OG40’s new brewer dropping first beer

The Original 40 Brewing’s new Head Brewer Kyle Fjalstad will release his first beer, Wired Fences West Coast IPA, on Thursday, March 6. Fjalstad was hired in January after spending the previous five years with Modern Times Beer as the company’s barrel-program manager.

Wired Fences is 6.4% alcohol-by-volume and features notes of pineapple, guava and lemon-lime. Krush and Nelson Sauvin hops were used in the brewing process. The beer will be available on draft and in four-packs of 16-ounce cans at the North Park brewpub.

“As you take a sip, you should feel the electric, hop-driven zing that makes this beer a true standout,” said Fjalstad. “It’s all systems go for me and my team here in North Park. There’s never a bad time to enjoy a West Coast IPA, especially in San Diego and especially with spring upon us.”

Wired Fences is hop-forward with no maltiness. It is low- to medium-bodied with low-medium bitterness.

“We are officially a few weeks away from the changing of the season, but spring has sprung at Original 40,” said Billings. “Kyle is doing a tremendous job at the helm of our brewing division, and we are excited for this new chapter of craft beer in our history. If you’re on the fence about whether to try Wired Fences, we hope you’ll decide to come over to North Park to join us.”

Fjalstad, who is of Norwegian heritage, started home brewing in 2010 at the age of 24 after his time at San Diego State University and earning a Professional Certificate in Brewing from UC San Diego Extended Studies. He won two medals at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival, the nation’s largest professional brewing competition commonly referred to as “The Oscars” of the craft-beer industry.

The Original 40 opens at noon, Monday through Friday and at 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The brewpub, which opened in 2019 and is named after the original 40-acre parcel of land that became modern day North Park, is located at 3117 University Avenue.