, like practiced alkies, we grabbed our booze protectively sheathed in paper bags and headed a few doors away for our long awaited dessert...
4 comments:
Oh I went here once! But I didn't take any photos so I never wrote about it. Jake and I met the owner and he suggested some beer for us - very nice and very helpful! We were pretty impressed and had a lot of fun just talking to him. Definitely a great place to visit and get some beer suggestions.
hi mary,
I totally want to go again and try some of their other darks. Hopefully we'll see and meet the owner too. Their prices are a bit higher than other places but I like supporting an independent shop like this, although I'd rather get my sakes from a Japanese market.
I agree it was a little pricer but I didn't mind it either especially after we got to talk with the owner and got personal suggestions - good service makes such a difference!
Yes, absolutely!
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