San Diego (Mission Valley), California:
Oggi's Pizza and Brewing Co.
Tuesday 22nd May 2012
Bob Thompson
Don't be fooled by this place. I thought it would be a pizza restaurant with a brewery tacked on. If anything it is the other way round. It is in a small precinct with some other restaurants and is easily accessible. Outside is a nice patio for al fresco drinking. Inside the pub is basically one large room with the bar on one side with a specific drinking area. All of the brewing equipment is visible from the room. The bar area was quite busy on my mid-afternoon visit yet the remainder of the premises were empty.
The brew pub is part of a chain that has branches from San Diego almost up to Los Angeles. I don't know how many of the others have breweries. However, Oggi's is known for its beer and they have won a number of awards for them including some at the Great American Beer Festival.
There is a range of eight regular beers and on the occasion of my visit there were another four specials.
The usual suspects were Oggi's Light Lager (4.8%), a lager in the American style; California Gold (4.5%), a Cream Ale, Duck Hefeweizen (6.0%); McGarvey's Scottish Ale (5.0%); Sunset Amber Ale (5.4%); Paradise Pale Ale (4.8%); Torrey Pines (6.9%), an American IPA and Black Magic Stout (6.8%), a dry Irish type. The specials were Presidio IPA (8.6%); East India Porter (6.0%); Belgian Trippel (8.5%) and Hop Juice (8.5%).
I tasted six of the beers on offer and this is what I thought: McGarveys Scottish Ale was smooth and creamy with a hint of oatmeal. Sunset Amber Ale was an Amber Ale with a medium dry malt taste and virtually no bitterness. Presidio IPA was definitely an IPA and was hoppy without being over bitter. Torrey Pines IPA was different being dryer and having a kind of green hop taste. The Belgian Trippel was a close approximation of the style and seemed to have all the right hop and malt tastes. Black Magic Stout was a beer I expected it to be more bitter; it was not very assertive, but perfectly drinkable.
This is a very likeable bar although I suspect it gets a bit manic later on in the evenings. Well worth the journey out of town.
Important Information:
Oggi's Pizza and Brewing Co., 2245 Fenton Parkway Suite 101, San Diego 92108
Tel: (619) 640 1072
Open: Daily 11.00 to late
Happy Hours: Monday to Friday 15.00-18.00
This is an easy brew pub to get to. Alight at Fenton Parkway station on the San Diego Trolley Green Line. Exit from the station into Fenton Parkway. At the first intersection turn right the left into the Fenton Marketplace and the pub is on the left.
