Half Door Brewing – Heirloom Style

Half Door Brewing is a throwback to two different eras.  Housed in a 1900s era, 4000 square foot duplex, Half Door harkens to an era when a village pub brewed their own beer and was the center of cultural life in Irish villages, according to the Half Door website.  The rambling pub has bars and table seating upstairs and down, as well as Charleston style patio seating where you can see the Petco Park outfield, two blocks away from their 903 Island Ave location.  In addition, to the 16 beers on tap, there are hearty Irish pub items on the menu, brunch on weekends, and cocktails on offer.  I visited the Half Door family operation just before their third anniversary and talked to Dan Drayne Jr., brewmaster, and sampled beers offered by his sister Claire.  The Drayne’s came from Ireland when Dan Jr. was 8.  The family’s first business venture was The Field, an authentic Irish Pub on 5th Ave.  Drayne learned the brewing trade working at the Coronado Brewing brewpub on Orange Ave, where he was given the opportunity to experiment with many styles.

I asked Dan if he was still in the business of never making two beers exactly the same.  He is well known for constantly tweaking his recipes, aiming for perfection.  He replied that he is aiming for more consistency in his mainstay IPAs, especially during the busier part of the year, the summer.  Half Door is a popular pregame stop for Padres fans.  However, he is also still experimenting.  For example, Persistent Failure Double IPA was still being tweaked to increase the alcohol content.  Also, Half Door has over 80 unique beers listed on Untappd.  Drayne is also attentive to the effects of the water supply on the quality of his beer.  During draught years, more of the city water comes from the Colorado River, increasing hardness and alkalinity.  He compensates by adding water from the brewery’s reverse osmosis unit and making other adjustments.  Drayne is also known for his hazy IPAs, currently a popular style.  He said that he wasn’t so much interested in hazy or not hazy, but in the way in which hop oils undergo biotransformation by the yeast to produce new flavors.  According to Peter Wolfe’s thesis, this is a relatively new area of inquiry in beer science. Drayne summed up the theme of his work, as trying to keep a varied line up, that was well rounded and tuned to the season.  With 16 beers in rotation from a 10 barrel system, that is a challenge.  For their third anniversary in February, they will introduce a triple IPA.

Being a brewpub, Half Door has its own kitchen.  I ate twice at there, once for brunch and once with the beer tasting.  The brunch menu featured mimosas and substantial Irish breakfasts; I had the Irish has with sausage and rashers.  The sausage flatbread that accompanied my beers was solid as well.

Of course, what would a brewery review without a review of the beer?  My favorite and first beer sampled with brunch was the Young Danny Boy ESB. Eponymous of the brewer perhaps? It had a perfect blend of nutty maltiness, some fruity esters, and hopped bittering. A great example of one of my favorite styles.  Father Ted, named after the Irish Sitcom, is a refreshing Belgian Blonde that tastes similar to a Saison, but brighter, with a little hint of lemon and clove.  Dad Bod Brown Ale, named after another British Isles Sitcom, had mysterious hints of bitter chocolate usually reserved for stouts, which worked very well.  Persistent Failure is a hazy IPA filled with tropical pineapple while retaining its IPA character.  The haziness gave it a pillowy mouth feel for an overall excellent experience. Northeast IPA was less hazy and more in the traditional West Coast IPA mold, with more of a hint of passion fruit.  HypeMachine IPA was brewed with only Pacifica hops; it came across very juicy with strong grapefruit notes.  I moved away from these unique stylings to the a traditional West Coast IPA, with House of Hops, nicely carbonated with good citrus bitterness.  Coleman’s Stout is a good example of a dry Irish Stout with a coffee roasted flavor from the barley dominated the flavor.  I finished with another favorite, a Tripel, with spicy, banana notes and a strong malty finish. This high alcohol brew was a great way to end the tasting.

Half Door has a traditional feel, even if only three years old. It’s a great place to meet up downtown for drinks and a bite, especially if you are going to walk to the ballgame after.

Photo caption: Dan Drayne Jr. at the Half Door entrance.

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