Beer of the Week: WC Pale

Fitting a collaboration brew day into one’s production schedule can be rather difficult. This is especially true for sizable breweries that produce large amounts of core beers while rolling out several smaller-batch, seasonal and one-off beers on a weekly basis. So, it was with a bit of trepidation that I asked if the crew at Harland Brewing would consider brewing a collab beer to tap at the 2026 San Diego Beer News Awards (SDBNA) ceremony. I felt it was a big ask, but apparently Vice President of Brewing Operations Cody Morris felt I wasn’t asking for enough. Instead of brewing agreeing to produce one collaboration beer with a host of San Diego County brewers, he suggested brewing several. Surprised, but not enough not to seize on the moment, I recalled how each year we award Best Brewery distinctions in each of five regions – the north, south, east, west and central – and floated the idea of brewing five collab beers with brewers in each respective area. Not only did Morris respond in the affirmative, but he also greenlighted a sixth collaboration with San Diego Beer News (i.e., me) and perennial SDBNA banner sponsor Yakima Chief Hops. Nearly a year after having that conversation, all six beers are being kegged as well as canned and packaged in limited-edition six-packs that will be available at the SDBNA ceremony on Tuesday, March 31 at Harland’s tasting room in Scripps Ranch. That commemorative sextet includes this week’s featured beer, WC Pale. A West Coast pale ale with classic piney notes bolstered by citrus and tropical-fruit flavors and aromas as well as a faint hard-candy sweetness, it comes in at 5.2%, a moderate ABV (alcohol-by-volume) that makes this beer ideal for enjoyment over the span of a four-hour event. The same can be said for most of the SDBNA collab beers, which include a light lager (South region), black lager (North), West Coast Pilsner (Central), hazy IPA (East) and West Coast IPA (West, of course). There’s something for everyone, which is fitting since the event is open to everyone. Not only that, it’s free to attend, leaving attendees with more money to spend on what we’ll all be celebrating – delicious San Diego craft beer!

When we originally talked about hosting the San Diego Beer News Awards, I knew we had to brew a special beer to release the night of the event, but the more I thought about it the more exciting it became to do the special release as a collaboration of sorts. The idea steamrolled from there to hosting collaborations from all the regions around the county. This has always been my favorite annual beer event in San Diego, so it’s exciting for us to host it at Harland, and it was super fun to have so many different brewers and companies join us from around the county on six different brew days. Bringing people together for this event is what I enjoy most about it, so the collaborations were a nice way to spend even more time with industry friends. Credit to our team for keeping the place organized, pouring countless beers, coming in on their day off, cooking lunch for all the regions (sorry about the Costco pizza North region) and entertaining many people every Friday (and one Monday) for five weeks to make it all happen. In the end it was all worth it to bring together a special mixed six-pack for people to enjoy the beers brewed by friends new and old in each region. “

Cody Morris, Vice President of Brewing Operations, Harland Brewing

The 2026 San Diego Beer News Awards ceremony 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