Saturday 28th of February 2015 10:53:11 AM

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Jeff Bagby is well known to beer aficionados in San Diego. He was once the head brewer at Pizza Port in Carlsbad and brought home the Best Large Brewpub award from the Great American Beer Festival 3 years in a row. That plus numerous other medals / awards qualifies himself as kinda knowing his way around a pint.

No big surprise then back in 2011 when he announced he wanted to open his own place.

And boy howdy! Did he ever!

Bagby Brewing sits on the main drag through Oceanside, Pacific Coast Highway 101 - a scant 3 miles away from his former haunt in Carlsbad...and he's still thinking big!

This place from the front is deceptive. It looks big but step inside and it becomes (as my sons say) ginormous!! There are not one, not two, but 3 pouring stations plus a tasting "room", two outdoor beer "gardens", an upstairs in-the-sun room plus a large open area (covered) for those few days in Southern California when it spits and we lift our pints on high, praising the Gods and proclaiming that the "drought is over!"

Wife Persimmon and I tasted all 18 Bagby beers on tap and liked about half of them. That's a damn good percentage for anything! A variety ranging from a Coors knock-off (every pub has to have one, right?) @ 5% to a Belgian Strong Ale bowling over the taste buds @ 11.4%...with IPA's, Hefe's, even a Scotch ale thrown in for good measure in between. If that's not enough, there is wide range of bottles from other craft brewers both in and out of California state as well as a diversified menu from salads to the necessary burgers to satisfy almost any taste.

And you may just run into a beer "celebrity" when you're there...like we did...Chili, the head landscaper for Stone Brewing who spent a few moments chatting about his Dork Squad IPA and our Brueges Cruise Belgian Strong.

Now having said all that, Persimmon and I are not big fans of these types of large pubs. We always gravitate toward the smaller places, our own little "Cheers" bar where we walk in and we're known so well, our beers are waiting on the counter.

But regardless, you won't be disappointed with Bagby's. It's a classy addition to an otherwise Marine Corps town with not the greatest reputation. Don't let that stop you from stopping in.

But Bagby's gets a solid "A" for their beer selection and outstanding customer service.