Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego ranks as eighth most popular beer destination

...as U.S. brewery count tops 5000

This year has seen about 20 new breweries open in San Diego County, with 16 of them new entities.
This year has seen about 20 new breweries open in San Diego County, with 16 of them new entities.

In a press release timed to coincide with the 83rd anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition (December 5), national trade group the Brewers Association announced that the number of active breweries in the U.S. has surpassed 5000, with more than 99 percent of them deemed small and independent craft breweries. Specifically, the number cited is 5005, but since the Association counted 4269 only a year ago, that means an average of two breweries per day opened within the U.S. in 2016, and the actual number has likely risen since the announcement.

Sponsored
Sponsored

By comparison, the press release noted there are more than 10,000 wineries active in the U.S., suggesting that there is still market space for a further increase in the coming year. Nevertheless, the Association's midyear numbers indicate a slower rate of growth in the craft beer segment. As of June, the segment had experienced an 8 percent growth by volume, compared to a 13 percent increase in 2015. The Brewers Association plans to compile updated 2016 data after the new year.

In San Diego, the number of new breweries opening in the county has remained steady. About 20 new breweries went online in 2015, representing 18 new beer companies. 2016 has seen about 20 new breweries open, with 16 of them new entities. According to California ABC records, San Diego county currently has 136 licensed breweries representing 119 individual companies. According to West Coaster magazine, there are at least 20 incoming new breweries currently in the planning stages.

Other factoids offered by the Brewers Association contend that, while lagers and other light beer styles make up just 5 percent of craft sales, that demonstrates a 33 percent increase over 2015. Conversely, IPAs account for roughly a quarter of all craft beer sales by volume. That's up from 21 percent two years ago.

While that bodes well for the many IPA-centric breweries calling San Diego home, in terms of beer tourism, America's Finest City has room to make some gains. In October, travel booking website Travelocity issued a Beer Tourism Index, compiling data such as accessibility, cost of lodging, and ride share availability, to name the top 20 metro areas to visit for beer tourism. San Diego ranked 8th, while the top three spots went to Portland, Denver, and Seattle.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Eating dinner while little kids mock-mosh at Golden Island

“The tot absorbs the punk rock shot with the skill of experience”
This year has seen about 20 new breweries open in San Diego County, with 16 of them new entities.
This year has seen about 20 new breweries open in San Diego County, with 16 of them new entities.

In a press release timed to coincide with the 83rd anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition (December 5), national trade group the Brewers Association announced that the number of active breweries in the U.S. has surpassed 5000, with more than 99 percent of them deemed small and independent craft breweries. Specifically, the number cited is 5005, but since the Association counted 4269 only a year ago, that means an average of two breweries per day opened within the U.S. in 2016, and the actual number has likely risen since the announcement.

Sponsored
Sponsored

By comparison, the press release noted there are more than 10,000 wineries active in the U.S., suggesting that there is still market space for a further increase in the coming year. Nevertheless, the Association's midyear numbers indicate a slower rate of growth in the craft beer segment. As of June, the segment had experienced an 8 percent growth by volume, compared to a 13 percent increase in 2015. The Brewers Association plans to compile updated 2016 data after the new year.

In San Diego, the number of new breweries opening in the county has remained steady. About 20 new breweries went online in 2015, representing 18 new beer companies. 2016 has seen about 20 new breweries open, with 16 of them new entities. According to California ABC records, San Diego county currently has 136 licensed breweries representing 119 individual companies. According to West Coaster magazine, there are at least 20 incoming new breweries currently in the planning stages.

Other factoids offered by the Brewers Association contend that, while lagers and other light beer styles make up just 5 percent of craft sales, that demonstrates a 33 percent increase over 2015. Conversely, IPAs account for roughly a quarter of all craft beer sales by volume. That's up from 21 percent two years ago.

While that bodes well for the many IPA-centric breweries calling San Diego home, in terms of beer tourism, America's Finest City has room to make some gains. In October, travel booking website Travelocity issued a Beer Tourism Index, compiling data such as accessibility, cost of lodging, and ride share availability, to name the top 20 metro areas to visit for beer tourism. San Diego ranked 8th, while the top three spots went to Portland, Denver, and Seattle.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Classical Classical at The San Diego Symphony Orchestra

A concert I didn't know I needed
Next Article

Birding & Brews: Breakfast Edition, ZZ Ward, Doggie Street Festival & Pet Adopt-A-Thon

Events November 21-November 23, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader