A Guide to San Diego's Craft Beer Tours

This holiday, turn the tables around and make it all about him by planning romantic Valentine activities around the one thing that is near and dear to his heart—beer. Entice your love to get in the mood with specialty boutique brews, tasting rooms and tours.

Start off at The Lost Abbey in San Marcos, with a Saison Blanc, inspired by crisp white wines, featuring New Zealand hops, golden raisins, white peppers and a high level of carbonation for a crunch to the palate. It is the perfect beer to pair with an aromatic cheese plate as a starter. The lingering spicy notes in this craft brew will let him know there is more to come.

The next destination, White Labs Tasting Room in Miramar, happens to be one of the country’s largest suppliers of yeast for brewing, winemaking and distilling. White Lab features beers created on site that showcase the company’s unique experiments—for example, splitting each batch into a variety of fermentation units, then adding different strains of yeast to each one. The result is remarkable; the beers made using the same recipe look and taste completely different. It makes for a great way to experience the flavors imparted by beer’s most important ingredient—yeast. With the fun your man will have learning about the properties of beer and tasting all the varieties, it may be hard to take him to the next hot spot.

But Neighborhood Bar, inspired by the gastropubs of London, is a shrine to craft beer and comfort food, with a topnotch draught system, proper glassware and a highly educated staff. The gastropub focuses on beer and food pairings—particularly its famous burgers and sweet potato fries—that will have you planning when you will be coming back next.

Deviate from tradition and make way to Modern Times in Point Loma for some java-inspired brew in one of San Diego’s newest tasting rooms. True to its name, the company’s focus is to bring an original perspective on craft brews. Its Black House oatmeal coffee stout is made with the beer industry’s only house-roasted coffee beans. The tasting room offers 16 brews on tap, including variations of core beers and pilot batches.

Slip into an evening of love with an indulgence of local craft beer, truffle fries and to-die-for mac-n-cheese at Sublime Tavern in Del Mar. Intimate collaborations with local breweries bring an edge to the tavern, which boasts exclusive brews served on tap. The restaurant looks out onto the San Diego Polo fields, so make sure to enjoy the lingering rays of the sun as they disappear into the horizon—all white sipping on a pint of Wave Rye-der Session IPA from Rip Current Brewing. (Sorry to inform you Sublime Tavern in Del Mar Closed 2014)

No endeavor of this magnitude is complete with out the likes of Stone Brewing Co., in San Diego deemed as the holy grail of breweries. A pioneer in bringing craft beer to the San Diego scene, Stone enjoys an undisputed reputation to which up-and-coming brewers are forever aspiring. The newest venture for the company is the Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens at Liberty Station. The 23,500-square-foot location is marked by a bocce ball court, an outdoor cinema, a prolific garden, and, of course, 40 beers on tap. The stone fireplace is the perfect spot to sit back and revel in the night, letting each flickering flame fuel your romance.

All you may need is your lover’s embrace, but a little something sweet at Vin De Syrah in Gaslamp District San Diego is the perfect way to polish off the night. Inspired by the eclectic lounges of New York and brasseries of turn-of-the-century Paris, the lounge boasts semiprivate plush sitting rooms and botanical chandeliers in the subterranean-inspired space. Do not be fooled by the name: Vin De Syrah offers a variety of local and international brews that are paired exquisitely with the house’s "Sweet Lydia’s Macaroons."

This Valentine’s Day, all it will take to intoxicate your man is a thoughtful tour of the county’s best brews. So grab a pint and let the beer do the rest.