Spotlight On: O’Brien’s American Pub
In every city that is worth it’s weight in beer, there is one pub or bar that is the place for beer. In San Francisco, there’s the legendary Toronado. In the Hayward, we have the infamous Bistro. San Diego has it’s own pub who’s philosophy is representative of the craft ales of the area: O’Brien’s Pub, The hoppiest place on Earth.
O’brien’s came highly recommended by more than a few locals. Jeremy, who we met over in Toronado, recommended O’brien’s highly. And often. He said that if he had only two places to visit here in San Diego for beer O’brien’s would be first with Holiday Wine Cellar coming in second, edging out Stone Brewing Company.
O’brien’s is located in a strip mall in what I believe is the Asian part of town. Next door to O’brien’s is a yogurt shop. In the same plaza, you’ll also find a Tapioca Express, Tofu House, Noodle House of Otemoyans amongst other places. So if you pull into the parking lot and feel like you’re in the wrong place, chances are you’re not.
The interior of O’brien’s is unremarkable. The bar is the main focal point of the establishment. Above it is a faux awning/roof thingie where O’brien’s is showcasing their apparel. There are tables scattered throughout the place and the chairs remind me of office chairs on casters. On the ceiling are a number of coasters. The second best part of their decor are the two oversized Belgian ale glasses that double as fishbowls for a pair of betta. The best part of the decor is the line of 20 or so taps, of course.
Alpine Duet IPA, 7% ABV
The first beer I order is Alpine Brewing Company’s Duet IPA. The first time I heard of Alpine Brewing Company was over at Boonville. They happened to be the campsite right next to New Belgium Brewing Company. Since then, I’ve been wanting to drive over to Alpine and pay them a a visit. Unfortunately for us, Alpine was a bit further away than we anticipated and we couldn’t fit them into our schedule. The Duet IPA is a seasonal IPA brewed with Amarillo and Simcoe hops “in perfect harmony”. (On a tangent, I find “language in context” interesting. Here in the Bay Area, and in most parts of the United States, “Amarillo” is pronounced a-ma-rill-low while in San Diego they pronounce it ah-mah-ree-yoh. Meaning “yellow” in Spanish, I prefer the latter pronounciation myself. Anyway…) This beer was served pretty chill. Even so, I could smell the grapefruit-like citrus notes as well as piney and floral characteristics. Pours out a pale amber with burnt gold highlights. The waitress topped me off so there wasn’t any head at all. This beer has a clean yet sweet malt character with a medium/medium-high hop flavor and bitterness. I found this beer to have good balance for the style. It is medium bodied with a medium level of carbonation.
Green Flash West Coast IPA, 7% ABV
Green Flash is another San Diego county brewery that we didn’t get a chance to visit. I was slightly bummed at that but that just gives me another reason to go back. Brewed with Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial and Cascade, this was one hoppy beer! Lots of citrus, floral and piney hop characteristics with some malt aromas underneath. Light brown in color with amber highlights and an off-white head. Aggressively hopped. Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin hoppy, with my tongue playing the part of Rich Franklin. The hop bitterness lasts long into the finish. I love me some hops but man, was this one hoppy beer. The West Coast IPA is medium bodied with medium carbonation.
It’s interesting to note how both the Alpine and Green Flash beers are both “West Coast IPAs” but the Alpine is just way more balanced. As a result, I enjoyed drinking the Alpine more. Still, I’m not knocking the Green Flash West Coast IPA, just trying to give you a sense of what to expect.
Food
Having made a stop here right after visiting Balboa Park, Sammy and I decided to order some food as well. We order two dishes: the fish and chips along with the Brewer’s Sampler Plate consisting of crackers, green apple slices, pear slices, sausages, salami and a couple of cheeses. First, the fish and chips. I had heard very good things about O’Brien’s food so I was a bit disappointed when our fish and chips arrived. While the chips portion of the dish tasted fine, I found the fish portion not as good. The fish seemed overfried as the crust was crunchy. The filet faired no better and was on the dry side. It made me long for the fish and chips from Churchills.
The Brewer’s Sampler Plate faired better. The sausages were split in half and grilled, along with the salami. The salami seemed overdone. As with most (if not all) grilled food, the salami had the signature grill marks but I think in the process of obtaining those grill marks, the meat had dried out. Good thing the sausages turned out fine, moist and flavorful. The apples and pear tasted fresh and had a wonderful aroma. We had two types of cheeses; a soft, white, creamy cheese and a more pungent veiny cheese. Both tasted well enough but I don’t know enough to really say it was the best cheese I’ve ever had. Between the two dishes, I enjoyed the Brewer’s Sampler Plate more.
In addition to serving beer and wine, O’Brien’s liquor license allows him to sell one (1) bottle of imported beer per customer. They have a pretty decent selection of bottled beers easily surpassing the 150 mark. Since there were two of us, we picked up two bottles. Originally, I wanted to purchase a llimited edition bottle of their Levud–A Belgian-style Golden Strong Ale but since it was a domestic brewery, it was off limits. I wish I could tell you which two bottles we picked up but I didn’t write them down. Compounding the situation, we visited a bottle shop right afterwards and picked up more beer. The two got lost in the crowd and I don’t remember which ones they were. I believe one of the bottles was called Guido and it’s a Belgian ale brewed with raisins and honey. The other, not sure.
Conclusion
If you’ve been to the Bistro in Hayward, you’ll feel right at home at O’Brien’s. Both owners are passionate hop heads and it shows through their selection of draught beers. Although truthfully, I walked away from O’Brien’s a little disappointed. This place received so much hype that when I finally got there, it didn’t live up to the expectations I had. Most of my disappointment came from the quality of the food. I already knew to expect a high level of quality from their beers but their kitchen was talked up as well. We didn’t get a chance to talk to any of the people there but that’s okay. The last thing I want to be is pushy.
Don’t let my experiences with the food here turn you off to a San Diego beer landmark. This is a great place to have great beer, or two, or three.
