Saturday August 3rd is the third annual BrewFest Encinitas held on the grounds of the San Elijo Campus of MiraCosta College from 4pm to 7pm. The festival will have 16 breweries present, mostly from San Diego. Newcomers for this year’s festival include Aztec Brewing Company, Mike Hess Brewing, Rip Current Brewing, Ninkasi Brewing, and Culture Brewing Co. Local big name breweries include Stone Brewing Company, Ballast Point Brewing, Green Flash, Pizza Port Brewing Company, The Lost Abbey, Coronado Brewing Company along with regional breweries Sierra Nevada and Firestone Walker. Rounding out the lineup are Lightning Brewery, Iron Fist Brewing Co., and Stumblefoot Brewing Co. Representatives from each brewery will be answering questions as volunteers pour beer.
BrewFest Encinitas is a fundraiser for the Encinitas Coastal Rotary Club to support various local charities that include the MiraCosta College Foundation, Boys & Girls Club Griset Branch, Community Resource Center, Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA, Military Outreach Ministry (MOM), Encinitas Educational Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the Rotary Club itself. Attendees can choose to have $10 of their admission price donated directly to a charity of their choice and all profits will be given to the various charities supported. So far the event has raised over $30,000.
Returning again this year is the VIP section that will have beers not available to general admission ticket holders, food samples from a top caterer, talks by some of San Diego’s best brewers such as Jeff Bagby, and a shaded tent area with special seating. Several gourmet food trucks will be serving up tasty grub for all attendees for purchase. Live bands will also be performing music throughout the festival.
New to this year’s event is the BrewFest Encinitas Homebrew Competition sponsored by Mother Earth Brew Co. and run by local homebrew club QUAFF. The top beers will be announced in each BJCP defined category before competing against each other in a second round of judging to determine the Best Of Show. Gift certificates will be handed out for Best Of Show, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places.
General admission tickets are $40 and include a commemorative sampling glass and 10 beer tastings. Only 200 VIP tickets are available at $75, so act fast before they are gone. Designated drivers get free general admission while non-drinking tickets to the VIP section are $25. To purchase tickets to the festival, visit this link.
Ryan Reschan is a long-time resident of North County San Diego, and he first got into craft beer during his time at UC San Diego while completing a degree in Electrical Engineering. Skipping the macro lagers, he enjoyed British and Irish style ales before discovering the burgeoning local beer scene in North County and the rest of the country. After his introduction to brewing beer by a family friend, he brewed sparingly with extract until deciding to further his knowledge and transition into all-grain brewing. Between batches of beer, he posts video beer reviews on YouTube (user: StumpyJoeJr) multiple times a week along with occasional homebrew videos and footage of beer events he attends. His Coconut IPA collaboration with fellow homebrewer Robert Masterson, Rip Current Brewing Company and Stone Brewing Co. is being released today.