Karl Strauss Brewing Company

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Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Location	San Diego, California, USA
Owner(s)	Chris Cramer and Matt Rattner (private)
Year opened	1989
Active beers
Name Type Karl Strauss Amber Lager Vienna lager Red Trolley Ale Amber ale Stargazer IPA India Pale Ale Woodie Gold Pilsener Windansea Wheat Hefeweizen Downtown After Dark Brown ale Endless Summer Light Light beer
Other beers
Name Type Seasonal Release beers Ed's Hoppy Birthday Brew Kölsch Del Marzen Märzen Minden Maibock Bock Karl's Holiday Beer Festbier Pin Tail Pale Ale Russian Imperial stout Dry Hopped Brown Ale Brown Ale Extra Special Bitter Extra Special Bitter Black's Beach Extra Dark Schwarzbier Padre Porter Porter Bock of America Bock Belgian Abbey Red Dubbel Scotch Ale Scotch ale Karl Strauss Oktoberfest Oktoberfestbier Horton's Hootch Doppelbock Balboa's Vintage Barleywine Barleywine Russian Imperial Stout Russian Imperial stout Jeff & Jer's Hootch Doppelbock Oatmeal Stout Oatmeal Stout Strausstout Stout

Karl Strauss Brewing Company is a San Diego, California-based beer business with a microbrewery and a chain of brewpub restaurants. In 1988, Chris Cramer and Matt Rattner asked Cramer’s cousin, the late Karl Strauss, to help them develop a brewpub. Strauss was a former vice president of production at Pabst Brewing Company, reaching the title of Master Brewer.^[1]

The company’s first brewery restaurant, Karl Strauss Brewery Restaurant, located on Columbia Street in Downtown San Diego, opened in 1989. It was the first new brewery of any type to open in San Diego in more than fifty years.

The company's first distributing brewery began producing beer in late 1991. In 1996 the company’s distributing brewery operations were moved into a 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m²) home office and brewing building in Pacific Beach. In 1999, the company installed new brewery equipment at its microbrewery, which more than tripled the brewing capacity. In 2009 they introduced a bottling line so that they could produce bottled beer as well as kegs in their local facility.^[2]

Karl Strauss Brewery Gardens restaurant in Sorrento Mesa opened in 1991. In 1996, the company opened Karl Strauss Brewery Restaurant in La Jolla. In 1999, the company opened a brewery restaurant in Carlsbad, California, and under a licensing agreement with Host Marriott opened a Karl Strauss Handcrafted Beers Bar at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Diego International Airport (SAN). In August 2000, the company opened a Karl Strauss Brewery Restaurant at Universal Citywalk in Los Angeles. In 2001 the newly-opened Disney's California Adventure Park in Anaheim included a Karl Strauss "beer truck" in the Pacific Wharf area, selling six of the company's brews. The most recently opened Karl Strauss Brewery Restaurant was established in 2002 in Costa Mesa, California.

In 2009 the company made news by partnering with the Greenhouse alternative energy company in a program to convert its waste to ethanol for use as a fuel.^[3]

Besides being available at its own restaurants, the company’s beers are available on tap at many Southern California restaurants and bars, as well as being sold in bottles at retail stores.

Annual events held at the microbrewery include the Beach to Brewery Beer & Music Fest in May and the Karlfest in October.

[edit] See also

• California breweries

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Karl Strauss Brewing Company