Portrait of a Brewer: Kelsey McNair, North Park Beer Co.

There are hundreds of talented brewing professionals giving their all to help maintain the San Diego beer industry’s storied reputation. While these industrious practitioners share numerous similarities, each is their own unique person with individual likes, dislikes, methodologies, techniques, inspirations, interests and philosophies. The goal of San Diego Beer News’ Portrait of a Brewer series is to not only introduce readers to local brewers, but dig in to help them gain a deeper appreciation for the people making their beer and how they have contributed to the county’s standout craft-brewing culture.

Today’s featured brewer is…

Kelsey McNair
of North Park Beer Co.

What is your current title?
Founder and Head Brewer

Where did you grow up?
I lived in Grand Island, New York, for the first seven years of my life. My late father’s work as an executive at a large-scale demolition contracting company relocated us several times. After New York, we lived in Houston, Texas, for a couple of years, and then moved to Tampa, Florida, where I resided until relocating to San Diego in 1999.

What brought you to San Diego?
I moved out to San Diego to pursue a career in the video games industry. Throughout high school, I worked in comic book shops. One of the places I worked for had installed a small computer network with various games, and they had one of the first cable modems. My friend Jeff, the shop owner, became involved in the beta-testing phase of a game called EverQuest, which was being developed by Verant Interactive, a startup based in San Diego. He got close to the game’s developers, and when it was time for the game to launch, the developers asked him if he wanted to come out and interview for a Customer Service Manager position. He did that and got the job. When he returned to Tampa, he approached me and several of my friends about working for him in the customer service department, where we would provide in-game support. He sold us on the possibility of becoming video game developers as a carrot to motivate us if we demonstrated hard work and initiative. So, I decided to forego the rest of college and leapt into the games industry, where I stayed for 16 years.

What was the first beer and/or alcoholic beverage you ever had?
I don’t know what age I was, but I am pretty sure that my first taste of beer was a sip of my Dad’s Genesee Cream Ale when I was a little kid. The first time I had an entire beer, I think I was 18, and it was a bottle of Ice House that my friend Todd gave me after he raided his dad’s beer fridge. I’m pretty sure I had a couple more after that.

What was your a-ha moment that turned you on to craft beer?
I always had a preference for beer with more flavor. Before I was old enough to buy beer, an of-age friend gave me some Newcastle Brown Ale and Guinness Extra Stout. I recall liking Newcastle quite a bit, and Guinness was just distinctly different from anything else I had tried. I remember my friend Jason giving me a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale during a Dungeons & Dragons session that my roommates were hosting, and I was beside myself with how intense the bitterness was, how hoppy it was, and how fresh and vibrant it tasted, but I didn’t even know what I was tasting. The real a-ha moment was probably when I turned 21, went to Vons to get some groceries, and thought, “Well, I might as well get some beer.” I started picking up various bottles and saw North Coast Old Rasputin, and I was shocked at how high the ABV (alcohol-by-volume) was. I knew I liked stout, so into the cart it went. Then I looked at the Stone Arrogant Bastard 22-ounce bomber bottle, which I’d walked by many times before. It was then I finally picked it up and read the back of the bottle. I felt appropriately mocked, as the verbiage was inclined to do, and proceeded to place the bottle in my cart. I tried both of those beers and was blown away by how flavorful and different they were from any beer I’d ever enjoyed. They were so delicious, complex and flavorful. That experience prompted me to head to the nearest Beverages & More to load up my cart with beers from around the globe. I was thrilled to experience the places that beer would take me.

What led you to consider a career in brewing?
Being completely hooked on a vast exploration of beers from around the world, and discovering the blossoming craft beer industry emerging in San Diego, the moment that led me down the path of a brewer was when my wife, Amanda – who was then my girlfriend – introduced me to “Mr. Beer”, a once-ubiquitous homebrew kit. I doubt she knew when she bestowed this Christmas gift on me in 2003 that everything would change. The most rudimentary homebrew kit available was the exact right catalyst for discovering a brand new passion, and when I brewed my first batch of “Golden Ale” – a recipe that was included with the kit – as simple and basic as it was, the lightbulbs in my head illuminated, and they just never turned off. I was intrigued by the miraculousness of yeast fermentation and the heady aroma of boiling wort, and the need to learn more could not be satisfied.

What was your first brewing/brewery position?
You’re looking at it. North Park Beer Co. (NPBC) from the start. My first professional brewing position entailed being the Head Brewer, Cellarman, Accountant, Social Media Manager, Sales Representative and Delivery Driver. I did virtually everything that wasn’t front-of-house for several months before I started hiring for new roles and delegating or promoting people from within the company. Before that, I had what could have been a commercial-grade pilot brewery in my garage. I had brewed a few collaboration beers with commercial breweries before NPBC opened. The big one was the result of my winning an American Homebrewers Association Rally event at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Escondido in 2010 with a humble 4.2% session IPA, which was an obscure style at the time. The win allowed me to brew the beer at Stone under the guidance of their head brewer, Mitch Steele, in collaboration with Colby Chandler of Ballast Point, who helped scale it up for commercial production. This was likely the most significant driver of inspiration for me to pursue opening my brewery. All other roles I had prior to opening NPBC were in a different industry.

Who have been the individuals that have helped you the most to learn and advance in your career, and how?
This is probably the most challenging and impossible question to answer completely, but here goes. I’ll start by saying that I’m thankful for every single minute anyone ever gave me. We’re fortunate to be part of a selfless community and industry that recognizes the importance of supporting one another. 

Over the last two and a half decades, many influential people have helped me advance in my brewing career. My early years as a homebrewer, a member of QUAFF, and a regular at O’Brien’s Pub were formative. At O’Brien’s, I drank the beers that inspired me to become a brewer, and through QUAFF, I met many amazing people who shaped my journey. One of the first was Skip Virgilio, founder of AleSmith Brewing. When he noticed we lived on the same street, he reached out and asked if we could share beers. I thought: Dang, the founder of AleSmith wants to drink my beer? He tried my first all-grain imperial IPA, reassured me there was no acetaldehyde, and we’ve been friends ever since. I was a regular visitor to the AleSmith tasting room, where I would often see the AleSmith team – Bill Batten, Matt Akin, Todd Fitzsimmons and Peter Zien – whom I’d ask for brewing advice and critiques on my homebrews. Later, Peter taught the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) classes I attended, where I passed with a master-level tasting score. At one point, I recall telling Peter that my homebrews were getting good feedback in competitions, but I wasn’t winning awards, and he asked me, “What are you doing with your water?” So, I delved deeper into water chemistry, and the awards began to appear. Anecdotally, in Peter’s BJCP classes, I met a homebrewer named Michael Hoyt, another QUAFF member, who gave me the idea to call a beer “Hop-Fu!”

Another huge influence was Justin Crossley of the Brewing Network. In the early 2000s, his podcast and the many brewers who appeared on it were a goldmine of brewing knowledge. One episode that stuck with me was Vinnie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing walking through his recipe and process for Pliny the Elder, which shaped my approach to IPA brewing. Years later, I became friends with Vinnie, and we even collaborated on a beer together, which still feels surreal. Around the same time, I connected with a group of homebrewers on the BeerAdvocate forum, including Jonny Lieberman, whose DIY systems and experimental beers inspired me to build my all-grain setup. Through Jonny, I met Julian Shrago at the 2007 Southern California Homebrewers Festival. Julian and I became close friends, attended conferences together, and he was a few steps ahead in going pro. He co-founded Beachwood Brewing and even let me brew Hop-Fu! on his system twice before NPBC opened.

QUAFF also introduced me to Ray Astamendi, whose Kölsch and altbier blew me away, and who was always open to talking shop. Paul Sangster was another friend from that period. Our first conversation revealed that we were both trying to master the same styles, and he’s a great beer judge. Pat Mcilhenney once gave a QUAFF presentation on hop oils and the benefits of using a hop-back at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse. That talk influenced me to use a hop-back throughout my homebrewing career, though it didn’t make the cut when we were tight on capital, getting NPBC open. I also looked up to the OG Pizza Port brewers, such as Tomme Arthur and Jeff Bagby, whose beers I studied pint by pint. Tom Nickel, whose Torrey Pines IPA and Hop Juice that he brewed at Left Coast/Oggi’s were some of the first inspirational IPAs I could get in kegs. These guys were the hometown heroes, and I was always stoked to get feedback on my homebrewed beer from them.

Countless mentors and friends guided me in different ways. Harold Gulbransen, a QUAFF member and incredible beer judge with a razor-sharp palate, encouraged me to make every third beer I brew the style I wanted to master. He suggested saison, but I opted for IPA. Fran Williams, an astute businessman, friend and my late father’s former boss, gave me practical advice on starting and capitalizing a business. John Boro, a QUAFF member who initially turned me down when I was raising funds for NPBC, but then offered advice, connections, and ultimately invested, leading me to investors who made it possible for the brewery to open. That only gets us to getting NPBC off the ground…and I’m sure I unintentionally left some other important folks out. 

Since opening, I have had the opportunity to work with many important people who have helped me learn and advance over the years, either directly or collaboratively. My former Director of Operations, Mac McAlister, taught me a great deal about successful hospitality operations and helped me develop effective business strategies during his time here. Evan Price at Green Cheek Beer Co. is someone I can bounce ideas off of and who inspires me to do better. Plus he makes a killer Negroni. I try to learn something from everyone, every day.

What singular piece of advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a professional brewer?
Make sure you love brewing down to the last detail. It can be really hard and repetitive work, but if you genuinely love it, then it will be some of the most rewarding work you’ll ever do.

What ultimate career goal would you like to achieve?
I’d love to find myself in a place where it would be justifiable to build a German-engineered, larger state-of-the-art brewing facility with all the bells and whistles.

What is your favorite beer you’ve ever brewed, be it on a professional or amateur level?
Hop-Fu! is and always will be my favorite beer I’ve brewed professionally and at the amateur level. I allow it to be a dynamic recipe in that every batch may be different than the last, intending to improve upon a great foundation. Consistency, simply for the sake of consistency, is not the goal, but rather it is to improve over time and continually make it a better version of itself. The changes are calculated and are not a drastic departure. The beer must maintain its familiarity for those who enjoy it regularly.

What is your least-favorite beer you’ve ever brewed on any level?
The first batch of Save Versus Fire. It was a German-style Pilsner with some rye malt added and hopped exclusively with Nelson Sauvin, which I loosely modeled after Alpine Nelson, but reinterpreted in a West Coast Pilsner way. As a homebrew, it was awesome. However, commercially, it was one of the first dozen beers we brewed after opening the brewery, and it was a disaster. I remember Pat and Val Mcilhenney randomly showed up on their bikes and hung out for a few beers. I gave them some sneak preview tank pours, and when we got to Save Versus Fire, I’ll never forget the look on Pat’s face. It was reminiscent of the “bitter beer face” commercial that Keystone Light aired in the late 1990s. You see, our hop utilization was significantly higher on the NPBC system than in my home garage brewery, and this particular recipe was notably unbalanced, with excessive bitterness in its initial commercial iteration. It was an embarrassing moment. Beyond that, anything that was a “milkshake IPA”. We never got it quite right, and I’m not convinced that lactose and hops ever belong in the same sentence.

What are your favorite and least-favorite hop varietals at present?
When the Mosaic is good, especially if it has a lot of blueberry going on, it is my favorite. Krush and Tangier have been exciting standouts recently. My least favorites are Sorachi Ace, Sabro and Talus. I don’t want my hops to smell like cedar, coconut, vanilla, or anything of that ilk. I can get those qualities from other ingredients.

What are some of your favorite brewing ingredients that aren’t hops?
Ingredients that make hops shine! Clean, light-flavored malts, neutral yeast strains and soft water!

If you weren’t a brewer, what do you think you would do for a living?
It would likely not be a return to the video game industry. The culinary side of North Park has been a lot of fun to develop with our team. I’m a long-time pizza nerd, and I get severe impostor syndrome whenever anyone compliments our pizza program at our Crown Point location. Our Executive Chef, Sam Navarro, and I invested many painstaking hours in getting the dough program sorted out and the oven dialed in. I’d love to expand that side of the business. 

In your opinion, what non-brewing position is of great importance at a craft-beer company but often gets overlooked or less credit than those making the beer?
The people pouring and serving the beer! They hold all the cards regarding how our guests experience our beer. Hospitality is so important.

What is your favorite beer style?
West Coast IPA all the way!

If you could wipe one style of beer off the face of the earth, what would it be?
I foreshadowed this earlier, but milkshake IPA. Lactose…hops…vanilla…no thank you.

What single brewing company’s beers and/or ethos/style has been most influential on your style?
Russian River Brewing

What is your favorite San Diego County brewing company?
Does Green Cheek count? If so, Green Cheek.

What is your favorite brewing company outside of San Diego?
It’s impossible to pick one, but if I must, I’ll say Russian River.

What three breweries that you haven’t yet visited—local or elsewhere—are on your current must-see bucket list?
Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico, Omnipollo in Sweden and Duvel Moortgat in Belgium

What are your favorite local beer events?
Burgeon Ber Co.’s anniversary parties, the San Diego Beer News Awards, and our own anniversary parties. Events I miss dearly are Pizza Port’s Real Ale Festival, Collabapalooza, The Festival of Dankness, and the San Diego Brewers Guild Festival’s Friday night VIP sessions, when everyone was there!

If you were to leave San Diego, where would be the next-best place you’d want to brew?
It’s hard to imagine leaving, but it would need to be a place with a reliable source of soft water and good people who enjoy drinking great beer. 

Which musical genre or artists are on your brew-day soundtrack/playlist
Since our brewhouse and cellar are in our taproom without any sound barriers, it’s up to the person opening the taproom to decide the soundtrack. If I didn’t have to factor in guests, I’d be listening to some indie rock, old-school or underground hip-hop tracks. The playlist would include bands like Pinback, Cursive, Hot Water Music and A Tribe Called Quest, to name a few.

What motto rules the way you brew and approach brewing in a professional brewhouse?
For many years, I rolled with the phrase: “Brew like a baker, think like a chef.” It encapsulates the technical precision required for baking, balanced with the chef’s ability to think on their feet, season a dish properly or recover from an unexpected error. Generally speaking, I like “Never stop learning” as a motto for life.

What do you consider your greatest professional accomplishments?
My most significant professional accomplishments are:

1. Raising the funds to open NPBC. This took years longer than I thought it would, but I never gave up. It was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. Hearing the word “no” over and over again when you feel so passionate about bringing your business to life is very hard. There were many plateaus where I’d get a few people to invest, and then there would be periods of deafening lulls with no interest at all. I grew so much from that experience, and I was glad when it was over, but I’d do it all over again if I had to.

2. The COVID pivot. When COVID-19 began disrupting normal operations in early 2020, we knew we had to pivot fast. Restrictions and closures immediately impacted our on-site hospitality model. We made a rapid shift toward canning and to-go beer orders, leaning into curbside pickups and online sales. This wasn’t just a stopgap. It became a core channel for staying connected to our fans and sustaining sales. Simultaneously, we embraced collaborations and introduced a rotating lineup of fresh, collaborative beers, often on a weekly basis. This creativity and variety helped maintain excitement and demand around our brand, even when customers couldn’t gather in person. It gave us some much-needed breathing room. Instead of trying to do everything, I refocused on brewing styles I genuinely love, such as West Coast style IPAs like Hop-Fu! and clean lagers, while honing in on the hazy IPA, which I felt was a style that was not well represented locally. This allowed us to shine in areas where we excelled and lean on collaboration for diversity. The outcome? Not only did we stay afloat, but we grew, expanding production, increasing brand exposure and even laying the groundwork for our first satellite taproom. In June of 2022, we broke ground on a kitchen-equipped taproom in the Secoya development in Bankers Hill. That expansion would’ve been much harder to pursue without the momentum we built during the pandemic pivot.

3. Being innovative with hoppy beer styles. I’ve always been driven by curiosity and a love for hop-forward beers. What started with my homebrew recipe, Hop-Fu!, evolved into NPBC, where I continue to learn and refine my craft every day. For me, innovation often means rethinking the details, such as how bitterness is perceived in a West Coast IPA, or how to achieve brighter, cleaner hop character without compromising balance. During the pandemic, we had to adjust quickly, shifting most of our beer into cans and finding new ways to connect with people beyond the taproom. That experience taught me a great deal about staying flexible and using change as an opportunity to experiment. At the end of the day, my goal is straightforward: to continually push IPA forward while crafting beers that people genuinely enjoy sharing.

What are you proud of having achieved in your personal life?
When I reflect on the last couple of decades, I can think of many personal achievements that I’m proud of. I’m someone who has lost over 100 pounds. I went from being a customer service representative at a video game studio at 20 years old to growing through the ranks and eventually becoming an art director without any formal education. I’m proud that I was able to walk away from that career in games to start my own company, which now has three locations and employs 50 great people. I am proud and lucky to have an amazingly loving and supportive wife and business partner, Amanda, and our smart, thoughtful and kind-hearted daughter, Ruby. 

When you’re not at work, what do you like to do for fun?
Travel to new places (most recently Japan, which was incredible), go on pizza adventures, see live music and do anything that involves spending time with my family.

Where do you like to drink off-the-clock?
Blind Lady Ale House, Bock and Live Wire are my current faves.

What is your favorite beer-and-food pairing of all time?
Bucheron cheese spread on a sourdough batard from a reputable bakery, accompanied by a drizzle of fruit-forward extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of flaky Maldon salt, paired with Saison DuPont.

If you could somehow plan your last beer dinner before dying, what would you drink and eat, and who would you invite to join you?
The guest list would be vast, because I would want to see all of my friends and family, and it would be a feast, including these pairings and more:

1. The aforementioned Bucheron on sourdough with Saison DuPont pairing
2. Fresh farmer’s market greens tossed with nothing more than some nice extra virgin olive oil, flaky salt, lemon juice and lemon zest, paired with Duvel
3. A5 Wagyu beef and O toro nigiri paired with Palatine Pilsner from Suarez Family Brewery
4. A cheese slice from DiFara’s Pizza (circa early 2000s) paired with a fresh tank pour of Hop-Fu!
5. My mom’s Italian meatballs paired with a glass of Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon (not that I’ve ever had this wine or anything like it, but it’s a last meal, right?) 
6. Cowboy Star’s chocolate bread pudding for dessert, paired with Bourbon Barrel Aged Macaroons Before Dying

Who do you think you are (a purposely broad question)?
I’m a brewer and entrepreneur rooted in San Diego’s craft beer scene, passionate about creating hop-forward beers that push boundaries. I’m equally committed to my family and my company, and I try to bring the same creativity and care to being a dad and husband as I do to brewing. At heart, I’m an introverted, analytical person who loves data and details, sometimes stubbornly so. Above all, I strive to act with integrity, to put others first, and to stay grateful for the coworkers, friends, and family who make this journey possible.

If you’re a brewer at a San Diego brewing company and would like to be featured in our Portrait of a Brewer series, drop us a line at [email protected].