It's a tough job I know...one that neither my wife, nor my liver necessarily approve of, but hey...somebody's gotta do it! Keep an eye out for our tweets too, We'll be letting you what's going on, and where we are hosting our S.L.O.B. ™drinking events...What I am trying to say is, expect a lot of Micro Brew articles in this electronic rag, in the future....But for now, gotta go: Hamlton's (www.hamiltonstavern.com) is calling....

OK this place used to be called Sparky's and my wife would not go into it or really feel comfortable walking by it alone. A local dive left over from when I called our neighborhood "transitional". A place that had a hot plate behind the counter and the bartender would make you a Wonderbread and Velveeta grilled cheese sandwich for a buck. Awesome feature to keep the barfly's from going outside in the daylight, and it evidently helped to keep the Smirnoff from burning a hole in the stomach lining of some of the more frequent patrons.

All that changed several years ago when new owners came in, changed the name to Hamilton's Tavern and rigged the place up with a bunch of taps, a keg room and started selling the Micro Brew and huge selection bottled beer. Lot's of local and regional stuff, from the place quickly becoming the Micro Brew capital of the West Coast...Yes San Diego, not Portland. Although I have not validated it , rumor is that Hamilton's was voted on beer.com as one of the top 50 Beer Bars in the World.

Hamilton's still has the better Dive like qualities, but with a much cooler Staff, Patrons and drink selection. The new owners took over the cafe/grill next door and continue the Grilled Cheese Tradition, but now they are designed with a refined palate; handmade beer sausages, grilled cheese sandwiches with good stinky cheese and thick cut bacon and seriously good fat burgers/fries. My friends love the Hot Wings, try the Russian Roulette. All are spicy, but only one wing is Habanero Face melting hot. Grab a wing and whoever starts crying has to buy the next round... But the topper is the heart stopping nachos, skin on French fries smothered in homemade beer cheese soup, sprinkled with bacon....Enough said, come hungry and pack you defibrillator....

The food is earthy, complex and satisfying but Hamilton's really is all about the beer. All the great brews from the West Coast are here, if it is good beer, it makes a appearance at Hamilton's. The massive tap handle collection hanging from the roof is proof. You will often see the bartender climbing up on a stool in the middle of a crowd to get the proper pull tap. Lot's of good local beer/food promotions go on here, so check the website and find out what is up and coming. Show up on a Friday at 5 O'clock and see what is on the Hand Cask, (naturally carbonated in the keg), like they did it in the olden days... show at 7 and it might be gone....If you are remotely interested in beer culture, Hamilton's is San Diego's core destination, if you love beer, have your mail forwarded.

South Park, Golden Hill
Hamilton's Tavern
1521 30th St
San Diego, CA 92102
(619)-238-5460
Mon-Fri: 3pm-2am
Sat-Sun: 1pm-2am
www.hamiltonstavern.com