32 North Brewing, Point Loma [CLOSED]

[Note Added 1/23/2017: This location has closed.  (Just as well, it wasn’t very good.]

32 North’s tap room at Liberty Station is located within Moniker General, a beautiful space shared by several businesses (including clothing, home décor, and coffee along with beer).

The long side of the ‘L’-shaped white marble bar seats eight; the short end of the ‘L’ belongs to the coffee place. There’s another high table that seats eight, plus a couple of love seats and a low table for six. Given that it’s all shared with the coffee place–not to mention dads and kids tired of waiting while moms shop (that’s observation, not sexism)–this isn’t an intense beer drinking location.

There are twelve taps; not all are actively pouring. There is no beer menu on the wall, and the lone paper menu that seemed to be shared among all patrons had three or four hand-scrawled post-it notes on it saying what was sold out or replaced. The menu looked low-class and certainly didn’t fit the swanky aesthetic they are going for at Moniker General.

There was no piece of paper on which to write your flight choices, though this place clearly does mostly flights. It was annoying to have to try to remember what I had in front of me, especially having only seen the menu for a minute before it was taken away. If it weren’t for one-word reminders I put in my phone and Untappd, I would have had no idea what I was drinking.

My flight of four came to under $10, which is a good price.

Pennant (Pale Ale, 5.5% ABV).  A hoppy pale ale, quite refreshing. 3.25/5

Mighty Mouse (Session IPA, 4.8% ABV). Nice mouthfeel and slight hop bitterness but little flavor; “dirt” aftertaste.  2.75/5

Running with Scissors (Imperial IPA, 8.5% ABV). Strongly astringent/dirt aftertaste severely detracts from an otherwise unobjectionable brew with a big citrusy opening.  2.5/5

Russian Imperial Stout (10.5% ABV). Brandy, caramel, molasses, boozy. Solid black. It’s okay, overall. 3/5

Overall, the room is very nice and the beer is okay. If you happen to be at shopping at Liberty Station and need a beer when you get to Moniker, this isn’t bad–but both Bottlecraft’s beer shop/tasting room in Liberty Public Market and the Stone World Bistro and Gardens are very nearby and are much better.