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"Booking It" Through America’s Finest Beer County

Craft beer culture has saturated San Diego to the point where just about everybody—hop head to teetotaler—knows we’ve got something special here. Still, it’s hard to see the full breadth of the expansive field when you’re standing knee-deep amongst the barley. That’s where local cookbook company, Chefs Press, is stepping in. They’ve spent the better part of the past year immersing themselves in the brewing scene, traveling the county and working with the San Diego Brewers Guild to capture the essence of what has become the undisputed epicenter of American craft brewing. The result is San Diego’s Top Brewers, a comprehensive compendium that’s due out in autumn and, in just over 200 pages, gives thoughtful ink, a back story, faces and names to the dynamic, passionate individuals behind almost every brewery in town (only brand new operations, companies that brew outside the county, a small operation in Eastlake and a certain East County operation that declined to participate are missing).

As you’d expect from a company called Chef’s Press, there’s a big culinary focus. With dozens of recipes made for pairing (and cooking) with beers from each brewery, it’s primarily a cookbook.

Spots like Karl Strauss, Rock Bottom and Stone have contributed instructions for their in-house dishes while non-resto equipped breweries get a little help from some of San Diego’s beer-centric eateries (Urge Gastropub) and chefs from big-name venues including The Lodge at Torrey Pines, Terra American Bistro and the Marine Room. But it’s just as much an informational piece, offering info on the history and identity of breweries as well as the county’s most iconic bars as well as businesses like White Labs (the only yeast supplier in California), PubCakes (cupcakes made with beer) and Tap Hunter (live tap list updates from local establishments in San Diego and beyond).

Additional value-addeds include Beer with the Brewer sections, which include descriptions of each brewery’s core beers and links to online interviews with the craftsman behind those quaffs plus a calendar listing deets on standout annual beer events.

Watch for a Q&A with Paul Body, the photographer for San Diego's Best Brewers in our upcoming September issue.

About the Author: A native San Diegan, Brandon Hernández has been wading in a sea of local craft beer for 14 years. In addition to his work for San Diego Magazine, Hernández serves as the San Diego correspondent for Celebrator Beer News (the US' longest tenured craft beer publication), is a regular contributor to Wine Enthusiast and The Beer Connoisseur and has been a consultant for Food Network. Keep up on his articles about ales, lagers, food, restaurants, chefs and the culinary arts on Twitter at @offdutyfoodie.

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