that which is new and rare...again...

'eyyyyyyyyyyyyy,

OK, so one day I promise I will post with more regularity with things like tastings, product reviews, interviews, and all that jazz.  Unfortunately, ambition far exceeds spare time, especially when I'm moving to a new house this weekend!  But, in the interest of y'all folk, here's a quick list of the MANY new beers we received this week:

Lagunitas - Wilco Tango Foxtrot 22oz bombers and Imperial Red 6packs.  

Founders - nothing new but getting a limited amount of Double Trouble back in stock.  Remember to call ahead and place your pre-order for Kentucky Breakfast Stout which releases on March 15th.  2 bottle limit per person.

MacTarnahan's Spine Tingler 22oz, a belgian-style tripel from Oregon.

Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial and Weizen Bam, a brown ale made with cocoa and a wheat from our oak aging friends in the midwest.

Mikkeller - I mean...we got a LOT more Mikkeller back.  YAY!  Including, Black Hole, I Beat yoU, Invasion IPA, Hoppy Easter, Hop Burn High, Green Gold IPA, more Draft Bear, and more!

De Ranke Guldenberg, an extremely highly rated tripel.

Sierra Nevada CANS!!!!  12 packs of Pale Ale and 4 packs of Torpedo (which is fantastic).

Blue Point - a brewery from Long Island that's very popular back in NYC.  Bombers of Toasted Lager - their flagship, Pale Ale, and RastafaRYE.

There are also some great sales going on.  Moinette Brune - gets 90+ on RateBeer in both overall and style, De Koninck 4pks - Jason Alstrom says it's one he'd keep in his fridge, and Rogue XS 7 oz I2PA, McRogue, and YSB which are being discontinued.

There's lots more new stuff which I'll post once I'm able to price and put them on the floor.  Until then...

Cheers,
Evan G.

DFH @ FT&G = YUM IMHO

Greetings beer lovers!

The REAL Pliny...

...who is wise but not as delicious.

Sorry (again) for the long wait in between posts.  The wife - who did not like being referred to as Lady Lager!  needs a new nickname...  - and I just returned from San Fran and wine country where we sampled some of the finest wines in Sonoma and Napa, ate our faces off at Bouchon, and - yes - visited Russian River for a taste or three of the famed Pliny the Elder.  Well, listen up all ye who asketh after the Pliny and bemoan thine lack of access to the Pliny...Pliny is amazing; Pliny is wonderful; but Heady Topper is equally as amazing and delicious.  So while I was delighted to finally try the freshest Pliny possible, I was once again reminded how lucky I am to work in beer in Vermont!

Speaking of VT being awesome, I want to give some major love to Jeff and the folks at the Farmhouse who have an EPIC tap takeover coming up tomorrow starting at 5 pm - DOGFISH HEAD, 18 TAPS.  WHAAAA?!?!?!?!  We're talking 60, 90, Burton Baton, Hellhound, the new Ta Henket, BITCHES BREW (yup), and many more, not to mention some delicious sounding dinner selections like Winding Brook Farm Pork Loin with juniper Braised Jericho Settlers' Farm cabbage, 60 Minute Fish & Chips with preserved lemon, and a beer float!  YUM!!!!  I'm heading there as soon as we close the store tomorrow so feel free to belly up at the bar with your boy.  Kudos, El Jefe - this looks delightful.

Speaking of DFH, we rode the FT&G wave and snagged ourselves a couple of specialty 5 gallon kegs, Burton Baton and Shelter Pale Ale for delivery soon, the former being amazing, the latter being something I don't recall seeing in the general market for some time.  BB is $175 and Shelter is $99 - email thebevy802@gmail.com to reserve!


Speaking of...speaking of beer, I had an epic session with some friends and some of the boys of the Bevie - Oliver, Dave, and our sadly departing Nick, a long-time fixture who is leaving our northern mountains for the sun and slack of California.  I've greatly enjoyed my brief time hanging with Nick and we're all sad to see him go:(  But he's going on a high note, 'cause check this sh*t out!

Don't try this at home.  We're professionals.

What?  Yeah, that's a Pliny and a Goose Island Matilda.  Heady Topper AND Chinooker'd?!  Yup.  You scared that we broke out the Rochefort 10?!  You should be.  But for realsies, it was a large group of people all sampling beers in moderation, as we of course always recommend when it comes to alcohol.  Wait, what's that hidden in the back?  The new Clown Shoes Vampire Slayer?!  YES!  It was delicious, as was the Sierra Bigfoot 2010, BBC Good Night Irene, Epic Armageddon IPA, Jolly Pumpkin Luciernga, White Birch Hop Session, Lawson's Red and Double Sunshine.  Yeah.  It was awesome.

So now that me and the mrs. are back, I'm hoping to do some more streamlined sampling for 2012.  We'll see how that goes:)  For now, I'm super psyched about the great beers we've gotten in recently which we've posted on Facebook and Twitter.  And we're looking forward to Dogfish's T'weason, their gluten-free beer, and Lagunitas in the not-too-distant future.  I've been told that Lagunitas Holiday Leftovers, formerly Lagunitas Sucks, is coming, and if you haven't tried Lagunitas Sucks then you should be darn excited.

More to come!  And as always, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the blog, please either post a comment or email me at thebevy802@gmail.com.

Thanks y'all!
Evan G.

Vintage, Cask Aged, and LOTS of New!

HOLY-it's-raining-beer-batman-COW! I spent most of my day pricing, organizing and putting up brand new goodies, some of which are super rare. We received a whole slew of back-vintage J.W. Lee's Harvest and Cask beers and are the only retail store in Vermont that has any! Tasty (and supremely ageable) brews!

Exclusives:
J.W. Lee's -
+ Harvest Vintages 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, & 2008
+ Lagavulin Cask Vintages 2005, 2007 & 2008
+ Port Cask Vintages 2005, 2007 & 2008
+ Sherry Cask Vintages 2005, 2007 & 2008
+ Calvados Cask Vintages 2006 & 2008

New Additions:
+ Beer Here "Dark Hops" Hoppy Black Ale (Denmark)
+ Mikkeller Tomahawk Single Hop (Denmark, brewed at De Proef))
+ Mikkeller Amarillo Single Hop (Denmark, brewed at De Proef)
+ Mahr's Pilsner (Germany)

Restocks & New Vintage:
- Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine 2010
- Jolly Pumpkin La Roja, Oro, Blanca and Bam 750mL's
- Spezial Rauchbier (Germany)
- Dieu du Ciel Peche Mortel
- De Ranke XX Bitter

Enjoy the goodness that is beer!
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

Next in line

The closeouts are going fast, so don't miss out! The Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca has a "B+" on Beeradvocate.com and a "90%" on ratebeer.com...a super tasty Belgian white for warm days (like this weekend)!

Added to the Beer shelves this week:
+ Widmer Brothers Brewing "Drifter" Pale Ale 6 packs
+ Guinness "250th Anniversary" Stout
+ Magic Hat #9 bombers (22oz) - they're back!

Cheers,
Jeff

Closeouts and new beer and Tax Increase Update

Once again, back to offer you some great deals! We just got a shipment of Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca 6 packs and Rogue Ales "Yellow Snow IPA" 5 liter mini-kegs and we're offering them both at huge price reductions! The price is too good to put online (I know, I hate it when people say that), but the mini-kegs were previously $42 and they are now significantly less than half that! You won't want to miss out on this!

Also added to the beer room today:
+ Chang Beer (Thailand)
+ St. Louis Lambics are now available in a 11.7oz package

I also got an update on the Senate proposed Tax increase today from Jim at VGA. He wrote:
" The tax bill is H.442. The Senate Finance Committee is considering the FMB tax increase as part of that bill. They also starting looking at a cigarette tax and spirits tax hike yesterday. They may vote something out this week....The spirit proposal is to increase the tax from 25% to 35%. The cigarette is a 25 cent increase per pack and there is also an other tobacco products tax."

Please consider writing to the list of Senators in my previous post and urge them not to raise taxes on Liquor, Beer, Specialty Beer or FMBs.

Cheers,
Jeff

New Beers after Trattoria Delia

Feliz dia de los muertos! I'm just getting home from having a great dinner at Trattoria Delia with Giuseppe Mazzocolin, the General Manager of Fattoria di Felsina (named Winery of the Year 2008 by Gambero Rosso) - what a great time! Giuseppe's wines are beautifully crafted, and modestly priced. And if you've never been there, to Tratt that is, you absolutely must go. It's perhaps the best restaurant in the Greater Burlington area, bar none! Chef/Owner Tom Delia's menu is stellar and his staff is highly versed in both traditional Italian cuisine and their lengthy list of prized wines. I highly recommend having the wood-grilled fish of the day- perfectly cooked, every time! Their grill chef, who's name unfortunately escapes me at this moment, nails it. Salut!

And as I sip my Rogue Dead Guy Ale, a nod to the peaceful dead bottles we left empty at Tratt, here's a quick list of new beers:
+ Nørrebro Brynghus North Bridge Extreme IPA (Denmark) 600mL
+ Nørrebro Brynghus La Grangja Espresso Stout (Denmark) 600mL
+ Allagash Interlude 2008 750mL cork finish

Making their grand return this week:
+Jolly Pumpkin La Roja 750mL and Oro de Calabaza 750mL
+Sierra Nevada Celebration 2008

And have I mentioned the fact that on the Liquor Store side we still have inventory of Brooklyn Monster Barleywine Ale 2007!?! It's been gracefully ageing in our warehouse over the past year, and man is it drinking well! The VT DLC is selling it for $1.50/12oz! A steal! How often do you get offered a vintage beer for that cheap that is already on it's way to maturity?