San Diego's O'Brien's Pub named the No. 1 beer bar in America

O’Brien’s Pub in Kearny Mesa, lengthy acknowledged as one among San Diego’s oldest craft beer bars, was named the No. 1 beer bar in America on Friday in a USA As we speak 10Best ballot.

Based in 1994 and specializing in serving each Belgian and uncommon beers, O’Brien’s is co-owned by Tom Nickel and Tyson Blake. O’Brien’s Pub was ranked No. 4 in final 12 months’s 10Best ballot, and Nickel mentioned that he and Blake had been each shocked and thrilled to have made it to the highest of this 12 months’s record.

“I don’t wish to say it was nail-biting, however we had been very uncertain the place we’d find yourself. Understanding we completed first is such an overwhelmingly good shock,” Nickel mentioned. “A few of the different nominees had been multi-outlet bars with extra sq. footage and in a lot greater cities. So, it’s very humbling that our little pub in our little metropolis was capable of pull it off.”

The annual USA As we speak 10Best award for Finest Beer Bar begins annually with a panel of nationally recognized beer writers deciding on 20 finalists from completely different areas of the nation. Panelist Beth Demmon, a beer author and previous president of the San Diego Brewers Guild, nominated O’Brien’s, which was this 12 months’s solely nominee from California.

From that record of 20, the general public may weigh in with their on-line votes over a 28-day interval that ended Feb. 26. The outcomes of the ten bars with probably the most votes had been public in the course of the first three weeks of voting, and through that point O’Brien’s rose from eighth to third place. However the closing week of voting was a secret till the outcomes had been revealed at 9 a.m. Friday.

Requested what makes a terrific beer bar, Nickel mentioned “serving nice beer” is a should. O’Brien’s has 28 craft beers on faucet and an extra 60 or so in bottles. The pub is understood for serving uncommon and hard-to-find beers, significantly from Belgium and Northern California’s Russian River Valley, in addition to collaboration beers between native breweries.

However a very powerful issue, Nickel mentioned, is the shoppers — who not solely saved the bar alive with takeout orders and big ideas for the employees in the course of the pandemic however who additionally voted in giant numbers within the USA As we speak ballot.

“There’s a true sense of neighborhood among the many clients,” Nickel mentioned. “They’re associates. They fish collectively, they golf collectively, they celebration collectively they usually have crab boils collectively. O’Brien’s is sort of a rec membership for adults. It’s a spot you’ll be able to go that’s pleasant and laid again however every little thing is top quality. The truth that the shoppers are so supportive and so passionate concerning the place is the actual distinction.”

O’Brien’s Pub, at 4646 Convoy St., was opened in 1994 by Jim O’Brien, who retired in 2003 and offered the enterprise to Nickel. A Yale College graduate as soon as destined for regulation faculty, Nickel found his ardour for the beer trade whereas working half time at a home-brewing provide store throughout a summer time break from faculty. He went on to work in brewing for Pizza Port, Oggi’s and eventually O’Brien’s.

In 2015, Nickel employed Blake to handle O’Brien’s and introduced him on as a associate in 2017. In addition to O’Brien’s, Nickel co-owns with Blake and his spouse the Pub at Lake Cuyamaca in Julian. Nickel can be the proprietor and brewer for the 11-year-old Nickel Beer Co. in Julian, the place he lives.

Outcomes might be discovered at 10best.usatoday.com.

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