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The 4th annual Pucks & Pints charity game kicks off at 1 p.m. on April 16 at Pechanga Arena San Diego.
The 4th annual Pucks & Pints charity game kicks off at 1 p.m. on April 16 at Pechanga Arena San Diego. The event concludes with a matchup between the San Diego Gulls and Ontario Reign. Photo via Facebook/San Diego Gulls
ColumnsFood & WineI Like Beer

Local Beer News: Brewcycling, Pucks & Pints

Back in November, this column introduced you to the San Diego Brewcycling Collaborative, a collection of local brewers who banded together “to bring the San Diego craft beverage industry together through program support and education to sort, separate, and prepare recyclable items to be responsibly processed in order to make the industry more sustainable.”

Brewcycling Collaborative started with PakTech’s can holders, which are not recyclable in the traditional sense, but they banded together to create a system in which they collected large enough quantities of can holders to return to the company in Oregon to be broken down into future can-holders.

The group has continued to push for more sustainable practices to reduce waste in the brewing industry and just announced some “ground-breaking news.”

A pack of Thorn Brewing's Cucumber Fruited Sour Ale with PakTech handles, created in Eugene, Oregon, from post-consumer recycled plastic. Photo courtesy of Thorn Brewing Co.
A pack of Thorn Brewing’s Cucumber Fruited Sour Ale with PakTech handles, created in Eugene, Oregon, from post-consumer recycled plastic. Photo courtesy of Thorn Brewing Co.

The Collaborative has partnered with MacRebur. MacRebur is an innovative company that uses waste plastics in place of oil to make asphalt which becomes roads.

According to a recent release from the Brewcycling Collaborative, “[MacRebur’s} product minimizes our reliance on oil, makes asphalt higher quality and more recyclable, is a useful home for lowest value plastics, [and] makes asphalt more inexpensive!”

Brewcycling Collaborative will be running its first pavement test @thornbeer and, hopefully, just in time for Earth Day. The group is shouting out to all craft beverage makers willing to participate in dropping off used Paktechs to Thorn Brewing in Barrio Logan as soon as possible, and individuals (like you) can drop Paktech’s from any brewery off at Thorn Beer’s Barrio Logan location (1745 National Ave, San Diego, CA 92113). Brewcycling will need at least 200 pounds of Paktechs to run the first test.

There is also a lot of beer news, and so much gets missed every week. Today, I’m cleaning out my beer notes folder with some updates from around the region that just couldn’t find a home in another column.

  • Horus Aged Ales is hosting its annual lottery for membership in its exclusive bottle club, The Convocation. Sign up for the 2022 lottery which ends on April 30.
  • After an up and down few years, Modern Times Brewery is potentially up for sale. First reported by Kate Bernot on Good Beer Hunting, new CEO Jennifer Brigs said, “If there was a buyer, we would definitely entertain them.” Modern Times has closed four of its eight taprooms — Portland, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and Oakland. The brewery cited rapid expansion, the coronavirus pandemic, and a decline in sales leading to a precarious financial situation as the reason for the change. They’ll be refocusing back on Southern California. The remaining four taprooms — North Park, Anaheim, Point Loma, Encinitas —will remain open for now.
  • Backyard Brewery has announced that April 1 will be its grand opening date. The brewery took over the former Sand Crab restaurant location in Escondido and has been sharing its progress on its Instagram page (@backyardbreweryca).
  • Eppig Brewing (Vista, Point Loma) has been expanding its distribution footprint. The brewery recently partnered with Scout Distributing to share their beer throughout San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange counties. Scout also distributes other local craft beverage brewers, including Harland Brewing, Juneshine, Abnormal Brewing, Bivouac Cider, Port Brewing, Alesmith, Karl Strauss, Local Roots, Artifex Brewing, and more.
  • Shout out to Rouleur Brewing Company for celebrating its 5th Anniversary. The brewery will be hosting its annual anniversary bicycle ride, beer-pairing dinner, and anniversary party this weekend. This year the dinner will be held Friday, March 25, at its newest location in San Marcos, and the party Saturday, March 26, at the brewery in Carlsbad.
  • Oceanside has a new craft beer establishment offering food, beer, and bottle shop. Beertown recently hosted its grand opening. They are located at 507 N. Coast Highway, just north of Downtown Oceanside.
  • The San Diego Brewer’s Guild will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year. Guild members voted to use the ZAMBA hop blend to create celebratory beers. According to @SDBrewers, the hop blend is characterized by juicy tropical fruits, pineapple, mango, stone fruits, candy and orange tangerine. Look for these beer releases in June.
  • After a two-year hiatus, Pucks & Pints returns in April. The charity hockey game features local brewers and industry professionals, a mini-beer fest at Phil’s BBQ, and is capped off at a San Diego Gulls hockey game. All the proceeds from the event are donated to ResQue Ranch, Emilio Nares Foundation, Boys & Girls Club of Greater San Diego, and the San Diego Brewers Guild. Tickets are $50 and are available at pucksnpints.com.

Have you been out to a brewery, bar, restaurant, or coffee shop since the mask mandate ended? It still feels weird to me — so many chins.

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