Perhaps it’s the climate or the inclination of its residents to experiment with novelties, but for whatever reason, San Diego is a hotbed for craft beer making, and now home to 20 different breweries.
Rating county brews San Diego County beers are world-class. Don’t take our word for it; consider these sources: Ratebeer.com: On the Web site’s “Top 100 Beers in the World,” 19 beers are from the county. Beeradvocate.com: On the Web site’s “Top Beers on Planet Earth,” 12 of 100 beers are from the county. World Beer Cup 2006: Six county breweries – Alpine, Ballast Point, Green Flash, Pizza Port Carlsbad, Pizza Port Solana Beach and Stone – took a total of eight medals. The cup is contested every two years. Local beer makers will learn if their streak will continue Saturday during the 2008 World Beer Cup awards banquet at the Town and Country Resort. Directions: For a map to local breweries, call the San Diego Brewers Guild, (619) 295-2337, or visit sandiegobrewersguild.org.
San Diego may have popularized the Double IPA, but that’s not the only style this town’s mastered: Visit the breweries below to get a taste of what else is brewing.
In regards to the rising costs of raw materials (particularly malt and hops). The topic has been getting a lot of media coverage in the last few weeks. The Brewers Association has provided several resources for members on this topic and we also want to assist you with information that your local media may desire:
Firefighters find a job that suits their tastes, talents and sense of camaraderie: brewing beers By Peter Rowe STAFF WRITER March 26, 2008
Yuseff Cherney says his revered and super-bitter Dorado Double India Pale Ale has become too expensive, if not impossible, to make. Cherney is head brewer at Ballast Point Brewing Company, which has breweries in Linda Vista and Scripps Miramar Ranch. Dorado’s recipe uses six Northwest hops varieties, two of which — Simcoe and Crystal — are growing increasingly rare, with prices climbing in the past year from $6 per pound to $30.
All across the county, specialty and micro-breweries are using new and innovative ingredients and brewing methods to produce one-of-a-kind beers that push the envelope while paying homage to classic recipes. So, when will the next big thing present itself? It’s hard to say, but the winter season is widely recognized by beer enthusiasts as a time when breweries release many of their most complex, flavorful and avant-garde creations. As for where the next big thing will hit, it wouldn’t be farfetched to bet on Southern California, which is fast becoming one of the foremost regions for quality craft brews. Several of SoCal’s finest are based in the North County and whether it be holiday brews, festive events or new beers for the New Year, there’s no shortage of goodies in their sacks for valued customers who’ve been good all year long.
• Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, Calif., regularly hosts three types of beer events: Brew School, a free class on the technical side of brewing; Brew University, a 90-minute, $20 class on the styles and history of beer; and Brewmaster’s Dinners, a beer-and-food tasting.
“Beer is an agricultural product, it’s made from agricultural products,” said Herz, the Brewers Association’s director of craft beer marketing. “These products naturally go through ebbs and flows of pricing. “People understand that with wine, just as I hope people understand that with beer.”
A bold, earthy cabernet and a thick, dry-aged pepper-crusted porterhouse steak. A crisp, perfectly-chilled pinot grigio alongside a plate of fresh shellfish. A medium-bodied pinot noir to amplify the flavor of grilled lamb chops. Food and wine go hand-in-hand and chefs relish the task of pairing their gastronomic creations with just the right vintage and varietal. A similar phenomenon involving the pairing of beer with food is picking up some serious steam. Brewmaster dinners and special beer-pairing menus and events are popping up all across the nation, not to mention right in our own backyard. A number of La Jolla restaurants are celebrating the compatibility of their cuisine with craft brews hailing from San Diego to Europe and all parts in-between.
The experts report on beer joints that make the grade.
January 2, 2008 PINT OF THE WEEK: Gift of the Magi Ale, San Marcos TIMELY, EH? There are sleighs-ful of Christmas beers, even the occasional Hanukkah beer, but this time we’ve encountered a beer that’s perfect for the Feast of Epiphany, which this year falls on Sunday. TASTY, THOUGH? If you’re in the mood for an unfiltered strong (9.5 percent alcohol) golden ale with a rocky head, plenty of malty character that is offset by frankincense bark, and a smoodge of myrrh, plus some tangy, tart, slightly off flavors via the judicious use of brettanomyces yeast – well, this is your beer. And, yes, it is tasty. WAIT A MINUTE, OR 10: After opening the bottle, let this Gift breathe for 10 minutes. Maybe we’ve been spending too much time with wine snobs, but the extra time seemed to firm up the ale’s flavors, adding definition and depth. Note: Beers are rated from 0 to 5, with 5 being best.
DECEMBER 2007/JANUARY 2008 SAN DIEGO — Nestled snugly between the very large UTC shopping mall and a tree-lined car park, the Miami Grille is fast becoming one of San Diego’s latest meccas for well-crafted beers. The beers are brewed on-site by the Mission Brewery, which operates as a separate entity. Visitors are delighted by the pairing of fine original on-site beers and a dizzying mixture of Caribbean-style foods. The imaginative full menu features foods with a primarily Cuban theme (well, it is the Miami Grill) and a wonderful list of six or more beers on draft.
AFRAID OF THE DARK? Get a night light. Yes, Winter Bock looks forbidding, teetering on the border between dark brown and black, with a head that resembles milk chocolate meringue. But take a sip and you’ll find that nothing gets lost in the dark. The flavors – orange, gingerbread, nutmeg, cut with a mild hop edge – shine through with a delicious clarity. And because the body is surprisingly light, I found myself slurping down the 7.5 percent alcohol brew with unseemly haste.
You would not think that San Diego would become a capital of beer brewing in the United States. But the local brewing industry has grown tremendously over the past 10 years. At one time, it could be called a cottage industry. It still has that attitude, but production has risen tremendously. Recently Ballast Point and Stone Brewing companies have, respectively, tripled and quadrupled their brewing capacity. http://www.kpbs.org/radio/these_days;id=10395
When you walk into a baseball stadium, you are greeted by vendors yelling the famous line “You can’t tell the players without a program.” Well, it’s gotten to be like that around San Diego’s brewing community.
Each December, we at the Celebrator like to highlight the achievements of our local breweries that won medals at the Great American Beer Festival. This particular article IS NOT a reprint of many post-GABF articles that I have written over the years. It just seems like you’ve read this before. In fact, in many cases, I have previously written many of the accolades to follow. But please hang in there and read every word. For there are some surprises that none of us could have expected.
WHO: Stone Brewing Co. / Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens WHAT: "People’s Choice” Accolades at San Diego Architectural Foundation’s Annual Orchids & Onions Awards WHEN: December 1, 2007 WHERE: Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens WHY: Beauty and Innovation in Architectural Design (and damn good beer too)
It’s still about the beer EVERY TIME I raise a beer now——as I probably will for the rest of my life——I toast Karl Strauss. The tribute is sometimes silent, or whenever possible, shared with those nearby. And any time I pour a beer, I pay particular attention to arriving at a 1-inch head of froth, just as Karl always instructed.
1st place winner, Melissa Mayer from the Guild Restaurant. She represented Ballast Point Brewery 2nd place winner, Patricia Castillo from Romesco’s Restaurant, she represented Cucapa Brewery from Mexico 3rd place winner, Keoni Simmons from Gordon Biersch brewery, he represented Gordon Biersch brewery
DEL MAR – They sat on ice, waiting, all those beers, all 270 of them. Even seasoned – or should we say marinated? – veterans might have wondered if their taste buds were ready and able. Chad Stevens would have none of that.
My thanks to Scott Richards, a creative reader who has mapped out a local beer tour that – all hail the trolley!
February 21, 2007 Ask a simple question: Where will San Diego’s beer industry be in 10 years? Get a simple answer: “Ten years?” repeated Jack White, the president and resident seer at Ballast Point Brewing. “I don’t know that we think much past the next brew.” Predicting the future is a mug’s game. No wonder many of the local beer industry’s wise men and women – the Magi of Malt – reacted to my question as if I’d swilled one too many. Yet this is the same bunch who force microscopic organisms to transform water, malted barley and hops into a magical elixir. They can’t resist a challenge. A word of encouragement, a pint or more, and the predictions flowed. Some of these guesses are as educated as a magna cum laude; others may look as unschooled as a kindergarten dropout. Is your crystal ball sharper? Share your visions of beer news to come with Brewery Rowe, peter.rowe@uniontrib.com.
Ask a simple question: Where will San Diego’s beer industry be in 10 years? Get a simple answer: “Ten years?” repeated Jack White, the president and resident seer at Ballast Point Brewing. “I don’t know that we think much past the next brew.”
Jay Brooks has the results of the Bistro’s 7th (yes, seventh, this is no fad) Double IPA Festival in Hayward, Calif. The winner was Dorado Double IPA from Ballast Point Point Brewing, an old friend. We go back to when it was called Crystal Pier and was already winning at the Bistro’s festival.
So, you’ve heard they have some pretty good beers in San Diego. You have no idea.
Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery sounds curiously like a Belgian-born brewer when he describes Brooklyn Local 1, the first bottle-conditioned beer that Brooklyn will package in 750 ml bottles finished with a cork and wire closure. Local 1 should be available by early March.
Eventful decade led to San Diego’s ascendency in the craft-beer world en years ago, regular patrons of O’Brien’s tavern in Kearny Mesa started whining to the owner. “This used to be good,” they’d gripe, gagging on a mild ale they had once savored. “Why isn’t it good any more?” “Guys,” Jim O’Brien would reply, “your tastes have changed.”
Change was in the air – and in the mug. Through the early 1990s, San Diego beer fans were faced with a meager choice of bland mass-market American beers; bland mass-market Mexican beers; the occasional Northern California or Oregon microbrew; and the self-proclaimed “San Diego Native,” Karl Strauss Amber Lager.
Winner of the 2006 Joseph L. Howard Fund Award
San Diego beer makers pump themselves up for a strong-ale battle
November 1, 2006 EDUARDO CONTRERAS / Union-Tribune "It was a pretty good weekend,” Jeff Bagby of Pizza Port Carlsbad said of his showing at the Great American Beer Festival. CARLSBAD – Jeff Bagby, the head brewer at Pizza Port Carlsbad, returned from the Great American Beer Festival in Denver with four medals. That’s astonishing. But don’t take my bedazzled word for it. Consider that judges at the nation’s largest beer competition examined 2,431 beers – and awarded only 203 medals. Consider that Bagby single-handedly won as many medals as all the breweries in the state of Missouri. Or the state of New York. Or the state of Texas. Consider that, if you broke down all the medals on a state-by-state basis, only 15 states out-scored this lone brewer in this tiny storefront brewery. “It was a pretty good weekend,” Bagby, 32, said with a smile.
TIJUANA – When it comes to beer this city has much more to offer than the barrels at the all-you-can-drink dive bars on Avenida Revolución. To prove it, Tijuana is hosting today through Sunday its second International Beer Festival, where more than 30 high-end breweries from around the world will present their brews.
September 24, 2006 Gina Marsaglia was a 20-year-old college student delivering sourdough bread in Morro Bay in 1987 when a Solana Beach restaurateur offered her a chance to manage his struggling Pizza Port restaurant. The restaurant was losing money and had piled up a lot of debt. The deal relieved the owner of a cash drain and gave Marsaglia and her brother, Vince, a chance to own their own business. “It’s easier in the restaurant business when you start with nothing and have nothing to lose,” she said. Today, Gina Marsaglia still wants to finish that college degree. In the meantime, she serves as president and chief executive of a company that owns three thriving Pizza Port restaurants in Solana Beach, Carlsbad and San Clemente and has established itself as one of the nation’s most creative independent beer brewers.
After a year of beer events, traveling around the country, even going overseas, it’s always nice to attend something local. Fortunately, San Diego is host to several of the year’s best beer fests.
Blame Bluto. If you recall John Belushi’s manic character in “Animal House,” Hollywood’s definitive take on higher education and lower pursuits, you’re doomed. Someone uses “beer” and “college” in the same sentence, and, bam, you automatically think...Toga party!
Stone Brewing Goes Out on a Ledge to Produce Quality Ale
Until last month, I’d never brewed. Then, at the urging of Chris White, whose White Laboratories is a major supplier of brewer’s yeast, I whipped up a batch of stout.
#6: San Diego — Rich Link Twenty years ago, San Diego was a beer wasteland. There were no breweries and few taps other than “the big three” and a few imports. That began to change in 1989 when the first Karl Strauss Brewery opened as Old Columbia Brewery and Restaurant. A year later, two more brewpubs opened. Today there are more than 20 superb breweries in the area. Many have won numerous awards for their beers in domestic and international competitions. Several local breweries are considered world-class. Most likely you’ll find any beer style to suit your fancy at one of the local breweries. Belgian, English, German, hoppy, very hoppy and exponentially hoppy beers are all available here. Add to that several of the best tap houses around — including O’Brien’s and Liar’s Club — plus many more multi-tap houses, and you have the beer destination called San Diego.
San Diego beermakers--AleSmith, Stone, Pizza Port and others--are gaining a national reputation for excellence.
Among San Diego County brewers, Doug Hasker may be a minority of one: He’s a lager guy.
Some believe bitter brew should be renamed to reflect San Diego roots.
BEST LOCAL BREW Calico Amber Ale Ballast Point Brewing Company 5401 Linda Vista Road, Linda Vista 619-298-2337
Is there a better way to pursue an education in malt and hops than by attending a beer festival, notebook in one hand and a mug in the other? If there is, do me a favor. Don’t reveal it.
While savoring a light-bodied but full-flavored ale on a warm summer evening, I found my thoughts turning to Green Flash Brewing Co., Reaper Ale and the Fifth Element.
A city generally noted for boats and beaches has become a center for suds. In fact, it is now home to three of the 10 top brewers in the world, at least according to a recent survey conducted by the Web site, RateBeer.com.
San Diego County boasts more than 20 breweries and brewpubs. Many of those breweries make award-winning beers, and their brewers have become well-known throughout the industry. One of San Diego County’s top new brewers is Jeff Bagby, brewer at Oggi’s Pizza & Brewing Company in Vista.
SAN DIEGO –Mesa Distributing Co., Inc. is proud to announce that several members of their distinctive craft beer portfolio claimed gold medals on June 9 at the first-ever Craft Brewers Competition and Festival at the 2007 San Diego County Fair.
March 10, 2004 There are several reasons why a brewer might not enter contests. Chris Cramer, president and CEO of San Diego’s Karl Strauss Breweries, knows them all. Contests don’t sell beer. “The consumer,” he said, “ultimately knows if the beer is right." Contests are subjective. “The quirkiness of the judging is troubling." Contests are time-consuming. “That’s not where we are going to try to put our energies." Finally, Karl Strauss, Cramer’s 91-year-old cousin, whose spirit permeates this operation, is past president of the Master Brewers’ Association of the Americas. He has nothing to prove. “Who is going to judge Karl’s beer? Karl’s credentials are such that he is recognized in the industry in the very top ranks."
To the list of people who have discovered San Diego, you can add beer nerds.
We have been rolling hop bombs across our tongues for about two hours now and have little humor for what the innocent Great American Beer Festival volunteer across the serving table is trying to tell us.
Will it only be a matter of time before the San Marcos-based Stone Brewing Co. answers by producing, along with its Arrogant Bastard Ale, a product called Slightly Less Arrogant Bastard Ale?
© 2008 San Diego Brewers Guild