Despite challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic and a shortage on carbon dioxide, several breweries in San Diego County persevered and banded together on Friday for a beloved yearly tradition.
Eight local breweries gathered in Carlsbad to make this year’s version of the “Capital of Craft” IPA. Beer makers from host brewery Pizza Port were joined by Battle Mage Brewing, Culver Beer, Fall Brewing, Mcilhenny Brewing, Mujeres Brew House, My Yard Live and TapRoom Beer to create the foamy concoction.
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The beer takes three and a half weeks to ferment before it's ready for the packaging process. Once it's all set, the drink will be featured at San Diego Beer Week, which is scheduled for Nov. 4-13.
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Paige Mcwey Acers, Executive Director of the San Diego Brewers Guild, said that although the recipe hasn’t been finalized, the beer will taste like a signature San Diego brew: refreshing, clean, with hints of citrus.
More than just a day to collaborate, Brew Day offers the chance for local breweries to interact and celebrate. It's a jovial occasion that has been put on pause since 2019 and has met with challenges since then, however.
Friday’s Brew Day event comes as breweries are dealing with a carbon dioxide shortage that could force production cuts and price hikes.
It's the latest threat to an industry that's been challenged by the pandemic. Now that we’re coming out of it, though, the San Diego Brewers Guild is happy to recognize their 25th anniversary. It has blossomed from eight breweries in 1997 to 150 now.
This year’s Brew Day has the anniversary and the industry's accomplishments to celebrate.
“Today in particular, it’s nice to get all of our breweries together as many as we can to be here since we haven’t been able to do that since 2019, so that’s huge for our industry,” said Mcwey Acers. “We like being together and we really haven’t been able to in a real way so this is an opportunity to do that.”
