Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

We never really had a grand opening at the brewery so this weekend we are going to fix that.  We will have 11 different beers on tap starting Saturday, including the new Apple Pie Beer and the new Porter.  It will also be our first weekend with a food truck at the brewery (it will be a local food truck from one of our favorite restaurants on the hill).  And the weather is going to be unbelievable for mid-February with temperatures up to 70 degrees over the weekend with plenty of sun – the patio will be the place to be.  So with all of these things coming together combined with the long holiday weekend, we decided that it is time for a Grand Opening Party on Saturday, Sunday and Monday (Feb 15th-17th).

Since Monday is a holiday, we will be open 11:30 am to 5 pm.  I expect to be open a little later than usual on Saturday and Sunday this weekend as well – probably 7 pm on Saturday and 6 pm on Sunday.  We will be expanding our hours next month once we get past the time change which happens on March 9th.

Here is the expected beer line up for the weekend:
Back Country Gold
Julian Pale Ale
Fix It Pale
Bitter Beer Writer ESB
Devil’s Copper
Volcan IPA
Chinook IPA
Stonewall Stout
Stonewall Stout – nitro
Apple Pie Beer (exact name yet to be determined)
Porter (name also yet to be created)
and our Sierra Nevada collaboration O’Bryen’s 20th Anniversary Ale

Believe me, it is nice to have all of the taps flowing with good beer.  The Apple Pie Beer is carbonating right now and I am really pleased with the way it is tasting.  A little bit of CO2 has really brought all of the flavor components together – the apple juice, the base beer and the spices.  I did draw off one keg to put on the nitro tap in the future just to see what it is like.  The beer might be on tap Friday afternoon – if so, I will post on Facebook.  It will definitely be on tap when we open on Saturday.

The new Porter is dark, rich and delicious.  It is just over 6% alcohol and has a nice smokey dark malt character that comes from the use of lots of Black Malt and very dark Crystal Malts.  I hopped it with Cascade, but not too much.  I really wanted the dark malt flavors to play out.  In the coming weeks, look for a cask and a nitro keg to hit the tap line up.  The Porter will be on tap when we open on Saturday.

In addition to the fine food selections from the food truck, Lindsey will have some Beer Cheese available – the last batch of Chipotle Beer Cheese was particularly inspired.  Our 32 oz grumblers for To-Go beer have been re-stocked as has our brewery merchandise including men’s black shirts along with lady’s shirts and sweatshirts.  I have a new batch of Volcan IPA fermenting along with Devil’s Copper likely the next brew and Barleywine not far off.  Think of the Barleywine as a souped-up version of the Devil’s Copper.  Next month look for some special versions of the stout for St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

That is your NBC news for now.  We hope to see you over our Grand Opening Weekend for a great Julian brewed beer.  Cheers, Tom