As with most professional trade organizations, the majority of the work that the San Diego Brewers Guild (SDBG) does to raise awareness about local breweries is conducted behind the scenes. Likewise, the educational events the volunteer-run non-profit organizes in conjunction with local breweries and subject-matter experts are members-only affairs. Still, the Guild has made a name for itself among civilians through high-profile public beer events such as San Diego Beer Week’s Guild Fest (which will take place November 5 at Del Mar’s San Diego Surf Cup Sports Park).
In addition to providing local breweries visibility and interface opportunities with existing and potential customers, events like Guild Fest raise money to fund SDBG initiatives. Anyone who has attended that event and seen sprawling venues packed to the gills with thousands of beer fans would likely—and logically—assume Guild Fest is the biggest of the SDBG’s fundraisers…but they’d be wrong. That distinction goes to a much smaller, much mellower annual event: the San Diego Brewers Guild Golf Tournament.
Last month, the eighth edition of that tournament was held at longtime home venue, the Rancho Bernardo Inn. As has been the case the past few years, the tournament sold out, with 144 industry-member golfers plus two-dozen sponsors and SDBG representatives carting across the course.
“This is a unique event for the Guild,” says SDBG Vice President and Belching Beaver Brewery Marketing Manager Haley Smith (pictured with microphone above) “It’s an industry-focused event and a time for participants to have fun with their clients or vendors.”
While not a beer festival, brewing companies and industry vendors that sponsor holes along the course serve up beer, making for a festive environment. This year’s sponsoring breweries included Belching Beaver, Ballast Point Brewing, Coronado Brewing, Harland Brewing, Rouleur Brewing, Second Chance Beer Co., White Labs Brewing and, fittingly, Vista’s golf-themed Dogleg Brewing.
In between shop talk and refreshments, participants vie for supremacy out on the greens using a best-ball format. This year’s top-placing foursomes were:
- First Place: Brewery Branding Co.—Charles Crisan, Joel Mayer, Dave Wilson, Jeremy Wood
- Second Place: Dogleg Brewing—Jack Garcia, Nick Lumsden, Jim McCaskey, Chris Riendeau
Tournament enticers go beyond having a more-than-ample supply of adult beverages before, during and at the post-tournament dinner. This year event participants vied for a number of additional prizes, including golf clubs from Callaway, a Yeti cooler from Arryved POS for Craft, a trip to the 2023 Craft Brewers Conference from BSG CraftBrewing, gift cards redeemable at local breweries and restaurants, and merchandise from Brixton, Salty Crew, Travis Mathew and Vans.
“I think the reasons the tournament has become such a major event is because you get to be outside at a gorgeous location, win some cool prizes, enjoy a round of golf, and mix and mingle with people you might not always see,” says Smith, who has been a member of the volunteer committee in charge of the event for four years and chaired that group for 2022. “Every year we try to make it bigger and better.”
This year’s tournament raised roughly $17,000, which will cover some of SDBG’s costs throughout the upcoming year, such as employing public-relations and social-media consultants to spread awareness about Guild Fest and other events as well as initiatives that promote local craft beer and the companies that produce it.