A thirst for knowledge—and literal thirst—drew Korey Kaczur to craft beer. The native San Diegan first gained an interest in local ales and lagers while working in another locale altogether…Duluth, Minnesota. There, she worked for two years as a producer and sports anchor for the city’s CBS affiliate. Over that span, she developed an appreciation for hockey, the Minnesota Vikings (don’t hate…she says it’s only because her Chargers abandoned her) and visiting craft breweries.
When her contract was up, Kaczur eagerly returned to San Diego where she got right to work familiarizing herself with its wealth of beermaking operations, particularly those in her North County stomping grounds. One of the spots she gravitated to was San Marcos’ Wild Barrel Brewing, where she attended weekly trivia nights. Fast forward a few years and she was managing the very tasting room where she’d combed the recesses of her mind for answers to obscure questions about celebrities, sports and pop culture. Kaczur both enjoyed and thrived in that position, later expanding her role and assisting in other aspects of the company, including events, social media and website development.
“What made my job easy was my genuine passion for craft beer. I really love how there are so many styles, flavor profiles, hop varietals, and how ingredients as simple as water, malt, yeast and hops make something so delicious,” says Kaczur. “It was fulfilling having a helping hand in the success of the taproom, and I was also able to tap into my creative side via my involvement in social media and planning taproom events, which brought me a lot of joy.”
In July, Kaczur moved on from Wild Barrel to assist her boyfriend, entrepreneur Dermot Owens, in opening the first-ever brick-and-mortar location for his popular mobile culinary outfit, Copper Kings Burgers. That forever home is scheduled to open in San Marcos this October and Kaczur is in charge of catering sales and social media for the business, which amassed its following through pop-up events at North County breweries. While interacting with those businesses will allow Kaczur to maintain ties with the brewing industry she has come to love, she isn’t ready to end her craft-beer journey. To the contrary, she wants to go farther down the rabbit hole, and her vehicle for doing so will be San Diego Beer News (SDBN), where she will create visual content as a video reporter.
“You can take the girl out of the news, but you can’t take the news out of the girl,” says Kaczur. “I love how SDBN is the hub for all things San Diego craft beer and how it originated from the passion for beer. I’m thrilled to be able to help SDBN grow and incorporate some video content.”
During her time studying at Arizona State University’s esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Kaczur completed a one-year internship for Phoenix’s FOX affiliate and covered the Arizona Diamondbacks during Major League Baseball spring training. She also interned at FOX 5 San Diego over a summer and later worked for FOX Sports San Diego as a production assistant. Next up came a brief stint working for a summer-league baseball team in Texas. That gig allowed her to further hone her on-air presence as well as her reporting and editing skills, helping her land her position in Duluth.
“That’s where I strengthened my writing, editing and videography skills and practiced telling unbiased, engaging stories,” says Kaczur. “I want to bring all of this and more to SDBN and continue to bond this awesome community through a shared passion for beer.”
Some of Kaczur’s work has already been published across SDBN’s social-media platforms and will soon find its way onto the outlet’s website, which is currently being upgraded. (More news on that to come.) Expect first-look tours of new brewery-owned venues, like our recently posted video of the recently opened tasting room at Fall Brewing’s Miramar headquarters, interviews with members of the craft-beer community, event coverage and more.