Brewery Rowe: San Diego retirees are now beer-walking hobbyists
Also this week, Madfriars hosts hop run tours, beer events an quick-sips, early summer brews
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Brewery Rowe: Tom’s Watch Bar opens near Petco Park
Also this week: Karl Strauss at Disney theme parks and reviews of three easy-drinking beers
Brewery Rowe: For local brewers, awards season has had its ups and downs
Brewer's Cup of California delivered many medals to San Diego, but the Word Beer Cup shut out local beersmakers
Brewery Rowe: Karl Strauss, Pizza Port rebooting Nectaron of the Gods
Also this week, a mixed national brewing industry report, Thai beers, Padres BeerFest and Quick Sips for penny-pinchers
Brewery Rowe: Out of a rut and Into the Northwest beer scene
A taste of Seattle and Bainbridge Island's sights, sounds and breweries
Brewery Rowe: Local companies fire-fueled fundraiser with We Love L.A. beers
Also this week: Maui's Kohala Brewing is back in business, beer events and Quick Sips, the 'Beer to the Rescue' edition
Brewery Rowe: Sapporo-Stone debuts new IPA crafted by female brewers
Also this week: Punts & Pint, the Shamrock festival and the 'Can’t Wait for Spring' edition of Quick Sips beer reviews
Brewery Rowe: Diversity celebrated in San Diego’s beer industry
Also this week, Girl Scout cookies 'on tap," beer events and and Quick Sips, the 'dark and stormy' edition
Brewery Rowe: Karl Strauss marks 36th year with renewed optimism, refreshed brewpub
Also this week, the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest is back, sips for Super Bowl-watcing and Quick Sips, NorCal touring edition
Brewery Rowe: San Diego’s Burgeon Beer aims to buck the trend
Also this week, an SDSU alum has big success with Tennessee brewery, Quick Sips, Oregon vacation edition
Brewery Rowe: ing the torch not so easy at family-owned breweries
Also this week, Jeff Bagby has left Green Cheek, brewer Kyle Fjalstad ing Original 40 and "hidden treasures" quick sips
Brewery Rowe: Is San Diego’s beer industry circling the drain? Nope.
Despite several recent brewery closures, there are still 137 breweries and the region's beers continue to shine at national competitions
Brewery Rowe: Irish writer, podcaster finds love at first pint in Belgium
Also this week: A San Diego Beer Week scorecard, local beer events and Quick Sips, the fall colors edition
9 events we’re excited about at San Diego Beer Week
Also this week, the future of Panama 66 in Balboa Park and Quick Sips fall colors edition
Brewery Rowe: 5 local beers win gold medals at 2024 Great American Beer Fest
Also this week, Karl Strauss' Peanut Butter Cup Porter now in cans, beer events and more
Brewery Rowe: La Mesa Oktoberfest returns this weekend
Also this week, Stone's Arrogant Bastard whiskey, Quick Sip's O'fest edition and beer events
Stone Brewing makes a 1,136-mile trip for its wet hop beer
Also this week: Modern Times hit hard times, beer events and Drink or Dump beers of the week
Brewery Rowe: SDSU to phase out craft beer business courses
Also this week: Readers recommend their favorite local breweries to visit, and a tribute to beer-lover Al Rowe
Brewery Rowe: Restaurants, breweries teaming up for pairings dinners
Readers asked to choose their top 5 local brewers, beer events and quick sips of midsummer brews
Brewery Rowe: Utah’s beer-brewing scene is bubbling up
The state has 40+ breweries but its alcohol laws are as twisty as its Capitol Reef gooseneck river
Brewery Rowe: San Diego generating lots of buzz with non-alcoholic beer
The San Diego Brewers Guild bills our region as “The Capital of Craft Beer" but recent acquisitions may make San Diego the epicenter of non-alcoholic beer-making.
Pale ale going the way of the dinosaurs in beer world
How Pale Ale, the beer style that – with its enthusiastic embrace of hops for bitterness and aroma – sparked the craft beer revolution.
Longtime U-T beer writer faces the moment of (liquid) truth
The recipe for my beer, Pete’s Wicked Pale Ale, was simple:Take 30 kilos of Rahr pale ale malt.Add three kilos of Carared malt.Pour in a vial of yeast.Ditto, bags of...
Carlsbad author’s new book celebrates the happy pairing of baseball and beer
Baseball and beer are longtime companions. Carlsbad’s Ken Finnigan, an engineer and home brewer, figured it would be natural to unite them in a series of beer coasters.Major League Baseball...
With Ballast Point brewery shutdown, is San Diego’s beer mug half-full?
I was vacationing in Oregon — see “Quick Sips” — when Ballast Point announced plans to abandon its flagship 107,000-square-foot-brewery in San Diego's Miramar area. Now owned by Kings &...
Travel writer explores ‘Beer Hiking’ in Southern California
When a publisher suggested Johanna Flashman write a book on outdoor treks that lead to great refreshments, the veteran travel writer grabbed her pint glass and laced up her hiking...
Sapporo now brewing Japanese beer with an Escondido accent
it's been nearly two years since Sapporo U.S.A. purchased Escondido-based Stone Brewing in a $165 million deal, and we've got questions.Q: Is Sapporo a Japanese brewery?A: Yes. Founded in 1876...
San Diego beers are big winners at state Brewers Cup
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...
Luck ‘o the Irish: O’Brien’s Pub’s 30-year climb to the top
In craft beer, as in life, trends come and trends go. But for 30 years, O’Brien’s Pub has remained true to its mission: serving the world’s best beers in a...
Exploring the dark and hard-hitting history of doppelbock beers
We are about midway through Lent, the pre-Easter time of fasting, reflection and repentance, so it’s appropriate that I make a confession: For years, I had maintained that doppelbocks, a...
At 35, Karl Strauss Brewing is SoCal’s oldest brewery and still one of the best
Of the several dozen beer-related books in my library, only the ones published in San Diego mention Karl Strauss Brewing Co. That’s a huge oversight. Founded 35 years ago by...
Farewell to a legend: Bagby Beer
Of all the breweries I’ve visited, none more accurately reflected the owner’s personality than Bagby Beer.The Oceanside establishment, which ended its decade-long run on Jan. 31, always poured at least...
Grantville breweries an example of San Diego’s beer industry boom and bust
To judge the health of San Diego County’s craft beer scene, you could spend weeks on the road surveying all 160-plus local breweries.Or you could take a mile-long jaunt through...
San Diego’s fast-growing RationAle a rising leader in non-alcoholic beer-making
We’re only a few days into Dry January, the month in which growing numbers of Americans swear off alcoholic beverages.But what if you could continue drinking your favorite beers and...
Looking back on my year of beer and the road to Ragged Point
Reviewing my year, two beers proved to be the most memorable of 2023. Not the best, mind you, but memories of this pair still linger.The first: a double IPA from...
Have a beer and help others this holiday season
Ebenezer Scrooge may have ditched the bah-humbug ’tude if he had known he could do good by drinking better.For instance:1. At least two dozen San Diego County breweries are now...
Which pumpkin-infused holiday beers are the lords of the gourd?
Whenever I slice into a pumpkin and scoop out its stringy, gooey innards, this is what I don’t think: “This gunk would make a great beer!”Regrettably, at least in my...
San Diego Beer Week has lost some of its fizz
We’ve seen most of the 15th annual San Diego Beer Week — the 10-day affair concludes this Sunday — and it’s clear this edition will not rival previous ones for...
San Diego’s once-growing hops farming industry has gone to seed
Not long ago, enthusiasts foresaw a day when many San Diego beers would feature San Diego hops, the oily cones that lend beer numerous enticing flavors and aromas.When the San...
Great news for San Diego from the Great American Beer Festival
San Diego County breweries captured 18 medals, including five golds, last month at the Great American Beer Festival, Denver’s annual craft beer celebration.“Our breweries showed incredibly well once again in...
Why organizers pulled the plug on this month’s San Diego Festival of Beer
One of my favorite parties, the San Diego Festival of Beer, boasts a great history. It’s the region’s oldest such festival, and a great cause. The annual event’s 25 previous...
San Diego Brewers Guild’s new chef Erik Fowler plans to get back to basics
Erik Fowler, who last month succeeded Paige McWey Acers as the San Diego Brewers Guild’s executive director, is charting a new path.Which may bear a striking resemblance to the old...
Brewing industry report says craft beer trend is cooling, but tasting room sales are heating up
Bart Watson, the Brewers Association’s economist, mined a mountain of data regarding craft beer’s performance in the first half of 2023. In a recent webcast, he shared statistical nuggets of...
Lost Abbey ‘2.0’ bringing big changes to its brand new brewery in Vista
Plenty of changes are evident at The Lost Abbey, which on May 31 moved from its San Marcos birthplace to a new home in Vista.Tomme Arthur maintains most of those...
Mission Brewery set to venture outside its longtime East Village home
Any day now — today, in fact, is the target date — Mission Brewery will open its first taproom outside its East Village home.Demonstrating the circle of craft beer life,...
San Diego Festival of Beer returns after four-year absence
The San Diego Festival of Beer will mark its 26th year when it returns Sept. 8, but this year’s party may seem only vaguely familiar.That’s because, due to COVID-19, the...
Former San Diego brewer Matt Walsh ed as ‘a legend’
If Matt Walsh ed the Navy to see the world, his stint in the service did not completely scratch that itch. After the military, the New York native found another...
Puesto Cerveceria’s Doug Hasker is San Diego’s lord of lagers
There was a time when “San Diego beer” meant “hoppy ales.” Unfortunately for Doug Hasker, that time coincided with his arrival in town.On Labor Day 1998, Hasker opened the Gordon...
Founders of Lost Abbey, Pizza Port and Julian Beer reorganize management
An eerie sight: a brewery I’d known and ired had packed up and was ready to depart via the back door.The Lost Abbey was lost, its San Marcos home had...
Six-year-old BattleMage Brewing in Vista triumphs with gold medal at World Beer Cup
Ryan Sather is co-founder of BattleMage Brewing. The Vista brewery only has four employees, so that means Sather is — with co-founder Chris Barry — the co-head brewer, the regular...
A taste of my grandfather’s homeland, and its beers, in Mexico City
When I knew him, Chester Green was a solitary and frugal man. A Tennessee native and WWI veteran who idolized Andrew Jackson, my grandfather lived alone in a cabin above...
Could an AI chatbot endanger San Diego brewer jobs? I put it to the test
Human brewers fretting about advances in artificial intelligence can relax — their jobs are safe. For now.Recently, I ed ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot software that is taking the internet...
The big winners and most poignant moment at this year’s San Diego Beer News Awards
San Diego Beer News, the website run by U-T contributor Brandon Hernández, hosted its third annual awards ceremony at AleSmith Brewing late last month. You can find all the award...
Rincon Reservation Road Brewery expands into fruity and low-ABV beers
Rik Mazzetti has met skeptics who believe the Rincon Reservation Road Brewery carries some unwelcome baggage. “There’s this stigma about Indians and firewater,” said Mazzetti, head of the Rincon Economic Development...
Rincon Reservation Road Brewery expands into fruity and low-ABV beers
Rik Mazzetti has met skeptics who believe the Rincon Reservation Road Brewery carries some unwelcome baggage. “There’s this stigma about Indians and firewater,” said Mazzetti, head of the Rincon Economic Development...
The best spots to raise a pint today for St. Patrick’s Day
Finding a pint of Guinness today, St. Patrick’s Day? Easy. Finding a properly poured pint, delivered after a procedure that takes a few minutes? That’s a challenge.Three San Diego establishment...
2018 National School Walkout taught local students lessons in advocacy
Five years ago hundreds of students in San Diego county ed tens of thousands across the country in a national walkout on March 14, 2018, to demand action on gun...
Search for U.S.-made monastery-brewed beer is short on suds
By my count — thank you, Biblegateway.com! — the Good Book contains fewer than 10 references to beer but more than 200 mentions of wine.It seems odd, then, that Christian...
Designer, drummer Kemet Ackee brings fresh flavors to Second Chance
Kemet Ackee, 34, is a San Diego County native, Monte Vista High, class of 2007 graduate, Army veteran, founder of the All My Friends Are Rappers apparel company, drummer and...
Designer, drummer Kemet Ackee brings fresh flavors to Second Chance
Kemet Ackee, 34, is a San Diego County native, Monte Vista High, class of 2007 graduate, Army veteran, founder of the All My Friends Are Rappers apparel company, drummer and...
Karl Strauss marks 34th birthday with new beer releases
San Diego County’s oldest brewery, Karl Strauss, turned 34 yesterday. The party is continuing this month at all eight of Karl’s brewpubs: downtown San Diego, Sorrento Mesa, Carlsbad, 4S Ranch,...
San Diego’s oldest brewery, Karl Strauss, marks its 34th birthday with new beer releases
San Diego County’s oldest brewery, Karl Strauss, turned 34 yesterday. The party is continuing this month at all eight of Karl’s brewpubs: downtown San Diego, Sorrento Mesa, Carlsbad, 4S Ranch,...
Athletic Brewing celebrating a dry-ish January with its non-alcoholic beers
Due to “dry January,” when some abstain from alcohol for a month, Athletic Brewing starts each year with a 20 percent to 30 percent bump in sales. This is true...
Athletic Brewing celebrating a dry-ish January with its non-alcoholic beers
Due to “dry January,” when some abstain from alcohol for a month, Athletic Brewing starts each year with a 20 percent to 30 percent bump in sales. This is true...
Alpine’s Mcilhenney Brewing a bright spot in a tough year for San Diego beermakers
Rampant inflation, tangled supply chains, finicky consumers — for craft beer, 2022 went down like a six-pack of skunky ales. There were some bright spots, though, perhaps the brightest being...
Alpine’s Mcilhenney Brewing a bright spot in a tough year for San Diego beermakers
Rampant inflation, tangled supply chains, finicky consumers — for craft beer, 2022 went down like a six-pack of skunky ales. There were some bright spots, though, perhaps the brightest being...
Here’s what happened when I went on a beer walk in Imperial Beach
On these cool winter days, there’s nothing like a long walk along the coast, especially if there’s a great pint waiting at your destination. Or destinations.Inspired by the November opening...
Here’s what happened when I went on a beer walk in Imperial Beach
On these cool winter days, there’s nothing like a long walk along the coast, especially if there’s a great pint waiting at your destination. Or destinations.Inspired by the November opening...
Brewery Rowe: Why Beer Week needs an infusion of creativity and excitement
Before we careen into December, let’s toast the current month’s rollicking highlight, San Diego Beer Week!I’m kidding, of course, for two reasons:1. Thanksgiving — yesterday! — is my favorite holiday,...
Estas ideas para regalar a aquellos que aman la cerveza son espumosas y divertidas
Seamos sinceros: siempre es temporada de cerveza. Sin embargo, para muchos de nosotros, las fiestas son una época especial entre la familia, los amigos y las celebraciones. En las circunstancias...
These gift ideas for San Diego beer lovers are frothy and fun
Let’s be honest: it’s always beer season. For many of us, though, the holidays are a special time of family, friends and celebrations. Under the right circumstances, all of these...
Programs aim to diversify the monochromatic color of craft beer industry
Beer is popular from Coronado to Casablanca, from Bankers Hill to Buenos Aires. This universal beverage is enjoyed by people of all races and genders.You wouldn’t know that, though, by...
Programs aim to diversify the monochromatic color of craft beer industry
Beer is popular from Coronado to Casablanca, from Bankers Hill to Buenos Aires. This universal beverage is enjoyed by people of all races and genders.You wouldn’t know that, though, by...
North Park Beer triumphs at the Great American Beer Festival
This column is from a regular beer column in The San Diego Union-Tribune by Pete Rowe.The largest, most prestigious competition for U.S. brewers, the Great American Beer Festival concluded Oct....
North Park Beer triumphs at the Great American Beer Festival
The largest, most prestigious competition for U.S. brewers, the Great American Beer Festival concluded Oct. 8 in Denver. When last pint was guzzled, San Diego County’s brewers had new reasons...
San Diego Beer Column: A look at Ballast Point three years after its sale
Strange. After an absence of several years, I revisited Ballast Point’s 107,000-square-foot headquarters in Miramar a month before Halloween. Despite a decorative skeleton or two, the place didn’t seem haunted.“We’re...
Three years after it was sold to Kings & Convicts, we take a look at Ballast Point
Strange. After an absence of several years, I revisited Ballast Point’s 107,000-square-foot headquarters in Miramar a month before Halloween. Despite a decorative skeleton or two, the place didn’t seem haunted.“We’re...
At Wild Barrel Brewing, going beyond blueberry wheat
At San Marcos’ Wild Barrel Brewing, co-founder and CEO Bill Sysak battles the curse of blueberry wheat.“People say, ‘I hate fruit beers!’,” Sysak said. “Why? Because they had a blueberry...
MiraCosta College’s BrewTech teaches brewing from ‘grain to glass’
While large four-year institutions like the University of California San Diego and San Diego State University offer courses on aspects of the brewing industry, one of the most interesting programs...
Back to (beer) school: At MiraCosta, it’s from grain to glass
While large four-year institutions like the University of California San Diego and San Diego State University offer courses on aspects of the brewing industry, one of the most interesting programs...
From ‘hop bomb’ to ‘ready to party’: 7 San Diego beers to try right now
From The San Diego Union-Tribune's "Brewery Rowe" column by Peter Rowe, here are all his latest recommendations for beers to drink in San Diego. (To see the beers he said...
For Poway native and Maui Brewing founder Garrett Marrero, it’s all about ohana
On a recent trip, Poway native and Maui Brewing founder Garrett Marrero learned a sobering fact: the whole beer world is watching him.In Sligo, Ireland — population: 19,000 humans, 140,000...
Maui Brewing founder Garrett Marrero on the future of Modern Times: ‘We’re just stoked’
On a recent trip, Poway native and Maui Brewing founder Garrett Marrero learned a sobering fact: the whole beer world is watching him.In Sligo, Ireland — population: 19,000 humans, 140,000...
For Poway native and Maui Brewing founder Garrett Marrero, it’s all about ohana
On a recent trip, Poway native and Maui Brewing founder Garrett Marrero learned a sobering fact: the whole beer world is watching him.In Sligo, Ireland — population: 19,000 humans, 140,000...
Going beyond beer: Moving from brewing to distilling
Lance Winters seems like a nice guy, but some of his comments could annoy beer lovers.Such as: “Making beer is only half the job. You are not done until you...
Author of book on IPA movement says San Diego played a pivotal role in history
At the Craft Brewers Conference & Brew Expo America 2004 in San Diego, there were dozens of speakers, hundreds of vendors and — I’m spitballing here — gazillions of beers...
Did a craft beer expo in San Diego back in 2004 really start the IPA movement? This expert thinks so
At the Craft Brewers Conference & Brew Expo America 2004 in San Diego, there were dozens of speakers, hundreds of vendors and — I’m spitballing here — gazillions of beers...
No buyer in sight as Modern Times faces PR nightmare and ‘bad debt’
OK, I get it. Finding a buyer for Modern Times was always going to take time.But this much time?In the time since I’ve written this — deadlines! — perhaps someone...
After Stone Brewing’s sale, yes, Greg Koch needs to be called out. But he deserves praise, too
After Japanese mega-brewery Sapporo acquired Escondido’s Stone Brewing last month, co-founder Greg Koch took a public drubbing. For years, he had loudly insisted Stone would never sell out to Big...
San Diego beer column: Since 2020, 17 local breweries have closed
Welcome back to Brewery Rowe, which has been on hiatus since spring 2020. (Sara Butler’s Hop Talk irably filled this gap, but she’s departed for fresh writing opportunities on the...
Brewery Rowe beer column returns to the Union-Tribune. Here’s the latest in brew news
Welcome back to Brewery Rowe, which has been on hiatus since spring 2020. (Sara Butler’s Hop Talk irably filled this gap, but she’s departed for fresh writing opportunities on the...
Tiny but growing craft mead industry carving out space in San Diego’s brewing landscape
Billy Beltz is bullish about mead’s future. The co-owner of San Diego’s Lost Cause Meadery predicts that honey wine will be the next big — oops, scratch that — the...
Tiny but growing craft mead industry carving out space in San Diego’s brewing landscape
Billy Beltz is bullish about mead’s future. The co-owner of San Diego’s Lost Cause Meadery predicts that honey wine will be the next big — oops, scratch that — the...
Another year in isolation? That’s great news for one San Diego family
On a recent grocery run, Katie Luckesen noticed something new: she wasn't the only shopper wearing a face mask and gloves."And this time," she added, "I didn't get any funny...
One last toast: A refreshing farewell to 25 years on the San Diego beer beat
The credit — or blame, if you prefer — belongs to my brother-in-law, Pete Evans.In 1995, Pete marked my 40th birthday with a much-appreciated gift: 40 beers. I proceeded to...
One last toast: A refreshing farewell to 25 years on the San Diego beer beat
The credit — or blame, if you prefer — belongs to my brother-in-law, Pete Evans.In 1995, Pete marked my 40th birthday with a much-appreciated gift: 40 beers. I proceeded to...
To pay or not to pay? A coronavirus conundrum
Melodie Holmen really wanted to have her hair cut and colored Saturday, and her hairdresser was eager to comply.But Holmen's spouse is a cancer survivor. Spending time with another person,...
Get Stoned with Stone Brewing
*Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Stone Brewing's tap room is temporarily closed until further notice. Beer is available for take-out/pick-up only. Call 619.727.4452 for details.Go: Stone Brewing Tap Room, East VillageStone’s...
A la Mexicana: Try Los Cuarenta from Original 40 Brewing
Beer: Los CuarentaFrom: Original 40, San DiegoWhy: Mexican lagers are de moda, especially as the weather warms. Original 40’s take is soft and clean, with a substantial malt base. Soft...
For breweries, coronavirus means hard times – and one silver lining
Sick of coronavirus-related shortages? Take heart and grab a stein — a tsunami of San Diego beer is on the horizon.Beer once destined for now-shuttered restaurants and taverns is now...