Vintage Update

I know some of you really dig on vintage beers, so I thought I'd let you know of a couple verticals we have going on our shelves:

+ Stone Imperial Russian Stout 2008 12oz and 2009 22oz
+ Allagash Victor 2008 & 2009
+ Allagash Victoria 2008 & 2009

Enjoy the awesomeness that is a vertical tasting!
Cheers,
Jeff

Brewest News

Here's your weekend update in 25 ounces or less:

+ Stone (CA) Levitation 6 packs
+ Wittekerke (Belgium) White ale 6 pack bottles
+ Wittekerke Rosé (w/raspberries) 6 pack cans (yup, cans)
+ Petrus (Belgium) Oud Bruin 4 packs
+ Petrus Aged Pale Ale 11.2oz singles
+ Leute (Belgium) Bokbier 750mL

These are all brand new to the state and we are the first store to stock them! I'm a personal fan of the Petrus Oud Bruin. It's a sour brown ale and is wonderful if you're into gueuze, flemish sour ales, or lamics. I'm looking forward to trying the Aged Pale Ale which I presume will also be sour.

UPDATE: Petrus Aged Pale ale is awesome! Check out my review on BeerAdvocate.com.

And a SUPER-Sized goody:
+ Duvel 3 Liter!

Come and get it!
Cheers,
Jeff

Limited glassware

Howdy folks! Just wanted to tip you on some limited specialty glassware that we got in recently. Some of these are really hard to come by without going to the brewery, so don't hesitate!

+ Rock Art "Vermonster" tulip
+ Dogfish Head snifter
+ Harpoon "100 Barrel Series" gold-rimmed tulip
+ Erdinger .5L dimple stein
+ Piraat tulip

Drink in style!
Cheers,
Jeff

New Additions to the Collection

Another edition of "What we added to our Beer Room." It doesn't ever get old! I love having this much space to add beers, but I gotta say, we're running out of room! I keep saying we're going to have to start hanging the beer from the ceiling.

+ Pennichuck Chief's Imperial IPA 22oz
+ Stone 2009 Imperial Russian Stout 22oz
+ Allagash Confluence 2009 (Super Limited)
+ Allagash Victor 2009 (Brewed w/ Cabernet grapes instead of Pinot Noir)
+ Allagash Victoria 2009 (w/ Chardonnay grapes)
+ Gritty McDuff's "21" IPA 6 packs
+ Rogue Capt. Sig's Deadliest Ale 22oz (India Red Ale)

For the Allagash offerings, we've amassed some verticals, so I've put stickers on the vintages that aren't dated clearly on the labels. We've done this to provide you with an awesome opportunity to try multiple years of the same brew at different ages. We've got lots of other precious vintage goodies tucked away in our "Beer Cave" that we'll be releasing periodically starting later this year. I'll definately post on here when I re-release things.

Got more goodies coming next week! I'll let you know what shows up when it's in-house, but I'll give you a hint: it's from Belgium!

Cheers,
Jeff

Federal Excise Tax on Beer Could Triple!

I would just like to bring this to the attention of our beer drinking friends. I just read about it and wanted to share ASAP:

Action Alert - Federal Excise Tax on Beer Could Triple: Click to Read Article

Do your part!
Cheers,
Jeff

Memorial Day Hours

Hey all, just wanted to let you know that the store will be open 10am - 2pm on Monday, 5/25 (Memorial Day) and the Redemption Center will be closed all day. We want to get out there and enjoy the beautiful weather and celebrate with our friends and family, too, but we want to make sure you have the time to grab last minute party supplies!

Cheers,
Jeff

Newest arrivals

Ok, you know the drill. Here's the newest goodies:

+ Dogfish Head Immort Ale 4 packs
+ Dogfish Head Festina Peche 4 packs (a personal favorite!)
+ BrewDog Paradox Imperial Stout "Smokehead"
+ BrewDog Paradox "Macallan"
+ BrewDog Paradox "Springbank"
+ BrewDog Chaos Theory IPA
+ BrewDog Storm (Islay whisky cask aged IPA)
+ Smuttynose Maibock 22oz
+ Cisco Brewers "Summer of Lager" 22oz

If you buy some of these, post your thoughts, opinions, etc in the comments section! I'm always really curious what you all like and don't like.

Cheers,
Jeff

New, Super Limited and Closeout deals

Hooray! We just got in a small, but stellar shipment of new and exciting brews! Check these out:
+ Fantôme (Belgium) "Hiver" 750mL - Super limited!
+ Cantillon (Belg.) Gueuze and Kriek 750mL - Limited
+ Dieu du Ciel! (Montreal) Rigor Mortis Abt 12oz - Limited
+ Otter Creek Imperial IPA 22oz
+ Olde Burnside (CT) Dirty Penny growlers
+ Olde Burnside Ten Penny Ale growlers
+ Olde Burnside Ten Penny Ale Reserve swingtop bottles
+ Stoudt's Smooth Hoperator 6 packs
+ Kona Brewing 6 packs

We've also got HUGE deals on some closeout beers like Modelo Especial 12pks, Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca 6 packs, Corona 6 pack cans, Smirnoff Ice Light 12 packs, Stoudt's Winter Ale 6 packs (a robust porter), and Berkshire Brewing Co. Holidale 22oz (Barleywine ale).

Don't miss out! A lot of these won't even make it through the weekend.
Cheers,
Jeff

Craft Beers at The Tavern in Essex Jct.

I recently sat down with Chris Benjamin, Food & Beverage Director for The Tavern and Butler’s Restaurant at The Essex Resort, to discuss what role craft beer is playing in the N.E.C.I. restaurants. Since the beer laws changed last summer, The Tavern has added a slew of new world-class brews to their menu and has made some interesting and bold changes.

Of their eight taps, only one of them is a macro, four are dedicated to Vermont-made beers, one is a nitro-tap, and one is open for the “Beer of the Month.” This month’s beer is North Coast’s “Pranqster,” a Belgian-style golden ale. The draft tower is stacked with lots of great options right now: Stone IPA, Switchback, Trout River Rainbow Red, Harpoon UFO, Long Trail Ale, and one of my personal favorites, North Coast “Old Rasputin” Russian Imperial Stout…on the nitro-tap!

Chris said they made a decision about 3 months ago to replace Guinness with Old Rasputin on their nitrogen-pushed line, and have run with it since then. The change has not been welcomed by all, though. “We’ve gotten a lot of angry comment cards,” he said. Jess, one of their bartenders chimed in, “We’ve had people threaten to not come back until we put Guinness back on.”

It’s a hard call for a bar to make: Do we keep a beer on one of our limited taps because it’s high quality and a fantastic beer even though we could easily sell more of another, mass-marketed beer? No decision has been made at this point, but I would really recommend going out there and having some Rasputin soon - It’s almost a religious experience on nitro-draft.

Despite the controversy over that nitro-line, Chris says they’ve been doing really well with their new “Specialty Beer” bottled offerings. The American Craft beers in large format bottles have been outstripping the imports about 5 to 1. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale 24oz, Allagash White Ale 750mL and Stone Brewing Smoked Porter 22oz are big sellers.

To help educate and guide their customers with choosing which beer will pair best with their Asian Shrimp Tacos or Beef Bourguignon, The Tavern has developed a Specialty Beer Menu. The menu offers pictures of the beers, reviews, ratings from BeerAdvocate.com and RateBeer.com, as well as suggested pairings. Chris and his team are seriously dedicated to matching beverages and food. The Tavern and Butler’s Restaurant both offer a huge wine list, over 800 bottles, and the servers are trained to offer pairing suggestions, a skill that easily translated to their new craft beer portfolio.

Our conversation inevitably shifted to how the beers are handled, and Chris assured me that all their beer glasses are hand-washed by the bartenders to avoid soap residue. Currently, if you order a beer, “Drifter Pale Ale please!” you’ll be served a full pint. You can request a 12oz pour if you’re of the mind, but those are your options. On one hand, it’s great because I don’t think I’ve ever seen a full pint of Old Rasputin before, especially not for under $6! On the other hand, the pint is not a great vessel for fully enjoying the bouquet of Pranqster. We talked about adding specialty glassware to the bar, and Chris said he’s considering going in that direction.

And despite the huge success with beers like Switchback and Stone IPA, which has been on tap since the beer launched in Vermont over a year ago, Chris says there are lots of obstacles in this area. “The Burlington crowd is mostly a martini and mixed drink crowd. And with 800 wines,” it’s tough sometimes to get people to pay attention to the beer. He thinks some of this has to do with the competitive pricing in the Burlington area. In Montpelier, it would be no problem to charge upwards $6 for a pint of microbrew, but up here, people just won’t have it. Good for customers, hard on the business. And this is really what makes questions like “do we keep Old Rasputin even though Guinness would outsell it?” even harder.

So what can you do? Head out to The Tavern at The Essex Resort (formerly The Inn at Essex), and check out some of these great new brews! I highly recommend the Asian Shrimp Tacos paired with a pint of Stone IPA, or the Long Trail Ale Battered Fish & Chips with what else but a pint of Long Trail, and have a 12oz pour of Old Rasputin for dessert. Tell ‘em Jeff from The Bevy sent ya.

Cheers,
Jeff

The Tavern is operated by The New England Culinary Institute and is located inside The Essex Resort & Spa, 70 Essex Way, Essex Jct., VT 05452. Call (802)764-1489 for more information.