On November 2, Mayor Jerry Sanders kicked off San Diego Beer Week - expertly tapping a cask of Amplified Ale Works beer at Cali Kebab and Beer Garden's unveiling of the Pacific Beach Brewery. This was one of many San Diego Beer Week related events that required the current mayor's presence and dexterity in opening alcohol containers. With only one month left in office, it was obvious that Sanders is enjoying the rest of the ride.
San Diego Beer Week, as stated in a previous article, lasts from November 2-11, with daily city-wide events taking place daily. If a business sells beer of any kind, especially craft beer, odds are that they are participating in beer week. SDBW is a positive way to bolster local business, because in the brewing world it's, all about exposure. Of course there are the larger breweries that are well-known to most San Diegans, but word of mouth is how businesses can make that jump from local to national.
California Kebab has been a staple in the College Avenue area, and within the last eight months opened their Pacific Beach Mission Boulevard location. Just a "stones throw" away from the beach, the "Kebab" has some fantastic food, from donor fries to shrimp and steak kebabs. The food is what has been bringing customers back, though Cali Kebab has placed a great deal of emphasis on local craft beer.
The Pacific Beach location boasts three industrial sized casks, utilized by the brewing facet of Cali Kebab, Amplified Ale Works. The event kicking off San Diego Beer Week celebrated the release of three Amplified beers: Electrocution IPA, Leggy Blonde (Belgian Blonde), and Electrocution IPA, which is dry hopped with Cascade & Crystal hops! Amplified's new beer selection is well executed and definitely rivals major breweries. Since the November 2 event was the unveiling of the three brews (and brewing is a trial and error process), it will be interesting to see what they come out with next.
Though present for only a brief time period, Mayor Sanders seems to be playing more of a social role pending his exit this coming December. In this city, however, beer is a business, so his presence was surely appreciated. One thing is for certain, whoever takes on the job of San Diego's next mayor will face some major issues for this city. Rebuilding infrastructure, solving the pension problem, fixing the educations system, and many more are foreseeable issues, none of which involve tapping kegs.