North Park · Best Breweries in San Diego
North Park Beer Co. Review
Last updatedRanked #3 of 8 in Best Breweries in San Diego
The best neighborhood brewery in San Diego. Great beer, excellent pizza, and a North Park location that feels like a local living room.
Score breakdown
- Beer Quality90/100
- Taproom Experience90/100
- Food86/100
- Innovation88/100
- Value86/100
The verdict on North Park Beer Co.
Ranked #3 of 8 — 89/100 in our Best Breweries in San Diego coverage
North Park Beer Co. is the model for a modern neighborhood brewery. The taproom is warm and inviting, the beer list ranges from crisp lagers to hazy IPAs to farmhouse saisons, and the pizza is good enough to order even if you are not drinking. The North Park location is surrounded by restaurants and bars, making it a natural stop on a crawl. The staff is friendly, the music is good, and the crowd is a mix of beer geeks and locals. It is the best brewery in San Diego for a casual evening with friends.
What to drink at North Park Beer Co.
North Park Beer Co. appears on more than one of our lists, and the pick depends on which one you are reading:
- Hazy IPA or saison — from our Best Breweries in San Diego coverage
- Brewery pizza — from our Best Pizza in San Diego coverage
Is North Park Beer Co. worth the price?
North Park Beer Co. sits at $7–10/pint — the budget band for this category. We scored 2 other $7–10/pint options on the same list, and North Park Beer Co. outscores 1 of them. The bracket leader is Modern Times Beer at 89/100, so compare the two before you commit.
North Park Beer Co. FAQ
Is North Park Beer Co. expensive?
North Park Beer Co. is priced at $7–10/pint, which puts it in the budget band for this category. We scored 2 other $7–10/pint options on the same list for a direct comparison.
Is North Park Beer Co. worth it?
It scores 89/100, 1.2 points above the 87.8 average for its list. That's a solid recommendation within the category.
What should I get at North Park Beer Co.?
We recommend the Hazy IPA or saison.
What else is nearby North Park Beer Co.?
Tribute Pizza (93/100 in our best pizza in san diego list) and Hammond's Gourmet Ice Cream (93/100 in our best ice cream in san diego list) are also ranked in the same neighborhood, so it's easy to pair a visit.
Every list North Park Beer Co. ranks on
North Park Beer Co. shows up on 2 of our ranked lists, without a category win so far. Places that hold up across more than one category tend to be the safer recommendation when you are booking for a group with different tastes.
What works
- Strong beer quality — scored 90/100 in our ranking
- Strong taproom experience — scored 90/100 in our ranking
- Strong innovation — scored 88/100 in our ranking
- Top-3 finish out of 8 spots we scored in this category
Know before you go
The full review
North Park Beer Co. is the model for a modern neighborhood brewery. The taproom is warm and inviting, the beer list ranges from crisp lagers to hazy IPAs to farmhouse saisons, and the pizza is good enough to order even if you are not drinking. The North Park location is surrounded by restaurants and bars, making it a natural stop on a crawl. The staff is friendly, the music is good, and the crowd is a mix of beer geeks and locals. It is the best brewery in San Diego for a casual evening with friends.
On our weighted scale it earns 89/100 — good for #3 of 8 places we evaluated for best breweries in san diego. We drink at the places we rank, pay our own tab, and re-score when a bar changes hands, moves or reworks its list.
What to drink at North Park Beer Co.
Hazy IPA or saison
Typical spend: $7–10/pint
How we scored North Park Beer Co.
Every score on this page comes from the same editorial rubric we apply to the whole category: beer quality, taproom experience, food, innovation, value. The criteria are weighted toward what matters most in the category, compared against every other place we ranked in the same list rather than against an abstract ideal. We drink at the places we rank, pay our own tab, and re-score when a bar changes hands, moves or reworks its list. Scores are editorial judgments rather than aggregated user ratings.