Q&A: Marty Mendiola
Owner & Brewmaster, Second Chance Beer Company He’s been a fixture in the San Diego brewing scene for more than a decade-and-a-half, won countless national and international awards for his to-style...
View ArticleFirst taste of Second Chance Beer Co.
Two weeks ago, we checked in with Marty Mendiola, the veteran brewmaster making the transition from a long-running gig at Rock Bottom’s La Jolla brewpub to his very own brewery. At the time, he was...
View Article2015 Recap: Beer’s Present
Veteran Ray Astamendi’s Fall Brewing Co. tops my list of best new San Diego County breweries Each year, I take time to look back at the new brewing companies that opened within the past 12 months (or...
View ArticleBest Beer Futures: North
Indian Joe Brewing Co. owner Max Moran stands in front of his newly acquired building Twice a year, I assess the landscape of in-process brewery-owned projects and pick a few that I feel are the most...
View ArticleBeer of the Week: Second Chance Seize the Coffee IPA
Second Chance Beer Company’s Seize the Coffee IPA From the Beer Writer: Dark beers—your porters and stouts, imperial and lower-octane—are splendid canvasses for dark-roast coffee infusion. The rich...
View Article2016 Recap: San Diego’s Best New Breweries
It’s the final month of the year, and time to reflect on the year nearly gone-by. For me, that means assessing San Diego County’s brewery landscape. That’s what I’ll be doing in a three-part series of...
View Article2016 Recap: San Diego’s Best Breweries Right Now
What are the best breweries in San Diego? Having reported on the San Diego brewing industry for nearly 10 years and having written a guide to San Diego breweries, I get asked this question all the...
View ArticleSecond Chance Beer building North Park tasting room
Veteran brewer Marty Mendiola’s Carmel Mountain-based Second Chance Beer Company will open a satellite tasting room in North Park later this year. Coming in at 1,820 square feet with 24 taps, capacity...
View ArticleBeer of the Week: Second Chance Clever Hoppy Name #3
Clever Hoppy Name #3 rye IPA from Second Chance Beer Co. in Carmel Mountain From the Beer Writer: A few years back, I headed the Naming Committee at Stone Brewing. This was at a time when that company...
View ArticleSan Diego’s satellite tasting room projects
The future home of Little Miss Brewing’s tasting room in OB (three doors down from Culture Brewing’s satellite) Breweries make the best margin by far when selling their beer in their taprooms. With a...
View ArticleSan Diego International Beer Festival winners
Winners of the San Diego International Beer Festival’s professional brewing competition were released today. A component of the San Diego County Fair’s annual festivities, the competition included...
View ArticleBeer to the Rescue back bigger than ever to help lupus patients
When I was diagnosed with the chronic auto-immune disease, lupus, in 2014, I felt very ill and entirely defenseless. I’d been suffering from the condition without a diagnosis for nearly a decade and...
View ArticleOeuvre Artisan Ales contracting with Intergalactic Brewing
The status of Intergalactic Brewing Company remains uncertain at present, but one fact about its future is clear: its tasting room will soon pour beers of a new brand, Oeuvre Artisan Ales....
View ArticleSampler Flight: September Events
September is stocked with a plethora of craft-beer events celebrating just about every type of beer out there. From ales infused with farm-fresh hops to tart tantalizers and, of course, Oktoberfest and...
View ArticleCraft Q&A: Carli Smith
Head Brewer, Bold Missy Brewery I first met Carli Smith after being introduced by her mentor, Marty Mendiola. The former had recently resigned from his long-time post at Rock Bottom’s La Jolla brewpub...
View Article2017 Recap: Best New San Diego County Breweries
This year saw more new-brewery openings than any in San Diego County’s history. Happily, in this reporter’s opinion, more of them were of good quality than in year’s past. Enough that whittling down a...
View Article2017 Recap: Best San Diego County Breweries
What are the best craft breweries in San Diego County? I get asked that all the time. When people pose that question, it’s usually because they’re visiting, so I tailor my response around the types of...
View Article2017 Recap: Beers of the Week
Each week, I feature a locally produced beer that is special from one of numerous standpoints. Sometimes it’s an anniversary beer, other times I go with collaborations. The draw of something unique...
View ArticleSan Diego International Beer Festival winners
Winners of the San Diego International Beer Festival’s professional brewing competition were released today. A component of the San Diego County Fair’s annual festivities, the competition included...
View ArticleBeer to the Rescue back bigger than ever to help lupus patients
When I was diagnosed with the chronic auto-immune disease, lupus, in 2014, I felt very ill and entirely defenseless. I’d been suffering from the condition without a diagnosis for nearly a decade and...
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