And when some of his favorites become yours as well (the Headbasher IPA and the Honey Pale Ale are excellent, and there’s always at least a few interesting sips of barleywine, mead, or, lately, hard seltzer, to try out), you’ll definitely appreciate what’s been built here. Arcana is one such place - owner Daniel Guy surely does have commercial interests (he’s already had to fend off a lawsuit from Sam Adams after the original name of the brewery skewed a bit too close to one of their trademarks), but when you visit his spot, you get the sense that he just wanted to include all of his favorite things in one place. But other places feel like they just wanted to put all of their favorite things under one roof: A brewing operation, a love of steampunk, and an affinity for good company and fine industry. Some breweries are more commercial investments - they represent someone trying to brew up a name for themselves in the industry, or try to build a brand, or come up with a recipe so popular that they can sell out to a bigger beer company somewhere else. The gorgeous facility puts the up-and-coming little rooms at much smaller brewers to shame, but at least it gives the smaller guys a point of comparison - as either something to aspire to or a sell-out path to avoid. Though the Liberty Station complex down near Point Loma is the clear flagship (and North County even gets a cozy tap room in Oceanside), there’s a whole kingdom hidden in this resort-like setup, with nearly 40 beers on tap at the bar, a restaurant (serving dishes like a “True Craft” Burger and a “Stone Steak Taco”), a company store where you can buy a tiki towel or a sticker decked out with the Stone logo, and tours available four or five times a day. While a lot of the best breweries in San Diego get plenty of charm from being smaller, plucky, everyday operations, Stone has decided to show off every bit of its success at this Escondido supercenter (because if you have it, you might as well flaunt it, right?). All hail the kings of San Diego craft, ever may they reign.
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