America’s Finest City was all about craft beer for 10 days, celebrating the first-ever San Diego Beer Week. Karl Strauss Brewing Company led the charge, participating in more than 25 events across the county, ranging from beer dinners and cask nights, to beer festivals and dessert pairings. “San Diego Beer Week was overwhelming in the best possible way,” says Paul Segura, Karl Strauss Brewmaster.

Karl Strauss kicked-off Beer Week at the Brewers Guild Festival with several of their special releases and one-off creations, including crowd favorites like the Imperial Pale Ale and Pumpkin Spice Ale. “People were excited to try some of our more unusual beers. We had a few people who hadn’t tried our beers in a while and I think they left with a new idea of who we are.” says Paul.

The company used Beer Week as an opportunity to showcase several new releases and push the boundaries on any previous stereotypes. Some of the highlights during the week included casks of Big Barrel Double IPA, a Lavender Belgian Pale Ale, Brett Farbe black sour, and their new seasonal, Fullsuit Belgian-Style Brown Ale. “One of my favorite events was the Karl Strauss night at Hamilton’s Tavern. People were standing shoulder to shoulder and we blew through our two casks in under 90 minutes,” says Paul.

Karl Strauss Brewing Company was part of the founding team of San Diego Brewers Guild members that saw San Diego Beer Week as a chance to reach a new group of people who might not be familiar with all of the craft beer made locally in San Diego. The company worked to secure $25K in promotional funding from the San Diego Tourism Promotion Corporation for San Diego Beer Week and managed event marketing and press. “You can talk all you want about beer, but the best way to turn someone on to craft beer is to have them try it for themselves. Beer Week made our jobs a lot easier by giving people the opportunity to explore San Diego’s craft beer firsthand,” says Paul.

San Diego Beer Week was a huge success with more than 20 local breweries hosting 300 events. The San Diego Brewers Guild looks forward to making this an annual event each November. For more information on San Diego Beer Week and a video of event highlights, visit www.karlstrauss.com.