Hello Beer Lovers!
This weekend (Friday-Sunday) is our big Bottle Bonanza with lots of rare beers that were left from the San Diego International Beer Festival at the county fair. We have about 70 new bottles from over a dozen different countries including Denmark, Norway, Japan, Scotland, England, Belgium, Holland, Canada and of course the USA. I have posted the list on line on our website in the news section. There are likely to be a few last minute additions to the list by Friday. So visit obrienspub.net and check it out.
Bottle Bonanza
We will be offering 10% off any import bottle to-go on Friday the 4th with an additional 10% off to-go bottles on Saturday and Sunday. All of the bottles will be 10% off to drink at the pub on Saturday and Sunday. I will have a few of the bottles available on Wednesday and Thursday – just check the draft board area to see what is available. Just don’t come by on Monday looking for the bottles – we will be closed for Labor Day. I have a full case of nearly all of the beers so I expect the vast majority of them to be around all weekend. And if you can’t stop by O’Brien’s, visit the Toronado in North Park where many of the same bottles will also be available. So if you missed the San Diego International Beer Festival, this is a great way to sample some of the great beer that was there.
Before the bottle madness gets under way, we will tap two casks for Thursday night, the 3rd. We will have Alpine Bad Boy double IPA and Pizza Port San Clemente Killer Dana double IPA both on tap at 5 pm. You can also check out the new Firestone Double Jack double IPA, Widmer Broken Halo IPA (only 2 kegs in San Diego and Weihenstephan Hefe Weiss all on tap. We are already on our third keg of the Avery Piglet Purgatory session IPA. If you haven’t tried it yet, this is a great 4.5% hoppy ale with plenty of flavor. Look for the Guinness 250th Anniversary stout to be on tap this weekend.
US Soccer
Saturday the 5th we will show our first USA soccer match as an official US Soccer Bar. The USA plays El Salvador at 5 pm in world cup qualifying. To help us get in the cheering mood, I will tap a keg of Ballast Point Sculpin IPA at 4:30 pm. The USA plays again on Wednesday the 9th at 4 pm against Trinidad and Tobago. I will find something special to tap for that game as well. So come drink great beer and cheer on the USA (El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago fans are kindly invited to visit Players just around the corner for the game).
Next Week
The pub will be CLOSED on Monday, September 7th for Labor Day so that all of our employees can enjoy the holiday. Enjoy some great local beer at home with a roaring BBQ. I am looking forward to finding out which rib rub best pairs up with dark rum for the holiday.
Thursday the 10th we will tap a cask of Poor Man’s IPA from Pizza Port Carlsbad. It will also be the opening night of the NFL season with Tennessee playing at Pittsburgh at 5:30 pm. Then we will feature 5 different draft beers from Pizza Port Carlsbad on Friday the 11th including Poor Man’s, Night Rider, Trigger Hoppy Belgo-IPA and two new IPAs – The Jetty, which will be the house IPA for the eventual Ocean Beach Pizza Port and a new IPA from brewer Noah Regnery at Pizza Port San Clemente. We might even be lucky enough to get a keg of Swami’s IPA from Pizza Port Solana Beach.
The following week, the Chargers open up regular season play against AFC West rivals the Raiders in Oakland at 7 pm on Monday the 14th. It is part of a Monday night double header that also features Buffalo v. New England. The league is kicking off the Monday night season with an old AFL double header as it celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the AFL. And we will have our great pitcher special during the games – $10 pitchers and $14 strong ale pitchers from 4:30 pm to close. Later in the week we will have a cask of Alpine Pure Hoppiness on Thursday the 17th.
Beer and Cheese
I have the sign up sheets out for our October Beer and Cheese Pairings with Taste Artisan Cheese and Gourmet Shop. As an bonus for those who sign up early, we are doing a drawing to have two lucky winners join us as we set the final pairings! It is a tough job of tasting more than a dozen beer and cheese combinations over several hours. If you sign up for either class by Labor Day, you will be entered into the drawing. The classes are Wednesday, October 7th at Taste in Hillcrest or Sunday, October 11th at O’Brien’s. Both classes will start at 6:30 pm and are $40.
Festival Time
The San Diego Festival of Beer is coming back to downtown on Friday, September 18th from 6-11 pm. The event features more than 50 breweries and live music on the streets of downtown. It is put on by the San Diego Professionals Against Cancer and 100% of the proceeds are donated to local cancer charities. If you are looking for a place to stay, the fest has partnered up with the W Hotel to provide a special room rate that includes tickets to the fest. For more info on the fest, visit www.sdbeerfest.org.
The Great American Beer Festival will be September 24, 25 and 26 in Denver, CO. Many of San Diego’s great breweries will be represented. Look for the winners list to be posted on line Saturday afternoon.
That is your good beer news for now. We’ll see you soon for a great bottled beer. Cheers, Tom