brewing company industry alcoholic beverage founded 1989 headquarters san diego california usa products beer owner chris cramer and matt rattner private website https www.karlstrauss.com karl strauss brewing company is a san diego california based craft brewery with eight brewpub locations across southern california and an onsite tasting room 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 . 1 karl strauss is the oldest surviving brewery in san diego county having been founded in 1989 and is credited with launching the county s rise to prominence in the craft brewing industry . 2 as of 2014 it is the third largest brewery in san diego county and the 45th largest craft brewer in the united states based on sales volume . 3 contents 1 history 2 annual events 3 awards 3.1 by event 3.2 by beer 12 3.2.1 aurora hoppyalis san diego style ipa 3.2.2 mosaic session ipa 3.2.3 red trolley ale 3.2.4 tower 10 ipa 3.2.5 pintail pale ale 3.2.6 columbia street amber 3.2.7 wreck alley imperial stout 3.2.8 windansea wheat 3.2.9 tower 20 double iipa 3.2.10 two tortugas belgian quadruple 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit in 1988 chris cramer and matt rattner asked cramer s cousin master brewer karl strauss to help them develop a brewpub . strauss was a former vice president of production at pabst brewing company . 4 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 . 5 the company s first brewpub karl strauss old columbia brewery and grille located on columbia street in downtown san diego 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 . 6 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 . 7 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 . also in 1991 the company opened its second brewpub karl strauss brewery gardens in sorrento mesa . additional brewpubs were opened in la jolla 1996 carlsbad 1999 costa mesa 2002 4s ranch in san diego s north county 2012 temecula 2013 anaheim 2016 and downtown los angeles 2016 . there is also a karl strauss brewpub at universal citywalk in los angeles and a karl strauss beer truck at the disney california adventure theme park in anaheim . 8 9 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 . 10 annual events edit changing of the barrels arts & amps oktoberfest barrel royale pro am copetition awards edit by event edit 2016 mid size brewery of the year 2016 great american beer festival 11 by beer 12 edit aurora hoppyalis san diego style ipa edit bronze 2015 great american beer festival mosaic session ipa edit gold 2015 la international commercial beer competition silver 2015 aiba australian international beer awards gold 2014 ca state commercial beer competition bronze 2014 la international commercial beer competition bronze 2014 great american beer festival red trolley ale edit silver 2014 san diego international beer competition gold 2013 great american beer festival bronze 2013 la international commercial beer competition bronze 2013 san diego international beer competition bronze 2013 ca state commercial craft brew competition gold 2012 world beer cup gold 2012 san diego international beer competition gold 2012 la international commercial beer competition gold 2012 ca state fair commercial craft brew competition silver 2011 ca state fair commercial craft brew competition gold 2011 san diego international beer competition silver 2011 la international commercial beer competition gold 2010 great american beer festival gold 2010 world beer cup silver 2010 la international commercial beer competition bronze 2010 san diego international beer competition silver 2009 san diego international beer competition bronze 2009 la international commercial beer competition tower 10 ipa edit silver 2012 ca state commercial beer competition gold 2011 la international commercial beer competition bronze 2010 la international commercial beer competition pintail pale ale edit silver 2013 ca state commercial beer competition gold 2012 ca state commercial beer competition gold 2011 ca state commercial beer competition columbia street amber edit gold 2013 la international commercial beer competition silver 2012 ca state commercial beer competition silver 2012 la international commercial beer competition silver 2012 san diego international beer competition bronze 2009 san diego international beer competition gold 2009 la international commercial beer competition wreck alley imperial stout edit silver 2014 ca state commercial beer competition bronze 2012 ca state commercial beer competition windansea wheat edit bronze 2015 great american beer festival silver 2014 san diego international beer competition silver 2014 la commercial beer competition silver 2014 ca commercial craft beer competition silver 2012 ca state commercial beer competition silver 2011 ca state commercial beer competition gold 2010 la international commercial beer competition tower 20 double iipa edit silver 2012 ca state commercial beer competition two tortugas belgian quadruple edit bronze 2011 great american beer festival silver 2012 world beer cup gold 2012 california state fair silver 2015 california state fair see also edit san diego portal companies portal food portal beer in san diego county california references edit find karl karl strauss brewing company . karl strauss brewing company . retrieved 2016 03 23 . local brewer heads above competition san diego union tribune september 29 2009 brewers association lists top 50 breweries of 2014 . brewers association . march 31 2015 . retrieved 3 april 2015 . washburn david 2005 05 03 . spreading the word reprint . san diego union tribune . san diego california . retrieved 2008 08 05 . karl strauss 94 ; master brewer for pabst helped pioneer microbrew trend . los angeles times . december 27 2006 . retrieved 31 august 2012 . los angeles times january 31 1989 dickerman sara may 25 2012 . beyond san diego s surf and sun suds . new york times . retrieved 27 may 2012 . los angeles times march 16 2001 san diego union tribune july 18 2001 cleantechnica.com https www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com the competition winners . missing or empty title help the beer karl strauss brewing company . karl strauss brewing company . retrieved 2016 03 23 . external links edit karl strauss brewing company retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title karl strauss brewing company & oldid 744198700 categories companies based in san diegobeer brewing companies based in san diego county californiaamerican companies established in 1989food and drink companies established in 1989hidden categories pages with citations lacking titlespages with citations having bare urlspages using infobox company with unsupported parameters navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent 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