Every brewery needs at least one beer that behaves itself, and for North Park Beer Co., that beer is charmingness. In a week where they also released a Double IPA soaked in tropical hops and a West Coast IPA loaded with four different hop varieties, charmingness is the one that shows up in a clean shirt and remembers everyone's name.
Made in collaboration with everywhere, charmingness is an Italian-Style Pilsner built on a foundation of Italian Pilsner malt and finished with a blend of noble hops, the polite, understated cousins of the aggressive American varieties that dominate most of North Park's lineup. At a modest 5.2% ABV, it offers fresh baguette, citrus zest, cracker, and delicate florals, tasting notes that sound less like a beer and more like the description of a very good picnic.
Italian-Style Pilsners have been quietly winning over craft beer drinkers who want something crisp and refreshing without sacrificing actual character, and North Park is betting that San Diego, a city more associated with hazy IPAs than delicate lagers, is ready to embrace one. Given that the brewery is pairing its release with a Burrata Pie at their Crown Point Pizza Shop, they clearly believe this beer has earned a seat at a proper table.
That Pizza Shop is turning two this weekend, and charmingness arrives as part of the celebration alongside two hop-forward siblings and a collaboration pizza inspired by a Philadelphia roast pork sandwich, which is either a wonderfully random combination or exactly the kind of creative chaos that makes a good neighborhood brewery worth visiting. Either way, charmingness is the beer in that lineup you can drink two of and still hold a coherent conversation afterward.
Find it now at North Park's taprooms, and consider it your reminder that not every good beer needs to shout to get noticed.