San Diego has been selected as the site for 2023 Homebrew Con, a homebrewing conference and competition featuring more than 2,000 amateur and pro brewers. The 45th annual event, put on by the American Homebrewers Association and Brewers Association, will take place June 22-24, 2023, at the Town and County Resort in Mission Valley. San Diego Brewers Guild executive director Paige McWey Acers made the announcement.
“I am excited with a capital ‘E’ that the Capital of Craft will be the host of the next Homebrew Con,” McWey Acers said. “This event is quite special for both professionals and amateurs within the industry. It nourishes and helps everyone flourish.”
Homebrew Con is returning to America’s Finest City for the first time since 2015. This will be just the third in San Diego overall; also in 2011. Conference attendees must be members of the American Homebrewers Association. Membership information is available here.
The three-day conference will consist of more than 50 speakers from the craft beer industry throughout the United States and it will encompass eight tracks: Beer Styles, Brewing Process, Homebrewing Culture, New to Homebrewing, Beyond Beer, Clubs & Competitions, Ingredients & Adjuncts, and Quality & Sensory.
The National Homebrew Competition that will take place is the world’s largest amateur homebrew competition celebrating the most outstanding beer, mead, and cider. There will be nine regional judging sites across the U.S. in the spring, including one in San Diego, that will determine which brews advance to Homebrew Con. Local homebrewers must register between Jan. 24-31, 2023, and more information can be found here.
Eight San Diego amateur brewers won medals at the 2022 competition in Pittsburgh, including three who finished in first place: Doug Brown in the Pilsner category (146 entries), Billy Lampert with Theresa Wilks in the American Porter & Stout category (86 entries), and Scott Voak in the Spice Mead category (24 entries).
Second place finishers in 2022 were Brown in the Dark European Lager category (108 entries), Jared Rowley in the Irish Stout category among (36 entries), and Robert Knipper in the Strong American Ale category (76 entries). Third place winners were Brown in the Pale Malty European Beer category (110 entries), Dan Stoneman in the British Stout category with Brown (48 entries), Josh Arnold in the Amber European Beer category (110 entries), and Eric Bridges in the American IPA category (117 entries).
San Diego County is known as The Capital of Craft, a moniker that was trademarked in 2015. San Diego has the most craft brewery locations among all counties in the United States with more than 150. The Brewers Guild, which has celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022, was founded in 1997 with 15 breweries.
San Diego Brewers Guild, which organizes Beer Week, is a nonprofit organization that promotes local small businesses and entrepreneurs of craft beer via education, events, and community involvement.
