Beth Demmon

No two days are the same for Danii Oliver. She’s the owner and brewer at Brooklyn’s Island to Island Brewery as well as a homeschooling mother of two. Like many parents who are also small business owners, Oliver’s life isn’t neatly separated into “work” and “family,” which means her kids are beside her every step of the way.
“My children are my coworkers. They are where I am,” explains Oliver. “Breweries are classrooms. They are laboratories. They are places where people come together.”
She l...

“Sometimes you want to go / Where everybody knows your name / And they're always glad you came / You want to be where you can see / Our troubles are all the same / You want to be where everybody knows your name.”

The theme song from Cheers has never quite landed the way it does now—weeks into COVID-19-induced quarantines, when imposed isolation has deepened into deprivation. Following its sudden arrival several months ago, the virus has since brought the entire world to a collective halt. Wit...

For the Eat the World feature in Saveur's "Growers" issue.
"Overshadowed by high-end viticulture, the art of growing hops for beer might not always get the recognition it deserves."

An in-depth look into the hard kombucha trend and its history, along with national recommendations for the June 2020 issue of EatingWell Magazine.

The bartenders at KINDRED, a heavy metal-themed vegan restaurant in San Diego, CA, are just as likely to be found brandishing blowtorches at garnishes as they are painstakingly arranging flower petals atop neon-hued tropical concoctions. Today, it’s increasingly common for appearances to eclipse taste in order to achieve that perfect picture to cherish forever—or at least until your Instagram story expires.

The Women’s Beer Forum, hosted by Los Angeles-based Eagle Rock Brewery, is the latest victim in a long line of so-called “gender-based discrimination” lawsuits initiated by various men’s rights activists (MRAs), who are lashing out events and promotions designed for women.

Participant in a group of audio vignettes outlining a visceral, visual description of beer as part of the Good Beer Hunting podcast network.

Responsible consumption in a time of crisis is possible. Frankly, it might be a little necessary. So let’s get the bad news out of the way: it’s too late to hit the bar. Even if your local watering hole is still open and operating at a reduced capacity, pubs are petri dishes of potential community spread. It’s time to embrace the best place in the world to drink—at home.
Now for the good news! It’s not too late to grab some beer to-go. Most San Diego breweries have adjusted their operations t...

Fall Brewing Company has been a staple of San Diego’s North Park neighborhood since opening in 2015, and COVID-19 has only amplified the sense of community around the brewery. It has a tiny team: fewer than a dozen employees make up Fall’s roster, but they’ll be damned if this sudden cataclysm will stop them from slinging the same beers they always have.
Under California’s new shelter-in-place mandate, customers are limited to to-go options only, with a small number of patrons allowed inside ...

Five predictions of what we can expect to see in #sdbeer in the next year

For San Diego beer, 2019 was less roller coaster, more course correction foretelling a new reality. Our inevitable transition from boiling point to simmer can be credited to an impossibility of sustained growth—mathematically and economically, double-digit expansion can’t go on forever—as well as market maturation and evolving consumer demand. With 2019 almost in our rearview mirror, here are a few predictions for what ...

Sandy Cockerham of Indianapolis spent nearly four decades working for a pharmaceutical company. She met people from around the world, one of whom introduced her to English ales. “That was my entry into something that didn’t taste like sharp, fizzy, yellow, water,” she says. She discovered Anchor Steam and Liberty Ale from Anchor Brewing, the old recipe for Pete’s Wicked Ale, and eventually her “desert island” beer, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
That intro would set her down a path that would lead t...

“White supremacy shut us down,” Black Star Line Brewing Company founder L.A. McCrae says. “Our world has been rocked.”

February 2020 print issue of San Diego Magazine, "Baja Issue"

Craft beer is booming in Baja California. What was once a grassroots network of passionate homebrewers clandestinely sharing their brews with family and friends has transformed into a multimillion-dollar industry representing nearly one-fifth of Mexico’s entire economic output of cerveza artesenal.

On July 1, 2020, the Mujeres Brew Club in San Diego will open the first Latinx women-founded and women-led community brewing space, educational facility, and taproom dedicated to empowering people of all backgrounds, specifically focusing on women of color in the craft beer industry. According to co-founders Carmen Favela and Esthela Davila, Mujeres Brew House will be managed by women and for women with the intent of breaking down barriers of entry into the beer scene.
Mujeres Brew House is a...

Every year, we reflect on how lucky we are to chronicle the stories of folks making the beer world better. From incredible leadership to innovative ways of thinking, these are the people shaping the future of the industry—and we’re thrilled to share them with you. These are the 2019 Signifiers.
We’ll be updating this page every day for the next two weeks, so come back and check in! Thanks for spending a little bit of your time with us.
That there are passionate craft beer fans out there, util...