The sun has set on 2015 over the big blue Pacific Ocean a few miles down the road from our brewery in San Diego. With glass in hand, we wanted to take a look back across our 26th year and appreciate how lucky we are to be part of something as special as craft beer. From throwing parties for our friends and neighbors, supporting our community and generally just doing everything we can to have a great time, it was a year for the record books!

103 Unique Beers Brewed

One major milestone we hit this year comes courtesy of the heart and soul of the Karl Strauss family, our distinguished brewing team. Collectively, they produced 103 unique beers across our core lineup, small batch program, and special releases. Virtually every conceivable concoction of barley, yeast, water, and hops were showcased, from Barelywines and Barrel Aged fruited sours to malty Dunkels and a delicate Kolsch. In 2016, watch for our small batch program to grow even more as each of our brewpubs expands in-house production to provide even more fresh reasons to stop by for a pint.

Bringing Home The Goods

Now you know what they say up in Hollywood: it’s an honor just to be nominated. But we gotta say… it feels pretty darn good when you win, too! We took home 10 medals in 2015 – including three at the Great American Beer Festival! (Karl Strauss was 1 of only 8 breweries to win 3+ GABF medals… what great company to be in!) It’s been a very exciting – and delicious – year here at the brewery. We cannot wait for you to join us in 2016!

We Love Our Beach

In August, over 150 members of the Karl Strauss family gathered in Oceanside to participate in our annual beach clean-up with the Surfrider Foundation. Since Karl Strauss opened its doors in 1989, the idea of caring for the community and the environment has been one of our core values. We are a local company operating in coastal cities so it’s important for us to give back and participate in keeping our beaches and ocean clean.
This year’s event was a huge success with team members from across California showing up to support the cause for a record-breaking attendance turnout. “This was the biggest turnout for a beach clean-up that we’ve ever had in North County San Diego,” says Surfrider’s San Diego Chapter Manager, Mandy Sackett. We collected an impressive amount of trash and helped make a big impact in Oceanside, picking up over 200 pounds of trash and 56 pounds of recyclables.

Handcrafted Beer. Local Art. Independent Music.

Our Arts & Amps series brought together folks from around San Diego to celebrate the local creative scene in our backyard. We believe that supporting causes we believe in and showcasing the vibrant, hardworking artisans who live here alongside a lineup of killer beers is the perfect way to give back the city we love so much. 2015 saw Blackout Party, Rebecca Jade and the Cold Fact, The Mattson 2, and Little Hurricane take the stage. 2016 promises to be bigger and better, keep an eye out for dates and artist announcements as well as the return of Barrel Royale, our now annual barrel-aged and sour beer festival!