And the winners are…

Earlier this week, winners in the first annual San Diego Beer News Awards were announced. Fans nominated 386 beers produced by San Diego County breweries in 19 different style categories, setting up a pair of ballots for craft-beer enthusiasts and brewing industry personnel to vote for their favorite local ales, lagers and breweries.

Vista’s Eppig Brewing brought home the most wins with 15 (nine of which were gold), including being named the best brewery in the northern region (North County from San Marcos to inland Oceanside and Carlsbad) in both the industry and fan polls. Societe Brewing (named in both polls as the best brewery in the central region—Kearny Mesa, Miramar and Scripps Ranch), The Lost Abbey and Pure Project Brewing tied for the second-most total wins with 13, while AleSmith Brewing and Burgeon Beer Co. (best brewery in both polls in in the western region—coastal Oceanside south to Point Loma) amassed 12 honors apiece.

The eastern and southern region’s best-brewery winners were different across polls. Stone Brewing took top honors in the east in the fan poll while the industry recognized Burning Beard Brewing. In the south, fans named North Park Beer Co. tops and local brewery employees gave the nod to Fall Brewing.

Best New Brewery was the most hotly contested category with all of the ten nominees receiving a sizable number of votes. In the end, fans voted Vista’s casino-themed Five Suits Brewing number one, while industry insiders doffed their caps to Miramar’s Embolden Beer Co., which opened in the former home of 32 North Brewing late last year.

Five Suits nabbed another fan-voted gold for customer service, with Burgeon heading that category in the industry poll. That award was named for Larry Smith, a longtime local brewery fan who was known for his appreciation of the people that make San Diego’s beer scene so special. Unfortunately, Smith passed away last year, but his memory will live on through this annual award.

Gold-garnering beers from high-profile style categories included Eppig’s 10:45 to Denver (fan) and Societe’s The Pupil (industry) for Best West Coast IPA, Five Suits’ Planet Nectaron (fan) and North Park Beer’s Art is Hard (industry) for Best Hazy IPA, Eppig’s Natural Bridge: Pilsner (fan) and Burning Beard’s Normcore (industry) for Best Pilsner, Eppig’s Festbier (both polls) for Best Lager, The Lost Abbey’s Framboise de Amarosa (both polls) for Best Barrel-aged Sour/Wild Ale and AleSmith’s Barrel-aged Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout (both polls) for Best Barrel-aged Imperial Stout.

In total, 37 San Diego County breweries won awards. The following is a breakdown of all the winners.

BEST BREWERY AWARDS

NORTHERN REGION

• Gold: Eppig Brewing (industry & fan)
• Silver: The Lost Abbey (industry & fan)
• Bronze: Black Plague Brewing (industry) / Wild Barrel Brewing (fan)

SOUTHERN REGION

• Gold: Fall Brewing (industry) / North Park Beer Co. (fan)
• Silver: North Park Beer Co. (industry) / Fall Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: Chula Vista Brewery (industry) / Mike Hess Brewing (fan)

Fun Fact: One vote separated Fall Brewing and North Park Beer Co. in the industry poll.

WESTERN REGION

• Gold: Burgeon Beer Co. (industry & fan)
• Silver: Bagby Beer Co. (industry) / Modern Times Beer (fan)
• Bronze: Pizza Port Brewing (industry & fan)

Fun Fact: Only two votes separated Modern Times Beer and Pizza Port Brewing in the fan poll. One vote separated Pizza Port Brewing from the two breweries tied for fourth place in the industry poll: Deft Brewing and Modern Times Beer.

EASTERN REGION

• Gold: Burning Beard Brewing (industry) / Stone Brewing (fan)
• Silver: Abnormal Beer Co. (industry) / Burning Beard Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: Second Chance Beer Co. (industry) / Abnormal Beer Co. (fan)

CENTRAL REGION

• Gold: Societe Brewing (industry & fan)
• Silver: AleSmith Brewing (industry) / Pure Project Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: Harland Brewing (industry) / AleSmith Brewing (fan)

Fun Fact: Societe Brewing received more than triple the votes of the second-place brewery in the industry poll.

BEST NEW BREWERY

• Gold: Embolden Beer Co. (industry) / Five Suits Brewing (fan)
• Silver: Craft Coast (industry) / Hopnonymous Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: TapRoom Beer Co. (industry & fan)

Fun Fact: TapRoom Beer Co. beat out Craft Coast by one vote for bronze in the industry poll.

BEER STYLE AWARDS

WEST COAST IPA

• Gold: The Pupil, Societe Brewing (industry) / 10:45 to Denver, Eppig Brewing (fan)
• Silver: 10:45 to Denver, Eppig Brewing (industry) / The Pupil, Societe Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: Swami’s, Pizza Port Brewing (industry) / Treevana, Burgeon Beer Co. (fan)

Fun Fact: 10:45 to Denver received almost as many votes as The Pupil and Treevana combined in the fan poll. North Park Beer Co.’s Hop Fu! ranked fourth in both the industry and fan polls.

HAZY IPA

• Gold: Art is Hard, North Park Beer Co. (industry) / Planet Nectaron, Five Suits Brewing (fan)
• Silver: Everybody’s Juicin’, Burgeon Beer Co. (industry) / Diamond Dust, Pure Project Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: Chasing Mosaic, Resident Brewing (industry) / Art is Hard, North Park Beer Co. (fan)

Fun Fact: Seven hazy IPAs from six different breweries tied for fourth place in the industry poll.

IMPERIAL IPA

• Gold: Mongo, Port Brewing (industry) / 4th Anniversary Double IPA, Eppig Brewing (fan)
• Silver: 4th Anniversary Double IPA, Eppig Brewing (industry) / Enjoy By IPA, Stone Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: The Roustabout, Societe Brewing (industry) / Mongo, Port Brewing (fan)

Fun Fact: Four imperial IPAs from four different breweries tied for fourth place in the industry poll.

NICHE IPA

• Gold: The Coachman, Societe Brewing (industry & fan)
• Silver: Ponto, Pizza Port Brewing (industry & fan)
• Bronze: Murkshake with Strawberries, Pure Project Brewing (industry & fan)

Fun Fact: This is the only category where fans and industry voters agreed on the top three. They also agreed on fourth and fifth place, but in opposite order.

HOPPY BEER

• Gold: Carlsbad Crush, Burgeon Beer Co. (industry) / San Diego Pale Ale .394, AleSmith Brewing (fan)
• Silver: San Diego Pale Ale .394, AleSmith Brewing (industry) / Carlsbad Crush, Burgeon Beer Co. (fan)
• Bronze: Party Cup, North Park Beer Co. (industry & fan)

PILSNER

• Gold: Normcore, Burning Beard Brewing (industry) / Natural Bridge: Pilsner, Eppig Brewing (fan)
• Silver: Clever Kiwi, Burgeon Beer Co. (industry & fan)
• Bronze: The Heiress, Societe Brewing (industry) / Rain, Pure Project Brewing (fan)

Fun Fact: Only two votes separated Natural Bridge: Pilsner and Clever Kiwi in the fan survey. Noble Tendencies from The Lost Abbey was fourth place in both the industry and fan polls.

LAGER

• Gold: Festbier, Eppig Brewing (industry & fan)
• Silver: Special Lager, Eppig Brewing (industry & fan)
• Bronze: Agua Baja, Craft Coast (industry) / Japanese Lager, Harland Brewing (fan)

Fun Fact: Eppig Brewing’s Dunkel Munich Lager came one vote short of winning third place in the industry poll, which would have given the brewery a sweep of the entire Lager category.

BELGIAN ALE

• Gold: The Harlot, Societe Brewing (industry & fan)
• Silver: Carnevale, The Lost Abbey (industry) / Devotion, The Lost Abbey (fan)
• Bronze: Bruxelles Trip, Deft Brewing (industry) / Carnevale, The Lost Abbey (fan)

DARK BEER

• Gold: Tabula Rasa, Second Chance Beer Co. (industry), Peanut Butter Milk Stout, Belching Beaver Brewery (fan)
• Silver: Natural Bridge: Schwarzbier, Eppig Brewing (industry & fan)
• Bronze: Peanut Butter Milk Stout, Belching Beaver Brewery (industry) / Viva la Beaver, Belching Beaver Brewery (fan)

COFFEE BEER

• Gold: Bacon & Eggs, Pizza Port Brewing (industry & fan)
• Silver: Zumbar, New English Brewing (industry) / Barrel-aged Speedway Stout, AleSmith Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: Speedway Stout, AleSmith Brewing (industry) / Zumbar, New English Brewing (fan)

SOUR ALE

• Gold: Glitz & Glam, Eppig Brewing (industry & fan)
• Silver: Original Brut Ale, Tiny Bubbles (industry) / Vice Black Currant, Wild Barrel Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: Tarty Boys #5, Home Brewing (industry) / Vice Passion Cactus Dragon Fruit

BARREL-AGED SOUR / WILD ALE

• Gold: Framboise de Amarosa, The Lost Abbey (industry & fan)
• Silver: Peach Afternoon, The Lost Abbey (industry) / Stone Fruit Dreams, Wild Barrel Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: Nomadic Phases: Nicely Done, Home Brewing (industry) / Euphorik with Cherry, Pure Project Brewing (fan)

Fun Fact: Pure Project Brewing’s Euphorik with Strawberry came in fifth in the fan poll. And in the industry poll, Framboise de Amarosa received one-and-a-half times as many votes as the second place beer, which was also produced by The Lost Abbey.

STRONG ALE

• Gold: Wee Heavy, AleSmith Brewing (industry & fan)
• Silver: Rum Barrel-aged The Angel’s Share, The Lost Abbey (industry) / Barrel-aged Black Lagoon, Rip Current Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: Altar of the Orc Lord, Modern Times Beer (industry) / Rum Barrel-aged The Angel’s Share, The Lost Abbey (fan)

Fun Fact: Altar of the Orc Lord edged out Karl Strauss’ 31st Anniversary Whiskey Barrel-aged Scotch Ale by one vote to win bronze in the industry poll.

IMPERIAL STOUT

• Gold: Speedway Stout, AleSmith Brewing (industry) / The Butcher, Societe Brewing (fan)
• Silver: Zumbar, New English Brewing (industry) / Speedway Stout, AleSmith Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: The Butcher, Societe Brewing (industry) / Hazelsaurus Rex, Pure Project Brewing (fan)

BARREL-AGED IMPERIAL STOUT

• Gold: Barrel-aged Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout, AleSmith Brewing (industry & fan)
• Silver: Barrel-aged Macaroons Before Dying, North Park Beer Co. (industry & fan)
• Bronze: Mostra Tones, Modern Times Beer (industry) / Corylus, Pure Project Brewing (fan)

Fun Fact: Barrel-aged Vietnamese Coffee Speedway Stout received well over double the votes of the second-place winner in the fan poll and almost triple the votes of the second-place winner in the industry poll.

COLLABORATION BEER

• Gold: Clear Skies Ahead, Pizza Port Brewing & Mcilhenney Brewing (industry) / Nug-O-War, Pizza Port Brewing & Burgeon Beer Co. (fan)
• Silver: Nug-O-War, Pizza Port Brewing & Burgeon Beer Co. (industry) / We Can Murk It Out, North Park Beer Co. & Pure Project Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: High Foo Reunion, Creative Creature, et.al. (industry) / Black is Beautiful, Kilowatt Brewing, Ballast Point Brewing, Mujeres Brew House & San Diego Beer News (fan)

MISCELLANEOUS AWARDS

LARRY SMITH MEMORIAL AWARD FOR BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE

• Gold: Burgeon Beer Co. (industry) / Five Suits Brewing (fan)
• Silver: Burning Beard Brewing (industry) / Pure Project Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: Societe Brewing (industry) / Burgeon Beer Co. (fan)

BEST DÉCOR

• Gold: Pure Project at Balboa Park (industry) / Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Escondido (fan)
• Silver: North Park Beer Co. (industry) / Pure Project at Balboa Park (fan)
• Bronze: Gravity Heights (industry) / North Park Beer Co. (fan)

Fun Fact: One vote separated bronze winner North Park Beer Co. from fourth-place vote-getter, the Modern Times Beer Fermentorium, in the fan poll.

BEST CHARITY EFFORT

• Gold: Black is Beautiful, Various San Diego Breweries (industry & fan)
• Silver: San Diego Brewbies Festival, Burgeon Beer Co. (industry) / 1% for the Planet Non-profit Donations, Pure Project Brewing (fan)
• Bronze: In the Weeds Hospitality Aid, Burning Beard Brewing, et. al. (industry) / Beers 4 the ICU, Five Suits Brewing (fan)

BEST CRAFT BEER COMMUNITY

• Gold: North Park (industry) / Vista (fan)
• Silver: Vista (industry) / North Park (fan)
• Bronze: Miramar (industry & fan)

All of the breweries and beers on both ballots were nominated by fans on San Diego Beer News’ social-media platforms from January 1-29. The craft-beer fan and brewing industry ballots were available on San Diego Beer News’ website from February 1-12. Only employees of brewing companies, suppliers and industry-affiliated businesses were allowed to vote on the industry ballot, and brewery employees were not allowed to vote for their own breweries. Identities were verified and brewery employees that voted for their own breweries or their beers had those votes eliminated. Brewery employees who accidentally voted using the fan ballot had their votes transferred to the industry ballot.

Winning breweries had certificates emailed to them to display in their tasting rooms. The San Diego Beer News Awards were sponsored by Yakima Chief Hops.