SPOTLIGHT


at the SDHC Taste of San Diego Micro Brews event held back in June. This event showcased exquisite beer and food pair- ings, a history lesson with Jack White of Ballast Point, a silent auction and more. Mark your calendars: the next Taste of SD Micro Brews event is scheduled for Febru- ary 18, 2012 from 6-10 p.m. Food from local vendors will again be paired with “history-making beers” and a TBD guest speaker will be part of the VIP session. To see West Coaster’s review of just this last year in beer, continue to page 17.


1868


Christian Dobler’s farm produced ap- prox. 500 barrels annually in present- day Spring Valley (near present-day K. St). (1868-1882).


1871


The Philadelphia Brewery and Saloon is opened in Old Town San Diego one year before San Diego is “relocated” to its present-day location after a fire tore through Old Town San Diego in 1872.


1909 San Diego Consolidated Brewing


Company was formed and located at 32nd and Bayfront Streets (where the 32nd Street Naval Base is located). The site combined the production of: City Brewery, San Diego Brewing and Bay City Brewing Companies.


1919


The enactment of the National Prohibi- tion Act nearly destroyed the brewing


industry nationwide. Prior to its passage there were 7 breweries in San Diego and 55 saloons serving a population of just over 74,000.


1935 With Prohibition over for two years


at this point, San Diegans began to reinvigorate the beer market. Aztec Brewing Company, originally estab- lished in Mexicali, Mexico in 1921, moved all of the plant equipment to the former Savage Tire Company site on 2301 Main Street. The new opera- tion produced about 200,000 barrels annually. The total production of the three local breweries at the time – Aztec Brewing Company, San Diego Brewing Company, and Balboa Brewing Company – equalled 25% of all beer produced in California.


1978 State Assemblyman Tom Bates


authored the “Bates Bill” allowing for “the manufacture of beer for personal or family use, and not for sale, by a person over the age of 21 years.” (Cal. Code § 23356.2). This opened the


door for innovative brewers to try new techniques.


1990 1982


The California legislature passed Cal. Code § 23357 allowing licensed beer manufacturers to “sell beer and wine... to consumers at a bona fide public eating place on the manufacturer’s premises” giving rise to the brewpub and the wish that soon, good beer would be back in San Diego... and that wish was filled.


1896


San Diego Brewing Company “opened with much fanfare.” Alonzo Horton, city father and philanthropist, called the brewery’s opening “the most important industrial enterprise” since he founded San Diego’s “New Town.” At the time, the brewery was San Diego County’s largest manufacturer producing 14,000 barrels annually. A team of horses was used for distribution.


1913


Mission Brewing Company opened their doors at what is today 1751 Hancock Avenue just off of Wash- ington Street. The brewery operated for only four years until 1918. They were famous for their Mission Lager (light and dark). In 1915, the company began making a fizzy “soft drink” called Hopski. From 1918-1919, the vacant building served as an isolation hospital for victims of the flu epidemic.


1953


After thriving for two decades San Diego breweries were squeezed out of the local market by the national breweries’ dominance in packaged beer (bottles and cans) and soon, only macrobrews such as Budweiser, Coors, and Miller were the only choices left for beer lovers.


1960s


Advances in keg technology and bot- tling allowed for imported beer from places like Europe and Asia began to enter into the market providing San Diegans with a few more options. Ad- ditionally, with its proximity to Mexico, San Diegans developed a taste for Tecate, Corona and Negro Modelo.


SD Beer History 1868-1982 T


he below timeline is courtesy of the San Diego History Center. A similar timeline was displayed


(l-r): Rock Bottom brewmaster Marty Mendiola, Stephen Cummings, Event Co-Chair/Mendiola’s fiancée Virginia Morrison, and George de la Flor enjoying the evening’s festivities


1860 1870


City Brewery and Depot opened in San Diego on the corner of 5th & B Streets. The site produced 220 barrels annu- ally and housed the city’s first beer gardens.


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