Tap Handle #216: Coronado - Specialty Hotel Del Coronado

Though it was never on my wishlist, I really liked this tap handle. It chips easily due to having lots of fragile edges on the top. That structure on the top of the tap is the main building of the Hotel Del Coronado (pictured to the right), a historic hotel built in 1887.  A very unique tap for sure.

Coronado Brewing Company was founded in San Diego, California in 1996 by brothers Ron and Rick Chapman. The Chapmans established a brewery and brewpub on the site that had a various times featured a market, a breakfast diner, and a pub. CBC quickly became popular behind an assortment of abundantly hoppy West Coast-style ales. That early success drove them to start distributing their beer outside the brewpub, with their first sale to historic hometown icon The Hotel Del Coronado. In 2003, when CBC struck up a relationship with a local craft distribution company, the increased demand drove an expansion in 2006 that tripled the size of CBC’s brewhouse and raised fermenter capacity by 230 barrels.

By 2010, CBC was brewing about 5,000 barrels of beer per year, allowing them to expand their reach beyond California. CBC still couldn’t produce enough beer to meet an ever-increasing demand, and the problem was solved in 2012, when CBC built a brand new 30-barrel brewhouse in a 22,000 square foot building on Knoxville St. in San Diego’s Tecolote Canyon area. The Knoxville production facility will eventually provide enough space for an overall annual capacity of 60,000 barrels, an increased space for their expanded barrel-aging program, and a tasting room. They currently brew 5 year-round beers and another 6 that are seasonal or specialty beers, and distribute to 13 states and 3 foreign countries.

Coronado specialty brews have featured many varieties over the years. The one currently listed on their website is Barrel Aged Brandy Barley Wine, created in 2011 and the first release in the Barrel Aged Beer line. It's brewed with brown sugar and orange blossom honey, and was aged for six months in oak brandy barrels. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 3.74 out of 5.

Coronado Brewing Official Website