Six new San Diego beers are on the Bureau’s radar this weekend: three wet-hop beers from Nickel Beer Co. in Julian, a 16.2% barrel-aged stout from The Original 40 Brewing in North Park that releases tonight, Friday, Oct. 9, and two nitro fall beers from Green Cheek Beer Co. Every specimen below traces back to the brewery itself. Scan, pick, launch.
New San Diego beers, entry by entry
Nickel’s three wet-hop beers were all brewed with hops picked less than a day before brewing, according to the brewery’s newsletter as reported by JollyPint and San Diego Beer News’ Oct. 8 What’s Tapping list. Nickel’s own beer pages haven’t been updated for this season, so the details below come from that newsletter.
1. Green Truck Wet Hop Double IPA
Brewery: Nickel Beer Co., Julian | Style: wet-hop double IPA | ABV: 8% | When/where: on draft at the Julian tasting room, tapped by Oct. 2
Oregon-grown Amarillo. Owner Tom Nickel calls it “always one of my favorite brews off the year, this one is a real standout.”
2. High Country Wet Hop IPA
Brewery: Nickel Beer Co., Julian | Style: wet-hop IPA | ABV: 6.8% | When/where: on draft in Julian, tapped by Oct. 2
A wet-hop version of the house Volcan IPA, with Centennial, Columbus, Cascade and Chinook from High Country Hop Farms in Ramona, per JollyPint.
3. Golden Nugget Wet Hop Lager
Brewery: Nickel Beer Co., Julian | Style: wet-hop lager | ABV: 5.5% | When/where: on draft in Julian, tapped by Oct. 2
Ramona-grown Nugget and Chinook. The brewery says it has “some nice pepper and German-style hop spice,” per JollyPint.
4. Disk Crash
Brewery: The Original 40 Brewing, North Park | Style: rye whiskey barrel-aged pastry stout | ABV: 16.2% | When/where: releases today, Fri., Oct. 9, at 3117 University Ave., on draft and to go
The free release party runs 5-7 p.m. with a Q&A with head brewer Kyle Fjalstad, according to the brewery’s Eventbrite listing. The brewery’s own description: “an intensely sweet spirit-forward beer with flavor notes of molasses, chocolate, and clove.” The can art says it was aged 60 months in a Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey barrel. Fjalstad told San Diego Beer News it’s his first single-barrel release there, with no adjuncts.
5. Autumn Adventures
Brewery: Green Cheek Beer Co. | Style: nitro golden milk stout with Portola coffee and pumpkin spices | ABV: 7.8% | When/where: released Oct. 2 (canned Oct. 1); $19 per four-pack online; listed at Oceanside by San Diego Beer News
6. A Date with the Night
Brewery: Green Cheek Beer Co. | Style: nitro English-style dark mild | ABV: 4% | When/where: released Oct. 2 (canned Sept. 29); $16 per four-pack online; listed at Oceanside by San Diego Beer News
Orange-based Green Cheek, which has a location in Oceanside at 601 S. Coast Highway, lists both nitro beers in its online beer shop. San Diego Beer News lists both at Oceanside (Oct. 1, Oct. 8).
Before you launch
- Julian: Nickel’s tasting room on Hollow Glen Road is open 1-8 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, per Nickel’s hours page. Wet-hop beers don’t keep; see the Bureau’s report on hop degradation.
- North Park: the Disk Crash party runs 5-7 p.m. tonight. The brewery’s materials disagree on whether the keg taps at 5 or 6 p.m., so arrive early.
- Oceanside: call ahead before driving for the Green Cheek nitro beers, or check the online shop.
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