San Diego’s The Original 40 Brewing Company will release two beers on Friday that pay homage to its North Park neighborhood – University Ave Kölsch and University Ave Raspberry Kölsch. Head Brewer Zack Kaplan made the announcement.
University Avenue is the main east-west road in North Park, featuring dozens of restaurants, bars, breweries, and retail locations. Original 40 Brewing, which is named after the original 40-acre parcel of land that became modern-day North Park, is located at 3117 University Avenue.
Both Kölsch-style ales, which have a 4.8% alcohol by volume (ABV), will be available on draft and in four packs of 16-oz cans. Draft beers will be poured using a side pull faucet, which allows for thick and creamy-headed pints that beer drinkers would find more commonly in Europe than in the United States. The Raspberry Kölsch pours a clear, deep red to light pink hue.
“These Kölsch beers were fun to create and I can’t wait to see the reactions from our regulars and those who walk through our doors for the first time,” Kaplan said. “We stepped out of the box a little by using different techniques that we hadn’t yet tried since I joined the brewery last May, and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out. I believe the raspberry edition especially will turn heads from both visual and tasting standpoints.”
University Ave Kölsch was brewed with German Bohemian Pilsner Malt, utilizing traditional German brewing techniques to mimic a classic German Kölsch-style ale. A Spunding valve was used during fermentation to recapture as much of the CO2 produced, as well as the natural carbonation and a thick and creamy head.
For the Raspberry Kölsch, fresh Pacific Northwest red raspberries were used in the batch to make it burst with fruit flavors and aromas. No extracts or artificial flavorings were included.
“There’s nothing like the goodness of a clean German Kölsch,” said Original 40 founder and North Park resident Steve Billings. “Zack nailed it quite frankly. These are the perfect beers, especially Raspberry Kölsch with the vibrant color, to celebrate our vibrant North Park community that we’ve called home for nearly three years now.”
Kaplan is a six-time Great American Beer Festival (GABF) winner, garnering medals most recently in 2019 while serving as the head brewer at Migration Brewing in Portland, Ore. The La Jolla native has won two Gold Medals, one Silver Medal, and three Bronze Medals overall at GABF, which is often referred to as “The Oscars” of the craft beer industry.
Kaplan studied mechanical engineering at UC San Diego after graduating from La Jolla High School. He started his career in craft beer in 2011 with San Diego’s Green Flash Brewing.
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