Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

I’ve got lots of brewery news in this email including info on new beers, food at the brewery and special events in Julian where you can enjoy our beer.  Read on for all of the frothy goodness….

On Tap

Yesterday we tapped a new batch of the popular Hopster Douchebag Double IPA.  This pungent beer is full of Citra, Simcoe, Amarillo and Cascade hops flavors with a little Mosaic thrown in for good measure.  It clocks in at 8.9% alcohol though it hides the alcohol well.  In addition to enjoying it in pints and tasters we are selling it to go in both 32 and 64 oz jugs.  I filled a few casks to serve in San Diego.  We don’t have dates confirmed yet, but look for casks to tap at West Coast Barbecue and Brew in La Mesa and O’Brien’s in Kearny Measa.

Next weekend we’ll tap a brand new IPA brewed for the San Diego Toronado’s 7th Anniversary.  Eric and Ian came up from North Park to assist with brewing a 6% alcohol IPA loaded with citrus notes from Centennial, Cascade, Simcoe and Mosaic hops.  The beer is still dry hopping right now but I expect it to be ready to serve by next Friday, May 22nd.  It will be on tap at the Toronado for the pub’s anniversary party on Sunday the 24th.

For this weekend we have the Double Dubbel Belgian-style Quad on tap.  IPA 342, named for the experimental hop HBC 342 that it is made with, is on tap in both nitrogen and habanero versions.  The habanero version is very pleasantly spicy.  We also have the Jalapeno Back Country Gold on tap which makes a great bloody beer – try it with the Ballast Point Bloody Mary Mix in the tasting room.

Right now the 2015 batch of Kupfernickel Barleywine is in the fermentor and already tasting great.  It is a little drier than the 2014 version but about the same alcohol.  The beer is hopped with all Centennial hops and uses a blend of British and American yeast strains.  It needs a little bit of aging before being released but I expect to have some on tap by the end of June.  Our next brew day will be the Weekender Wheat, a German-style Hefeweizen.

Memorial Day Weekend

We will be open extended hours over Memorial Day weekend.  The tasting room is now regularly open until 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.  We will be extending hours on Sunday the 24th until at least 7 pm.  We will be opening early on Monday the 25th (Memorial Day) at noon.

We have a charity fundraiser on Sunday the 24th serving up Indian Tacos.  The proceeds will go to help local students join class trips to Costa Rica and Washington DC.  I got to sample the Indian Tacos a few days ago and I can confirm that they are delicious.  I am working on having food on Saturday the 23rd as well – I will post up details if it happens on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/NickelBeerCompany and send them out on Twitter @nickelbeerco.

Speaking of food, we are working with the Candied Apple to start delivery food service to the brewery tasting room the weekend of May 30th.  The tentative plan is to have a special menu of pub-style food and possibly pizza available from 12-5 on Saturday and Sunday that will be delivered to the brewery within 30 minutes of ordering.  I will send out the details when everything is finalized.

Anza Borrego Foundation Brew Day Opportunity

We are doing a very special collaboration with the Anza Borrego Foundation in June.  We are brewing a batch of beer to help support the Foundation on Sunday, June 7th.  And you can be a part of the brew day.  I will be making an Oatmeal Stout that we will be adding fresh vanilla beans to prior to serving.  To help raise money the Foundation is auctioning off the chance to experience the entire brew day and be a part of the beer making process.  There are also options to buy a commemorative pint glass and growler of the beer or attend a VIP Tapping Party at the end of June.

You can find all of the details on the fundraising project here: http://theabf.org/abbrew.  You can also find out about the Foundation’s mission to support the Anza Borrego State Park including land acquisition to expand the park.

Last Sips

There are always a lot of events in the summer and fall around Julian and we’ll have our beer at many of them.  Sunday, June 7th from 5-8 pm we be pouring beer at the Julian Historical Society Wine, Beer and Cheese Tasting taking place at Wynola Pizza.  Saturday, June 13th is The Dance put on by the Sons of the American Legion and held at Menghini Winery.  We’ll be pouring multiple beers during the all day concert and dance that will be headlined by the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash.  You can find all of the details including ticket info at: https://www.facebook.com/JulianBackcountryDance.

The very next weekend we will have beer at the Julian Blues Bash on Saturday, June 20th.  The Blues Bash is also held at Menghini Winery just 2 miles west of town.  You can find ticket info and performer info at: http://www.robb-bowerpresents.com/.

And right now at the tasting room we have 4th of July Parade T Shirts for sale with all proceeds going to help fund the 4th of July Parade – which will be on a Saturday this year.  We’ll have our beer at the American Legion BBQ on the 4th after the Parade.  Speaking of shirts, we have restocked our brewery merchandise and we have some new items on the way, including new women’s sweatshirts.  We now have 3 colors of the popular trucker-style hats and women’s tank tops have been restocked in red and black (men’s tank tops are on the way).  In addition to shirts, hats and sweatshirts we also have logo metal signs for sale.

Finally, a very happy birthday today to our good friend Mike Cook of Cook Pigs ranch here in Julian.

We’ll see you soon for a great Julian brewed beer.  Cheers, Tom

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

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

It is time for the national holiday that is not recognized as such – Superbowl Sunday.  We will be hosting a potluck party again this year from 2 to 7 pm for the game.  We’ll have the game on both big screens and I will be clearing out extra space in the brewery to set up tables for food.  Please bring a dish to share.  We will have plates, bowls, napkins and plastic ware.  We will have a few spaces for cords if you bring something in a warmer.  The potluck was a lot of fun last year and we are looking forward to it again.  The weather on Sunday is calling for sunny skies with temperatures in the low 60s.

We have two new beers coming out in the next two weeks.  Next week we will be releasing Double Dubbel Belgian-Style Quad on Friday, February 6th.  The beer is medium brown in color, 9.7% alcohol and full of dark caramel and fruit notes.  It is part of the year long campaign called Beer To The Rescue to help raise awareness of Lupus.  My good friend and local beer writer Brandon Hernandez was diagnosed with Lupus and he has organized Beer To The Rescue to help raise funds for the Southern California Lupus Foundation.  We will be pouring the beer at the tasting room and at O’Brien’s Pub (along with some Tripp’s Tripel) on the 6th.  We will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the Double Dubbel to the So Cal Lupus Foundation.

I am also aging some of the Double Dubbel in a run barrel to release this fall as Double Dubbel Animal Style.  For more information on the the Beer to the Rescue campaign, check them out on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/beertotherescue.

Our new double IPA, Gowabunga, will be released on Thursday, February 12th.  It was brewed in honor of my late friend Charlie Gow who be put to his final resting place at sea on the 12th.  Charlie loved his hometown San Diego IPAs so I have made sure that there is no shortage of hops in this 8 and half percent beer.  It is a blend of Columbus, Simcoe, Mosaic and Cascade hops.  Right now the beer is still in the fermentor but it already has big peach and melon notes with a very floral aroma.  For those that liked the Hopster, this beer will be right up your alley.  I am also working on a Ghost Pepper Chinook keg that should be ready early next week – check the Facebook page to see when it is on tap.

That is your Nickel Beer news for now.  Remember, we are open 6 days a week – every day but Tuesday.  We’ll see you soon for a great Julian brewed beer.  Cheers, Tom

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

Tonight we will be showing the NCAA Football National Championship game between Oregon and Ohio State.  The game will kick off at 5:30 pm and we will stay open until the end of the game – roughly 8:30 pm or so.  We will be doing a take out order with Romanos just after kick off to have food there by 6:15 pm (feel free to bring in your own food as well).  Our popular Jerky Hut Beef Jerky has been re-stocked as has the chip supply.

We’ll have the game on with sound on both big screen TVs so there will be plenty of great seats to watch the game.  This is the last chance to enjoy some Monday Night Football at the pub until September.  Our regular Monday hours will be 2-6 pm until football season starts back up.

Speaking of hours, we are expanding both our operating hours and the days that we are open.  We will now be open on Wednesdays from 2 to 7 pm and we will now have the same 2-7 pm hours on Thursday.  Fridays and Saturdays the tasting room will now be open until 8 pm and on Sundays we will stay open until 6 pm.  We will be opening a little early on Monday the 19th for the MLK holiday at 1 pm.

To help celebrate our new hours I have a keg of Chocolate Vanilla Stonewall Stout on nitrogen to tap this Wednesday, the 14th.  It will be on tap when we open at 2 pm.  It has been a while since we have had a keg of the Chocolate Vanilla Stout.  It is full keg and I expect it to stick around through the weekend since we can’t sell the nitrogen tapped beers to-go.

New Beers

This coming weekend we will be tapping a keg of our collaboration strong saison brewed at Ballast Point Little Italy.  The beer is named Saludos and it is a light colored, 10% alcohol Belgian-style beer spiced with a little bit of thyme.  It is very smooth and certainly hides the alcohol well.  This is one of only 2 kegs that made it outside of Ballast Point and the last one that still has beer in it.  We’ll tap the keg on Friday when we open.  Because it was brewed at Ballast Point we can’t sell it to go.

When the Saludos Saison goes on, the Kupfernickel Barleywine will be taken off.  So this week will be the last time to enjoy the barleywine for a little while.  The barleywine will be on tap through Thursday night.

We have a few new beers on the horizon.  In the fermentor I have a Belgian-style Quadruple, a dark, strong ale with lots of caramel and dark fruit flavors that should be just under 10% alcohol when it is done.  Also bubbling away is Highland Ale, a Scottish-inspired brown ale that will finish with a bit of smokiness reminiscent of Scotch whisky though the beer will only be 5% alcohol.  And I will be brewing one more batch of the Apple Pie Ale with Julian Black Twig apples later this week.

Down the hill you can look for a cask of Chinook IPA at O’Brien’s in Kearny Mesa this Thursday, January 15th at 5 pm.  Next month we will be doing a beer dinner at O’Brien’s on Sunday, February 22nd at 6:30 pm.  I will have more details coming soon.

That is your Nickel Beer news for now.  We’ll see you soon for a great Julian brewed beer.  Cheers, Tom

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

I hope everyone has had a good holiday season so far.  It is certainly starting to feel like winter up in Julian with sunny, but cold days and overnight lows that have inspired many a fireplace to be lit.  And while we did not have a white Christmas, we might end up with a white New Year’s with snow being forecast for next week.

The tasting room will be open regular hours this weekend and we will be opening early for the Chargers v. Chiefs game at 10 am on Sunday.  We’ll open just before 10 am on the 28th and Granny’s Kitchen will be delivering breakfast/brunch around 10:45-11 am.  We’ll put the order in after the game kicks off around 10:15 or 10:30 am.  Granny’s has great omelettes and fantastic breakfast sandwiches (I personally like the sausage, egg and cheese croissant).  This is effectively a first play off game for the Chargers who will automatically be in the playoffs with a win.

Here are our holiday hours along with what will be our new Monday hours during the non-football part of the year:

Friday, Dec. 26th – 11:30 am to 6 pm
Saturday, Dec 27th – 11:30 am to 7 pm
Sunday, Dec 28th – 10 am to 5 pm
Monday, Dec 29th – 2 pm to 6 pm
Tuesday, Dec 30th – 1 pm to 5 pm
Wednesday, Dec 31st  – CLOSED

Thursday, Jan 1st – 2 pm to 8 pm
Friday, Jan 2nd – 11:30 am to 6 pm
Saturday, Jan 3rd – 11:30 am to 7 pm
Sunday, Jan 4th – 11:30 am to 5 pm
Monday, Jan 5th – 2 pm to 6 pm

We will be opening for additional hours on Tuesday, December 30th and then closed on December 31st for New Year’s Eve.  We will be open late on Thursday the 1st, New Year’s Day, so that we can show both NCAA College Football playoff games.  At 2 pm the Rose Bowl kicks off with #2 Oregon taking on #3 Florida State.  Then at 5:30 pm the Sugar Bowl will pit #1 Alabama against #4 Ohio State.  I will be working to see if a local restaurant will be able to deliver some food during the games – when I confirm something either way, I will post it up on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NickelBeerCompany.  We will be staying open late on Monday, January 12th to show the College Football Championship game which I believe will kick off at 5:30 pm.

The Filthy Paws Porter is now on tap and tasting fantastic.  The Chinook IPA will be on tap early next week.  All 16 taps will be flowing all weekend including Habanero Volcan IPA, Jalapeno Gold (with Ballast Point Bloody Mary Mix for Sunday morning) and the non barrel aged version of the Kupfernickel barleywine which is aging perfectly.  We just got in another round of brewery merchandise so we are well stocked on all shirt sizes if you have been looking for something we did not have.  We also printed up a small run of long sleeve grey brewery shirts for the winter season.

Down the hill you will find the very tasty Tripp’s Tripel on tap today (the 26th) at West Coast Barbecue and Brew in La Mesa along with a hopped up cask of the Fix It Pale to be tapped in the afternoon.  For more info on West Coast’s 28 taps and smoked BBQ, visit: http://westcoastbbqandbrew.com/.  You will also find Julian Pale Ale and Devil’s Copper on tap at Jeremy’s on the Hill in Wynola seven days a week to go with the great food there.

That is your Nickel Beer news for now.  GO CHARGERS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!  May you have a wonderful and prosperous 2015 filled with great local beer.  Cheers, Tom

Tom Nickel
Owner/Brewer

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

We have lots of great beer on tap right now.  The new Fix It Pale is tasting great – the beer is 6.3% and full of Citra, Amarillo, Simcoe, Crystal and Mosaic hop flavors.  It drinks more like an IPA than a pale in many ways, but it does not have the massive bitterness of a true IPA.  And it is named for our friend and handyman Fix It Paul, so you can understand why I have to call it a pale.  We have the Fix It on both regular draft and on one of our nitrogen taps right now.

I also just tapped a keg of the Kupfernickel Barleywine.  We blew through our first keg of the Rum Barrel aged version of this beer and now the non-barrel aged version is back on tap.  The regular version has more Centennial hop punch with a great finish.  And our first ever keg of Habanero Volcan is on tap with super fresh and bright pepper flavors and just the right balance of heat.  The popular Jalapeno Gold is on tap as well.

We have several new beers on the horizon.  Filthy Paws Porter will be coming out just before Christmas and Chinook IPA will be back on tap just after Christmas.  I have our second Belgian-style in the fermentor as well, a Belgian-style Quadruple, which is a dark strong ale.  And there will be one more batch of Apple Pie Ale brewed for the new year thanks to Stacey at Wynola Flats Produce who has Black Twig apples available still.  Wynola Flats is a great little produce and food shop (not far from Jeremy’s on the Hill) that is open Friday thru Monday.  In addition to great produce they have the best locally made chocolates – the salted chocolate caramels are my favorite.

Chargers and X-Mas Hours

We will be open late this Saturday (12/20) for the Chargers v. 49’ers game that kicks off at 5:25 pm.  I expect that we will be open until some time between 8:30 and 9 pm when the game is over.  I am working on having someone deliver food for the game – please check our Facebook page for an update at: https://www.facebook.com/NickelBeerCompany.  We will also be opening up early on Sunday the 28th for the Chargers v. Chiefs, which is the last game of the regular season.  Again, I am hopeful to have someone deliver brunch – check the Facebook page for details.

We are going to open up on Tuesday the 23rd and Wednesday the 24th next week in addition to our regular hours.  We will open from 1-6 pm on Tuesday and from 1-5 pm on Wednesday.  The brewery will be closed on the Christmas Day, Thursday the 25th.  We will then resume normal hours Friday at 11:30 am.  We are still figuring out our hours for New Year’s week, but we will for sure be open Thursday, January 1st and all throughout the 4 day New Year’s Weekend along with Monday the 5th.

Monday the 22nd will be the final Monday Night Football game between the Broncos and the Bengals.  We will be open at 2 pm on the 22nd and stay open for the game.  Carmen’s should be delivering dinner around 6 pm for one last Monday night.  We are going to continue to be open on Mondays year round but our new hours will be from 2-6 pm instead of 3-7 pm.  We will be staying open for the NCAA College Football Championship game on Monday, January 12th, 2015.

If you need to get any last minute gifts, we have 32 and 64 oz growlers and you can buy the empty growler with a gift certificate if you are not sure what you would want it filled with.  There is also a ton of brewery merchandise including shirts, hats, beanies and sweatshirts.  We have some new hat styles in stock including Fishing Hats and Camo Trucker Hats.

Finally, down the hill you can look for a cask of Fix It Pale along with a keg of Tripp’s Tripel on tap at West Coast Barbecue and Brew in La Mesa on Friday the 26th with both tapping by 4 pm.  I also dropped off a keg of Volcan IPA at O’Brien’s which should be on tap very soon (if it is not on tap already).

We would like to thank everyone on this list for your support of our brewery in its first full year.  Lindsey and I have enjoyed opening the brewery and we look to many more great years (and beers) ahead.  A very heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who has made the brewery such a great place to hang out and enjoy a beer.  We are looking forward to a great 2015.

Cheers, Tom

Tom Nickel
Owner/Brewer

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

We are celebrating one year of making great beer in Julian this weekend with new beers and a new 16 tap draft system.  We will also have food catered on site on Saturday and on Sunday we also get the Chargers game vs. the Rams at 1:05 pm.

The 16 tap tower is fully installed and it is very impressive.  It will allow us to pour some different variations of our beers including a permanent nitrogen tap in addition to simply having more beers.  We are now also carrying Julian Hard Cider on tap and in the very near future we will be working on serving up a dry hopped version of Julian Hard Cider.

You will be able to enjoy several new beers this weekend.  Today (Friday) we have Tripp’s Tripel, Chocolate Vanilla Stonewall Stout and Habanero Hopster Doubchebag Double IPA on tap.  Tripp’s Tripel is light colored, 9% alcohol and full of fruity and spicy flavors from the Belgian yeast strain used in fermentation.  The overall malt impression is soft and hides the alcohol well.  The beer is named for Lindsey’s ancestors who lived in the area at the turn of the century.  I brewed the Tripel to be the ideal pairing with your Thanksgiving meal and if I do so say myself, I think it will be perfect with all of the holiday goodies – turkey, stuffing, cranberries and mashed potatoes (with beer gravy of course).

I think the Chocolate Vanilla Stonewall Stout pretty much speaks for itself.  And if you have to ask if the Habanero Hopster is spicy, you probably should not drink – it is wonderfully spicy but with the full flavor and aroma of the habanero pepper.

New Beers and Food

On Saturday the 22nd we will add two more beers to our line up – the return of Apple Pie Ale and the debut of our Rum Barrel Aged Kupfernickel Barleywine.  The barleywine was 11.1% alcohol going into the rum barrel and it has picked up plenty of flavor in the last six months.  The Apple Pie Ale is a little less tart than the first batch this season as the early apples have the most acidity and mid-season apples are a little sweeter.  The Apple Pie Ale will now again be available to-go in 32 or 64 oz jugs, however, the Rum Barrel Barleywine can only be enjoyed in the tasting room for now.  Both beers will be on tap all weekend.

Delicious food from local favorites Jeremy’s on the Hill will be available on Saturday.  Chef Jeremy is still working on the menu but so far I know there will be grilled chicken, burgers and an apple slaw.  If you have never eaten at Jeremy’s in Wynola (just 2 miles west of Julian) it is worth the stop.  Great food, cozy atmosphere, lots of boutique wines, a great selection of bottled beers and 2 taps of Nickel Beer.  Currently Jeremy’s is serving Julian Pale Ale and Devil’s Copper.  And the restaurant is open 7 days a week, so at least there is one place that you can always enjoy our beer.

On Sunday we will be showing the Chargers v. Rams game on both big screen TVs at 1 pm.  I will have the brewery cleared out this weekend with some additional bench seating as well so there will be plenty of space to enjoy the game.

All of our brewery merchandise has been re-stocked including sweatshirts, long sleeve shirts and men’s pocket t’s.  We have some new hats and a new Ladies Long Sleeve Burnout shirt.  For fans of Nickel Pickels, we have Garlic Dill and Chipotle Pickels for this weekend.  And as a very special treat we have a limited amount of Spicy Green Beans.  If you are in San Diego, you can always enjoy the Nickel Pickels at our pub O’Brien’s in Kearny Mesa.

Looking Ahead

We will be CLOSED on Thanksgiving, however, we will be opening from 2-6 pm on Wednesday the 26th so that everyone can have a beer and fill a growler for the big meal.  You know I will be filling several growlers of Tripp’s Tripel for our table.  We will then be open normal hours after Thanksgiving – 11:30-6 on Friday, 11:30-7 on Saturday and then we will open early on Sunday for the 30th for the Chargers v. Ravens game at 10 am.  I am already working on a brunch delivery again and we will have Jalapeno Gold on tap served up with the Ballast Point Bloody Mary Mix.  Look for a cask of Chocolate Vanilla Stonewall Stout to be tapped on Friday the 28th.

Fix It Pale is in fermentor and already tasting wonderful with lots of bright citrus fruit flavors.  I will be doing a keg of nitro Julian Pale Ale in the very near future along with a dry hopped version of the very popular Devil’s Copper.  There is even talk of doing a Blackberry Apple Pie keg.

That is your Nickel Beer News for now.  Lindsey and I would like to thank you for all of the support during our first year – it has been even more fun than we imagined.  We look forward to even more great things in the next 12 months, and of course, lots more great beer.  We’ll see you soon for a celebratory anniversary beer in Julian!  Cheers, Tom

Tom Nickel
Owner/Brewer

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

Today is the official beginning of San Diego Beer Week all around the county.  At the tasting room we will start the celebration by tapping a new batch of Hopster Douchebag Double IPA when we open Friday at 11:30 am.  The new batch is 8.5% alcohol and is full of grapefruit flavors and aroma from the use of massive amounts of Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo.  It is perhaps too easy to drink – but is that really a bad thing?  The very popular Jalapeno Gold is also on tap for the weekend – just the right amount of Jalapeno flavor without being hot.  I have to say that it goes particularly well with ceviche and fish tacos.

San Diego Beer Week

We will be participating in several SDBW events this weekend around town.  In El Cajon, Devil’s Copper will be on tap at Urbn Pizza and Brewing for their East County Tap takeover Friday night.  If you have never checked out Urbn brewing, it is worth the trip.  The restaurant is beautiful, the pizza is fantastic (try the white pie) and the house beer is very good – I especially like their brown ale.

At O’Brien’s Pub in Kearny Mesa we will be tapping 4 beers for the pub’s Back Country Beer Night along with Alpine, Chuckalek and Jamul Brewing.  Look for Hopster Douchebag Double IPA, Devil’s Copper, Tahoma IPA and nitro Chocolate Vanilla Stonewall Stout.  All of the beers will be on tap by 5 pm and I will be down there to enjoy a few pints as well.

On Saturday, Downtown Johnny Brown’s at the Civic Center will have Stonewall Stout on tap as part of their QUAFF Pro night.  QUAFF is one of the oldest and certainly the biggest homebrew club in town.  Many members have gone on to work in or open breweries including myself and this night will honor those who now make beer professionally.  I know there will be some beers from Rip Current there as well.

Next week we will be tapping a cask of Hopster Douchebag Double IPA at West Coast BBQ and Brew in La Mesa along with a keg of Devil’s Copper on Thursday the 13th.  The cask and keg will tap at 4:30 pm and I am hoping to be there to enjoy a pint of the cask if my brewing schedule allows it.  The cask is super hopped up with Crystal and Chinook hops.

Back up at the tasting room on Friday the 14th we will tap a keg of nitro Chocolate Vanilla Stonewall Stout.  When that is blown, we will tap a regular draft keg of the Chocolate Vanilla Stonewall Stout and we will be doing to-go growler fills while it is on tap – check the updates on our Facebook page (link at the bottom of the email) to find out when the growler fills will start.

1 Year

It is hard to believe that it has almost been a year since I brewed the first batch of beer in the brewery.  A big THANK YOU to everyone who has helped make our first year such a success.  We will be celebrating our first anniversary right after Beer Week over the weekend of November 21st, 22nd and 23rd.  There will be several special beer releases including the new Tripp’s Tripel, a 9% abv Belgian-style Tripel brewed to be the perfect Thanksgiving meal beverage and the Rum Barrel aged version of our massive Kupfernickel Barleywine.  We are hoping to have a food truck there as well over the weekend.  I will have more details in the next email.

The new batch of the Apple Pie Ale is fermenting along and it should be on tap in the next few weeks.  When it is ready to go we will begin selling the Apple Pie Ale to go again.  In the meantime, you will just have to enjoy it in our tasting room.

Have a safe and wonderful San Diego Beer Week and we’ll see you soon for a great Julian brewed beer.  Cheers, Tom

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

Our very popular Redstonewall Stout blend – aka Horchata Stout – is back on tap at the tasting room and you will be able to enjoy it down the hill at Hamilton’s in South Park tonight as well.  The beer is a blend of our award winning Stonewall Stout with Vanilla Cinnamon Mead (honey wine) from Redstone Meadery in Boulder, Colorado.  The blend has a huge cinnamon aroma with a lightly sweet and roasty finish with just a touch of honey flavor through the stout flavors.  It will be on tap all weekend and available for growler fills to-go.  At Hamilton’s tonight (Thursday the 9th) you will also find our regular Stonewall Stout on tap.

Right now we also have a Homegrown Habanero Red White and Brew IPA keg on tap with Habaneros from our garden.  I think it has a little more kick than the last keg we made but still with a great habanero flavor.  It might not make it through the weekend, but we do have more Habanero IPA to tap.  And though the Jalapeno Gold is out at the moment, I am in the process of making more so it should be back on tap soon.

Sunday the 12th we will be showing the Chargers v. Raiders game at 1 pm.  Harry Dz BBQ will be stopping by again after the Farmer’s Market around 2:30 pm.  He might be coming by Saturday as well – check our Facebook page for updates at https://www.facebook.com/NickelBeerCompany.  And we have a limited number of chipotle and jalapeno Nickel Pickels left, get them while you can .  On Friday the 10th we will be showing the USA v. Ecuador soccer friendly at 4pm.

Monday the 13th is Columbus Day and a holiday for some.  So for those lucky enough to get the day off, we will be opening up early at 1 pm so that you can come up and enjoy the brewery.  In the evening we will have the 49er’s v. Rams at 5:30 pm and Carmen’s will be delivering food again – we’ll put the order in between 5:45 and 6 pm.  If you have never tried the Prime Rib dinner at Carmen’s, get there on a Friday or Saturday when they are cooking it up, it is delicious.

Wet Hop Festival

We will have both our wet hop brewed beers at the Wet Hop Festival at O’Brien’s this weekend.  In addition to draft kegs of both Star B Fresh Hop Pale and ZP Fresh Hop IPA, O’Brien’s will tap a cask of ZP Fresh Hop IPA that is dry hopped with Star B Ranch Nugget and Columbus hops at 5 pm on Friday the 10th.  I will be there to watch the USA v. Ecuador game and tap the cask – and also enjoy a pint or three.

The Wet Hop Festival will feature more than 40 beers all brewed with hops fresh off the vine over three days, Friday – Sunday, October 10th, 11th and 12th.  For directions to O’Brien’s and more information, visit: http://obrienspub.net/.

In addition to our wet hop beers at O’Brien’s, you can find our Apple Pie Ale on tap at West Coast Barbecue and Brew in La Mesa – http://www.westcoastbbqandbrew.com/.

Looking Ahead

Next weekend the Chargers host the Chiefs on Sunday the 19th at 1 pm.  They then have a short week and travel to Denver to take on the Broncos at 5:25 pm on Thursday the 23rd.  We will be staying open until the end of the Chargers game.

I have a new IPA brewing with a new hop I have not used before named Tahoma.  It is dry-hopping in the fermentor right now and should be ready in another week or so.  A fresh batch of Stonewall Stout is also coming up which will mean more Chocolate Vanilla Stonewall.  We’ll also have a nitro keg of Stonewall coming back soon.  And next week I will be brewing our first Belgian-style beer, a Tripel, just in time for Thanksgiving.  And we will have some beer around town for San Diego Beer Week in November.

That is your Nickel Beer news for now.  We’ll see you soon for a great Julian-brewed beer.  Cheers, Tom