The Best Brewery Hops in San Diego: North Park
March 9, 2020
Any craft beer aficionado should plan a trek to San Diego. Whether or not you consider it the Craft Beer Capital of America, there’s no denying its massive role in the craft beer boom and its incredible collection of craft breweries, numbering easily in the hundreds. When trying to create a guide to San Diego’s craft beer scene, there’s really no point in trying to construct one for the city. Instead, we’ve chosen to break down some key neighborhoods that are especially craft-rich. This first article will be about North Park, because there is a 1.7 mile stretch of 30th Street that, along with its perpendicular-running roads, contains more delicious craft beer than most cities in America can claim to host.
We made it a point to hit every single brewery along this stretch on our last visit to San Diego, and we realized, over our days of exploring this region, that it isn’t one long hop– it’s several smaller hops. No matter what area of North Park you explore, you can find an incredibly convenient hop of two or more craft breweries within a very short and walkable stretch. You could combine any number of these hops together depending on your tolerance, but we strongly recommend to make multiple days of this: there are plenty of wonderful stores and small eateries to pop into, enjoy, and support. It’s one of our favorite areas of San Diego to hop around, so plan a leisurely trip, take your time, and enjoy all of these North Park hops, which we’ve arranged geographically from north to south for your convenience.
NORTH END
Fall Brewing –> Poor House Brewing
If you’re planning on hopping around North Park, you may as well start on the north end. Strolling into Fall Brewing, it’s easy to be struck by how friendly the environment is. Long tables and plenty of conversation present— most of the people with whom we interacted were clearly regulars, and the presence of regulars is always a great sign. When we were there, the Christmas decorations were still up, creating even more of a festive spirit. Recommendation: while this isn’t necessarily the best place for IPAs, if you’re a traditionalist? This may be the spot for you. The Plenty For All is a light, enjoyable pilsner, and even if you’re not down for the crispies, the 2 AM Bike Ride is a good, flavorful stout.
It’s a short one-minute stroll south on 30th to Poor House Brewing Company. The Poor House isn’t necessarily where the beer snobs will go, but this is as enjoyable a divey hangout as the North Park stretch has to offer. There’s an affable demeanor, a long taplist, and a ton of games available for folks looking to just hang out and drink their worries away. We hunkered down near a leg lamp and played some foosball and Uno. Recommendation: the Dark and Damp was the best IPA the Poor House had to offer, but the Dees Nutz may have been our favorite— a sweet, caramelly brown, indulgent enough to dive into as the foosball rages.
30th/El Cajon
Barn Brewing –> Home Brewing –> Belching Beaver –> Tiger! Tiger! (Automatic Brewing) –> JuneShine Hard Kombucha –> Pariah Brewing
30th and El Cajon is one of the great craft beer intersections in Southern California. Start at Barn Brewery, one of the more homey locations within this whole stretch of road. The taproom itself is really impressive, with plenty of TVs, outdoor seating, and the usual accoutrements that attract casual visitors. We can envision a world in which you reverse the order of this hop— if you try to time your hop to end when the primetime game starts, you can have a nice buzz going when you arrive, meet up with friends, and kick it here with some tasty snacks. As for the beer? Recommendation: the Big Mo has big hop bitterness, but the Daniel Boone stood out in our flight, a simple and well-executed oatmeal stout.
Cross El Cajon and visit Home Brewing next. If you’re looking for a spot to stock up on home brewing supplies? This should be your top priority. If you’re looking for delicious beer? It should *still* be a top priority. The tasting room is small, but if it’s not busy, this is a fantastic play to chill, play some Connect 4, and sip as much of their draft options as you can fit in your belly. Recommendations: their hazy IPAs are definitely a must, as Beerweek Boiz was easily the best non-Pariah haze on the block, a dank melony dream. However, their real standout to us was its saison Nomadic Phases— fruity, earthy, peppery, it was one of the most distinctive beers on the block.
Turn right onto 30th from El Cajon and you’ll immediately see Belching Beaver’s North Park taproom. We confess that we were initially a tad reluctant to swing by, because we’ve had so many Belching Beaver beers canned in Los Angeles in years past, and we wanted to make sure we didn’t use up valuable liver space. That said, even if you’re familiar with Belching Beaver’s cans, you owe it to yourself to try some of your favorites from the tap, where they’re juicier and fresher than you’ve had them before. It’s a lively spot— packed when we visited— but a great place to gather with friends and maybe get a little rowdy. Recommendations: they’ve got quality IPAs (the Thizz Is What It Is was our favorite on our visit), but really the stouts are where it’s at. The Viva La Beaver was our favorite, a decadent peanut butter stout that’s like pouring spoonfuls of Jif into a cup of hot chocolate and stirring with a churro.
From there, it’s 427 feet (we looked on Google) to Tiger! Tiger!, a delightful tavern with a wide variety of beers on tap and a quality food menu. If you’ve already been to three breweries, let’s be honest, you may be ready to line the stomach with some grub. We got a bowl of the curry fries, but we also saw folks eating incredible looking sausages and pork banh mi sandwiches. The tap list is incredible, with a number of high-quality breweries both local and otherwise pouring (as we write this, they’ve got Pliny the Younger!). They also operate as the area’s home to Automatic Brewing, which is operated out of Blind Lady Ale House, a bar that shares owners with Tiger! Tiger!. Hoist That Bale was our preference of our selection, a porter that should please any fan of the style. Still, even if you don’t drink Automatic, swing by and grab a pint or two here. And some fries.
Finally, cross El Cajon to get to the building where you can find JuneShine Hard Kombucha and Pariah Brewing. Those looking for a way to get your booze on without gluten will find that JuneShine’s relaxing, hip taproom is to your liking. Everyone we met there was friendly and happy to explain the various kombuchas to us. The Cyclops Watermelon Sea Salt was our favorite, as it tasted like… well, watermelon juice with sea salt. After a day of consuming hops, that definitely served as a lovely and refreshing palate cleanse.
From there, your final destination: Pariah Brewing. Now, we’d heard good things about Pariah before visiting… but we did not anticipate just how great Pariah was. Pariah Brewing is an easy contender for the best brewery in San Diego, delivering top-shelf product across a variety of styles. Settle in at their small taproom, play a game or two, and genuinely, without exaggeration, try everything they have. Recommendations: uh, all of it? They largely hang their hat on haze, and their hazies were not just the best in North Park, they’re some of the best in Southern California— the Smylex for those looking for more bitter haze, the Dry Land Is Not a Myth for those wanting more juicy sweetness. Even beyond the haze, everything was terrific: Mystery Flavor is a light, tart, and intensely fruity berliner, and the All The Bootleg Snacks is a monster stout with coffee, coconut, coffee, and a splash of honey that holds it own against any of the other big name stouts in San Diego.
30th/Polk
Rip Current Brewing –> Second Chance Beer Lounge
There are two breweries near the intersection of 30th and Polk that would make for an easy two-stop hop. Our first destination is Rip Current Brewing. We’ve been to their San Marcos brewery before and enjoyed their surfboard-shaped flights in the past. Their North Park tap room is spacious and inviting, with a very cool wall exhibit of old beer cans, allowing you to see how far beer has come over the years. You can order food from Craft House and hang out all day. Recommendations: the Breakline Bock is light, refreshing, and malty, and the Java Storm is a top notch coffee porter with rich, roasty flavor.
Half a block down 30th on the other side of Polk is the Second Chance Beer Lounge, Second Chance’s second location in San Diego. They do a great job of balancing fitting as much seating in this small taproom as possible while maintaining a sense of cool comfort— pews line one wall, comfortable couches and chairs are gathered across the room. We had a great time playing checkers and cards on the sofas as we sampled our beer. Recommendations: the Fluffy Tangerine Clouds is a New England IPA that somehow finds a way to be insanely light and juicy without ever getting cloyingly sweet, and The Barrel Experience- Journey #4: Leather Bound Books is a rum and bourbon barrel aged Scotch ale, giving you some potent malty booziness if you’re in need of warmth.
30th/University
The Original 40 Brewing Company –> Mike Hess Brewing –> North Park Beer Company –> BottleCraft
There’s an impressive hop east of 30th on University. You could easily start near 30th and head east, but we recommend starting with Original 40 and strolling back to 30th for multiple reasons: 1. Original 40 is one of our favorites in North Park and should be a priority to even those with a limited time window. 2. If you end at 30th, you can hit BottleCraft last and grab some to-go bottles and cans after sipping some of their elite on-draft options. A win-win!
As mentioned above, The Original 40 Brewing Company is a serious highlight that craft beer fans across San Diego, let alone North Park, should seek out. First of all, their food is the best on the block. It may set you back a little more money than some of the others, but you’re about to do some brewery hopping— don’t let a couple of dollars keep you from lining your stomach with some delicious adobo baby back ribs. But on top of the food, the beer is great across multiple styles. Anyone can find something they’ll love here. Recommendations: the Passively Aggressive is a oat-laced IPA that gives you ridiculously creamy mouthfeel but a very real bitter bite at the end. The highlight on this trip, however, was Zazu’s Tutelage, a collab with the stoutmasters at Horus Aged Ales, blasting you with a coffee and vanilla pastry stout that stands out even among the many terrific stout makers in North Park.
From there, head west on University. You’ll see North Park Beer Company ahead, but if you have time, turn left on Grim and hit Mike Hess Brewing’s North Park taproom while you’re here. This place is huge, tailor made for having a big throwdown party with friends. The sense of community here is real— they were even selling prints from local artists while we were there, which is a nice bonus for art-lovers such as ourselves. They’re also generous with merchandise: we’ve been to multiple Mike Hess locations, and whenever there, they’ve offered a free shirt or glass if you buy X amount of beer. Maybe we’ve just lucked out on our timing, but for those who dig rocking craft beer merch, Mike Hess is worth the stop. Recommendations: the Mach 2 is a crisp New England pale, but we always go back to the Umbrix, their roasty imperial stout.
Speaking of stouts, if you love stouts, there’s no reason to not make time for North Park Beer Company, a mere block away from Mike Hess. North Park Beer is known for its stouts— when Russell attended Modern Times’s Carnival of Caffeination in February, North Park had lines for its stouts that rivaled such masters as Other Half and The Bruery. People know what quality to expect from them. The food is also delicious— the Mastiff Sausage Company has a window here, and their links are top of the line. Still, you’re not here for food or games. You’re here for stouts. Recommendations: Cafe Kilimanjaro is one of the best coffee stouts in town, but the Baker’s Man: Mini Macaroons blew us away. Espresso, coconut, vanilla all together in perfect harmony: it’s sweet, it’s rich, and we could drink it all day long.
Finally, while it isn’t a brewery, it’s worth swinging by BottleCraft on your way back to 30th. BottleCraft is a bottle shop chain that also boasts an impressive draft list. Their bottle and can selection is absolutely top notch, not just for San Diego but for nearly anywhere… and how many places in San Diego can you try a De Garde sour on tap before buying a bottle of said De Garde sour? To our knowledge, very few. So to have it in this close a vicinity to other terrific North Park taprooms? That’s an absolute luxury that you should take advantage of while walking around that area.
SOUTH END
Thorn Street Brewery –> Modern Times Flavordome
While the south end of North Park isn’t as eminently hoppable as the rest of this article— it’s about .8 miles from Fall Brewing to BottleCraft, but it’s another .9 miles to Thorn Street Brewery— it’s still got options for thirsty craft drinkers in that neck of the woods. Start at Thorn Street Brewery, located on, you guessed it, Thorn Street. This taproom has a rustic wooden interior and a cool stained glass window, making the whole place feel like a throwback— like if a farmhouse had a baby with a Belgian abbey basement. Recommendations: the Denver Rooster is an old school IPA, bitter and haze free, but our favorite was the Chilecabra, a chile pale ale that manages just the right amount of spicy kick.
It’s a little under half a mile back to 30th, where you’ll head toward Modern Times’s Flavordome. (On the way, if you’re hungry, we strongly recommend The Taco Stand, one of our favorite taco spots in San Diego— it’s right around the corner from the Flavordome.) Anyone who’s been to a Modern Times taproom knows their aesthetic is incredibly quirky, and the Flavordome is no exception. Here, they have a ceiling covered in lampshades, a bar made of VHS tape boxes, and a mural composed of floppy disks. The taproom itself is relatively small, but a large patio outside helps. This place was also packed when we went, and we expect that it’s usually fairly busy, because, well, it’s a great location packed with great beer on tap. Recommendations: Modern Times beers are largely good down the line, so you can’t go wrong. On this trip, we had the Hella Open in Oakland, a monster of a dank, creamy hazy double IPA, and the Beastmaster: Feastmaster, a holiday-themed cinnamon sweet potato pie stout. Modern Times stouts are among the best in the country— so if you see something barrel-aged on tap, it’s a must.
BEST IPAS:
Pariah Brewing (Runners-up: Original 40, Modern Times, Home Brewing)
BEST SOURS:
Modern Times (Runners-up: Home Brewing, Pariah)
BEST STOUTS:
North Park (Runners-up: Pariah, Original 40, Modern Times)
BEST PLACE TO PLAY GAMES:
Poor House (Runners-up: North Park, Home, Pariah)
BEST PLACE TO EAT:
The Original 40 (Runners-up: North Park, Tiger Tiger)
Which is your favorite of these brewery hops in North Park? Are there any breweries you love in the area that we neglected to mention? Please shout them out in the comments below! Also, for those in San Diego, keep an eye out for our Miramar brewery hop guide, coming later this month! Cheers!