Judged the best in its class at the recent 2014 World Cup of Beer |
KILLING IT SINCE
1996--Earlier
this month, Coronado Brewing Company commemorated
18 years of brewing excellence with an 18th anniversary party recently held at
the company’s tasting room on Knoxville Street in San Diego. There was a lot to celebrate because it has
been a banner year for the brewery, especially so because the brewer netted a
Gold award for their Islander IPA from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF)
in Denver, CO.
It
also captured a Silver for Old Scallywag in addition to garnering a first ever
medal (silver) for its Black Sails IPA in the American-Style Black Ale
category.
Rick and Ron Chapman, founders |
And
at the World Beer Cup, Coronado also triumphed as the champion among mid-size
brewers, as it received the highly coveted Champion Brewery/Champion Brewmaster
Award, arguably the most prestigious award in craft brewing.
Drawing
the highest number of entries to date, this edition of the World Beer Cup saw
4,754 beers from 1,403 breweries representing 58 countries—a 21 percent increase
in the number of entries from the 2012 World Beer Cup, which had 3,921 entries.
Brewers
from five continents earned awards from an elite international panel of judges
at this tenth biennial competition, with brewers from 22 countries—ranging from
Australia and Brazil to Taiwan and the United Kingdom—honored. Judges awarded
281 out of 282 total possible awards, reflecting the chance for one gold, one
silver and one bronze award in each of 94 beer style categories.
This
year’s event was particularly competitive; the proportion of winning breweries
winning one or more awards was 18 percent, compared to 27 percent in 2012.
There was a 75.6 percent increase in breweries competing this year versus 2012,
which had 799 breweries that entered beers in the competition. A total of 253
breweries took home awards in 2014, a 16.6 percent increase over 2012.
Champion
Brewery/Champion Brewmaster Awards
(Highest Awards)
Small
Brewing Company Category
Pelican
Brewery
Mid-Size
Brewing Company Category
Coronado
Brewing Company
Best
Individual IPA Award
Category:
American-Style
Strong Pale Ale, 97 Entries
Gold:
Islander IPA, Coronado Brewing Co., Coronado, CA
Silver:
Hops, Haven Brewing, Pasadena, CA
Bronze:
Overboard IPA, Big Island Brewhaus, Kamuela, HI
WHO ARE THESE GUYS?
In
1996, brothers Ron and Rick Chapman realized a long-time dream and got ahead of
the craft brew curve in a big way, opening a brewpub in the heart of their
hometown of Coronado.
Back
then, craft beer was still a foreign term and San Diego County was home to a
mere handful of breweries, most of which were struggling to find their
identity. The Chapmans had no question about who they wanted to be. Their
clear-cut mission was to celebrate their islander roots through the creation of
exceptional beer. And with those noble ideals, Coronado Brewing Company was
born.
In
no time, CBC became the pride and joy of the Crown City behind an assortment of
abundantly hoppy West Coast-style ales. That early success drove them to start
distributing their beer outside the brewpub. They didn’t go far for their first
sale, delivering a keg to historic hometown icon The Hotel Del Coronado. From
there, slowly yet steadily, CBC’s fine, hand-crafted beers trickled into the
local market where they fast became favorites amid San Diego’s burgeoning beer
scene.
That
trickle swelled to a steady stream in 2003, when CBC struck up a relationship
with a local craft distribution company. This development allowed even more
beer enthusiasts to get a taste and gain an affinity for their Coronado Golden,
Mermaid Red and Islander IPA. That increased demand drove an expansion in 2006
that tripled the size of CBC’s brewhouse and raised fermenter capacity by 260
barrels.
By
2010, CBC was brewing about 5,000 barrels of beer per year, allowing them to
expand their reach beyond California. Out-of-state accounts embraced core beers
and new varieties like the citrus-laced Orange Avenue Wit and hop-hammered
Idiot IPA to the point where, even after all the expansion, CBC still couldn’t
produce enough beer to meet an ever-increasing demand.
That
problem was solved in 2012, when CBC grew their empire, building a brand new
30-barrel brewhouse in a 22,000 square foot building on Knoxville St. in San
Diego’s Tecolote Canyon area. The Knoxville production facility will eventually
provide enough space for an overall annual capacity of 60,000 barrels, provided
increased space for their expanded barrel-aging program and gave CBC fans on
the mainland a tasting room at which to wrap their palates around even more
innovative beer styles.
OPERATIONS DETAILS:
Coronado Brewing
Company/Brew Pub
170
ORANGE AVENUE
CORONADO,
CA 92118 (619) 437-4452
info@coronadobrewing.com
Sun-Thu: 10:30am - 9pm
Fri-Sat:
10:30am - 10pm
Happy
Hour M-F: 2-6pm
Tasting Room
1205
KNOXVILLE ST
SAN
DIEGO, CA 92110 (619) 275-2215
info@coronadobrewing.com
Sun-Thurs: 11am - 9pm
Fri
& Sat: 11am - 9:30pm
Happy
Hour M-F: 1-6pm
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