Latest reviews from Julian

“Visited on Sunday 23rd July 2023 with Margie, our two grandchildren, Matt and Sarah-Jane, lunchtime (BBQ food mostly, very good). Two four beer flights were had by me. The actual place is three different barn like buildings half-joined together with a patio at the rear and porches in front. Beers were in good order and we all enjoyed or visit, Julian is a right little tourist town.“

BlackHaddock 314 days ago

“Visited on Saturday 22nd July 2023 after booking into our accommodation. Three tasting rooms in one, Beer, Cider and a Wine & Chocolate room. The whole complex is contained in a large barn with the beer bar in an old 'Cooler', all very 'homey' and American Country Bumpkin like. I had two flights of four beers and the family had a couple of cider flights and a bottle of wine. Our hotel/motel was 50 yards down the road!“

BlackHaddock 314 days ago

“Visited on Sunday afternoon, 23rd July 2023. Margie, our two granddaughters and Matt/Sarah-Jane, Matt drove. Strange little set up, husband and wife team I believe. Shack like building with more room outside than in, large patio with covered and open seating, spray mist system for really hot weather. Small games room and a main bar area. Guest beers on tap as well as their own, no samples but cheap flights. I am afraid I didn't take to their beers at all. Don't like to hit the small guys, but each beer I had (8 of them) all seemed 'weird' and had an 'off-taste'. The place it's self is cool though. No food.“

BlackHaddock 314 days ago

“Visited February 2023. Stopped in on our way back to San Diego. The place is right off the highway, so pretty easy to get to. Inside is kind of a plain industrial feeling space. They do have a lot of firefighter memorabilia here which can be interesting. A single bartender on a Monday afternoon. We tried a flight of everything. There were about a dozen ciders on tap. Everything was just okay. I had high hopes, but maybe my tastes have changed since I last drank their ciders. Still worth a stop if you're in town.“

brokensail 428 days ago

“Visited February 2023. Stopped in on our way out to Anza Borrego for President's Day weekend. On the way out of town and out to the desert, but pretty much on the main road. Small inside space where they have a small bar where you order and a room off to the side. Most people seemed to be hanging out on the patio area outside, which is where we ended up. Same owners as O'Brien's, so you can often Nickel beers there, and they use the same glassware and muffin tins for the beers and flights. Was hoping the beers would be good, but it seemed to be very hit or miss. Some beers were quite nice, others not good at all, and some just mediocre. I guess par for the course. They do have a lot of beers, but a ton of them are IPA/pale ale, as is so common now. But you can at least get some variety here. Worth a stop if you're already up in Julian or heading to the desert, but I wouldn't make a trip all the way out here just for the brewery.“

brokensail 431 days ago

“A small, quaint brewery in a sleepy "mountain" town near San Diego. There is a decent sized outdoor area with tables and games and a smaller indoor area next to the brew equipment. The service was friendly and efficient. The beers were good, with about 16 house beers on tap.“

BeerandBlues2 2243 days ago

“Small place, just a bar inside and the tiny Brewhouse/cellar area, with a nice outdoor patio. It's in the hills north of San Diego, so the weather is nice and you probably want to sit outside anyway. A fairly impressive selection considering the lack of space, but lots of fresh hop stuff from local farms when I went, and a solid base of traditional and new styles. If you are in Julian for apples, pie, or sightseeing, and want some decent beer, this is a fun stop.“

jbruner 2425 days ago

“Un refuge avec une saveur "gold rush" dû à la région. Les bières houblonnées sont particulièrement mémorables et la qualité générale est au niveau des standards Californien. Un incontournable reculé dans la même catégorie qu’Alpine et Chuckalek.“

Marheb 3199 days ago

“Un genre de complexe multifonctions avec un salon rustique de dégustation. Les produits sont intéressants et le staff lumineux. Un arrêt facile dans le coin.“

Marheb 3199 days ago

“Visited September 6, 2014.

This is a really cool spot up in the hills with a patio area that looks out over the valley. They don’t do food here unfortunately but they have some suggestions for local places that will deliver, not that you’ll have cell reception here anyway. It’s a nice little bar with some local characters. The bartender was an interesting mix of Irish, mountain folk, and diehard Packer fan. There is a little game room of sorts next to the bar with a foosball table and a dart board.

The brewery is a small 5ish bbl brewery located in the back. They had 12 beers on during my visit which is perfect since they do flights of 6. Unfortunately a couple of them were smoked but there were some good ones too. At least 4 of the 12 were hoppy beers. Also, the cask was pretty bad. Someone needs to explain to them that "room temperature" really means "cellar temperature". That cask was hot and hurt to drink. No thanks.

Cool place over all and I would stop back in if in the area again.“

t0rin0 3554 days ago

“Visited September 6, 2014.

First stop of the day. I don’t understand the hate in the other rating. Yes, there are only a handful of potential ticks here and maybe it’s not the best cider in the world but 1) it’s not terrible and 2) it’s actually a pretty cool spot. It’s up in the mountains which is pretty cool to begin with but it’s in a market that has food, a winery tasting room, and various trinkets and souvenirs. So it’s touristy but it’s got that old west / pioneer theme going on. Actually a nice place to hang out for a half hour to get out of the heat. Also, you can try talking to the person at the counter instead of just blowing through the ticks and leaving. All the wood they’ve used to decorate the place is reclaimed as are some of the fixtures. There was plenty to hear about in regards to the town and I also learned a bit about their cider (more on that later in the rating).

The tasting flight is $4 for 4 tasters. They sell bottles of the first three. The one that they don’t sell bottles of was probably my favorite and that was the raspberry. Next door they have a small store with some bottles and other stuff. I didn’t buy anything, just tasters. Also of note: they brew in Oregon. I’m guessing that is the equivalent to Hermitage in San Jose to the cider world. Or maybe they have their own brewery in Oregon and they decided to name it after the little California town of Julian... Also, for whatever reason they ship cherries over from Connecticut for the cherry cider. The rest of the fruit is grown in Oregon. Some other facts about the cider; all of them have the same apple base, just with different fruits added on top, and they’ve planted an orchard locally in Julian that they plan on using soon.

Overall a worthy stop once, especially for the scenery, but you can get their stuff pretty much anywhere in California.“

t0rin0 3554 days ago

“> High quality beer in an amazing outdoor setting is truly California’s answer to Arizona Wilderness ;)

>> Not even a mile from Julian’s ’town center’ is a small building right off the side of the road with "Nickel Beer" painted on the side of the building. Around 5-6 parking spaces. Interior is small, quaint, cozy with standing room only but outside is a large patio with picnic table seating. Around 12 house beers available, all are allowed growler fills and tasters. Tasters come in big 5oz tumblers organized on a cookie baking tray, $2 each. Growlers were $15-19 a fill. They will fill other brewery’s growlers as long as 32oz or 64oz standard glass. Staff was very friendly, the brewer even came out to pour some pints for people. Beer quality was high with most of their beers having some sort of smoked character either intentionally or not. Only a few beers were duds- the rest were worth the trip. Loved the ambiance. The word is out on the place and it was quite lively. Will be back for sure. “

GT 3696 days ago

“Yes, you can actually visit this place. It is in a small, quaint side of the side local crafts store type area. Inside that larger barn in a little Julian Hard Cider kiosk of sorts. One guy is full time there working and was very amiable and answered a lot of questions about the cider and the company. They only make three ciders, and all were on tap for tasters, $1 per very small plastic taster. And all bottles were to go though they had sold out of the normal cider. Anyway, this area has a very small wine and beer bottle shop that is too small to add to ratebeer called Country Cellars or something. I’m not sure I’d recommend stopping here because there isn’t anything here you can’t find elsewhere since they now are somehow internationally distributed.“

GT 3920 days ago