It was six years ago today that San Diego Beer News’ (SDBN) website went live. Though the outlet began reporting via social media several months earlier, providing information on brewery openings, closings and more in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, August is when things got really real. Hence, it’s when we celebrate SDBN’s anniversary, something that, like just about everything else we do, involves working directly with local brewing companies.
Since our first birthday in 2021, SDBN has had the privilege of collaborating with a different San Diego County brewery each year to produce a special beer to mark the occasion. Those outfits include Burgeon Beer Co., Eppig Brewing, Pure Project Brewing, Harland Brewing and Mcilhenney Brewing. With one exception (a hoppy saison in 2023), those collab beers have all been IPAs. Given we represent a region that runs on hops, that seems wholly appropriate.
But this year we are veering away from IPA territory, choosing instead to lean on the passion and expertise for another region’s beer styles, which we share with this year’s chief collaborator. That individual is Matt Akin, the Head Brewer for Miramar-based Duck Foot Brewing. While he makes terrific IPAs, he has a marshmallow-degree soft spot for Belgian ales. Though a tad niche in the Southern California market, they are available in great abundance at Duck Foot’s homebase as well as its satellite taproom in Leucadia. Throughout the year, Akin rotates through blondes, witbiers, sours and the staples of monastic brewing: singels, dubbels, tripels and quadrupels…