North Park’s The Original 40 Brewing Company, voted as Best Brewpub 2024 by readers of San Diego Magazine, has released a West Coast IPA named Three & A Half on draft and in four packs of 16-oz cans. Head Brewer Zack Kaplan made the announcement.
The name Three & A Half pays homage to the reviewers on Untappd who post about a beer being “the best they’ve ever had” but still giving it a 3.5 rating on the 1-to-5 scale.
Three & A Half is 7.0% alcohol-by-volume (ABV), and it features Citra hops. Kaplan also used for the first time HopXL, a pure hop water-soluble extract that provides depth and intensity to the Citra hops’ flavor and aroma.
Original 40’s latest beer has tasting notes of tangerine, pineapple, and lychee, along with hints of citrus zest and pine resin. It has a medium body and a dry finish, while pouring a brilliant golden hue crowned by a frothy head.
“Continuing our R&D and innovation is always an exciting proposition,” Kaplan said. “There is no better style of beer than West Coast IPA to try something new. With the addition of HopXL, Three & A Half really showcases the incredible versatility and depth of Citra hops.”
Original 40 won Runner-Up honors for Best Brewery 2024 from San Diego Magazine as well. Winners were announced this month in the publication’s Best Restaurants 2024 issue.
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.
Original 40 opens at 12:00 noon Monday – Friday and at 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The brewpub, which was named after the original 40-acre parcel of land that became modern day North Park, is located at 3117 University Avenue.
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