San Diego continues to live up to its nickame of “Capitol of Craft.”
Most recently, six San Diego craft brewries won nine gold medals at the Brewer’s Cup of California, held in March in Sacramento.
Pizza Port Brewing Company won a San Diego-best four Gold Medals and six overall, including two Silver Medals.
Three of Pizza Port’s Golds came from its Ocean Beach brewery, while one came from its Carlsbad location.
San Diego breweries won 26 medals overall, a total that includes 12 Silver and five Bronze. North Park’s TapRoom Beer Company ranked second among locals with four medals, including three Silver and one Bronze.
The list of Gold Medal beers:
Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside) – Medusa for “Specialty Stout” category
Burgeon Beer Company (Carlsbad) – Clever Kiwi for “Session Beer”
Kilowatt Brewing Company (Kearny Mesa) – Brew for Ukraine for “Imperial Stout”
Pizza Port (Carlsbad) – Apollyon for “Belgian Pale Strong/Tripel”
Pizza Port (Ocean Beach) – Guillaume for “Belgian Session/Other Belgian Ale”
Pizza Port (Ocean Beach) – Paloma Sour for “Beliner Weisse”
Pizza Port (Ocean Beach) – OB La Di OB La Da for “Mild Ale”
Smoking Cannon Brewery (Ramona) – Joslyn for “Chocolate Beer”
The Julian Beer Co. – Juniper Flats for “Historical Beer”
Brewers Cup of California defines Gold Medal winners as “A world-class beer that accurately exemplifies the specified style, displaying the proper balance of taste, aroma, and appearance.”
“The Capital of Craft strikes again with another impressive showing up in Northern California,” said Brewers Guild Executive Director Erik Fowler. “I particularly appreciate the geographic diversity of our winners from North County to Central County to East County. It just goes to show you can live in or visit any part of San Diego and find great beer to enjoy.”
The other local winners area:
Silver (12)
Embolden Beer Company/New Motion Beverages (Miramar) – Berried Deep for “Hard Kombucha”
Kairoa Brewing Company | Brewpub in San Diego, CA – Doxie Dunkel for “Schwarzbier”
Mike Hess Brewing (North Park) – Peachy My Other Vice for “Berliner Weisse”
Pizza Port (Carlsbad) – Naughty Listers for “Herb & Spiced Beer”
Pizza Port (Ocean Beach) – Flying Hawaiian for “Weizenbier”
Pure Project Brewing – Otter Romp for “Juicy/Hazy Imperial IPA
Smoking Cannon Brewery – Merrill for “Experimental, Wild & Mixed-Culture Beer”
TapRoom Beer Company – Double PB Haze for “Hazy IPA”
TapRoom Beer Company – Non Serviam for “Dessert/Pastry Stout”
TapRoom Beer Company – Ube Latte for “Field/Historic Beer”
The Julian Beer Co. – Weasel for “English-style Brown Ale”
The Julian Beer Co. and Smoking Cannon Brewery – Juniper Flats for “Collaboration Beer”
Bronze (5)
Coronado Brewing Company (Bay Park) – Nado Japanese-style Lager for American Wheat
Mike Hess Brewing (North Park) – Umbrix for “Imperial Stout”
Mike Hess Brewing (North Park) – Vietnamese Pastry Stout for “Coffee Beer”
Northern Pine Brewing (Oceanside) – Sunny Vibes for “Cream Ale”
TapRoom Beer Company – Creative Differences for “International Pale Ale & IPA”
This year’s Brewers Cup of California included more than 1,300 entries from nearly 200 breweries. There were 83 categories, and all judging is double blind. A list of all winners can be found at https://brewerscupofca.com/2024-winners/.
More notable brewing competitions are coming up, including World Beer Cup on April 24 and and Great American Beer Festival on October 12.
San Diego is known as The Capital of Craft™, a moniker that was trademarked in 2015. San Diego Brewers Guild is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization of allied brewery members, tradespeople, and other providers supporting the production and distribution of craft beer.