Elite Event: Thorn St Brewery

Talk about an overdue review! Thankfully Brad throws down the best events and I remember them all! As always, very glad Brad was able to arrange this event as I never had even heard of Thorn St Brewery before this event! However, the moment I walked up to it, I knew I was going to like this place!
Drinks = superb. Food = Delicious. Elite Unilocaler Company = memorable.
I have yet to go to Thorn St Brewery on my own but do have it on my list of places to go. I like the layout as well as the company itself. It’s always good to see the owners make an appearance and talk about themselves a bit. Just a couple people looking to make fantastic beers! Another wonderful Elite Event in the books and always looking forward to the next one I can make and meeting more fellow elites!

Another great elite event at another great local brewery. It was super fun hanging out at Thorn St. Brewery trying all of their delicious beers and hanging out with fellow Unilocalers. Once again, it was nice to make face to names.
As for the venue, it was super spacious being in the back and having our own private tastings. My favorite beer that night was the Relay IPA. I must have had 4 or 5 pints! It was awesome!
The food was catered from a food truck, Maustiff Sausage Co. that served up some fresh potato disc type chips with a chipotle sauce, pulled ham sandwich bites, sausage bites with sauerkraut, and sausage tacos. All of it was marvelous and complimented our tastings quite well.
Thanks again Unilocal mgmt. Cheers!

Gah! What a terrible Unilocal Elite I’ve been. :(The event was over a week ago and I’m just now getting around to writing my review. It definitely wasn’t for lack of anything positive to say, I just was slammed at work and…
ANYWAY, enough with the excuses. Thorn St had been on my bookmark list since before they existed — I was a frequent visitor to Santos Coffee across the street and I was anxiously awaiting their opening. And then, well, who knows what happened, but that was ages ago and I never did get around to going.
SO glad that has finally changed! The back patio area is impressive. I can’t wait to spend more time in that room. It just has that comfy feel to it, ya know? The Thorn St staff were super cool and friendly.
The best part about this event was the more intimate nature. It wasn’t too big or too many people, just the right size to see people you already know, but get to know some new peeps too. It was cool that you could try taster sizes of the beers available on tap OR just get a full size pint if you already knew what you liked (or had gone the taster route to help you decide ;)). The smaller size of this event also meant that Mastiff had an easy time making their way around to everyone, so no one missed out on trying food (well, except for Jocelyn A. lol, but who knows how that kept happening!). I really liked the beet reuben, the coleslaw (no mayo, yay!), the taco, and the pickled veggies, but truly none of the food was a miss.
My favorite beer was the Galaxy IPA. I thought it was similar to the Habenero Sculpin, but less spicy. I liked the coffee stout, too, though. I think it’s really cool that Thorn St. has different food trucks lined up for every night of the week and I like that there’s a variety of food offered by them (when I checked the website, I saw everything from Thai food to hot dogs).
Looking forward to my return visit… maybe tonight? :D

Galaxy IPA… FTW!!! Thorn St. Brewery’s Galaxy IPA was so good that it is now my new favorite beer. And I don’t even normally like IPA’s. It’s so good it’s the first thing I’m mentioning in my review! The mango & chili pepper combo was something I didn’t think was going to work. But, holy cow, it works. This beer by itself is enough to keep me coming back. Lucky for us, there’s a lot more to this place.
Although small, I really enjoyed the layout of the place. As you walk into the main entrance you are met with a cozy, intimate bar and a few tables. Then to the right is a door that leads to the larger room/​patio in the back. The décor is all wood and gives the place a warm, natural, comfortable feeling.
While they don’t serve food here, there are apparently food trucks out front on a regular basis. That was the case for this event as they had the Mastiff Sausage Company supply us with our bites for the evening. The items that stood out to me were their beet Reuben sandwich (sounds weird but was really good!), the sausage taco, and their fried potatoes with a spicy mayo. Good stuff!
Of course, as I already mentioned the Galaxy IPA was the hit of the night for me. But I did enjoy the other beers I sampled as well.
Wanna know how great this event was? A good number of folks stayed well after the event was over. Yeah, Brad was actually asking folks to skedaddle. In a nice way, of course. Lol.
Another home run from Brad and Sandra!

What a wonderful night Brad planned for the elites. We were treated to the most fabulous brewery experience at a local level.
If it wasn’t for Unilocal,I would have never found this little neighborhood treasure. Thorn Brewery is one of those kinds of places that must be shared with your friends.
This event was perfectly planned out, presented, and executed! My strategy was to try each beer from the top of the list to the bottom. To give each beer a fair chance at being my favorite. Plus, it’s always good to try new things!
It’s interesting that the last beer on the list was my favorite! It was the Galaxy IPA with mango and chili beer. To be fair, it was important to try each beer offered. The coffee stout was my second favorite.
This bar and restaurant has small town charm, warm wood colors, and character everywhere you looked. The sliding barn doors on the restrooms were a detail worth having too! The upstairs outdoor patio was very entertaining.
Now, I can’t wait to come back for the beer. But, let’s talk food. Masstif bratwurst, sausage tacos, a beet ruben, and slaw cups! This is the perfect bar food. Some healthy stuff. Some sausage. Interesting twists… I’m down to come back with some friends to show off this neighborhood gem!

I was SO excited for this event because I’ve had Thorn St on my list of must-drink’s forever! First off, love the space… the patio feels open and cozy at the same time, and I love the open air feel. The staff was so courteous and accommodating for our group of thirsty Unilocalers, and happily obliged when I decided to drink their entire list of beer offerings from the top down… and also replaced my taster-​sizes with half pours! All the beers were fantastic, but the standouts were: the Belgian Blonde, Habenero Mango IPA, and the Coffee Stout.
I hate blonde brews, so I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this one. I don’t know how to explain it other than it wasn’t too wheaty or bland at all! Light and flavorful without being hoppy… so impressed! It takes a lot for me to change my mind about a certain type of beer! The coffee stout doesn’t need much explanation, I’m a lover of stouts and porters and this one tasted like a smooth creamy cup of joe. The mango habenero was FANTASTIC and had tropical sweetness with the perfect amount of kick. There are a lot of brews that take spicy too far and ruin a beer (Ballast point Sculplin Habenero, I’m lookin atchu!!!) but this was perfect.
Mastiff Sausage did a great job coming around with perfect little bites of their food — beautifully plated, I must add! Loved the refreshing cole slaw and the crispy potatoes with cotija cheese, but the sausages stole the show!
Overall I loved this intimate little boozy gathering and I can’t wait to come back!
Thank you to BRAD, Sandra, and the entire staff of both Mastiff and Thorn!

I was so excited to attend event because I have been meaning to try Mastiff and Thorn Street. Now I’ve killed two birds with one stone.
Mastiff is so delicious. I am hooked on that crunchy, delightful potato appetizer. I also tried the crunchy coleslaw, bratwurst, and beet sandwich. Mastiff is the cat’s meow. I plan to chase this bad boy down asap.
Thorn Street is such a wonderful brewery! The brewery staff and brewers are enthusiastic, wonderful, and very knowledgeable. I really like the open back patio setup. The beers were deeeeeeelicious. I especially enjoyed the refreshing Belgian blonde and pale ale. I think I’m in love!

Blame Brad for my beer belly!
So glad we got another brewery event after Duck Foot which was just a week before. I always want to support microbrews in San Diego, and having a Unilocal Elite events there was a great way to do it. I had never been to Thorn St Brewery before but I got their drafts at other places before. Great beers, my favorite of the night was the Relay IPA, very refreshing with the right amount of hoppiness. For bites we had Mastiff food truck here, didn’t get to try everything cos I was too busy talking but I remember somebody saved me a piece piece of crunchy sliced potato, that was delicious! The sausage was also yum yum, I think it’s called Mastiff Classic Brat.
Thank you Brad and Sandra for the invite to such a great event, also thanks to Thorn St Brewery and Mastiff for the yummy food and booze! We will be back!

First of all, I must say that I am really diggin all of these beercentric events that have been on the calendar lately. I was especially stoked about this one at Thorn St Brewery because the only thing better than a neighborhood bar, is a neighborhood brewery.
Everyone knows that sausage and beer are the perfect pair, but this sausage paired with this beer was above and beyond the usual. I don’t usually like fruit beers or spicy beers, but the spicy mango IPA ended up being my favorite of the night. I also really liked the coffee stout. The food, like the beer, was creative and tasty. I liked how the sausage was full of flavor without being over the top greasy. It reminded me more of the stuff I’ve had in Germany. We are always looking for new catering options for our events at work, and I am definitely going to recommend Mastiff next time.
This event was on the small side, which made it easier to catch up with people. I’ve been out of town a lot lately and it was nice to hear what people have been up to while partaking in some excellent food and drink.
Cheers to Brad, Thorn St, and Mastiff!

Man do I love some good Thursday drinking!
Thorn St. Brewery is awesome; the back patio is huge and I want to spend all summer there.
The beer at Thorn St. Brewery is awesome. I tried the Belgian Blonde, the Pale Ale, the IPA, and the mango chili IPA. All of them quite drinkable, and all of them tasty — especially the mango chili concoction! Just the right hint of spice balanced by a teensy bit of sweet to complement the hoppy IPA. Just a very well made beer.
And if beer wasn’t enough, we had Mastiff Sausage Company bringing us tasty treats? Tiny potatoes, tiny slaw, tiny beet ruben (yum!), tiny sausage taco (double yum!), tiny bratwurst… what more could a girl ask for?
I’ll tell you what. Other awesome Unilocal Elites! So nice enjoying a beer, a bite, and a chat with you all!
Thank you so much to Thorn St. Brewery, Mastiff Sausage Company, and Brad B. for making my Thursday evening a good one.

Another fantastic Elite event at another great location that I never knew about. Again, I’ll never get over how many great breweries there are in San Diego and I’m glad I was able to discover Thorn St. Brewery. I’m even happier because so many of my beer friends know of the place but they’ve never been themselves so everyone is asking me what I thought of it. What I’m telling my friends is they need to go and check the place out!
Food here was provided by a couple of food trucks with amazing food, particularly Mastiff Sausage Company. Thorn St. Brewery is a small neighborhood bar/​brewery with an upstairs area for private events that has a full bar and plenty of room for a rather large group to move around.
On tap that evening was Foreplay Belgian Blonde, North Park Pale Ale, Relay IPA, Santos Coffee Stout and Galaxy IPA with Mango & Chili’s. I really enjoyed the North Park Pale Ale and the Belgian Blonde. But for many of my friends, it was the Galaxy IPA with the Mango & Chili’s that really won them over. I tried it and while it was good, I think they were using habanero’s because it was very spicy!
For food treats, we enjoyed a beet sandwich which I would have sworn I was eating actual meat it was so good. There was sausage and sauerkraut, pickled vegetables, and potato slices. So much great food that went perfectly with the beer.
Nice place to go with friends if you are in the neighborhood with good beer and good eats. I will be back again, and definitely a great place to have your next private event.

Awesome brewery event! I’m happy to see that this is the second brewery that we get the pleasure of attending! The brew scene is getting so big and I’m glad they are hosting Unilocal events.
I’ve been to Thorn street once but never knew they had a patio. I’ve also seen Thorn at many festivals. They do know how to promote. And so they should because they do all their brewing in that small facility and their beers turn out really good!
The foreplay has always been one of my favorites and glad they were able to have it on their menu for us. It’s a lighter beer if you don’t want to go the IPA route. Something new they had on their menu that I was fond of is their mango chili beer. Sounds pretty weird, but actually no because it was so much better than the Habernero sculpin. I’m a fan of those type of spicy weird flavors and that hit the spot.
The food by Mastiff sausages were good bite size.
–Potatoes chips with spicy aioli and cotija cheese
–Coleslaw sample
–Sausage bites and sauerkraut
–Crumble sausage taco
–Ham and cheese sandwich
–Beet sandwich
–Pickled veggies
The best part was using the pickles veggies and putting it in the taco and the ham and cheese sandwich. It spiced things up. The beet sandwich was interesting. I would never order something like that because I would think its bad but this beet sandwich was excellent! It made me see beet in a different way. This brewery event was very different from Duck Foot and unique in its own way. Me like! Thanks for the great event and keep up with the awesome breweries!

San Diego has been deemed one of the top beer cities in America, and I feel honored to live amongst such greatness. The problem with being surrounded by so much great beer, is that I sometimes miss out on the smaller neighborhood places like Thorn Street Brewery (even when they are in my own neighborhood!). I am so glad that Unilocal introduced us yesterday evening.
Our intimate soirée was held in the back bar area, which has an indoor/​outdoor feel to it. They had a diverse menu of beers available for us to sample, and I happily tried the Galaxy IPA with mango and chilis, the pale ale, and the coffee stout. They were all good, but that mango IPA was especially delicious. Thorn St does an excellent job of brewing beers that stand out in a crowd. I will definitely remember, and be back for, that mango IPA!
I have seen the Mastiff truck parked at breweries in the past, but hadn’t had the opportunity to try them out until last night. I was very impressed with what beautiful and tasty things they were producing from their miniature mobile kitchen. Some would say that all fried potatoes are good, but there is definitely an art to making a them great, and these guys have mastered it. Those Mastiff fries were insane! Actually, all of it was great. I wish I could have snuck a second one of those pulled ham sandwiches…
Equally important to the food/​drink at any party is the quality of the people, and last night’s party was a top-​notch crowd. It was nice to catch up, and to hear about everyone’s summer adventures. We are a pretty fun group, if I do say so myself ;-).
Thanks go out to Thorn St and Mastiff for hosting such a great party, and to Brad for making it all possible. What a lovely evening!

Two beer events in two weeks. It’s about time we have some Unilocal events at the craft beer capital!
Thorn St Brewing is an awesome brewery with a bunch of beers on tap. This wasn’t my first time here as I eventually found this little brewery that is hidden away in the neighborhood. I was stoked when I heard there was an event at TSB because TSB definitely holds up with their beer. We had the whole upstairs bar reserved for us lucky elites. We had a choice of 5 of their mainstream beers and it did not disappoint. There was something for everyone. They were pouring either a full pint or a taster. I was hooked on the Relay IPA all evening!
Mastiff Sausage Company kept the food flowing from their food truck outside. The servers were super nice and made sure everyone got to try everything. The Mastiff Classic Bratwurst was my favorite!
Thanks Brad, Sandra, Thorn St Brewery, Mastiff Sausage Company, and Unilocal for an awesome beer event. I beer you guys.

THANK YOU everyone for an amazing time with REALLY unique, delicious beers! Mastiff did a wonderful job providing us with tasty treats. My personal favorite was the bratwurst, very flavorful.
I’ve actually never had a beer that could be SO spicy! I couldn’t handle it but the blonde was very different than any wheat beer I’ve ever had. Very refreshing and still seemed hoppy. I really liked the rebel but I’m an IPA girl always ;)
Awesome time spent with a great small group!

This place was AH-​MAZING!
This spot may have been one of my favorite events this year. I’m not sure if it was because of the beer, food, hilarious company or all of the above? But we all definitely didn’t want to leave. Two hours wasn’t enough! Everyone was having so much fun that we lost all sense of time! We need to come back!
Thorn St. Brewery was so generous with the pints and pints of beer they were dishing out to us. I wanted to tap out, but gosh, they were so yummy! Both bartenders were so incredibly friendly. They seemed as excited to get the beers in our hands as we were to receive them!
I was able to sample the North Park Pale Ale, Galaxy IPA with Mangos and Ghost Chiles, and Santos Coffee Stout. My favorite was the Santos. That was delish! The Galaxy IPA had a crazy bite, but I LOVED IT!
These beers went perfectly with the appetizers Mastiff Sausage Company cooked up for us. It was a match made in beer and food truck heaven. Every time we gushed over our favorite apps of the night, we’d turn around and they’d have more for us! We were able to sample their Mastiff Classic Bratwurst, Pulled Ham n Cheese Quarters, Slaw Cups, Sausage Tacos, and Beet Ruben. I have to say… the Beet Ruben was my favorite! It was so freaking good!
Thank you so much to Thorn St. Brewery, Mastiff Sausage Company, Brad, and Sandra for sending us home with major smiles on our faces. We saw a couple doggies on our way out, and we’re a sucker for businesses who love dogs as much as we do. We’re definitely coming back with our fur babies in tow!

I enjoyed Foreplay with a Belgian Blonde at Thorn Street Brewery last night. I says to her, «You’re a sweet sip, but I have a date with a pale Ale.» The Pale Ale turned me down, but I says to her, «I’m craving a Coffee Stout.» She called me a lout. The Coffee Stout was a hearty swallow. Then best of all, I tackled the Galaxy IPA with Mango and Ghost Chiles. Holy fires of hell! She really rang my bell! In the end I carried home my own handsome Vin, who is besotted with me, much to my great delight. (-;
It’s a whale of a tale to tell you how much I love sipping brews with my favorite Unilocal Elites. The owners of Thorn Street Brewery started as a home brew store. Then they opened the homey Thorn Street Brewery in North Park in 2012. Standing outside in the night, I imagined I was in front of a saloon in the Wild Wild West. Inside, we met the bearded owner, who says, «We started this place out of our garages. We’re all about the neighborhood.»
The Mastiff food truck is found outside of the Thorn Street Brewery at least once a month. EUREKA! Mastiff Sausage Company catered the YEE at Thorn Street Brewery, much to our delight. They make their own whole grain mustard, and it really adds a nice zap to their Bratwurst. My fav appetizer was the Beet Ruben. Don’t laugh, it beats me how I could love this, when I hate beets, but this was FANTASTIC! Red beets, house sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and horseradish cream sauce makes this sandwich so unique and satisfying that I forgot there wasn’t any meat on it!
My Unilocalmates and I had such a riotously jolly time upstairs at our Unilocal Elite private event that the locals downstairs kept trying to sneak up and join us. Yo ho it’s a pirates life for me! Our sweet Sandra had to defend the borders. (-;
Brad B, I’m undone. The YEE at Thorn Street Brewery is a stunning success, in a whole parade of 2015 YEEs! Thank you, Unilocal and the owners and Brewmasters of Thorn Street Brewery, and Mastiff as well! I’ll be back soon.

Thorn St. Brewery is definitely one of those places where great things come from small packages. The event was hosted in their community back patio where the magic of the craft beer making is accomplished. Thorn St. Brewery paired up with the ideal Mastiff Sausage Company, who provided some great bites throughout the evening.
I was tried several beers, but my favorite was the Foreplay Belgian Blonde Ale, not only a great beer to start the evening, but a great beer to drink on a regular basis, if you prefer a lighter brew as myself. The ale was crisp with a slight fruity overtone and with an ABV of 6.8%, it was just enough to get the party started. The Relay IPA was very nice and so was the North Park Pale Ale.
The eats were great, and Mastiff’s staff kept those bites flowing just in time, just when your appetite was ready. The Mastiff fries with house Harissa Aioli sprinkled with Cotija Cheese and Cilantro were terrific. I really enjoyed the harissa aioli. The Beet Reuben was quite a surprise with is excellent red beets, house kraut, and horse radish cream sauce served on a toasty rye bread. The Mastiff Classic Bratwurst were juicy and flavorful, the Vinegar Slaw was a refreshing go between, and I say line me up a dozen of those Sausage Street Tacos! That chili spiced crumbled sausage was very well matched with the crema and Cotija.
I enjoyed it all, but my favorite of the evening was the Pulled Ham –n– Cheese Sandwich made from pulled confit ham hock, caramelized onions, blue cheese, house kraut, and served on that great toasted rye bread. Seriously, how could you go wrong with those combination of ingredients.
The staff at Thorn St. Brewery, including Dan Carrico and Eric O’Connor, were great host, not to mention quality master brewers. The bar keeps were swamped the whole evening, but they kept their spirits up and provided down to earth friendly service, which was very evident from their overflowing tip container. Well done. Thank you Thorn St. Brewery and Mastiff Sausage Company for providing such a quality and appetizing Event.
Shout outs to Brad and Sandra! You too are solid! Until next time Unilocalerians…

How have I never been to Thorn Street Brewery? I’m not sure how that happened but I’m happy to say that now I have thanks to the ever vigilant Brad and a super fun Elite event.
Thorn Street was nice enough to host us in their back room and let us sample a variety of their craft beers. Personally I had the Galaxy IPA with notes of mango and chiles as well as the Foreplay Belgian Blond. Both beers had a great depth of flavor and were well done. As if great beer wasn’t enough, all of the staff at Thorn Street was super friendly and welcoming. This place definitely has a great neighborhood vibe and a cool casual atmosphere.
We also got hooked up with some great from Mastiff Sausage, a great local craft food truck. We sampled some homemade bratwurst, sauerkraut, brown mustard, slaw, pickled veggies, their signature fries and even tacos. All this great fare was served up by their catering manager Nicole, who was nice enough to accommodate my cilantro allergy without me having to make a special request. You rock Nicole!
This event was definitely one for the books and the smaller crowd gave me a chance to get to know some more elites a little better. I am continually amazed at the fantastic events Brad and Sandra put together, how nice everyone is, and how generous and welcoming businesses like Thorn Street and Mastiff are to the Unilocal community! Thanks to all of you for a great night!

Since Unilocal events are my only outlet for a social life because school consumes my life right now, I was so sad I had to leave early to study for 3 exams tomorrow but I had such a blast and the beer was delish! I didn’t drink that much because of my tests for school the next day but I have to say that the blondie was yummy! The service was very good too! All the staff from Mastiff and Thorn St were super friendly and gave us top notch service!
First of all, the parking was pretty easy on a Thursday evening. We had no problems finding parking down the street in the neighborhood. You would think, North Park would have horrible parking but it was a breeze around Thorn St.
I really enjoyed the private deck ambiance and the cool décor. It is totally chill and a great place for people to just hang out with friends. My eyes drifted to the TV where an MMA game was on so I know that this is the place to be when a big game is playing!
We started out with delicious potatoes and those were my favorite! I also loved the sausage with mustard and sauerkraut! As a matter of fact, everything was great! Mastiff is already cool because of their name but their food exceeds my expectations! I’m so sad they don’t have a storefront but the day they do, I’ll be first in line to try everything on the menu!
Thanks to Unilocal,I’m growing very accustomed to craft beer when just a few months ago, I didn’t care for it at all! Thank you Bradizzle, Sandra, Mastiff and Thorn St Brewery for a wonderful time with wonderful beer and wonderful food!