Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Hess clan Purrowlin' O.B.

Tasting room soft-opens at former dog wash, owner moves to town

Don't believe everything you read. They're drinking beer in there.
Don't believe everything you read. They're drinking beer in there.
Place

Mike Hess Brewing Ocean Beach

4893 Voltaire Street, San Diego

While the awning out front still reads “Salty Paw Dog Wash and Grooming,” Mike Hess Brewing's new Ocean Beach tasting room began serving beer on August 28. The modest space on Voltaire Street runs exclusively on 28 taps of proprietary brew, including two nitro pouring handles and space reserved for a cask engine.

Place

Mike Hess Brewing Miramar

7955 Silverton Avenue #1201, San Diego

Place

Mike Hess Brewing North Park

3812 Grim Avenue, San Diego

The brewer, originally based in Miramar, added this third location just a month after celebrating its fifth anniversary in grand fashion at its larger North Park brewhouse. While that vast tasting room offers split-level views of brewing equipment, outdoor seating, a food-truck bay, and collection of board games, the new O.B. spot keeps it smaller and simpler. While company founder Mike Hess says he hopes to arrange for food to be brought over by neighbors O.B. Noodle House and other nearby restaurants, the main goal here is bringing another beer source to the beach.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"We liked the idea of being in a beach community and wanted to be in the right spot," says Hess. He seems to have found it. After signing the lease on the new tasting room, Hess wound up moving to the neighborhood himself, adding, "The kids are loving it and my wife and I are digging it."

"I love the fact they're trying to be community-involved," says Zack Brager, O.B. resident and co-owner of California Wild Ales (a barrel-aging beer company that expects to open next year). He heard about the new Hess tasting room from friends and neighbors who were invited for free pours given to locals the first night of its soft-open.

Some work to be done on the windows and walls, but the taps already work to spec.

Before a September 25th official opening, the dog-friendly space will undergo more improvements than just replacing the sign. Roll-up windows will replace the bay of panes around the northwest-facing corner so drinkers at the outwardly facing counter seating will get some ocean breeze along with a view of Obecians cruising the sidewalk (until then, the room stays cool thanks to air conditioning).

Already available are a new MHB offering they're calling Purrowlers — essentially 32-ounce cans that act as growler replacements. A small machine seals the lids onto the cans immediately after pouring, so no light or air can get in to corrupt the beer. Therefore, a fresh pour keeps for longer than it would in a traditional growler — as long as it would in the keg — and customers aren't charged extra for the vessel.

One last bit of work before the tasting room is complete: artwork to dress the currently bare walls. Hess says screen-printed designs by Hess Brewing 's Chief Art Dude, Court Patton, will be up soon. In the meantime, he's in the process of looking for an O.B.-based artist to paint a mural on the outside wall along Cable Avenue.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Greyboy Allstars, Acoustic Revolt, Scary Pierre, Thee Sacred Souls, Glass Spells

Anniversaries, record releases, and fundraisers in Solana Beach, Ocean Beach, Little Italy, and Midway District
Don't believe everything you read. They're drinking beer in there.
Don't believe everything you read. They're drinking beer in there.
Place

Mike Hess Brewing Ocean Beach

4893 Voltaire Street, San Diego

While the awning out front still reads “Salty Paw Dog Wash and Grooming,” Mike Hess Brewing's new Ocean Beach tasting room began serving beer on August 28. The modest space on Voltaire Street runs exclusively on 28 taps of proprietary brew, including two nitro pouring handles and space reserved for a cask engine.

Place

Mike Hess Brewing Miramar

7955 Silverton Avenue #1201, San Diego

Place

Mike Hess Brewing North Park

3812 Grim Avenue, San Diego

The brewer, originally based in Miramar, added this third location just a month after celebrating its fifth anniversary in grand fashion at its larger North Park brewhouse. While that vast tasting room offers split-level views of brewing equipment, outdoor seating, a food-truck bay, and collection of board games, the new O.B. spot keeps it smaller and simpler. While company founder Mike Hess says he hopes to arrange for food to be brought over by neighbors O.B. Noodle House and other nearby restaurants, the main goal here is bringing another beer source to the beach.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"We liked the idea of being in a beach community and wanted to be in the right spot," says Hess. He seems to have found it. After signing the lease on the new tasting room, Hess wound up moving to the neighborhood himself, adding, "The kids are loving it and my wife and I are digging it."

"I love the fact they're trying to be community-involved," says Zack Brager, O.B. resident and co-owner of California Wild Ales (a barrel-aging beer company that expects to open next year). He heard about the new Hess tasting room from friends and neighbors who were invited for free pours given to locals the first night of its soft-open.

Some work to be done on the windows and walls, but the taps already work to spec.

Before a September 25th official opening, the dog-friendly space will undergo more improvements than just replacing the sign. Roll-up windows will replace the bay of panes around the northwest-facing corner so drinkers at the outwardly facing counter seating will get some ocean breeze along with a view of Obecians cruising the sidewalk (until then, the room stays cool thanks to air conditioning).

Already available are a new MHB offering they're calling Purrowlers — essentially 32-ounce cans that act as growler replacements. A small machine seals the lids onto the cans immediately after pouring, so no light or air can get in to corrupt the beer. Therefore, a fresh pour keeps for longer than it would in a traditional growler — as long as it would in the keg — and customers aren't charged extra for the vessel.

One last bit of work before the tasting room is complete: artwork to dress the currently bare walls. Hess says screen-printed designs by Hess Brewing 's Chief Art Dude, Court Patton, will be up soon. In the meantime, he's in the process of looking for an O.B.-based artist to paint a mural on the outside wall along Cable Avenue.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Jazz jam at a private party

A couple of accidental crashes at California English
Next Article

Elevated ice crystals lead to solar halos, Cottonwoods still showing their tawny foliage

New moon brings high tides this weekend
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader