Eleven San Diego County Breweries Win 13 Gold Medals At 2023 Brewers Cup Of California

Eleven San Diego County breweries won 13 Gold Medals at the 2023 Brewers Cup of California, a statewide brewing competition in Sacramento that has been held every other year since 2019.

Sorrento Valley’s Gravity Heights and Kearny Mesa’s Kilowatt Brewing both won a San Diego-best two Gold Medals. Kilowatt Brewing and Societe Brewing Company, also from Kearny Mesa, won a San Diego-high four medals overall.

This year’s Brewers Cup of California included 1,306 entries from 191 breweries. There were 83 categories and a total of 37 medals were awarded to breweries within San Diego County, including eight silver and 16 bronze. The overall total is nearly double the 19 medals collected by local breweries at the 2021 competition.

2023 Brewers Cup of California San Diego Winners

The list of Gold Medal beers:

Alesmith Brewing Company (Miramar) – Nut Brown for “English-Style Brown Ale”
Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside) – Medusa for “Specialty Stout”
Burgeon Beer Company (Carlsbad) – Clever Kiwi for “Session Beer”
Double Peak Brewing Co (San Marcos) – Creekside Pale Ale for “American-Style Pale Ale”
Eppig Brewing (Vista) – Sinister Path for “Irish Stouts”
Gravity Heights – Brewers’ Best for “English Ales” and Take Two Pils for “German-Style Pilsener”
Kilowatt Brewing – OB Bubble Dubbel for “Belgian Strong Darks” and S3-2x Peach Cobbler for “Experimental/Specialty Beers”
Mike Hess Brewing (North Park) – Ez Drankin’ for “Specialty Honey Lager or Ale”
Pizza Port (Carlsbad Village) – Le Village for “Belgian Strong Pales”
Rouleur Brewing Company (Carlsbad) – Domestique Blonde Ale for “Belgian Low Gravity Ales”
TapRoom Beer Company (North Park) – PB Haze for “Juicy or Hazy Strong Pale Ale”

San Diego is known as The Capital of Craft™ with more than 150 brewery locations throughout the County. San Diego Brewers Guild, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022, is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization of allied brewery members, tradespeople, and other providers supporting the production and distribution of craft beer.

Other medal winners from San Diego County breweries:

Silver

Black Plague Brewing – Supernatural for “Experimental IPA”
Burning Beard Brewing (El Cajon) – In Praise of Bacchus for “Belgian Sours”
Eppig Brewing – 6th Anniversary Imperial Schwarzbier for “Other Strong Ale or Lager”
Hodad’s Brewing (Serra Mesa) – Surf Punk for “American-style Cream Ale or Lager”
Julian Beer Co. (Julian) – Elevation 5353 for “American-style India Pale Lager”
Smoking Cannon Brewery (Ramona) – Juniper Flats for “American Historic/Indigenous Beers”
Societe Brewing – The Harlot for “Belgian Low Gravity Ales”
Societe Brewing – The Roustabout for “Imperial or Double India Pale Ale”

Bronze

AleSmith Brewing – Non-Alcoholic IPA for “Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverage”
AleSmith Brewing – Wee Heavy for “Scottish Ales”
Arcana Brewing (Carlsbad) – Benevolent Dictator for “American Imperial Porters & Stouts”
Burning Beard Brewing – In Praise of Plum for “Belgian-style Fruit Beer”
Eppig Brewing – Natural Bridge: Vienna Lager for “Session Beer”
Kilowatt Brewing – Double Chocolate Macadamia Stout for “Chocolate/Cocoa-flavored Beer”
Kilowatt Brewing – Wee Heavy for “UK Strong Ales”
Pizza Port Brewing (Ocean Beach) – Junk In Da Trunkel Dunkel for “German Weissbiers”
Pizza Port Brewing (Ocean Beach) – Paloma Sour for “Fruit Beer”
Pure Project Brewing (Vista) – Esoteric Knowledge for “Juicy or Hazy Imperial or Double IPA”
Rouleur Brewing – Puckeur Factor for “Experimental/Specialty Beers”
Smoking Cannon Brewery – Hall for “Herb & Spice Beer”
Societe Brewing – Light Beer for “American Light Lagers”
Societe Brewing – The Coachman for “Session India Pale Ale”
TapRoom Beer Co. – Tomorrowland for “Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale”
Thr3e Punk Ales Brewing (Chula Vista) – Barley Legal for “American-style Barley Wine Ale”