32 North – Journey AND Destination

For my December review, I journeyed to 32 North Brewing, 8655 Production Ave, in the Miramar area.  Owner Steve Peterson has had quite the journey since he opened his doors three years ago, going through changes in head brewers and focus before finding his stride with his current line up.  Peterson told me that he had started out thinking that 32 North would be a head brewer driven brewery, analogous to a “chef-driven restaurant”, with frequent new beer offerings.  While still offering one or two new specialty beers per month, Peterson now has a core lineup of accessible beers to draw in the average beer drinker.  The specialty line up does not impinge on keeping the core lineup in rotation.  The core beers are cleaner styles: pilsner, lager, amber, pale ale, blonde ale, and an IPA in order to maintain broad appeal.  I ask Peterson if he had any difficulties brewing a pilsner. He said that it is a challenging style even though we think of it as a mass beer style (Bud and Coors).  Brewing pilsner (or any lager style) takes longer than ale, and the hops are more expensive.  Finally, because of its very clean style, imperfections are easier to notice. 32 North has done a good job with their Pilsner the Conqueror flagship beer.  In addition the tasting room, 32 North beers are available in restaurants throughout southern California, and is just starting to be available in Arizona.

32 North is also a wedding destination, just not by design.  When the brewery operations were getting started, a friend of Peterson’s asked if they could use the facility for their wedding.  The open layout of the facility and the rows of wood casks make for a picturesque venue. Pictures of weddings have become a highly ranked item on internet search engines when you enter “32 North.” Peterson’s desire to help keep the cost of weddings reasonable has led to the continued popularity of the brewery as a wedding destination.

The tasting room is wide open, with football projected on one wall when I visited.  There is a huge polished wood table that looks perfect for board meetings.  A couple of classic pinball machines along with bean bag games and board games are available for additional entertainment.  As you enter the brewery, all facets of operations are visible including gorgeous wood casks holding aging ale.  32 North has a very friendly atmosphere, which allows dogs, and is definitely a comfortable to place to hang out.  On Fridays and Saturdays, food trucks supplement the snacks offered at the bar.  I visited during San Diego Beer Week; Death of a Brewer, a stout aged in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels was on tap and in bottles for the occasion. 

I sampled five of the six core beers.  Pilsner the Conqueror is hop forward with a grassy hoppiness and delicious bready malt backing.  Peterson said it is the flagship beer, a worthy selection.  Pennant Pale Ale is light and refreshing, citrus and tropical hop flavors predominate, but there is enough of malt to balance.  Best Coast IPA is interesting, it has both citrus and piney hopping, but the pine lingers, and the malt middle stays subtle. Magnum Hops give Considerate Gentleman Lager more bitter flavor than I expected, with Glacier hops adding a spicy background.  I tried a taster from a just tapped keg that was well carbonated. Anchor Down Amber has an endearing caramel sweetness that made it very easy to drink.

The specialty beers were even better, in my opinion. Breakfast Red is rich, smooth, creamy and a bit sweet, but not so heavy that you couldn’t have two. Another rich and creamy ale was Hello, Darkness Oatmeal Stout, which had great balance with a bit of coffee bite. Death of A Brewer, barrel aged, had bourbon and coffee notes with a little boozy caramel; it was worthy of a Beer Week release. Landfall Berliner Weisse was a solid sour, but I am a terrible judge of this style. Oktoberfest Märzen was well carbonated and malty, just what you want this time of year.  Zesty orange citrus lifts the bitter flavor Orange Is the New Black stout.  Finally, S'mores Polar Opposite is a gonzo barrel aged take on the Polar Opposite Golden Stout.  Vanilla, graham crackers, and coffee beans gave this aged ale a lot for my mouth to consider.  I sipped it very slowly to fully enjoy its complex character.  A beer not on offer, which will be aged in rum barrels for release next year is Julia’s Grand Cru.  This beer was first brewed to raise funds for Julia Davidson, a seven year old who has overcome a form of bone cancer.

32 North has both accessible core beers and frequent new additions to appeal to a wide range of beer lovers, worth the trip to Miramar. It’s a great spot for weddings too.

Steve Peterson, owner of 32 North Brewing.

This article was originally published in the Clairemont Times on page 13.