As hard as it is to believe, it’s been five years since the San Diego Beer News (SDBN) website launched. Over that span, we’ve posted something new – be it breaking or otherwise timely news, entertaining features, travel pieces, multimedia beercasts or other sudsy content – every single day. That sort of consistency could not be achieved without two factions: the members of the brewing community we work hand-in-hand with to report on the local industry and the beer fans who lap up that coverage as if it were a cheater-hop-packed West Coast IPA. As such, we are focusing on both groups as we prepare to celebrate a half-decade of bringing you all the news that’s fit to drink!
Speaking of West Coast IPAs…
We’ve had the privilege of working with local brewing companies who have done us the great honor of producing specialty beers to commemorate each of SDBN’s anniversaries. Though we deviated from the program once, the majority of them have been IPAs. (But that Mega Motueka saison was something special!) So it’s only fitting we stay on the hop-strewn road that’s got us this far and request a top-shelf IPA with which to toast the past five years.
We are abundantly proud and excited to announce that our friends at Mcilhenney Brewing – one of the foremost producers of West Coast IPAs in the world – worked with us on this year’s beer, Highest Five. Requesting the Mcilhenney family’s assistance in celebrating Year Five was very purposeful. When SDBN debuted via social media at the onset of the pandemic – months before a website had been developed, much less launched – the first story we published was a scoop about the family that founded Alpine Beer Co., the Mcilhenneys, getting back in the beer biz by in a big way by opening what is now a thriving family brewery located in the very spot where they built their original operation.
“The San Diego beer industry is such a special ‘family’ that we have all been lucky to be a part of for decades,” says co-owner and Head Brewer Shawn Mcilhenney. “SDBN has linked us together via social media and let us share our ups and downs for the last few years, during the craziest time in our industry and lives. It has had a huge impact.”
The story about Mcilhenney Brewing’s impending arrival went viral, proving to me that my plan to start my own news outlet (after over a dozen years of providing beer content for scores of other publications, including local outlets such as the San Diego Reader, San Diego Magazine, The San Diego Union-Tribune and West Coaster) could work. All I’d need to do was stick to the script of collaborating with local brewery owners, brewers and members of the craft-beer community to provide accurate, reliable information fans like me could depend on to stay on top of the everchanging San Diego County sudscape. It’s truly a team effort, as was this beer.
Since I share the Mcilhenneys’ affinity for New Zealand hops, we decided to focus on varietals from that region. And once we came up with the name “Highest Five”, it was clear the eventual hop bill would need to provide a considerable amount of dankness in the flavor and aroma. Fortunately, this was far from their first rodeo and they were easily able to accommodate that request.
“I was looking to pick the best of what the Southern Hemisphere has to offer and combine that into a bowl filled with exotic tropical fruit,” says Mcilhenney. “With an assertive citrus background and restrained-but-present hints of diesel and cannabis, I feel like we have a go-to summertime IPA.”
The following is a rundown of the hop varietals used in the beer as well as what Shawn says each contributes from a sensory perspective…
- NZ Cascade: Notes of pink grapefruit, guava and white peach
- Manilita: Sweet tropical-fruit nuances
- Nelson Sauvin: Impressions of Sauvignon Blanc wine grapes, guava, passionfruit and potent hints of Jazz Cabbage (cannabis)
- Riwaka: Big red grapefruit notes with undertones of diesely dank Devil’s Lettuce (cannabis)
- Superdelic: Big berry, citrus and tropical-fruit notes
Also included in Highest Five’s recipe are Freestyle Hops SubZero Hop Kief, Abstrax Tech Quantum Brite, and Yakima Chief Hops Hyperboost hop oils and extracts.
“We love to take a moment to support those that have supported us during our rebirth. SDBN brings this community together to celebrate each other, and we truly appreciate that,” says Mcilhenney.
Highest Five IPA will be tapped and available to-go in four-packs of 16-ounce cans at Mcilhenney’s tasting room in Alpine at noon on Friday, August 15. Come out to give it a try and, if you’re so inclined, get a high five from me (or the Mcilhenneys if you prefer). Like you, I’m not about to miss the opportunity to get the freshest possible pint of what is sure to be an outstanding hop-bomb.
Did somebody say “party”?!
Over the past five years, no local enterprise has been a bigger supporter of SDBN than the group of businesses under the Bottlecraft umbrella. That family of beverage-forward venues includes South Park’s recently opened old-meets-new-world, Germanic bar and eatery, Bock, which will be the site of our second anniversary event on Saturday, August 23.
Our goal in planning this event was to channel the positivity and family-reunion of our annual San Diego Beer News Awards event, which allows members of the beer community to get together free-of-charge to share conversations and laughs over good beer. As such, our anniversary party is free to attend and there will be plenty of high-quality ales and lagers to go around.
In addition to having Highest Five IPA on tap, we have procured ultra-fresh and otherwise special beers from brewing companies that produced SDBN’s previous anniversary collaboration beers: Burgeon Beer Co. (2021), Pure Project Brewing (2023) and Harland Brewing (2024). The following is what they’ve kindly provided us with:
- Highest Five, West Coast IPA | Mcilhenney Brewing
- Janet’s Brown, Hoppy Brown Ale | Pure Project Brewing
- Right On Time, West Coast IPA | Burgeon Beer Co.
- Space Ethos, Murky IPA | Pure Project Brewing (collaboration with Bottle Logic Brewing)
- West Coast Pils, Hoppy Pilsner | Harland Brewing (collaboration with Bert’s Brewing)
The anniversary party will start at noon and is open to all. I can’t wait to toast another year with readers from the local brewing industry and craft-beer community. You all make this job such a joy to do. Thank you and cheers to five years of San Diego beer!
Mcilhenney Brewing is located at 2363 Alpine Boulevard in Alpine, and Bock Bar is located at 1517 30th Street in South Park