Pizza breeding beer in OB

It’s like they waited until, after years of hopeful stalking, I finally gave up and proclaimed their venture dead in the water. A week after I published an article stating it was unlikely Newport Pizza & Ale House (5050 Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach) would make good on its bid to open a brewery across the street from its eatery location, I received a photograph from a fellow local beer enthusiast, showing that a door had been cut into the plywood façade of the space the brewing facility was destined for. Turns out, that project is on and set to be delivered to OB sometime this summer.

At least I was semi-hopeful in my original prose…

Of all the maybe-to-nevers, the one that appears to have the greatest chance of happening is a brewery that was planned to go in across the street from Newport Pizza & Ale House in Ocean Beach. That business was reported to be looking into going into the local beer business it has fostered for so long. It’s certainly a cool idea, but not all concepts make it beyond that stage. And there’s not a bit of shame in it. Businesses are difficult to start, even if the crazily paced, constantly expanding San Diego brewing industry might fool some into thinking differently.

The yet-to-be-named business will be a two-story brewpub, with dining up top, and brewing and sampling handled on the ground floor. Newport Pizza & Ale House was one of the earlier adaptors to the craft beer model, showing off local product before it drew the huge following it now enjoys. It’s good to find lasting interest in supporting the local beer industry at the heart of a venue like this.