North Park has been exploding with small breweries and satellite tasting rooms lately. Depending on where you live you can easily walk to a number of different spots. North Park Beer Company hasn’t been open very long but it has been in the works for quite some time and it shows with their gorgeous interior design. Most small breweries focus more on beer and perhaps a certain theme over looks, especially the small ones in industrial areas of town. North Park Beer Company has a classic interior that is a mix of a British pub and an iconic train station. You would assume as soon as you enter that they serve food and that is in the works, partnering with Mastiff Sausage Company, a local favorite that can be found at various breweries in food truck form. Even with a large space and quite a big crowd when we visited, it didn’t get unbearably loud. They still have a fairly small lineup of beers but what they had tells me that they know how to make a good beer.
I tasted their light scotch ale, hoppy red, IPA, stout, and San Diego style pale ale. The scotch ale was a bit too light for me, coming in at only 3%. I didn’t get much flavor from it. The hoppy red was really smooth and balanced with mellow malts and fruit notes from the hops. It makes for a very delicious red IPA that should become a local favorite. The IPA was sticky and dank with a good thick mouthfeel and tons of pine character. It was well made but I found it a little too bitter compared to the more mellow hoppy red and SD pale. If you love simcoe forward IPAs this one might be your favorite. The stout is a very dry stout with a caramel base and a bit of a hoppy finish. It is an average stout but I usually don’t care for the dry variety and neither does my husband. The San Diego style pale ale was super smooth and light on the malts with some nice fruity hop character. Bitterness was almost nonexistent and overall a very impressive beer.
Over time the lineup of beers will grow but if North Park Beer Company keeps the three hoppy beers I had as core beers, they will become popular very quickly. I was also very glad to see the pint glasses they used which had plenty of room for giving customers a good size head on the beer without skimping on the beer. The line for 16 ounces is a few inches below the rim of the glass. One day when this is standard practice at every brewery I won’t need to point it out. Based on my recent visit, word travels fast about new breweries in the area and people are already flocking to this young brewery.
Top 2:
Hoppy Red
SD style pale ale
Paul McGuire
Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.
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