Beer of the Week: Legiontown

Coming from a family with deep military roots tracing back to the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps, I am immensely thankful for the sacrifices of our country’s veterans. And being a beer writer of nearly two decades, I harbor great respect for the many passionate, generous brewing industry professionals I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with. So it’s with great pleasure that I shine a light on a beer involving both factions, with the latter assisting the former through the creation and commerce of this week’s featured beer, Legiontown. A hop-forward, yet easy-drinking everyperson lager from Oceanside-based Northern Pine Brewing, it was conceived as a tool to help fund and assist the humanitarian efforts of Operation Restorations. A recently established initiative aimed at shoring up and rehabilitating American Legion posts, Operation Restorations is kicking off its efforts right here in San Diego County by renovating Post 416 in Encinitas. After that, they intend to travel to and restore posts across the country, documenting the process along the way to help increase visibility. It’s great to see Northern Pine getting in on the ground floor of this noble effort. In addition to selling the beer at the company’s locations in Oceanside and the Del Mar Highlands, they are making it accessible to American Legion posts and other retail outlets through online ordering. Cheers to our veterans as well as organizations that do their part to remember their contributions and lend them the support they deserve.

Legiontown is brewed in honor of American Legion posts from coast to coast, and as part of Operation Restorations, an initiative dedicated to revitalizing and restoring American Legion posts across the country. The beer is an American, hop-forward lager made exclusively using North American ingredients. A base of 2 Row malt creates a clean canvas for the hops to shine. Those hops came from the Pacific Northwest and include Liberty for bittering, plus Citra and Vista for aromatics. The results is a clean, crisp lager that anyone can enjoy. It drinks easy while staying in line with hop-forward San Diego-made beers, providing low-to-medium bitterness and a quick, refreshing dryness that leaves you wanting more.”

Danny Garcia, Head Brewer, Northern Pine Brewing

Northern Pine Brewing is located at 326 North Horne Street in Oceanside, and its satellite venue is at the Brewer’s Deck inside SkyDeck at 12925 El Camino Real, Suite 303 in Carmel Valley