Original 40’s New Head Brewer Kyle Fjalstad to Release First Beer, Wired Fences West Coast IPA, on Thursday

The Original 40 Brewing Company’s new Head Brewer Kyle Fjalstad will release his first beer, Wired Fences West Coast IPA, on Thursday, March 6. Fjalstad was hired in January after spending the previous five years with Modern Times as its barrel-program manager. Original 40 founder Steve Billings made the announcement.

Wired Fences is 6.4 percent alcohol-by-volume (ABV), and it has tasting notes of pineapple, guava, and lemon-lime. The beer will be available on draft and in four packs of 16-oz cans at the North Park brewpub.

Krush and Nelson Sauvin hops were used in the brewing process.

“As you take a sip, you should feel the electric, hop-driven zing that makes this beer a true standout,” Fjalstad said. “It’s all systems go for me and my team here in North Park. There’s never a bad time to enjoy a West Coast IPA, especially in San Diego and especially with spring upon us.”

Wired Fences is hop forward with no maltiness. It is low to medium bodied with low-medium bitterness.

“We are officially a few weeks away from the changing of the season, but spring has sprung at Original 40,” Billings said. “Kyle is doing a tremendous job at the helm of our brewing division, and we are excited for this new chapter of craft beer in our history. If you’re on the fence about whether to try Wired Fences, we hope you’ll decide to come over to North Park to join us.”

Original 40 was voted as Best Brewpub 2024 by readers of San Diego Magazine last summer.

Fjalstad, who is of Norwegian heritage, started home brewing in 2010 at the age of 24 after his time at San Diego State and earning a Professional Certificate in Brewing from UC San Diego Extended Studies. He won two medals at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival, the nation’s largest professional brewing competition commonly referred to as “The Oscars” of the craft beer industry.

Original 40 opens at 12:00 noon Monday – Friday and at 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The brewpub, which opened in 2019 and is named after the original 40-acre parcel of land that became modern day North Park, is located at 3117 University Avenue.