Saturday, February 25, 2012

that which is new and rare...

HELLLLLOOOOO!!!

It's been over two weeks since my last blog.  (Sorry!  I was in NYC!  I drank DFH World Wide Stout on draft.  And Bear Republic.  And Del Borgo.  And Coniston's Bluebird Bitter.  And Founders Breakfast Stout.  And...you get the picture.)  I'm here for a tossed salad of an update - I'm still playing catch-up so I only got the time to talk about what's new and fun in the store -

This is noble rot.
DFH gluten-free?!?!  YEAH!
Dogfish Head - Namaste is back, but more importantly, we have two new DFH offerings.  Tweason'Ale is DFH's highly anticipated gluten-free beer which is extremely limited.  Barley is replaced with a sorghum base and strawberry and buckwheat honey are added.  Noble Rot, what sounds like a new extreme in beers (and in DFH lore), is just under 50% fermentable sugars coming from grapes, 4,500 gallons of must...botrytis infected viognier-must goes into the hot wort and botrytis infected pinot gris is added after fermentation for aromatics.  French saison yeast will be used; pilsner malt; wheat malt...so without trying it, sounds like the flavor of the wine will be very pronounced.  Video online looks like a clear, crisp beer.  (FYI, noble rot is when wine grapes are infected by botrytis and picked at a very certain point to which the infection creates a concentrated wine.  Some are picked grape by grape!)  Very exciting!

Theoretical?  Yeah.  Delicious?  Quite so.
Mikkeller - they/he is back, ladies and gents.  It's been months since we've carried beers by Mr. Mikkeller Borg and I'm proud to have brought in some of his most interesting offerings, including Draft Bear - an imperial pilsner that's listed as "malt liquor", his Three Floyd collaboration "BooGoop," both Beer Geek and Beer Hop Breakfast, and last but not last, 1,000 IBU's which is very limited and extremely delicious.  1,000 (theoretical) IBU's lead to an extremely hazy and powerfully hoppy beer, but extremely drinkable at just over 9% ABV.

Anchorage - we are lucky to carry Gabe(owner/brewer/sole employee)'s beers and we finally have some more in, i.e. "Tide and Its Taker's."   A beer spiked with Brettanomyces and aged in French oak Chardonnay barrels which doesn't touch stainless steel until bottling.


What is an imperial cream ale?!?!?!
And why does he have four legs?!?!
Last but not least - Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero and Slumbrew's My Better Half.  A chocolate stout with ancho chile and an imperial cream ale.  (?!?!?!?!)     

OK, time for bed.  PEACE!

-Evan G.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Craft Beer Guild/Brooklyn/Super Bowl/Sixpoint Resin!

Hiya everybody,

Had a couple of great nights at the Farmhouse (as usual) with Jeff aka El Jefe.  Last week I hung out with the gentlemen from Craft Beer Guild, our newest beer distributor in Vermont.  These are the fine folks who first brought us Green Flash as well as many other fine breweries and most recently Lagunitas.  They had a fantastic tap-takeover last week at the Farmhouse which I highly recommend you check out if you haven't tried their beers already.  Some highlights -

Green Flash - I'm a huge fan of the brewery already and it was a treat to try the Imperial IPA on draft.  Nice, piney/citrusy hops mixed with a little booze.  Rayon Vert out of the bottle was also a treat - a mild sour that was refreshing and drinkable.  I would also have drank more Double Stout had I not been in an IPA mood.

Wachusett - the Larry was a big hit, huge pine and dank flavor.

Lagunitas - it was nice to have the IPA on draft which was as good as in bottle.  Very sessionable.

Sixpoint - Bengali Tiger is still an incredibly drinkable IPA.

Breckenridge - the Vanilla Porter has been a success already in the store and was equally as good in a bottle.  Not too heavy with a good vanilla flavor.

There were lots more, including Tetley's - a great English ale that we carry in a pub can w/ widget,  Corsendonk from Belgium which we carry in both 4-packs and 750 ml, and Moa, a great New Zealand brewery with a good selection of beer including their very sessionable Blanc.

Sorry folks, draft only:(
Last night I had the good fortune to catch the tail end of the Brooklyn Brewery tap-takeover where I sampled their Mary's Maple Porter, an excellent porter with a strong maple flavor that VT-ers will love, Cuvee Noir, and a 2007 Monster Ale which aged BEAUTIFULLY!  He also had some Black Chocolate Stout and if you want to get some in bottle, you better come soon, 'cause we got the last of it!  We've supported Brooklyn Brewery since they've come to VT.  In addition to their core products like Lager in 6-packs and 16 oz cans, we carry vintage Monster's dating back to 2009, Local 1 - a deliciously easy drinking Belgian golden ale, Local 2 (which is coming back soon), and Sorachi Ace, a buttery saison that put Brooklyn back on the map.

And like many of you, I heartily enjoyed the Super Bowl!  I had planned on writing a cheeky blog post about "football" while sampling some English beers but I got a little distracted planning a trip to NYC, so instead, I'll just tell you about my delicious beers;)  My wife and I sampled Moorhouse, another new brewery from the folks at Craft Beer Guild.  Moorhouse hails from Lancashire, England and has been pouring quality ales since the mid 19th-century.  The Blond Bitch and Pendle Witches Brew are both golden ales that use Fuggle hops thus having a more earthy quality than other lighter ales.  The English Owd Ale had the malty sweetness of a traditional English old ale, and the Black Cat, my favorite, was richly dark and smokey.

Before I head off to the Big Apple, here are some new and upcoming releases!

so small...so delicious
Sixpoint Resin just landed.  Who doesn't love a DIPA in a 12oz slim can?! 
Sierra Bigfoot 2012 is here.  You know it.  You love it.  You want to drink it now and age some for later.
Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero is coming very soon.  Yeah.  Chocolate Sombrero.  Chocolate malts and ancho chile.
 http://www.clownshoesbeer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CSombrero-e1328197174970.png
Wachusett Milk Stout - VT needs a good milk stout in a bottle and hopefully this one will come soon.
Founders - yes...Curmudgeon's Better Half...looking like next week.  PLEASE call and get on the waitlist if you haven't already.
And lastly, Lawson's Finest Triple Play will be coming in March!!!  Can't wait!!!

I'm off for a week.  See you next Thursday!!!

Warmest,
Evan G.