Sweet Homebrew San Diego!

As part of our San Diego Homebrew Summer program, a dozen local breweries have agreed to bring county homebrewers’ recipes to life by brewing them at their facilities and releasing them to the public. Last month, we put out a call for homebrew recipes and received a tremendous response covering a vast array of styles. IPAs and hoppy ales accounted for just over 20% of total entries, with stouts (15%), Belgian-style ales (11%) and English-style ales (9%) next in line. But in a true sign of the times, it was lagers and German-style ales that were submitted in the greatest numbers, making up nearly a third of total entries.

On April 21, all of the entries were simultaneously made available to participating commercial breweries, who were able to see the entire recipes and choose the ones they wanted to brew on a first-come-first-served basis. The selections were fast and furious, but also finicky and finessed. In the end, 12 breweries selected a varied array of beer styles to try their hands at. Those beers came from 12 homebrewers (with one duo in the mix), three of which had two of their recipes selected. “Captain Eli” Palma will see his New Zealand-hopped pilsner and prickly pear-infused Kölsch scaled up while Kevin and Brandon Holt‘s saison and coffee milk stout with cacao nibs and vanilla will enjoy a broader audience.

In the end, four German-inspired beers, three hoppy ales, three Belgian-style ales, one English-style ale and a single stout made the cut. Now, the breweries and the winning homebrewers will begin planning to craft and release their collaborative creations. More details on when and where to find those beers will be posted to San Diego Beer News come summer. For now, sit back and soak in this distinguished dozen and learn what about each recipe spoke to the individuals that selected them.

Embolden Beer Co. (Miramar)

Don Prickles | Kölsch with Prickly Pear

Recipe by Eli Palma

“We actually chose this style because a kölsch was one of the first beers we brewed here and was the first homebrew I ever did about 10 years ago. Shortly after brewing our kölsch here, we brewed a prickly pear gose, so this instantly caught our attention as two of the favorite beers we have brewed so far, and I think the combo of the two styles and flavor profiles sounds like something that would be a really fun experience for ourselves as well as the homebrewer. Kolsch is a favorite of many of the staff here, and our Head Brewer Andrew Kelly and I homebrewed a kölsch about seven years ago, too, which we loved. Bringing back the homebrew mentality for this seems specials.”—Cody Morris, Director of Operations, Embolden Beer Co./New Motion Beverages

Five Suits Brewing (Vista)

10 Fathoms | Coffee Milk Stout with Cacao Nibs and Vanilla

Recipe by Kevin and Brandon Holt

“My time in QUAFF afforded me some samples of some very well-made homebrews, and I specifically recall tasting some stouts that were brought in by the Holt family, or as they’re more comfortably known, ‘The Incredible Holts’. It also just so happens that we were about to need another stout in the tasting room. I wanted to brew a bigger stout that would last for a time, possibly even work a barrel into the brew. Who knows what’s in store for this beer, but in the spirit of homebrewing, I’ll likely defer to the Holts to lead the way. They’re very passionate and just all around good people.”—Nick Corona, Owner & Brewmaster, Five Suits Brewing

Ataraxia Aleworks (Kearny Mesa)

Hop Brutality | Black IPA

Recipe by Max Mahler

“A black IPA is an exciting beer to both brew and drink. It was somewhat popular with homebrewers for a time, but seems to have fallen off, and not many commercial breweries experiment with them. It would be a fun opportunity to brew one to give the general public an idea of a less-popular hoppy style.”—Daren Rudy, Owner-operator, Ataraxia Aleworks

Creative Creature Brewing (El Cajon)

Vienna Lager | Vienna-style Lager

Recipe by Jim Connor

“We haven’t brewed a Vienna commercially yet and we love that style. Let’s face it, dark lagers are so underappreciated.”—Derek Carnation, Co-founder & Brewer, Creative Creature Brewing

Kilowatt Brewing (Kearny Mesa, Ocean Beach, Oceanside)

Purple Tears | Belgian-style Witbier with Butterfly Pea Flower

Recipe by Fred Brophy

“Although we love IPAs and they tend to be our best sellers, we wanted to choose a different style for this project. At Kilowatt we like to be colorful and creative, and when we found a recipe with butterfly pea flower, which produces a purple-colored beer and will instantly change to a pink hue under certain conditions, we knew we had found a recipe that represents our vibe. On top of that, our Head Brewer Brian Crecely has never professionally brewed a Belgian witbier before, so he thought it would be cool to tackle that, as well.”—Steve Kozyk, Co-owner, Kilowatt Brewing

Home Brewing Co. (North Park)

Darkness Imprisoning Me | International Dark Lager

Recipe by Paul Brown

“We went with this recipe for a few reasons. ‘…And Justice for All’ is one of my favorite Metallica albums, so the reference in the name was certainly not missed, and dark lagers are among those super-rad styles that are delicious and versatile, yet slightly underrepresented as a whole, so we wanted to get that one out into the public…because justice is lost.”—George Thornton, Owner & Brewer, Home Brewing Co. / The Homebrewer

Mujeres Brew House (Barrio Logan)

Siren Song | Saison

Recipe by Kevin and Brandon Holt

“We selected this recipe because we wanted something a little lighter and we thought a saison would be perfect for us to have in the summer. We’re really looking forward to making this!”—Esthela Davila, Co-founder, Mujeres Brew House

Bear Roots Brewing (Vista)

Taut | New Zealand-style Pilsner

Recipe by Eli Palma

“What led us to choose the Taut was the hope to expand on our ever-growing list of lighter styles here at Bear Roots. As the days have gotten warmer, our brewing team has become obsessed with the idea of a summer filled with light, drinkable beers that bring people together for longer periods of time, and we felt this would fit perfectly into the mix.”—Lu Moceri, Lead Brewer, Bear Roots Brewing

Deft Brewing (Bay Park)

Beach Day | English-style Summer Ale

Recipe by Jared Rowley

“There were many interesting recipes offered by our talented local homebrewers. Among them, this recipe was one of the more simple, yet it seemed solid and delicious, and fit well with Deft’s beer menu, approach and point of view. We tend to follow the philosophy that simplicity is often best. We know that, particularly for many of the Old World-inspired beer styles we like to feature, simplicity can be far better than complexity, as long as they are brewed well. We are excited to brew this beer with Jared and learn a few things from him along the way. We can’t wait to have many Beach Days during this upcoming English Summer in San Diego.”—Mo Nuspl, Owner & Head Brewer, Deft Brewing

BattleMage Brewing (Vista)

Mana Potion | Pale Ale with Butterfly Pea Flower

Recipe by Derek Springer

“Honestly, the first thing that caught our eye about the recipe was the name. Mana Potion is very on-brand for our concept. We literally have it written as the name on our sample crowler at the bar. Delving deeper past the name, though, we liked the recipe a lot. It’s a great hop combo, and in the spirit of homebrewing and trying something new, we liked the addition of butterfly pea flower to use an ingredient we have never experiment with. We are excited to scale up this recipe and help bring Derek’s creation to a larger audience.”—Ryan Sather, Owner & Brewer, BattleMage Brewing

Savagewood Brewing (Scripps Ranch)

Trappist Single | Belgian-style Singel

Recipe by Andy Carter

“We chose the Belgian Trappist Single because, not only is the summer weather perfect for drinking this style, but because our Fierce Savages have been asking for a Belgian beer lately. So, it was a two-birds-one-stone kind of situation. Plus, this recipe uses a blend of yeasts, so we are interested to see how this turns out.”—Darrel Brown, Owner, Savagewood Brewing

My Yard Live Beer Co. (San Marcos)

Maia | Mosaic IPA

Recipe by Ben Cusey

“I chose the Maia Mosiac IPA recipe for myriad reasons. The first being the name having ancient Greek and Pacific Islander ties. In Greek/Roman mythology, she is the mother of Hermes/goddess of springtime and growth. In Hawaiian/Maori the term translates as nurse, mother, goddess of spring, bravery, courage and endurance. And I absolutely love a name that makes me wonder what it means rather than a cheap joke. The second reason being it was written by a guy named Ben. How could I not brew a beer with another Ben!”—Ben “Shaggy” Blaney, Head Brewer, My Yard Live Beer Co.