Sip & Savor in East County: Burning Beard Brewing Company By Keri Bridgwater, Mar 4, 2016Mike Maass and business partner Jeff Wiederkehr recently opened their new El Cajon brewhouse, where the (surprisingly beardless) brewers are currently pouring six debut beers. On tap are two hoppy West Coast IPAs; a coffee stout and coffee stout on nitro; plus Russian Imperial Stout and Russian Imperial Stout on nitro. They...
Read MoreRead More
120 Breweries in San Diego By Ryan Lamb, Mar 1, 2016 Within the last two weeks, three brewing companies commenced pouring in San Diego County, bringing the active brewhouse count to 120. For some perspective, just 27 local breweries were in operation at the end of 2009.Burning Beard Brewing held their soft opening yesterday in El Cajon. With the cessation of nearby URBN St’s brewing operations, they...
Read MoreRead More
Jeff WiederkehrCo-founder Dear Customer:I have become obsessed with our juke box. It has become a living entity for me and I speak of her in a manner that illuminates my psychosis. There are layers to this obsession and they run deep.I want her for myself, but also for the Beard, but most of all (showing the true depths of my depravity), I want her for you. Mike...
Read MoreRead More
Chris BrownHead of Brewing Operations Oh day of days,Wood is something I’m familiar with; I spent most of my early days as a carpenter. It’s a versatile material, it’s strong, lightweight for its size, and has an unparalleled beauty. We feel drawn to the warm rich tones and swimming patterns contained in the wood grain. It was a natural (pun intended) decision to use wood as...
Read MoreRead More
Tough times for beer in El Cajon URBN St. closure leaves city beerless till the spring San Diego Reader, Feb 4, 2016 By Ian Anderson For a moment there, the El Cajon was on the verge of having three breweries. But last week, incoming Knox Corners Brewing announced via Facebook it had ended its efforts to open in El Cajon, instead securing a property in nearby Lakeside. Then news...
Read MoreRead More
Chris BrownBrewer There was a chill in the air, this bright January morning. Like any winter morning should be, however unaccustomed we are to them in these temperate climes. I should’ve brought a hoodie, the inside of this steel building must be like a refrigerator… Never mind that now though, plenty of work to be done to warm one up.We set about to counting out bags...
Read MoreRead More
Q&A: Jeff Wiederkehr West Coaster, Jan 12, 2016 By Brandon HernándezLast year, we introduced readers to Burning Beard Brewing Company, a start-up scheduled to spring up like fire from the follicles of El Cajon. Since then, a great deal of progress has been made. If all goes well, BBBC will open its doors before spring springs. This time around, we’re getting to know one of the business’...
Read MoreRead More
Roll out the barrels Rapid pace of new brewery openings to continue in 2016 San Diego Reader, Dec 27, 2015 By Ian AndersonThe year 2015 has seen more than 20 new breweries open in San Diego. While it seems unlikely they'll crop up at such an unprecedented rate in 2016, these 8 new breweries plan to open during the first half of the year, so we won't...
Read MoreRead More
Jeff WiederkehrCo-founder Redraw number one.They were already late. Not a big deal. We included a month of buffer between when we thought permits would be granted and when we planned on starting construction. So, completely redrawing the plans on the day that we were planning to submit them shouldn’t be that big a set-back, it feels like it is, but everyone tells me not to worry.Why...
Read MoreRead More
Mike MaassCo-Founder San Diego is beer country. Good recipes and flawless execution are table stakes in America’s Finest City. Besides having a lineup of delicious beers, nice tasting room, and great customer service, we also know that having a strong and recognizable brand is paramount to carving out a place for ourselves in the SD craft beer marketplace. To articulate our identity—who we are from a...
Read MoreRead More