About Coronado Brewing Co.
Founded in 1996 on the sun-soaked shores of San Diego, Coronado has built its reputation on clean, drinkable, hop-forward beers and is one of the pioneers of SoCal craft brewing.
Now producing around 45,000 barrels per year, Coronado has grown from a beach-town brewpub into a regional production brewery. As production scaled, so did the need to increase operational efficiencies—while still delivering the crisp, high-quality beers they're known for.
Key Solutions
By switching to Berkeley Yeast’s Fresh™ Chico and Fresh Andechs strains, Coronado eliminated the need for diacetyl testing, cut lager fermentation time in half, and improved the quality, consistency and hop character of their award winning beers, like Nado and Weekend Vibes.
Impact Highlights Since Switching to Fresh™
- All around cleaner liquid, with ultra-low diacetyl and sulfur
- Coronado Brewing Co. wins Brewbound Craft Brewery of the Year (2024)
- Nado Wins Gold – 2024 World Beer Cup (International Lager)
- Days of fermentation time are cut for both ales and lagers
- No diacetyl detected in any beers and diacetyl testing eliminated entirely
- No need for ALDC enzyme addition
Cleaner Fermentation and Streamlined Production
"When I got here, we were using other strains that gave off diacetyl. We had to wait 4–5 days after dry hopping, and sometimes longer, before we could crash the tank. Now, we don’t even check for diacetyl."
— Chris Sartori, Head Brewer, Coronado Brewing Company
Since adopting Berkeley Yeast, Coronado has streamlined its production. With Fresh Chico in IPAs like Weekend Vibes, and Fresh Andechs in lagers like Nado, the brewery no longer deals with hop creep associated diacetyl or delayed tank turns.
Fresh strains improved timelines and eliminated the need for additional additives. “We wanted to stay away from hop creep,” says Sartori, “and we didn’t want to have to add enzymes. With Fresh Chico, we haven’t had any issues since we started using it.”
Weekend Vibes IPA: Cleaner, Faster, Better
One of Coronado’s top-selling beers, Weekend Vibes, is a bold West Coast IPA packed with Citra and Mosaic hops. With Fresh Chico, the beer has become not just easier to make—it’s also drinking better than ever.
“I liked Weekend Vibes before. Now I love it. I drink it every day. It’s my shift beer.” — Chris Sartori
Berkeley’s yeast eliminated the need for forced diacetyl (VDK) tests. It also allowed Coronado to crash tanks consistently, three days after dry hopping, helping them to reduce tank time and making scheduling more reliable. Sartori says, “now we just dry hop, wait three days, and crash.”
Nado Lager: Award-Winning Performance with Fresh Andechs
Nado, Coronado’s Japanese-style lager brewed with jasmine rice, was designed as a clean, crisp beer where any off-flavors would be obvious. Fresh Andechs delivered.
“We use Fresh Andechs for Nado, which won gold at the 2024 World Beer Cup. It produced exactly the beer we were aiming for—crisp, clean, and totally free of diacetyl and sulfur.” — Chris Sartori
Fermentation time was cut in half—Nado is packaged and out the door in three weeks. Coronado routinely repitches the strain and gets clean performance for a number of generations.
Operational Wins Across the Board
Berkeley’s Fresh strains also reduced production stress across the team:
- Lab staff no longer run diacetyl tests
- Scheduling is easier and more predictable
- Ordering is easy, lead time are short, and the yeast is highly active right out of the box
Sartori says, “it’s made my life a lot easier. I know the yeast is going to finish on time, and the lab team doesn’t have to worry about VDKs or stalled fermentations.” And when it comes to repitching: “We’ve gone up to 18 generations. Viability is great. Performance is consistent. It’s just a great yeast to use.”