Karl Strauss Brewing Company is a

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

-based

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

with eleven

brewpub Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis ...

locations across Southern California and an onsite

tasting room Dégustation is the careful, appreciative tasting of various food, focusing on the gustatory system, the senses, high culinary art and good company. Dégustation is more likely to involve sampling small portions of all of a chef's signature dish ...

at their main brewery in the Pacific Beach neighborhood of San Diego. Besides being available at its own brewpubs the company's beers are distributed across all of California. Karl Strauss is the oldest surviving brewery in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

, having been founded in 1989, and is credited with launching the county's rise to prominence in the craft brewing industry. Based on 2016 sales volume it is the 47th largest brewery in the United States. In 2016 Karl Strauss was declared the Mid-Size Brewery of the Year at the

Great American Beer Festival The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual beer festival hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado. Typically held in late September or early October, the event is currently held at Denver's Colorado Convention Center. ...

History

In 1988, Chris Cramer and Matt Rattner asked Cramer's cousin, Master Brewer

Karl Strauss Karl Martin Strauss (October 5, 1912 – December 21, 2006) was a German-American brewer. He fled Nazi Germany in 1939, and went on to become a brewer, executive, and consultant in the American brewing industry. He received numerous awards dur ...

, to help them develop a

. Strauss was a former vice president of production at

Pabst Brewing Company The Pabst Brewing Company () is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and was, by 1889, named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently a holding company which contracts the brewing of over ...

. Strauss agreed, contributing his library of hundreds of beer recipes, helping to design brewing operations, and serving as the company's spokesman on radio advertisements and in public appearances until his death in 2006. The company's first brewpub, Karl Strauss Old Columbia Brewery and Grille, located on Columbia Street in

Downtown San Diego Downtown San Diego is the city center of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. In 2010, the Centre City area had a population of more than 28,000. Downtown San Diego serves as the cultural and financial center and ...

, opened in 1989. It was the first brewery of any type to operate in San Diego since 1953, and the first-ever brewpub in San Diego. At the time the craft brewing industry was in its infancy and the American standard for beer was light, mild and mass-produced, but Cramer felt that the country was ready for beers with more personality. He believed that "If we could get this style of beer into people's mouths, we could create converts." The company's first distributing brewery began producing beer in late 1991. In 1996 the company's distributing brewery operations were moved into a home office and brewing building in Pacific Beach. Also in 1991 the company opened its second brewpub: Karl Strauss Brewery Gardens in Sorrento Mesa. Additional brewpubs were opened in

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

(1996) (location closed as of January, 2021), Carlsbad (1999),

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

(2002), 4S Ranch in San Diego's North County (2012),

Temecula Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a ...

(2013),

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

(2016) and

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is a ...

(2016). There is also a Karl Strauss brewpub at

Universal Citywalk Universal CityWalk is the name shared by the entertainment and retail districts located adjacent to the theme parks of Universal Parks & Resorts. CityWalk began as an expansion of Universal's first park, Universal Studios Hollywood, and serves as ...

in Los Angeles and a Karl Strauss "beer truck" at the

Disney California Adventure Disney California Adventure Park, commonly referred to as California Adventure or by its acronym DCA, is a theme park located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Park ...

theme park in Anaheim. In 2009, the company partnered with the Greenhouse alternative energy company in a program to convert its waste to ethanol for use as a fuel.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.karlstrauss.com Companies based in San Diego Beer brewing companies based in San Diego County, California American companies established in 1989 Food and drink companies established in 1989 1989 establishments in California

History

See also

References

External links