Peter Rowe has put out a few great articles this week, including his 10 SD Beer Week picks, a “This Weekend in Beer” for Nov 2-4, and a story on Stone Brewing Co. Beverage Coordinator “Dr.” Bill Sysak that ran in today’s U-T.

Michelle Dederko also writes consistent articles on the local beer scene for the U-T/Discover SD. Read hers here.

Brandon Hernández writes for many fine publications in town; don’t miss his categorized “Best of Beer Week” on San Diego Magazine’s website, his day-by-day breakdown on The Reader’s site, or the four-page spread in Pacific San Diego Magazine’s November 2012 issue (pp 60-63).

Craft Beer Tasters has organized a tasting of Mexican craft beer on Nov 6 & 11 at The Beer Co. downtown. In addition, they’ve spotlighted the brewers on their website.

Three B Zine posted a good interview with Bruce Glassman, author of San Diego’s Top Brewers and the new book BREW FOOD that will be officially released tonight at Mission Brewery.

TapHunter has been collecting Tips from the Pros over at their blog; I was the first featured industry member before Andrew Killion of The Lost Abbey, Kory & Derek from LOVELIKEBEER yesterday, and “Dr.” Bill Sysak from Stone Brewing Co. today.

Ian Cheesman had his picks published in this week’s San Diego CityBeat, page 12.

LOVELIKEBEER just put up a vegan’s guide to SDBW, complete with pairing suggestions or go-to events for each day.

WC Publisher Mike Shess posted his picks for each day yesterday.

Here are a few more, just for good measure:

1 Beer, 13 Ways – 5 oz pours of 13 different varieties of Ballast Point’s Victory at Sea Imperial Coffee Vanilla Porter will be served at Hamilton’s Tavern Sunday, November 4th starting at 10 a.m. Check out all the varieties here.

Get Educated – Last year the lab manager for local yeast manufacturer White Labs, Neva Parker, visited Sea Rocket Bistro for a “Flavors of Yeast” class, and it was so successful that she’s coming back again Saturday November 10th from 2-4 p.m. Her presentation will include four saisons brewed at White Labs with different yeast strains.

First Sour, Available Once — Green Flash’s new sour, Flanders Drive, derives its name from the brewery’s cross street as well as its beer style (Flanders red ale). Bottles will only be available on Monday, November 5th at the special release party which is part of their 10 Years of Great Beers SDBW plans.

Tougher Than It Looks – Think you can tell the difference between Stone IPA, AleSmith IPA, Mission IPA, Ballast Point Big Eye IPA, Societe Dandy IPA and Green Flash West Coast IPA? If you can, you’ll get a $100 gift certificate from Blind Lady Ale House. Hurry, though, this event ends tonight at 6 p.m.

51 Taps, All Local – Just like it sounds: URGE American Gastropub is filling the taps with beer from local breweries this weekend. This includes the release of Mother Earth’s 100% Citra dry-hopped “Wet Hop Dreams”

Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door for the 11a.m. – 6p.m. festival. With a ticket comes 12 tasters of beer; food is available for purchase. For an additional $1 donation to the About the Music Fund, you’ll get a taste of an Automatic Brewing Co. beer created specifically for this event. Click here to buy tickets.

It is awesome to see new faces become fixtures in the festival circuit. Relative newcomers Rough Draft and Latitude 33 will be serving beers along with the brand-new Fezziwig’s Brewing (not open to the public, yet, but you can read about them on page 20 of our May 2012 issue).

(Psssst! … The first ten individuals to comment on this post get a free ticket to the Craft Beer Block.)
Limit one per person – must include e-mail address, first name and last name in your comment. You’ll need to show ID to pick up tickets from Will Call. Tickets are all gone!

Tonight's event will have great glassware too. Photo from URGE's Facebook page.

Tonight, URGE American Gastropub in Rancho Bernardo is throwing an event called “Blackout” featuring dark offerings from some of their favorite breweries, including AleSmith Double Coffee Speedway Stout, Port Midnight Expressions, Stone 15 Anniversary Escondidian Black IPA, Iron Fist Velvet Glove on Nitro, Port Old Viscosity, Ballast Point Barrel-Aged Sea Monster, Lightning Black Lightning Porter, Karl Strauss Black’s Beach, Hess Ex Umbris Stout, and Mission Dark Seas. There’s plenty more on tap, but these are just some of the locals. Also, the two beers on cask are both standouts: Ballast Point Peppermint Victory at Sea and Stone Vanilla Bean Smoked Porter. This event doubles as a book signing for San Diego’s Top Brewers, and will include appearances by Mitch Steele and Steve Wagner of Stone, Colby Chandler of Ballast Point/Home Brew Mart, Jim Crute of Lightning, Dan Selis of Mission Brewery, Dan Love of Mother Earth, and Mike Hess of Hess Brewing.

Lacey, middle, flanked by SD support

Tomorrow, New English’s tasting room in Sorrento Valley will open to the public for the first time at 4pm. The guests of the soft opening held about two weeks ago read like a who’s who of San Diego beer, with appearances by Lee and Jennifer Chase of Blind Lady, Greg Koch of Stone, Colby Chandler of Ballast Point, Bruce Glassman of Chefs Press/San Diego’s Top Brewers, Dan Selis of Mission, Gary Pitman of Manzanita, Chris White of White Labs, writer Brandon Hernandez, and more. It was a great show of support for owner/brewer Simon Lacey, who’s really been performing all his duties as a one-man team, with some occasional help from homebrewer Kenny who offered his services when Lacey spoke at a QUAFF meeting more than a year ago. Lacey’s Explorer E.S.B. — the brewery’s flagship — and Brewers Special Brown Ale were obvious hits, as both casks blew before the night was out.  New English’s tasting room will also be open Fridays from 4-8 and Saturdays from 12-8.

Check out our event calendar for more great happenings. If you don’t see an event listed that your brewery/bar/restaurant is hosting, there is a submission form on the top of the online calendar, or you can e-mail me directly at ryan@westcoastersd.com

Cast your votes – 

Voting for The Full Pint’s Best Craft Beer of 2011 ends tomorrow at 5pm, and there are some great locals in the running: Ballast Point Indra Kunindra, El Cajones IPA from El Cajon Brewing Company, Karl Strauss Two Tortugas and more.

TapHunter’s 2nd Annual San Diego Brewery Awards are underway, at least the first stage in the competition. TapHunter members are invited to submit their best brewery story through February 3rd. Between February 4th and 24th the voting begins, and the brewery whose story receives the most votes will be honored at a March awards party. Users are eligible to win a $200 gift certificate to Best Damn Home Brew Shop for first place in the voting.

Cast your dollars – 

Straight from Kickstarter, “the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects”: “Beer Hunter: The Movie is a documentary film about the British journalist and author Michael Jackson, whose books and television series about beer inspired the global phenomenon that is the craft brewing renaissance. An intimate portrait based on over 60 hours of rare, recent video footage, Beer Hunter sheds insight into the life and contributions of this brilliant and beloved man, who, while quietly battling Parkinson’s, became the leading voice and inspiration behind the craft brewing movement. For those who had ever met Michael Jackson, or were deeply inspired by his work, it’s hard to imagine that he is no longer with us.”

The filmmakers are asking for your help to complete this project. Although the $30,000 goal has already been met with three days to go, more archival material and more of Jackson’s story will come through with each dollar raised. A non-profit organization, Michael Jackson Memorial Foundation, is also being set up with the goal of organizing annual fund-raising events in Michael’s memory, with proceeds to benefit Parkinson’s Research.

We asked one local, Greg Koch of Stone Brewing Co., for his thoughts: ”The first time I ever sat next to Michael Jackson was during a lunch at the 1996 Craft Brewers Conference. I was so nervous, and afraid that I’d say something dumb, I just sat there and never even said hello. Years later, confidence built up a bit, I had the pleasure of sharing beers with Michael a couple different times. He was worth being nervous about talking to when considering the weight and importance of his life’s work, but was actually as down-to-earth and easy to talk to as anyone in reality.  We miss Michael.”

If you can, please help make this film the best it can be! Here’s the press release.

Cast your beers – 

The last day to register for Holiday Wine Cellars’ homebrew competition is Monday the 30th. The winner will brew their recipe on Iron Fist’s system. Last year, homebrewer Alex Tweet won the contest, and his beer Indra Kunindra not only landed him on The Full Pint’s beer of the year shortlist, but also on the payroll at Ballast Point.

And you have a little under a month to register for Monkey Paw Pub & Brewery’s homebrew competition. The theme: Belgian-style beers.

More information for both competitions is available on our event calendar.

Who's ready to drink at 9am on a Friday? Photo: Ryan Reschan

Here are a few of our highlights from the first Friday and Saturday of San Diego Beer Week; photos over on our Facebook.

11/4 – Stone Rare Beer Breakfast – You didn’t have to wait until the afternoon (or even noon) to starting drinking as San Diego Beer Week was kicked off with Stone’s Rare Beer Breakfast at 9am Friday morning. For those not looking to drink beer right away an all-you-can eat buffet was setup with some fantastic creations from Chef Alex. Highlights included the pork belly served on a Belgium waffle and the made to order omelets featuring cured meats, fresh vegetables from Stone Farm and black truffle. Add in a crepe station, bagels and lox, caviar, fresh fruit and a cinnamon roll-like breakfast roll and you were ready to start drinking the wonderful list of beers beverage coordinator “Dr.” Bill Sysak gathered for the event.

Lines for beer were short, even for the bottle pours that included rare beers from The Bruery, Deschutes, Midnight Sun, Goose Island and plenty of Belgium breweries. The draft list featured beer from many San Diego breweries along with Deschutes, Midnight Sun’s one off collaboration with Green Flash, Dogfish Head, Russian River, Lost Abbey’s limited one off blend Ad Lib, Sierra Nevada’s line of 30^th Anniversary beers, even more obscure Belgium breweries the most people have never heard of and one-off Stone variations of Arrogant Bastard Ale with coconut and 15^th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA with espresso beans.

The food aspect helped balance the otherwise continuous sampling of beer and it was fun trying to pair tasters of beer with all the food. It’s an event worth checking out next time around if you are able to take Friday off from work and willing to start drinking early in the morning. – Ryan Reschan

SD's Top Brewers

11/4 – San Diego’s Top Brewers Launch Party w/ Tap Hunter @ Mission Brewery — Hordes of San Diegans took shelter with their favorite brewers inside Mission Brewery on Friday night for the launch party of “the official book of San Diego craft beer.” A book signing with the beaming local celebrities that was meant to last just one hour turned into two as the line of attendees eager for signatures simply kept rebuilding; the brewers didn’t mind, though, and most were dumbfounded at how many books they’d actually signed. This event was not only significant on the brewer-fan level, but on the brewer-brewer level as well, for as much as we like to think of our local guys all collaborating by day and drinking by night, it’s actually pretty rare to have this many of them in a room together considering their hectic schedules. Dan Love of Vista’s Mother Earth for example commented that he’d never had the opportunity to sit and chat with Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey’s Tomme Arthur for such an extended period of time. Check out all the photos from this event, including links to Chefs Press’ “Have a Beer with the Brewer” videos, over on our Facebook page. 

11/5 – San Diego Brewers Guild Festival @ Liberty Station — All 32 members of the San Diego Brewers Guild plus many of its affiliate members took part in SDBW’s official kickoff event on Saturday. Ticket sales were through the roof as local beer-friendly radio station FM 94/9 had also purposed the event as its ninth birthday celebration. Beer lovers Mayor Jerry Sanders and Sam the Cooking Guy teamed up to tap the kickoff cask of Karl Strauss’ Tower 10 IPA on the main stage. Both San Diego Beer Blog and Brewery Rowe picked out three of the brews they tasted at the festival. Over on our Facebook you’ll find 120 photos from the event.

l-r: Sam the Cooking Guy, SDBG President Marty Mendiola, Mayor Jerry Sanders

 11/5 – ASSEMBLY w/ LoveLikeBeer & San Diego Beer Blog @ Sea Rocket Bistro — Kory and Derek from LoveLikeBeer have now put on four vegan beer events around town benefiting various charities and philanthropic causes. On Saturday night, Sea Rocket Bistro played host to a sit-down, prix-fixe vegan beer dinner featuring Chef Chad White’s creations alongside rarely-in-SD beers from Michigan’s Jolly Pumpkin Brewery (all vegan beers by a vegan brewer); the local chapter of Engineers Without Borders received 5% of the evening’s proceeds. When asked how the charities they support are chosen, Kory responded that sometimes the venue will have a charity in mind, as was the case with To-Firkin Friday at Hamilton’s in early September. In other cases it’s simply a charity or cause that gives the guys inspiration. For this event, Kory had been inspired by Eugene of EWB-SD when he met him working at 3rd Space in University Heights.

Kory, Chef Chad, and Derek

The menu featured beer tasting notes from San Diego Beer Blog/WC staffer Jeff Hammett, who had seen Jolly Pumpkin’s Ron Jeffries speak at the National Homebrewers Conference in June. The first course, a pear salad with Belgian endive chipotle cinnamon walnut, aged cashew cheese, clove agave nectar & Port gastrique, was expertly paired with the brewery’s fall seasonal, Fuego Del Otono. Chef Chad White would later comment that the cashew cheese was the only part of the entire menu prepared before Saturday. Dish #2, a pumpkin gnocchi with cured black olive puree, fennel confit and nutmeg-roasted pepitas mixed with Jolly Pumpkin’s La Percela. The next course, a smoked seitan sausage with spiced apple chai tea, saurkraut, crostini & mustard was the highlight of my night, going very well with the brewery’s flagship, Bam Biere. The night was rounded off with a coffee-malted chocolate cake with ganache, beer-macerated cherries & curry gastric, paired with Bam Noire, the darker side of Bam Biere. Chef White, known as The Bacon Guy to many, had found creating the menu “a cool challenge that I really enjoyed. I’m very happy with everything here.”

Mmmmm, cake. See all the photos at facebook.com/westcoastersd

Suds for Surgeries
The 2nd Annual Mission Valley Craft Beer Festival AKA Suds for Surgeries is taking place March 27 Noon-6PM at the Handlery. Local beer (30 San Diego breweries), local chefs (15 chefs from around town), and local music combined with unlimited tasters with the proceeds of a $35 presale ticket going to a local charity? Sign us up. Need a deal sweetener? Tap Hunter is doing a Straight From the Tap for the event.

The Linkery turns 6 this weekend
Kudos to the restaurant that makes me proud to be a North Parker.  I remember Jay Porter back when he had a normal haircut. Setting up shop on 30th Street in 2005 was a risky move, and opening a farm-to-table, local-centric restaurant on the same street was considered insane by many at the time. In hindsight, he  defined what is now the trendiest beer circuit in the country. This weekend’s itinerary was just announced, and you’ll find us somewhere in the crowd of well-wishers during the festivities.

Cervecería Academia: La Gran Terraza hits the craft beer books
Attending USD now comes with added perks: great beer on campus. La Gran Terraza, home of student/teacher pub O’Toole’s as well as the classy adjoining Grand Dining & Terrace venues, has started a craft beer program. They recently hosted a Beer & Chocolate Dinner with Stone. Unbeknownst to us,  it’s also the best deal in town. $21.95 + tax and tip for 5-Course pairings, such as Double Bastard w/ Braised Short Rib in Chocolate Rosemary Sauce & Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous & Pork Spare Rib w/ Chocolate Hoisin Sauce. They don’t skimp on pours, and the view of the sunset over Tecolote canyon is best enjoyed with some of San Diego’s finest paired with the best collegiate cuisine we’ve ever tasted (full disclosure: both WC Publishers attended California public universities.) For more information on upcoming events, check out their website.

Press Box plots
Located at the eastern end of the 94 freeway, The Press Box Sports Lounge is designed from the ground up to be a cool sports bar. Slick interior, private VIP room, great seating, and flatscreens galore teamed with a notable draft and bottle line up that includes San Diego Beer means they have a cornered the craft beer market in the area. They’re also rolling out craft beer events on a monthly basis (next up is a Samuel Adams tasting, but we have it on good authority that a San Diegan-emphasis will be placed on future events.)  The owner, Dan Kniffin, also has his hand in planning what is gearing up to be the largest craft beer festival in town with over 100 local and regional (California only) breweries in attendance. Details developing. West Coaster will keep you updated.

The Tenderest of Greens
Liberty Station is a cool spot. Aside from East Coast infiltration, there’s a bustling little craft beer circuit. Luca Banfi (formerly of The Grill @ Torrey Pines fame) informed us that TenderGreens, his current gig, recently secured Pizza Port’s California Honey Ale as well as Lightning’s Thunderweizen on their modestly sized, excellent draft lineup.

TapHunter.com's Jeff and Melani Gordon at Hess Brewing during the website's 2010 SD Brewery of the Year 2nd Place Party

…San Diego’s first-ever pop-up restaurant, a concept that involves a well-known chef taking over a local kitchen for a pre-determined length of time to create 5 course prix fixe meals. Having caught on like wildfire in New York and Los Angeles, this style of culinary experimentation previously only involved the wine world.  Not this year.  TapHunter‘s newest innovation will bring local craft beer into the equation, and West Coaster got the scoop on just what the 11 in ’11 members are up to.

The details: Chef Dan Moody, of the restaurant Relate, will be bringing his “contemporary French cuisine with a down-home American flair” to St. Germain’s Cafe in Encinitas starting Tuesday, February 3rd.  For 19 nights, the chef will create special courses designed with and around the beers of two to-be-determined local breweries.  Opening night on the 3rd will have two group seatings, one at 6pm and another at 8:30pm.  TapHunter.com tells us more: “During the night you’re encouraged to interact with the Chef and Brewers. Ask them questions, take pictures, heck give em a hug. The night’s 2nd seating will even include a live cooking demonstration by Chef Dan…February 3rd is also Chinese New Year, 2011 is the year of the rabbit, expect Chef Dan to work this into his dishes somehow!”

You can reserve your seat for $5, which is deducted from the cost of your meal, from this website.  Tickets for the 5 course prix fixe menu are $55 plus the cost of the beer flight, with a bit of surprise added in: the menus generally pop up around 4pm the day of.  Each evening will be a “rare and exclusive experience in both beer and food” – join TapHunter for opening night!

11 in ’11 is our cover story for the January 2011 issue.  Scroll down on the editorial page to see where you can pick up a copy.

We recently overheard someone liken the San Diego Craft Beer Community to a Gold Rush-era Boomtown. We think it’s quite fitting. Instead of prospectors coming to stake their claim in search of gold, talented individuals and businesses in San Diego are grabbing their piece of the craft beer action by providing a resource, organizing local events or, well, making beer.  Here’s our 11 that will define 2011 in San Diego Beer.

TapHunter.com
Born alongside San Diego Beer Week 2009, TapHunter.com is the product of marketing maven Mel Gordon & husband/tech whiz Jeff “Flash” Gordon. TapHunter’s crowdsourced website & iPhone application help local beer lovers find where they can sip their favorite brews on tap.  Their 2010 SD Brewery of the Year Awards were a hit as AleSmith came out on top;  we’re looking forward to see who takes the prize in 2011’s vote.  What will set TapHunter apart in the new year is their Straight From the Tap program. A weekly online service that will team up with a local business to provide a special coupon/voucher deal, Straight From the Tap is geared to bringing the consumer substantial, targeted savings on the beer they love. Great deals on local beer? Yes please. Signing up is as easy as having an email address and visiting their website: taphunter.com/straight-from-the-tap

Stone Brewing Co.
The local behemoth of arrogance and innovation, Stone Brewing Co. is planning to open the Stone Company Store South Park sometime in 2011. This brilliant move will bring their palate-destroying beers closer to the greater San Diego population, while also helping define the already craft-beer saturated South Park end of 30th Street. Never satisfied or stagnant, Stone is simultaneously scouting a location in Europe to open brewing facilities. The last that West Coaster heard, Stone had narrowed the list of cities down to two: Bruges and Berlin. To feel what it’s like to be courted by Stone, or if you’re hankering to open the next big thing in Europe, check out their Request for Proposal online at stonebrew.com/rfp/

Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits
No heavy-hitters list would be complete without Ballast Point, and San Diegans should expect more big things from both brewery & spirits departments in 2011. “We are not a one-trick pony, instead [we are] driven by the roots of home brewing,” assured Director of Sales Earl Kight. “We create and create again and again.” Nowhere is this more true than Home Brew Mart in Linda Vista, where it all began in 1992. Watch for HBM’s GM and BP Specialty Brewer Colby Chandler to continue producing interesting variations of the award-hogging Sculpin IPA, including ghost and habanero pepper versions. More key developments: bottle labels are being designed for both the highly-coveted Fathom IPL (India Pale Lager) as well as the Sour Wench Blackberry Ale. Longfin Lager, “that easy-drinking, warm-weather favorite, has a 12oz label and six-pack holder almost ready to go.” Let’s not forget that demand for the Pale Ale and Big Eye IPA continues to grow in the local market. With all of this planned production, the need for increased capacity is inevitable; rumor has it that the main brewery in Scripps Ranch will be gearing up for another serious expansion this spring.

BrewDiego.com
Founded by homebrewer Dan Brown, SD-native foodie/teacher Eric Martin and local church pastor Josh Carter, BrewDiego.com launched back in November as an intuitive and easy-to-navigate resource for San Diego Craft Beer.  Their main 2011 focus: producing high-quality videos that delve behind the scenes of the craft beer industry.  Whether it’s interviewing brewers, taking brewery tours, or documenting events,  BrewDiego will put faces to big industry names.  Their blogging and social media outlets are also being developed because, according to Dan, “we really enjoy the relationships and conversations we’ve had with the people who are brewing here.  We want to help bridge the gap between those brewing the beer and those drinking it.”  More specifically, their target audience includes enthusiasts eager to learn more, those locals who previously found getting into craft beer overwhelming, and beer tourists looking for creative local resources.

Lee Chase & Automatic Brewing Company
The talented UC Davis & Stone Brewing Co. Alumnus keeps his laboratory quietly secluded in the inner sanctum of Blind Lady Ale House. We’ve seen some deliciously clever beers from Lee. Examples include Automatic’s ginger & coriander’d #1 Belgian Ale, Chocolate Rain Oatmeal Stout, Sex Panther Strong Ale, and most recently, a duo of Belgian White Ales – Light Whitening and Thank You Mamm (which was actually pink!). Lee’s been covertly scouting and purchasing new equipment, but has been careful not to let slip what exactly he is up to. Whatever it may be, it’s going to rule. Blind Lady Ale House has redefined the dinner scene in Normal Heights, and Automatic Brewing is the first licensed brewery in the craft beer-saturated uptown neighborhoods. West Coaster will be watching him from behind an Honest Pint-certified brew & a slice of Napoletana-inspired pizza.

AwesomeBeerDrinkers.com
AwesomeBeerDrinkers.com started with Michael Bowen and Alex McKee. According to Michael, the mission of ABD is simple: “To bring the gospel of good beer to the masses, and help support the growth of the craft beer scene in any way we can.” How’d they choose their name, you ask? “The name was simple: Mike said ‘we have an Awesome idea’ and Alex said ‘we need more Beer to Drink.’” Aside from a well-put-together website that is developing into a fine resource for all things craft beer in San Diego, what will set Awesome Beer Drinkers apart in 2011 will be their monthly tastings.  The next ABD Tasting will be January 22nd @ The Beer Company in Downtown from 4-8pm.  To quote them: “We will be featuring a ridiculous assortment of hand-selected craft brews provided by the Best Damn Beer Shop for your tasting enjoyment.” For more details and to RSVP, visit AwesomeBeerDrinkers.com

Iron Fist
Iron Fist came out swinging when they opened their doors in October of 2010. Their revolutionary theme lends itself well to the line up of beers offered by this family-run brewery, as well as the brewer himself. Their brews are crafted by the youngest Head Brewer in San Diego – Brandon Sieminski.  At only 21, Brandon’s come up with quality brews such as the bold Dubbel Fisted and the crisp Spice of Life. His newest creation, The Gauntlet Imperial IPA, is unlike anything we’ve ever tasted (in the best way). Adrian Sieminski, Iron Fist’s sales representative & brother to Brandon, reports that the beer is spreading across the county. We expect Iron Fist to continue pummeling palates in 2011.

San Diego Beer Week 2011
Ready or not, SDBW is back in just ten months.  Simply considering the sheer number of events held during 2010’s countywide ten-day festival (close to 500), it’s difficult to predict what will come during the Week’s third incarnation in 2011.  What we do know is that the only way is up; unknowing San Diegans will begin to learn what the beer tourists already know, and the promotion of locally-produced beer will serve to strengthen the local economy.  SDBW is an all-around win for all businesses that believe in the power San Diego Craft Beer.

Manzanita Brewing Company
A member of the class of July 2010, Manzanita has been growing faster than anyone expected. After spreading into the adjacent industrial suite off Prospect Avenue in Santee, Manzanita expanded their tasting room from 90 sq. feet to 550 sq. feet. There’s now a 9 ½ foot full-size bar, a ~30 ft. standing bar surrounding the tables, and barstools that fill up the room. Manzanita will begin bottling 22oz bottles in 2011, and their production ability will expand with the upgrade from a 7-barrel system to a 20-barrel system. “We’re going to start bottling 1000 (bombers) a week and see how it goes, and expand our system as soon as we find equipment,” says Jeff Trevaskis, CEO of Manzanita. Head Brewer Garry Pitman is looking to begin entering Manzanita brews into local and national competitions in 2011 as well. Watch as the unique trademark handmade Manzanita wood taphandle carves a space in draft lineups around the county.

33rd Annual American Homebrewers Association National Homebrewers Conference
Former San Diego Brewers Guild President Colby Chandler said it best last month: “2011 is the homebrewer’s year to shine!  Now is the time to learn how to make beer San Diego!”  Whether you’re a new-comer to the homebrew scene, or a seasoned veteran, the National Homebrewers Conference is the place to be in June.  This year will mark the first time the conference has come to San Diego.  Another first: an opening-day Pro-Am Competition featuring San Diego’s best brewery/homebrewer teams vying for bragging rights in a free-for-all, no-style-guidelines match-up.  As of press time, several big San Diego names are scheduled to speak at the conference, including Port Brewing Co./The Lost Abbey’s Co-Owner and Brewmaster Tomme Arthur, Stone Brewing Co.’s CEO & Co-Founder Greg Koch, Owner of O’Brien’s Pub Tom Nickel, White Labs’ Founder & President Chris White, and AleSmith Brewing Company’s Owner Peter Zien.

Hess Brewing
Let there be no doubt, Hess Brewing convincingly anchors the western end of the Miramar brewery circuit with a nano-system that proves the merits of quality over quantity, producing 1.6 barrels, or just 51 gallons, per batch.  Expect that to change in 2011.  Hess just bought four new 3-barrel fermenters and is looking into some opportunities on a 15-barrel brewhouse to get beer into the marketplace.  Whether that means a re-design of their current space or a new Miramar location altogether, Propietor & CBO Mike Hess told us, “I expect that we’ll have around 200 barrels brewed in our second six months.  From there…who knows? That’s up to our fans!”  Other 2011 plans: a new growler, CU Boulder (Mike Hess’ alma mater)-style FAC (Friday Afternoon Club) festivities, and more limited release beers

The votes are in and 1st Place of TapHunter’s 2010 San Diego Brewery Awards goes to AleSmith.
Well deserved, if you ask me. From the crispy X Pale Ale to the numerous & formitable Speedway Stouts, AleSmith runs the gamut with grace. I also really like Decadence.

Notes of cardboard with a roasty paint chip flavor...oh wait

Around the corner, Hess nanobrewery earned 2nd place. Tiny in production and physical size, Hess has been making serious flavor waves in the San Diego Craft Beer Community. The smooth robust dichotomy of Amplus Acerba brings a delicious symphony of hops and alcohol, while Deceptio is a fantastic black-IPA with a name that reminds me of an X-Men villain.

Ballast Point & Stone Brewing Co. tied for 3rd Place. It’s weird to talk about industry front-runners in 3rd place, but the people have spoken. Both are phenomenal breweries. Stone is expanding into South Park & Europe, while Ballast Point is upgrading it’s distillery and winning European awards.

Mark your calendar. The official party is this Friday, December 10th. It begins @ AleSmith, 4p-6p, and then rounds the corner to Hess 6p-8p. For more details, check out our calendar here and here.

Strong Ale Festival

The wall of beer

Organized by Tom Nickel of O’Brien’s, The 14th Annual San Diego Strong Ale Festival took place on the 3rd and 4th of December at Pizza Port Carlsbad. I opted for the VIP Session @ 1PM because, after speaking with Tom, I knew what was coming.

What began “from humble beginnings on a rainy Thursday night in 1997 with only 12 local beers,” grew into a loaded festival with 84 brews. The backyard of the Pizza Port Bottle Shop was packed to the brim.

What struck me was the simplicity of the event. Emphasis was placed on the wall of taps. Pizza Port employees stood between the wall and the table bar to transform tickets into beer. On the other side, after yelping your number and obtaining your brew, you’d be left to find your friends or struggle to find space to drink. The sheer amount of humans around made this tough. After a few rounds, however, everyone became your friend. 8 tasters was plenty for me, and made for a sleepy ride home.

#14 Strong Ale Fest

Eric of Kern River w/ Isabella Blonde shirt

The 30th Street landmark was even more crowded than usual as San Diego Beer Week chugged through midweek with a Kern River/Alpine Night at Toronado.  Kyle Bergman of The Lodge at Torrey Pines and Luca Banfi of Tender Greens were discussing mouth-watering recipes over IPA pints. Brewers Guild President Adam Carbonell popped in as the Alpine Team were enjoying their seemingly never-ending happy hour event.  A bit later, the TapHunter Tweetup crew flowed in from the West Coast Tavern.

Eric and Rebecca of Kern River Brewing Company were also in the house to showcase their Citra Double IPA, Class V Stout, Class X Stout and the just outstanding Just Outstanding IPA, which was named after a famous mountain biking trail in Kernville – hence the tree-hanging bike on the label.

Kern River on tap is an experience in itself.  The Citra was even tastier than I had imagined (and been told), and the Class X was heaven in a glass.  The bottles, though, tell an interesting story.  Each label has an illustration of a miner and a donkey which pays homage to Kernville’s mining history.  As the story goes, the donkey got lost one day and gold was found during the search.

The celebratory vibe saw strangers and friends alike sharing and trying each others’ beers.  A glass of The Lost Abbey’s Cable Car Ale even made it our way.  While Alpine is obviously a favorite here in town, the fact that Kern River came down for the event was another clear-cut example of the quality that San Diego locales like Toronado attract.  At this rate, making it through Sunday will be quite the accomplishment.

West Coaster with Mayor Sanders

Over 3,500 craft beer devotees flocked to Liberty Station this afternoon to celebrate the 2010 San Diego Brewers Guild Festival as San Diego Beer Week officially kicked off.

Mayor Sanders was on hand to start the beer flowing on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

With rare versions of cask beers, delectable culinary treats like PubCakes, a mouthwatering VIP section and more, the Brewers Guild truly pushed the envelope and the energy of the crowd was undeniable.

President of the Brewers Guild, Adam Carbonell, with Melani Gordon of TapHunter.com

At the end of the day, a visibly-drained Adam Carbonell, President of the San Diego Brewers Guild, summed it all up:  “We offered the best of the best – The Best Fest.”  He wasn’t kidding – this event was a true showcase of everything San Diego has to offer in terms of craft beer.  We know how to put on the show.

Check out the photos we snapped of the event on our Facebook page, and stay tuned for exclusive updates and news from SDBW right here on our website.

The crowd at Liberty Station

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