Last week, West Coaster staff visited Thorn St. Brewery during a private fundraiser for the new movie by Frazzled Man Productions: Father Eddie. Still under construction with plans to open to the public in mid-July, the brewery is in the same location and under the same ownership as Home Brews & Gardens. Owner/CEO Dennis O’Connor has teamed up with friends and fellow native San Diegans Dan Carrico and Eric O’Connor (no relation) to renovate the space and bring North Park its first brewery. Located at 3176 Thorn Street, the plan is to create a unique tasting room and brewery experience in tune with the eclectic neighborhood of North Park.
With a 16 tap tasting room nearly complete, the remainder of the work remains in the large, open-air area behind the tasting room that houses the brewing equipment as well as a bar, benches, and seating. “We have hosted many community-oriented events such as benefits for local schools, community association meetings & mixers, charity events, alumni clubs, and home brew competitions,” says O’Connor. “The plan is to continue to do so on an even greater level.”
Between 8-10 Thorn St. beers will be on tap at opening, including North Park IPA, Fornication Belgian, O’Connors Irish Stout, Monkey Magic Dubbel, Smugglers Agave Amber, Relay IPA, Red Headed Hop Child, and Balboa Baltic Porter. The other taps will change to reflect the seasons, such as Saison and Wheat beers for hot summer days, Marzen (Octoberfest) Lager and Pumpkin Ale for autumn, Russian Imperial Stout and Spiced Ale for winter, and Barleywine and Trappist Ale for spring. Brewing will be handled by Eric O’Connor, and brewery operations by Dan Carrico.
Plans are in the works to get food trucks and catering service into the brewery. A space in the northern end of the property is designated specifically for food service. The interior was designed by Pat Wilkening (who also created the interior of Station Tavern), and features recycled material throughout.
According to O’Connor: “The possibilities are very promising…”
I couldn’t agree more.
Dave says
Any idea when this will be opening? I went past there yesterday (Sunday Aug 19) around 1-1:30pm and the place was closed. Maybe I was a little early in the day?
Mike Shess says
It isn’t open yet, but we’re told September. Opening a brewery is a painfully complex process, so opening dates are approximations at best. I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes a bit longer.
dj says
The breweries don’t have seating to keep the riff raff from hanging around and to speed up your tasting experience. there are no local, state, or federal laws against sitting down. if you find one posted on any agencies website, please post a link to it.
wish i still lived in san diego. this place looks amazing
B Parker says
Sounds neat. The stained glass looks great with the hardwood floors. I look forward to checking this out later this summer.
I thought it was not legal to have seats at a “tasting room”. That seems to be the case for Ballast Point, Green Flash and Hess. Perhaps they had benches there for this one event.