Hello Beer Fans!
There are a ton of great beers on tap right now at O’Brien’s. Tyson just tapped the Schlenkerla Oak Smoked Double Bock, which is one of my all time favorite beers. AleSmith My Bloody Valentine is on tap and coming on cask tonight – we also have our other Valentine’s Day beer, Craftsman Cabernale on, it is a great beer made with fresh cabernet grapes. You will also find Sculpin IPA, Nelson IPA, West Coast IPA, Idiot IPA, Mongo IPA and Hebrew Hop Manna for the hop head set. And we have two amazing Imperial Stouts on tap – Alpine Odin’s Raven and Grand Teton Black Cauldron. Read on for all of the other upcoming goodies.
Tonight, Thursday the 23rd, we will tap a cask of AleSmith My Bloody Valentine at 5 pm. Like many AleSmith casks, we only get one of these a year. This is a great deep red beer with loads of flavor. Friday the 24th we have a special treat as we will tap a keg of Pliny the Younger at 11 am. As soon as it blows we will tap a keg of Pliny the Elder. Friday night, Tyson will be adding some fantastic beers to the line up: Consecration (batch 12), Lost Abbey Deliverance, Lost Coast Double Trouble double IPA, Goose Island Matilda and Fish Tail 10 Squared. We will also be getting Alpine Pure Hoppiness back in stock on Friday, so look for it to be on tap over the weekend.
Next Week
Next week we have a rare Leap Day USA Soccer match at 11:30 am against Italy. The game is a friendly, but I still have a grudge against Italy from the 2006 World Cup when we were denied a win that would have seen us advance out of the group. We will replay the game that night at 6 pm for the work crowd.
Thursday, March 1st we will have a very unique cask of Idiot IPA from Coronado Brewing Company with roasted Habaneros at 5 pm. Friday night the 2nd, we will have a draft night with Coronado featuring Sweet Charlotte Cream Stout, Idiot IPA and Hoppy Daze, the brewery’s Belgo-IPA.
Beer Dinner
Our next beer dinner will be Sunday, March 11th with the Research and Development Chef from Karl Strauss Brewery, Corey Rapp. Corey is based out of the Sorrento Mesa location and he is an avid beer lover and O’Brien’s regular. Corey has picked an amazing line up of beers to pair with his food including 3 of his favorite Karl Strauss beers – Tripel, 23rd Anniversary Barrel Aged Old Ale and the award winning Two Tortugas Quadrupel. Among the other beers he picked out are Alpine Bad Boy, Green Flash Le Freak, Houblon Chouffe IPA and Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme.
It is going to be an amazing evening of food and beer with a great chef and beer lover. The dinner is already more than half sold out, so if you are interested in going, please sign up soon. The cost is $50 (cash only please) which is tax and tip inclusive. If you have never been to one of our beer dinners, you need to make a point to come to one. They are always amazing evenings.
Beer for Charity
What is better than drinking beer for charity? How about drinking Russian River Pliny the Younger for Charity? On Wednesday, March 7th we will tap a keg of Younger from 4 to 8 pm – but you must sign up at the pub to reserve a glass. The cost will be $10 and we will be donating all of the money raised to various animal charities including the San Diego Humane Society, California Wolf Center, Second Chance and Villa Lobos Pit Bull Rescue. Here is how it will work – stop by the pub and sign up for one or two of the 150 beer slots. You will then be guaranteed to get your glass of beer anytime between 4 and 8 pm so there will be no need to show up early or wait in line. On March 7th, just show up with your money – cash only – no cash, no beer. Any beer still left in the keg at 8 pm will then be open to the public, still at the same $10 price point for charity. Please do not call the pub to sign up as we will only be taking sign ups in person.
Looking Ahead
You can look forward to a cask of Port Mongo on Thursday, March 8th. We will tap a Ballast Point Sea Monster Stout to get ready for St. Patrick’s Day on Thursday, March 15th. You will be able to get Corned Beef and Cabbage on both Friday the 16th and Saturday the 17th at the pub.
The first of three Ciao! Travel Pub Trips to Belgium leaves next week. Look for updates about the upcoming April trip to the Zythos 24 Hour Beer Festival in next week’s email.
The final farewell San Diego Real Ale Festival will be at Pizza Port Carlsbad on Friday and Saturday, April 13th and 14th. When we started the festival there was not a single full time cask handle in all of San Diego County. Now there are dozens upon dozens around town. We set out to promote Real Ale and it has been a job well done. Help us celebrate our 15th and final Real Ale fest.
Julian Brewing Company
I am going to be doing the water run through in the brewery today and should be brewing tomorrow. You can follow all of the updates on our Facebook page – www.facebook.com/baileybbq. So our first beer, Bailey Pale Ale, should be released on Friday, March 9th. Our second beer will be a stout served on nitrogen. We have some great music shows coming up at the Bailey. Friday, March 2nd will be our Open Mic Night. Saturday, March 3rd is for you Rush fans with Rushed, a local Rush tribute band. Our beer release weekend we welcome the G String Daddies. And our St. Patrick’s Day party will be great with local rockers Left Hand Thread playing alternative rock. Stay up to date on all of the happenings in Julian by getting on our email list. Just reply to this email with the word Julian in the subject or body.
That is your good beer news for now. We’ll see you soon for a great beer. Cheers, Tom