We love it when we get a chance to hang out with our listeners, so, every now and again, we plan an event to do just that! Call it a housewarming party for new home at TapCraft Studios, or call it a good ol’ fashioned excuse to drink some indie beers with the coolest people on the planet, like we did!

There’s no official guest for this episode but that doesn’t mean we don’t have some guest stars to discuss! Perennial San Diego beer podcast guest, and writer for the West Coaster, Ian Cheesman joins us and we close out the show by having the one and only, Travis Hudson grill us in a trilling round of Name is Your buzzer!

We talk about some of the standout beers we were drinking, a bunch of beer news and current beery topics, and have a fantastic time sharing beverages and a joyous occasion with some of our friends.

Thank you once again to Tap Craft for letting us use you facility permanently, supporting our Show, and sponsoring The Sore Eye Cup!

Get yourself an #indiebeer that you want to share with a friend, and that friend, then hit the play button!

Welcome to the vote down for the 7th Annual Sore Eye Cup!

You will be choosing the top 10 beers that will be judged by our panel of amazing humans with exemplary taste.

This is how it works: you can vote for up to 5 of your favorite beers daily, now through July 19th at 2pm. After each vote, you’re technically blocked for 22 hours. If somehow you have difficulty voting, email me your votes.

RSVP for the Sore Eye Cup Announcement Party at The Rabbit Hole on August 10th! Come witness the winner drink their beer directly from The Cup!

What beers will be chosen for the judging table? You decide!

Voting has closed, thank you to all that participated!

A giant shout out to the returning Sore Eye Cup sponsor, Tap Craft! Remember to contact Tap Craft for all your draft system supply, installation, and maintenance needs!

Setting the industry standard for all beverage draught systems, TapCraft is Draughting Quality Beverages.

If you have been paying attention to the food and beer scene in San Diego you will have heard of Fifty-Two East Eatery before but if you haven’t, we’re here to tell you to recognize this rising star and get yourselves out to Santee, yes Santee, for great beers, exceptional cocktails, and phenomenal cuisine. On a perfect evening to be on the patio, we recorded a live show with Adam the owner & chef and Kristina Blake their beer buyer. The overall topic of the show is beer and food pairing, something that 52 East does well; when you’re there, don’t hesitate to ask for advice on what drinks pair well with their dishes.

Crammed amidst what feels like miles of cables when we’re setting up The Show, awkwardly placed trays of food and beers in positions that made both Abel and me apprehensive delighted our senses as Adam lead us through several pairings he put together from his current menu. I mean, look at those waangs, smoked and then glazed in honey sriracha sauce, sticky and delightful.  We wanted to just stop The Show and devour these, but displaying a level of restraint that I’m still astonished by, we only consumed one tray – these are the sacrifices we’re willing to make for you guys (when we know there’s more pairings coming)!

The sun was setting as we were served the final and ultimate dish from 52 East, the House Bacon Board, described on the menu as “assorted house made bacon, mustard, pickles, potato salad, brussels slaw, and pretzel bites”. The unassuming description of this bacuterie monument is a metaphor for 52 East, under promise and over deliver. If you happen to be one of the bazillion people in the world that would refer to themselves as baceterian, you simply must go and purchase this tribute to the enigma that is bacon. Sorry the photo does not do this masterpiece justice, you’ll just have to trust me on that.

We love live shows here at TIBS! and this one was super fun! Let us know when you’re headed to 52 East Eatery, we’re all looking for more excuses to cruise out to this gem of Santee. Grab yourself an #indiebeer that pairs well with whatever you’re about nibble on and hit the play button!

 

We like to change things up when we get a chance here at TIBS! This week we’re joined by a great indie brewery from Colorado Springs, Goat Patch Brewing Co. We connected through this odd, ancient technology called a telephone.  On The Show! we have Johannah Murphy, the general manager, Darren Baze, founder/owner/head brewer, and Justin Grant founder/owner. Right off the bat it was clear they love their craft but don’t take themselves too seriously. They rolled with all of our jokes without hesitation!

Fortunately, we had four Goat Patch Brewing beers with us to sample during the show. The beer quality, which is clearly the most important aspect of any brewery, is completely on point. I was very impressed, all the beers we sampled could easily be sold here in San Diego.

We are incredibly impressed by the support they show their local community. You’ll hear me get a little stuck on the subject; mainly because the amount of support they provide compared to the amount of beer they produce is very high. We, here at The Indie Beer Show, commend Goat Patch Brewing Co. for this aspect of their business!

If you’re ever out in Colorado, maybe you’ll be at GABF with us, make sure you check out Goat Patch, I know we will! Grab a delicious indie beer and hit the play button!

 

The San Diego indie beer industry has a minor league that many overlook; homebrewing, started from a passion for one of the world’s greatest beverages can lead to professional success.

QUAFF is the homebrewers’ club in San Diego that is unequaled. More than 35 breweries/cideries/meaderies have been founded by people that were members of this group at one point or another. Their pursuit of excellence is as admirable as it is triumphant. Their largest competitor in recent history is enormous; The Brewing Network is a national home brew origination. I’ve heard many people joke that it’s SD vs USA every year for the honors of Homebrew Club of the Year, but our “team” is the reigning champion, 3 years running.

This show is packed with history, descriptions of what the club does, memories (and beer) of members that are no longer with us, nominations for Mt. QUAFFmore, and a ton of fun squeezed in their too!

One of the more commendable qualities of QUAFF is their community support. The #Cheers4Sarah effort began last year to help a member’s family after their daughter was diagnosed with cancer. Sarah has recovered from treatment, so her father Miguel is now using the effort to help 2 other families that have children diagnosed with cancer. The beer will be released on June 22nd at Gravity Heights and then available at the following locations:

Notorious Burgers Carlsbad 6955 El Camino Real Suite 107 Carlsbad, CA 92008 Brazil by the Bay 3676 Kurtz St. San Diego, CA 92110 Hamilton’s Tavern 805 16th St. San Diego, CA 92101 Hoboken Pizza & Beer Joint 1459 Garnet Ave San Diego, CA 92109 Draft Republic – La Jolla 4282 Esplanade Ct. San Diego, CA 92122 Deli Stop 13173 Black Mountain Rd San Diego CA 92129 North Park Brewing 3038 University Ave San Diego CA 92104 Obrien’s Pub 4646 Convoy St San Diego, CA 92111 Amplified Ales 1429 Island Ave San Diego CA 92101 & 4150 Mission Blvd #208 San Diego CA 92109 Small Bar & Grill 4628 Park Blvd San Diego CA 92116 Bottlecraft 2252 India St San Diego CA 92101 & 437 Highway 101 Suite 107 Solana Beach CA 92075 Machete Beer House 2325 Highland Ave National City CA 91950 Grind House Ale 2163 Logan Ave San Diego CA 92113

Corbins BBQ 6548 El Cajon Blvd San Diego CA 92115 Fourpenney House Brewery 8323 La Mesa Blvd La Mesa CA 91942 Hoffer’s Cigar Bar 8282 La Mesa Blvd La Mesa CA 91942 Woodstock Pizza College 6145 El Cajon Blvd Ste 3P San Diego CA 92115 Whiphand Bistro 935 J St San Diego CA 92101 Urge RB American Gastropub 16761 Bernardo Center Dr San Diego CA 92128 Iron Pig Alehouse 1520 Garnet Ave San Diego CA 92109 “Beer Cats Fine Craft Imports Titans Craft Beer Taproom & Bottle Shop” Japan Cork and Craft 16990 Via Tazon San Diego CA 92127 Miss B’s Coconut Club 3704 Mission Blvd San Diego CA 92109 Bar Sin Nombre 253 3rd Ave#100 Chula Vista CA 91910 Rip Current Brewing North Park 4101 30th St San Diego CA 92104 The Ugly Dog Pub at 6344 El Cajon Blvd San Diego CA 92115

Grab yourself a homebrew, if you access to one, and hit the play button!

 

Welcome to the launch of the 7th Annual Sore Eye Cup, an award for the best, regularly produced indie beer in San Diego!

If you’re familiar with this contest, I hope you’ve noticed you’re on The Indie Beer Show site; I have finally united the search for San Diego’s best indie beer with the podcast! A big shout out of thanks to the other hosts of The Show for being on board with The Cup!

Last year was a resounding success, Treevana from Burgeon Beer Co. took home total victory! That beer, along with the only member of the Sore Eye Cup Hall of Fame, Speedway Stout from AleSmith, are the only two regularly produced, indie beers ineligible for this contest. You guys set even higher records for nominations and votes last year, well done!

We will honor the winning craft beer with an actual cup! At the announcement party, on August 10th, at The Rabbit Hole, we’ll fill it up with the winning beer and the winning brewery will drink from the cup right then, as is tradition! The winners can then bask in the glory of victory and have bragging rights for an entire year.

Here are the rules: beers nominated must be brewed here in San Diego County by a licensed, independent, craft brewery. They must be beers the brewery makes year round; seasonal, special versions, one offs, nitro versions and casks are not allowed. The beers do not need to be packaged (cans or bottles), just made all year long and available for growler fills (so we can buy some to judge). We’re looking for superior indie beers that are available to everyone in SD.

Nominate your favorite beer(s) by emailing us at Sore Eye Cup, tweet us (@IndieBeerShow), tag your nomination #SoreEyeCup in Twitter, comment on the post in Facebook, or comment right here on this post. Nominations are open from Friday, June 14th through Sunday, June 30th at 5pm. Voting down to the 10 finalist beers will happen right here at Indie.Beer , from  July 5th to July 19th at 2pm.

The top ten beers, as voted by you, the best people on earth, will be blind tasted/judged by our panel of exemplary beer people . The judges range from craft beer enthusiasts to certified cicerones. We are truly looking for the best, regularly produced indie beer San Diego has to offer. The best craft beer, as chosen by us, will be awarded the esteemed Sore Eye Cup and receive all the prestige and glory we can bestow upon a brewery!

A giant shout out to the returning Sore Eye Cup sponsor, Tap Craft! Remember to contact Tap Craft for all your draft system supply, installation, and maintenance needs!

Setting the industry standard for all beverage draught systems, TapCraft is Draughting Quality Beverages.

Current nominated beers!:

Uncle Pat’s by Bitter Brothers Needle in the Hey! by Thr3e Punk Ales Lil Dipa by Mission My Trusty Lama & Blue lake Brown by 13 Point Stoner Moment by Helix Hazy Daisy by Dos Desperados Hopmata, New Damage, Dankness Visible, Banksy & Normcore by Burning Beard Surf Zombie by Beach Grease Dawn of the Deft & Double Deft Secret by Deft Clever Kiwi by Burgeon (current, reigning champion!) Special Pils & .394 by AleSmith Legally Red, Clever Hoppy Name, Tabula Rasa & Mulligan by Second Chance  Swami’s & Ponto by Pizza Port Islander by Coronado Papa Shaka by Papa Marce’s Cerveceria Plenty For All by Fall Milagro by Pure Project Hop Cloud & Grapefruit Solis by Hess Sharks with Lasers by Home Brewing Co. Relay IPA by Thorn Zumbar & Pure & Simple by New English Devotion by Lost Abbey

Schlock Purist by Original 40 Boss Pour by Abnormal Hop Fu! & Bird Park by North Park The Heiress, The Coachman, The Pupil & The Harlot by Societe Lebron Haze, Dank Drank & Smylex by Pariah Aurora Hoppyalis by Karl Strauss Ice, Orderville & Blazing World by Modern Times Red Tide Ryesing & June Gloom by Gravity Heights Hopcondido by Escondido  Goofy Regular by Duck Foot Electric Youth, Prince of Zamunda, & Dream Trails by Thunderhawk Digital Bath by Belching Beaver Vice Pink Guava, Prince of Dankness & Hipster Latte by Wild Barrel Endo, Bonkeur Mosaic Pale & Domestique by Rouleur Bear Cookie by Bear Roots First Date by Groundswell Alpha Chief by Indian Joe Electrocution by Amplified Windy Hill by Mikkeller Tropic of Thunder by Stone Brewing Jambi by Mason Chasing Citra by Resident Five Finger Discount & Space Oasis (Intergalactic) by 2 Kids Mongo by Port

Maybe you haven’t heard about this brewery in Vista that focuses on poundable beers with a beach, hot rod, motorcycle, skateboard vibe, but they’re here and they are making some pretty tasty beer, get to know Beach Grease Beer Co. They’re tasting room is decorated with everything I just mentioned and is certainly unique and stands out in San Diego.

JamesBanuelos, the founder, joins us on The Show for a great discussion about their inception, what their brand is all about, some of the hickups along the way to where they are now, and generally provides a great context for the overall Beach Grease experience.

We tasted through several of their core beers and were impressed. All the beverages we enjoyed were on message and definitely fit with the poundable motto. We were also lucky enough to help them break in their future podcast space they built on the mezzanine level of the brewery!

We had a great evening hanging out with James and hope that comes through in the recording. Grab yourself a Surf Reaper and hit the play button!

This week is a special one for us, we got to sit down with Doug and Brandon from Societe Brewing Company! Of course that meant Brandon was pulling double duty as both a host of The Show and a guest of The Show!

I’m finally back behind the mic, Esthela is with us as always, and we have a big announcement in the beginning of the program!

We kind of talk about the new distribution deal that was just announced, the deal wasn’t signed at the time of recording so they didn’t talk about the specifics. We discuss some upcoming changes and what will remain the same; extremely flavorful, high quality, #indiebeer . Here’s a little video about that announcement:

Scout Distribution Presents: Societe Brewing from Scout Distribution on Vimeo.

We finish off this episode with a good discussion about the upcoming 7th anniversary party that will go down on July 27th! Last year they didn’t throw a big party and the public demanded an epic celebration this year. Listen to hear some of the details regarding that upcoming soiree and get your tickets here!

Get yourself a nice cold indie beer, maybe a fresh Societe crowler, and hit the play button!

While I was still under the weather, Esthela and Brandon had the chance to interview several integral members of California Craft Brewers Association at their annual Spring Conference. If you’re not aware, The California Craft Brewers Association is a 501(c)6 non-profit trade association representing the craft and specialty brewing industry in California. Formed in 1989, the CCBA is the oldest state trade association representing craft breweries. The CCBA is committed to protecting the growth, quality and variety of California’s craft brewing industry.

The primary  function of the CCBA is to monitor legislative activity at the state Capitol and provide a single and coherent political voice representing the interests of all of California’s craft breweries. They also provide a lot of resources and services to the members of the association.

They start off with Leia Bailey, the Managing Director of the CCBA and Laurie Navas, the Marketing & Events Manager. They discuss the origin of the association, what their roles are, and some of the important work the organization does on a daily basis.

In the middle segment Brandon and Esthela are joined by Chris Cramer: Co-founder/Co-owner of Karl Strauss Brewing and the current Chair of the CCBA. They discuss the importance of protecting the craft beer/indie beer friendly regulations that we currently have in California and how the association fortifies the strength of the craft industry here in CA.

In the final segment they are joined by Tom McCormick, the Executive Director of the CCBA. Tom mentions several bills they are addressing currently, specifically A.B. 1713, and A.B. 205; you can follow those links to get updates and more information.  There is a video below about another bill they are opposed to, if you’d like to help, contact your representative to voice your opposition for A.B. 860.

Want to get a good feel for the CCBA and the events they offer? Attend the CA Craft Beer Summit in Long Beach, happening Sept 12th and 13th. Want to have a blast at a tremendous beer festival, join us at Summit Beer Festival on September 15th!

As Chris Cramer said, grab a California craft beer and hit the play button!

Aaaaand we’re back! I’m alive again, thanks for everyone that wished me a speedy recovery, I appreciate it. A big shout out to Esthela and Brandon who soldiered on without me while I was ill!

This show was recorded live at the 2019 Rhythm and Brews Festival, in Vista. Thank you to the SD Brewers Guild for inviting TIBS! out to record at the event!

Brandon and Esthela interview a cavalcade of members of the #SDBeer industry including:

• Josh from Prohibition
• Cesar from Fall
• Dan from Rock Bottom
• Hayden from Dos Desperados
• Mitch from Resident
• Kevin from Thr3e Punk
• Jay from Thorn
• Shannon from Burning Beard
• Bruce from The Museum of Beer
• Aleks from Culture
• Craig from Resident
• Kelby from Helia
• Steve and Brian from Kilowatt

We love live shows at festivals and it sounds like Esthela and Brandon had a blast at this year’s event! Grab yourself a great #indiebeer from one of the amazing breweries featured in this episode and hit the play button!