{"id":494455,"date":"2026-01-05T16:37:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T16:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/494455\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T16:37:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T16:37:18","slug":"the-state-of-san-diego-suds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/494455\/","title":{"rendered":"The state of San Diego suds"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a busy year for members of San Diego County\u2019s craft-brewing industry. At the same time that brand-new breweries have emerged alongside satellite venues from existing companies, numerous beer businesses have closed their doors, succumbing to a tough economy and a challenging market. The following is a rundown of what has transpired over the past 12 months, including an engaging celebration of the local brewing community, as well as a look at what consumers are looking for in terms of beer styles and the hops they\u2019re brewed with.<\/p>\n

Openings, closings and movement<\/p>\n

The past few years have seen the county\u2019s brewing industry contract, with a significant number of beer companies \u2013 including some longtime establishments \u2014 going out of business. Key contributing factors to those operations\u2019 failures include an inability to recover from pandemic-era debt, increased cost of goods, rising rent and utility costs, escalating wages, and increased competition in the beverage sector matched with lower demand for beer and alcoholic beverages, in general.<\/p>\n

\"ModernModern Times\u2019 Timestead venue in downtown San Diego
(Photo: Modern Times Pubs)<\/p>\n

In 2024, 11 San Diego County brewing companies shuttered, nearly half of which had been open for a decade or longer. In 2025, a dozen local beer concerns closed their doors, but this crop of departing breweries was different. Of them, just four had been in operation for 10 or more years. Additionally, most were of the small or very small variety, with only two \u2013 Oceanside-based Black Plague Brewing<\/strong> and downtown San Diego\u2019s Resident Brewing <\/strong>\u2013 having been widely distributed to bars, restaurants, grocery and liquor stores. Even Little Miss Brewing<\/strong>, a Logan Heights-based interest that operated more satellite taprooms than any other local beer company \u2014 10 \u2014 \u00a0produced only around 3,500 barrels of beer annually, a relatively low amount.<\/p>\n

But the takeaway here is not that small breweries are struggling. To the contrary, small operations with low headcounts and expenses, which focus primarily on the communities in which they are based are thriving, not just in San Diego, but throughout the country. It\u2019s a model that\u2019s proven far safer in these largely uncertain and challenging times for U.S. manufacturers, and one that resonates with modern-day drinkers looking to support their local everything.<\/p>\n

Of the 10 brewing companies that have launched in 2024 and 2025, all but one adhere to the aforementioned model, brewing reasonable amounts of beer without a plan for broad distribution within or outside of the county. Many of those operations, including outlying brewpub Hill Street Brewing <\/strong>(the fourth craft-beer concept to make a go of it at a former outdoor adventure outfitter in South Oceanside), exclusively sell their beer across their own bars, a practice that yields far greater profit margins than selling beer to retail accounts.<\/p>\n

At the height of San Diego\u2019s craft-beer heyday, most new operations were built to grow and grow fast, but today\u2019s entrepreneurs are learning from those who came before them. As a result, they should stand a better chance of weathering the current climate, ultimately resulting in fewer countywide closings in years to come.<\/p>\n

\"AerykHarland Brewing Lead Brewer Aeryk Heeg.
(Photo: Matt Furman)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note that not every closing is a net-negative for the local industry. In many cases, shuttered breweries, brewpubs and taprooms are taken over by beer companies looking to expand their reach or enter a promising neighborhood. There were nine such cases in 2025, with Anaheim-based Asylum Brewing <\/strong>converting Black Plague\u2019s North Park taproom into its first San Diego venue, and Modern Times Beer <\/strong>having installed its \u201cTimestead<\/strong>\u201d pub concept in the former site of Resident\u2019s host business, The Local Eatery & Drinking Hole<\/strong>. Another Anaheim beer business, Villains Brewing<\/strong>, has made a home of the two-story domicile-turned-brewpub that formerly housed Half Door Brewing <\/strong>in the East Village, and last month Kearny Mesa\u2019s Hopnonymous Brewing<\/a><\/strong> opened its first satellite venue in what used to be Little Miss\u2019 Normal Heights tasting room.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, talented brewers from companies that have gone out of business have caught on and made positive impacts at other breweries. Key among them are former Black Plague head brewer Aeryk Heeg<\/strong>, who is now lead brewer at Scripps Ranch-based Harland Brewing<\/a><\/strong>, former WestBrew <\/strong>head brewer Dustin Hendrick<\/strong>, who has moved on to Valley Center\u2019s Rincon Reservation Road Brewery<\/a><\/strong>, and former GOAL. Brewing <\/strong>head brewer Derek Gallanosa<\/strong>, who is now in charge of fermentation for Chula Vista Brewery<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Beer Week bounces back<\/p>\n

Launched in 2009, San Diego Beer Week<\/a><\/strong> was imagined as an annual 10-day free-for-all celebration of local beer and breweries in a variety of creative ways during the first full week of November. And that is exactly what it became, with brewing companies holding next-level events at their taprooms, as well as bars, restaurants, hotels, museums, art galleries, music venues and more.<\/p>\n

\"DerekChula Vista Brewery Head Brewer Derek
Gallanosa. (Photo: Matt Furman)<\/p>\n

About a decade in, Beer Week began to wane, with fewer events, many of which were similar to one another. Then came COVID-19, which made it altogether impossible to hold public events. Once government distancing mandates were lifted, Beer Week returned, but brewery participation, fan engagement and event attendance were significantly down, even at its premiere event, a large-scale beer festival called Guild Fest<\/strong>. Presented by the San Diego Brewers Guild<\/a><\/strong>, a non-profit trade organization representing the county\u2019s brewing concerns, it had long been most brewing professionals\u2019 and beer fans\u2019 favorite event, garnering large numbers and helping fund Guild initiatives all year long.<\/p>\n

In 2023, Guild Fest was discontinued, then replaced in 2024 by a new, similar event called the Capital of Craft Beer Festival<\/strong>. Brewers showed up, but attendance was a sliver of its predecessor\u2019s averages. Frustrated but not deterred, this year the Guild teamed with a pair of local event specialists, who moved the festival to the Harley-Davidson Event Center <\/strong>in Bay Ho, added live entertainment and increased promotional efforts. The result was the best event of its kind since before the pandemic, and something that left local brewers feeling greatly encouraged for future years.<\/p>\n

That hopeful spirit was further buoyed by the resurrection of an event called The Battle of the Guilds<\/strong>, an annual Beer Week affair in which brewers\u2019 guilds from across California send their (often hard-to-come-by) beers to a host venue, where attendees of the event then taste them and cast votes on which region has the best overall beer of the evening. Formerly held at since-shuttered North Park craft-beer bar Toronado<\/strong>, this year\u2019s revived battle took place at Barrio Logan\u2019s Tiny Giant Taproom<\/a><\/strong>. The turnout for the event was substantial, something that could be said for many Beer Week events, ranging from AleSmith Brewing<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s longtime standout Speedway Grand Prix to programming-packed 10-day spans at venerable spots like O\u2019Brien\u2019s Pub<\/strong> in Kearny Mesa and newcomers, including South Park beer-bastion Bock<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Hops still rule<\/p>\n

As it has been for well over a decade, the India pale ale remains the best-selling style of craft beer in the country. This is especially true in San Diego, where the modern interpretation of the style has its origins. But whereas allegiances have largely been split between the classic West Coast IPA and its hazy, New England-born counterpart, it would appear the former is now the undisputed mayor of the capital of craft.<\/p>\n

\"2025AleSmith\u2019s Speedway Grand Prix event. (Photo: AleSmith Brewing)<\/p>\n

For the better part of the past decade, hazy IPAs, which have softer textures and less bitterness than West Coast IPAs, not only challenged their forerunners for supremacy but managed to usurp fan-favorite status altogether. But over time, nostalgia and a thirst for bolder flavors have moved the needle back to a western-pointing direction. There is still much \u2013 almost equal \u2013 love for both substyles, but the region\u2019s original is once more first chair. Similarly, local consumers\u2019 interest in other IPA variants, such as fruited, milkshake, and cold IPAs, has also declined significantly.<\/p>\n

As for the hops lending flavor and aroma to those IPAs, the list of top varietals is currently headed by Mosaic, Strata and Citra. As the name implies, the latter imparts citrus to beers, while Mosaic is big on pineapple and tangerine flavors, and Strata lends tropical-fruit and interesting red-berry notes. Other longtime favorites include Simcoe (pine, red currant) and Nelson Sauvin (white wine, petrol), which have more recently been joined by newer arrivals like Krush (orange, mango) and Nectaron (nectarine). It\u2019s a far cry from when hops mostly tasted of pine, resin, orange and cannabis, and a sign of how much palates have advanced over the past three decades as well as the evolution of hops, IPAs, and beer, overall.<\/p>\n

Openings and closings<\/p>\n

2025 New Brewery Openings:<\/strong>\u00a0Good Pressure Brewing (Allied Gardens), Hill Street Brewing (Oceanside), Koobrew (Miramar), Lyons Peak Brewing (Jamul), Michi Brew Co. (San Marcos)<\/p>\n

2025 Brewery-owned Venue Openings:<\/strong>\u00a0Asylum Brewing (North Park), Brewjer\u00eda Taproom & Kitchen (Chula Vista), Embolden Beer Co. \u2013 The Ramen Station (Kearny Mesa), Embolden Beer Co. \u2013 Rising Sun Collective (North Park), Hopnonymous Brewing (Normal Heights), Latitude 33 Brewing \u2014 SkyDeck (Carmel Valley), The Lost Abbey Brewing (Vista), Mason Ale Works (Barrio Logan), Mission Brewing (Miramar), Modern Times \u2013 Timestead (Downtown), Villains Brewing (East Village)<\/p>\n

2025 Brewery Closures (asterisk indicates company open for 10 years or more):<\/strong>\u00a0Ataraxia Aleworks (Kearny Mesa), Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside), Division 23 Brewing * (Miramar), El Cid Brewing (North Park), Five Suits Brewing (Vista), GOAL. Brewing (North Park), Half Door Brewing * (East Village), Little Miss Brewing * (Logan Heights), Northern Pine Brewing (Oceanside), Oceanside Brewing * (Oceanside), Resident Brewing (Downtown), Three Frogs Beer Co. (Santee)<\/p>\n

A version of this article originally appeared in the Business section of the Thursday, January 1, 2026 edition of\u00a0The San Diego Union-Tribune<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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