San Diego Brewers Guild, a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization, will host the 2025 Craft Beer Con on Tuesday, August 5 at Mira Costa College’s San Elijo campus in Cardiff. The annual half-day conference for the San Diego craft beer industry, also known as The Capital of Craft™, is open to the general public.
The conference begins at 11:30 a.m. and includes three education tracks, a trade show that runs throughout the day, and a happy hour from 4-5 p.m. that concludes the day. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.sdbeer.com/sdcbc – $70 for the general public and $60 for Brewers Guild members. The price includes a catered lunch from Brewers Guild member Culver Beer Co.’s Locally Toasted Delicatessen, along with unlimited beer tastings during the happy hour.
“As always, we welcome anyone and everyone who has an interest in craft beer,” said Brewers Guild Executive Director Erik Fowler. “It’s one of the best professional development opportunities of the year for our industry where you can meet key players, and, of course, have a great time socializing and sipping.”
Highlighting the conference is a session titled “Founding Voices of SD Beer”, which features breweries that sparked San Diego’s craft beer movement. Panelists include Paul Segura, the brewmaster of Karl Strauss Brewing Company, which was founded in 1989 as San Diego’s first post-Prohibition craft brewery. Joining Segura is O’Brien’s Pub co-owner Tom Nickel, who founded Julian’s Nickel Beer Company. Co-founder Tomme Arthur of San Marcos’ The Lost Abbey Brewing Co. will participate, as well as Ballast Point Brewing’s former longtime brewer Colby Chandler.
The three education tracks for this year’s conference are “The People of Beer”, “Your Beer”, and “Business, Sales & Marketing”. Attendees can learn from such topics as driving engagement for taproom events, submitting beers for competitions like Great American Beer Festival, and winning in distribution. One session is dedicated to education on wet hop beers, which are brewed only once a year during and shortly after the hop harvest season – and that have a shorter shelf life.
Craft Beer Con is co-produced by MiraCosta College’s Craft Brewing Technician (BrewTech) Certificate program, a 210-hour course that trains students to become production brewers.
San Diego County has more than 150 independent craft brewery locations in San Diego County, up from only 15 in 1997 when San Diego Brewers Guild was founded. The Guild includes allied brewery members, tradespeople, and other providers supporting the production and distribution of craft beer.
The Guild’s 17th Annual San Diego Beer Week will take place this fall from November 7-16.
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