4 Food and Beer Events to Get You out of the May Gray Funk

After 10 years of rooftop dining and brewing award-winning beers, OB Brewery is for sale. A local fixture on Newport Avenue, OB Brewery owner Mike Tajran is ready to retire and hand over the reins. “It’s got so much potential,” he says, pointing to the accolades the brewpub has collected throughout the last decade (it’s more than a few).

At the 2017 Great American Beer Festival, OB’s Hidden Gem Dunkelweizen won silver in the German-Style Wheat Ale category, followed by a World Beer Cup silver medal as a South German-Style Dunkel Weizen in 2026. In 2018, GABF named OB Brewery Small Brewpub of the Year, brewer Jim Millea earned Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year, and the B. Right On pale ale nabbed a gold medal in the American-Style Pale Ale category. The Elevator Red IPA also took bronze that year at the San Diego International Beer Festival, and earlier this year, they won gold for Couple’s Therapy chili beer and silver for Rauch Me smoked beer at San Diego County Fair Craft Brew Competition.

It’s a solid foundation for the right buyer, he says—someone with brewing and business chops ready for a turnkey operation in a favorable location a block from the beach on Ocean Beach’s busiest street. (And while he’s letting go of the brewpub business, he’s also open to selling the building as part of the deal.)

Originally from Iraq, Tajran’s family ran restaurants in Baghdad, but “they were decimated by Saddam Hussein,” he explains. Once in the United States, he launched Giant New York Pizza at 5050 Newport Avenue in 1984, which eventually became Newport Pizza & Ale House. Newport Pizza felt long ahead of its time, proudly proclaiming they served “no crap on tap” years before the craft beer craze caught fire in San Diego. 

When the building’s owners passed away and their son cut his lease short in 2020, Tajran says he was disappointed, but he had a nagging feeling that would happen eventually—which is why he already purchased 5041 Newport Avenue back in 2009 and opened Ocean Beach Brewery in 2016.

“For 42 years, I have been in this location in this area, the same block,” he says with pride. Ocean Beach has gone through some changes since 1984 (the OB farmers market launched in 1992, Starbucks came in 2001 and left in 2022, ADUs crept in, and the iconic OB Pier closed in 2023), but Tajran says the heart of the beachside town has remained the same. 

So has most of his staff. Millea has been brewing since day one, and longtime manager Megan Schuster has worked for Tajran for 19 years, first at Newport, then at OB Brewery. Most of the employees are locals, and Tajran says he doesn’t plan on closing the business until he finds the right buyer to carry on the baton. 

The property itself comes with some unique features for the area—three stories with a rooftop deck and ocean views from every level. And if you’re wondering if those uninterrupted views will remain that way, Tajran assures me they will. Part of his original building purchase included language that prohibits the three buildings between him and the ocean from building up. He also leases space next door, which would allow a new owner to expand brewing capacity with more tanks and fermenters. 

“I just wanted to make sure this goes in good hands,” he says. He and his wife both hope to retire soon in order to spend time with their children. But he’ll make sure his other baby is taken care of first. 

“I love Ocean Beach,” he says. “I can say nothing but thank you, OB.”

OB Brewery is still open at 5041 Newport Avenue. Hours are Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Interested parties should contact Next Wave Commercial.

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San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Beth’s Bites

• Along the same vein of iconic businesses, Tribute Pizza is celebrating 10 years in North Park this week with different events every night. Good luck getting a reservation if you haven’t already, but you can still take part in the silent auction on behalf of Feeding San Diego. Owner Matt Lyons’ goal is to raise $100,000 for the nonprofit and is offering some pretty sweet stuff to do so—think a full weekend buyout of Tribute, a private event with Lyons and chef Travis Swikard of Callie and Fleurette, a year of access to a VIP hotline for reservations, and even more. Time is ticking away on your chance to bid, so be sure to make your best offer before time runs out.
• La Corriente continues its expansion across San Diego with lucky number three coming to Oceanside. Located next to Tanner’s Prime Burgers and PopUp Bagels, a restaurant rep says that at the rate the restaurant is opening new spaces, it wouldn’t be wild to see a few more pop up along the coast in the future. 
• Kitchens for Good has big plans on the horizon, including their sprawling new Culinary Impact Center coming to Bankers Hill next year. Now, it should be a bit easier to accomplish their (many) goals with the help of a $50,000 grant from the Jacques Pépin Foundation. Kitchens for Good is one of four awardees this year and will receive the funds over the next two years, allowing them to launch their Market Cafe initiative in the new center and continue their mission of hospitality training programs and ending food insecurity across the city. It’s a pretty awesome award, given by a pretty awesome group to another pretty awesome group, so it’s just mega-awesome all the way around. 

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Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].

When Latchkey Brewing vacated the Mission Brewery Plaza brewhouse mid-pandemic, it looked like lights out for the small brewery. 2021 was a weird, hard year, and plenty of restaurants, bars, and other businesses didn’t make it. But Latchkey persevered, making beer out of Viewpoint Brewing Company in Del Mar and maintaining a presence across San Diego. But come this spring, they’ll have a new permanent home at 4170 Morena Boulevard in Bay Ho.

The 3,200-square-foot location formerly housed Bitter Brothers Brewing Company from January 2016 until what they described as a “temporary closure” in August 2022. Despite no formal announcement, Bitter Brothers never opened again.

Latchkey will take control of the 15-barrel brewhouse and tasting room and start operating as a brewpub with a food element in the coming weeks. With on-site food, plenty of parking, and an established place in the San Diego beer scene, Latchkey seems set up for success after a long slog through uncertainty. I, for one, am glad the latchkey kids have finally found themselves at home.

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San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

O’Brien’s Pub Named #1 Beer Bar in The U.S.

San Diego beer bars are something special. Now that O’Brien’s Pub has been named the best beer bar in the US by USA Today, the whole country knows it.*

The Kearny Mesa craft beer icon opened in 1994 by Jim O’Brien before he sold it to Tom Nickel of Nickel Beer Co. O’Brien’s second co-owner Tyson Blake also owns and operates The Pub at Lake Cuyamaca with his wife Kristina and Nickel, as well as San Diego Brewing Company, which is open during renovations.

To celebrate the win, O’Brien’s is throwing a party on Saturday, March 9 with beer and food specials, and have plenty of events lined up for the coming months, including a Pink Boots Society Tap Takeover in April, a floral event for Mother’s Day and more.

Pizza Port Is Officially An Elder Millennial

Pizza Port opened its first location in Solana Beach in 1987, long before San Diego became the beer powerhouse it is today. On Saturday, March 23 from noon to 5 pm, they’re celebrating 37 years of cold beer and tasty pizza with a Cardiff Crack Tri-Tip special from Seaside Market (I mean, how could they not), a cornhole tournament, a tie dye station, and oh yeah, probably some beer.  

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Beth’s Bites

Bonjour Patisserie is now open at 320 West Cedar Street in Little Italy. Bring on the danishes!

San Diego has yet to hit peak hot chicken, and there’s more coming. Houston Hot Chicken is coming to Gaslamp in the coming months. 

I’m a huge fan of meat markets (not that kind—get your mind out of the gutter). La Carniceria in Chula Vista caught my eye recently, but I wonder: is there anything specific I should pick up? Let me know at [email protected]. 

*USA Today did tap me for the initial nomination process in multiple categories, but I did not personally vote or solicit votes on anyone’s behalf.

Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].

Skip the heart-shaped box of chocolates and indulge in some of San Diego’s best chocolate-flavored beers from local breweries this year.

2AM Bike Ride

Fall Brewing | 5% ABV

Give your usual Guinness a rain check and try a stout from San Diego’s favorite punk rock brewery. 2AM Bike Ride—a vanilla bean stout and nitro pour in collaboration with one of San Diego’s top coffee roasters—may be love at first sight. This light mouthfeel brew features a special edition Guatemalan roast from Dark Horse Coffee (which you can order online from Fall Brewing), infused with chocolate malt, roasted barley, flaked oats, and British malts. This caffeinated nitro brew offers a welcome kick, perfect for jumpstarting a lackluster date on the town.

Little Secret Milk Stout

Eppig Brewing | 4.1% ABV

Surprise your soulmate with this little secret from Point Loma’s Eppig Brewing. This dark chocolate stout is enriched with the rich aromas of maple syrup, espresso, and bakers chocolate, ideal for pairing with the dessert of your choice. The added lactose and maple syrup give it a creamy texture and sweet aftertaste that can enhance any Valentine’s Day plans.

Stone Xocoveza

Stone Brewing | 8.1% ABV | 50 IBUs

Inspired by the rich flavors of Mexican hot chocolate, Stone Brewing’s Xocoveza imperial stout is a hearty reimagining of your abuela’s favorite drink. This special batch collaboration between Tijuana’s notorious Cerveceria Insurgente brewery and award-winning San Diego homebrewer Chris Banker has become a fan-favorite among Stone’s seasonal beers. With a mix of chocolate, vanilla, coffee, cinamon, nutmeg, and pasilla peppers, this blend is well worth seeking during cuffing season. Crafty DIY mixologists should also check out Stone’s beer-nog recipe using Xocoveza for a twist on an old favorite.

Victory at Sea

Ballast Point | 10% ABV | 60 IBUs

If you’re not having success in the dating game, at least you can have Victory at Sea. This high ABV porter from local brewing empire Ballast Point packs a punch with flavors from the coffee beans of North Park’s Caffe Calabria, along with hints of caramel, vanilla and malt. At select breweries and Ballast Point locations, beer aficionados can try their barrel-aged, 12 percent ABV variant flavored with the smoky casks of High West Bourbon or their Chai Victory at Sea featuring masala chai along with cinnamon, cloves, black tea, and cardamom for a spiced alternative to this classic stout.

Velvet Phenix Marshmallow Mocha Stout

North Park Beer Co. | 5.8% ABV

Valentine’s Day plans fell through? Rise like a phoenix from the ashes and visit North Park Beer Co. for a stout that will definitely make you fly. One of the smoothest stouts around, the Velvet Phenix Marshmallow Mocha Stout is a mix of Chicago’s Dark Matter coffee beans, cacao nibs, and vanilla. This mocha stout has a silky smooth mouthfeel just like velvet.

Obsidian Cliff

Pure Project | 13.2% ABV

Often overshadowed by the brewery’s excellent hazy’s, IPAs, and kombuchas, Pure Project’s Obsidian Cliff is certainly worth a sip. This high ABV stout is brewed with cacao, vanilla wafer, marshmallow, and graham cracker flavors and aged for 13 months in Old Fitzgerald bourbon barrels where it develops a smoky accent. Inspired by the great outdoors of Yellowstone National Park, The Obsidian Cliff stout is a potable s’mores sandwich best enjoyed in the company of your loved one around a campfire.

Peanut Butter Milk Stout

Belching Beaver | 5.3% ABV | 30 IBUs

Belching Beaver’s Peanut Butter Milk Stout is likely already high on your list of sweet brews but you can’t celebrate Valentine’s Day without mentioning it. While peanut butter flavors dominate the brew, hints of dark chocolate, rolled oats, and lactose greet you with each additional sip. Those with a sweet tooth top this stout with a scoop of ice cream for an alcoholic root beer float that won’t disappoint. Belching Beaver’s iconic brew is the perfect desert beer nightcap for a beer-lovers’ Valentine’s Day.

The last time I tried to predict the future of San Diego beer, I failed to foresee that a global pandemic would throw the entire world into a tailspin from which we are only beginning to fully emerge. (Still, I was pretty on-the-nose about the South Bay beer scene exploding.) So this time, I decided to take a look back at this year’s good, bad, and prescient happenings and asked a few beer insiders what 2023 meant for San Diego’s craft beer industry. 

Here’s what they had to say.

What’s a word you’d use to describe the San Diego craft beer scene and industry in 2023?

Rebooting

“I feel that everyone was still getting over the pandemic, so this [was] a year of recovery.” –Esthela Davila, Board of Directors member, San Diego Brewers Guild

Motivated

“San Diego can’t be the greatest beer city forever, can it? Time will tell, but we can surely try. Every business and household feels the struggles of the economy right now, but all we’ve seen this year is continued motivation to succeed and support our communities of beer lovers throughout San Diego.” –Erik Fowler, Executive Director, San Diego Brewers Guild

Modernizing

“This wave of the digital age continues to advance, and craft breweries everywhere are faced with fresh opportunities to develop the way we brew and to strengthen the relationship with our customers. Over the last year in San Diego, I’ve seen shifts in trends that tell us a lot about what our customers want to drink, what they care about, and how they want to interact with our brand.”

“It’s exciting to evolve and grow both with our community and our beer, learn from and share ideas with brewery collaborators, experiment with hyper-creative products from our hop growers, and interact with our audience in totally new ways.” –Mackenzie Kline, Marketing Director for Burgeon Beer Company

What do you predict the San Diego craft beer scene and industry will be like in 2024?

Smaller

“[There are currently] over 150 breweries in San Diego. [With] the changing market dynamic, there will likely be a shift in the number of breweries.” –Chad Heath, Chief Operating Officer, Beer Division for Karl Strauss Brewing Company

Recovering

“The way craft beer has changed and shifted has all breweries really looking at how they can try and get out of the pandemic hole and gain the high ground.” –Davila

Innovative

“New products, business models, and ways of engaging with beer drinkers are all things we’ll see more of in 2024.” –Fowler

Modernizing

“I’m carrying this concept over to 2024 because it feels like technology is becoming more sophisticated with each passing second, and craft breweries will continue to go along for the ride in the new year.”

“How do we re-imagine our operating practices to reduce our carbon footprint and respond to the urgent climate crisis? How do we reach a wider audience by opening new channels or expanding existing ones? How do we push the boundaries of our craft even further? New methods and tools are at our fingertips, and I’m here for it!” –Kline 

What openings, closures, accomplishments, events, or people are significant to note in 2023?

“Anyone that opened this year really comes to mind—GOAL Brewing, Fall’s second location, Thr3e Punk Ales’ second location—but none more so than Joann Cornejo and Eddie Trejo, the owners of Machete Beer House, opening their second spot, La Nacional, on Third Avenue in Chula Vista. They have always been about great beer and drinks. Now, with adding food to the mix, I see nothing but great things for this place!” –Davila

“Kristina and Tyson Blake purchasing San Diego Brewing Company is pretty sweet in my book. Two of my favorite people in the business [leading] such a legacy brewery for San Diego will only help push our industry in a positive direction.” –Fowler

“[I have to note] Paige McWey Acers for passionately and expertly acting as the executive director for the SDBG for 10 years. [I have] deep admiration, empathy, and respect for the founders and staff of breweries that had to make difficult but necessary decisions in 2023, [and I offer] encouragement and friendship to new and upcoming breweries.” –Kline

Any other thoughts you’d like to offer about the San Diego craft beer scene as we look back on 2023 and toward 2024?

“One of the things we used to say at New Belgium is that hope is not a plan. We also know that you can’t have a plan without hope. It is time for execution, excellence, and really listening to the voice of the customer.” –Jen Briggs, acting CXO for Karl Strauss Brewing Company

“San Diego Beer Week is back, and I can’t wait to see what it will look like in 2024. We in the craft beer community really want to see everyone succeed, so I see nothing but amazing things for #SDbeer in 2024.” –Davila

“There has been a generally negative outlook on the brewing industry in San Diego throughout 2023. While not completely unjust, I think it’s important to not see it in a vacuum. The industry has matured and, although some of our favorite breweries may have changed or closed, it’s presented opportunities for new breweries to welcome to the neighborhood. The same skepticism doesn’t seem to be applied to restaurants and other businesses, but, at the moment, there are a lot of parallels between the struggles of the beer industry and most other industries made up of small, independent businesses.” –Fowler

“Providing breweries bring their A-game to the table in 2024, I feel it will be a good year. You can’t be a hobbyist and be successful in craft beer anymore. You have to run it like a thriving business where you invest the time and effort to make your brand well-represented.” –Heath

Updated on August 9, 2022

A coalition of California-based businesses have united with one goal: create San Diego’s first estate beer. Estate beers are brews created with purely hyper-local ingredients to showcase the specific terroir of a region. They remain extraordinarily rare due to challenges like varying growing conditions, climate change, and crop availability. But for those who manage to grow, process, and brew beer in one place, the results can wholly encapsulate the concept of “local.”

Tom Kiely, general manager at Thorn Brewing Company and Slow Beer chair of Slow Food Urban San Diego, first came up with the idea of a San Diego estate beer in 2017 while working on a campaign promoting California-grown grain. As he met with local farmers, he realized there was a disconnect between what’s being grown here and what’s being purchased elsewhere by breweries.

“San Diego has the most farms and farmers of any county in America, yet we import most of our grain from the Mountain West [and] Canada, hops from Washington and fruit from Oregon,” says Kiely. “The goal of a San Diego estate beer is to create new styles of beer based on ingredients native to San Diego.”

Admiral Maltings co-founder Ron Silberstein joined the project early on, saying estate beers have a unique ability to encourage innovation and create symbiotic relationships between brewers and farmers in ways regional or national beers simply can’t. “The large maltsters blend barley from multiple varieties, regions, countries with the aim of uniformity [and] consistency,” he says. “That’s great for a national brewer, but annihilates any regional quality.”

By connecting local breweries with local farmers, developing more sustainable (as well as less costly) shipping practices, and potentially investing in infrastructure that could expand services like a local malting facility, the San Diego estate beer project hopes to join a very, very small fraternity of truly local craft beers, including ones from Sierra Nevada in Chico, California, Jester King in Austin, Texas and Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine. Of course, there would be some bragging rights as well.

“San Diego used to be known for having the best breweries,” says Kiely. “Now the rest of the country has caught up. What makes us different or special? How many counties or cities are developing new styles of beer to support farms that already exist? I don’t know of any.”

A commercially available San Diego estate beer is months, if not years away. But partners such as the San Diego Brewers Guild, Slow Food Urban San Diego, White Labs, Admiral Maltings, local homebrew and beer education club QUAFF, Seed Consulting Group, and more are hoping to increase awareness and participation through the first San Diego estate beer homebrew competition. Brewers are invited to use all locally sourced ingredients to capture the true essence of San Diego beer.

Unlike other competitions, parameters won’t be limited to strict Beer Judge Certification Program styles (though it is BJCP sanctioned). Instead, they’ll be judged using criteria such as “best use of local ingredients” and “best definition of local,” allowing homebrewers to creatively flex under guidelines that prioritize terroir rather than historical terminology.

“Through our first step with the homebrew competition, we hope the creativity of homebrewers shows us what local means,” explains Erik Fowler, head of education and craft hospitality at White Labs.

Registration for the homebrew competition closed July 30. The winners will be announced in August during the club’s general meeting, and the winning brews will be featured in November as part of the first San Diego Estate Beer Project Pro-Am Competition at Guild Fest during San Diego Beer Week. Follow the hashtags #SDEBP and #SDBeer for more information.

A version of this story was also published in our August 2022 issue which can be purchased here.