Brandon Hernández

San Diego

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

Founder & Executive Editor at San Diego Beer News

Author, @WestCoasterSD Senior Editor, @RanchAndCoast Restaurant Critic @IndieBeerShow Co-Host, #Beer+#Food Writer; @SocieteBrewing CMO, @BeerToTheRescue Founder

Articles

Barrel & Stave moving out of CoLab Public House

3 weeks ago | sandiegobeer.news | Brandon Hernández

In July 2022, a new beverage collective debuted off State Route 78 in Vista. Dubbed CoLab Public House, it brought four beverage-makers and a restaurant together under one roof in a two-story, 12,500-square-foot venue capable of seating hundreds of guests at a time. While the concept of multiple companies sharing space in a master structure was not new to San Diego County, this was the first local example of tenant businesses sharing the same brewing apparatus.
Beer of the Week: Cruisin'

3 weeks ago | sandiegobeer.news | Brandon Hernández

When the subject of best grocery-store beer buys comes up, be it with beer fans or professional brewers, the gravitational pull of a certain company’s cans is typically part of the conversation. That beer biz is none other than Carlsbad-based suds-industry stalwart, Pizza Port Brewing. Their name consistently arises as an always reliable producer of go-to canned beer that, in addition to tasting great and being of exceptional quality, is also available at an affordable price point.
End date set for North Park brewery

3 weeks ago | sandiegobeer.news | Brandon Hernández

In 2023, El Cid Brewing’s monthly numbers were on a steady upward trajectory toward sustainable profitability. Those figures inspired owners Eric Bridges and Terry Kellar to expand their 2,000-square-foot base of operations in North Park (the former site of dual business entity, The Homebrewer and Home Brewing Co.) by taking over the 1,000-square-foot unit next door.
A fair State Fair performance

3 weeks ago | sandiegobeer.news | Brandon Hernández

Last week, winning beers from the 2025 edition of the California State Fair’s Commercial Brewing Competition were announced. The annual contest awarded gold, silver and bronze medals (plus honorable mentions) in more than 50 different beer-style categories. This year, seven San Diego County operations earned 14 medals. That total was down slightly from 2024, when 11 local breweries brought home 18 medals.
Beer of the Week: Illumination

4 weeks ago | sandiegobeer.news | Brandon Hernández

In the old days, individuals interested in getting into the craft-beer industry would often do so by offering their services to brewery owners, often free of charge. It proved a rather effective form of instruction. There’s nothing like actually doing the job to teach an aspirant what that occupation is all about. This practice also helped countless professional brewers get their foot in the door and start their careers.
Rhythm, Brews and more en route

1 month ago | sandiegobeer.news | Brandon Hernández

Before the pandemic, beer festivals and similarly sudsy events were extremely common, to the point where there were one or several every week. And of those many affairs, some of the best were put on by the San Diego Brewers Guild(SDBG). One such example is the Rhythm & Brews Festival, which took place in Vista’s downtown village area each spring from 2012 to 2019.
What Villains Brewing aims to bring to San Diego

1 month ago | sandiegobeer.news | Brandon Hernández

Touring Half Door Brewing’s East Village brewpub, it didn’t take long for an astute real-estate agent to notice some glaring similarities to an establishment an hour-and-a-half away. A white-paneled, two-story home with classic bones and early twentieth-century charm, it reminded him of the uncannily, near-identical 1904 domicile-turned-homey-restaurant at Villains Brewing in Anaheim.
New life for Little Miss’ northernmost taproom

1 month ago | sandiegobeer.news | Brandon Hernández

Before abruptly closing in March, Little Miss Brewing held the record for the most satellite locations of any San Diego County craft-beer operation. The Logan Heights-based business operated nine taprooms, leaving numerous cold-box and tap-equipped sites for entrepreneurs to snatch up following the nine-year-old concern’s exit from the local brewing industry.
Beer of the Week: Hidden Gem

1 month ago | sandiegobeer.news | Brandon Hernández

Sometimes I scroll back through this outlet’s Beer of the Weekarchives. During these trips down memory lane, I often marvel at the variety of different beers that have been covered, even amid the stylistic consolidation we’ve seen in the past half-decade or so. If an alien landed in San Diego and took a look at just about any brewery tap-list in the county, said extraterrestrial would instantly ascertain that this planet’s inhabitants have a real thing for IPAs and light lagers.
A local is uplifted by a community he’s helped bolster

1 month ago | sandiegobeer.news | Brandon Hernández

When Antonio Sanchez moved to San Diego in 2018, he decided to dip his toe into the city’s stand-up comedy scene. He really liked it, enough that he felt inspired to bring an air of humor to his nine-to-five as a brewer in an effort to help himself and his contemporaries deal with common workplace frustrations. Seven years later, Sanchez is known throughout the brewing industry by the social-media persona he’s created, Wort Wrangler.