Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

San Diego Beer Week is in full swing and we have some great beers coming down the hill starting this afternoon.  We’ll also be tapping a keg of our Sierra Nevada collaboration O’Bryen’s 20th Anniversary Ale aged in a Rye Whiskey Barrel today in the tasting room.  A fresh keg of the Barrel Aged Stonewall Stout just went on so you can enjoy that through the weekend.  Next weekend is our 2nd anniversary and we’ll have a bunch of new beers on tap including some barrel aged barleywine.

Thursday

We have 4 beers on tap at West Coast BBQ and Brew in La Mesa today.  The pub will be pouring Saison Saludos, Or The Highway IPA, Stonewall Stout and Barrel Aged Stonewall stout.  I will be there late afternoon roughly 3:30 to 4:30 to sip the beers and enjoy one of the Burnt Ends Beef Sandwiches (double smoked beef ends in BBQ sauce, yes it is as good as it sounds).

Then I am heading off to O’Brien’s in Kearny Mesa where we will have a cask of Or The Highway IPA with extra Crystal hops tapped at 5 pm.  There will also be some special collaboration kegs on tap at O’Brien’s that I helped make for the pub’s 20th Anniversary last year including Monkey Paw Wrathchild (smoked weizenbock), Lost Abbey O’Brien’s 20th Anniversary Barrel Blend and 3 versions of the Sierra Nevada O’Bryen’s – non barrel aged, Bourbon and Rye Whiskey.  Look for Nickel Beer Brats and Nickel Beer Brat Soup on special all day from the kitchen.  You can buy Nickel Beer Brats at Don’s Market in Santa Ysabel – they are made with our Devil’s Copper.

In the tasting room I’ll have the Sierra Nevada Rye Whiskey Barrel O’Bryen’s on tap when we open at 2 pm.

Friday

Friday the 13th we will have 2014 Rum Barrel Aged Kupfernickel Barleywine on tap at O’Brien’s as part of Tyson’s Big Ass Barrel Aged Beer Night.  It has been a while since even I have had this so I am excited to see how it is aging.  The barleywine will be on tap at 5 pm.  The kitchen will be serving up Buffalo Beer Chili made with Devil’s Copper and Buffalo Meat from the good folks at Star B Buffalo and Hop Ranch in Santa Ysabel.

You are always welcome to bring your own food to the tasting room.  But if you get hungry while visiting us, the Candied Apple delivers pizza, sandwiches and salads every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12-6 and on Mondays from 4-6 for Monday Night Football.

Saturday and Sunday

I am doing an event with two of best friends in the San Diego brewing scene this weekend – Jeff Bagby of Bagby Beer Company and Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbe/Port Brewing.  The event is called 3 Amigos and will take place at O’Brien’s starting when they open at 11:30 am on Saturday.  The 3 of us plan to be there from 3-5 pm on Saturday to enjoy some beers together.

We will have a great selection of specialty beer on tap including 2014 Tripp’s Tripel, Double Dubbel Animal Style (rum barrel aged Belgian-style quad), Saison Saludos, Or The Highway IPA and a cask of Barrel Aged Stonewall Stout with cacao nibs.  I think all of the beers will be on tap at 11:30 am and that the cask will be tapped around 1 pm or so.  The beers will stay on tap while they last so I expect some to still be around on Sunday.  There will be some Nickel Beer Cheese Burger specials.  And every burger at O’Brien’s comes with a Nickel Pickel on the side.

West Coast BBQ and Brew will be serving up Nickel Beer Brats on Saturday smothered in grilled onions.

The tasting room will be open until 8 pm Friday and Saturday and Sunday we will be open until at least 7:30 pm.  The fall color is amazing right now.  Driving up either Highway 79 by Lake Cuyamaca or Sunrise Highway through Laguna will give you a great look at what Mother Nature has on display.  Even the fire blighted areas are dotted with bright orange oaks.  It is as colorful as I have seen it in years – but get up here soon as it won’t last too long.

2nd Anniversary Weekend

It is hard to believe that it has already been 2 years since we brewed our first batch.  We will celebrate our anniversary the weekend of November 20th-22nd.  Our 2nd Anniversary beer will be Bourbon Barrel Aged Kupfernickel Barleywine.  I brewed the barleywine in the Spring and it has been sitting patiently in two Bourbon barrels ever since.  And we will be releasing the 2015 Tripp’s Tripel just in time to enjoy it as part of your Thanksgiving meal.  There will be some other specialty beer on tap including a keg of Chocolate Vanilla Stonewall Stout on nitrogen – the beer tastes like a creamy chocolate milkshake.

I plan to have most of the special kegs on tap Friday when we open at 11:30 am on the 20th.  Be sure to check our Facebook page for updates on what will be happening over the anniversary weekend – https://www.facebook.com/NickelBeerCompany.

We have gotten in some new merchandise including women’s short sleeve burnout shirts and men’s navy long sleeve thermals.

That is your San Diego Beer Week Nickel Beer News.  Thank you for all of the support in our first two years as we look forward to another year of great Julian brewed beer.

Cheers, Tom