Thorn Street Brewery Taps Tasting Room in Mission Hills

The community of Mission Hills will get its first craft beer tasting room thanks to Thorn Street Brewery, which debuted its original brewery in North Park in 2012 and significantly expanded in 2017 with Thorn Brewing Co., a large-scale production facility and tasting room in Barrio Logan. Thorn Brewing is replacing a stamp shop in the Hawk Nest, a long-established building on Hawk Street that sits right next to The Fort, the new mixed-use development where Fort Oak opened last week.

All three of the brewery co-founders have significant ties to Mission Hills; Dan Carrico and Eric O’Connor both grew up there, as did Dennis O’Connor’s father and twelve siblings, many of whom still live in the neighborhood.

Slated to open by this summer, the tasting room will help the brewery expand its sour program and showcase other unique beers; Dennis O’Connor tells Eater that it will hold about a dozen taps, with a focus on Thorn’s top-shelf offerings. The brewery hopes the tasting room will be a great addition to the neighborhood, providing a relaxed after dinner spot or a fun place to gather before karaoke at the Lamplighter; although food won’t be available on-site, O’Connor says guests will be welcome to bring in food from a number of nearby eateries including Sushi Deli 1, Lefty’s, The Patio, Harley Gray, Brooklyn Girl, Regal Beagle, Toma Sol, and Fort Oak.