Mikkeller Global taps San Diego as the site for its 15-year anniversary celebration

Most home brewers start dreaming of sharing their creations with the world right around the moment they buy their first beer kit and flip through Charlie Papazian’s The Complete Joy of Home Brewing. To say Mikkel Bjergsø is living that dream is probably an understatement.

Fifteen years ago, Bjergsø (then a high school physics teacher) and his childhood friend, Christian Keller, saw their homebrews explode in popularity. Their Beer Geek Breakfast, an oatmeal stout made with French press coffee, became the top-rated stout on RateBeer.com and the duo struck a deal with American distributors. Needing more space to meet the demands of brewing such popular beer, Mikkeller began operating as a “gypsy brewery,” using the facilities and equipment of other breweries to brew one-off beers.

Shortly after Mikkeller’s successful run began, Keller left to pursue a career as a magazine editor and Bjergsø left his teaching position to focus on the brewery. Eventually, in 2016, MIkkeller chose to open its first stateside brewery in Miramar, at the original Alesmith location. Today, Mikkeller operates more than 40 breweries, tasting rooms, bars, and brewpubs, from Shanghai to San Diego. More importantly for San Diego beer lovers, Mikkeller has chosen the Miramar brewery to host the Mikkeller Global 15-year anniversary celebration.

On November 6 and 7, the anniversary party will feature more than 20 breweries from across the country, as well as more than 70 Mikkeller brews from its San Diego and Denmark breweries. Local beer geeks will be glad to have the opportunity to sip offerings from well-known out-of-town breweries such as Angry Chair Brewing, 3 Sons Brewing, and Homage Brewing, and to try out some lesser-known breweries such as Las Palmas, Wren House, and Stave & Nail as they search for new favorites.

Events coordinator Ashton King describes the Mikkeller special offerings that will be on tap, “The Mikkeller beer list will feature specialty Mikkeller San Diego beers as well as some limited Mikkeller Denmark and Mikkeller Baghaven beers. Our star of the show, an anniversary beer, will be an extremely limited double barrel stout with vanilla and coffee from some local coffee friends. We will also feature two collaborations with Open Gym SD and Chef Phil Esteban (research and development chef at Consortium Holdings).”

King says that another festival highlight will come from the staff of participating breweries, who will be on hand to answer questions and provide insight to aficionados in attendance. “What excites me most about this celebration is that it will be all hands on deck. We have an amazing staff that works back of house here at Mikkeller San Diego, and this is an opportunity for all of our consumers to meet them. We also have all of our guests sending their own staff, so you will be able to see the faces behind the brands you are tasting.”

In addition to an abundance of beer, the 15-year anniversary will feature food trucks and two coffee roasteries. Tickets can be purchased on Mikkeller’s website, and ticket holders get unlimited beer, mead, and coffee tasters from 1 to 4 pm. A VIP upgrade gets you in an hour early to beat the crowd.