AleSmith Brewing Company was founded in 1995 by Skip Virgilio and Ted Newcomb, in San Diego. They set out to specialise in European classic-style handcrafted ales, and set up shop with a 15 bbl brew system, tasting bar, office, and just a three-man team.
After decorated home brewer Peter Zien took ownership in 2002, the focus on brewing hand-forged ales with distinct personality intensified, and the next year it released its first barrel-aged beer, the ‘Barrel Aged Speedway Stout.’ Matured in bourbon barrels and bottled at 12% ABV, it has received consistent recognition and praise, and typifies the approach to beer-making that AleSmith maintains today.
After it celebrated its 20th anniversary in production in 2015, AleSmith took the decision to leave its original location and open a new 100,000 sq.ft. brewery in Miramar at 9990 AleSmith Court. This move enabled AleSmith to launch new markets on a global scale and increase production, largely due to the custom Steinecker 80 bbl brew system, which has the capacity to produce 100,000 barrels of beer a year.
Ever the innovators, the new site also featured the Tony Gwynn Museum, a feature to showcase the correlated history of beer and baseball in honor of AleSmith’s and Tony Gwynn's collaboration to create .394 Pale Ale, and San Diego’s largest tasting room, he Anvil & Stave: A Barrel-Aged Beer Experience, which was designed to give visitors to Anvil & Stave the ability to create their own barrel-aged beer blends.
From humble beginnings, AleSmith has established itself as one of foremost craft brewing companies around, and has garnered numerous accolades and medals from prestigious national and international beer competitions. AleSmith was awarded Small Brewing Company and Brewer of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival in 2008, and, in 2014, it was Rated #1 Best Brewery in the World and Rated #1 Brewery in California, according to consumer reviews left on RateBeer.com.