We still have plenty of very cool gift packs available for those last minute Christmas gifts you’ve been procrastinating on. Most come with a nice stemmed glass and attractive packaging… these breweries do all the work for you! We currently have gift packs from Boulevard, St Feuillien, Duvel, Ommegang & Alaskan. Make the balance of your holiday shopping easy! And hey, while you’re here, pick up a little something for yourself, you deserve it. Happy holidays!
Free Tastings 6-8pm
TONIGHT! Thursday, December 18th
We’re always honored to host Christine Celis in the store, and this week she’ll be introducing the two new brewers at her new employer, Uncle Billy’s. The first is new head brewer Trevor Nearburg and the second is actually Christine’s daughter and new assistant brewer Daytona Celis. We’ll be sampling the two Uncle Billy’s beers that are in cans currently – the Humbucker Helles and Green Room IPA.
No tastings are scheduled for next week… enjoy the holiday with your loved ones!
New Beers This Week
Odell Woodcut #8 – Odell revisits their brewing roots with Woodcut No. 8, a Barleywine style ale aged in virgin oak barrels. The new oak creates a delicate crème brûlée character with hints of toasted coconut, vanilla and turbinado sugar and notes of dried fruit mingle with the rich malt. Each Woodcut offering is a truly limited edition beer with a unique flavor that comes from select hops, fine malted barley, and our brewers’ careful aging process. 10.3% ABV/Fort Collins, CO/Beer Advocate 86
Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans – Whole Madagascar vanilla beans impart a vanilla quality that melds perfectly with the malty, chocolaty, coffee-like characteristics of Stone’s Smoked Porter. Enjoy this exquisite brew on its own or paired with a variety of food. 5.9% ABV/Escondido, CA/Ratebeer 97
Brooklyn Black Ops (very limited) – Barrel-aged in Woodford Reserve bottles. A robust stout aged for four months in bourbon barrels, bottled flat, and re-fermented with Champagne yeast, creating big chocolate and coffee flavors with a rich underpinning of vanilla-like oak notes. 10.5% ABV/Brooklyn NY/Ratebeer 100
Stone Master of Disguise (very limited) – Cocoa and coffee beans impart roastiness sans darkening to this brew, while flaked oats provide an enveloping mouthfeel. The result is a stout that looks more like a blonde, but is a raven beauty at heart. 9.7% ABV/Escondido, CA/Ratebeer 93
Jester King Ambree – Slightly sweet & malty, but still dry & slightly funky as we expect from JK. Ambrée was inspired by the rustic farmhouse ales of French Flanders. 6.4% ABV/Austin, TX/Ratebeer 94
Ballast Point Even Keel* – Ten different malts and six different hops (Ahtanum, Cluster, and Spalt to name a few) combine to create this full-flavored Session IPA. This session ale is herbaceous with additional citrus aromas of lemon and grapefruit. 3.8% ABV/San Diego, CA/Ratebeer 93 *Arriving Friday
Ballast Point Indra Kunindra* – Brewed with madras curry, caynne pepper, cumin, toasted coconut, and kaffir lime leaf, Indra Kunindra is a 9% ABV stout brewed in collaboration with homebrewer Alex Tweet. It was brewed for Holiday Wine Cellar’s 46th Anniversary Homebrewers Competition. 7% ABV/San Diego, CA/Ratebeer 96 *Arriving Friday
Boulevard Imperial Stout* – Bouelvard’s Imperial Stout is an over-the-top riff on the style, with a huge grain bill featuring several kinds of malted barley, wheat, rye, oats, and spelt. Robust grain and coffee flavors are counterbalanced by date and plum notes from the Belgian yeast. 11% ABV/Kansas City, MO/Ratebeer 99 *Arriving Friday
Boulevard Last Splash* – Last Splash dips its toe into fresh hop flavor and aroma, employing wet Nugget hops straight from the field, along with Magnum, Cascade, Styrian Goldings, and Centennial. Delicate floral hop notes and a supporting dry bitterness are the result, balanced by a body of pale, pilsner, caramel, and Munich malts. 7% ABV/Kansas City, MO/Beer Advocate 83 *Arriving Friday
Epic Elder Brett* – Epic Brewing Company’s latest barrel-aged beer brings something new—wild yeast. This saison-brett golden ale is a collaboration ale with Crooked Stave Artisan Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado. Chad Yakobson, Brewmaster/Owner of Crooked Stave, is well known for his skill and knowledge in the brewing of sour and Brettanomyces driven beers. 8.8% ABV/Salt Lake City, UT/Ratebeer 98 *Arriving Friday
Smuttynose Big A IPA – Smuttynose’s latest release is a big, dank double IPA. Aggressively hopped all throughout the boil, primary & secondary fermentation, this one will leave hop lovers quite satisfied. Uses a mixture of Chinook, Nugget, and Sterling in the fermenters and whole leaf Centennial in the bright tank. 9.2% ABV/Hampton, NH/Ratebeer 99
Fuller’s 2013 Vintage Ale – First released in 1997, Fuller’s Vintage Ale is brewed in limited batches with each bottle being numbered. It can be enjoyed immediately, or Fuller’s recommends laying the beer down to enjoy when it peaks in 3 to 4 years and consume at cellar temperature. 8.5% ABV/London, England/Ratebeer 95
Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA – The blend of Cascade and Challenger hops combine to produce an abundance of fresh hop aroma that preludes a bitter-dry taste explosion. Crafted from nearly three centuries of brewing heritage at Scotland’s oldest independent brewery, this ale from Belhaven will have your taste buds tingling. 6.1% ABV/Dunbar, Scotland/Beer Advocate 84
Belhaven Scottish Ale – Malty and hoppy, delivering a sweet, smooth and creamy finish, Scottish Ale has a stunning ruby colour in the glass. 5.2% ABV/Dunbar, Scotland/Beer Advocate 86
Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball – A roasty, toasty, malty, hangover-halting beer. Especially formulated for when you wake up feelin’ like you need to shave your eyeballs to see the new day. 9.4% ABV/Petaluma, CA/Ratebeer 95
St Arnold Winter Stout – A creamy, full bodied sweet stout with a subtle chocolate and coffee flavors and a well balanced soft roastiness. Saint Arnold Winter Stout is loosely filtered to preserve a rich mouthfeel which is particularly satisfying during the colder months. 5.6% ABV/Houston, TX/Beer Advocate 83
Rahr Bourbon Barrel Winter Warmer – Rahr takes recently emptied barrels and refills them with their Winter Warmer English-Style Dark Ale. This is then aged for 10 weeks, resulting in a skillfully balanced, ambitious blend of dark malts and English hops, complimented by dark fruit, raisin and vanilla characteristics. The oak is very apparent, adding additional depth and complexity – yielding an ale that is large in personality. 9% ABV/Fort Worth, TX/Ratebeer 98
Southern Tier Choklat – The latest in the Southern Tier Blackwater series, Choklat is a huge 10% imperial stout brewed with bittersweet Belgian chocolate. This is one of Southern Tier’s most sought after annual releases. Super chocolatey & sweet, this is a great dessert beer. 10% ABV/Lakewood, NY/Ratebeer 100
Cedar Creek Gone A Rye Double IPA – A blend of Apollo, Bravo, Willamette, and 05256 hops creates a complex flavor profile that includes hints of peach, pear, citrus and pine. It is dry hopped with 20 lbs. of hops, yet the bitterness is balanced by the sweetness of the malt and spiciness of the rye. Extremely drinkable for a Double IPA. 8.8% ABV/Seven Points, TX/No ratings yet
Wasatch First One Down – This is a rich amber ale with caramel malt flavors and a large hop presence. Brewed with the finest Northwestern pale and caramel malts then generously hopped with Columbus and Amarillo hops. 7.1% ABV/Park City, UT/Ratebeer 93
Back in stock: Community Mosaic (bottled 12/10/14!), Ranger Creek Small Batch #9, Smuttynose Finestkind IPA, Mikkeller Santa’s Little Helper, To Ol Snowball Saison, Mikkeller To/From/Via, Oddwood Ales Saison, Hollows & Fentimans Ginger Beer & Odell Mountain Standard.
Weekend Tastings, 6-8pm
Friday
Smuttynose Big A IPA
Lakewood Temptress
Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball
One other random thing we’ll open up
Saturday
Community Mosaic IPA
St Arnold Winter Stout
Alaskan Winter Ale
One other random thing we’ll open up