What’s new for the 2024 San Diego Beer News Awards

Since our inaugural in-person ceremony in 2022, the San Diego Beer News Awards have become the most highly anticipated night of the year for the local brewing industry. Built to bring the industry and its fans together to celebrate the performance and achievements of brewing companies and their passionate employees, it’s a fun, free awards show that’s created many memorable moments over the past two years.

This year’s SDBNAs will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26 at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station, and while they will follow a similar format as years past, we have come up with some new features to further grow and enhance this annual tradition, starting with a few new awards. The first is the Champion Brewery Award, which will be awarded to the top vote-getter of all five of our regional Best Brewery Award winners.

We are teaming with our friends at the San Diego Brewers Guild so that they can show their appreciation to an individual going above and beyond for the non-profit care of the new Outstanding Service Award. The backbone of the Guild is its roster of volunteers from within the local brewing industry, many of whom work behind the scenes and, despite making a big difference, rarely get a moment in the spotlight. This award will change that and allow the Guild to honor one of their volunteers and sing their praises in front of their colleagues and contemporaries.

We are also very proud to announce the addition of the Nate Soroko Community Impact Award. Named for Nate Soroko, a beloved, passionate longtime advocate of local craft beer, the culture surrounding it and the people within it, this award aims to honor individuals who, like him, have made a major positive impact on the industry in a civilian role. While Soroko worked for a number of brewing companies, his greatest influence came independent of those affiliations as he connected people, encouraged people and lent his energy and services to events and initiatives that advanced the cause of San Diego beer and those who produced it.

We could think of no better way to honor the memory and legacy of our dearly departed friend than by recognizing people like him – be they vocal and active advocates, organizational leaders, restaurateurs, bar owners, retailers, members of the media or simply nth-level beer fans – who go the extra mile and do their best to further the cause of local beer. We urge our readers – particularly those within the industry – to take a moment to consider and nominate such individuals for his award.

Speaking of nominations, beginning today, San Diego Beer News will solicit nominations in one category every weekday in January via our Instagram account. Those nominations will make up this year’s online ballot, which will be posted online in February so fans can vote for their favorites in the following categories…

Brewery & Brewer Awards: Champion Brewery, Best Brewery by Region – North, South, West, East, Central, Best New Brewery, Larry Smith Customer Service Award, Vanguard Brewer Award, Nate Soroko Community Impact Award, San Diego Brewers Guild Outstanding Service Award, Best Expansion Project, Best Interior & Exterior Design, Best Packaging Art, Best Food / Menu

Beer Category Awards: West Coast IPA, Hazy IPA, Imperial IPA, Niche IPA, Hoppy Beer (Non-IPA), Pilsner, German Beer, Belgian Ale, U.K. / Irish Ale, Coffee Beer, Sour Ale, Barrel-aged Sour / Wild Ale, Strong Ale, Barrel-aged Beer, Light Beer / Adjunct Lager, Non-alcoholic Beer, Collaboration Beer

Winners in the above categories will be announced at this year’s in-person ceremony, which will also include its fair share of fun firsts. In addition to Stone beers, this will be the first year where we will be able to have SDBNA gold-medal beers from previous years available on tap. There will also be a beer brewed specifically for the event, a San Diego-style IPA that will be brewed at Stone’s Liberty Station brewery in a collaboration that’s open to every professional brewer in San Diego County. Check back for more information on that collab session as well information on the first-ever theme for the SDBNAs.

And thank you to the many new and returning sponsors who are making the SDBNA ceremony possible this year. We appreciate your overwhelming support and the opportunity to partner with you in keeping this special tradition going strong. A handful of sponsorships are still available. If you or your company would like to learn more about being a part of the 2024 SDBNAs, email us and we will get right back to you.

2024 San Diego Beer News Awards Sponsors: Yakima Chief Hops, Arryved, BSG, Country Malt Group, San Diego Brewers Guild, Classic Beverage Distribution, Premier Stainless Systems, TapCraft, Ale Tales Taproom, Alternative Strategies, Beer30 by the 5th Ingredient, Bottlecraft, CLTVT, Hauck Architecture, Hoppy Beer Gear, Katalyst Public Relations, SDSU Global Campus, Shirts On Tap, SoCal Brewing Supply, WestAir and White Labs

Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station is located at 2816 Historic Decatur Road in Point Loma