San Diego Unseen: An Urban Portrait
Beer lovers, rejoice. We now join the illustrious ranks of Trekkies, comic-book collectors and Furries as another group with sufficient numbers to herd in a hotel annex and geek out. On Aug. 27, the Handlery Hotel will be home to San Diego’s first Beer-Con.
Beer-Con will certainly provide the diminutive tasting glasses that adorn any other respectable beer event, but it plans to bring much more to the table. It will feature talks from craft-brew luminaries, a live home-brewing session with Home Brews and Gardens and a guided tasting of Hangar 24 beers. I’ll also be on hand to sign headshots, regardless of what organizers and security say to the contrary.
The topics of the talks weren’t available at press time, so I can only speculate what they’ll be covering. Thankfully, rampant speculation is the heart of what we do here at CityBeat:
• “Dr.” Bill Sysak, of Stone World Bistro and Gardens, will explore pairing beers with beers in a talk titled “Double-Fisting for Dilettantes”
• Michael Hess, of Hess Nanobrewery, will repeatedly assert how his operation is a “good size” and that there’s no shame in having such a small brewery. He will also present a slideshow featuring images of his 3-ton truck and 40-foot yacht.
• Greg Koch, Stone Brewing CEO, will announce a new smart-phone app that uses GPS to sense proximity to bars serving his beer and chide you until you man-up and drink one.
• Brandon Sieminski, of Iron Fist Brewery, will discuss how his ruthless management style inspired the brewery name. He will deliver the speech atop a human pyramid of his summer interns.
• Anat Baron, a documentarian, will announce a Beer Wars sequel featuring various craft brewers battling in a modified Thunderdome for increased market share.
Admission will also include a goodie bag that has a Beer Wars DVD, discounts at local beer vendors and other assorted trinkets that will likely populate your next garage sale.
Tickets for the extravaganza are $175 until July 31. Admission will be $249 thereafter and even pricier if purchased at the door.
Using the discount code “cheesman” at checkout will save you $50 per ticket. CityBeat has nothing to do with this event, but if they want to give my readers a perk, who am I to stop them?
Write to ianc@ sdcitybeat.com.
