By Cody Thompson | Suds in the City

Personally, I can’t think of a much better day than a Sunday afternoon game down at Petco Park. The warm April sun is pouring down over your skin. The sound of the crack of a bat and people singing classic songs is all you hear while the smell of freshly cut grass and half-burnt hot dogs fills the air around you.

All of these wonderful sensory experiences can only mean one thing: Baseball season is finally back in full swing. After a grueling and meaningless few months, life again has a purpose.

And what better to pair with a ballgame than a San Diego craft beer? Even with an already staggering lineup of local craft beer offerings available at Petco Park, there is always room for more players on the field. Amongst the familiar faces that will be seen this coming season, one will be none other than Mike Hess Brewing Co.

With brewery locations in both Miramar and North Park, Mike Hess Brewing Co. will now also have multiple offerings available throughout the entire season at Petco Park.

I spoke with Mike Hess Brewing Co.’s National Sales Director Greg Hess and he confirmed, “It’s true! Mike Hess Brewing will have our beers at four different locations throughout the park including our own dedicated draft cart on ‘Craft Row.’

We will have two beers on draft at a Mike Hess-specific draft cart, as well as cans and bottles at both of the Craft Beers of San Diego booths, as well as inside the Seaside Market,” Hess continued.

Craft Row, which is located on the Main Concourse area at Petco Park directly behind home plate, serves as a spot for local breweries with dedicated stands. These stands offer varieties of beers from San Diego’s finest. The breweries with carts this season include Stone Brewing Co., Karl Strauss Brewing, Mission Brewery, Ballast Point and now Mike Hess Brewing.

The four beers from Mike Hess that will be available at Petco Park this season include their World Beer Cup Gold Award-winner Habitus Double IPA, Grazias Vienna Cream Ale, their refreshing Orange Honey Wheat Jucundus and the Gold Medal-winning Claritas Kolsch ale.

The partnership between the San Diego Padres and Mike Hess Brewing has been years in the making and it all started during a tasting a local specialty food store.

“I was doing a tasting at Whole Foods in Del Mar a couple of years ago and one of the customers who sampled our beers said he really liked them and would love to do business with us,” Hess said. “Turns out that person was Scott Marshall, the Chief Hospitality Officer for Petco. At the time we were just a small brewery without any packaging to speak of, but we kept the conversation going with Scott and here we are.”

It is a brilliant move by the Padres and Petco Park to create these partnerships with local breweries. As San Diego continues to solidify itself as the true capital of craft beer, it only makes sense to showcase some of our great breweries on such a monumental stage.

“I think it says something about how far we’ve come as a brewery in such a short amount of time.” Hess said. “We started Mike Hess Brewing almost five years ago and now to be offered in one of San Diego’s biggest attractions is a huge honor. Kudos to Petco Park and the Padres for listening to their fans and offering what they want.”

So if you are anything like me, you probably plan on attending Petco Park as often as possible this coming season and look forward to taking in some of the greatest craft beer our city has to offer while watching the best sport in the world. Look for me, I’ll be the bearded guy wearing an old worn-out home jersey with a Habitus Double IPA in one hand and throwing high-fives with the other. Go Padres and go San Diego beer!

—Contact Cody Thompson at [email protected].