This week's
San Diego Reader has a great cover story on the rise and importance of San Diego beer. It is worth reading. I don't think the article was written by a beer geek, so it doesn't come across as someone "preaching to the choir." I share Stone's Greg Koch's anger at "beer-purveying establishments" that don't offer local beer:
The one thing that makes him really mad is local San Diego beer-purveying establishments who won’t welcome San Diego beers into their line-up.
Like Qualcomm. “Here we are, San Diego, one of the most famous brewing cultures in the entire world, and no local beer at Qualcomm Stadium? Instead, it’s corporate facsimiles. Tell me whether you think that’s the result of local demand or corporate machinations behind the scenes? It infuriates me. It should infuriate a beer enthusiast. It should infuriate a San Diegan.”
Qualcomm Stadium is not alone (see
last month's rant on beer at San Diego County Fair). Near the end of the article the author describes a secret beer club that meets "every Wednesday around sunset over a keg of some craft-brew. They enjoying (sic) a couple of hours sitting around outside this garage, talking beers, mostly, because there’s something new every week to talk about. To join the club, you bring a peace offering: a keg." How do you get an invite to this speakeasy?
2 comments:
I find the bit about Qualcomm Stadium interesting. I was down in Des Moine, Iowa about a month back and I happened to stop by a local brewpub named Court Ave. Brewing. They had just started providing beer to the local baseball stadium and were breaking sales records because of it. My server even mentioned that the brewer was a little upset because he had less time to dream up new recipes trying to keep up with demand.
Proof, I suppose, that Koch was right about 'corporate machinations'.
That's a good problem for Court Ave Brewing to have. I imagine the spillover business will be good, as people will be asking for his beers are restaurants after the season. Strange here in SD, many major tourist spots are under represented by local beers, but I think the article said Stone Brewing is No 2 tourist destination in North SD County. Thanks for the comment.
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