Industry Spotlight: The Capital of Craft Beer
May 17, 2019 - Nickie Peña
With more than 140 brewing locations and a plethora of other establishments that serve award-winning beers, it’s hard to deny that San Diego truly is the Capital of Craft. Plus, in 2017 alone, the economic impact of independently-owned craft breweries in the region surpassed $1 billion in output. The very same business community made 1.1 million barrels of beers…which sounds like a lot of beer, right? To put this in perspective, it’s the equivalent to 369.6 million 12-ounce bottles.
Thanks to brewing industry pioneers such as Stone Brewing, AleSmith Brewing, Pizza Port Brewing, Ballast Point Brewing Company, and more, San Diego has earned accolades and international recognition for its own self-proclaimed beer sub-category—the San Diego-style IPA. These hop-forward, aggressively bitter yet flavorful ales (also known as “West Coast-style IPA”) are a perfect complement to the region’s almost entirely year-round sunshine.
While there’s plenty of award-winning craft beer on tap around the region, the 78 Corridor is home to roughly one-third of local breweries and cleverly dubbed by locals as the “Hops Highway.”
Since the early 1990s, craft beer continues to be a growing industry that affects more than 6,200 jobs in the region. These employment opportunities range from marketing, sales, production, administration, and perhaps the world’s coolest science gigs, to ensure the consistent quality and flavor of beer.
Learn about more of the other flavorful offerings in San Diego at sandiegolifechanging.org/explore.