San Diegan Brewers Earn 18 Medals at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival

San Diego brewers delivered a strong performance at the 2016 GABF, with winning 18 medals. Most of the winners were industry veterans, but there were a few surprises. 

Karl Strauss outshined its compatriots in this year's medals, taking two gold and two silver. Alesmith took a respectable gold medal for its Old Numskull barleywine. New English, Rip Current, Societe, and BNS made encore appearances.

There were a few new kids on the block, with Pure Project taking a bronze and Duckfoot taking a silver.

Notably absent were Lost Abbey and Pizza Port, which usually make a strong showing at the GABF, but with competition increasing exponentially every year, the big guys will inevitably have to make room for the new.

In past years, San Diego has made a similarly great showing, with 19 medals in 2015, 14 in 2014, 14 in 2013, 15 in 2012, and 20 in 2011.

Here is the list of winners:

Gold Medals
Category 24, American-Style Sour Ale: Queen of Tarts by Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Category 41, Bohemian-Style Pilsener: Sweet Ride by Bagby Beer
Category 48, Bock: Breakline Bock by Rip Current Brewing
Category 61, American-Style Amber/Red Ale: Prospector Red Ale by BNS Brewing & Distilling Co.
Category 70, American-Style Brown Ale: Brown by Culture Brewing Co- Solana Beach.
Category 74, South German-Style Hefeweizen: Windansea Wheat by Karl Strauss Brewing Company.
Category 87, Robust Porter: Tabula Rasa Toasted Porter by Second Chance Beer Company.
Category 96, Barley Wine-Style Ale: Old Numskull by AleSmith Brewing Company.

Silver Medals
Category 8, Chili Beer: The Contender by Duck Foot Brewing Company.
Category 16, Session Beer: Oatmeal Stout by Benchmark Brewing Company.
Category 93, Imperial Stout: Gatling Gun Imperial Stout by BNS Brewing & Distilling Co..

Bronze Medals
Category 12, Coffee Beer: Zumbar Chocolate Coffee Imperial Stout by New English Brewing.
Category 17, Session India Pale Ale: Mosaic Session IPA by Karl Strauss Brewing Company.
Category 53, English-Style Summer Ale: Liquid AC by Karl Strauss Brewing Company.
Category 58, American-Style Strong Pale Ale: HFS by Alpine Beer Company.
Category 66, Extra Special Bitter: Mother Earth ESB by Mother Earth Brew Co.
Category 81, Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale: Roses Red by Pure Project
Category 90, American-Style Stout: The Volcanist by Societe Brewing Company.

Here is a list of the last (2015) year's winners:
Very Small Brewery of the Year: Rip Current Brewing Co., San Marcos

Gold Medals
Coffee Beer: Zumbar Chocolate Coffee Imperial Stout, New English Brewing Co., Sorrento Valley
India Pale Ale: Revolver IPA, BNS Brewing & Distilling Co., Santee
Session India Pale Ale: The Coachman, Societe Brewing Co., Kearny Mesa
Wood & Barrel-Aged Sour Beer: Veritas 015, The Lost Abbey, San Marcos
American-Belgo-Style Ale: Le Freak, Green Flash Brewing Co., Mira Mesa
Bock: Break Line Bock, Rip Current Brewing Co., San Marcos

Silver Medals
Scotch Ale: Black Lagoon Scottish Strong, Rip Current Brewing Co., San Marcos
Oatmeal Stout: Scripps Pier Stout, South Park Brewing Co., South Park

Bronze Medals
Coffee Beer: Bacon & Eggs, Pizza Port, Ocean Beach
Session Beer: Guillaume, Pizza Port, Ocean Beach
International-Style Pale Ale: San Diego-style IPA, Karl Strauss Brewing Co., La Jolla
Imperial India Pale Ale: Teahupo’o, Breakwater Brewing Co., Oceanside
American-Style Amber/Red Ale: Shark Bite Red, Pizza Port Bressi Ranch, Carlsbad
Double Red Ale: GRAMBO, Pizza Port, Solana Beach
French- & Belgian-Style Saison: Saison, URBN St. Brewing Co., El Cajon
Other Belgian-Style Ale: Witty Moron, Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, Liberty Station
Export Stout: Z-Man Stout, Pizza Port, Carlsbad
South German-Style Hefeweizen: Windansea Wheat, Karl Strauss Brewing Co., Pacific Beach
Chile Beer: Serrano Pale Ale, Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, Scripps Ranch

Big Beer (Is Coming for You)

The Magnificent Multitude of Beer

Full Picture

Source: https://www.popchartlab.com/products/the-magnificent-multitude-of-beer

Breweries That Closed

With the thriving San Diego beer community, it is easy to forget that success in the beer world is not always easy. Many breweries struggled before breaking out, like Alesmith, but other craft beer pioneers did not make it. Here are some of them:

Valley Center Brewing Company (11/2014-8/2016)

Pacific Brewing (3/2014-7/2016)

Twisted Manzanita (2010-3/6/2016)

http://www.westcoastersd.com/2016/03/02/twisted-manzanita-shutting-down-brewing-operations/

URBN St. Brewing Co. (Summer 2014 to 2/1/2016)
110 S Magnolia Ave, El Cajon, CA 92020 (former site of the El Cajon Brewing Company)

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/feb/04/urbn-st-stops-brewing/
“It wasn’t the beer,” said Jon Younger, acting general manager. “It was the investment, the continual investment it was going to take.”“In order to [distribute the beer to other accounts] you have to put out a lot of free beer,” Younger said, “you have to travel, you have to keep branding and branding. I think we just hit a wall.”“It’s amazing beer,” Younger said. “It’s just a shame.” 

http://www.westcoastersd.com/2016/02/01/urbn-st-brewing-calls-it-quits/According to URBN Restaurant Group representatives, a primary investor was not aware how capital-intensive it would be to open a brewery. Because of this, the brewery opened lacking adequate funding. Selling beer became problematic because the beer could not be sold at a price that would sustain the operation.

Beer Brewing Company (6/6/2014 - 1/21/2015)

1813 S Coast Hwy Oceanside, California

KnB Wine Cellars (still open but stopped brewing in ~2015)

6380 Del Cerro Blvd, San Diego, CA 92120

Julian Brewing Co. (3/9/2012 ~ 12/2014)

2315 Main St Julian, California, 92036

La Jolla Brew House (1/2007 ~ 1/2014)

7536 Fay Ave La Jolla, CA 92037

Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery (8/2006 ~ 10/2013)

401 G St San Diego, CA 92101 (Gaslamp)

Mad Lab Brewing (7/12/2012 - 6/28/2013)

6120 Business Center Ct #700, San Diego, CA 92154

El Cajon Brewing Company (10/2011 to 4/1/2013)

110 N Magnolia Ave

[In addition to being unable to fulfill rent obligations] Meadows also struggled to pay back a lid (the outstanding loan amount of $601,000) he received from the City of El Cajon’s Redevelopment Agency.

Fisher and the City of El Cajon will now begin the hunt for a replacement brewery/restaurant business to fill the venue, located in the heart of Downtown El Cajon. City officials said the new tenant will assume the outstanding loan on the property located at 110 N Magnolia Ave.

The Brew House at Eastlake (1/2008 ~ 10/2012)

871 Showroom Pl Ste 102 Chula Vista, CA 91914