Hey! Howzit going? Did you know it is 2023? We’re only weeks away from daylight savings!* So why is it so cold? I won’t complain too much because we are about to talk about local craft beer.
The chill has given me an excuse to keep the hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps out longer than usual. So I’m going to make one now, with whipped cream and a splash of brandy, while I dig through my in-box for some of the beverage news items I’ve probably missed in another Cheers! roundup.
— San Diego-based Embolden Beer Company and New Motion Beverages will be more readily available in North County. Embolden’s Mango Palmer Hard Sparkling Black Tea and Embolden Litehouse Blonde Ale have been added to Gelson’s Local Discoveries category in San Diego locations.
— Stone Brewing may not be locally owned anymore, but it is still a significant local beverage business attracting other big brand names. The brewery has partnered with Bulleit Frontier Whiskey to encourage us to explore the old order of a beer and a shot, or in this case, a Bulleit and a beer.
The collaboration kicked off in December 2022 with the release of Stone One Batch Dispatch: Gimme Yule Gimme Fire Barrel-Aged Bock. This limited-time offer beer was aged in Bulleit Rye Whiskey barrels and sold exclusively online and at Stone Brewing locations. Please be sure to look for more collaborations between the brands moving forward.
— Did you know the chain restaurant Yard House originated in Long Beach? I didn’t. It’s one thing I learned reading an e-mail about how they are the first nationwide restaurant partner of Blake Lively’s Betty Buzz non-alcoholic line-up of sparkling cocktails. Did you know that Blake Lively had a line of NA cocktails? I didn’t. Yard House has locations in Carlsbad and San Diego. Today has been a fun day of learning.
— Speaking of NA cocktails, one of the fastest-growing beverage categories, look for an upcoming feature in the Cheers! column on the locally based !mprov Booze-Free Cocktails.
— Was that a Juneshine commercial during the Super Bowl? Yes. Yes, it was. Congrats to another San Diego company leading the way.
— Barrio Logan’s ReBru Spirits (previously featured in the Cheers! column) is jumping into the hard tea gam with Longball, a hard lemon iced tea cocktail. It is already available throughout San Diego County. Did I miss the memo on 2023 being the year of hard teas and NA cocktails?
In a nice (lemon) twist, you can choose whether you want your Longball with one shot of booze or two. The base of the drink is actually fortified apple wine with a lower alcohol by volume (ABV) content of 23.5%, so you might see it at your favorite restaurants with beer and wine licenses.
— Congratulations to Thomas Peters, who was promoted to head of production and quality manager at Belching Beaver Brewery. Peters started at Belching Beaver in 2013 as a keg washer and volunteer brewer. I’ve always loved seeing someone work their way up. Also, how does one volunteer to be a brewer? I have some free time…
— Nova has been named the Official Hard Kombucha of the San Diego Wave Fútbol Club. The multi-year partnership includes a limited-edition Wave FC Kombucha that will be available during the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League season starting March 25. In addition to the exclusive Wave FC Kombucha beverage, Nova tasting rooms will serve as a watch party location for Wave FC away matches.
The Chula Vista-based brewery has a taproom in Ocean Beach, while all Nova kombuchas are served at their sister Novo Brewing locations in Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City, and Otay Ranch Mall. I should mention that I am ALL IN on the Wave. I’d also like to know how to get an Official Hard Kombucha (not to mention beer, whiskey, wine, etc.) partner for the Cheers! column. Who do I talk to about that?
— My Yard Live Beer Co. in San Marcos recently posted an event update in which they canceled an upcoming “Drag Brunch.” The ticketed event was canceled, per the @myyardlive Instagram account, due to reflection on their lack of clarity over the event. They continued on to proclaim that while most customer reaction was positive, there was also an outpouring of hate.
“…With that said, we are disappointed and deeply saddened by the amount of viciousness, hatred, and threats that we have seen over the last few days. MYL will not tolerate hate speech or threats of any kind in our establishment and will not welcome those who exhibit this behavior. MYL has always been and will continue to be open to ALL groups of kind, well intentioned people. We support the LGBTQ community and the cancellation of this event is in no way a reflection of our feelings towards them, but rather due to the disheartening hostility and threats we have seen surrounding this event.”
The post can be seen in full on the@myyardlive Instagram account.
Be inclusive. Be cool. Be better. Craft beer is for all.
*Yep. It is still a thing. Don’t forget to follow Cheers! North County on Instagram.
