It’s not every day that vaunted, award-winning brewpub chain Pizza Port opens a new location. Previous expansions took place in Ocean Beach in 2010 and Carlsbad’s Bressi Ranch development in 2013. So, it was a big deal when the company took over a trio of Imperial Beach storefronts, combining them into one patio-equipped brewery-restaurant (pictured below). Not only because it provided a South Bay terminus for a series of coastal suds sites stretching as far as San Clemente, but because it opened a new head-brewer position. That coveted role was awarded to Bressi Ranch vet Tom Finney, who first fell in love with beer bartending at a brewpub while going to school at Penn State. Many years and a country’s worth of miles removed from that a-ha moment, he’s now running the show in San Diego County’s southernmost municipality. We caught up with Tom to find out how he got there and how it’s going so far.
How did you initially come to work for Pizza Port?
My roommate was the general manager for Pizza Port Ocean Beach. I started working there one-day-a-week making the pizza dough just so I could get the beer discount. I eventually left my [full-time] job to become the assistant GM at Pizza Port OB. I would just keep asking questions of the head brewer at the time and seeing if I could help. Eventually I became the assistant brewer there.
How did you advance in your career within the organization?
I made it a goal when I got the assistant-brewer job in OB that I wanted to be a pub head brewer. I transitioned from OB to Pizza Port Bressi Ranch, where I was a shift brewer. I took over the head-brewer position there a year later and held that role for three years until IB opened up, then I applied for that.
What’s it like heading brewing for a new Pizza Port pub and how do you aim to put your stamp on it?
I’m just getting started here, so I am looking forward to dialing in all the house recipes and continuing the Pizza Port tradition in the South Bay. It’s an honor to be part of a new Pizza Port location. Looking at the lineage of brewers coming from Pizza Port is inspiring. I look forward to upholding and continuing the tradition here in IB. Anything else is a bonus at this point.
What collaboration brews did you participate in waiting for IB to open its doors?
I collaborated with Mcilhenney Brewing on a West Coast IPA called Super Stoker, brewed a session IPA called IB Chillin’ with Coronado Brewing and worked with Chula Vista Brewery on a hoppy wheat ale called Shoreline Swheat. Unfortunately, I did these collabs early with anticipation of opening sooner and then things got pushed back. We never got any of those kegs at this location and I’m not sure if those breweries have any left.
Let’s talk about beer that is available. How did you go about designing Pizza Port IB’s house IPA?
The house IPA, Surfhenge, is a West Coast IPA. The recipe is based off a beer I made years ago with just a few tweaks here and there to keep up-to-date with the times…new hops and such. The beer is named after the art installment at the beach here in IB.
Pizza Port IB is located at 204 Palm Avenue in Imperial Beach