There is also a lot of local beverage news, and so much gets missed every week. Here is your monthly round-up of updates from around the region.
But first, a rambling thought.
National IPA Day was Aug. 4. Who decided this? Do you care? Do I? Did you drink an IPA? International Beer Day was on Aug. 5. Wouldn’t that encompass IPAs too?
According to the website National Today, IPA day was established in 2011 by Ashley Rousten, “Beer Enthusiast.” Ashley has craft beer bonafides as a writer and industry member. You might recognize the name from their time at Green Flash or from the cover of your copy of The Beer Wench’s Guide to Beer.
I don’t doubt the sincerity of establishing a day for the style of beer that has had the most impact on craft beer over the past 20 years, but it feels like maybe the passion that was once so focused on the IPA has been muted.
On Thursday, I was driving through 100-degree heat from the Pacific North West back to North County San Diego. As much as I wanted one, there were no IPAs in the car, and if I had the choice, I would have reached for a cold lager or kolsch. Maybe I should establish a new National Day…
— San Diego Beer News is celebrating its 2nd anniversary by teaming up with Eppig Brewing Company on a new beer called Just the Facts. Founder Brandon Hernández broke the news on the I Like Beer the Podcast because he’s a pretty generous journalist and a local beer personality you should know.
The new West Coast IPA will be released in cans and available on draft next week, and there are special new beer launch tapping events at Eppig’s Waterfront and Bierhalle locations on the 12th and 13th, respectively. Congrats, Brandon. Go, Brewers!
— The temporary Covid policies allowing for outdoor patios at some local breweries, including Vista’s Battlemage Brewing Company, have not been extended. This columnist is proclaiming that a real bummer. People like drinking outside. The outside is still seemingly safer than inside due to the continued proliferation of coronavirus version whatever. We need more patios, not less.
— Shout out to Black Plague Brewing Company for winning a Gold Medal in the Specialty Pale Ale category for its The End is Near Pale Ale at the U.S. Open Beer Championships in July. Black Plague also took home a bronze for Medusa Imperial Milk Stout in the Coconut category. More than 9,000 beers in 150 categories were judged at the event.
Kilowatt Brewing also doubled down. The brewery took gold for OB Bubble Dubbel in the Belgian Dubbel category and tied for bronze in the Smoked/Rauch Beer category with its Maple Smoked Maibock. Try them both at the 7th Anniversary Party Beer & Music Festival on Saturday, Aug. 13, in Kearney Mesa.
Ketch Brewing in San Diego also took home a gold medal for its Brut IPA, Celestial Navigation, and a silver for its Zwickelbier. Zwickelbier or kellerbier is an unfiltered, unpasteurized lager produced and drunk in Germany as far back as the 15th century.
Other local winners include a silver medal for Stone Brewing in the Triple IPA category. See the full list of winners on usopenbeer.com
— Have you thought about getting married at a brewery? Eppig, Dogleg, and Helia Brewing Companies — on Keystone Way in Vista — think you should. These North County breweries have combined efforts to host a wedding showcase at noon on Sunday, Aug. 14. Tour their spaces, meet with vendors, and plan your big day around beer…errr…love.
— Pacific Coast Spirits is hosting a Backyard BBQ on August 24th. With schools starting up and Labor Day on the horizon, this feels like the beginning of the end of summer. Tickets include ½ pound of meat and half off flights.
— Stream the Roast! West Coast coffee podcast on the Coast News Podcast page, and be sure to follow and share your drinking adventures with Cheers! North County on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
