Double Down at Downton Johnny Brown's

I need an award for beer stupidity. Downtown Johnny Brown's has been in business in downtown (where else) San Diego since 1987, and I finally visited it this week. What the heck have I been doing for the past twenty-one years? For some reason, without ever checking, I thought it was a trendy spot in the Gas Lamp District, not a cool little pub in a weird location. It is sandwiched between an office building (the old Security Pacific Bank building) and the parking structure for the San Diego Civic Theater, and faces the Civic Center plaza and can't be seen from any road.

I was downtown the other day, saw Downtown Johnny Brown's and it hit me what was inside. My notion of a Gas Lamp location evaporated. I stopped in, grabbed an Aztec burger and a Pliny the Elder on tap. Awesome. Pliny is a seductive beer. Its first taste is not impressive, but it improves with each succeeding drink. I also tasted Sierra Nevada's Weizenbock (shown at right), which is a refreshing beer. The bartender gave an outstanding pour.

I was told that a cask of Alpine's Bad Boy double IPA was going to be tapped later that evening. As luck would have it, I had another meeting downtown later in the afternoon and had a chance to stop back and sample the Bad Boy on cask.

Before I talk about the Bad Boy I have to mention a party that was happening at Johnny Brown's. It was someone's birthday and at least twenty people were helping him celebrate. Not one, from what I could see, had a draft beer. All were drinking wine, martinis and macros (Bud Lite and Heineken). I am OK with this, to each his or her own, but it is unfortunate that while sitting in the presence of great beer none of the party goers appeared to know the craft beer delights Johnny Brown had to offer.

The Bad Boy was rich and creamy. It did not have a hop wallop like other double IPAs. Maybe this was the cask. It was a smooth, easy drinking beer, but seemed almost muted. I was expecting a big hop bang. I am not sure how it compares to Pure Hoppiness, Alpine's other double IPA, and would need a side-by-side tasting to determine their differences. It was worth the second trip to try it. This beer generated good buzz on BeerAdvocate and I was suprised more people were not taking advantage of this beer on tap.

It is strange that I had not been to Downtown Johnny Brown's in twenty-one years, and then had the change to go twice in one day.