North Park Beer Co, The Original 40, and the Best Sandwich We’ve Ever Had

Episode 19 - A one-hour post-festival nap, a first visit to San Diego’s North Park neighborhood, and the best sandwich Adam says he has ever eaten... this night escalated quickly.

We begin with Tamarack Track, a 7.5% black IPA from the Samuel Adams taproom in Boston. It was Dedra’s first experience with the style, and the dark appearance had her expecting something much heavier. Instead, we found a surprisingly easy-drinking beer with coffee, roasted malt, and caramel-like sweetness.

From there, we relive our late-night San Diego brewery run. At North Park Beer Co., Adam went straight for a 10% triple dry-hopped hazy triple IPA before following it with Hot Fu. Dedra took advantage of a rare chance to order Pliny the Elder on draft and then moved to Art Squared.

The food stop became the biggest surprise. Fatboy’s Deli & Spirits served us a Hot Italian with salami, capicola, mortadella, and sourdough that was so good we stopped using complete sentences. There were chips and a pickle involved too, but honestly, the sandwich erased most of the supporting details.

We also talk about arriving at Mike Hess Brewing before the posted closing time but after last call, then walking to Original 40 Brewing Company, where bartender Joey made room for one more round. Adam ordered Most Necessary, Dedra chose Juice Maze, and several barrel-aged cans somehow followed us home.

Join us for a conversation about North Park craft beer, memorable food, the power of a good bartender, and why our new restaurant rating system may need to be measured in grunts.

Follow The Adam & Dedra Show and send us your brewery and food recommendations.

Craft Beer. Food. Fun.

Cheers Everyone!!

Transcript

Adam 0:01

Hello and welcome to the Adam and Dedra show.

Dedra 0:05

I'm Adam.

Adam 0:07

We'll start that again.

Dedra 0:10

I identify as Adam.

Adam 0:13

We got another great one. We're in San Diego again, and we love San Diego for the breweries. And we went to an area that we've actually never traveled to before.

Dedra 0:23

That is true. But first and foremost, we're going to talk about what beer we're having in Cheerhouse.

Adam 0:29

Cheers, everybody.

Dedra 0:31

Cheers to you. Let's take the show off. Make another great one.

Adam 0:35

So this one is a beer from Sam Adams. It was one of the ones that we got while we were out in Boston, and it was their taproom beer. Not distributed, so it was pretty neat to get that at that facility. It's a black IPA called Tamarack Track. And I actually really think that's kind of themed for San Diego because while over there in Carlsbad, which is a suburb of San Diego, Tamarack. They got a road called Tamarack. They got the hotel Tamarack Hotel. We stayed there before. So it's almost fitting that we're having the Tamarack track by Sam Adams. Black IPA at 7.5%. And new for you. You don't ever get black IPAs. I've had many. Your first drink there. I want to hear about it.

Dedra 1:25

Forgetting that I've never had this before, I didn't go easy. I went a little hard. Like I took two really just big drinks. And at the end of that second drink, I was like, oh crap, I'm supposed to be tasting what this is about to like what it's supposed to taste and feel like.

Adam 1:42

Um that's how we do it.

Dedra 1:46

So I I started drinking it and it was it's very easy. It's light. I've never had a black IPA before. And just by looking at it, I was expecting it to be kind of almost like a like a brown mixed in with like a stout. So I was expecting it actually to be a little bit heavy, and it's not heavy at all. It's actually really light. And I'm getting like a little coffee cut.

Adam 2:13

I like that. Well, this one is different than a lot of the other black IPAs. A lot of times you get that dark, roasty malts. They use a lot of like I think black patent or something like that. This is a more of like a caramel kind of flavor, in my opinion. It's you still get that roastiness, you still get that coffee, but it's almost sweeter, like almost like a caramel flavor rather than rather than the uh the black IPA that I'm used to. And it's it's interesting. I actually really enjoy it. And softening those roasted melts, I think actually did it well. Now to call this a black IPA, maybe I'm not getting uh that many hops with it.

Dedra 2:52

I'm gonna say it's kind of like the nut brown ale.

Adam 2:55

Yeah, it's very similar to that, maybe a little bit hot here, but uh it's really good. Um I can't say they don't like it. Is it true to style? Probably not, but I like it.

Dedra 3:05

It's my first time.

Adam 3:10

Oh, there's a few that I had that I really enjoy. TCBC, the uh booze hound, and yes, I am gonna remember this one now. I had a toasted coconut booze hound. Oh, those were so good. They had that on tap. I got it every single time. But this this is actually really good. A lot sweeter, really good flavor. Let's talk San Diego.

Dedra 3:31

I'll take your word for it.

Adam 3:32

Yeah, so we woke up. Okay, I woke up after my nap.

Dedra 3:40

After the salty toast festival.

Adam 3:42

Yes. It felt like a whole new day for me because I, you know, I I maybe had quite a bit there, walked across the street, fell asleep for like an hour, and we're like, okay, we still need to eat dinner. We weren't hungry, but hey, we gotta eat. And we're like, hey, there's uh more breweries to check out since we're here in San Diego. So we went to North Park, and that North Park area I've never been. I don't think you have I don't think I have either. Okay, because pretty much all the times we went to San Diego were there together.

Dedra 4:11

I was supposed to say the only time I've ever been there is when I was at EO.

Adam 4:14

Okay, so we uh we haven't been there. Okay, we've explored a lot of areas, but uh never North Park, and I do not know why, because that we only liked stayed within two blocks. Um, in that short amount of time, we had some amazing experiences. So I'm just gonna say that. North Park had their brews many times and always enjoyed them. I mean, we've had it in beer shares, we've had we've had it quite a few times, and I was like, oh, it's it's just right there. We have to check it out. So got that Uber.

Dedra 4:49

Man, I'm so glad we checked out North Park.

Adam 4:51

But yeah, that was an amazing experience. So we get dropped off by the Uber. And you remember what happened at first? No, we were like dropped off on the opposite side of the street, so we're like, where the heck is it? And we like walk down, and no, we went across the street, we started walking down the street, and then I'm like, I think this is wrong. I pulled it up on my maps, and I'm like, it's behind us, and it was like the corner. Remember, it was that corner building, and we're like, Oh, we just got we were right here. And then remember, because I think we were distracted because of that fat boy's deli and and spirits that was right across the street, and then we just started walking.

Dedra 5:30

Yeah, you're right. We walked right by it. It's it's not hard to distract us with food.

Adam 5:37

No, no, it's not. And uh we'll talk about that more later.

Dedra 5:41

But going in I was nice, so much so. We walked right by the brewery for about like two minutes.

Adam 5:53

Okay, not that far. We were like, where are you at? Uh-oh, Mexico.

Dedra 5:58

But hey, remember that Deli and Spirits place?

Adam 6:02

Yeah.

Dedra 6:02

I went back there and try it out, but it's like too far we have to walk back 300 miles.

Adam 6:09

Oh man. Anyway, so I think we went too far.

Dedra 6:15

So needless to say, we did our U-turn.

Adam 6:17

Yeah.

Dedra 6:18

And you know, walked another 10 seconds of like in the wrong direction. You go a fifth of the way across the country. I forget you never make a mistake.

Adam 6:33

Oh, like that whole movie, you can just quote the entire thing. For those of you who know, you know.

Dedra 6:39

Right, right. So, really quick, I know. Right, and it takes some place. So, I don't like to wear crop tops very often. And for some reason, we're like in that phase of everything is a crop top for women. So when I saw this shirt online, I was like, oh, I gotta get this. So I did. But I ordered it in a lot, I think I bought it in a large because normally I just get a medium, but I was like, I don't want my beer gut to hang out. So I was like, I'm gonna get a large, see how it fits, and I'll just wear like an undershirt underneath it. Um I just that's why I crossed over, started wearing men's shirts because I didn't want my stomach hanging out. So I feel like during this show, like drinking and stuff, I feel like my my beer belly is just gonna feel like like over my shorts. You exaggerate, you're beautiful. Thank you. Um oh, and then I wanted to show you guys my hat. I'm wearing simple machine today. I haven't worn this hat in a while, so it was much, much needed.

Adam 7:47

Well, and you just said right before we uh started recording that uh you're getting a little big-headed.

Dedra 7:53

Whoa. Wow, no, I I have a lot of hair.

Adam 8:00

That it would fit me better, so uh hand it over.

Dedra 8:04

Because yes, I do have a small head, so um, I just have a lot of hair. It's really thick and fluffy, so it hasn't sick well.

Adam 8:12

I tease, I tease. So uh when we walked into North Park, I'm like, where did we go again? We walked into North Park, we were lost a little bit, and it was very like old school, like very wooden, like everything was wood. Do you remember that? And then like they had all the tanks in that like straight ahead. So we kind of had to go at an angle, and they had all those tanks lined up and just beautiful view, and uh we got some good pictures sitting at the bar because all that stuff was behind us.

Dedra 8:41

Yes, and when you say wooden, I immediately I was just like, all right, like an okay corral type wooden. So I want to make sure you're gonna be able to do that.

Adam 8:49

It's not a saloon.

Dedra 8:51

Yes, it wasn't a saloon, it was very grand. All the wood there was just it was very um it was it was bold. They were very bold pieces, and everything just looked, it looked very beautiful. It was very beautiful. The counter even. Like it wasn't just like a normal flat counter or one with stone, like it was it was wood, and it was it was nice. I really liked it.

Adam 9:18

Just yeah, wooden bar. It had like even the the cladding in the front of it was all wood. The floors were it was wood floors, I think, in there too, wasn't it? I don't know, maybe I'm just thinking in my head, so it may have may or may not have been wood on the floor. I was thinking Yeah, I um I really liked it. So we went in, sat at the bar, and uh had some good bartenders. And the first beer I get, of course, is one that just sings to my heart. It was called North Park South South, which was a triple dry hopped, hazy, triple IPA sitting at 10%. And of course, a 10-ounce pour that they gave me on that, and that was oh, so good to drink. I that just makes me happy.

Dedra 10:11

10, 10 and the 10%ers. I was like, oh boy, you can be taking a nap again.

Adam 10:16

Yeah, maybe. Well, I did. We might have woke up late the next day. But this was after like all day of drinking, and I'm like, I saw that, and I'm like, they had a pretty extensive menu. They had a lot of things, and I wish I had the stomach to have more, but you know, after having that 10%, that particular one, I had one other, and I just wanted to explore. I should have got tasters of a lot of other varieties, but I just stuck with the IPAs because well, at that time that's what I wanted.

Dedra 10:45

True. You want what you want.

Adam 10:48

And you got something I've never seen on tap almost anywhere.

Dedra 10:52

Well, being from Arizona, we don't get this on tap ever. So when I saw that they had Pliny the Elder on draft, I was like, Pour me this. And I enjoyed it so much. I I was really shocked, and like other people like the locals around are they like, oh yeah, you can get that like everywhere out here.

Adam 11:13

It's like what to not get it everywhere, I've looked everywhere.

Dedra 11:18

Even went to everywhere and looked forward to the rescue. They didn't have it. They're like, I can get it all over the place out here in California.

Adam 11:26

Yeah.

Dedra 11:26

Like, well, this is the first time that I've seen it, so I adds I had to get it, and I'm really happy that I did.

Adam 11:33

And normally when we go to a brewery, we like to try theirs, but that was kind of a unique experience. And for those of you that are not familiar with Plenty of the Elder, it's uh made by Russian River um out in uh Northern California. And it's I mean, what if tell me what you thought of it?

Dedra 11:49

It was exactly what I was meeting. I mean, after Lorelong now, walking the wrong direction, being parched, parched and hungry. That was it was good. It was really good. It was refreshing, it was eight percent. Um, but you know what? I don't know why, but it only came in a 10-ounce pour. And you had a 10% that was also in a small pore.

Adam 12:12

Yeah.

Dedra 12:13

So I was like, what gives? Mine is eight ounces, or mine is eight percent, and yours ten percent. Why do we why do we have the same four?

Adam 12:21

They might have a rule, anything eight percent and above, maybe they pour in the smaller containers, possibly.

Dedra 12:26

Maybe, but I was kind of bummed. I was like, well, at this rate, I should have just had a 10% with you if we're gonna be drinking ounce for ounce. I was like, whatever. But it was a um, it was a West Coast double IPA, and I liked it. I I enjoyed it. I wish we could have that more out here in Phoenix, actually.

Adam 12:46

Oh, I know. And do you know what they have they don't just have Pliny the Elder, they have like Pliny the Younger, or they have other ones too. So I think we need to take that trip to like Northern California. What the hell that's that is it is it Santa Clara? I can't even remember what exactly.

Dedra 13:01

I don't know. I was just happy that I saw it on draft and got a fourth.

Adam 13:05

Yeah, yeah. No, that was good. And and one thing that uh makes North Park famous is their hot food. And I had to get that for my second tour there. And their merchandise, they had some really cool one, and I'm actually wearing a hat right now, so it's it's pretty neat. It's a little hot with a ninja band, and he's doing some kung fu.

Dedra 13:27

Some hot food.

Adam 13:28

Some hot fu. And uh, I saw this hat. I'm not the biggest fan of like the little uh what do you call it? Dad hat, I guess is the best word for it. Yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of this style, but having that design on there, I'm like, oh man, I gotta have that hat. And did you see that guy, the bartender? Is he had that purple shirt on? And he had it had four hops, and it was all Ninja Turtles. So they had Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and uh Raphael, and they all had the their their weapons.

Dedra 14:00

Yes, yes, I did.

Adam 14:02

I totally would have got that shirt if it wasn't purple.

Dedra 14:04

Should have bought an office back.

Adam 14:06

Yeah. It was like it wasn't just like regular purple, it was like lavender, and I'm like, I don't know if I can pull lavender off. I wear three colors of shirt. It's gray, black, or blue.

Dedra 14:18

It's not gray. It used to be a black shirt and just faded into gray.

Adam 14:22

Oh, yeah, right. So yeah, uh it might be a little bland in color, but hey, that's just what I feel comfortable in.

Dedra 14:31

Your monochromatic wardrobe.

Adam 14:33

I'm okay with those colors. They're good.

Dedra 14:35

Hey, I'm there with you.

Adam 14:37

Yeah, I'm angry. I wear the occasional white shirt once once in a blue moon. I'll wear a white shirt also. I don't do well on white shirts because I just end up making a mess of myself.

Dedra 14:46

I was saying like that. One notorious salsa stamp.

Adam 14:50

Yes. We had a lot of salsa, so and and pastas. Uh um try to eat a pasta and and not get stuff on your uh seafood, the butter splatters.

Dedra 15:03

Oh man, but those make for great stories.

Adam 15:06

Oh man, they so do. So I got uh the hot foo was the second one I got, and I know they have different varieties of them. I just got like the standard one. It's a double drop dry hopped west coast IPA sitting at 7.5%, very clean, classic IPA, and after having that 10% one, very refreshing. 7.55 uh percent alcohol beer actually felt downright light at that point. Speaking of light. Oh my gosh, yeah. She's double fisting it. I had a beer too, but I finished it. She's just taking her time for some reason.

Dedra 15:41

Just cleaning my out.

Adam 15:42

Is that what it is? Well, this one is a little bit sticky with that like caramel flavor. Just that roasted malt that's inside of there. It's uh it's good. And you know what I'm drinking, it's a lot faster than I expected.

Dedra 15:55

I saw that, so I was like, uh oh, I gotta catch up, so I took another fake step. And I was like, oh, then you said refreshing. That's like, oh yeah.

Adam 16:03

Hey, I don't have a second one. Sounds like a you pro ho nice.

Dedra 16:10

Anyhood.

Adam 16:11

Yeah, you had a second beer. I think just like just to change the subject.

Dedra 16:17

Who has a second beer and who knows it? Wait, don't hang on. I'll save that. Don't take my cup.

Adam 16:24

Get the rest of it out of this can. I got a few more drops than you are.

Dedra 16:30

I mean, it's not out of your reach, but I don't want it out of my reach. Because out of my reach is still in your reach. So yes, I did end up getting the second one because that first one went down really fast, especially since it was only 10 ounces. So my second beer was the Art Square, and it was a triple dry pop hazy double IPA. And I'm only saying that once. I think I can get that deserves another sip of beer. Yeah. Eight and a half percent. Then that one, I think I that was a full pouring.

Adam 17:00

No, it was still 10.

Dedra 17:01

That was also deep.

Adam 17:03

I know. All the beers we got were 10 ounce because all of them were like, no, no, mine was a full one. My mine was a pint. But I think you got your second one, it was still uh just uh 10 ounce.

Dedra 17:12

Okay. Well, I was just looking for a reason to complain. I got nothing. I got nothing.

Adam 17:17

Yeah. So you got the triple dry hopped double IPA called Art Squared, and I got the triple dry hopped hazy triple IPA called uh North Park South. So man, I'll I I if I take a I to that was my test. So did I pass? I don't know. But that was good, and then we had to like rummage through their uh merchandise section after that. And I I think we just settled on just this hat, didn't we? Yeah, and maybe some beer to go. Maybe. Yeah. If it's in the fridge, I didn't see it. I just saw this one. I'm like, oh tamarack. I'm like, that's perfect. San Diego. True, that was a good choice. Yeah, no, and it's it's a good beer. I I this one we did not try in the tap room. I got it as a whim. So the tour we went on, this was one of the end-of-beer tours. Hey, you get to take one with you. We got this one, and then you got that Jamaica Way. Jamaica, was it that what it is? Jamaica Way, the Hazy IPA. And that one you did have at the beginning of that tour. That was what you bought in the tap room. It's amazing we got this one, and it tastes so good. I mean, I'm I'm really impressed and and surprised, and or I should I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, Sam Adams has been classic. I'm a I'm a Sam Adams fan at heart. But after we got done there, we only had a couple beers each, and I can't say that we were hungry. Did they serve food there? I feel like they did, but I can't remember.

Dedra 18:44

It was just like your finger foods. It wasn't like, you know, burgers or, you know, real appetizers. It was just like like a hummus plate or a cheese and meat plate. It was just small, like quick things that they can put together. I don't think they had a full-on kitchen.

Adam 18:58

I couldn't remember, but what I was really curious about is they had this upstairs section, and it looked like it was popping up there. Because like where the bathrooms and that merchandise section was, they had stairs that went up to this uh upper deck, and that looked like that was busy.

Dedra 19:14

I think it was there was a party.

Adam 19:15

No, it was the World Cup, I think was still going on.

Dedra 19:18

Yeah, that's right. You're right.

Adam 19:19

So they were playing a game still going on. Yeah, they were playing a game up there, and then that they had a lot of people up there. We didn't go, we were just at the nice quiet bar. We were dedicated to just drinking.

Dedra 19:30

Drinking and socializing, yes. For I don't know who was playing, but we just were like, eh, we don't want to we don't want to watch it. We just want to be down here, just be chill.

Adam 19:39

After all these beers, I'm not handling stairs. Plus, we had all those tanks behind us, it just looked beautiful down there. And we left and we hit this place that when we got dropped off, we had to go to.

Dedra 19:55

Well, we had asked the bartender, we're like, hey, you know, we're getting hungry, it's you know, dinner time. What around here do you recommend, you know, that we go out and try? Like, we're not icky, we're not looking for, you know, a steak dinner restaurant place. We're hungry. Where do you go to eat? He was like, right across the street. So we're like, all right. And we got dropped off in front of it and it was recommended.

Adam 20:21

So it was and we were curious, we were staring at it as we were trying to walk. So Fat Boys Deli and Spirits, it's called. You walk in and it is straight liquor store. They have like the counter. Is it even behind plexiglass? Like pull up glass, I don't even remember, but they had like all the liquor bottles behind them, just like regular stands of merchandise gum and all that in front of them. And then on the side section, which had all their coolers and a wall of like different kinds of chips. Behind those little that wall of chips was where you order the deli sandwiches. And I need I need a moment. Hang on.

Dedra 21:05

So flashbacks hit hard.

Adam 21:07

They do. Um, I'm not one to ever say this is the best thing I've ever had. I I we try a lot of food. Sandwiches are a passion of mine. I really love sandwiches. This was the best sandwich I ever had.

Dedra 21:24

Oh.

Adam 21:24

No joke.

Dedra 21:25

You know, hold on. Give it a second. There goes my beer valley. I'm gonna talk about that. I was like, it's gonna pop out of this cracktub. It just thinking about that sandwich.

Adam 21:37

It was all very simple menu. What'd they have? Like six different sandwiches?

Dedra 21:45

It yeah, the menu was not huge. It was they definitely stuck to their craft.

Adam 21:51

Yeah.

Dedra 21:51

And they the six sandwiches, if you're right, the ones that they had up there, they nailed.

Adam 21:57

Yeah. And the one we got was called the Hot Italian. Which had salami, Capacola, and Mortadella. And for some reason, there's something about mortadella that just makes a sandwich. Having it just by itself might be a little different, a little bland. Yeah, but it's I mean it's kind of like baloney anyway. And I like baloney. So who might have got like nuts in it? Yeah, with pistachios that I put inside there. And with the salami and the Capricola, too. And Capricola's another one of those for that just oh I I really like it. So all three of those together. And then you got to pick your toppings, you got to pick your bread, we got a sourdough, and we took it outside. They had this little skinny patio and ate that sandwich. And I just remember taking that first bite, and I was like, oh my god.

Dedra 22:45

Right. We opened it because I think it was like a big square container. And I think you took one half of the container, like the bottom where they lid, and we just hovered over it. And I don't even think you were I ever put the sandwich down.

Adam 23:01

No.

Dedra 23:02

I think once we took a bite, we're bought. No, no, no, no. We definitely it was just like, oh my god. If anything, and it was just like grunting. It was it was we were definitely speaking K-Man. And it it was it was it was thick, it was flavorful. It I'm starting tool right now. I just spit out of my microphone.

Adam 23:32

The next time I'm in San Diego, I'm gonna make a special trip. I don't care if it's out of my way.

Dedra 23:38

I'm going there again and I'm getting another sandwich because I don't know what it was about that sandwich. Like I wish I could pinpoint and say exactly what it was, but it was literally everything. It was every ingredient, it was every topping, and it was the bread.

Adam 23:52

Yeah.

Dedra 23:53

And I think we got a bag of chips. We got a I love chips. And I got I love crunchy. So I got jalapeno chips, like the the really crunchy ones, like the the ones that Poor Brother makes or kettle, and just dumping that in the container. And I think I finished a sandwich before I even ate one chip. And like oddly enough, once we were both done, I looked at you and I was like, we never had a drink. We didn't have water, we didn't grab a soda, we just like hoarked that sandwich down dry, and then realized after we were done eating, we never watered a drink.

Adam 24:30

We didn't need one.

Dedra 24:32

It was so good that like in the in the middle of the whole thing, never realized didn't have anything to wash it down with. Because I you didn't need anything to wash it down with. Our drool did more than its job.

Adam 24:47

And you know what I was gonna say that we had chips or something on the side of it, but I don't even remember the chips out. I'm like, there might have been. I'm like, I don't want to say it and have there be nothing, but all I remember was the sandwich.

Dedra 25:01

And then it came with a pickle too.

Adam 25:03

Oh, yeah, yeah. I like pickles too. That's good. Did you have a bite with a pickle and you're just like oh back and forth. Go back to the grunting. It was so good. And uh, that just like we got finished.

Dedra 25:19

I will say on the Yelp, that's five grunts.

Adam 25:21

Five grunts on the after we got done with that and threw our garbage, whatever. And I just remember just like being out in front of that place. We took a picture and I'm like, I'm content right now. I'm like, I didn't even know where we needed to go next. I know we left, and I'm like, uh, where are we going?

Dedra 25:42

Yeah, like normally we start kind of planning the next place that we're gonna go, but like you said, we we finished and we just kind of stood there on the corner lost because we're like, well, now what? Like we just had the best sandwich and the best food. Well, not best food, but like the best sandwich of our life, and we're just lost, as it looked like. But we were happy lost, yeah.

Adam 26:07

Probably like you know, Italian dressing and oil all over.

Dedra 26:13

I'm sure I had crumbs in my hair.

Adam 26:15

Oh, it was so good.

Dedra 26:16

It was so if you guys aren't ever out there, it's worth it. Check it out.

Adam 26:21

Oh, yes, fat boys, Delian Spirits. Amazing, right across it's like caddy corner to we're not caddy corner, like yeah, right. Literally across the street from North Park, brilliant. So it's like if you're gonna go to North Park, get a sandwich either first or after you're gonna enjoy it. So we got our wits together.

Dedra 26:39

Well, I advise do both before North Park and then go down there after.

Adam 26:47

Nice. We got our wits about ourselves, and then we okay, there's two more breweries down the road here. Uh, they both both closed at 10. And while we were eating, it was like nine o'clock at night. Uh we didn't have a lot of time, so it was about nine nine fifteen, nine twenty or something. Like there's a brewery just like a block over. So let's let's head over to that brewery. Mike Hess's brewing, and we've had their beer plenty of times. Walked in, they closed at 10, we're there half an hour early, and we got completely shut down, and I'm so disappointed. I really like Mike Hess. I mean, they don't they have uh they don't have like you know amazing, spectacular, unique beers, but I do like their beers. It's it's they're good, but we just got disappointed and I hate to say that.

Dedra 27:39

Right. And again, mind you, it it said that they closed at 10. It was 9 30. We walked in just gung-ho, because we just had the best sandwich of our life. So we walk in, you know, we got a little extra pep in our set. And they had the this mural actually before you walk in on the or on the outside of the building, which was really cool. So if we stopped and we took a picture of that, so we're like, oh, that's awesome. So we walk in and we're on this little skinny path and it's almost like a bridge, huh? Yeah, and we're just looking down at like tanks everywhere. And it was super cool. So they get up to the bar. I don't even know if we like to sit down, or if he was just like, Nope, get out.

Adam 28:18

Or close. I'm like, it says you close at 10, yeah, but we already did the last call. I'm like, what if we just get one beer and and then you can close us out right now?

Dedra 28:28

And he was like, Nope, we already cleaned caps.

Adam 28:30

Yeah. And I'm like, you can't just like pull a stupid little cap out and just pour a beer. But so we were disappointed about that.

Dedra 28:37

And he was just like, Nope, sorry.

Adam 28:40

Yes. And here are a couple cups. Um, we've been there. We got you know, unique cups from Mike Hess Ruin, you know, and yeah, we got shut out this time.

Dedra 28:51

So But I mean, had that not happened, we wouldn't have been there in time and made it to our original 40 before they closed.

Adam 29:03

So one more block over from that, yes. Original 40, which also had a really cool mu mural on the outside, and I think we took a picture of that also.

Dedra 29:11

It did. So we had and that's a silver lining in this situation, is that yeah, we had a crappy experience there at Hess. But if we didn't have that crappy experience, we never would have had original 40. Yes. Um, and we actually had a really good experience at original 40. And Joey, he was I think he was the only bartender back there, right?

Adam 29:32

He was the only one there, yeah.

Dedra 29:34

And the place was kind of slow. It was slow.

Adam 29:37

Yeah.

Dedra 29:37

But you know, we were in there, we bellied up, and I really liked their their bar because at the end of the bar they had one of those really big rolling windows that go all the way up. So with you know, being like San Diego and having beautiful weather, once you roll that up, I can only just imagine how great it feels. And they're just that airflow and that breeze coming in. I feel like that the ambience of a place just makes your beer that much better.

Adam 30:04

And the bar continued, so it actually wrapped around, so you you were at the same bar outside, also. So that was pretty amazing.

Dedra 30:12

Yeah, that was really neat. So I really want to go back there again and spend some time at the original 40.

Adam 30:18

And yeah, Joey the bartender, when we came in, he's like, Hey, uh, we already did the last call, and I'm looking, and I'm like, It says you guys are open until midnight, and he goes, Yeah, but it's it's a slow night, and whenever it's uh slow like this, you know, we'll we'll just close up for the night. He goes, but don't worry, uh what do what do you need? I'll I'll go ahead and make sure that you guys get a beer. Yeah, after just not or getting the experience at the at uh Mike Fest, and then we go there and they're like, Nope, we're taking care of you still. We did last call, but that's okay, we'll do last call again.

Dedra 30:48

Yeah, so I I really appreciated that. He was nice and he was like, I got you, I got you. You know, what do you what do you want?

Adam 30:54

Yeah.

Dedra 30:54

Um, and there were some other people that came through that were it was about 950, 95, just before 10 o'clock. And he was telling them the same thing, and he was like, Hey, we actually, you know, close at 10, but you know, I'll I'll sell pour you a beer, I'll sell pour you a beer. So he did not turn down a single person while we sat there, you know, and that that was really cool. I appreciate that. And you know, a little goes a long way, and that was true in this experience because here we are talking about it and just you know, having the one beer and spending this much of our time really talking about it because uh what a great bartender he was for us.

Adam 31:35

But we spent a lot of money there too, because Oh, yeah. I had to get a whole bunch of uh beer to go, and and they had some good ones. But while I was there, I had one called Most Necessary, which is another West Coast IPA, and I just wanted something clean, uh something almost basic. Because we just had that sandwich, we had a couple beers, and remember we had the Filipino food earlier in the day, so I was not necessarily hungry, so I wanted something just kind of light, crisp, and uh good flavor. So I just got a West Coast IPA, didn't disappoint, really good beer, and I've they had a couple of uh barrel aged outs actually on tap. I was tempted, but at that time of night I was just like, I don't I don't know if I could have a barrel aged out right now.

Dedra 32:23

Well, and then we didn't we didn't want to keep Joey that long. Yeah. So with that, I have the I have a juice maze.

Adam 32:31

Juice maze.

Dedra 32:32

Juice maze. And that was actually a double dry hopped hazy IPA.

Adam 32:37

You got a hazy IPA, no way.

Dedra 32:43

That one was a little easier. That was only seven percent. So I made sure I went that route so I got a full pour, not a measly stupid 10 ouncer.

Adam 32:52

Hey, maybe that was important that we got those 10 ounces, so it's true.

Dedra 32:56

Yeah, I wouldn't have had as much sandwich room in my stomach had I had a full pour.

Adam 33:02

Yes.

Dedra 33:02

Okay. Good, good looking at it.

Adam 33:05

And that the place is really neat. It's very like a warehouse kind of uh feel to it. So you walk in and they got the bar to the left, they have a few of like small tables, and then like a small um like a small fence, I guess, and then all their brewing equipment is right behind that, all their their tanks and everything. And then towards the bathroom, they have a bunch of barrels all lined up, they had their barrel-aging stuff right there. That's huge. Yeah, tanks. They the tanks were huge, yeah. And then they had that like single barrel setup too. And I'm wondering if that has significance. Maybe that's their first uh brewery equipment that they started on or something. I'm I'm curious about that. There could have been words, but at that point I think I was seeing cross-eyed. So I when I saw that they had all these barrel-aged beers, I grabbed like four of them. No, no, no, they had three different barrel-aged beers in cans to go, and I think I got an IPA also. And I'm not gonna name them all because I cannot remember, but just having that variety at a at a I'm gonna call it off the wall because I've never heard of the place before. And not to say that I know every brewery that's out there, I really don't, but in all of our travels out there, we've never ran into it or have had anybody talk about it. So we're talking about it right now. Original 40 kicked ass. I appreciate that place.

Dedra 34:29

And it's right down the street from Hess Brewing, so skip over Hess, just spend your time at Original 40.

Adam 34:39

We gotta try it again. Maybe not at 9:30 at night, but we'll try it again. And because we went to the one in Seaport Village that Hess there, and that's where we got those cups at. I enjoy the place. I mean, I we had beers there and enjoyed it and got food.

Dedra 34:54

But it was also the location of where it was at, being up there on the second floor, right? And then just having the view of just water and the air hitting you. That was that was amazing.

Adam 35:07

Makes it even better.

Dedra 35:08

Except for the seagulls.

Adam 35:09

Yeah, seagulls, yeah. Seagulls have you ever want to punch a seagull? Yeah, they're like the kitchen of the sea.

Dedra 35:16

That is true.

Adam 35:17

But we were in Seattle too. Remember, we're at Ivars and we're sitting there eating our clam chowder, and they're like, those guys are looking at you like, I'm gonna take your food with you. You gotta like eat it kind of like right, like prison style.

Dedra 35:32

I guess a bird, a freaking seagull.

Adam 35:34

Yeah, no, those ones were brave.

Dedra 35:37

Very, very much so.

Adam 35:39

But it was a amazing ending to an amazing day. Um, and I mean San Diego, come on. Right. Yes, so at at that, I think we called it a night. After original 40, we're like, okay, let's get picked up. I reckon we were back to the hotel and uh take a really long nap.

Dedra 35:59

At that point, I was like, take a long nap you eat.

Adam 36:02

Yeah, but we had a great time out there. Uh going to uh those breweries, North Park, and original 40 was amazing. That sandwich, oh my god. Take a moment of silence and think about it. But what a good day. I mean, I really had a great time. All the places that we went to just killer, uh, minus my cast. Well, we'll give him another chance, of course, because we love breweries and they're doing their thing. We've gotta we gotta appreciate that.

Dedra 36:35

This is true. This is true. I'll have a better attitude, and yes.

Adam 36:38

Yes, and it's not that brand, it's the bartender that's behind there. So he obviously wasn't invested in the business, he was ready to go home. So I'm sure that's the reason we've been to many places, even ones that uh we we knew the owners of, and there are certain bartenders that don't show up late because they're gonna be like, Nope, we're done.

Dedra 36:56

And uh or you just go in there and you're just like, Oh.

Adam 36:59

Yeah. Oh, we're not gonna stay here late. A good bartender and one that's invested in the place is always gonna be like, I got you, don't worry about it. I'm uh yes, we did last call. You got another beer, I'm gonna go ahead and take care of you.

Dedra 37:12

That is true. Because a good bartender will make or break a place. And that was the perfect example. Yes. Since that really left just like a bitter experience for me to where, you know, you're a better person than I am. You want to go back and try it out. I'm gonna go with you because you're gonna go. And I'm like, you're not gonna drink beer without me. And you know, the positive and great experience that we had over there at the original 40, you know, Joey was just like, Yeah, I got you. Have a seat, you know.

Adam 37:39

That made the experience.

Dedra 37:41

Yeah, because it's like, what are you gonna have? Oh, if we ever do go back, I'm gonna be looking for Joey and be like, oh, Joey's not here. No, don't I'm gonna go get a sandwich.

Adam 37:51

You just came from there. Go get another sandwich. But we had an amazing time out there, and uh I appreciate you guys watching because this I think is a really good this has really good content here. This this has our passion inside of it, and uh please don't forget to subscribe. You know, that button right there with the beers on it. It's a good button.

Dedra 38:15

Yes, please do hit subscribe.

Adam 38:17

Yeah, subscribe, and if you're listening on uh audio podcast, give us that five-star rating. We appreciate it. Find us on Instagram. We are now over 1,000 followers, and we thank all of you for all that. So appreciate it. Cheers, everyone. Thanks for watching. Oh my god, you actually tried. I didn't try, it was just for homesie. You're crazy. Those of you listening, she tried to drink both of us.