{"id":12544,"date":"2015-12-17T13:00:47","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T21:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=12544"},"modified":"2015-12-18T11:51:42","modified_gmt":"2015-12-18T19:51:42","slug":"2015-recap-beers-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2015\/12\/17\/2015-recap-beers-future\/","title":{"rendered":"2015 Recap: Beer’s Future?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is never a shortage of news in the San Diego beer industry, especially with so many businesses opening<\/a>. Keeping up with newcomers is a job all its own, but there was more than the normal thrush of new businesses arriving;\u00a02015 saw more suds drama than any year prior\u2014good and bad. Here\u2019s this writer’s take on\u00a0some of the stories that captivated the county\u2019s beer-drinking public:<\/p>\n

\"saintarcher\"<\/a>Saint Archer sells out:<\/strong> This is a good place to start, since this move signaled the beginning of a new era for San Diego beer; one in which Big Beer (or \u201cmacrobeer\u201d if you prefer) occupies real estate within the county. This comes courtesy of the money-grabbers at\u00a0Saint Archer Brewery,\u00a0a built-to-sell<\/a> interest that somehow gained traction with craft beer fans who, largely, have since turned their back on the business since SABMiller acquired a majority stake in September.<\/p>\n

Ballast Point to go public:<\/strong> Even before Saint Archer sold, members and fans of the craft beer industry had begun to worry about their favorite breweries getting gobbled up by Big Beer conglomerates waving fat checks. Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits<\/strong><\/a> was one brewery rumored to have taken meetings with such corporations, but not to fear, the company quelled any worries by initiating the first steps associated with an initial public offering. Now, that\u2019s a cool way to raise capital for expansion and growth while keeping it real<\/em>, thought San Diego beer enthusiasts. But, wait.<\/p>\n

Ballast Point sells out, too:<\/strong> Just kidding. The IPO was never meant to be. Shortly after those initial filings, Ballast Point agreed to sell to Constellation Brands\u2026for $1 billion! <\/em>While Saint Archer was a company with only two years of spotty peaks and valleys to its brief history, Ballast Point is deeply ingrained in the tapestry of San Diego beer. Birthed in Linda Vista\u2019s storied Home Brew Mart, a place where many of today\u2019s brewing superstars got their first home-brew kits, BP was <\/em>the epitome of San Diego craft to many people. Many are the longtime beer fiend who swore by Sculpin, and before that Big Eye and Yellowtail (the original name for today’s Pale Ale, youngsters). Losing Saint Archer meant little. Losing Ballast Point, frankly, still stings.<\/p>\n

\"stoneberlin_01\"<\/a>
Stone Berlin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Going next-level: <\/strong>San Diego County\u2019s breweries are growing up and growing out. Stone Brewing Co.<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s pair of projects in Richmond, Virginia and Berlin, Germany are coming along quickly. In fact, the first beers produced at the latter debuted earlier this month. Meanwhile, work continues on Green Flash Brewing Company<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Virginia Beach brewery and Mother Earth Brew Co.<\/a><\/strong> is about to construct a brewing facility in Nampa, Idaho. Here at home, AleSmith Brewing Company<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(my other employer)\u00a0<\/strong>completed a transition to a facility five-times the size of its original digs and, in the process, opened the largest brewery tasting room in the county. And Coronado Brewing Company<\/strong><\/a> christened its third spot, a bar and restaurant in Imperial Beach, while buying up buildings abutting its headquarters in Bay Park.<\/p>\n

Lots of new breweries, many helmed by homebrewers:<\/strong> More than 20 breweries opened this year, another record for the county. Unlike in years past where the likes of Jeff Bagby<\/strong> and other industry veterans of varying tenure have served as touchstones for beer fans wondering what to expect of new businesses, this year the majority of the brewers behind rookie operations came from the homebrew ranks or outside San Diego\u2019s roster of hometown players. Many point to work-in-progress breweries\u2019 HR needs exceeding the number of brewers with professional experience, but that\u2019s only part of it. An experienced brewer has many more options than in years past, and usually opt for greater pay and growth opportunities presented by mid-level breweries.<\/p>\n

\"32B\"<\/a>Changes of address: <\/strong>Speaking of human resources, brewery HR departments stayed very busy this year as the rate of turnover among the county\u2019s brew crews rose in tandem with the number of new operations. From small operations like 32 North Brewing Company<\/strong><\/a>, who lost its opening-day brewer only a few short months into its lifespan (but replaced him and now has better beer to show for it) to the big guys at Green Flash who lost 11-year brewmaster Chuck Silva<\/strong> (the man universally lauded for saving the business from early extinction), nobody was safe from the lure of individuals\u2019 career aspirations. Then there was Toolbox Brewing Company<\/strong><\/a>, which bid adieu to its wild ale specialist, Peter Perrecone<\/strong>, but was fortunately able to bring on a similarly bug-focused brewer to install a whole new sour program at the all-wild Vista interest. Perrecone\u2019s next chapter began just as quickly, when he headed to nearby Belching Beaver Brewery<\/strong><\/a> and fetched a job heading their barrel-aging efforts the day after being let go.<\/p>\n

Great American Beer Festival supremacy: <\/strong>San Diego is never a slouch at the country\u2019s largest annual brewing competition, the Great American Beer Festival<\/strong><\/a>, but it had been a while since our guys left a mark as significant as the one imparted this year. San Diego breweries brought home an astounding 19 medals, including six golds (one of which was in the most hotly contested category of the entire competition, India Pale Ale). Additionally, San Marcos-based Rip Current Brewing Company<\/strong><\/a> was named Very Small Brewery of the Year. It\u2019s that kind of dominance that earned San Diego\u2019s brewers such an incredible reputation, and the perpetuation of such skilled artisanship that keeps them at the top of an ever-growing heap.<\/p>\n

Wait, the title of this, the last in a three-part year-end series, is \u201cBeer\u2019s Future?\u201d So far, this has been a retrospective, but that was to set up the type of news I hope I get to report on in 2016. So, without further adieu\u2026<\/p>\n

Open, open, open:<\/strong> There are currently more than 40 brewery-owned businesses in the planning or construction stages throughout the county, and many of them show great promise. A lot of them are second, third and otherwise satellite venues owned by existing brewing companies such as Amplified Ale Works<\/a> <\/strong>(opening a production brewery at Miramar\u2019s Brewery Igniter<\/strong><\/a> campus), Belching Beaver (opening both a larger production brewery in Oceanside and a brewpub in Vista\u2019s Old Town area), ChuckAlek Independent Brewers<\/strong><\/a> (a tasting room in North Park), Fall Brewing Company<\/a> <\/strong>(considering a South Bay facility), Fallbrook Brewing Company<\/a> <\/strong>(teaming to provide the beverage equation at a new restaurant in its namesake town), Karl Strauss Brewing Company<\/a> <\/strong>(opening another brewery restaurant, possibly\u00a0in Santee), La Jolla Brewing Company<\/a> <\/strong>(constructing a contract brewery called Fighter Town Brewing Company<\/strong> in Sorrento Valley) and 32 North (a tenant taproom inside Liberty Station\u2019s Moniker collective development).<\/p>\n

\"northparkbeerco\"<\/a>
Design concept for North Park Beer Co<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More veteran-owned new breweries:<\/strong> It is always exciting to see homebrewers ascend to the professional ranks, but here\u2019s hoping some more veterans spread their wings in 2016. Just enough to keep things varied and interesting. It\u2019s a shame that the aforementioned Silva is opening his eponymous passion project in San Luis Obispo County instead of here, because outside of\u00a0Mikkeller<\/strong><\/a>‘s Mikkel Borg Bjergs\u00f8 <\/strong>(who is opening Mikkeller Brewing San Diego <\/strong>in conjunction with AleSmith at the latter’s original brewing complex) there are few established brewers associated with upcoming San Diego projects. That said, many of San Diego’s most well known and respected brewers came into the industry after achieving homebrew success, so our next crop of all-stars could very well come from those making the transition in 2016. Also, it\u2019ll be really cool to see Kelsey McNair<\/strong> finally bring his North Park Beer Co.<\/strong><\/a> dream to life.<\/p>\n

A more scrutinizing consumer:<\/strong> While there has certainly been a fair amount of outrage, many have yawned off the purchase of craft breweries by Big Beer, saying things along the lines of: It\u2019s just capitalism<\/em>. That\u2019s true enough, but it\u2019s more than just that. And here\u2019s hoping consumers who love craft beer as much as they say they do can recognize the impact of buying beer from macro-owned entities. A portion of revenues gained through the sale of macro-owned beers, be they Bud Light and Blue Moon or Saint Archer White and Bourbon County Stout, will certainly be used to help muscle craft off shelves and tap lists. It’s understandable that people continue to love a beer that was manufactured by a legitimate craft brewery one day, even though that company changes hands and goes corporate the next, but there are a host of ramifications for continuing to purchase said beers. If such purchasing patterns continue, there is a real chance there will be very few choices beyond those marco-produced beers in the future.<\/p>\n

\"GFB_22oz_HANDSHAKE\"<\/a>
Green Flash acquired Alpine in November 2014 and produced Hand Shake IPA this year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Craft breweries unite:<\/strong> It can\u2019t all be about the big guys and it can’t all be about the consumer. Craft breweries will also have to adapt in these ever-changing times. While the if-you-can\u2019t-beat-\u2018em-buy-\u2018em model is far from new, Big Beer continues to change the face of brewing and selling beer while craft brewing companies, largely, do things the same way they always have. It should be enough to simply make great beer, but will it be? It\u2019s impossible to say, but it’s likely too idealistic a game-plan to carry the day, kind of like hoping for a peaceful world by saying there\u2019d be no war if everybody was just nice to one another. Not everybody is going to be nice. Also, not everybody is going to make great beer. Many are the ill-suited brewers who taint the reputation of craft with substandard ales and lagers. Additionally, the gargantuan companies making the worst beer are constantly scheming new ways to de-level the playing field<\/a> in their favor. A world in which entities like that make any headway after David (craft beer) has somehow been able to slowly yet surely gain ground on such mighty Goliaths doesn\u2019t look good. So perhaps it\u2019s time craft breweries explore new ways to outsmart Goliath or meet him on more equal terms. No one brewery can do it alone, but maybe craft breweries could band together in a new way; form their own business alliances through meaningful mergers for shared financial resources, profits, distribution, sales efforts, etc. A true craft conglomerate would be anything but the cold Big Beer machines that are so desperately trying to convince the public they would never even dream of tinkering with the craft breweries they’ve purchased. Of course they wouldn\u2019t…until A) they can do it without losing market share, or B) they have enough market share that they can do it and there is nothing the consumer can do about it. Instead of spending time on unscrupulous brain-teasers like that, a powerhouse band of quality craft breweries could focus on making better beer and a better beer climate than what awaits if macros get their way.<\/p>\n

So there it is<\/strong>\u2014my 2016 wish-list. It\u2019s pretty simple: more craft, less macro and faux-craft…more beer, less business of beer. Here\u2019s hoping that comes true and that San Diego\u2019s brewers continue to flourish no matter what\u2019s thrown at them. Cheers to local (craft) beer!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is never a shortage of news in the San Diego beer industry, especially with so many businesses opening. Keeping up with newcomers is a job all its own, but there was more than the normal thrush of new businesses arriving;\u00a02015 saw more suds drama than any year prior\u2014good and bad. Here\u2019s this writer’s take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[368,287,1],"tags":[1353,1935,1338,865,596,52,376,1007,442,1794,218,1966,2311,1784,390,1528,1517,1574,466,2000,467,884,143,1739,1010,219,79,67,1572,1349,1827,1582,1833,1261,2284,1840,875,1439,2310,2309,1473,1474,1832,1258,1637],"class_list":{"0":"post-12544","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-beer-news","7":"category-homebrewing","8":"category-san-diego-beer-beverage-news","9":"tag-sdbeer","10":"tag-1935","11":"tag-32-north","12":"tag-alesmith","13":"tag-amplified-ale-works","14":"tag-ballast-point","15":"tag-beer","16":"tag-belching-beaver","17":"tag-brandon-hernandez","18":"tag-brewery-igniter","19":"tag-chuck-silva","20":"tag-chuckalek","21":"tag-constellation-brands","22":"tag-coronado-brewing","23":"tag-craft-beer","24":"tag-fall-brewing","25":"tag-fallbrook-brewing","26":"tag-fighter-town-brewing","27":"tag-gabf","28":"tag-germany","29":"tag-great-american-beer-festival","30":"tag-green-flash","31":"tag-home-brew-mart","32":"tag-india-pale-ale","33":"tag-ipa","34":"tag-jeff-bagby","35":"tag-karl-strauss","36":"tag-kelsey-mcnair","37":"tag-la-jolla-brewing","38":"tag-mikkeller","39":"tag-mother-earth-brew","40":"tag-north-park-beer","41":"tag-peter-perrecone","42":"tag-richmond","43":"tag-rip-current-brewing","44":"tag-sabmiller","45":"tag-saint-archer","46":"tag-san-diego","47":"tag-sclupin-ipa","48":"tag-stone-berlin","49":"tag-stone-brewery","50":"tag-stone-brewing","51":"tag-toolbox-brewing","52":"tag-virginia","53":"tag-west-coaster","54":"entry","55":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdtr4y-3gk","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12544\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}