Reading has its perks!

Following this blog has its perks, because you are getting the first crack at some of the rarest beer to come to Vermont in months. I got in about 24 bottles of Sierra Nevada's Chico Estate Harvest, a wet-hop beer produced exclusively from Sierra Nevada's Chico hop field. We're offering this up to our most loyal beer aficionados first and we're limiting it to one per person just so that we can spread the love as much as possible. It's a 24oz bottle, and I'll tell you, it's not as inexpensive as the regular Harvests, but it's damn good! To get a bottle, you'll need to stop in and ask for either me, Jen or George.

Click here for more about the beer.

Cheers,
Jeff

It's Harvest time!

The pumpkin beers are already flowing and today we started to receive Harvest and Wet Hop beers! Harvest/Wet Hop beers are brewed once a year, right after the harvesting of this year's hop crop to showcase the freshest hop flavors and aromas possible. These beers have recently been dubbed Wet Hop to differentiate them from other "harvest" (small "h") beers that are simple fall amber ales. The term refers to the practice of using wet, un-dried hop flowers or cones in the brewing process. The hops are picked, overnighted to the brewery in refrigerated trucks, and the beer is brewed within about 24 hours to capture the most flavor. The process must happen rapidly because hops are fragile and succeptible to mold and rot if not handled properly (read as "dried quickly").
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My favorite example of the style arrived Friday:
+ Sierra Nevada Harvest Wet Hop Ale 24oz

Coming soon:
- Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Wet Hop 22oz

Other arrivals:
+ Southern Tier Harvest (a big, hoppy ESB) 6 pack
+ Ayinger Oktober Marzen 500mL
+ Sam Adams Coastel Wheat 6 pack

I love fall!
Cheers,
Jeff

Free Pint Glass Friday this week!

It's been a little while, but this week is going to be the next installment of "Free Pint Glass Friday!" Otter Creek will be helping us open our new tasting room and they'll be pouring some delicious samples of Otter Creek, Otter Imperial Series and Wolaver's! Join us this Friday (9/18) from 5pm - 8pm and get a free full-sized pint glass to take home with you.

And if that isn't awesome enough (it should be), we'll also be hosting our first liquor tasting on the same day! From 5:30pm - 7:30 you can sample 4 different liquors in a separate tasting area.

See you Friday!
Cheers,
Jeff

Return of the Griffin!

Finally! - McAuslan is back in Vermont after many years of being absent even though they're just across the border. No "Griffin" yet, but you might know their other beers better under the name of St-Ambroise. Just added:
+ St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout 4pk
+ St-Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale 4pk

And from our buddies at Rock Art, we're happy to stock their newest, the Pumpkin Imperial Spruce Stout! At 50 IBUs and 8% ABV, this is no headless horseman pumpkin beer. This is a true homage to pumpkin brewing in New England. It's not made to taste like mediocre pumpkin pie, with more spices added than malt, but rather the pumpkin is used for fermentable sugars and the beer can speak for it self. Oh, and did I mention the spruce tips used to add bitterness and aromatics? This is a pumpkin beer I can actually stand behind.

Cheers,
Jeff

Expanding the Bevy

Hey all! Sorry for my absence lately, I just moved into Burlington and have been without internet so almost two weeks - I know, right, how do I get by?

New in the beer room:
+ Cisco Brewers Captain Swain Extra Stout 22oz
And lot's of fall/pumpkin seasonals have arrived.

In other expansion news, we've started construction on our new isle and they're coming along swiftly! When that isle is finished we'll have a permanent home for hosting our free tastings as well as many many more wines and beers! Stop by and check it out, it's not hard to miss.

Cheers,
Jeff

Tax-Free and new brews

Hey all, just a reminder that the VT tax-free holiday applies to alcoholic beverages and you will save the 6% sales tax on any beer, wine and liquor purchases made today, Saturday, Aug. 22nd! Stop in and stock up for the rest of the summer barbecues, parties and general merriment.

New in this week:
+ Long Trail Imperial Porter 22oz
+ Harpoon "Leviathan" Saison Royale 4 pack
+ Shipyard Pumpkin-head
+ Otter Creek Oktoberfest
+ Wolaver's Pumpkin

Cheers,
Jeff

Back in stock!

Hey all, it's been about 6 months since these beers have been offered to us, but we snapped at the chance to bring some in. Enjoy (quickly) while they last. Hopefully we won't have to wait so long next time...

- Weihenstephaner Hefe and Lager 6pks
- Weihenstephaner Hefe, Dunkel, Kristallweiss, and Lager 500mL's
- Abbott Ale 4pk cans
- Wexford Irish Cream-style ale 4pk cans
- Old Speckled Hen 4 pack cans
- Tanner's Jack 6 packs

Sierra Nevada Torpedo is reportedly coming back in stock on Friday (8/21) and will be the last shipment before Labor Day. In other news, Merchant du Vin was out-of-stock on a few of their beers for our last order, resulting in a dearth of Rochefort, some Lindeman's Lambics flavors, and a few others. Hopefully we'll be getting a fill-in shipment and/or be offered more from the Rochefort line of beers in the near future. I've filed my request for these with the importer (Merchant du Vin) and you should too! Let them know Vermonters need their tasty(-iest) brews!

And in the "Rumor-Mill," I heard today from reliable sources that McAuslan (St. Ambroise) will be making a triumphant return to Vermont in the coming months.

Cheers,
Jeff