"IF
I HAVE SEEN FURTHER, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
When Sir Isaac Newton uttered these words in 1675 it’s a sure
bet he wasn’t thinking they would be quoted by a bar owner/beer-maker.
Tom Nickel, owner of Kearny Mesa’s O’Brien’s Pub and
head brewer for Oggi’s Pizza, is fond of quoting Sir Isaac in
reference to his ability to make such great beer. After all, he reasons,
if it weren’t for the early entrants to the microbrew scene popularizing
this product, none of the current brew scene would exist.
Tom
started brewing at the age of 18, so that he could drink when out in
California, and continued through college. After brief stints at Home
Brew Mart/Ballast Point and Pizza Port Solana Beach, working alongside
Tomme Arthur, he was hired away to be head brewer by Oggi’s, a
family-owned franchise of pizza restaurants that feature their own line
of micro-brewed beers. Tomme and Tom, who started San Diego’s
popular Strong Ale and Real Ale, both took gold medals in the World
Beer Cup a few weeks ago, and both started off as home brewers—neither
being degree holders from UC Davis’ much-recognized program in
brewing and fermentation science.
"Unlike
a field like cooking," Tom said, "where you can’t get
hired at a good restaurant without a degree from a certain place or
without knowing somebody, the brew industry is much more laid back and
low key. We don’t have the perception, I think, that what we do
is some miraculous thing that takes 15 years to master. No, I can teach
you to make decent beer in a few months …We’re not in an
ivory tower. What we do is relatively simple, there are only four ingredients!"
As
head brewer at Oggi’s Tom is responsible for making the beers
that are served at the 12 Oggi’s locations around Southern California.
Then, when his day is done, he heads up to his pub in Kearny Mesa to
work some more, though he refers to it as his "beer playground."
Where Oggi’s is a family-oriented sports bar & pizzeria, O’Brien’s
is a comfy hangout to drink beer and eat burgers, and not a place where
you’d want to bring the little ones.
O’Brien’s
was founded by Jim O’Brien, who supported local brewers by offering
an eclectic selection of San Diego’s best beers. Tom purchased
O’Brien’s two years ago and has turned it into a Mecca (sorry
for the cliché) for beer aficionados.
Not
only does O’Brien’s feature a great many local beers, they
also feature obscure craft brews from such amazing breweries as Montreal’s
Unibroue and Colorado’s Avery. I couldn’t believe it when
I walked in the other night to SIX FUCKING TAPS of Avery beer, and Unibroue’s
Trois Pistoles on draft. When Jim O’Brien was selling the pub,
he picked Tom over two other interested parties because, as Tom explains,
"He knew I’d take care of his customers."
Truer
words were never spoken, as Tom not only gets the really cool obscure
beers, but rotates them with a very high frequency. Odds are, week-to-week,
you won’t find the same lineup twice. In addition to all these
great beers, O’Brien’s serves good basic pub food, like
burgers, garlic fries, and sandwiches. In addition their cook Jesus
usually features Mexican food specials, which are damn good (the chipotle
chicken being a particular standout). They also serve beer cheese plates,
featuring cheeses made with Stone ales and spiked with seasonings, which
is a really great accompaniment to beer (if not to fresh breath).
Worlds
apart is Tom’s daytime employer, Oggi’s. Starting life as
a branch of Stuft Pizza, they broke with the chain and started their
own, offering a unique style of hand-tossed specialty pizzas, as well
as salads, pastas, and appetizers. Family-owned, they keep close tabs
on their locations, checking up on them to make sure that the quality
is high. Originally, their beer was not taken quite as seriously, but
now that Tom has started to win gold medals at events like the Great
American Beer Festival, they’ve really come around to recognizing
it’s importance.
Every
beer listed below is available at all the Oggi’s locations.
California
Gold Cream Ale (4.5%)
This
took the gold medal at the 2000 Great American Beer Festival. It’s
a pretty standard gold ale, with a very nice mouth-feel, pale gold color,
and mildly acidic flavor. In short, a good food beer that’s ideal
for novices. In addition to Oggi’s, you can get this at Petco
Park, where it is a much better option than the other crap they sell.
Sweet
Spot Hefeweizen (5.5%)
Another
beer that is available at Petco Park, this traditional Bavarian hefeweizen
has lots of banana and clove, and a slightly cloudy appearance. Lightly
sweet, with a mildly acidic finish, this is good with Oggi’s wings,
and their balsamic chicken salad.
Paradise
Pale Ale (4.8%)
This
is a really nice pale ale. It’s mild, smooth, and lightly hopped,
with a clear golden hue. Good with the pizza, and just about anything
else you can think of. Excellent stuff. This one, as well as the hefeweizen,
is another ideal choice for novices.
McGarvey’s
Scottish Ale (5.0%)
This
is a slightly sweet, yet very light-bodied, Scottish ale. This was my
favorite I tried, mainly because it addresses my least favorite aspect
of Scottish ale, which is it’s heaviness. It has a great reddish
brown color, and a nice malty aroma, with a light hoppiness. This went
really well with the balsamic chicken salad, complementing the sweet
elements perfectly, as well as matching the World Cup pizza very nicely.
Sunset
Amber Ale (5.0%)
This
gold-medal winner from the recent World Beer Cup should forever dispel
the myth of amber being wimpy. The color is so dark and rich for an
amber, I’m surprised it can even still be called that. Rather
strong and assertive, this is something for the serious beer drinker.
Torrey
Pines IPA (6.8%)
This
is Tom’s beer, in that he brewed it to his tastes. It is very
hoppy, with a nice light gold color and hop aroma. It’s a textbook-perfect
IPA, and goes great with spicy items like the buffalo wings.
Black
Magic Stout (6.8%)
The
rich roasted aroma on this stout has pronounced notes of coffee and
toffee. This is a thick and rich stout, deep black in color, with a
nice coffee-colored head. It’s a great match for their Black Magic
Stout brownie, accenting the chocolate while cleaning the palate.
Both
of these places are definitely worth checking out. One is great for
just hanging out and shooting the shit with your friends over some great
unusual beers, and the other is a place to take your family, or people
who may not be so hardcore into beer, to expose them to some really
approachable micro-brew over a tasty pizza.
Send
questions or comments to Wino@SDFahrenheit.com
INFO
BOX
O’Brien’s
4646 Convoy St.
Kearny Mesa
858.715.1745
Oggi’s
2245 Fenton Pkwy. #101 (near Ikea and Costco)
San Diego
619.640.1072
