In order to celebrate 19 years since the opening of O’Brien’s Pub, and 10 years of Tom and Lindsey Nickel owning it, local breweries Societe and Alpine have both crafted special anniversary beers that will debut at the Kearny Mesa bar/restaurant this week.
“I wanted each brewery to make a beer that was outside of the existing line up each had,” said Tom Nickel in one of his typically jam-packed newsletters. “Societe makes great beers, but nothing under 6%, so they are brewing 10/19 O’Brien’s Anniversary Ale, a sessionable hoppy ale made with 100% Chinook hops. And Alpine makes amazing IPAs, but nothing in the tweener range of IPA and Double IPA between 7 and 8%. So Shawn has made 19/10 O’Brien’s Anniversary Ale, a 7.4% strong IPA that is 100% hopped with Columbus.”
Societe’s creation goes on tap Tuesday the 15th no later than 5 p.m. Alpine’s ale comes out Friday the 18th at lunch. Nickel believes there’s enough of each beer to last through the second half of the month. West Coast BBQ & Brew in La Mesa, which celebrates its one-year anniversary in February, will also see several O’Brien’s anniversary kegs grace its taps.
Looking ahead, O’Brien’s celebrates Russian River ‘TION’ Weekend starting on Friday, with 15-20 full-size kegs expected from the popular Northern California brewery.