Ballast Point Lighthouse

Ballast Point’s Big Eye IPA can be found in liquor stores nationwide, but it’s not the big kahuna from this brilliant San Diego brewery. That honor is shared among a trio of seasonal brews that get the most growler traffic at the site: the punchy, peppery Habanero Sculpin IPA; the hoppy Dorado Double IPA; and the Madras curry–boosted Indra Kunindra Curry Export Stout. For something a little straighter, the classic Longfin lager is a popular California favorite, as is the Wahoo white and the original pale ale that kick-started the company in 1996. Ballast Point also boasts two of the top reds in the country—the Piper Down Scottish Ale and the Tongue Buckler Imperial Red—and has in recent years been distilling top-shelf spirits and pushing out a kick-ass Bloody Mary mix.