I Like Beer the Podcast

Pizza Port has been part of San Diego beer since before most people knew what “craft beer” meant. Co-founder, CEO, and President Gina Marsaglia joins Jeff, Jeff, and San Diego Brewers Guild President Esthela Davila to tell the Pizza Port origin story. It all started from taking over a struggling little pizza shop in Solana Beach, to experimenting with beer fermentation in repurposed Hot Dog on a S...

Mother Earth Brewing has been part of North County beer for 16 years, which officially puts them in “grizzled veteran” territory. Kamron returns to I Like Beer to talk about how Mother Earth has navigated a changing craft beer industry, why authenticity still matters, and what breweries can do to keep people coming back to the taproom. The crew also gets into season two of Mother Earth’s The Craft...

Shark Beer Week is back. Doc returns to I Like Beer to explain why sharks deserve a better reputation, share a few of his own close encounters, and introduce the crew to three California sharks worth knowing in 2026: the lightning-fast mako, the bizarre bioluminescent pocket shark, and the beer-bellied swell shark. Naturally, there’s beer. The guys revisit Pizza Port’s Shark Bite Red Ale, crack op...

Stone Brewing is turning 30 next month, and Kris Ketcham, Senior Manager of Brewing and Innovation at Liberty Station, joins Jeff, Jeff, and San Diego Brewers Guild President Esthela Davila to talk about where Stone has been—and where it’s going next. The crew gets into the Firestone Walker transition, what stays the same for Stone, the future of the Escondido location, and why keeping the charact...

Coronado Brewing is celebrating 30 years of San Diego beer, and Brendan Kragel joins Jeff, Jeff, and San Diego Brewers Guild President Esthela Davila to talk about the beers, stories, and local identity behind the brand. From the surprising origin of Orange Avenue and the creation of Salty Crew as the ultimate “boat beer,” to Weekend Vibes, Nado Lager, and the return of classics like Mermaid’s Red...

San Diego Brewers Guild President Esthela Davila joins Jeff and Jeff for a full round of local beer, industry updates, summer stories, and the kind of strange news that could only make sense after a couple of pours.   The crew samples regional San Diego beer collaborations, talks about breweries and food destinations around the county, and takes a closer look at what the Firestone Walker acquisiti...

The I Like Beer crew is celebrating seven years of beer, stories, field trips, and plenty of strange Toast, Roast, and Pour One Out moments. Jeff and Jeff are joined by founding member and sound guy Tom for a look back at the early days of the podcast, from backyard recordings and first brewery visits to the friendships, stories, and local beer community that helped shape the show. Then Esthela Da...

Paul Segura returns to the I Like Beer podcast for part two. This episode continues the conversation with the longtime Karl Strauss brewmaster, getting into classic Karl Strauss beers, San Diego beer history, old favorites like Endless Summer Light and Pintail Pale, and the memories that still make those beers stand out. Paul also shares more from his journey in beer, his perspective on the San Di...

This week, I Like Beer hits the road for a field trip to Inzane Brewing in downtown Vista. The guys talk about nearly seven years of the podcast, the stories, breweries, and friendships that have shaped the show, and why supporting local beer has become such a big part of what they do. Then they sit down with Mike from Inzane Brewing to talk about turning the brewery into a true community hub, wit...

This week on I Like Beer, the podcast welcomes Paul Segura, Brewmaster at Karl Strauss, alongside San Diego Brewers Guild President Esthela Davila. Paul shares stories from the early days of San Diego craft beer, including his homebrewing roots, his time at Hops and Hang Ten, and the path that eventually led him to Karl Strauss. The conversation also gets into beer judging, World Beer Cup medals,...

The guys recap their Denver beer trip, including Coors, Prost, Bierstadt Lagerhaus, Left Hand, and a few memorable side quests. Then Tori Bleher joins the show to talk about Burgeon’s origin story, their commitment to community and sustainability since 2016, their growing list of collaborations and partnerships, and how they keep releasing so many fresh beers without losing their identity. The epi...

Barley and Sword Brewing has officially made its way to North County. In this episode of I Like Beer, the crew sits down with Mike Howell of Barley and Sword and Esthela Davila to talk about the new Escondido tavern, old-world beer styles, cask ale, and the stories behind the beers. Mike shares the origin of Barley and Sword, from Viking-age living history and Dungeons & Dragons to traditional...

We crack open the Rauchbier brewed with Blue Fire Brewing, talk about the kinds of breweries and taprooms that keep people coming back, and get into what makes San Diego beer culture feel more like a community than an industry. Brandon joins us once again to share more of his own journey into craft beer and beer writing, plus his thoughts on why passionate people are still opening breweries, build...

In this episode of I Like Beer, we break in the new studio bar, crack open a few local beers, and welcome Brandon Hernández of San Diego Beer News. We talk about the upcoming San Diego Beer News Awards, what makes the event special, new categories for this year, and the people helping shape San Diego’s beer community. Along the way, we get into everything from great beer writing and local brewery...

It’s another round of great beer, good company, and stories that only happen when the mics are on. This episode of I Like Beer covers everything from new brewery openings and dependable “safe beers” to community, collaboration, and the culture that makes San Diego craft beer special. And thanks again to Esthela, President of the San Diego Brewers Guild, for joining us on the Capital of Craft segme...

This episode is a full-on 2025 Untappd Year-in-Review with Jeff, Jeff, and Doc: unique beer counts, top styles, favorite venues, and the bottles/pours that defined the year. Spoiler: when you combine the totals… it’s basically 110 gallons of “research.” We also bring on San Diego Brewers Guild President Esthela Davila for our new ILB x Capital of Craft segment to talk all things #sdbeer.

After 335 episodes in the dark, the curtain is officially lifted. Welcome to the first-ever video broadcast of I Like Beer (now officially rebranding to "ILB"). To mark this milestone, we’ve orchestrated the "Ultimate Collaboration" with the San Diego Brewers Guild’s official podcast, Capital of Craft. Joining hosts Jeff and Jeff is a third Jeff: Jeff Fox—a man who defines the San Diego scene thro...

Big news: The I Like Beer podcast is moving to video, thanks to a new partnership with the San Diego Brewers Guild, and we're kicking things off with our very first field trip episode. We head to Guadalupe Brewing Company to hear the unbelievable story of owner Raul, whose craft beer journey began by getting turned away at the border while trying to smuggle a homemade brew system—complete with a "...

Our last classic episode of the year, one of our all-time favorites, this isn't just another brewery interview; it's the story of finding our 'spirit human' in a magical outdoor brewery in the Irish countryside. It's one of our favorite episodes ever, filled with heart, humor, and a deep love for doing things the right way, not the easy way. You don't want to miss this one.

What does it take for a brewery to become a true industry leader—a place so respected that 50 of the nation's best brewers all show up for your party? We're on location at Burgeon Beer Company, one of the most revered breweries in the San Diego beer mecca, to get an exclusive look inside their biggest event of the year. In this special episode, we're pulling back the curtain to answer one simple b...

Welcome to another special "Classic" edition of the I Like Beer podcast. We're reaching into the archives to re-release one of our most popular field trips ever: a visit to the legendary AleSmith Brewing Company. At the time of this recording, AleSmith was not only a six-time Great American Beer Festival and five-time World Beer Cup gold medalist, but was also officially rated the #1 brewery in Ca...

Enjoy this classic episode from 2019 - How do you go from running a coffee shop to building one of the most iconic breweries in America's finest city? Go inside Coronado Brewing, one of the original founding fathers of the San Diego scene, to hear how they turned a love for beer into a million-dollar business and created an IPA that took home bronze in a category of 342 entries. What does it take...

What happens when you crack open a beer from a brewery that's long gone—will it be a perfectly preserved blond ale or a Mexican lager that’s completely off the rails? Join us as we taste these "ghost beers" and ricochet from the odd-ball story of AI-powered teddy bears gone rogue to the sobering statistics behind nationwide brewery closures. It's a powerful reminder of why it's more important than...

Before we press play on this encore presentation, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to you, our listeners. Your support is what makes this podcast possible, and we are incredibly grateful for the community that has grown around this show. As we’ve mentioned before, "Every time we've asked, you've done it and those numbers are really showing that. So thank you." So as we re-share this special...

The Jeffs thought they were just stopping by for Taco Tuesday, but they walked straight into a "Hall of Fame day" at Weirbeer. Turns out, Mo from Viewpoint and Ryan from Dos Desperados were joining host brewer Hayden for a special collaborative brew day. Listen in for the inside scoop on their three-way "Going Broke" beer series, hear the unfiltered stories you won't get anywhere else—like the tim...