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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 |
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Its official name is Pacific Wharf Distribution Co., but almost everyone just calls it the beer truck. Are you ready to take an afternoon break with a craft beer? Or would you enjoy one with your meal from a nearby eatery at Pacific Wharf? Then head over to the beer truck. |
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The beers are by Karl Strauss Brewing Company. Befitting the California theme of the park, Karl Strauss Brewing identifies itself as San Diego’s original craft brewery. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Serving guests at a permanent beer stand “disguised” as a truck |
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It’s a basic beer stand. Unlike food trucks that serve guests from windows on the side of the truck, all pouring, serving, and ringing up takes place along-side the truck. The beer taps are on the truck. An awning keeps cast members dry, but does nothing to protect guests. The registers are hidden behind beer kegs. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2007 Original color scheme |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Later color scheme |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 A different view |
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This theme park is about “edutainment.” Before you buy your beer, you can educate yourself about Karl Strauss. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 About Karl Strauss, more than it’s about microbrews |
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A sign at the beer truck explains that “Pacific Wharf celebrates all who have come to the Golden State to forge their dreams. Karl Strauss, son of a Westphalia brewer, trained in Bavaria on Old World techniques of malting and brewing. When he emigrated from Germany, he brought those techniques with him. Today, Karl Strauss Brewing Company produces and distributes hand-crafted beers throughout Southern California.” The sign doesn’t tell you that Karl Martin Strauss lived from 1912 to 2006. He fled Nazi Germany in 1939. From that year until 1983, he used his Old World experience in brewing and his talent as a manager for a successful career at Pabst Brewing Company. Fifty years after arriving in the United States, Strauss started his own brewery. That’s the beer served here. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Pouring a yellow plastic cup of Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale |
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You’ll usually have a choice of six brews from Karl Strauss Brewing Company’s year-round and seasonal brews. The taps offer a range of beer styles, from crisp lagers to hoppy IPAs. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Pretzel menu |
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Nothing goes better with beer than a warm pretzel. Well, maybe pizza is even better, but that’s not an option here. Depending when you visit, you might find other snacks available, such as black pepper popcorn or sourdough pull-apart bread. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Warm pretzels, waiting to be enjoyed by beer drinkers |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Jalapeño Cheese-filled Pretzel and a Karl Strauss Tower-10 IPA |
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Of the three pretzels on the menu, arguably the best is the one filled with warm, soft cheese with bits of jalapeño. It’s not particularly spicy, but the jalapeño adds a nice flavor. Looks good, eh? One Yelp review calls it the best E ticket attraction at the park. |
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The Pacific Wharf Distribution Co. beer truck was part of Disney’s California Adventure when the new park opened February 8, 2001. The truck was parked in Pacific Wharf, originally one of six sub-areas of the park’s Golden State land, and later its own land. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 Pacific Wharf Distribution Co. during 2001, the park’s first year |
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The earliest menu offered four Karl Strauss beers—three generically named ones, plus the brewery’s famous Red Trolley Ale—as well as Kirin from Japan and Tecate from Mexico. Think of it as three cultures coming together. Kirin and Tecate remained on the menu for a few years. After they dropped off, the menu typically featured six Karl Strauss beers across a range of styles—Red Trolley Ale and five others. The prices kept going up. |
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Photo by Tony “WisebearAZ” Moore, 2001 $4.29 beers in 2001 |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005 $5.19 beers in 2005 |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2009 $6.75 beers in 2009 |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 $7.00 beers in 2013 |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2017 $8.50 beers in 2017 |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2022 $12.00 to $13.25 beers in 2022 |
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Although the Pacific Wharf Distribution Co. beer truck didn’t move, its location improved drastically on June 15, 2012. That’s when Cars Land had its grand opening. Instead of sitting in a dead-end corner, the beer truck found itself on the fan-favorite path to the new land, just before the Lost Wheel Arch. For some fans, the only thing better than taking in the dramatic vista of the Cadillac Range through the arch was doing so while sipping a Karl Strauss beer, especially at dusk. In early 2023, work began to transform Pacific Wharf into San Fransokyo Square, based on the setting of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Big Hero 6 (2014). By early June 2023, Pacific Wharf Distribution Co. was gone. After serving guests for 22 years, all from the same spot, the beer truck seemingly drove away forever (although the truck might not actually have had a engine). |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2023 Hamada Bot Shop, in the corner where the beer truck had been |
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The location became Hamada Bot Shop, where the Big Hero 6 team creates and tests their hi-tech gizmos—and where guests can meet Baymax and Hiro from the film. Fans of Karl Strauss beers did not need to worry. The beer taps and the cash registers hidden behind beer kegs would soon have a new spot nearby. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2024 Waterfront seating at the Port of San Fransokyo |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2023 Karl Strauss Brewing Company logos emblazoned on the exterior |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2023 Port of San Fransokyo Cervecería, the replacement for Pacific Wharf Distribution Co. |
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The grand opening of Port of San Fransokyo Cervecería, hosted by Karl Strauss Craft Brewery, was June 25, 2023. Pacific Wharf officially became San Fransokyo Square on August 31, 2023. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2023 Port of San Fransokyo Cervecería, adjacent to Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2023 Port of San Fransokyo Cervecería menu in 2023 |
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The menu once again featured six beers from Karl Strauss Brewing Company, including that perennial favorite, Red Trolley Ale. The prices were $13.00 to $14.25. Ouch! A new addition to the menu was Karl Strauss Endless Summer Hard Seltzer, flavored with Mandarin Orange & Dragon Fruit. You might have noticed Karl Strauss Endless Summer on earlier menus, but that was a beer, not a hard seltzer. But what happened to the pretzels? They were gone, originally replaced with a Garlic & Pinwheel Chips Mix. By mid-January 2024, the menu of the Cervecería on the official park website no longer showed that item either. Two new items appeared on the snack menu: a Gyoza Sausage Bun (steamed bun with ground pork and vegetables served with chili-soy dipping sauce) for $8.99, or just a side of the sauce for $1.39. Perhaps the Gyoza Sausage Bun is wonderful (a similar item is apparently beloved at Tokyo DisneySea), but there are those—including the Curator of Yesterland—who will miss the jalapeño cheese-filled pretzels, even though those were mass-produced and just warmed up. Okay. You can still get jalapeño cheese-filled pretzels and Karl Strauss beer at Bayside Brews at the park’s Paradise Gardens Park, but if you were accustomed to having them on the other side of the park, it’s not the same. With its location adjacent to Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill, the menu tags at Port of San Fransokyo Cervecerí include slogans for the American beers in Spanish, in addition to Japanese writing. As in 2001, think of it as three cultures coming together. |
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© 2024 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated January 19, 2024 |
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