Imbibe Magazine Loves San Diego And Santa Rosa!

After a few hard days at work and much blogging, yours truly had worked up a powerful thirst. So you can imagine my happiness when I found the newest issue of Imbibe Magazine in my mailbox two days ago! I was anticipating a host of new recipes to try when I saw the cover touting "100 Best Places To Drink Beer In America."
Thirst, get thee gone!
The Jess and I have had a blast recently in our exploration of various Belgian ales, and I believe I have finally found my long sought-after niche in the world of hops and malt. This issue was destined to be a guide book for us to keep handy should we make sojourns out of our hometown.
But wait! I start the list, broken into 10 different categories, and immediately find a San Diego offering, then another, and OMYGOODNESS there's one from my hometown of Santa Rosa! On and on I went, and began laughing out loud at how cool this was turning out to be.
At final count, 5 of the listed venues are in San Diego and 2 are in Santa Rosa. Awesome! To help illustrate, Santa Rosa has a population just over 120,000, so it's not a major metropolis by any stretch, yet here it is hanging with the big boys. Civic pride indeed!
Here are the local listings:
Best Locally Brewed Offerings: Hamilton's Tavern (SD), Liars' Club Alpine Tavern (just outside SD)

Best Beer Shops: Bottle Barn (SR)

Best Bottle Lists: O'Brien's American Tavern (SD)

Best Irish-Style Pub: The Field (SD and the site of my 29th B-day party), The Black Rose Irish Pub (SR)

Best Gastropubs: The Linkery (SD and my favorite restaurant)
The Jess and I beat feet to Hamilton's last night where we were joined by Mr. Triathlon for a round at one of America's greatest. The Jess found her beloved Piraat on tap, Mr. Triathlon went with a Belgian called Gulden Draak, and I found a Belgian reminiscent of my alma mater; Petrus oud Bruin. The atmosphere was perfect, the beer delicious, and the table occupants behind us were discussing where the best hops are grown.
Consider our thirst quenched, and cheers to Imbibe for another wonderful issue! Also, if you finally cave in and subscribe, you can spend a few bucks extra and buy up all the back issues you want, including this newest one.