SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
With 15 locations in California and Arizona as of April ’07 jaunt, OGGI’S PIZZA & BREWING may be the greatest franchise brewpub in the country, bettering Hops, Rock Bottom, John Harvard, and Karl Strauss by wide margin. One mile west of San Diego Chargers stadium lies Fenton Market Place, where Oggi’s tan stucco sports bar draws large weekend crowds.
Front deck near small water fountain provides outdoor seating while medium-sized interior offers left side wood bar, right side dining, rear brew tanks, and multiple televisions.
Excellent thick-crust pizza, pasta, and sandwiches went perfectly with softly elegant fare such as buttery fig-seized quince-teased Sunset Amber Ale, mild floral-hopped lemon-buttered Paradise Pale Ale, and dainty caramel-malted molasses-sugared hop-embittered tea-like Mc Garvey’s Scottish Ale.
Bitter lemon rind-lingered, piney-edged Torrey Pines IPA packed mightiest bite. At opposite ends, sweet-corned wheat-maize astringency California Gold appeased Miller Lite fans while dark chocolate-y oatmeal-dried coffee-snipped Black Magic Stout suited heartier thirsts.
Worthy specialty brews included Sanctuary, where gin-like alcohol burn catapults sticky sugared malts, overripe peach-mango, and bruised orange-cherry, as well as Hop Juice, a lemony clove-endured orange-bruised plantain-dried bitter abridging bubble-gummy honeyed wheat base.