North Park Beer Co. & Mastiff Sausage Co. Unite for Joint Venture

A new kind of aberrant brewery has entered the fray in North Park, but with an additional tweak.

It’s not the archetypal entity that is endemic of the emerging city—a cacophony of noises accompanied by prattle of excited and ebullient youth. No, this genuine culinary scene offers a refreshingly new experience.

Situated on the bustling corner of University Avenue and Ohio Street, the North Park Beer Co. (NPBC) houses a 7,000 square foot space with an exclusive mezzanine that overlooks the lower floor. Indeed, the expansive brewery, which opened in July, dwarfs many of its competitors with its sheer size.

Perhaps one its highest selling points, however, has been the addition of the Mastiff Sausage Company -a two-time food truck award winner in San Diego- to the brewery. After walking through the entrance, the customer can see a large, cutout window on the opposite end of the floor, which serves as the conduit to the cook. On the outset, it could suffice to speculate that the addition would be an unorthodox hindrance to the restaurant.

That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

In some ways, this provides what many breweries cannot: an alternative to a menu that is solely composed of drinks. Moreover, the diverse variety of options cater to what NPBC offers from its house brewed beer, wine, cider and craft soda.

“We’ve always aligned our food with the craft beer scene,” said co-founder and manager Jacob Bartlett. “You know, it’s one of the reasons why we started sausage (cooking), because the craft beer scene in San Diego was big; and there wasn’t really the food for it. So we kind of saw that niche and we went for it.”

‘Hop-Fu’ Kelsey McNair’s signature beer alongside Mastiff Kitchen’s delicious Pig Fries. Credit: Jacob Bartlett

Mastiff Sausage Co., which began serving from the ground level of the building in late September, elicits and visually evokes what many may consider to be an affluent dining experience with reasonable price points. Additionally, the company was co-founded by Bartlett’s childhood friend and chef, Eric Gallerstein. Their expertise in the culinary business has shown through many of their exquisite food options and personable customer service—qualities that enhance the experience for NPBC under its esteemed founder, Kelsey McNair.

“The exposure’s great, I mean this is like a very brand-new, anticipated brewery,” said Bartlett. “Kelsey (McNair) is like the most award-winning home brewer in America, and this is almost a 200 person capacity building with Basile Studios (a refined fabrication studio) building it out, so it’s kind of a high profile environment.”

In addition to combining affordable but pristine quality food with high-end beverages, NPBC provides a charismatic environment that is perfect for housing an eclectic demographic. This is perhaps the most obvious factor that sets Mastiff and its new home apart from their competition.

As the company looks to the future, they will try to stay true to their lucrative mantra of having a diverse crowd of customers. Perhaps to that end, their company arrives at the essence of North Park.

“This is a great space because it’s big enough to house everybody, you’re going to get the young people -the kids who have homes in North Park- you’re going to get the family people that push in the strollers,” said Bartlett. “And the place is big enough that we can have all of them, which is great. Kelsey’s slogan is ‘Ales and Lagers; friends and neighbors.’ So this place is an institution of the neighborhood—everyone is welcome.”