{"id":21623,"date":"2019-01-12T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2019-01-12T16:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=21623"},"modified":"2019-01-11T11:22:31","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T19:22:31","slug":"25-beers-for-25-years-at-obriens-pub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2019\/01\/12\/25-beers-for-25-years-at-obriens-pub\/","title":{"rendered":"25 Beers for 25 Years at O’Brien’s Pub"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Diegan Jim O\u2019Brien opened O\u2019Brien\u2019s Pub<\/a> in 1994 after taking over the location from a German deli named Ingrid\u2019s. He\u2019d been inspired to open a beer bar by a trip to Pioneer Square in Seattle, where he saw plenty of beer on tap and the locals loving it. Upon returning to San Diego and finalizing the deal for the Kearny Mesa spot, O\u2019Brien went to work. He replaced the deli cases with beer taps and painted the interior walls green, which made the place look like an Irish pub, and that\u2019s why he decided to use his own last name as the moniker.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien\u2019s Pub opened on January 3, 1994, a Monday, as a non-smoking bar at a time when it was still legal to smoke indoors. Back then, Kearny Mesa wasn\u2019t the hotspot for Asian cuisine like it is now, but parking was nearly as tough, O\u2019Brien admits. The first few years were a grind, but even with the loyal regulars \u201cwe were a neighborhood pub without a neighborhood,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jim O’Brien at Sierra Nevada Beer Camp for the 20th anniversary of O’Brien’s Pub in 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The opening day tap list was quite bold for the time, including barleywines Sierra Nevada Bigfoot and Anchor Old Foghorn Ale. In fact, most of the beers on tap at O\u2019Brien\u2019s in those early days came from Northern California. That slowly changed; Gina Marsaglia from Pizza Port Solana Beach came in to marvel at one of the few beer bars in San Diego, and soon Pizza Port\u2019s Swami\u2019s IPA made it onto the O\u2019Brien\u2019s tap list, and pub regulars were requesting more and more hoppy beer. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t get enough of Sierra Nevada\u2019s Celebration Ale,\u201d for example.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien now works in real estate but still tries to visit the pub a few times per month. The beer scene is much different these days: \u201cIf people wanted really good beer in San Diego, they pretty much had to come to me,\u201d he boasts.<\/p>\n

When he decided he wanted to move on from the pub, Tom Nickel, then director of brewing operations at Oggi\u2019s, was top of the list to take over. O\u2019Brien says Nickel only took a few hours to decide he\u2019d want to own the place after the proposition was made, and the transition became official in January 2003, while Nickel was still at Oggi\u2019s. 15 months later, he led the team that won three medals at the World Beer Cup, held at the Town and Country Resort in Mission Valley that year. Nickel was named top brewmaster, and the Oggi\u2019s team became world champion in the small brewing company category thanks to one gold medal (Sunset Amber), one silver (Caber Toss Wee Heavy), and one bronze (Black Magic Stout).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wee Heavy and Sunset Amber were both brewed by Jeff Bagby [of today\u2019s Bagby Beer Co.], but they only allowed one person\u2019s name on the trophy,\u201d says Nickel. \u201cIn truth, Jeff and I shared it, as we each won medals and neither of us would have won it without the other.\u201d In total, San Diegans won 11 medals that year.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Nickel continued to ramp up the selection at O’Brien’s, creating one of the first big bottle lists in San Diego, focusing on Belgian beers. \u201cOne of the best bottled beer lists in town was actually at Claim Jumper,\u201d Nickel says. \u201cAt the time, nobody knew what the hell Cantillon was; you could find it at BevMo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six years later, Tom Nickel asked Tyson Blake to become the general manager for O\u2019Brien\u2019s Pub. The two had met at San Diego Brewing Company, where Blake worked, in 2001. Or perhaps they met at O\u2019Brien\u2019s, or a Real Ale or Strong Ale Festival… the details are fuzzy, but they surely met over a few pints, and it was clear that their beer philosophies, and their personalities, were a match.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Tom Nickel and Tyson Blake. Photo by Tim Stahl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Blake accepted the position in 2010, a week before his oldest son, Max, was born. The timing felt right, but he was still nervous. \u201cIt was a big decision, we\u2019re about to have a kid, I had something secure, but now I\u2019m going into a brand new job at a place that I love.\u201d Here, Nickel interjects: \u201cAnd you don\u2019t want to screw that up!\u201d<\/p>\n

After several years of brewery collaborations and beer dinners at the pub, the twenty-fifth anniversary was finally on the horizon, and in September 2017 the idea \u201c25 Beers for 25 Years\u201d was born during a road trip to Fieldwork Brewing in Berkeley. \u201cIt was a great idea around two years ago, when I\u2019d been drinking,\u201d Nickel laughs. \u201cAnd now that we\u2019re having to coordinate the nitty gritty of brewing schedules, release schedules, some beers are blends, some we need artwork for, some are draft only… the good thing now is that more than half of them are already done, or they\u2019re blends of beers that are already existing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The beer releases will tie in with the monthly dinners, which are helmed by Blake. Many brews, like the collaboration with Jeff Bagby, have historical significance for Nickel and the pub. Case in point, for August, Colby Chandler from Ballast Point is re-brewing Crystal Pier, which was originally made for the second annual Pizza Port Strong Ale Festival in 1998 (an event which Nickel co-founded with Tomme Arthur); that beer became the genesis for Ballast Point Dorado Double IPA.<\/p>\n

In February, a special \u201cStein Bier\u201d will be on tap, made with granite rocks heated to 800 degrees, caramelizing the sugars in the wort. This beer was originally a collaboration between Nickel, Tomme Arthur, and former AleSmith owner Skip Virgilio, who\u2019s now brewmaster at Gravity Heights. Arthur later used the technique to brew Hot Rocks Lager at The Lost Abbey, while this specific iteration was crafted at Rouleur Brewing in Carlsbad. \u201cWhen Tomme and Skip talked about brewing the Blarneystone again for the Gravity Heights opening, they got me involved again,\u201d says Nickel.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Blarneystone brew at Rouleur Brewing. Photo by Tim Stahl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While there\u2019s still one brewery collaborator to be determined, you can bet they\u2019ll have a cool story to tell. \u201cWhat a Long, Strange Sip It\u2019s Been\u201d indeed. Update: Since printing, O’Brien’s has added Second Chance Beer Co. as brewery collaborator #25.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

2019 Beer Dinners<\/strong>
\nThe beer dinners at O\u2019Brien\u2019s are known for being decadent occasions best enjoyed with a ride-sharing app at the ready. This year, the pub is hosting two breweries per dinner, featuring ales (and ciders in the case of Scripps Ranch\u2019s Newtopia) specifically made for this celebration. Here is the tentative schedule for 2019, subject to change:<\/p>\n

SUNDAY, JANUARY 13: Alpine & Council
\nSUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10: Bitters Brothers & Gravity Heights
\nSUNDAY, MARCH 24: Kern & Ironfire
\nSUNDAY, APRIL 28: Silva & Rip Current
\nSUNDAY, MAY 19: Karl Strauss & South Park
\nSUNDAY, JUNE TBD: Newtopia Cyder & TBD
\nSUNDAY, JULY 21: Sierra Nevada & Beachwood
\nSUNDAY, AUGUST 18: Colby Chandler (Ballast Point) & Societe
\nSUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15: Burning Beard & Nickel
\nSUNDAY, OCTOBER 13: Russian River & Eric Rose (Hollister)
\nSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3: Barrelworks
\nSUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10: The Lost Abbey
\nSUNDAY, DECEMBER 15: Bagby & Fieldwork
\nTBD: Dinners w\/ Cascade & Second Chance Beer Co.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Diegan Jim O\u2019Brien opened O\u2019Brien\u2019s Pub in 1994 after taking over the location from a German deli named Ingrid\u2019s. He\u2019d been inspired to open a beer bar by a trip to Pioneer Square in Seattle, where he saw plenty of beer on tap and the locals loving it. Upon returning to San Diego and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[368,1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-beer-news","8":"category-san-diego-beer-beverage-news","9":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/OBriensTaps.jpg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1","wps_subtitle":"\"What a Long, Strange Sip It's Been\"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdtr4y-5CL","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}