San Diego’s brewers once again proved why this city is known as the Capital of Craft, taking home a total of 18 medals—including seven golds—at the 2025 Brewers Cup of California, the state’s top competition celebrating independent craft beer.

Held in Sacramento, the event drew over 1,360 entries from 203 breweries across California.

Seven San Diego Breweries Struck Gold

These standout brews brought home the top honors:

• In Praise of Bacchus – Burning Beard Brewing (El Cajon)

• Sweet Resistance – Fall Brewing Company (Miramar)

• Throwback – Hodad’s Brewing Company (Serra Mesa)

• Irish Hello – Pizza Port Brewing Co. (Carlsbad)

• Double Dust – Pure Project (Vista)

• True Dark – TapRoom Beer Co. (North Park)

• Feel the Flow – Tarantula Hill Brewing Co. (San Marcos)

Plenty More Hardware for the 619

The wins didn’t stop there. San Diego breweries also racked up six silvers, five bronzes, and two honorable mentions at the 2025 Brewers Cup of California, with TapRoom and Tarantula Hill each earning three medals apiece.

Silver went to standouts like BLACK PLAGUE, Kairoa, Protector Brewery, and more. Mike Hess Brewing, Ketch Brewing, and Pizza Port each earned bronze in competitive categories like Honey Beer, Porter, and Kellerbier.

A Toast to Craftsmanship

“Even with some overall industry struggles, the quality of San Diego craft beer has never wavered,” said Erik Fowler, Executive Director of the San Diego Brewers Guild. “This competition proves just how strong and resilient our brewing community continues to be.”

Another win for the Capital of Craft—we’ll drink to that!

ℹ️ For the full results, click here