Beer of the Week: Crispy-Fu!
Coming up in the local beer scene, I attended festivals devoted to just about everything: ales of the hoppy, high-alcohol, sour, dark, barrel-aged and Belgian (yes, seriously!) varieties. Back then, I’d have had trouble believing that San Diegan beerophiles would line up to indulge in a line-up of bottom-fermented brews, but lo and behold, lagers have become that popular. Considering how scarce they were back in the day, despite their worldwide popularity and important place in the history of beer and brewing, I think this is wonderful. People hitting up a lager fest tend to be more interested in educating their palates than getting schnockered. They are making a day of (largely) session-strength beers, having meaningful conversations about them with fellow enthusiasts, and enjoying those refreshing, flavorful Czech-, German-, Polish-, Italian-, Japanese- and Mexican-style beauties as the brewers who crafted them intended. This weekend, North Park Beer Co. (NPBC) will hold its second-annual Lager Day in the Park, an event replete with more than 25 lagers from breweries across the country that are well known for their bottom-fermented beer prowess. The list will also include treats from the host brewery, including this week’s featured beer, Crispy-Fu! A Pilsner that’s hop-forward enough to qualify for inclusion in NPBC’s family of award-winning IPAs, which is headed by all-star West Coast model, Hop-Fu!, it’s San Diego through and through. With strong notes of diesel and Sauvignon Blanc grapes from New Zealand hop varietal, Nelson Sauvin, it’s also a touch Kiwi. Anything but typical, exceptionally dry yet bolder than it is crushable, it’s a lager to ponder sip by sip, which is exactly what Lager Day in the Park attendees will be doing this Sunday, AKA: Lager Day in the Park. That event is sold out, but this beer is worth seeking out before or after the festivities at NPBC’s taprooms in its namesake community and Bankers Hill.
West Coast Pilsners are a style both we and our guests have come to really know and love, with the intensely hoppy aroma and flavor of an IPA but a friendlier ABV (alcohol-by-volume). When we originally brewed Crispy-Fu! back in December of 2023, we wanted to bring a West Coast Pilsner into our well-known Fu! family of beers, and it has quickly become a staple for us. We blended some of our favorite hops from both New Zealand and the Pacific Northwest, and we’re quite fond of the results. You can expect notes of white grape, bright citrus and a touch of diesel, accompanied with a moderately bitter and, as the name suggests, crisp finish.”
Kelsey McNair, Co-owner & Head Brewer, North Park Beer Co.
North Park Beer Co.’s brewery and tasting room is located at 3038 University Avenue, and its kitchen and taproom is located at 3095 Fifth Ave in Bankers Hill