Brewer Megan Stone on Receiving a National Award for Promoting Inclusivity within Craft Beer Culture

Welcome back to Happy Half Hour! This week's special guest is Megan Stone, media coordinator at Societe Brewing Company in Clairemont, who was recently named the first-ever Woman of the Year by the Craft Beer Marketing Awards. Megan, whose pronouns are both she/her and they/them, is a member of the San Diego Brewers Guild Inclusion Committee and social media influencer with over 34,000 followers who seeks to promote diversity, equality, and inclusion within the craft beer industry. Megan discovered their love for craft beer in Baltimore, where a friend introduced them to all the varieties the world of beer has to offer. They expanded their knowledge of beers at Birroteca restaurant, and were inspired to pursue brewing as a career after being hired as a server at Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. Once Megan made it to San Diego, they tried to get a brewing job at Societe, but since there weren't any positions available in that department, they were offered a job in marketing. While this wasn't the job they were hoping for, Megan realized this was a blessing in disguise. Listen to find out why! Megan says their social media platform has allowed them to bring to light issues they're passionate about—as well as shine some disinfecting sunlight on their negative experiences in the craft beer industry, such as the disparaging messages they receive. They share these comments publicly to give people who aren't women or LGBTQ+ some perspective on how they're treated differently. But there have been positive messages, too, from people saying that Megan's example has made them feel more comfortable entering the industry. Still, Megan feels that big changes need to be made within craft beer culture before more people will feel safe in it. In Hot Plates, San Diego County has moved from the Purple Tier into the Red Tier because we've fallen below the new-case-rate threshold of 6.8 per 100,000 people. Restaurants are allowed indoor dining again at 25 percent capacity, while breweries, wineries, and distilleries can serve alcohol without guests having to first buy food. Unfortunately, bars that do not serve food must still remain closed. Chula Vista's annual Taste of Third is on for March 18–20, where for $25 per day you can sample food and drinks from 20 different restaurants, like Brew Bar, Don Pedro Taco Shop, and El Cruce +241. Menus change daily and tickets are available for advance purchase online. CoCo Ichibanya, a Japanese curry chain with 1,400 locations around the world, has started serving up their savory curry with pork or chicken katsu on Convoy Street. In Two People for Takeout / Two People for $50, Megan recommended two places. When indoor dining opens they're looking forward to enjoying the vegetarian ramen at Hachi Ramen, but in the meantime they've been getting the papas and chile relleno tacos with margaritas at La Vecindad in Hillcrest. Marie recommended the kimchi quesadilla with bulgogi at Bopjo, a Korean-Mexican fusion restaurant at Liberty Public Market. Troy's pick was the shrimp po'boy at Shotcaller in Lincoln Park. Rice or Death food truck was David's recommendation, where a wildly diverse menu of rice bowls is offered—his go-to vegetarian option is the "Don't Forget Your Roots" bowl, filled with smoked tofu and kimchi. My pick was one of my all-time favorite burrito spots: Ortiz's Taco Shop in Point Loma for the California burrito with their tender carne asada and guacamole, and a mandarin Jarritos soda to drink. Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Need a recommendation for takeout? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you're too shy, you can email us at [email protected]. See you next week!