George and I don't agree, Vol. 1

This is the first of what will be a series of posts entitled, "George and I don't agree."

Because...

George and I don't agree...on beer.

George and Jen, as you know, are the dynamic duo that own the Beverage Warehouse.

George is an expert on many things, including beer.

George has strong opinions on beer.

So do I.

George's go-to beers err towards aggressive.

Mine toward balance.

George and I frequently argue about beer.

Hence the series, "George and I don't agree."

it's good to be the beer guy...

This week is about our favorite Lawson's Finest Liquids IPA that has been recently available to us via Sean Lawson, who might I add in the little I've known him seems like an extremely awesome guy - Sugarhouse IPA or Double Sunshine IPA.

George, he goes Sugarhouse IPA.  Sugarhouse packs an aggressive hop punch and a smooth mouthfeel with a slightly malty finish and nose, especially as it warms up.

Me, I love Double Sunshine IPA.  Bright, vibrant, hazy gold, with lots of citrusy and piney scents and flavors and a slightly creamier mouthfeel.

Both beers are exceptionally good with food, as I can attest to firsthand, sitting here with a microwave burrito and Stacy's Pita Chips.  (Full disclosure - my wife is out watching Twilight and I don't feel like cooking for one.  Let me assure you - I'm an excellent cook.  Don't judge me.)

Both beers are exceptional, of course.  And George and I heartily enjoy both beers and feel extremely lucky that Sean makes these beers available to us when he can.

The point of "George and I don't agree" is the conversation of beer.  

On any given day...well, pretty much any day, if you come into the store, there is a strong chance that George and I will be standing in the back arguing about beer.  Not what's bad and what's good - we know we're lucky to carry some of the best beer in the world.  But we do err towards different tastes, and the beauty of beer is to defend your taste.  You may not make a hop-head (*cough* George *cough*) agree with your style of choice, but you can damn well argue until your veins pop.  Which is half the fun...

Speaking of Lawson's Finest, we should have some Fayston's Maple Imperial Stout on Friday!  Some more new stuff coming down the pipeline - 

Barrell-aged Old Stock 2011 - coming asap!

Victory Dark Intrigue, the barrel-aged Storm King in 750ml which has been getting a lot of hype.  This should be arriving next week!

Cisco's Woods series.  Should be getting at least Monamoy Kriek and Lady of the Woods.  Possibly Dark Woods.

North Coast's Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin XIV.  This got pushed back but hopefully end of year.

Ommegang Seduction - formerly Chocolate Indulgence, coming soon.  A roasted ale. Belgian Chocolatier Callebut provides the chocolate, while Liefmans Cuvee Brut brings the cherries.  

Clown Shoes - two offerings.  Supa Hero, an IPA, and Vampire Slayer, an Imperial Russian Stout that online says it's 11% ABV but the distributor says will be bigger than Unidragon.

Anchorage - getting more Love Buzz and Bitter Monk soon!

Smuttynose S'muttonator - another one in the excellent Big Beer Series, this time a dopplebock.  

And more Mikkeller, plus Nogne O, Drie Fonteinen, Fantome, and much more...

...including Westvleteren.  Yes, Westvleteren.  

Hugs,

-e

musings about Stillwater Artisanal Ales

Could be wrong, but I don't believe Stillwater Artisanal Ales has been available in VT for that long.  Regardless, I'm devoting my second blog post to Stillwater because...they're amazing.

Or, better said, he's amazing.

Brian Strumke is, to quote NPR, one of about three people in the world who can legitimately call himself a gypsy brewer.  (Not 100% sure if that's accurate.  Mikkeller, Pretty Things, and Idle Hands are all gypsy brewers and that's just three off the top of my head.  But it's clearly a complement so we'll not nitpick.)  Strumke "travels from brewery to brewery, from Belgium to Baltimore" and uses his own recipes to create limited edition beers, hence the term gypsy brewer.  Meaning he's talented enough that brewers allow him into their house to brew.

His beers generally err towards that farmhouse style; rustic, depth of flavor, strong carbonation, lots of floral and vegetal notes, and so on.  (Makes sense since as his house-yeast is saison.)

We carry three as of now:

Autumnal - a ruddy, amber ale that feels like a blend of dunkle and saison; wheat-y, earthy, and dry.

Cellar Door - delicate, peppery white ale with a hint of sage.

Our Side - their collaboration with Mikkeller.  Probably one of the best saisons I've had this year.  Beautiful hazy orange body with a pillowy head of foam.  Light, drinkable, and easily paired with any food, especially poultry.  (Cough THANKSGIVING cough.)

We don't have a ton in stock and it's priced well, especially if you consider that you'd pay the same amount for a cheap bottle of wine which would likely not have the depth of flavor.  (Although we have some pretty awesome $10 and under wines ;)

You can find Stillwater's NPR interview, a great video on Brian, and more on his website, http://stillwaterales.blogspot.com/

hi everybody!

GREETINGS!

I'm absolutely delighted to (finally) have the chance to plop myself down and write my inaugural blog post for the Bevy B(eer)-Log!

First...yeah, sorry...it's taken a bit longer than I thought to do my first bit of blogging. My wife and I are still settling in after our big move from Brooklyn, NY. We're ridiculously excited to be here, getting to know everyone at the Farmhouse, American Flatbread, VT Pub, etc, etc...life in Chittenden County is good...

...and the beer is awesome! Speaking of which, some updates...

Our Twitter feed is live. Check us out @thebevy802 for up-to-date postings on what's new, what's available, what's out, deals and steals. Our Facebook page will also be updated regularly, and the B(eer)-log is here for musings, tastings, thoughts, brainfarts, and hopefully some guest bloggers, like our buddy and consultant, El Jefe.

Speaking of...um...beer...a ton of new, rare, or limited stuff has made its way into our doors, on our shelves, and hopefully into your beer caves. Some of the greatest hits:

Dogfish Faithfull - Dogfish Head's tribute to the 20th anny of Pearl Jam's "Ten." (Whew, that's a mouthful.) A belgian golden ale brewed with currant. Sold out, unfortunately, but we do also have the oft-unavailable Bitches Brew and Chicory Stout in stock right now as well as our favorite old standbys 60 and 90 Minutes, India Brown Ale, and this year's Olde School. Don't forget, we've been aging some Olde School in our beer cave - got some from '10 and I think '09. I had some '09 at the Farmhouse and lemme tell you...delicious. The alcohol is still very present but mellowed out in a way that's more cordial than super-hot barleywine.

Lawson's Finest Liquids - we've been super, super happy to be getting regular deliveries from Sean Lawson, including Sugarhouse IPA and Double Sunshine IPA. I've yet to crack into my stash but I had the former at Three Penny Taproom and the latter at Farmhouse and man...I'll just say, I'm so happy to live in VT.

Hill Farmstead - we were excited twice over for Shaun's delivery, for Arthur - his amazing saison - and for Grassroots Viola Sofia, their barrel aged imperial stout. Grassroots is Shaun's contract brewery in Denmark. While we sold out of Viola in just about an hour, we should be receiving Wachu, their saison.

And lastly, Stone - got both Vertical Epic 11/11/11 AND La Citrueille on the same day! This year's Vertical Epic is brewed with mild green Hatch chiles and cinnamon which I'm pretty psyched to try. La Citrueille is Stone's latest collaboration, and I was pretty darn excited about it given how much of a success they had with their recent collabs, Green Tea IPA and Cherry Chocolate Stout. Stone, along with The Bruery and Elysian, brewed a pumpkin beer. That's right, a pumpkin beer, pumpkins grown on Stone's farm, as well as yams, fenugreek, and birch bark. The result - an immensely drinkable autumnal beer that's recognizable to anyone who has had the pleasure of The Bruery's "Autumn Maple." I'm thoroughly enjoying this beer as I type - this pours a deep brown with a sweet, roasted smell, and some great depth of flavor. The roasted pumpkin and the yam come out nicely; the fenugreek adds that layer of flavor that you look for in a seasonal, and the birch adds just a tiny bit of smoke to balance it out.

So that's it for me tonight! Comment, go on our Facebook page, or email thebevy802@gmail.com with questions, comments, or thoughts. All feedback is welcome.

Warmest,

-e

Meet Evan!

We are very pleased to announce that we have a new Beer Aficionado on our staff, a man of no short pedigree, a man with liberal libation learnings: Evan!

Some of you may have met our dapper new Beer Buyer, but if you have not yet, please feel free to drop in and ask for him. Hailing from NYC, Evan is bringing an extensive knowledge set and new ideas to our collection. For instance, he's set us up with a Twitter account (@TheBevy802) to post rapid, mobile updates from the Beer Room and even while he's checking in new arrivals. Follow us for more updates!

We're looking forward to working with Evan and we hope you will stop by soon!
Cheers,
El Jefe

Lawsons Sugarhouse IPA

Received a small amount of Lawson's Finest Sugarhouse IPA....going fast!