Like West Coast-style IPAs and nostalgic surf movies, San Diego craft beer lovers also enjoy being served up something else at their local taprooms and tasting festivals: an affordable, on-demand ride home.
For the past three years, ridesharing service Lyft and San Diego Brewers Guild, a nonprofit organization supporting independent craft beer, have teamed up to promote safe drinking and smart rides for beer buffs.
“San Diego has one of the most vibrant craft beer scenes in the country, and the Lyft and San Diego Brewers Guild partnership aims to ensure people can enjoy all that the breweries and festivals have to offer with the convenience of on-demand rides,” said Paige McWey Acers, executive director of the San Diego Brewers Guild.
According to 2018 data collected by Lyft San Diego, craft beer enthusiasts requested numerous rides to and from the more than 130 independent craft brewery locations throughout the region. The most requested locations were:
- Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens at Liberty Station
- Half Door Brewing Co.
- Fall Brewing Company
- Mike Hess Brewing in North Park
- Border X Brewing.
“We’re proud to support the brewers, employees and patrons of the local beer industry. It’s important to us that everyone can enjoy craft beers, and have a smart, affordable and reliable ride option available,” said Lyft San Diego Market Manager Hao Meng.
Most recently, Lyft was the official co-producing partner for the regional brewery guild’s 10th annual San Diego Beer Week, held in early November. The event featured 500 beer-centric events at dozens of breweries, tasting rooms, bars and restaurants throughout the region and attracted nearly 20,000 locals as well as tourists from around the country.
Working with the San Diego Brewers Guild, Lyft was recently integrated directly into its SD BEER App and offered a specific San Diego Beer Week code to help craft beer drinkers get to and from event locations – allowing participants to find information about the festival and enjoy their favorite beverage without getting behind the wheel.
“Our goal is to drive traffic and tourism to San Diego by hosting beer-centric events throughout the year and helping more people enjoy the ‘Capital of Craft,’” said Acers. “It’s important to us that craft beer fans have an alternative to driving themselves.”
The app worked overtime during 2018 San Diego Beer Week, delivering attendees to breweries a-plenty, with the top five destinations being:
- Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens at Liberty Station,
- Karl Strauss Brewing Company
- Half Door Brewing Co.
- AleSmith Brewing Company
- Bay City Brewing Co.
In 2019, Lyft will continue to be the official rideshare partner of San Diego Brewers Guild. Meng said, “We look forward to continuing our relationship with the Guild and supporting its members, as well as being the preferred smart ride option at the tap of an app to beer fans around the region.”
Below are the full 2018 Top 10 Lyft Rides lists for San Diego craft breweries overall and during San Diego Beer Week.
For more information about Lyft and its partnership with San Diego Brewers Guild as well as upcoming beer events, check out these websites: www.lyft.com/cities/san-diego-ca and www.sdbeer.com.