Correction: Due to an incomplete count provided by local representatives, an earlier version of this story misstated the number of medals won. The correct number of gold medals awarded to San Diego-area brewers is seven; the total number they won is 18.
San Diego County breweries won seven Gold Medals at the 2025 Brewers Cup of California, the fifth annual statewide brewing competition, part of an overall 18-medal haul.
The gold medalists, and their categories, are:
- Burning Beard Brewing (El Cajon) – “In Praise of Bacchus,” Sour/Brett/Other Yeast
- Fall Brewing Company (Miramar) – “Sweet Resistance,” New Zealand-Style IPA
- Hodad’s Brewing Company (Serra Mesa) – “Throwback,” American-Style Brown Ale
- Pizza Port Brewing Company (Carlsbad) – “Irish Hello,” Irish-Style Red Ale
- Pure Project (Vista) – “Double Dust,” Imperial Hazy IPA
- Taproom Beer Co. (North Park) – “True Dark,” Specialty Stout
- Tarantula Hill Brewing Co. (San Marcos) – “Feel the Flow,” International-style Pilsener
Seven brewers based in San Diego or with operations in the region won gold this year, one more than last year at the Brewers Cup; the awards were announced Friday.
TapRoom led all San Diego breweries with three medals overall. Pizza Port’s San Clemente brewery won a bronze for “Dusk Til Dawn” in the Coffee-Flavored Beer category, giving the San Diego-based company a total of three. Tarantula Hill, though based in Thousand Oaks, has a San Marcos location and also won two other medals.
The competition was put on by the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild, in partnership with San Diego Brewers Guild and other guilds.
San Diego-area wins include six silver and five bronze medals. There were two honorable mentions as well.
The other local honorees, along with their categories:
- Silver – Black Plague Brewing (Oceanside), Medusa, Specialty Stout; Kairoa Brewing Company (University Heights), Boots and Stubbies, Schwarzbier; Protector Brewery (Miramar), Rancho West, Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverage; TapRoom, Chocolate Klub, Chocolate Beer, and Tarantula Hill, Liquid Candy, Hazy Pale Ale, and Cali Day, International Pale Ale.
- Bronze – Ketch Brewing (Kearny Mesa), Dr. Billheimers Magic Pilsner, Kellerbier; Mike Hess Brewing (North Park), Lone Pine IPA, Experimental IPA and EZ Drankin, Honey Beer; Pizza Port Brewing, Pine Park Porter, Porter and TapRoom, North Park Haze, Hazy IPA.
- Honorable mention – Puesto Cerveceria (Mission Valley) – Puesto IPA, American-Style Pale Ale; San Diego Brewing Company (Grantville) – San Diego Hazy IPA, Hazy IPA
Here’s the full list of all winners.
“From Carlsbad to El Cajon, craft breweries across San Diego County showed well once again in our state capital,” said San Diego Brewers Guild Executive Director Erik Fowler. “Even with some overall industry struggles the last few years, the quality of San Diego craft beer has never wavered.”
This year’s Brewers Cup of California received 1,360 entries from 203 independent craft breweries. Winning beers in 64 categories were determined by a panel of expert judges.
