CRAFT Q&A
A key strength of San Diego Beer News is the collection of close, long-established relationships we have with members of San Diego County’s brewing community. Our Craft Q&A features convey brewing-industry news and developments through in-depth one-on-one interview sessions, providing facts and insights straight from the source.
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Mar- 2026 -10 March
Encinitas’ first modern-day brewpub en route
While it seemed even the most apprehensive San Diego County municipalities embraced the notion of providing home turf to local breweries during the boom years of the 2000-aughts and early…
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Feb- 2026 -24 February
Local author pens thought-provoking beer book
Her thousands of Instagram followers know her as @BeerBabeJess, and while career copywriter and creative director Jess Merritt has gone a long way towards realizing her goal “to build bigger…
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17 February
Whatever happened to the El Destino team?
The week after San Diego Beer News’ (SDBN) website came online, we shared the story of three members of locals who were teaming up to install an artisanal brewery on…
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Jan- 2026 -21 January
Brewery tour company for sale
In the early 2000s, large groups boarding a chauffeured high-occupancy vehicle and spending an afternoon touring multiple wineries in nearby Temecula was commonplace. Many were – and still are –…
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19 January
The boom in non-alcoholic beer
Seven years ago, non-alcoholic beer accounted for just 0.3% of total U.S. beer sales. Today, the subcategory comprises upwards of 5% of total beer dollars in many retail channels and…
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Dec- 2025 -2 December
Insights into 2025’s Strong Ale Festival
It’s impressive that Pizza Port’s annual ode to high-octane beers, the Strong Ale Festival, has been going for 27 years…especially since many a fest-goer probably have trouble remembering much about…
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Nov- 2025 -3 November
Get a peek into Lyons Peak Brewing
In recent years, as San Diego’s craft-beer landscape has shifted and metamorphosed, the county’s newcomers have largely been, well…not large. Nor have the majority of their owners been interested in…
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Oct- 2025 -29 October
Look who’s back on the brew deck
In March, GOAL. Brewing held its final service, closing the doors to its lease-to-brew suite in H.G. Fenton’s Craft by Brewery Igniter facility in North Park after just 19 months…
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22 October
Industry vet launches beer-biz podcast
When Kamron Khannakhjavani started in the beer industry, he was assisting with one-barrel brew days and helping run the homebrew-supply store at his family’s nanobrewery. That was 2010. Since then,…
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Jun- 2025 -17 June
What’s in store for Ramona’s lone brewery
After winning well over a hundred awards for their homebrewed ales and lagers, Mike Nelson and Natallie Phillips decided to go pro. In doing so, they secured a spot off…
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