![]() The plethora of styles that a brewery offers has become more, but they're all really good for the most part." You can get really great lagers from just about every brewery now. Now, you don't just have to go to Lost Abbey for a really great sour or Belgian. "Stone was where you went for great West Coast IPAs, others you went to for sours. "A really big trend is a 'one-stop shop' a little more," Gonzalez continues. On menus across town, there's just a much bigger selection than ever before. IPAs are, as they've long been, in demand, but Mexican-style lagers are becoming more popular around town, too. Like in many American cities, Stone Brewing's senior manager of brewing and innovation, Steve Gonzalez, says the scene is "definitely evolving." Stone, aided by its excessively hoppy IPAs, "grew quickly and made a name for itself." Along with Karl Strauss Brewing, AleSmith, and Pizza Port's brewpub, it was an early pioneer in the San Diego brew scene. McCormick credits Stone Brewing, which was founded in 1996, as the catalyst for that change. ![]() It's become a craft beer mecca in California and known around the country." Nothing was going on in San Diego until the late '90s and then it just took off. "For a long time, San Diego was a desert for craft beer. "I've been in the craft beer industry a long time, since the early '80s, so I've seen it from the very beginning," he says. Beer is as close to synonymous with San Diego as any city in the United States.īut it wasn't always that way, explains Tom McCormick, executive director of the California Craft Brewers Association. There are a lot of well-known ones in the mix there: Modern Times, Pizza Port, Societe, Pure Project, Bagby and two lodestars of the California brewing industry, Lost Abbey and Stone. Show More Show LessĪs of January, San Diego County is home to more than 150 craft breweries. "There might not be a better situation in San Diego than drinking a Jetty IPA and hearing 'pizza for Andrew' over the intercom." - Andrew Schwartz, "Commissioner of Flavor" (head of special projects) at Modern Times Beer. "Pizza Port such a great representation of what San Diego craft beer is and tastes like." - Doug Constantiner, founder and CEO of Societe Brewing Co. Multiple locations, Ocean Beach and San Diego ![]() Societe Brewing Company Show More Show Less 2 of17 They’re very uncompromising." - Steve Gonzalez, senior manager of brewing and innovation at Stone Brewing. The medal winner ( the Coachman session IPA, which won a Great American Beer Festival medal) is a testament to that. (But) when I want that flavor profile, it's just executed so well. (The Harlot) is not necessarily a style I would brew no one really makes those anymore. "They're just really serious about everything they do. Hops, Stouts, Lagers, and Tart/Sour/Wild ales all done to the highest level of quality." - Jeff Bagby, founder of Bagby Beer Co. Travis has moved on but I have strong faith that the beer will not change. "I've known (co-founders) Travis (Smith) and Doug (Constantiner) for a long time and have watched them grow. Harlot (a Belgian IPA) is a modern classic." - Andrew Schwartz, "Commissioner of Flavor" (head of special projects) at Modern Times Beer. "They make amazing true-to-style beers, plus some killer bright, hoppy west coast styles.
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