Welcome to the vote down for the 6th Annual Sore Eye Cup. You’ll be choosing the ten finalist beers that will actually be judged, blindly, by our panel.
Voting has closed! Thank you for choosing the 10 finalist beers for 2018! Make sure to download next Monday’s episode of SD BeerTalk Radio to find out who made it to the judge’s table!
RSVP for the announcement party on August 4th at The Ugly Dog Pub!
Welcome to the launch of the 6th Annual Sore Eye Cup, an award for the best, regularly produced indie beer in San Diego! Last year was a resounding success, Oatmeal Stout from Benchmark Brewing won! That, along with the only member of the Sore Eye Cup Hall of Fame, Speedway Stout, are the only two regularly produced, indie beers ineligible for this contest. You guys set records for nominations and votes last year, well done!
We will honor the winning craft beer with an actual cup! At the announcement party, we’ll fill it up with the winning beer and the winning brewery will drink from the cup right then, as is tradition! The winners can then bask in the glory of victory and have bragging rights for an entire year.
Here are the rules: beers nominated must be brewed here in San Diego County by a licensed, independent, craft brewery. They must be beers the brewery makes year round; seasonal, special versions, one offs, nitro versions and casks are not allowed. The beers do not need to be packaged (cans or bottles), just made all year long and available for growler fills (so we can buy some to judge). We’re looking for superior indie beers that are available to everyone in SD.
Nominate your favorite beer(s) by emailing me at Sore Eye Cup, tweet me (@SoreEyeSuds) , tag your nomination #SoreEyeCup in Twitter, comment on the post in Facebook, or comment right here on this post. Nominations are open until June 30th at 8pm. Voting down to the 10 finalist beers begins July 6th and runs to July 22nd at 8pm.
The top ten beers, as voted by you, the best people on earth, will be blind tasted/judged by our panel of exemplary beer people . The judges range from craft beer enthusiasts to certified cicerones. We are truly looking for the best, regularly produced indie beer San Diego has to offer. The best craft beer, as chosen by us, will be awarded the esteemed Sore Eye Cup and receive all the prestige and glory one blog can bestow upon a brewery!
A giant shout out to the returning Sore Eye Cup sponsor, Tap Craft! Remember to contact Tap Craft for all your draft system supply, installation, and maintenance needs!
Setting the industry standard for all beverage draught systems, TapCraft is Draughting Quality Beverages.
Current nominated beers!:
| Habitus Rye IPA from Mike Hess
Bear Cookie Peanut Butter Stout from Bear Roots Black Sheep Porter from Bitter Brothers Frontside Export Stout Aloha Brews: Aloha Plenty Porter from Iron Fist/Ken Schmidt Stingray IIPA Galaxy Rye IPA from Helix Brewing Table Beer from Benchmark Relay IPA Pickleweed Point SaurRoggen Freight Damage from Division 23 Boss Pour from Abnormal Juice from Protector Treevana Aurora Hoppyalis Leif Lager from Longship The Cake is a Lie Sweet Ride from Bagby Tabula Rasa Mongo IPA Pure & Simple Galaxy Rye IPA from Helix Half Door Pale |
Erotic City Dorcha Extra Stout Dank Drank Refill Material Passion of the Kiwi Mamba Mode from Pariah Brewing Company Sharks with Lazers Super Schwarz Phantom Bride from Belching Beaver Hopmata Needle in the Hey! -IIPA Orderville Electric Youth Da Kine IPA Boneshakeur Pugilist Green Hat Chasing Citra Bird Park Boo Koo Bully Pulpit Jambi Prince of Dankness First Date (Blonde) |
You did it! You helped me smash this year’s goal of collecting 5,000 lbs of food for the San Diego Food Bank and I’m beyond grateful to every single person that helped make it possible by donating money, food, time or all the above!
Sore Eye Sudsmas, in its 4th year of being part of Societe Brewing’s month long food drive, has now far eclipsed what I thought would ever be possible. I’m humbled by the generosity of the indie beer industry and community here in San Diego, and extremely touched by the amount of help we provided those in need.
The final total of food donated to the SD Food Bank at Sore Eye Sudsmas was an amazing 5,631 lbs!
We brought in 2,058 lbs more than last year, marking the second year in a row we’ve increased by a ton over the previous year. I have no idea how we’ll surpass this (I said that last year too though) total next year.
I could not have done this alone, I had a lot of help. Big thank yous to Chris Bush, Amy June, and Dante Fraioli who helped me distribute food collection containers and signage on November 11th. Big thank yous to Mobile West Canning, Brown Bag Beverage, Chris Prell, Carol Taddeo, What’s On Draft, Katie Earl, Greg Littrell, Esthela Ojeda, Casey Grounds, and Tom Pritchard (from 3B Zine) for helping me with food pickups and purchasing.
Thirdly (is that even English?), another round of giant thank yous to all the businesses that participated by being a collection location! This part of the drive brought in more than 1700 lbs! They were: Alpine Brewing Tasting Room, 32 North, Green Flash, Pariah, Eppig, Longship, Rouleur, Hess (all 3 locations!), Plan 9 Alehouse, Second Chance (both locations!),Thr3e Punks, Groundswell (both locations!), Lost Abbey/Port, Thorn (both locations!), Burgeon, Arcana, Savagewood, County Wide/Tap Craft, Toolbox, Seven Caves, The Homebrewer/Home Brew Co. Pizza Port (Bressi Ranch), and Rip Current !
The triangle of Sudsmas donations broke down like this, 1884 lbs of food purchased from Cost Co. (photo above) with $794.00 donated! 1755 lbs of food dropped off at the 28 collection locations listed above! A staggering 1992 lbs brought in by the attendees of the Sore Eye Sudsmas party!
I only have one more thing to say, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!
Come celebrate the holidays! You have supported me all year and this is my chance to give back to you by throwing a great party at one of the most exceptional breweries in our city, Societe Brewing!
Bring non-perishable food to donate to the food drive. This event is part of Societe Brewings’s amazing, annual food drive. San Diego Food Bank will be the benefactor, so your help is staying right here in SD!
This year we have 27 locations throughout San Diego County currently collecting food! Alpine Brewing Tasting Room, 32 North, Green Flash, Pariah, Eppig, Longship, Rouleur, Hess (all 3 locations!), Plan 9 Alehouse, Second Chance (both locations!),Thr3e Punks, Groundswell (both locations!), Lost Abbey/Port, Thorn (both locations!), Burgeon, Arcana, Savagewood, County Wide/Tap Craft, Toolbox, Seven Caves, The Homebrewer/Home Brew Co. and Rip Current San Marcos! Collection bins are at all the above locations until December 8th.
You can donate through PayPal by clicking here! Every cent will be directly converted into food for the San Diego Food Bank.
RSVP for the actual party on December 9th at Societe Brewing at 5pm! There will be tons of giveaways; win a prize for wearing the ugliest holiday sweater. You’ll receive an entry into the raffle just for showing up and a bonus entry for every 50lbs of food donated at Sudsmas. When we match last years total of 3,573 lbs, all attendees will be able to purchase all Societe merchandise for 50% off until the end of the party! More importantly, when we cross this year’s goal of 5,000lbs, Societe will put a keg of The Patriarch – a Feral Boysenberry Ale! (You’ve never had or heard of that one, no one has!)
Most Needed Food Items:
Canned Chicken & Tuna, Dry & Canned Beans, Cereal, Rice, Nuts & Seeds, Peanut Butter, Canned Soup, Canned & Dried Fruit, Canned Vegetables, Powdered Milk, and Infant Formula
Nutritional Choices:
Tuna in Water, Low-Sodium Canned Beans, Low-Sugar Whole Grain Cereal, Brown & Wild Rice, Unsalted Almonds, Low-Sodium & Low-Fat Canned Soup, Flax Seeds, No Sugar Added Peanut Butter, Canned Fruit in Water or Juice, Low-Sodium & No Salt Added Canned Vegetables, and Low & Non-fat Powdered Milk
We are unable to accept: Glass jars or homemade food products
Ready for the best part? It’s free for the the best people on Earth, all of you!
Want to donate a gift for the raffle to help out the San Diego Food Bank? Email me at brian@soreeyesports.com
Last Saturday, at Quad AleHouse, nearly one hundred people witnessed history as Oatmeal Stout from Benchmark Brewing Company was crowned the champion of the 5th Annual Sore Eye Cup! The ravenous, San Diego indie beer fans and industry members, were elated to see Matt and Rachael (owners of Benchmark, pictured above) drink from the mighty depths of the new Cup!
Benchmark, who’s motto is “Beer flavored beer!”, has placed highly in past years and I am beyond stoked they finally took home the Cup! Here’s the official description of Oatmeal Stout:
Rich and creamy, this beer is a mouthful that can satisfy any beer lover. The flavor is chocolaty, roasty, and reminiscent of coffee with cream. The oatmeal provides a luscious body while the roasted character helps create a clean finish. This stout has been called “life changing” and at 4.8%ABV you can tuck in.
Located at 6190 Fairmount Avenue Suite G. San Diego, CA 92120, just a few blocks from Home Depot, with big “Craft Beer Here” flags at their driveway, their tasting room is an inviting atmosphere to enjoy all their excellent offerings. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to stay up to date and watch out for details of their soon to be Bay Park tasting room! Visit them soon for your chance to see the Sore Eye Cup in all its glory.
Thank you Quad AleHouse for being a great host of the party! An even bigger thank you to TapCraft LLC for being this year’s sponsor!
Want to see video of the announcement? Of course you do! the Union Tribune was onsite and blasted it out on Facebook live, click here!
Another thank you to Tim Stahl , who took all the photos featured in this article and gallery! I really it appreciate man!
One final congratulations to Benchmark Brewing, you have all the glory and prestige I can bestow upon an amazing indie beer brewery for one entire year!
