Hello Nickel Beer Fans!
The weather has been incredible up in the mountains – warm sunny days with cool nights. Though we could certainly use with some more rain, I am not going to complain about our mid-winter sunshine. The weather is going to gorgeous all weekend making it a perfect time to come up and enjoy the mountains. Plus there is good beer to be had.
We are releasing our Double Dubbel Belgian-style Quad today at the tasting room. It will be on tap when we open at 11:30 am. The beer is medium brown in color with big caramel and dark fruit notes and a lightly lingering sweetness. The beer hides its 9.7% alcohol well, so it is definitely one to be careful with. It is a double version of the classic Belgian Dubbel which is where the name comes from (though I certainly do love In ‘N Out burgers).
The beer was a collaboration with my friend and local beer writer Brandon Hernandez as part of the Beer to the Rescue Campaign to benefit the Lupus Foundation of Southern California. More than a dozen local breweries will be releasing special beers throughout the year as part of the campaign to raise awareness of Lupus. To find out more about upcoming beers and fundraisers, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/beertotherescue. We will be donating a portion of the proceeds from every glass of Double Dubbel sold to the Lupus Foundation of Southern California.
If you can’t make it to the tasting room, you can enjoy the beer in San Diego tonight at O’Brien’s Pub in Kearny Mesa. We will be tapping a full keg of the Double Dubbel at 5 pm along with kegs of Tripp’s Tripel, Highland Brown and Apple Pie Ale. We don’t bring much of the Apple Pie Ale down the hill so this is a rare treat. I will be at O’Brien’s along with Brandon Hernandez tonight to enjoy the beers and answer any questions.
More New Beer
Also on tap at the tasting room this weekend you can enjoy the new Mystery Machine ghost pepper IPA. I took our Chinook IPA and blended it with fresh ghost peppers. The result is unlike any pepper beer I have ever had as it has virtually no pepper flavor or aroma but finishes with a long lingering heat. I have to thank Joel and Travis for bringing in the fresh ghost peppers and inspiring this beer.
Stonewall Stout is back on our nitrogen tap and tasting wonderfully creamy. And the new Highland Brown is flowing and very easy drinking at just 5% alcohol. The brown is a little roasty, has a touch of malt sweetness and finishes with a little smokiness.
Next week we will be releasing a new double IPA, Gowabunga. It is still in the fermentor but it is already tasting great. I brewed the beer with lots of Simcoe, Mosaic and Cascade and this week I even added an experimental hop, HBC-342, into the dry hop program. The beer is roughly 8.6% alcohol. The beer will be on tap in the tasting room on Thursday the 12th. I am also hoping to put on a barrel aged keg of our collaboration Sierra Nevada O’Bryen’s 20th Anniversary Ale.
As with the Double Dubbel, we will also be pouring the beer at O’Brien’s on Thursday the 12th. Gowabunga will be on draft and there will be a cask on tap at 5 pm.
That is your Nickel Beer News for now. We’ll see you soon for a great Julian-brewed beer. Cheers, Tom