My Balboa Park

Pure Project’s Mat Robar

Pure Project is a local San Diego brewery with a tap room location right on the edge of Balboa Park. As a member of the 1% for the Planet initiative, Pure Project donates 1% of sales to environmental non-profit organizations, and Forever Balboa Park is one of them! We asked Pure Project Co-Founder Mat Robar about our partnership and why he loves Balboa Park. Here’s what he had to say: 

Why did Pure Project choose to partner with Forever Balboa Park? 

Balboa Park is a part of San Diego history and the heartbeat of the city. To us at Pure Project, being so close to the park, it was a no-brainer to find ways to support and help take care of this San Diego icon. 

What is your favorite spot in the Park? 

I think the trees are the most underrated part of the park. There are amazing and very large examples of majestic trees all over the park, just asking you to say hi. 

What is your favorite recreational activity in the Park?

We like to bring our daughter and ride our bikes around, stopping wherever we feel, and often visiting the zoo or hanging out by the botanical building.

Which Pure Project beer would you choose to drink in the Park?

Now that it’s summer I would choose Rain, our Pilsner, or Pure West, our West Coast IPA.  

To celebrate our partnership and Pure Project’s one-year anniversary at Balboa Park, we created a beer-to-place pairing – a match of Pure Project’s current beers on tap and the best places to drink them in Balboa Park (where it is allowed!). 

• Rain – The International Cottages 
  • Rain is a traditional German Pilsner that Pure Project considers an ode to beer’s history. Take the opportunity to include more history in the experience and drink Rain at the International Lawn, right near the House of Germany, one of the international cottages (5). 

• Tropical Mist – Balboa Park’s Botanical Building

• • Pure Project’s Blonde Ale, Tropical Mist, was inspired by their roots in Costa Rica and the fresh mist rolling off the jungle. Where better to immerse yourself in a tropical vibe than the historic grounds of the Botanical Building. Enjoy the verdant garden exhibits in the botanical building and savor a cold Tropical Mist on the East lawn. (1) 

• Formless Reflections – The Lily Pond
  • This may seem like an obvious pairing but this murky IPA lends a perfect pairing for Balboa Park’s beautiful lily pond. Located right by the West botanical lawn (2) you can sip your Formless Reflections while admiring the beautiful images reflected on the pond – the Botanical Building, Casa del Prado, and of course the beautiful lilies and koi fish. 

• Pure West –  Pan American Plaza Lawn 
  • Pure West is an unfiltered West Coast IPA with hand-selected hops from Oregon and Washington. With a hint of forest flavor, the Pure West is perfect to enjoy under the tall pines at the Pan American Plaza lawn (8). 

• Nothing is Real  – Moreton Bay Fig 
  • Pure Project’s current mild sour selection, Nothing is Real, uses locally grown strawberries from Escondido, CA. It’s part of an ongoing collection of sours that change periodically to incorporate in-season fruit that is always local. Take a to-go can of Nothing is Real to the Moreton Bay Fig lawn (7) for an afternoon picnic under the shade of some other locally grown fruit.