Two years ago, ALT 94.9 FM music director Jeremy Pritchard hosted the San Diego Beer News Awards, and he’s been part of the event in almost every one of its six years. Needless to say, he has a soft spot in his heart for this annual shindig, the brewing community it celebrates and the man behind it, San Diego Beer News founder Brandon Hernández. In preparation for this year’s ceremony, Jeremy and Brandon spend a week dishing about what attendees can expect at this fun, free event, which will take place at Harland Brewing on Tuesday, March 31 from 5 to 9 p.m. Take it away, Jeremy…
Monday | NORTH Dark Lager: It took someone like Brandon, who’s been writing and promoting San Diego craft beer for years, to come along and put in the leg work for an awards ceremony that acknowledges all the amazing hard work that goes into the local beer scene. Now in it’s sixth year, the San Diego Beer News Awards (SDBNA) are a highlight of the year where brewers and fans of beer can come together…for free no less! This year’s host business, Harland Brewing, put together a special six-pack of beers showcasing all the different parts of San Diego. We kick off the week by tasting a malty, yet light and crushable Dark Lager crafted in collaboration with brewers in the North Region of the county.
Tuesday | CENTRAL West Coast Pilsner: It was a spark of genius on the part of Harland’s brewers to break up the styles of their SDBNA six-pack by region. Today, we try another beer from that limited-edition sextet, a West Coast Pilsner from brewers in the Central Region of San Diego.
Wednesday | 4 Simcoe Ranch IPA: Brandon brought this one along as a tribute to his new favorite neighborhood watering hole, Harland Brewing’s new full-service restaurant in 4S Ranch. To celebrate the debut of that spot (the company’s fourth), Harland’s brewers cooked up an IPA called 4-Simcoe Ranch, which is brewed with four different forms of Simcoe hops. If you think all that Simcoe would make the hop profile on this beer overpowering, you’d be wrong!
Thursday | WEST West Coast IPA: Here we go with “the big show”, a West Coast IPA Harland Brewing created for the SDBNAs with brewers from, appropriately enough, the West Region. It’s a fantastic example of how the West Coast IPA has evolved from a piney, resinous amber ale to a bright, citrusy, light-bodied crusher!
Friday | WC Pale: We’re closing out the week with more beer from the six-pack Harland created for this years SDBNAs; a collab with the man himself: Mr. Brandon Hernández! What style does this pillar of local beer choose? A West Coast pale ale. Once again, Harland lets the hops shine bright with just enough malt backbone to stand up to all that Citra and Centennial. Note to listeners, if you only listen to one of this week’s segment, this is the one not to miss, as it contains a seriously compelling factoid about the aforementioned Mr. Hernández that you do not want to miss. Cheers to local beer and the SDBNAs!
The 2026 San Diego Beer News Awards will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31 at Harland Brewing, which is located at 10115 Carroll Canyon Road in Scripps Ranch