Comic-Con's Unofficial Beer Festival Returns

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Peter Rowe / The San Diego-Union Tribune and Pacific Magazine|July 20, 2017 4:07 pm EST

Heroes Brew: Con 1

The suds at Heroes Brew Festival are OK — more on that later — and secondary to the spectacle. Saturday's event at San Diego's Waterfront Park, 1600 Pacific Highway, is not officially linked to Comic-Con, but unofficially? You be the judge:

There are costume contests (best super hero, best villain, best look-a-like, best group).
One of the DJs is Kristian Niarn, better known as Hodor from "Game of Thrones."
And there's an abundance of otaku-worthy toys and virtual reality art.

Back to the beers: The 60 breweries on hand include faux-craft leaders 10 Barrel, Elysian, Golden Road and Goose Island. Still, there's a good selection of truly local independents, such as 32 North, Bay City and Resident.

Tickets, ($20, $50 and $99), are available at homebrewfest.com. (By the way, the $20 ticket gets you into the fest, where your beer costs extra. The other tickets come with unlimited pours and more swag.)

North Park Beer: Con 2

During Comic-Con's run — today through Sunday — North Park Beer offers 15 percent discounts to guests in costume or displaying a Comic-Con badge.

If I were God — or a demigod like, say, Thor — I'd give a bigger discount to people who have the guts to wear a costume instead of measly little badge.

North Park Beer Co.: 3038 University Ave., San Diego. (619) 255-2946; northparkbeerco.com.