North Park's Craft Beer Hub Lands First Brewpub

The long-fermenting North Park Beer Company announced recently that it has leased an 8,000-square-foot site, a former gym, at 3038 University Avenue.

The brewer behind the project is North Park resident Kelsey McNair, a game developer who started home brewing in 2003 and has been steadily racking up awards ever since, including winning the opportunity to brew and bottle a beer with Stone Brewing Company and earning a gold medal at the 2010, 2012 and 2014 National Homebrew Competition in the India Pale Ale category for his American-style "Hop-Fu! IPA." .

Though there are breweries that host food trucks, tasting rooms with a food component and countless beer-centric bars and restaurants, North Park Beer Company will be the neighborhood's first brewery with a full-fledged restaurant.

The main floor of the 26-foot-high three-level building at the corner of University and Ohio will house a 15 BBL brewhouse and tasting room; the cool and insulated basement will make a handy barrel cellar. On the 1,700-square-foot mezzanine, overlooking the heart of the brewery, will be a communal-table filled dining room and kitchen; McNair says he is still finalizing the concept for the food. Look for the brewpub to launch in early 2016.