Bottled Brews from Around the Globe

Another tsunami of beer has flooded the shelves of the Beer Room! Some of these are among the most sought after, some the most expensive and some just down-right tasty! Lot's of limited items on this list:

Scotland:
+ BrewDog Atlantic IPA - 7 wooden barrels of Punk IPA were sent out into the Atlantic on a trawler, some strapped to the deck for the full "at sea" experience. The barrels were then blended and bottle conditioned . This is an experimental brew made to simulate the original English IPAs that traveled on the sea from England to India, aging and growing in character in those arduous and unusual conditions.
+ BrewDog/Mikkeller "Devine Rebel" - Barleywine ale, 1/4 of which is aged in Scotch barrels
+Inveralmond Lia Fail and BlackFriar

Belgium:
+ Scaldis Prestige de Nuits
+ Scaldis Noel
+ Cantillon Grand Cru, Organic Kriek and Classic Gueuze back in stock!

Norway:
+ Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast Stout

Canada:
+ Dieu du Ciel! Aphrodite (a.k.a. Aphrodisiaque)

Australia:
+ Coopers Vintage Strong Ale 2009

USA:
+ Ommegang Adoration Ale 2009
+ Allagash Fluxus 2009 (brewed with sweet potatoes and black pepper)

And probably some I forgot!
Cheers,
Jeff

VICTORY for ROCK ART!

I just received a very short message from Matt at Rock Art that reads:

"VICTORY !!

POWER TO THE PEOPLE
POWER BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE

THE VERMONSTER LIVES AS IT HAS SINCE 2006!

satement soon, matt."

Congrats to the Rock Art Team and thanks to all the many thousands and thousands who came out to support them in their struggle!

More to come soon!
Viva la Vermonster!
Jeff

Oh man! The Beer Gods have smiled on Vermont...

The flood gates opened today and lots of beautiful delicious beer poured into the Bevy! Tons of new things from all over Europe, Japan and the US. Some of these are among my favorites of all time:

Netherlands:
+ Koningshoeven "Le Trappe" (Trappist) Dubbel, Quad and Isid'or (special release)

Belgium:
+ De Dolle "Oerbier" (Love it!)
+ Bosteels "Deus" Brut des Flanders (methode champenoise Belgian ale)
+ Bosteels "Kwak"

Switzerland:
+ Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes (BFM) "Cuvée Alex le Rouge" 2008

Italy:
+ Birra del Borgo "Té"

England:
+ Meantime IPA, London Porter and Coffee Porter
+ Wye Valley "Dorothy Goodbody" Stout
+ J.W. Lee's "Moonraker"

Japan:
+ Hitachino Espresso Stout, Lacto Sweet Stout, "Japanese Classic Ale" (IPA aged in cedar casks), and "Real Ginger Brew"

USA:
+ Kennebec "Sledhead Red"
+ Iron City and IC Light
+ American and American Light
+ Augustiner

Oh man. Time to get to work!

Cheers and Viva la Vermonster!
Jeff

Greg Noonan of VPB has passed away

Greg Noonan
March --- 1951 - Oct. 11th 2009.

I was very saddened to read last night on BeerAdvocate that Greg Noonan, founder, owner and brewer of Vermont Pub & Brewery had passed away. Greg's talent and charisma has reached thousands of craft beer enthusiasts, not only through his skillful and balanced brewing style, but also through the many books he authored on homebrewing. Everyone who met him has a story to tell about how kind, patient and helpful he was.

If you have a story to tell in his honor, you can do so here, at the BeerAdvocate.com forum, or on Facebook.com.

I raise my glass to you Greg. Cheers forever!
Jeff

News about Rock Art spreading rapidly

The news media is going to work on this story as it spreads outside just the local papers! The Boston Globe ran a story this morning, the Burlington Free Press picked it up, and the Rutland Herald ran one as well. The Facebook group to support Rock Art has passed 774 members and grows by the minute.

Boston Globe
Rutland Herald
Burlington Free Press

Viva la Vermonster!

New beers, closeouts and more about Rock Art

First, newly added:
+ Sam Smith Yorkshire Stingo (strong ale aged in oak, brewed in 2008)

Closeout deals! All half the original price or less!
- Stoudt's Double IPA 6pk
- Stoudt's Abbey Ale 6pk
- Stoudt's Smooth Hoperator 6pk
- Stoudt's Heifer-in-Wheat 6pk
- Troubador Obscura (stout) and Blond 4 pk
- Wittekerke Wit 6pk
- Blue Moon Honey Moon 12 packs

As for Rock Art vs. Monster, WCAX went to Morrisville and Winooski to cover the story on tonight's 11pm news. If you missed it, you can see it at 6am Saturday morning.

I've been on the phone all day burning up my cell minutes talking to everyone who will listen and even a few people who won't about protecting Vermont Independent Businesses. More businesses are getting on-board and it's good to see that others are willing to stand with Matt and Renee.

Cheers and Viva la Vermonster!
Jeff

Monster Beverages suing Rock Art

It's time to stand up and help out a Vermont company! Rock Art Brewery, based in Morrisville, VT, was served a "cease and desist" order from Monster Energy, a brand owned by Hansen Natural Corporation, on Sept. 14th. The order stated that Rock Art's "The Vermonster" brand is in violation of Hansen's trademarks. The document emailed to Matt Nadeau, owner and brewer, says the "...use and registration of the Vermonster in connection with beer will undoubtably create a likelihood of confusion and/or dilute the distinctive quality of Hansen's Monster marks."

This suit is the result of Rock Art filing for a national trademark for the term "Vermonster." The term was trademarked in Vermont in 2006, but with Rock Art's growing national distribution, they were looking to protect their beer brand. Monster's lawyers claim that they filed suit to protect their current national trademarks, their brand image, and to protect consumers from being confused by the labeling. Now, I'm not an art critic, but I am a consumer, and I find very few, IF ANY, similarities between the black can marked with a vibrant green "M" and the brown bottle depicting Kokopelli.

Lawyers consulted have said that Rock Art will most likely win if the suit goes forward, but at the risk of sinking thousands of dollars into legal fees. Their choice is either to lay down and let the Giant Corporation take away their right to call their beer "Vermonster," a term of pride for locals, or fight tooth and nail in court, possibly loosing their shirts and brewery in the process.

We'll be doing our part to send a message to Hansen. Tonight we stripped our store of all Monster related products and advertising, clearing out their dedicated cooler door and removing signage and displays. We will side with our neighbors and help them in their struggle in any way possible.

We'll be welcoming Rock Art to Winooski in early November for a free tasting and to rally the troops against this monster of a beverage corporation. (I hope I don't get sued for using the term monster so many times!)

Cheers,
Jeff

For more:
Seven Days
Stowe Reporter
BeerAdvocate.com
Facebook.com

Vertical Epic is in!

Hey all, we got in a shipment of Stone beers today including:
+ Vertical Epic 09-09-09
+ Cali-Belgie
+ 13th Anniversary

We also restocked on:
- Sierra Nevada Harvest 2009
- (Brooklyn) Post-Road Pumpkin

More goodies and some sweet deals coming real-real soon.
Cheers,
Jeff

Rare keg and glasses

It's a rare-kind-a-week at the Bevy. We just scored a 5 gallon log of Stoudt's Double IPA! At around $15 a six-pack, this beer is no slouch. It has a B+ on BeerAdvocate.com from user reviews and an A from "The Bros," as well as a 96/100 from Ratebeer.com users! If you love IPA's and you have a home system, you don't want to miss out on this one.

In rare-glassware, we received a very limited amount of Spaten Oktoberfest Willy Becker .5L glasses. And since 'tis oktober, I pulled in some other German beer mugs - .5L dimple mugs from Erdinger and .5L "barrel" mugs from Spezial Rauchbier.

Prost!
Jeff

Lots of news!

Ok, got a rather info-packed update, so I'll keep it simple:

Additions:
+ Clipper City Heavy Seas (MD) "The Great Pumpkin" Imperial pumpkin ale 22oz
+ Yanjing Beer (China) 6 packs
+ Flying Dog (MD) K-9 Cruiser Winter Ale 6 packs (First time available in VT!)
+ Bud Light Golden Wheat 6 & 12 packs

News:
+ The "Vintage & Rare" beer cabinet is open for business and stocked with goodies! It's in the Beer Room just to the left. You'll need to ask for assistance getting these delightful goodies out, so don't be shy. More beers will be added in the coming months as more of our "beer-cave aged" selections mature and we get in more rare items.

+ We've solidifying plans with Rock Art (VT) and Sierra Nevada (CA) for free beer tastings in the coming months. We're also in talks with Southern Tier (NY). More info to follow soon.

+ We received more Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen Weisse! I think we bought the last of this year's release.

+ Thanks to your support Weihenstephaner (Germany) should be available regularly from the distributor according to a phone conversation I had recently with our rep. at Total Beverage Solutions (TBS).

Cheers,
Jeff