![Brewery Tour at Stone Brewing The hops are on the right...](http://blog.sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/stone2-300x400.jpg)
So, you’ve heard about how San Diego has one of most exciting craft brew scenes in the world and you want to come explore for yourself.
Maybe you’re a hard-core hop head who wants the insider scoop on cult favorites. Maybe you’re a newbie looking to broaden your beer horizons. Maybe you just want to relax and enjoy without worrying about driving.
If any of the above apply, I’d highly recomend a guided, chauffeured beer tour with Brewery Tours of San Diego or BrewHop.
Recently, I spent an afternoon with the later touring a few breweries around town. BrewHop is great because they do custom tours – just you and your group – with tons of personal attention and lots of craft beer insight from their expert guides.
I got to chat with the brewers, sip some blow-your mind beers and hip to barrel-aging, the technique San Diego brewers are using in the country’s most sought-after small-batch brews.
Check out photos and all the details after the jump…
Our first stop was Green Flash Brewing – named for the optical phenomena seen at sunset – where brewmaster Chuck Silva poured us his hoppiest Imperial IPA (among others) and explained how he’s aging some brews for up to 8 months in bourbon barrels to impart rich, complex flavors.
![Green Flash Brewery in San Diego Those kegs are just chillin...waiting for some Hop Head Red.](http://blog.sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/green-flash-300x400.jpg)
![Head Brewer Chuck Silva at Green Flash Brewery Those are some mighty fine barrels there Chuck!](http://blog.sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/green-brewer2-300x400.jpg)
Next, it was off to Stone Brewing for a tour with beer expert Ken Wright who explained the brewing process – showing off a beaker of wort (beer before its fermented – trust me, it made it all seem very educational) and Stone’s own collection of fine-looking barrels.
![Stone Brewing's Ken Wright Wort is where it's at.](http://blog.sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/stone-tour-300x400.jpg)
![Brewery Tour at Stone Brewing Ken explains the finer points of Stone's barrel aging.](http://blog.sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/stone-barrels-300x400.jpg)
Finally, we stopped at Port Brewing/Lost Abbeywhere brewer Tomme Arthur sat down with us to talk beer. He gave us a peek into his barrel room (he’s the king of the technique) and shared the limited release Cuvee de Tomme 2009 which has just been released the weekend before.
![Port Brewing/Lost Abbey's Tomme Arthur Tomme Arthur breaks it down from behind the tasting bar.](http://blog.sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/port-tomme-300x225.jpg)
![Lost Abbey's Cuvee de Tomme 2009 This is the jam. Actually, it's kinda the sour-cherry jam.](http://blog.sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/port-cuvee-300x400.jpg)
![Barrel Aging at Lost Abbey Brewing Tomme has the most barrels of them all.](http://blog.sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/port-barrels-300x400.jpg)
The best part? No one had to worry about skipping out on tasting any of the amazing beers we were offered because BrewHop was in the driver’s seat.
![BrewHop Brewery Tours Summer, BrewHop guide. Your best friend in brewery tours!](http://blog.sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/summer1-300x400.jpg)