Background
Like many brewery backgrounds, New Heights Brewing also starts with Jeff Fountain, receiving a brew kit from his wife, Tracey. Jeff fell in love with the process and honed his skills experimenting with new varieties. One day he became a volunteer at a microbrewery in Carlsbad, CA
Soon Jeff was hired as a brewer at San Diego’s Mission Brewery. Through his job at Mission and his involvement in local homebrew clubs (Mash Heads), Jeff was exposed to some of the best and brightest craftsmen in the industry.
Jeff and a few buddies decided it was time to open their own brewery and embarked on a road trip to check out the scene in Atlanta and Nashville. They settled on Nashville and in 2014, Jeff and Tracey moved to Nashville to start New Heights Brewing. They brought with them —an ode to their San Diego neighborhood (the logo features the University Heights’ North Park Water Tower in front of the Nashville skyline), and a salute to starting new beginnings, making bold moves, and finding “home” wherever you are.
Experience
We arrived at New Heights on a Monday afternoon. Just street parking is available and we were able to park fairly close. There are a few picnic tables on a small patio out front. They also created an outdoor venue on the side of the building where they can host live bands.
They have a nice sized tasting room with many tables and a bar. We noted fresh cut flowers on the tables as a nice touch. We grabbed a table, chatted with the friendly beer tender and ordered a flight and a couple pizzas.
Most of the beers we tried were good and we left with a four pack of Damguday hazy IPA. The pizzas also hit the spot. New Heights is worth a visit!
The tasting room is accessible. There are several nearby breweries we would have also tried if we had the time. No nearby lodging noted.
