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

Kensington Brewing Torero Blue and Bold

The brewery, founded by USD alums, brews official ales for their alma mater

Brewed by Kensington Brewing Company, Torero Bold and Torero Blue are now sold at Torero Stadium events.
Brewed by Kensington Brewing Company, Torero Bold and Torero Blue are now sold at Torero Stadium events.

When students move back into University of San Diego dorms this fall, the home of the Toreros will feature a new set of official school beers. Torero Blue and Torero Bold are now the products of neighborhood brewery on the opposite side of Mission Valley: Kensington Brewing Company.

Brewery founders Andy Rogers and Zach Knipe are USD alums with ties to the school going back two decades. Since graduating, they’re both worked there as contractors, and Knipe spent five years as the campus director of planning, design, and construction.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Place

Kensington Brewing Company

4067 Adams Avenue, San Diego

Absolution Brewing Company had previously brewed beers of the same name, but when the opportunity came up for a new official brewery partner to take over, Kensington reached out to the school with a pitch. A campus group of beer connoisseurs took an interest.

“They got to chatting,” says Knipe, “and it seemed like a good fit.” He adds that the group had very clear ideas which traits they preferred in the beers. “They came in for a couple of nights and did tastings and then gave us other parameters that they were looking for.”

As befitting a school bearing the San Diego name, Torero Bold is an IPA. Torero Blue turns out to be a blonde ale. Cans of the beers, bearing the school’s blue and white colors, debuted this spring during games hosted by the two professional sports teams that call the university’s Torero Stadium home: Major League Rugby’s San Diego Legion, and United Soccer League’s San Diego Loyal. As covid restrictions ease at the stadium, the beers will be available on draft, alongside a menu of Stone-affiliated beers.

And by time the Loyal’s season ends, the Bold and Blue will be poured at other campus drinking venues, year round. They’ll also be served at Torero football games, during basketball games at Jenny Craig Pavilion, and during baseball games at Fowler Park.

As Kensington brewing tanks are now dedicated to brewing Torero beer full time, uptick in demand is pushing the microbrewer’s production capacity. The business consolidated all its brewing operations from a Grantville warehouse to the modest confines of its Adams Avenue pub since the pandemic hit. Meanwhile, it adapted by finding a bigger market in canning and distribution.

Since more beer will be moving out the door as the economy reopens, and a new outdoor drinking patio is set to open in the pub’s back lot later this summer, Knipe says the partners are searching for a new brewing space. Most likely in Miramar.

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

Southern California Asks: 'What Is Vinivia?' Meet the New Creator-First Livestreaming App

Next 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”
Brewed by Kensington Brewing Company, Torero Bold and Torero Blue are now sold at Torero Stadium events.
Brewed by Kensington Brewing Company, Torero Bold and Torero Blue are now sold at Torero Stadium events.

When students move back into University of San Diego dorms this fall, the home of the Toreros will feature a new set of official school beers. Torero Blue and Torero Bold are now the products of neighborhood brewery on the opposite side of Mission Valley: Kensington Brewing Company.

Brewery founders Andy Rogers and Zach Knipe are USD alums with ties to the school going back two decades. Since graduating, they’re both worked there as contractors, and Knipe spent five years as the campus director of planning, design, and construction.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Place

Kensington Brewing Company

4067 Adams Avenue, San Diego

Absolution Brewing Company had previously brewed beers of the same name, but when the opportunity came up for a new official brewery partner to take over, Kensington reached out to the school with a pitch. A campus group of beer connoisseurs took an interest.

“They got to chatting,” says Knipe, “and it seemed like a good fit.” He adds that the group had very clear ideas which traits they preferred in the beers. “They came in for a couple of nights and did tastings and then gave us other parameters that they were looking for.”

As befitting a school bearing the San Diego name, Torero Bold is an IPA. Torero Blue turns out to be a blonde ale. Cans of the beers, bearing the school’s blue and white colors, debuted this spring during games hosted by the two professional sports teams that call the university’s Torero Stadium home: Major League Rugby’s San Diego Legion, and United Soccer League’s San Diego Loyal. As covid restrictions ease at the stadium, the beers will be available on draft, alongside a menu of Stone-affiliated beers.

And by time the Loyal’s season ends, the Bold and Blue will be poured at other campus drinking venues, year round. They’ll also be served at Torero football games, during basketball games at Jenny Craig Pavilion, and during baseball games at Fowler Park.

As Kensington brewing tanks are now dedicated to brewing Torero beer full time, uptick in demand is pushing the microbrewer’s production capacity. The business consolidated all its brewing operations from a Grantville warehouse to the modest confines of its Adams Avenue pub since the pandemic hit. Meanwhile, it adapted by finding a bigger market in canning and distribution.

Since more beer will be moving out the door as the economy reopens, and a new outdoor drinking patio is set to open in the pub’s back lot later this summer, Knipe says the partners are searching for a new brewing space. Most likely in Miramar.

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

Second largest yellowfin tuna caught by rod and reel

Excel does it again
Next Article

Pie pleasure at Queenstown Public House

A taste of New Zealand brings back happy memories
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