Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

We have some great beers for you to enjoy this St. Patrick’s Day weekend both in Julian and down the hill including our new collaboration with Newtopia Cyder.  We have several new beers in the tasting room and next weekend we will tap a very special keg that we blended with Redstone Meadery.

Coming up first we have an amazing Beer Dinner planned with Jeremy’s on the Hill on Friday the 16th at 6:30 pm.  Here is the compete menu for the event:

First Course
Lamb Stew with Irish Soda Bread
Nickel Take a Hike Pale Ale

Second Course
Smoke Salmon Cake with Horseradish Cream Sauce and Fresh Dill
Nickel Devil’s Copper

Third Course
Sausage Banger in Puff Pastry with Spicy Mustard Sauce
Nickel Tahoma IPA

Fourth Course
Corned Beef Brisket and Cabbage with Potato Hash
Nickel C.C. O’Neill’s Irish Red

Fifth Course
Chocolate Bread Pudding
Nickel Stonewall Stout Ice Cream Float

The dinner is $50 plus tax and you can make reservations by calling the restaurant at 760-765-1587.  I will be attending the dinner and talking about each beer.  The food will undoubtedly be amazing so please join us for a great evening in Julian.

St. Paddy’s Beers Around Town

We will have our C.C. O’Neill’s Irish Red on tap at both O’Brien’s in Kearny Mesa and West Coast Barbecue and Brew in La Mesa.  O’Brien’s will also have a cask of the Irish Red with whiskey soaked oak chips on tap Friday the 16th at 5 pm.

In the tasting room we will have the Irish Red and a draft keg of the Irish Red with whiskey soaked oak chips along with our Stonewall Stout.

New Brews

This weekend we will be tapping our collaboration with Newtopia Cyder in the tasting room – Dime Piece.  It is a twist on our Apple Pie Ale.  The cider is made with the same base beer as our Apple Pie Ale and it is then blended with a Saison yeast fermented apple cider at Newtopia.  The final touch to this fantastic beverage is the addition of Rum Soaked Turkish Raisins and Vietnamese Cinnamon.  It is thoroughly delicious and any fan of our Apple Pie Ale will love it.  Look for it on tap this Friday the 16th in the afternoon.

In addition to the tasting room, you can find Dime Piece around San Diego and even in select Los Angeles accounts.  Both O’Brien’s and West Coast BBQ have it on tap right now and I know Small Bar and Fathom also got kegs.

We have some other new treats in the tasting room as well.  The Tahoma IPA is back.  This 6.5% alcohol IPA is full of melon and light tropical citrus flavors.  We have a brand new beer – Get to the Hopper.  It is a 4.5% alcohol beer that uses 100% German hops.  It is bittered with Polaris and uses Hallertau Blanc for both favor and finish.  The beer is insanely drinkable and as soon as we get any summer-like weather it will be the perfect beer for it.

We have another new IPA that should be out early next week – Boomstick IPA.  This is a twist on our popular Banner Grade IPA which is made with a 50/50 blend of Simcoe and Mosaic hops.  The Boomstick uses the same base recipe and is hopped with a 50/50 blend of Citra and Mosaic.  The name is an homage to Bruce Campbell’s character Ash in the Evil Dead movies.  It came up because the beer was brewed on Ash Wednesday.  If you are not familiar with the movie Army of Darkness, it might be worth searching out the Boomstick scene on Youtube.

And speaking of next week, we have a very special keg to tap on Friday, March 23rd – Redstonewall Stout.  This is a blend we do with Redstone Meadery out of Boulder, CO.  We take the meadery’s Vanilla Cinnamon Mead (honey wine) and blend it with our Stonewall Stout.  The result is an amazing synergy of flavors that reminds me of Horchata.  We won’t be selling this to go so I am hoping that the keg lasts through the weekend.

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 does not feel like winter up here with temperatures in the mid to high 60s expected for the next week.  At least our nights cool off a little bit.  But no matter what it makes for great beer drinking weather (though I am not sure what kind of weather is bad beer drinking weather come to think of it).

We have several new beers on tap in the tasting room.  First is a beer designed and brewed by our brewer Brian Scanlon who has never met a beer pun he didn’t like.  The beer is named Charles Nelson Ryely IPA after the legendary B Movie actor, later of game show fame.  It is appropriately enough a rye IPA with Nelson hops.  The beer is super drinkable with a firm hop bitterness and plenty of tropical fruit and citrus notes in the flavor and aroma.

Also new on tap is the 6.4% abv Larry’s Place IPA.  We brew this once a year for the anniversary of West Coast Barbecue and Brew in La Mesa. It is named for the pub’s founder, Larry Koger who passed in 2016.  I have delivered kegs of this to West Coast and I expect it to be on tap in La Mesa for the entire month of February.  It was brewed with a hop blend called Zythos along with some Columbus hops and just a touch of Mosaic hops in the conditioning tank.

Superbowl Potluck Party

For the big game on Sunday we will be hosting a potluck party from 3-8 pm.  We’ll clear out the brewery and set up tables for food.  The game will be on both big screen TVs.  It looks like the weather will be near perfect so I expect we will end up with just as many people enjoying the sun and playing washers as we will have watching game.  Personally I am rooting for good commercials.  It will be a fun day to be at the brewery whether or not you are there for football game.  The tasting room will stay open for at least 30 minutes after the game which I figure means about 8 pm.

And yes, the Jalapeno Gold will be on tap for the game (and all weekend for that matter).

Looking Ahead and Around Town

In addition to the Larry’s Place IPA at West Coast in La Mesa, we will have some beers on tap around town this month.  On Tuesday the 6th, we will be serving the Jalapeno Gold at Galaxy Taco in La Jolla to pair up with tacos from Tyson Blake of O’Brien’s.  You can find the details here: https://www.google.com/search?q=galaxy+taco&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1#lpstate=pid:2361632623842106635.  Speaking of O’Brien’s, the pub has a keg of Fix It IPA right now.  And our friends at Viewpoint in Del Mar just picked up a keg of the Bloody Sot ESB to tap this weekend.

I am heading on the radio tonight at 7 pm.  I will be on FM94.9’s Rock n’ Roll Happy Hour from 7-8 pm drinking 5 different Nickel Beers while listening to some great music in between sips.

We will be doing our employee party on Sunday, February 11th.  The tasting room is going to be open, but with slightly limited hours.  We will be open from Noon to 5 pm on the 11th.  All other hours will remain normal next weekend.  We will be open early at Noon on Monday the 19th for President’s Day.

We have a few goodies that you can look forward to at the brewery.  Next week we will be tapping a new batch of Constantine’s Russian Imperial Stout.  We’ll also be filling up a Cutwater Spirits Rum Barrel with this beer.  And we are currently aging our Tripp’s Tripel in a red wine barrel from our friends and neighbors at Blue Door Winery.  The winery only makes red wines and they have tasting room right in downtown Julian across the street from Buffalo Bill’s.  If you have not been by it is worth checking out – they also make excellent Sangria.  And it doesn’t hurt that they are next to the new Chocolatier in Julian which is making great stuff.  Right next door to them is Crow and Lilac which carries hand made soaps made using Nickel Beer.  See, now you have to go.

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 finally starting to feel like Winter up here at night though we are still getting plenty of sunshine during the day.  The tasting room will be open every day except Monday the 25th for Christmas.  We will be open on Sunday the 24th, Christmas Eve, but closing early.  Between the 26th and 28th we will be open early at noon.  Here are the upcoming holiday hours:

Saturday the 23rd – 11 am to 9 pm
Sunday the 24th – 11 am to 3:30 pm – be sure to get there early enough to fill your growlers!
Monday the 25th – CLOSED
Tuesday the 26th – Noon to 7:30 pm
Wednesday the 27th – Noon to 7:30 pm
Thursday the 28th – Noon to 7:30 pm
Friday the 29th – 11:30 am to 8:30 pm
Saturday the 30th – 11 am to 8:30 pm
Sunday the 31st – 11 am to 9:30 pm
Monday, January 1st, 2018 – Noon to 7:30 pm
Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018 – Noon to 7:30 pm
Wednesday, January 3rd – we resume normal business hours, which on Wednesday would be 2 pm to 7:30 pm

New Beers

We have a couple of new beers on tap along with some old favorites that have returned.  Our newest IPA is the Fix It IPA – a 6% alcohol beer made with Simcoe, Amarillo and Crystal hops.  It has great citrus notes with good bitterness.  And Volcan IPA is back on tap after a few week’s absence.  Also on the hoppy beer front we have Ninja Tune Wet Hop IPA, Banner Grade IPA and Hessian Session Wet Hop IPA.

On the more balanced side of things we have Bloody Sot ESB – which stands for Extra Special Bitter.  It is an English inspired beer that is really not all that bitter as a style ironically.  Our version is 6% alcohol and made with only ingredients available to brewers prior to 1996.  The beer was a collaboration with several friends in the industry – Jeff Bagby (Bagby Beer), Joanne Carilli (White Labs) and Brit Antrim (formerly Anderson Valley and Kona).  The beer is crazy drinkable with near perfect balance between malt and hops and a great beer finish.

The Tripp’s Tripel – our 8.3% alcohol Belgian-style Tripel is on tap and tasting great.  We saved some of this beer to age in Red Wine barrels from Blue Door Winery which has a tasting room in Julian (and they make excellent red wines).  For you pepper fans we have the Deathtongue IPA made with Scorpion Peppers on right now.  And yes, it is spicy but not over the top spicy so far.  Look for the Jalapeno Gold to be back on tap for Friday the 29th.

Christmas Carols and NYE

We are doing an Ugly Sweater Christmas Potluck Party on Saturday the 23rd from 4 to 9 pm.  Around 7:30 pm we will be singing a few Christmas Carols in the brewery.  We have some song sheets so no need to know the words – you just need a little Christmas spirit and some enthusiasm.  The potluck will run from 4-7 pm and you can just bring a dish to share.  You can visit our event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/170004637079517/.

On December 31st we will be staying open just past 9 pm so that we can watch the ball drop live in New York City.  That will mean it is 2018 in America.  We’ll do last call right before 9 so we can ring in the new year with a great beer.  We will then open at Noon on Monday the 1st, 2018.

That is your Nickel Beer News for now.  Thank you for supporting us for 4 years of great beer.  With Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2018 – Tom Nickel and the entire Nickel Beer crew.

Hello Nickel Beer Fans,

It finally seems to have turned to fall in the mountains.  The leaves have turned color and the weather has cooled off.  The drives along Sunrise Highway and on the 79 by Lake Cuyamaca are both beautiful right now.

And of course cooler fall weather is perfect beer drinking weather.  We have our Hopster Douchebag Double IPA back on tap after a long absence.  This 8.2% alcohol hop monster is brewed with Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo hops and then dry hopped with Cascade and Mosaic.  The result is a punch in the face with hops, firm bitterness and plenty of citrus and fruit hop flavors and aromas.

We still have a great selection of wet hop beers all made with San Diego grown hops including our Wet Hop Table Beer, Buffalo Paw Brown, Star B Pale, Hook in Mouth Chinook IPA, Ninja Tune IPA, Deathtongue IPA (with Scorpion Peppers) and the Last Star B Fighter IPA.  And we have a keg of our Room 101 collaboration with Burning Beard on tap.  This beer was made with Neo Mexicanus hops and it is as delicious as it is unique.

Believe or not we actually have one last wet hop beer in the fermenter right now. It is a hoppy session beer with Cascade and Nugget from Star B with a smattering of Southern Brewer and Crystal.  The hops were vacuum sealed at harvest and they smelled amazing during the brew day.  Look for Hessian Session to be on tap by the end of the month.

Our monthly potluck will be this Saturday starting around 4 pm.  Bring a dish to share and enjoy food, friends and good beer.

SD Beer Week

Tonight, Friday the 3rd, we will be pouring 3 Nickel beers and our new Cellar 3 collaboration at O’Brien’s Pub for the Back Country Beer Night with Alpine, Cellar 3 and Nickel.  Look for Hopster Douchebag DIPA, Devil’s Kashmir Wet Hop Rye Red and Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged Constantine’s Russian Imperial Stout.  Our collab with Cellar 3 is called WETtanomyces and it is a wet hopped barrel blend beer that appropriately enough has brettanomyces in it.  I think the fruitness of the brett and the wet hops really married together well.  The beer has barrel aged triple, white IPA and Rayon Vert blended in it.  I think Green Flash put out the best beer description post I have ever read and I have to share it with you:

Wettanomyces ~ 9.2% Wet Hop Barrel-Aged Wild Ale | We tossed a dank and fruity melane of Star B Buffalo Ranch & Hop Farm wet hops into a blend of 3 different Barrel-Aged Beers. What emerged was an earthy and fruity funk factory of complexity. Picture a dripping wet Old English Sheepdog emerging from a cold blue lake and diving head first into a massive pile of fresh hops as if they were wet leaves. Then you lick that dog and continue eating fresh apricots. Voila! Come try it tomorrow.

Pretty vivid imagery, right?

On Saturday we will be pouring beer at the San Diego Brewers Guild Festival.  We’ll have Hopster Douchebag DIPA, Devil’s Kashmir and Ninja Tune Wet Hop IPA.  Our brewer Brian will be manning the booth – stop by and say hi if you head to the fest.

Also on Saturday we will have a keg of Respect My Aciditie at the O’Brien’s Sour Beer Weekend.  This is the base barrel aged sour that we use to blend up our Sour Apple Pie Ale.  Without the balance of the Apple Pie beer it definitely comes across with an acidic bite and just a hint of oak tannin.

We will be pouring the Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged Constantine’s Russian Imperial Stout again at O’Brien’s for Tyson’s Big Ass Barrel Aged Beer Night on Friday the 10th.

Finally, you can find our beer at the Karl Strauss Collabapalooza Festival on Saturday the 11th.  Our new Karl Strauss collaboration, Triple Mosaic, will be poured at the fest.  It is a 9% alcohol version of the brewery’s awesome Mosaic Session Ale.  It is 100% hopped with Mosaic and I can’t wait to try it.  We are planning to bring Hopster Douchebag DIPA for sure and we’ll be right next to Burning Beard who will be pouring our Room 101 wet hop collab.

For more information on Beer Week or any of the above events, check out the official website at: https://www.sdbeer.com/sdbw.

Looking Ahead

The brewery will be celebrating its 4th Anniversary later this month over the weekend of November 17th, 18th and 19th.  Our Tripp’s Tripel will be released that weekend and I will be tapping some barrel aged beers including the Rye Whiskey Constantine’s.  It is hard to believe that I have been brewing again for 4 years up here.  Thank you to all who have supported the brewery these past 4 years.  You really have helped make a dream come true.

We will be CLOSED on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 23rd.  We will be open regular hours the remainder of the weekend – Friday the 24th 11:30 am to 8:30 pm, Saturday the 25th 11 am to 8:30 pm and Sunday the 26th 11 am to 7:30 pm.  We will likely be open a little later than usual on Wednesday the 22nd as well.

That is your Nickel Beer News for now.  We’ll see you around San Diego or in the tasting room for a great Julian brewed beer.  Cheers, Tom

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

Our hard brewing work in August is paying off as we now have 10 wet hop beers on tap in the tasting room all made with San Diego grown hops.  And the good news for you is that you don’t have to be in Julian this weekend to enjoy them.  New this week in the tasting room is the Devil’s Kashmir, a wet hop version of our Devil’s Copper ale with Star B grown Cashmere hops.  The wet hops add a fruity complexity to this red rye ale.

Back by popular demand, our local Cajun C.C. will be cooking up Shrimp Boil and Jambalaya on Saturday from 1-5 pm at the brewery.  And in non-wet hop beer news, we have a keg of our Stonewall Stout aged for 3 months in a Bourbon Barrel on tap which is tasting delicious.

Down the Hill

Tonight at 5 pm we will be tapping 9 wet hop beers plus a cask of Green Truck Wet Hop Double IPA at Hamilton’s Tavern in South Park.  There will even be a keg of our Room 101 collaboration beer with Burning Beard and Star B.  This beer was just released and I have not even tried it yet so I am very excited to taste it tonight at the event.  It is based on a Kolsch-style recipe and brewed with wet Neo Mexicanus hops from Star B.  Burning Beard owner/brewer Jeff Wiederkehr wrote a really funny blog about how the collab came together – you can read it here: http://burningbeardbrewing.com/index.php/2017/09/05/room-101-wet-hops-and-role-playing/.  The name is a reference to the original Matrix movie since we used Neo Mexicanus hops in the brew.
Here is the tap line up for the event at Hamilton’s:

Standing Eagle Wet Hop IPA – 6% abv – with Star B Cascade

Hook in Mouth Chinook Wet Hop IPA – 6% abv – with Star B Chinook

My Way Wet Hop IPA – 6% abv – with Nopalito and Star B Cascade and Chinook

Wet Hop Table Beer – 3.6% abv – collab with Benchmark and South Park made with Star B Glacier, Mt Hood, Nugget, Magnum and Sterling

Green Truck Wet Hop Double IPA – 8% abv – Nopalito and Star B Columbus

Buffalo Paw Wet Hop Brown – 3.7% abv – collab with Monkey Paw/South Park made with Star B Glacier, Nugget and Neo Mexicanus

Star B Wet Hop Pale – 5.1% abv – with Star B Crystal, Cascade, Chinook and Southern Brewer

Fresh Mountain Crystal – 6% abv – with Star B Crsytal

Golden Nugget Wet Hop IPA – 6.2% abv – with Star B Nugget

CASK – Green Truck Wet Hop Double IPA with Star B Columbus in the Cask

Burning Beard/Nickel Room 101 with Star B Neo Mexicanus

This will be the largest gathering of our wet hop beers outside of the tasting room.

Over at West Coast Barbecue and Brew in La Mesa we will have My Way Wet Hop IPA, Green Truck Wet Hop Double IPA and Buffalo Paw Wet Hop Brown Ale on tap tonight.  The My Way and Green Truck are already flowing and the Buffalo Paw Brown will be tapped tonight to pair up with their Smoked Prime Rib dinner special.  Tomorrow night West Coast will be adding Golden Nugget Wet Hop IPA to the taps.

And if that was not enough happening this weekend, we will be pouring 3 beers plus our collaboration with Burning Beard at a beer dinner at O’Brien’s Pub in Kearny Mesa.  There were still a few tickets left as of yesterday for the dinner.  You can call the pub at 858-715-1745 to check on availability.

Looking Ahead

We still have 2 more wet hop beers in the fermenters – Ninja Tune Wet Hop IPA (based on our Ninja Boy IPA recipe) and The Last Star B Fighter Wet Hop IPA which is a mix from the last day of the hop harvest at Star B Ranch.

We will have more collaboration beers coming out in the next few weeks.  We just brewed Triple Mosaic IPA at Karl Strauss yesterday.  Our Ironfire collaboration that was brewed last year and barrel aged will be released in October under the name All. Oak. Everything.  It was barrel fermented, barrel aged and even the brewing water we used was soaked in barrels.  And for San Diego Beer Week we will have a Barrel Aged Blend with Brettanomyces and Star B Wet Hops coming out called WETtonmomyces.  Finally, December will see the release of our Belgian Barleywine brewed earlier this month at Fieldwork in Berkeley.  If that seems like I have been busy doing collaborations it is because I have been.

If you do come to Julian this weekend we will have beers on tap at the Apple Days Festival happening Saturday and Sunday at Menghini Winery.

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

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

I had to send out a quick email to update you on some fantastic specialty beers that will be hitting our taps this weekend.

When we open today at 11:30 am we will have kegs of Tom and Perry, Sour Apple Pie Ale, Ninja Boy IPA and Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrel Aged Constantine’s Russian Imperial Stout all on tap!  I expect all of these beers to be on tap through the long holiday weekend.

Tom and Perry is our collaboration with Julian Cider Works featuring pears grown on the brewery property.  It is a blend of Cider from our pears, local Golden Delicious apples and Mead made from high desert honey.  It is utterly delicious and dangerously drinkable despite being 10% alcohol.

Sour Apple Pie Ale is a blend of our regular Apple Pie Ale  with a one year barrel aged sour ale.  I have two sour barrels to blend into this year’s batches of Apple Pie Ale so we will be making much more of this beer in the fall and I hope to have a release weekend where we have it available to-go.  For now though, you will have to enjoy it in the tasting room.

Ninja Boy is our newest IPA brewed for the re-launch of the Ninja Boy comic book series at Comic-Con.  The beer is brewed with Flaked Rice and it is hopped with Sorachi Ace, Summit and Ekuanot hops.  The beer is very light in color with a dry finish and a unique spicy, citrus, herbal hop character.  It is the perfect warm weather IPA and it clocks in at a very drinkable 6.8% alcohol.

And that brings us to the big bad boy at the end of the list – Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrel Aged Constantine’s Russian Imperial Stout.  This massive stout was aged in the Heaven Hill barrels for over 6 months and picked up lots of big wood and Bourbon notes.  We blended it back with some non-barrel aged beer to create a stout that is perfectly nuanced with barrel aged flavors.  I do have a keg of this that will be served on nitrogen later this year.

Coming up next weekend we will be debuting our first ever Session IPA.  The beer is a collaboration with Kelsey McNair of North Park Beer Company.  We brewed a Double IPA together at North Park and I expect to have that on by Friday the 14th.  We will be doing a beer dinner at North Park Beer Company on Tuesday the 11th featuring both collaborations and 7 other Nickel Beers including Volcan IPA, Stonewall Stout and Pickel Weisse.  For details and tickets, please visit: http://www.northparkbeerco.com/npbc-events/2017/6/13/beer-dinner-no-2.

Holiday Weekend Hours

We will be CLOSED on Tuesday, July 4th but open extended hours on Monday, July 3rd.  Here are our hours for the long weekend:

Friday, 6/30 – 11:30 am to 8:30 pm
Saturday, 7/1 – 11 am to 8:30 pm
Sunday, 7/2 – 11 am to at least 7:30 pm and probably a little bit later
Monday, 7/3 – Noon to 7:30 pm
Tuesday, 7/4 – Closed
Wednesday, 7/5 – 2 pm to 7:30 pm

And though we will be closed on the 4th, we will have beer on tap at the American Legion Deep Pit BBQ from Noon to 4 pm after the 4th of July Parade.  The event is open to everyone, family friendly and will also feature live music.  The American Legion is right in town on Washington Street just north of the 4 way stop sign on Main Street.

That is your Nickel Beer News for now.  Have a fun and safe 4th of July!  We’ll see you soon for a tasty Julian brewed beer.  Cheers, Tom

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

What better way to celebrate a three day weekend than with a massive amount of hops?  We will have THREE Double IPAs on tap starting Friday including the new Fix It and Fugheddabouditt, a Double IPA version of the popular Fix It IPA brewed with Amarillo, Crystal and Simcoe hops (thanks to our Jersey born bartender Alli at O’Brien’s for the proper spelling!).  We’ll also have Hops to the Rescue, our charity beer for the Southern California Lupus Foundation and our last keg of Blue Truck, our 100% Columbus hopped DIPA.  All three beers will be on tap all weekend and available for growler fills.

And if that wasn’t enough hops for you, we will have a fantastic selection of IPAs as well including the new Tahoma IPA, Chinook IPA, Volcan IPA, Grapefruit Bighorn IPA and Banner Grade IPA.  For those into something less hoppy, we will still have a full range of beers including C.C. O’Neill’s Irish Red, Stonewall Stout and Tripp’s Tripel.  Jalapeno Gold will also be back on tap for this weekend.

We will be opening at our regular time on Saturday and Sunday at 11 am and then opening early on Monday at Noon for the holiday.  We’ll be open until at least 8:30 pm Friday and Saturday and we likely will be open a little later than our normal 7:30 pm on Sunday.

Food Delivery

The deli at Jack’s Grocery is now delivering food to Nickel Beer!  They have well made sandwiches – including a nice Philly Cheesesteak – along with an eclectic mix of other items including pizza by the slice and burritos.  You can get your meal delivered from 11:30 am to 3 pm on Friday and from 11 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday.  They will also be delivering from 12-3 pm on Monday for Memorial Day.  You can pay with cash or they can take a credit card over the phone when you order.  Just ask the bartender for the menu.

Looking Ahead

We will be doing one more Beer to the Rescue event for the Southern California Lupus Foundation on Thursday, June 1st at West Coast Barbecue and Brew in La Mesa.  Our Hops to the Rescue Double IPA will be on tap alongside Banner Grade IPA and Tahoma IPA.  This is the last of a very full schedule of Beer to the Rescue events.  You can see the full event list here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/beertotherescue/events/?ref=page_internal.

Next weekend Tom and Perry returns to the tap line up.  This is our collaboration with Julian Cider Works that features pear cider made from the pears grown at the brewery.  This 2016 harvest version clocks in at 10% alcohol so we are only serving it in 5 or 9 oz glasses.  Look for it on tap by Friday, June 2nd.

And in the very near future, Weekender Wheat will be back on tap.  Our annual summer Hefeweizen is always refreshing in these long, warmer days.  I expect it to be on tap no later than June 9th.

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

Hello Nickel Beer Fans!

I have some new beers and upcoming events to tell you about including two new beers on tap this weekend and a new collaboration on tap in the tasting room next weekend.  Tonight we have our Beer Dinner at Jeremy’s on the Hill at 6:45 pm.  Since it is Cinco de Mayo the entire menu is inspired by the cuisine of Mexico.  We will be pouring six beers including Jalapeno Gold, Take A Hike, Blue Truck Double IPA, Grapefruit Bighorn IPA, Irish Red and Tripp’s Tripel.  To make a reservation, please call Jeremy’s at 760-765-1587.

This weekend we have two new hoppy beers on tap.  The first is Hops to the Rescue Double IPA.  This beer was brewed as part of the Beer to the Rescue Campaign run by local beer writer Brandon Hernandez to benefit the Southern California Lupus Foundation.  Brandon and I collaborated on the Lion’s Blood Triple IPA last year and we decided to re-make the recipe into a much more drinkable 8% alcohol Double IPA.  The beer uses the same hops and grain ratios as the Lion’s Blood Triple IPA, just with the alcohol toned down.  The beer is full of hop flavor and aroma and finishes with a kiss of malt sweetness – to me it really does taste like the Lion’s Blood, just without the over the top alcohol.

The beer is on tap in the tasting room right now and we will be a few events with it as part of Beer to the Rescue.  Look for it at O’Brien’s on Thursday, May 18th and at West Coast Barbecue and Brew in La Mesa on Thursday, June 1st.  If you would like to see a complete list of all of the Beer to the Rescue events, check out: http://www.beertotherescue.org/.

Also new this weekend is the Banner Grade IPA.  This IPA was brewed with Simcoe and Mosaic hops and clocks in at 6.9% alcohol.  It will go on tap when we open today at 11:30 am.  The beer is light colored and dominated by hop flavor and aroma with solid bitterness.  These two hops play very well with each with the punch of Simcoe providing a nice base and the more fruity Mosaic really coming through in the aroma.

While I am talking about our beer line up, Devil’s Copper took a Bronze Medal at the San Diego International Beer Festival this past week.  This beer uses both malted rye and crystal rye malt to create a unique, peppery flavor balance with caramel malt and Centennial hop flavors.  The Devil’s Copper is one of our year round beers and you will be able to enjoy it at the upcoming Julian Dance in June featuring the band Nancarrow.  The event is put on by the Sons of the American Legion and all money raised goes back into the Julian community.  For more details on the bands and ticket info, please visit: http://juliandance.org/.

And in case you missed it, the Grapefruit Bighorn IPA was named West Coaster’s Beer of the Week two weeks ago.  You can read the write up here: http://www.westcoastersd.com/2017/04/21/beer-of-the-week-nickel-grapefruit-bighorn-ipa/.  We use locally grown grapefruit from Borrego and then zest and juice them into the beer.  The beer is on tap now and available for growler purchases.

We will have beer on tap in Ramona this Saturday, May 6th.  The Chamber of Commerce is organizing a Motorcycle Poker Run that finishes off with a beer garden featuring live music and BBQ.  You don’t have to go on the ride to get inside the beer garden, which opens at 1 pm.  We’ll have Back Country Gold and Take A Hike on tap alongside other east county/back country breweries.  For more info check out: http://www.ramonachamber.com/back-country-motorcycle-poker-run.

Anza Borrego Foundation Fundraiser

We are hosting a special 50th Anniversary edition of Hikes and Hops with the Anza Borrego Foundation – for whom the Bighorn IPA was created.  There are two components to the event, a hike in the Laguna Mountains followed by a reception at Nickel Beer.  Here is the write up from the ABF:

10 a.m.-2 p.m. Hike with us
3 p.m.-5 p.m. Hop with us

Enjoy a 5-mile, moderately strenuous hike with fellow Anza-Borrego enthusiasts at one of ABDSP’s higher elevations- Lucky 5 Ranch! Afterward, we will regroup at Nickel Beer Co. in Julian for a taste of our 50th Anniversary Bighorn IPA and a special Borrego Grapefruit IPA.

Don’t fancy an IPA? Don’t worry- there are plenty of others to choose from. Fill your belly with some hearty snacks and hang out on the outdoor patio with your hiking buds while you enjoy your suds!

Registration includes two 9oz pours, delicious snacks, a 50th-anniversary patch and tote bag, and one chance to win our limited edition vintage-inspired Park posters.
So join us on this hopped up Hikes and Hopes to help celebrate 50 years of supporting the Park we all love!

To register for the event, please go to: http://theabf.org/hopped-hikes-and-hops.

Looking Ahead

Next weekend we will tap a keg of our collaboration with Karl Strauss – Double Mosaic IPA.  This is a stronger version of the brewery’s amazing Mosaic Session IPA.  Our version follows the Mosaic recipe but cranks it up to 7.5% alcohol and increases the bitterness accordingly.  I could not be happier with the way this beer turned out.  It is on tap at the downtown Karl Strauss for sure and you might be able to find it at other locations around town.  We will be tapping a keg in the tasting room next Friday, May 12th that will be on all weekend.  You will also be able to find the beer at O’Brien’s and next Thursday, May 11th it will be on tap at West Coast Barbecue and Brew.

At the end of the month we will have a double version of the Fix It IPA coming on tap in time for Memorial Day weekend – it will be called Fix It and Fugheddaboudditt (thanks to Alli for the authentic Jersey spelling).  We are working on having a food vendor for Memorial Day weekend as well and I will certainly post up all updates on our Facebook page.  The brewery will be opening early on Monday, May 29th at Noon for the holiday.

Finally, our summer Hefeweizen, Weekender Wheat, will be returning in early June.  That is your Nickel Beer news for now.  We’ll see you soon for a great Julian brewed beer.  Cheers, Tom