Karen Bernauer has been the general manager at San Diego Brewing Co. for nearly 12 years.
Can you tell us about the changes happening at San Diego Brewing Company?
We figured that with the 20th anniversary coming up next month we’d make some updates to the interior. So we spent five days in July closed, kicked out some walls and took out the carpets. We’ve put new floors throughout, installed sound-insulating baffles, plus new ceiling fans and digital beer boards that are powered by TapHunter. On both of those screens – the 10-foot one in the dining room and the small one in the bar – we’ll able to project Chargers games. Pretty soon we’ll take a look at our menu with customer input and maybe focus on certain items. One thing that won’t change is that we want to keep this a fun, family-friendly environment.
What are you changing with the brewing side of operations?
We have a new glycol system on the roof and have added two more fermentors. The brewery has new flooring as well, and we’ve upgraded the glass panels so you have a better view of what our brewer, Jeff Drum, is up to. Not too far away we’ve got a storage space with a large walk-in cooler; we’re going to keg our beer – right now we have eight house beers – and make it available for local places around town soon. Also be on the look for our root beer at each of the Whole Foods pubs.
What are the current trends at the bar?
People are beginning to get into the sours more. We never used to keep a sour on, we’d just bring one on occasionally. Now our customers are really beginning to like them and understand them. Extra pale ales are becoming really popular too; they have a nice hop character but aren’t as overpowering as an IPA or double IPA.
What are your favorite beers right now?
I really like our house extra pale ale, Patriot; as a small person I like to be able to drink a couple and not be put on my bottom. There are several local breweries coming out with great beers in that style: Tail Slap Extra Pale from Belching Beaver for example, and Societe’s The Publican are both really good.
What events do you have coming up?
On Tuesday, September 24 we’ll be celebrating our 20th anniversary! The event starts at 4 p.m. and we’ll have a raffle, plus some trivia questions and a contest to see who has the oldest Brew Co. t-shirt. A lot has changed since we got started; when I first joined Callahan’s 16 years ago there weren’t a whole lot of beer bars that focused on craft, especially locally, and I think we’re seeing a big change right now.
