Sunny Days Ahead for the San Diego Beer Winners

San Diegans love their beer. And, we happen to live in a city where the beer flows about as strong as the sun shines, so what better way to celebrate San Diego beer than by throwing a party?

The votes were cast and the beers were poured. On March 29, 2022, brewers, brewery owners, beertenders, beer organization leaders and beer babes alike gathered at North Park Beer Co. for the annual San Diego Beer News Awards.

The ceremony was emceed by San Diego Beer News (SDBN) founder and Executive Editor Brandon Hernández, joined by a number of industry powerhouses who announced the winners throughout the evening.

With 26 categories and oh-so-so many breweries, you’ll see that the brewery categories were organized by region. Some of my personal favorites, Burgeon Beer Co. and Pure Project, took the stage a number of times throughout the night.

Let’s get to our winners!

BREWERY CATEGORIES

Best Brewery - North Region

First Place: Pure Project Brewing (Vista)

Second Place: Eppig Brewing (Vista)

Third Place: Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey (San Marcos)

Best Brewery - South Region

First Place: North Park Beer Co. (North Park)

Second Place: Modern Times Beer (Point Loma)

Third Place: Fall Brewing (North Park)

Best Brewery - West Region

First Place: Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad)

Second Place: Pizza Port Brewing (Carlsbad)

Third Place: Belching Beaver Brewery (Oceanside)

Best Brewery - East Region

First Place: Stone Brewing (Escondido)

Second Place: Mcilhenney Brewing (Alpine)

Third Place: Abnormal Beer Co. (Rancho Bernardo)

Best Brewery - Central

First Place: Societe Brewing (Kearny Mesa)

Second Place: AleSmith Brewing (Miramar)

Third Place: Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch)

NOTE: Only three votes separated Societe Brewing and AleSmith Brewing in the top two spots.

Best New Brewery

First Place: Mcilhenney Brewing (Alpine)

Second Place: Mujeres Brew House (Barrio Logan)

Third Place: Blue Fire Brewing (San Marcos)

Expansion Project

First Place: Pure Project Brewing HQ (Vista)

Second Place: The Lost Abbey “The Church” (East Village)

Third Place: Harland Brewing Tasting Room (Bay Park)

NOTE: Burgeon Beer Co.’s Little Italy tasting room, “The Arbor”, came just a vote shy of the top three.

Interior / Exterior Design

First Place: Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens (Escondido)

Second Place: Eppig Brewing Waterfront Biergarten (Point Loma)

Third Place: The Lost Abbey “The Church” (East Village)

Packaging Design

First Place: Dutchman’s Pipe, Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad)

Second Place: India Pale Whale, Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch)

Third Place: Electric Dragon, Pure Project Brewing (Vista)

Customer Service

First Place: Hopnonymous Brewing (Kearny Mesa)

Second Place: Five Suits Brewing (Vista)

Third Place: Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad)

NOTE: Five Suits Brewing (fan vote) and Burgeon Beer Co.’s Carlsbad tasting room (industry vote) both took first place in this category last year.

Vanguard Brewer Award

Honoree: Tomme Arthur, Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey

BEER STYLE CATEGORIES

West Coast IPA

First Place: Treevana, Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad)

Second Place: The Pupil, Societe Brewing (Kearny Mesa)

Third Place: 10:45 to Denver, Eppig Brewing (Vista)

Hazy IPA

First Place: Art is Hard, North Park Beer Co. (North Park)

Second Place (tie): Planet Nectaron, Five Suits Brewing (Vista)

Second Place (tie): Harland Hazy IPA, Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch)

Imperial IPA

First Place: Mongo, Port Brewing (San Marcos)

Second Place: Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0, Stone Brewing (Escondido)

Third Place: Duckzilla, Duck Foot Brewing (Miramar)

NOTE: There was a three-way tie for fourth place in this category between Burgeon Beer Co.’s Mixed Greens, Embolden Beer Co.’s Brave the Haze and Hopnonymous Brewing’s Let the Haze Flow Through You.

Niche IPA

First Place: The Coachman Session IPA, Societe Brewing (Kearny Mesa)

Second Place: White Sage IPA, Blue Fire Brewing (San Marcos)

Third Place: Nelson! Nelson! IPA, Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch)

NOTE: White Sage IPA was in first place until the very last day of the voting period.

Hoppy Beer (Non-IPA)

First Place: .394 Pale Ale, AleSmith Brewing (Miramar)

Second Place: Carlsbad Crush Mosaic Pale Ale, Burgeon Beer Co. (Carlsbad)

Third Place: Party Cup Mosaic Lager, North Park Beer Co. (North Park)

NOTE: .394 Pale Ale received more votes than any individual beer in any category this year.

Pilsner

First Place: Rain, Pure Project Brewing (Vista)

Second Place: Special Lager, Eppig Brewing (Vista)

Third Place: Plenty for All, Fall Brewing (North Park)

German Beer (Non-Pilsner)

First Place: Festbier, Eppig Brewing (Vista)

Second Place: Agua Baja Mexican Lager, Craft Coast Beer & Tacos (Oceanside)

Third Place: 5th Anniversary Zwickelbier, Eppig Brewing (Vista)

NOTE: AleSmith Brewing’s Sublime Mexican Lager and Five Suits Brewing’s Pit BOS Hefeweizen tied for a close fourth place in this category.

Belgian Ale

First Place: Devotion Belgian Blonde Ale, The Lost Abbey (San Marcos)

Second Place: The Harlot Belgian Blonde Ale, Societe Brewing (Kearny Mesa)

Third Place: The Dorsty Lion Belgian Golden Strong Ale, Hopnonymous Brewing (Kearny Mesa)

U.K. / Irish Ale

First Place: Red Trolley Ale, Karl Strauss Brewing (Pacific Beach)

Second Place: Tabular Rasa Porter, Second Chance Beer Co. (Carmel Mountain Ranch)

Third Place (tie): Beería Brown Ale, Craft Coast Beer & Tacos (Oceanside)

Third Place (tie): Comfy Chair Oatmeal Stout, Eppig Brewing (Vista)

Third Place (tie): Leaving Without Saying Goodbye Irish-style Red Ale, Hopnonymous Brewing (Kearny Mesa)

Sour Ale (Non-Barrel-Aged)

First Place: Jazz Hands Berliner Weisse, Fall Brewing (North Park)

Second Place: Hydra Fluff Fruited Smoothie Sour, Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch)

Third Place: Fistful of Gummies Fruited Kettle Sour Ale, Second Chance Beer Co. (Carmel Mountain Ranch)

NOTE: Only two votes separated the first and second place beers in this category.

Barrel-Aged Sour/Wild Ale

First Place: Cable Car Kriek, The Lost Abbey (San Marcos)

Second Place: Everything Gold May Stay Golden Flanders Ale, Pure Project Brewing (Vista)

Third Place: Framboise de Amarosa, The Lost Abbey (San Marcos)

Strong Ale

First Place: The Butcher Imperial Stout, Societe Brewing (Kearny Mesa)

Second Place: Natural Bridge: Baltic Porter, Eppig Brewing (Vista)

Third Place: Midnight in London Imperial Porter, Pure Project Brewing (Vista)

Barrel-Aged Beer

First Place: Modem Tones, Modern Times Beer (Point Loma)

Second Place: Rum Forest Rum Barrel-Aged Coffee Porter, Pizza Port Brewing (Carlsbad)

Third Place (tie): Barrel-aged Molotov Special Imperial Stout, Mcilhenney Brewing (Alpine)

Third Place (tie): Circular Paradigm Barrel-aged Imperial Stout, Pure Project Brewing (Vista)

Coffee Beer

First Place: Bacon & Eggs Imperial Coffee Porter, Pizza Port Brewing (Carlsbad)

Second Place: Barrel-aged Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout, AleSmith Brewing (Miramar)

Third Place: 2AM Bike Ride, Fall Brewing (North Park)

NOTE: Stone Xocoveza Trés Leches was one vote shy of the top three in this category.

Collaboration Beer

First Place: Capital of Craft IPA, Societe Brewing / Ballast Point Brewing / Booze Brothers Brewing / Craft Coast Beer & Tacos / Eppig Brewing / Latchkey Brewing / Puesto Cervercia / Rouleur Brewing

Second Place: Home for the Holihaze, Pure Project Brewing / Burgeon Beer Co.

Third Place: Ride Share IPA, Societe Brewing / Pizza Port Brewing

Find the full write up over at SD Beer News!

*Notes provided by Mr. Hernandez via sdbeernews