You, lucky San Diego County resident, live near an award-winning brewery.
At the 2024 Brewers Cup of California, a statewide competition held in Sacramento earlier this month, 26 medals — nine gold, 12 silver and five bronze — went to local breweries.
“Local” meaning Oceanside and Ocean Beach, North Park and Bay Park, Ramona, Kearny Mesa and beyond.
“The Capital of Craft strikes again with another impressive showing up in Northern California,” said Erik Fowler, executive director of the San Diego Brewers Guild. “I particularly appreciate the geographic diversity of our winners from North County to Central Coast to East County.”
The gold medalists:
Medusa, Black Plague Brewing, Oceanside, specialty stout category.
Clever Kiwi, Burgeon Beer, Carlsbad, session beer category.
Brew for Ukraine, Kilowatt Brewing, Kearny Mesa, imperial stout category.
Apollyon, Pizza Port, Carlsbad, Belgian pale strong/tripel category.
Guillaume, Pizza Port, Ocean Beach, Belgian session/other Belgian ale category.
Paloma Sour, Pizza Port, Ocean Beach, Berliner Weisse category.
OB La Di OB La Da, Pizza Port, Ocean Beach, mild ale category.
Joslyn, Smoking Cannon, Ramona, chocolate beer category.
Juniper Flats, Julian Beer, Julian, historical beer category.
Silver medalists:
Berried Deep, Embolden Beer/New Motion Beverages, Miramar, hard kombucha category.
Doxie Dunkel, Kairoa Brewing/Brewpub, University Heights, Schwarzbier category.
Peachy My Other Vice, Mike Hess Brewing, North Park, Berliner Weisse category.
Naughty Listers, Pizza Port, Carlsbad, herb and spiced beer category.
Flying Hawaiian, Pizza Port, Ocean Beach, weizenbier category.
Otter Romp, Pure Project, Miramar, juicy/hazy imperial IPA category.
Merrill, Smoking Cannon, Ramona, experimental, wild and mixed-culture beer category.
Double PB Haze, TapRoom Beer, Pacific Beach, hazy IPA category.
Non Serviam, TapRoom Beer, Pacific Beach, dessert/pastry stout category.
Ube Latte, TapRoom Beer, Pacific Beach, field/historic beer category.
Weasel, Julian Beer, Julian, English-style brown ale category.
Juniper Flats (second version); Smoking Cannon Brewery, Ramona, and Julian Beer, Julian; collaboration beer category.
Bronze medalists:
Nado Japanese-Style Lager, Coronado Brewing, Bay Park, American wheat category.
Umbrix, Mike Hess Brewing, North Park, Imperial Stout category.
Vietnamese Pastry Stout, Mike Hess Brewing, North Park, coffee beer category.
Sunny Vibes, Northern Pine Brewing, Oceanside, cream ale category.
Creative Differences, TapRoom Beer, Pacific Beach, international pale ale and IPA.
A complete list of winners is at brewerscupofca.com.
Rank imposter
As a sucker for beer-related click bait, I couldn’t resist following an online link to Tripadvisor’s “10 BEST San Diego Breweries (Updated 2024).”
Can’t say I love the rankings, especially No. 1: Green Flash.
This may come as a surprise to Tripadvisor, as well as trippers following its advice, but Green Flash no longer lives here. Now an arm of SweetWater Brewing, it has moved to Fort Collins, Colo.
Tripadvisor may have been suckered by Green Flash’s website, which plays up its coastal roots and plays down its current Rocky Mountain locale.
Visitors trekking to the Tripadvisor listed address will find a locked, abandoned warehouse. Sad, but appropriate. This brewery was named for a natural phenomenon that is elusive, if not non-existent.
The Next Round
Ongoing: Orange County’s Green Cheek Beer has opened a tap room/kitchen inside the former home of Bagby Beer. That terrific brewery is no more, but the terrific former owner — Jeff Bagby — still brews here. Green Cheek, 601 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside. greencheekbeer.com/oceanside
Sunday: Raise a Guerita blonde ale to toast the band rocking Chula Vista Brewery’s Mariachi Sunday event. Chula Vista Brewery, 294 Third Ave., Chula Vista. chulavistabrewery.com
April 18: Stone Brewing co-founder Steve Wagner continues his series of beer-and-cigar dinners next month. The meal features five courses, five beers and three cigars for $125. Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, 1999 Citracado Parkway, Escondido. stonebrewing.com/visit/bistros/escondido.
Quick Sips, Spring Cleaning Edition
Blackberry Pie
From: Abnormal Beer, San Diego
ABV (Alcohol By Volume): 6.8 percent
Style: Imperial Berliner Weisse
Drink or dump: Drink. Suitably tart, with ribbons of berry, coconut and vanilla flavors. Cinnamon makes a late, zesty appearance.
Farmer’s Reserve Plum
From: Almanac, Alameda
ABV: 6.7 percent
Style: Sour Ale
Drink or dump: Drink. Aged in oak barrels for three years, this Farmer pours a murky reddish orange, exuding stone fruit and barnyard funk aromas. Pickled plum and apricot flavors enter boldly, then subside in the dry finish.
Mo’ Simcoe
From: Cellarmaker, Oakland
ABV: 6.9 percent
Style: West Coast India Pale Ale
Drink or dump: Drink. At the late, lamented Toronado tavern, I was buttonholed by a stranger raving about Cellarmaker’s beers. Ignoring these hosannas was a mistake, if this stunning IPA is any indication. Straw-colored, it delighted me with bright notes of orange zest, pine sap and strawberry.
Rowe is a freelance writer.
