Mayor Jerry Sanders today declared June "Craft Beer Month'' in San Diego.
The announcement coincided with a BeerFest taking place at Petco Park during tonight's Padres game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The mayor pointed out that Green Flash Brewing Company, New English Brewing Company, Rough Draft Brewing Company, Societe Brewing Company, White Labs and Wet & Reckless have opened in the city over the past year.
Sanders also cited a recent New York Times article that said beer has become as much a part of San Diego's identity as surf and sun.
"We are celebrating an exciting time in our local craft beer industry,'' Sanders said. "We have added significant craft brewing capacity and hundreds of jobs in the past few years.''
He said Coronado Brewing Company and Hess Brewing Company are scheduled to open later this summer in San Diego.
The city has provided $400,000 in micro-loans to two breweries based on their potential to generate new jobs and tax revenues for the city, and has assisted several others with permit expediting and site selection.
