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.

Lagunitas

Yoooooooo peoples,

Lagunitas is HERE!  And it went like gangbusters.  Six different six-packs and three 22oz bombers.  The big winner = Lagunitas Sucks, which some of you know was the beer I was pushing for like it was nobody's business.  Sucks is the DIPA that Lagunitas brewed in lieu of Brown Shugga as B.S. is not cheap to make.  But the funny thing is, Sucks turned out to be amazing.  We'll be getting more six-packs tomorrow along with the Pale Ale which we did not receive and re-stocks of everything else.  The Bevie crew loved Sumpin' - a lighter hoppy IPA - and their regular IPA which was super drinkable at 6+%.

Speaking of Bevie crew, another epic tasting, this time involving more people, which = more beer.  Some of the highlights - Peche Mortel from DDC, the aforementioned Lagunitas, Lawson's Chinooker'd, Old Rasputin.  Some of the infamous highlights - Dogfish 120 Minute (care of an out-of-state friend) and JW Lees Harvest from 2002.  Yes, 2002 - we drank it to see how long it actually aged properly.  The answer - not 10 years!!  Aged into a very dank and sickly sweet plum flavor.  As for 120 Min, well, just not sure about the hype - that is not easy to drink.

Alright, it's beddy time for me.  Come say hello this week and try some new brews!

Thanks,
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.