Haven Harris says his beers are so colorful and eclectic that the name of his nanobrewery, Beer Brewing Company (1813½ South Coast Highway, Oceanside) doesn’t need to be. Brought into an exciting three-way food-and-beverage operation …

Like any industry, craft brewing has its trends. Right now, the hottest of them all is the West Coast-style session India pale ale. We discussed this hot hoppy beer style three weeks ago. So far, …

Objectivity is everything, but I’ll admit, it’s hard not to pull for a nice husband-and-wife team that used their own four hands to build out their brewery and tasting room, and do everything from brewing …

I’ve had the honor of being involved in the production of a few beers. Usually, brewers are kind enough to invite me into their space to lend conceptual and/or physical assistance in the brewing process. …

Sports conversations are often opinionated and most topics are up for debate, yet few question Tony Gwynn‘s status as the best player in the history of the San Diego Padres franchise. The Hall of Fame …

I remember it like it was yesterday, sitting on the tiny patio of the first Prepkitchen (7556 Fay Avenue, La Jolla), my calves burning, the soles of my feet a mess. Back then, I would …

It’s hard to believe in sunny, IPA-geared Southern California, that stouts were once the leading style of beer produced. Porter beer was particularly popular, eclipsing all styles in popularity across The Pond. Looking to trace …

It’s like they waited until, after years of hopeful stalking, I finally gave up and proclaimed their venture dead in the water. A week after I published an article stating it was unlikely Newport Pizza …

As reported back in January, Oggi’s Pizza & Brewing Co. is set to debut the first of its new Oggi’s Pizza Express venues at San Diego State University. The fast-casual spot is being installed in …

Anybody entering a casino is taking their chances to some extent. This luck-pressing should not extend to patrons looking for a quality beverage. Such is the thinking behind Corked, a new bar at the recently …

Last November, I was watching a morning news segment featuring a handful of brewing companies from around San Diego. The first five were operations I knew well. Then came the last in the line-up, Fat …

There’s something about North Park. Over the past several years, a number of craft breweries situated in more distant parts of San Diego County have established more centrally located tasting rooms in San Diego proper, …

Home Brewing Co. might grow to be San Diego beer fans’ favorite oxymoron. It would make sense, since the business that’s delving into this side interest, The Homebrewer (2911 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park), is …

Session IPAs are all the rage. So, what is a “session IPA?” Let’s start off with the acronym. IPA stands for India pale ale, a hoppier style of ale originating from Britain. That Old World …

Chuck Perkins has a condition. Whenever he is taken by something really good, he feels an internal yearning to create it himself. That said, he realizes he has his limitations. As such, he won’t be …

Though not as talked about as Kearny Mesa neighbor and brewing industry cult favorite, Societe Brewing Company, there’s a lot to talk about lately when it comes to Helm’s Brewing Company (5640 Kearny Mesa Road, …

There are specialty beers, and then there are specialty beers. On the more common end of the spectrum, there are seasonal offerings that are readily available to the general beer-drinking public. When it comes to …

With flavors of all types swirling about like planets within a rather delicious galaxy, I’d be hard-pressed — and likely entirely unable — to name the style of the beer business owner and brewmaster Alex …

They’ve learned to live with stymieing limitations over the years, but life is getting better for fans of Alpine Beer Co. (2351 Alpine Boulevard, Alpine). The deal owner and brewmaster Pat McIlhenney struck up with …

When Scot Blair says he’s going to focus more on a new brewing project than anything beer-related that he’s applied his laser-keen attention to in the past, I believe it. One of the most passionate …

When news broke in early 2012 of two families with deep local brewing ties teaming up to bring Julian its first brewpub, the townspeople — and most of the beer fans in San Diego County …

I’ll admit it. When I first heard Stone Brewing Co. was conducting a collaboration brew with a member of jam band The String Cheese Incident and a journeyman guitarist who’d shredded with the likes of …

Even before Aztec Brewing Company (2330 La Mirada Drive, #300, Vista) was up and running, owners John Webster and Claudia Faulk received inquiries from businesses in Mexico asking to carry their beer. The reason — …

With magnificent Japanese-style gardens, a waterfall, and a koi lagoon flanking its northern edge, Karl Strauss Brewing Company’s Brewery Gardens location (9675 Scranton Road, Sorrento Mesa) is the crown jewel of its brewery-restaurant empire. I’ve …

The Olympics of beer, the World Beer Cup, went down last Friday, and while San Diego’s brewers didn’t get to parade into the event in matching jumpsuits to the cheers of their countrymen, they left …

Every time I go to Rip Current Brewing Company, I’m amazed at the large number of stylistically diverse beers they have available. Homebrewers at heart, brewers Paul Sangster and Guy Shobe do an impressive job …

At the time of this writing, I am keeping track of a whopping 42 brewing projects which are in the works within the boundaries of San Diego County. Of those, 35 are works-in-progress from new …

Though, at the right time of day, it can be a cozy, quiet, craft beer-equipped respite from the hustle and bustle of the outside world, at peak business hours, Toronado San Diego (4026 30th Street, …

“I am Magnetic Brewing,” replies Morgan McCarty when asked about the staff at his new brewery-to-be in Kearny Mesa. It’s a solo operation, and though he has the support of a loving wife and two …

When the San Diego Brewers Guild presented its members with the opportunity to team with a European brewery, Dan Love, head of Mother Earth Brew Co. wasted no time taking the local advocacy group up …

Working at Stone Brewing Co., a business that regularly has between 50 and 100 job postings up at a time, I am intimately aware of how many employment opportunities exist within our burgeoning local brewing …

I entered to the sound of construction, but instead of a crew of burly dudes hammering and sanding away, I encountered a kindly looking couple wearing matching gear made dusty yet stylish by the addition …

Today, the Brewers Association, the industry group representing American brewing companies, announced the top 50 craft breweries in America as ranked by beer production for calendar year 2013. Of them, three operate in San Diego …

As I set out to figure out which San Diego County-brewed beer I would feature this week, I looked back on the past several months’ worth of ales and lagers I’ve spotlighted, and realized there …

These desperados have been tough to track down. Rather than drum up pre-open hype, Steve and Dora Munson have channeled their husband-and-wife energies into quietly establishing their plot a block north of San Marcos’ Restaurant …

Fifteen years saturated with constant travel provided Dylan Wallace many worldly experiences — he’s climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, traversed the Inca Trail, and eaten and drunk his way through many cities in Europe and Asia. But …

I’ve made it a focus to meet brewing entrepreneurs in the earlier stages of their brewery start-ups. Such was the case with Andrew Heino and Chris Chalmers, former Stone Brewing Co. brewers staking out together …

In some ways it felt like nothing had changed. There I was on the patio of the brewpub on Fay Avenue, drinking beer with my dog. But that was the extent of any real similarity. …

I’m not perfect. I accepted that long ago. So, two weeks ago, when I was notified that I’d used an incorrect Twitter handle to call out an article about a brewpub setting up shop in …

It was an evening nearly half-a-year ago. I was sharing time, beer, and conversation with Peter Zien, owner and brewmaster at AleSmith Brewing Company (9368 Cabot Drive, Miramar). Over the years, this kindly San Diego …

Last October, I received an email from a colleague of a professional brewer Jason Stockberger asking if I knew of any open brewing positions. Stockberger’s job as head brewer was eliminated when national chain Rock …

There are some beers that rarely make it on draft outside of their native tasting rooms. Produced in small quantities, they’re the types of brews that, regardless of what I’m in the mood for, I …

This is a tale of two brewpubs…neither of which exist. This is nothing new for me, writing about businesses that aren’t yet tangible. In fact, reporting on the not-yet-realized dreams of hopeful brewers is pretty …

The name Kelsey McNair is well known among San Diego beer enthusiasts. To many, he’s looked upon as the next big hope for North Park. An accomplished homebrewer who’s brought home many awards and tantalized …

Just four guys sitting around the brewery drinking beer…and, yes, we all have beards. This was the Facebook post describing the first media tasting session for the beers of URBN St. Brewery (110 North Magnolia …

Good beer can be very inspiring. Tangible, edible proof is provided in confectionary form via The Cravory, a company popular for plump, delectable cookies encapsulating flavor profiles of popular desserts into compact, two-to-three bite servings. …

Being a native San Diegan, I have a soft spot for the Filippi’s Pizza Grotto chain. Just before writing this piece, I actually chowed down on a marinara-soaked meatball sub from that institution’s Scripps Ranch …

It’s OK if the words “Border X” conjure little more than question marks for you. Nano-sized Border X Brewing Company opened only a few short months ago. Adding to its relative anonymity is its extreme …

The Hake Sequestered below street level on Prospect, this seafood enclave has a broad assortment of mezcal, some of which find its way into tasty signature cocktails like the Oaxacan Old Fashioned — smoky mezcal, …

Opened in 1989, Karl Strauss Brewing Company is the oldest, continually operating brewery in San Diego. But two years before Uncle Karl and his crew started serving amber lager downtown, an eclectic, low-frills yet high-energy …