San Diego Homebrew Summer

Before there was an envied, world-class craft-brewing industry in San Diego, there were passionate homebrewers. Disappointed they couldn’t find beers they could only read about or taste overseas, they endeavored to brew their own on a recreational level. Procuring equipment and ingredients for this hobby was difficult in the beginning, but soon, pioneers met the growing demand by opening supply outlets like Linda Vista’s Home Brew Mart. Several years in, that operation added a brewery in its back area that birthed eventual powerhouse Ballast Point Brewing. Similarly, frequenters and employees of that shop went on to start their own breweries or become professional brewers. It’s a tradition that’s lived on. Like promising amateur athletes, homebrewers—particularly those who garner numerous awards—continue to “go pro”, opening their own interests.

Homebrewing remains the foundational bedrock of San Diego’s sterling craft-beer scene, so this summer, San Diego Beer News (SDBN) is celebrating it by bringing the county’s professional and recreational brewers together like never before through a new program called San Diego Homebrew Summer.

Homebrew Recipes from Pro Brewers

Every week from June through August, one of a dozen local breweries will share a recipe for one of their beers, which they have scaled down to accommodate a homebrewing environment. Those recipes will be posted to the SDBN site and provide all of the notes and information necessary to brew a five-gallon, all-grain batch using traditional homebrewing equipment. Additional tips and commentary from the brewers will enrich the finished product like specialty malts.

The following are the breweries that will be contributing recipes as part of San Diego Homebrew Summer:

• AleSmith Brewing (Miramar)
• Ballast Point Brewing / Home Brew Mart (Miramar, Linda Vista, Little Italy)
• Eppig Brewing (Vista, Point Loma, North Park)
• Harland Brewing (Scripps Ranch)
• Latchkey Brewing (Mission Hills)
• The Lost Abbey / Port Brewing (San Marcos, Cardiff-by-the-Sea)
• Mikkeller Brewing San Diego (Miramar, Little Italy)
• Modern Times Beer (Point Loma, North Park, Encinitas)
• North Park Beer Co. (North Park)
• Pure Project Brewing (Miramar, Bankers Hill, Carlsbad)
• Rip Current Brewing (an Marcos, North Park)
• Rouleur Brewing (Carlsbad)
• Societe Brewing (Kearny Mesa)

San Diego Homebrew Summer is presented by our banner sponsors at Ballast Point, and one of the goals of this program is to have all or as many of the ingredients necessary to produce recipes from the breweries above available at Home Brew Mart.

Pro Brewers Brewing Homebrewers’ Recipes

Brewing a beer on a professional system is an almost universal aspiration for homebrewers. But brewing their recipe on a commercial system and having that beer served to the public…that falls in dream-come-true territory. And that’s just what will happen as part of San Diego Homebrew Summer. We have teamed with a dozen local breweries who are excited to brew recipes from homebrewers and tap them at their tasting rooms. It sounds too good to be true…but it’s not. This is really happening and it’s easy to have your homebrew recipe considered by the participating breweries.

RECIPE SUBMISSION

Simply email your recipe(s) to [email protected] between now and Tuesday, April 20. Your recipe(s) will be added to a bank of submissions that representatives from the participating breweries will be able to view and select from on a first-come-first-served basis starting on April 21. Once a recipe is selected, it will be taken off the board and the homebrewer who submitted it will be notified via email. It’s just that simple.*

The following are the breweries that will be brewing recipes submitted by homebrewers as part of San Diego Homebrew Summer:

• Ataraxia Aleworks (Kearny Mesa)
• BattleMage Brewing (Vista)
• Bear Roots Brewing (Vista)
• Creative Creature Brewing (El Cajon)
• Deft Brewing (Bay Park)
• Embolden Beer Co. (Miramar)
• Five Suits Brewing (Vista)
• Home Brewing Co. (North Park)
• Kilowatt Brewing (Kearny Mesa, Ocean Beach, Oceanside)
• Mujeres Brew House (Barrio Logan)
• My Yard Live Beer Co. (San Marcos)
• Savagewood Brewing (Scripps Ranch)

Stay in the Loop

As you can see, it’s going to be a busy summer chocked full of recipes and beer releases. The best way to stay informed about when we’re posting one of the recipes or where pro-brewed homebrewer recipes are being released is to click here and sign up for our This Week in San Diego Beer email newsletter.

* Fine Print: Outside of the San Diego Homebrew Summer promotion, SDBN will not share the recipes it receives from homebrewers on its website, social-media accounts or with outside entities. The only exception is when one of the participating breweries selects a recipe, at which time, designated representatives of that business will be emailed a copy of the recipe and contact information for its creator. Once recipe selection is complete, SDBN will dispose of the recipes it has received. At all times, the recipe will remain the intellectual property of the individual who submitted it with the understanding that it must be shared with brewery participants for the purpose of producing the beer at their facility. Homebrewers submitting their recipes will not be paid for the use of their recipes, nor should they expect compensation in money, trade or any other material form.