New at Liquid Solutions

Hair of the Dog Fred From The Wood 2008: $7.55

While at HOD dropping off the auction check for Fred Fest, Alan had some Fred from the Wood he could sell me so I picked up some cases. This yearly brew is an oak aged version of his “Fred”. Light amber/golden in color. Massive sticky white head. It has a wonderful aroma of spicy hops, coriander, and sweet malt/honey. The flavor is jam packed with hops. Plenty of piney, lemony, spicy hop flavor and the hop bitterness to match. The malt does come through with a touch of caramel and candy sugar. The wood provides plenty of tobacco and vanilla along with the other massive flavors to make this already complex beer even more so.

Deschutes 20th Annv. Black Butte XX: $11.53

Hi everyone!!! I just got word that the Deschutes Brewery Reserve “Black Butte XX” is coming in very soon. I was given pricing and my allotment so I feel confident in putting up for sale without any major snafus. I know many of you have been patiently waiting so I wanted to get the item up as soon as I could. For those of you who do not know this is an extream version of their Black Butte Porter. These will not last long. Here is what the brewery has to say about it...... Black Butte XX is a tribute to Black Butte Porter, the revolutionary Deschutes Brewery beer that has excited beer enthusiasts since its release in 1988. This special Reserve Series brew is an extreme version of Black Butte Porter that the Deschutes brewers enhanced with several pounds Bellatazza coffee, Theo’s Chocolate cocoa nibs and by aging parts in Stranahan’s whiskey barrels. These regional partners from Bend, Seattle and Denver, respectively, each provide quality artisan ingredients that give this commemorative beer a truly handcrafted complexity.

Innstadt Original Edelsud: $3.74

Golden with a medium sudsy head that falls quickly. Up front the flavors are biscuit and pale malt with a finish of lightly spicy grassy hops. The bitterness it not big but is enough to cover for the up from malt.

Innstadt d Inn Staade: $4.02

This lightly amber lager has a nice head that sits well on the top. The aroma is malty with bread / cake quality. The flavor is malty like the aroma with an easy pear and spice flavor. Easy crisp and clean just like any good lager should be.

Track Town Triple Jump: $5.61

This Eugene City pale ale pours amber and golden with a thin head. The aroma is light and of flowers and oranges. It has a good bitterness for a pale. The mouth feel is a tad slick after the bitter start while the flavor is of lightly toasted malt and grassy and orange hops.

Track Town 200 Meter Ale: $5.61

This NW IPA pours orange with a big creamy head. The aroma is of citrus hop with a malty underpinning. The flavor has grapefruit and resinous hops and a pale and crystal malt to go along with it. One rock solid IPA.

Innstadt Doppelbock: $3.97

Light brown in color with amber around the edges its heads starts well but falls to a skinny layer. The aroma and flavor are match in that they both have qualities of nut, cake, smoke and a touch of raisin. Sweet but not sticky, tasty and easy to drink. Not the powerhouse like an Ayaniger but more tasty than a Paulaner.

Innstadt Bock Weisse: $3.74

This beautiful beer pours a clear red-orange with a ting of brown. The head starts big but does thin out. The aroma is bready with cloves and a hint of caramel. The flavor is sweet and fruity with doughy malt, aforementioned caramel and a tough of banana ester. The hops are there but not prominent, they give a nice bitter to wipe off the sweet but the banana comes back at the end and lingers just a while.

Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA: $5.80

I’m stoked about Ninkasi being available in bottles. It has been one of my staples on draft for some time. They are the epitome of the Northwest brew scene. Masterfully crafted hop driven beers with dimension and balance. If you enjoy the hoppy brews, you will not be disappointed. This 9.6% hop fest is a masterpiece of brewing. It pours light amber in color with a small cap of dense foam. The aroma is huge with orange hops and just a hint of malt sweetness. The flavor is also big on the orange hop profile but the malt brings in some chewy caramel without being overly sweet. The mouthfeel is smooth and has a medium body. This is one of my favorite double/Imperial IPAs.

Ninkasi Total Domination IPA: $4.24

I’m stoked about Ninkasi being available in bottles. It has been one of my staples on draft for some time. They are the epitome of the Northwest brew scene. Masterfully crafted hop driven beers with dimension and balance. If you enjoy the hoppy brews, you will not be disappointed. Hazy orange in color this hop driven brew pours with a small white head. The aroma is big and fruity, all hops with an orange, tropical and floral smell. The flavor has a fresh hoppy quality to it with orange rind, and some grapefruit along with some grassiness. There is a touch of caramel malt in there someplace but make no mistake, it is all about the hop.

Ninkasi Believer Double Red: $4.24

Dark amber / red in color, its aroma is hoppy upfront with toasted malts. The flavor is well bittered with a citrusy earthy hop. The malt is lightly of chocolate cake and bread. I’m a big fan of the Believer as it is aggressively flavored but well balanced malt to hops.

Ale Smith Horny Devil: $11.30

I absolutely loved this one, my favorite Alesmith so far. Amber orange in color with a fluffy white head. Honey and peachy esters waft off the top. The flavor is rather tropical with a spiciness from the coriander and alcohol. This baby just screams Belgian and at 11.5% it will warm you to the core.

Ale Smith Speedway Stout: $11.30

Man oh Man when AleSmith brews a beer they do not kid around. This Imperial Stout is something to behold. This 12% jet-black beauty has a nice thick body and lower (appropriate) carbonation level. The flavor is HUGE with big roasted malt and molasses with chocolate and toffee notes. The big fun is the coffee flavors which come from the pounds and pounds of Ryan Brothers’ coffee added to the brew. This is a stout that AleSmith should be very proud of and I’m pretty sure they are.

Dogfish Head Fort: $18.95

Leave it to Dogfish Head to make an 18% fruit beer. This HUGE on the raspberries. Start to finish it is all about the fruit with a spicy kick at the end. It could use a little aging to clamp down the heat at the end but it should smooth out nicely.

Dogfish Head Black and Blue: $13.68

This 10% brew is made with black Raspberries and blueberries. It pouts red with a small head. The aroma is berry sweet. The flavor is sweet and fruity with wine tones and a spicy alcohol hit. An aggressive fruit beer in many ways, just like you would expect from Dogfish Head.

Fantome Black Ghost: $15.16

Actually not “Black” at all but a dark red brown color. The head is bubbly with some nice lace. The aroma is fruity and has a mild brown caramel malting. The fruit comes off in the raspberry / blueberry range. There are earthy qualities in the back that are a touch flinty. The flavor is tart up front with a mid pallet that is spicy and almost savory in its character (pepper cumin). It finishes tart and dry with a lingering fruitiness.

Allagash Black: $14.74

This big roasty Belgian stout is made with torrified wheat, oats dark candy sugar and a Belgian yeast strain. This gives is a black color with brown highlights. The head is massive and rocky. The aroma is coffee and roasted barley in character. The flavor is toasty, chocolate, and brown yeasty bread. Very limited in supply so my apologies if we are out already.

Hale''s Aftermath Imperial: $4.25

This BIG IPA is packed with tons of flavor. The aroma is malty with herbal fruity hop presence. The flavor is unexpectedly low in bitterness but is nothing but loads of hop flavor with a hint of fruity ester. Not too sure what the alcohol is but it will certainly get you where you’re going. I have a limited supply this as their next seasonal (see above) has come on.

Full Sail SlipKnot IPA: $3.87

This years Slipknot lives up to its moniker of Imperial IPA and then some. It pours golden in color with a tint of copper. The brew was ampped up to 80 IBUs with Warrior, Simcoe, Crystal and Centennial hops. This gives is a powerful bitterness and a citrus/fruity hop flavor. Although they put in some Crystal and Munich malts into it to add some depth I can not say that is a truly BALANCED brew, but if you are a hophead of the highest order you will truly appreciate the skill and hard work John Harris put in to create this beauty.

Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA: $4.25

Copper / orange in color with a lean white head. The aroma is all of sweet Jasmine. The flavor is lightly floral bitter hop with sweet golden malt and grassy jasmine notes. Not as bitter and hoppy as most NW IPAs but the Jasmine aroma and flavor makes this one of the best flower beers there is.

Fonteinen Doesjel: $10.92

This oak aged Geuze pours a honey golden color. The head is small and fizzy. The aroma is pleasantly funky with tart acidity, cheesy, barnyard hay, with grainy malt. The flavor is tannic and oakey with Brett earthiness, musty and tart grapefruit rind.

Mikkeller Black: $17.36

Well…it’s black in color (yep) with a brown head. Aroma is big heavy roast malt and sweet chocolate. The flavor is sweet with fruit, licorice, pepper, chocolate and alcohol. This 17.5% monster imperial stout is quite a beer to behold and not to be taken lightly.

Terminal Gravity ESG: $1.71

Bright light golden in color this “Extra Special Golden” has a pale malt aroma with a light floral hop. The flavor is a touch malty and grainy up front with an easy hop bitterness and a tangerine and grass flavor.

Dieu du Ciel Derniere Volonte: $5.29

A dry hopped Belgian Pale style it pours a light golden color with a small white head. The aroma is of noble hops and dry pale malt. The flavor is of biscuit malt, yeasty bread and a nice floral hop bitterness.

Dieu du Ciel Rosee d''Hibuscus: $4.76

Fermented with Hibiscus flowers this beer pours pink with big white foamy head. Wheaty, tart, floral, with some spicy notes at the end. The tart Hibiscus makes this beer all sorts of tasty and fun but still a quality beer.

Dieu du Ciel Route des Epices: $4.76

This is one hell of a spiced rye beer. It pours a solid brown with orange edges. The head is tight but thin. The aroma is of brown bread and grassy hop. The flavor has that piquant rye character one would expect from a great rye beer and the spice of choice is pepper corns (Green and Black). The savory spice flavor kicks in mid palate and its heat comes in at the end and lingers.

Dieu du Ciel Peche Mortel: $5.71

If one is looking for an awesome coffee beer experience, you can not do better then the Peche Mortel. Speedway is an excelent stout with coffee but the Peche is an excelent coffee with stout. And at 9.5% is has enough power to age well and packs a good punch. Don't just take my word for it, check out what they have to say about it over at BeerAdvocate.com http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1141/10325/?ba=bros

Dieu du Ciel Corne du Diablo: $4.76

This IPA pours an amber / orange color with a thick white head. The aroma is of fruity and floral hops along with a touch of sweet malt and nut. The flavor starts appropriately bitter with fruity and citrus hop notes. The malt does not get in the way of the hops and comes through with a hint of caramel and nut. It is a rock solid IPA that is notched above the standard Cascade fest (if you know what I mean).

Fonteinen Hommage: $38.89

This is oak aged raspberry lambic. Hazy red in color with a small fizzy head. The aroma is tart raspberry with musty tones of leather, and earth. The flavor is lactic tart with nice woody vanilla tones from the oak. Dry raspberry fruit with medium body and gentle finish.

Seavey Cabernet Sauvignon: $94.00

LAST 12 BOTTLES OF THIS OUTSTANDING CAB RATED 94 POINTS BY ROBERT PARKER!!!

Dogfish Head Red and White: $13.68

This brew is a 10% Wit style brewed with Pinot Noir Juice, and aged in Pinot barrels and on oak staves. Red orange in color it pours with a white head. The aroma is big with cherry fruitiness. The flavor is sweet with vanilla, oak and orange peel. It has a mild bitter finish with an alcohol spiciness.

Hitachino XH Cask Ale: $5.82

This Japanese beer is an English “Strong” style ale that has been aged in sake casks. Yet another unique tasty brew from the boys at Kiuchi brewery. Amber brown in color with medium head that falls to a thin layer. The aroma is slightly tart with malty / spicy.tones and whiffs of woody oak and cedar. The flavor is less tart than the aroma and the malt is smooth and brown up front. The mid palate gets you with oaky, spicy (light clove and pepper) flavors and finishes with a light tartness.

Midnight Sun Arctic Devil: $15.80

Folks, I think I just got a new favorite barley wine. This one is soooooo intense and malty. I would almost call this one an “Old Ale” instead of a “Barley Wine”. Totally malt driven. Malty, rich and smooth with some fruity tones and more alcohol that the flavor lets on. For More Info… http://www.midnightsunbrewing.com/beer_arcticDevil.php

Gayant la Divine: $10.54

This Bier de Garde style has a straightforward earthy quality along with a light body and a golden malt flavor.

Gayant la Goudale: $10.54

This is a spicy lightly hoppy lager that presents itself as more of a Belgian Blond ale. Golden in color with a big head that falls quickly. The flavor is lightly sweet with a gingery spice and a medium hop bitterness.

Klein Erik de Noorman: $14.90

Barleywine Dutch style. It pours amber with golden edges. The head is big with a medium persistence. The smell is fresh with a yeasty grape, biscuit malt and grass hop. The flavor has a light toffee sweet malt along with some bread. The hop flavor is low but the yeast fruitiness comes though in the way of orange, apple and a light coriander. Although not the darker brown style of barleywine we all might be used to, this fruity strong import is quite a treat.

Montegioco Quarta Runa: $22.49

The peaches are added during fermentation when the activity of the yeasts reaches the maximum vigor. The peaches are heated to 200° Celsius in an oven before being added in order to increase the flavor intensity of the wild peaches and eliminate the wild yeasts.

Laurelwood Green Elephant: $5.40

Amber copper in color with a large bubbly head. The aroma is of orange and floral hops. The flavor is grassy up front along with flowery hops. The malting is light with some pale malts peaking through at the end. The finish has a lingering bitterness including some spicy tones. The green Elephant is a massive lupin pachyderm that will please even the biggest hop fan.

Malheur Brut Reserve: $27.99

This oak aged brew has an aroma that is big with peach, floral, orange, vanilla, lemon and a grassy herbal hop. The flavor fruity with apple, pear and a peppery spiciness with clove and cardamom. More hops than I expected and big dry finish with high carbonation that has a fluffy pillowy mouth feel.

Blue Moon Honey Moon: $1.45

I’m not sure how long “Blue Moon” has been making the “Honey Moon” summer seasonal but this is the first time I have seen it. It is a Belgian wit style made with honey. The funny thing is that their honey version of “Blue Moon” is in fact drier than the regular version. Wheaty with a nice hit or orange peel and the dry finish smacks of a spicy honey. Refreshing, flavorful and well put together.

Innstadt Neues Helles: $4.02

Light straw in color with a with a tight creamy head. The aroma is mostly of pale malt. Lightly sweet with a fresh noble hop showing. This is a great Helles and what makes a great Helles is the perfect balance of very subtle flavors of malt and hops. No matter what any brewer / marketing dolt does there will never be an imperial Helles it is a contradiction in term and style. The Helles style by definition has a low flavor threshold so it should not be marked down for not being bold or assertive but rather it should be judged for its light, clean lager body and subtle interplay between flavors.

Innstadt Weise: $4.02

This Weise bier pours a cloudy yellow with an appropriately massive head. The aroma and flavor is crisp with wheaty lemon and ester banana. Yeasty with a smooth mouth feel just a mention of spice. I really like this one and go back to it time and again.

Roots Island Red: $5.42

Deep mahogany red in color pours with two fingers of head. The aroma is grassy and earthy with dark crystal malts. Nice hop bitterness in the front flavor with a light caramel and plum fruitiness.

Malheur Dark Brut: $27.99

Another oak aged Belgian it is dark dark brown in color with a creamy tan head. Its aroma has a sherry quality with a fruity vinous tone, vanilla and a touch of oak. The flavor has a coffee, cherries, apricot and earthy wood tones. Big prickly carbonation with 12%.

Bridgeport Old Knucklehead: $4.55

Old knucklehead number 12 is aged in American Oak Bourbon barrels with big vanilla, toffee and sherry notes on top of the malty, fruity, well hopped barleywine. At this early stage the hops are very prominent with a stiff bitterness at the finish. Great for all of you hop heads but I for one am going to lay it down for 8 to 12 month and wait for the hop to die back a tad and let the fruitiness and barrel tones come forward. This beer is all kinds of good. Tasty and aggressive now with the excellent potential to be smooth and rich with some aging. It has been five years since the last knucklehead, Fred Eckhardt (well known Portland author) with the new knucklehead being John DeBenedetti who is the owner of the oldest beer supply company in the country right here in Portland OR (http://www.fhsteinbart.com/). For more info check out….. http://blog.oregonlive.com/thebeerhere/2008/02/barrelaged_bonanza_pt_4.html

Jaros Koronny 9 year: $26.23

WOW!! This Polish “Dwojniak” (that is a mead made 1:1 water to honey) is made with herbs and has been aged in oak for 9 years!! The color is a transparent amber / brown. The darkness comes from the long oak aging (think Scotch or Whiskey color). The aroma is honey sweet with vague raspberry fruitiness and a rounded herbal quality. The label says that it is made with herbs but after 9 years in oak it is hard to pinpoint the individual herbs. This 16% beauty is better served room temp or heated slightly. This smooths out the texture and makes the flavor profile very round and sumptuous. The flavor bounces. It starts very herbal and sweet that (from the alcohol) travels up into your nose. Your attention is then drawn to your tongue where the sweet honey coats your tongue and the finish is spicy with sweet cinnamon and alcohol. If you are looking for a sweet treat this will fit the bill and is a great replacement for port.

Apis Bernardynski: $13.48

This chokeberry melomel pours a light golden color. The aroma is vinous and tart. The body is light and the flavor is tart and fruity kind of cherry raspberry mix. The honey provides a sweet cinnamon spiciness to the mix. The finish is light with a bit of drying tannins. The chokeberries give it a wonderfully unique flavor and the light body is unlike all of the other Polish meads I have tried.

Apis Kurpiowski 5 year: $20.98

This blackcurrant melomel pours amber with a pink hue. The aroma is lightly tart with currant and the honey comes through with a minty quality. The flavors start honey smooth but the current comes on quickly and leaves a nice tart finish. Definitely a sweet mead but the currants do their part to try and balance it out.

Track Town 100 Meter Ale: $5.61

Amber in color with slender off white head. Carmel malt nose with a pine hop. The flavor follows the aroma with a good bitter finish. Billed as a “India Style Red Ale” and that describes it quite well.

Barons Black Wattle: $1.80

Dark amber / brown color with a bubbly medium head. Roasty malts in the aroma with a light fruitiness and a bit of earthiness. The flavor is nutty with an easy malt sweetness. The finish as that light fruitiness (grape??), with a drying bitterness. This beer is an effortlessly enjoyable brew. Not too sweet, good complexity, not overly bitter with a great finish.

Snow Beauty Nigori: $9.43

This unfiltered sake pours very opaque milk-like white. The aroma is earthy and creamy with a slight tartness. The texture has a fine granular about it. The flavor starts with a light tartness. The creamy/smooth/grainy flavors come forward but die back leaving the tartness. The tartness does dissapear after about 5 seconds leaving a very clean finish. The tart, creamy, tart flavor profile is fun and tasty.

Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial: $14.73

This “Special Brown Ale” comes in a 7.5% and is made with cacao nibs and spices. Being a sour Belgian style it may not be for everyone. But for those of us who do enjoy a tart crisp brew this is pretty neat. The aroma is tart with fruity cinnamon notes. It does have a medium body to it but the tartness quickly overcomes it and lifts it off your tongue. There is a sweetness in there along with a “very ripe fruit” flavor, banana, spices and light chocolate.

De Proef Signature Ale: $14.73

Orange gold in color this beer pours with a huge rocky head. The character is of lemon zest, orange, grass, and floral hop. The malt is bready and a little sweet. Spicy and resinous with the nicely funky brettanomyces. Great 8.5% Belgian.

Jaros AM 5 Year: $29.98

This dwojniak style metheglin (mead with herbs) is one part honey to one part water and aged five years in oak. Golden amber in color the aroma has a slightly woody herbaceous quality as well as an almost tropical (mango / pineapple) aroma from the honey. Big sweet up from that moves into a light candied lemon tartness and a spicy herbal finish.

Fish Tale Amber Ale: $1.49

This amber is led by its malting with a nutty / crystal malt flavor and aroma with a spicy earthy hop. This organic amber has more flavor than most and is worth checking out.

Fish Tale IPA: $1.49

Golden bronze in color with a couple of fingers of foam. The aroma comes off resiny hops with a touch of peach fruit. The flavor has a toffee malt with tangerine, lemon and pine flavors to boot. Very nice IPA and being organic is just a bonus.

Deschutes Cinder Cone Red: $1.35

Made with Tettnang and Amarillo hops give it a big round hop flavor. The crystal and black malts give it its red color and dry finish. Very easy to drink and a welcome seasonal from our friends at Deschutes.

Snoqualmie Falls Copperhead: $4.24

Copper in color with a small fluffy white head. The aroma is grainy with citrus / floral hops. The flavor is of toasty grains with the flowery hops coming thought. Copperhead finishes on the malt end and its malt, hop, malt flavor progression makes it enjoyably easy to drink.

Snoqualmie Falls PGA: $4.24

Deep amber in color, PGA pours with a thin head. The aroma is easy with grassy leafy hop and bready malt. The flavor is hoppy up front with a light bitterness and leafy herbal flavor. The brew finishes with a bready nutty malting that I quite enjoy.

Snoqualmie Falls Spring Fever: $4.23

Spring Fever is a great Northwest rendition of a Belgian Grand Cru. It appropriately pours with a huge sticky head. The aroma is spicy with coriander (or is it ginger??) along with an orange hop and vague fruity yeast ester. Its body is in the medium range and the texture is creamy and smooth. The flavor is coriander with citrus rind that moves into a peppery spice and that underlying fruity yeast. Definitely more bitter that a classic Belgian would be but great in its own special way.

Snoqualmie Falls Wild Cat IPA: $4.24

Orange in color with a large rocky head. The aroma start off with the grapefruit hops but also has a floral and herbal quality. The flavor has a great nutty biscuit malting and quite a stiff bitterness along with the leafy and grapefruit / orange hop flavors.

Beer Valley Pigskin Pale: $3.19

Light golden in color it pours with a large frothy head. The aroma is of citrus and pine with a smidgen of malt. The flavor is good balance of malt toasty sweetness and hop bitter with citrus rind and pine. A standup APA with an exceptional fresh hop showing.

Laughing Dog Devil Dog: $6.67

Bright copper in color it pours with a thin but dense head. The aroma starts with a bit of sweet malt but quickly moves to the big fruity hop. With big orange and lemon tones along with some tropical pineapple and mango with maybe just a hint of peach. The flavor has a pervasive caramel malt but it is juicy hops and the honest 98 IBU bitterness that dominate. Sure there are beers that post higher IBUs but this brew is a real kick to the taste buds. There is no doubt that this bad dog is all about the hops, well that and the 10%.

Moylans Hopsickle Imperial Ale: $6.35

If you ARE looking for a hop monster, this is it. This 9.2% behemoth is so loaded with hops that it makes your saliva glands kick into high gear. This gives the beer a weird (but very pleasant) juiciness you don’t usually find in a beer. It pours a deep copper with a large head. Its aroma is piney with a hint of grapefruit. The flavor is of tart fruity hops with the pine backing it up. There is malt in there someplace but for the life of me I can’t really pin it down due to the overwhelming assault from the hops.

Dansk Klapojster: $29.62

This caraway infused mead is sweet, strong (21.8%) and is a force to be reckoned with. The deep herbal quality of the caraway is bold enough to stand side by side with the massive honey character. I thoroughly enjoyed this 750ml bottle of bliss but I’ll admit that I did it 3oz at a time. This big boy needs to be enjoyed like a port wine. That is sipped slowed, savored, and lingered with.

Momokawa Ruby: $13.48

With a SMV rating of zero, this sake wedges itself right in between sweet and dry. Admittedly this one is sweeter than most other Junmai Gingos I have tried. Sweeter tropical flavors dominate with melon and guava. For me this one can stand-alone or be paired with milder foods like chicken and pork. Junmai Ginjo milled to 60% and 15.5% alcohol.

Momokawa Silver: $13.48

The Silver is drier than the Momokawa Diamond with the Silver being a SMV +7. his sake has a big nose that is crisp with pear, tart apple and steely mineral notes. It is an exquisite pairing with lighter fair and will enhance the flavor of many fish, vegetables and some shellfish without overpowering. It is a Junmai Ginjo milled to 60% and an alcohol of 14.8% and made fresh right here in Oregon.

Momokawa Diamond: $13.48

Semi dry (for a sake) with fruity melon tones as well as an earthy mineral quality. This quality Junmai Ginjo is milled to 60%, 14.8% and made fresh right here in Oregon.

Dansk Viking Blod: $29.62

A light red orange in color this 19% mead is made with hops and hibiscus flowers. The aroma is of earthy hop and the tart floral that comes hibiscus. The flavor is big honey sweet with a spicy hop and alcohol component along with the hibiscus that brings an almost light raspberry tint to the profile.

Mactarnahans Sling Shot: $2.14

This brew is billed as an “Extra Pale Ale” and is somewhere between a standard pale and a golden. It pours a deep gold color with a medium head. The aroma is of grassy hops and a slight fruity ester. The flavor has a light cereal grain and a big floral and grassy hop. It has a medium body and bitter finish that lingers a while.

Lurgashall Tower Of London: $30.75

Ok I’ll admit it, this is the kind of stuff I still get really excited about. Get ready for this, it is mead fortified with scotch. A wonderfully semi sweet mead mixed with a plumy, low (no) peat scotch. The aroma is rather perfumey, kind of lavender / baby powder along with the big honey and fruity smells. The flavor is honey up front with plum and apricot next and then moves into woody tones and has a slightly tannic finish. It may be 20% alcohol but you would never know it. I served it chilled and it had NO heat to it at all. Only rich honey fruit tones and went down all too easy.

Stone Imperial Russian Stout: $7.38

Hello comrades! Stones 2008 Imperial Russian is as good as ever. Inky black and as thick and rich as ever. This strong (10.8%) massive beer has a plum, licorice and coffee aroma. Its flavor is roasty with a black current fruity character. In other words it is everything you want out of an Imperial Stout. So get your taxes signed and sent in and enjoy a wonderful pint of Stone I.R.S.

Samichlaus Helles: $6.34

Highly carbonated and pale golden in color. Fruity brandy soaked fruit aromas with apples, vanilla, and pear. The flavor is intense, grainy and honey. The mouthfeel is big and smooth and 14% and tasty and one big ass beer that will age well and it is nice to see this beer back into the Samichlaus lineup

Kasteel Donker-Foncee (Brown): $9.55

This beer is one of my all time favorites. This rich smooth sweet brown Belgian rankes up there with Rochfort 10, Chimay Grand Reserve, and a fresh Zatte Bie. Dark brown in color this beers aroma is caramel, figs with a lightly tart fruit. The flavor is prune, caramel, raisin, figs, and cinnamon. Smooth, rich and sweet and at 11% it is kind of like the port wine of beers.

Henry Weinhards Blue Boar Ale: $1.05

Light copper in color with a light grassy hop aroma. Pale malt flavor up front with slight bitter finish. If you are looking for something that is easy to drink and want to get away from the big hopped ales one usually finds on the shelves today, this is the one.

Kasteel Rogue: $10.54

This is a cherry infused Belgian brown. Brown bread, caramel and big cherry. Sweet fruity and delicious.

Nieuw Ligt Nijmegen: $25.55

This massive grand cru pours orange / amber with low carbonation and head. The aroma is very perfumey with honey, orange and spice. The flavor is malty and fruity with notes of toffee, apricots, baked apple, ginger, cake, and a whiff of banana. At 10% this beer is all a grand cru should be and that is strong and malty with tons of esters. Being in a 1 liter flip top bottle I can not ship this in a three bottle box. That will cause it to be ship on it side and the flip top will leak. These bottles MUST be shipped in a 6 or 12 bottle box. If you do order this in a 3 bottle box you WILL BE CHARGED FOR A 6 BOTTLE BOX, no matter what the website calculates. Sorry for the inconvenience but it is the only way I can ship this one.

Henry Weinhards IPA: $0.99

This is an IPA that is copper and gold in color. The aroma is grass and orange fruity. The malt is a touch bready and low lovibond crystal.

Mikkeller Struise Elliot: $7.61

This imperial IPA from Mikkeller and Struise pours a bright amber orange color. The head is light beige, massive, gooey, and just might be permanent. The aroma is of orange, apple and spice. The flavor is both sweet and bitter. The hop profile is fruity and earthy and has quite a bitterness to it but not as big as the 130 IBUs claim. The sweetness comes from the candy sugar, and the toasty and caramel malts. The yeast and added spices provides an underlying fruit and peppery tone that is pervasive from start to finish. The brew starts juicy sweet, goes to hop bitter then finishes dry. It is very well put together and the best Danish Imperial IPA I have ever had :-)

Weihenstaphaner German Sample Pack: $69.33

This pack includes four each of six different beers from the worlds oldest brewery. With a 5% discount. [KIT]

Weihenstephaner Dunkel: $3.21

IMHO this is the best Dunkel Weiss there is. The style is a fine balancing act that has the tart wheat on one side and the brown darker malts on the other. You want to add complexity and richer flavors with the brown malts but you do not want them to come across as sweet or to overpower the wheat. This beer does all that. It is a fine mix with a strong showing from the wheat, brown bread and toffee from the brown malts and the ever presence of the banana ester.

Greene King Wexford Irish Cream Ale (Can): $2.47

If you want smooth and mellow this baby tops it. Nitrogen charged with a malty, caramel, graininess with just a ting of fruitiness. For all of you Carffrey fans out there, this is as close as you are going to get here in the US.

Weihenstephaner Original Lager: $3.21

This Bavarian lager comes from the oldest brewery in the world, they have been at it for a long time and it shows. The aroma is kind of lemony, and malty. It has a great head that forms a delicate white lace on the glass. The flavor is the perfect complement of malty/biscuit to lemony hop bitterness. A true classic.

Weihenstaphaner Kristall: $3.21

Much like its Hefe brother this German wheat beer has the perfect mix of tart wheat character, fruity banana ester and just a slight hint of spiciness. As with any good wheat beer it pours with a voluminous pillowy head. Since this is a Kristall Weiss (filtered wheat beer) the finish is crisper and the body a little lighter than the Hefe version.

Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier: $3.21

From one of the oldest breweries in the world, this German wheat beer has the perfect mix of tart wheat character, fruity banana ester and just a slight hint of spiciness. As with any good wheat beer it pours with a voluminous pillowy head. Since this is a Hefe Weiss (beer served with the yeast) the finish is rounder and the body a little heavier than the Krstall (filtered) version. I guess when you started brewing around 1040AD you may have had just enough time it get your beer just right.

Greene King Olde Suffolk: $4.90

This “Old” style ale has been aged for 2 years in oak and blended with younger ale to form a very complex malt driven beer. Malty with a hint of oak. Rich and full, with a bit of spicy hop. A great old ale and one that I was excited to get my hands on. Although we had gotten other Greene King product here it has taken a number for years for the Olde Suffolk to make it. That means I can finally drink that last one I had stashed in my collection, knowing I will now be able to get more.

Greene King Abbot Ale (Can): $2.47

Amber tan in color with that big creamy head that comes from the widget action. The aromas are sweet grainy with a floral hop. Ultra smooth with toasted malts and earthy floral hops. Mildly fruity esters with a dry finish.

Lazy Boy Belgian: $4.97

Bright gold in color, it pours with a reputable three fingers of foam. The aroma is slightly sweet with big fruity esters and a general spice character. The flavors are of fruity peach and yellow plum with an easy grassy hop.

Lazy Boy Porter: $3.97

Very very dark brown in color with a tan head that is dense but thin. The aroma is of roasted / black malts with coffee and chocolate tones you come to expect from the style. The flavors match the aroma in addition to a tart hop character and well placed bitterness.

Lagunitas Brown Sugga 12oz: $1.73

Orange in color with a bit of haze and a fluffy off white head. The aroma start off sweet with caramel and fruity hops. The flavor is of brown sugar, toasty malts along with a spicy hit from the alcohol. Not as hoppy as “The Hairy Eyeball” but instead sweeter and smoother.

Weihenstephaner Korbinian: $3.21

Reddish brown in color this beer pours with a thin but tight head. The aroma is malty sweet with plum and brown bread. The flavor is chewy with caramel, chocolate and prune. The hops are mildly bitter and have a leafy flavor. This brew is more of a dessert beer and would certainly make a perfect end to any meal or maybe matched up to wash down something equally sumptuous as German Chocolate cake.

Weihenstephaner Vitus: $3.21

This weizenbock pours a dusky straw yellow. The aroma is spicy and wheaty. The flavor is big clove spicy along with banana and a slight bubble gum along with a tart wheat taste that is the mark of a fine German wheat beer. The aggressive flavor profile is strong and well balanced.

Mikkeller Jackie Brown: $10.01

Dark mahogany in color with a light tan head that laces well. The aroma is roasty, chocolate, caramel and herbal hops. The flavor is of bittersweet chocolate dark fruit and coffee. It has a nice smooth mouth feel and full body. A tad darker than most browns and more flavor as well.

Bocq Blanche de Namur: $7.80

This Belgian has everything you expect out of a wit and a little more. It pours a cloudy off white and the head is prodigious and persistent. Whiffs of orange and coriander boil from the glass. The flavor is of tart wheat, orange, and a touch of licorice.

Boulder Beer Mojo Risin: $6.87

Boulder Beer “Mojo Risen Double IPA” Medium gold in color with a hug citrus pine aroma. Caramel and biscuit in the malt. Lightly sweet with a resinous and grapefruit hop flavor. It has a powerful flavor profile and powerful 10.5%

Sleeman Cream Ale 64: $1.36

Golden with a thin head. Aroma is grainy malt. The flavor is crips with a slick creaminess and big finish.

Pike Auld Acquaintance: $5.29

The first thing to know about this spiced ale is that it is well balanced between the malt, hops, and spice. The color is a deep orange with light brown. The aroma is of orange peel, grassy hops and just a slight cinnamon. The flavor is of lightly of brown malt, coriander and nutmeg with a drying hop bitter finish.

Ridgeway Reindeers Revolt: $5.30

This English Christmas beer is a medium dark amber orange color with a average head that settles to a thin layer. The aroma is of lightly toasted brown malts and sweet plumb and a touch of grassy hop. The flavor is sweeter up front with the plum fruitiness and light caramel. The finish is well into the bitter range that balances well. And the story is of a beer-drinking reindeer complaining about his overweight slave driver who he hauls all over the world in the snow and muck.

Jenlain Biere de Noel: $8.42

Bright copper in color this beer pours with a large head that settles down into a thin layer with some lace. The aroma is of crystal malt, herbal / earthy hops with orange and spice. The flavor is toasty with orange peel, spicy clove, candy sugar, caramel and earthy hops. This is a great souped up Biere de garde.

Dick's Silk Lady: $1.55

Dick’s version of a Belgain Pale, it pours a light hazy orange with a dense lacey head. The aroma is fruity with pear, apple, and a little spice. The flavor is sweet and fruity with a touch of pepper and more hops than most Belgian Pales. A good domestic version of the style with just enough hops to make it interesting.

Mikkeller Big Worse: $10.67

Mikkeller’s 12% barley wine is an excellent product that straddles “drinkable now” and “excellent aging potential” well. Most of us beer geeks and handle (and enjoy) the big hops you tend to find in young American barley wines (“Big Foot”, “Old Crustacean”, “Old Horizontal”) but make no mistake, the Danish brew has that plus a big sweet malt bill that is chewy and tasty. I served it at about 60 degrees and the fig, date, caramel and chocolate come screaming through. The hops do their part at the end to calm things down and ready you for another sip. Yes there is a spicy (but not hot) alcohol kick but maybe that will age out. This one will age 5 easy maybe into the 7 to 10 range. The cage and cork (synthetic not natural) should slow oxidation while it matures over the long haul.

Stone Old Guardian 2008: $5.85

Yet another fine vintage of Stone’s “Old Guardian” barleywine. Big and malty up front with a hop character you expect from Stone, that is piney, citrusy and bitter. Great now with the bright hops and will mellow nicely with age.

Flying Dog Double Dog: $2.30

Is this an Imperial IPA or is it a pale Barley Wine???? Well to be honest I do not know (or care). At 10.5% and 85 IBUs it is strong, bitter and very tasty. It pours a pale amber brown with a tight head that sticks around for a while. The aroma is heavy pale malts with a pine hop and a touch of apple. It has a medium to heavy body that is cut through with a stiff hop bitterness. The flavor although heavy on the hops and bitterness one can not ignore the big malt that weaves its way around all of the hop components. Even at 85 IBUs this level of malt can not be ignored. This is a good thing as it does provide some balance and what I see (taste) as a great aging potential. Enjoy this one now and for years to come out of the cellar

Nogne O 100: $8.43

This barley wine is both tasty and more unique than most. It is very dark brown and has a light roasty aroma and a big grassy hop aroma. The flavor is of dark malt - not as strong dark as a stout, but roasty like a very dark brown ale. The hops are strong and bitter and will make this dark barley wine age very well. As dark, yummy and bitter this beer is, I plan to put several down in my cellar.

Beer Valley Highway To Ale: $7.91

At 10.5% this barley wine pours a dark copper with a small head. The aroma is mainly of tangerine and orange zest with a low current of nutty malt. The flavor is citrus hop (but not of the cascade grapefruit variety) with a pronounced bitterness but not overpowering (55 to 65 IBUs??) the flavor then switches to a sweetness of pale and crystal malts but moves back to the bitterness in a light lingering finish. This is a great “Right Now” barley wine. Not to say that it would turn bad if cellar aged (because you know I love a well aged beer) only that it would be a shame to lose any of its flavorful orangey hop character. I find a barley wine of this caliber much more enjoyable early on than I do one of those 100+ IBU monsters at the same age. Buy it, drink it and enjoy it. If you are like me you’ll put a few down anyway to see how it fairs in the next 3 to 5 but this baby is great right out of the gate. ((I'm on my way to the promised land…Yow!!!))

Sleeman Honey Brown Lager 77: $1.36

Copper/brown in color, it pours with little head. The aroma and flavor is malty sweet with caramel and toffee tones.

Sleeman IPA 46: $1.36

Clear amber in color, this is a lighter English Style IPA.

Honeywood Oregon Mead: $9.75

This mead from Salem Oregon is made from white clover honey. It is sweet and floral with a fresh clean finish. Good mead and it comes in at a great price.

Jaros Maliniak 6 year: $26.23

This Dwojniak style mead (1:1 honey to water) is 16%, has raspberry juice added and has been aged in oak for 6 years. The tartness from the raspberries plays beautifully against the dominating honey sweetness. With light oak tones this 6 year old mead is smooth and has a full body and mouthfeel despite its 16%. I have yet to try any domestic raspberry mead that even comes close to this flavor and refinement.

Aventinus Weizen Eisbock: $4.98

What can I say about the Aventinus Eisbock other than, “This stuff ROCKS!!” This beer is what you get when you take the already flavorful “Aventinus” freeze it, then remove that pesky water/ice that only gets in the way. 12% alcohol but smooth as silk and tons of Weizen flavor. With the big clove spiciness and fruity esters to match. This is a strong chewy beer that is not to be missed.

Jopen Koyt Gruit Beer: $12.65

This Dutch beer is in an ancient style call a Gruit beer. What that means is that there is no hops in it. It uses instead, a mixture of herbs and spices. It has a large smooth malt flavor but it is cut through by the herbs and spices (the “Gruit” mixture). For those of you who do not like bitter beer this is for you.

Jolly Pumpkin Fuego del Otono: $14.74

Orange amber in color this beer pours with a fluffy white head that has some good retension. Toasty and nutty in aroma with sweeter caramel and spice tones. The flavor is tart with a lemon orange fruitiness. Chestnuts and nutmeg in flavor along with a spicy colve and coriander. The yeast provides an earthy, bready quality and there is a woody finish along with a hop bite.

Deschutes Green Lake Organic: $4.55

This phenomenal red is a great beer, organic or not (which it is). Deep amber in color this a respectable white head. The aroma is spicy, malty and bready. The flavor is crisp with citrus and herbal hops with a caramel graininess, medium body and dry finish.

Trumer Pils: $1.45

Classic German style pils. It pours pale gold with a large head that falls quickly. The aroma is grassy/hay. The flavor is lightly malty sweet up front with a touch of lemon. The grassy hops kick in at the finish along with an easy bitterness. It has a very clean light body with prickly carbonation.

De Graal Triple: $9.99

Their triple is a pale gold color and the carbontation is high. It is lightly sweet with a nice fruity ester and just a hint of hop. Some spiciness kicks in with an insinuation of coriander and pepper.

De Graal Speciale: $8.96

Red brown in color with a medium tan head. Rich in flavor with caramel, chocolate, cherry with a cinnamon / licorice spiciness. Not thick and sweet as you might think from the description but does have a nice full body and a smooth texture.

De Graal Triverius: $8.43

As a witbier the cloudy yellow color is very appropriate. The aroma is big and spicy, citrusy, and floral. The coriander flavor hits you right up front, malty/wheaty in the middle with a yeasty hop bitter finish.

De Graal Dubbel: $8.44

It is mahogany brown with gold around the edges and pours with little head. The aroma is of cake, raisin and a touch of spice. The flavor starts off with the aforementioned raisins then moves on to a light chocolate and brown malt with a leafy hop and anise finish. The body is medium to light and the carbonation is rather low for a Belgian but with the lighter body that keeps the texture from getting too prickly.

De Graal Blond: $8.44

This 6.5% blond pours a light golden color with plenty of carbonation and a brilliant white head. Crisp and dry with an easy pale malt character with a leafy hop presence from start to finish. The finish is mildly bitter and ends clean.

Rogue XS Imperial Red: $14.99

This powerful red pours a deep hazy red with a tight creamy head. The aroma is malty caramel with a sharp citrus tone and some spice. The flavor is bitter with citrus earthy hop with a spicy dry finish. At 9% this is truly an “Imperial Red”

Wychwood Hobgoblin: $4.55

English mild is the category this beer best fits into. I don’t have a lot of milds to offer but this is a good example of one. The style is kind of like a darker version of a brown ale. Malty, smooth lower in bitterness and has a touch of roasty/chocolate character. It hails from Oxfordshire England and is from the same people that do the Fiddler’s Elbow and the Old Devil.

Stone Oaked Bastard 12oz: $2.84

As if Arrogant Bastard wasn’t tasty enough, they had to go and add oak into the mix. Powerful flowery, grassy hops with a touch of oak for the aroma. The flavor is hop bitter with a bit of malty caramel along with vanilla wood tones makes this beer one flavorful Bastard that should age well for years to come.

Olfabrikken Abbey Ale: $11.90

This “Olfabrikken Special Reserve” is done in the Belgian Double style. The color is a deep copper brown and the head is thin. The aroma is spicy with notes of clove and coriander with a fruity prune hit at the end. The flavor is sweet with brown sugar up front and a very spicy mid to late pallate. The spicy flavor is a mix of allspice, coriander and alcohol (not hot just spicy). The spiciness lingers in the finish along with a light hop bitterness. It’s a satisfying double that begs to be paired with a chocolate torte or tiramisu.

Butte Creek Revolution XI: $5.90

The color is a hazy orange and the head is big and foamy with a nice lace. The aroma is of grassy and floral hops. The flavor is quite aggressive with sweet biscuit malt, citrus and woody hop flavors with a big bitterness at the finish. This is cranked up from last year with more of everything.

Brooks 2006 Janus Vineyard Pinot Noir: $27.99

Sensuously rich texture, exotic spice & earth notes; firm, lengthy finish. Rated 90 by Wine Spectator. Drink now or hold.

Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza: $11.55

Dark brown with a tinge of red. The aroma is of port wine, grape skins, plums, spice and their usual funk. Sweeter on the malt at this point (but Jolly P. beers tend to dry out in the bottle over time) with big plum cherry fruitiness. Tart woody funkiness works alongside dry spiciness.

Shirayuki Nama: $5.25

A “Nama” sake is one that was not pasteurized before it was put in the aging barrel. This makes for a lighter more delicate sake. The aroma has a hint of coconut and the flavor is of vanilla extract, anise, and just a hint of earth and coconut. The finish has the vanilla and a gentle sweetness that holds on for just a second before disappearing.

Jaros Koronny 9 Year Ceramic: $31.48

Jaros “Koronny 9 Year ceramic” This is the same mead as the “Koronny 9 Year” (See below) but is a decrative ceramic bottle. Trust me, no one will ever throw out or recycle this bottle. It makes a great gift and the bottle will be used for years to come. WOW!! This Polish “Dwojniak” (that is a mead made 1:1 water to honey) is made with herbs and has been aged in oak for 9 years!! The color is a transparternt amber / brown. The darkness comes from the long oak aging (think Scotch or Whiskey color). The aroma is honey sweet with vague raspberry fruitiness and a rounded herbal quality. The label says that it is made with herbs but after 9 years in oak it is hard to pinpoint the individual herbs. This 16% beauty is better served room temp or heated slightly. This smoothes out the texture and makes the flavor profile very round and sumptuous. The flavor bounces. It starts very herbal and sweet that (from the alcohol) travels up into your nose. Your attention is then drawn to your tongue where the sweet honey coats your tongue and the finish is spicy with sweet cinnamon and alcohol. If you are looking for a sweet treat this will fit the bill and is a great replacement for port.

Fantome Hiver: $11.55

Orange brown in color this winter brew pours with a thin but tight head that settles into a thin layer that sustains well. The aroma is malty with a bit of leather and tangerine fruit. The flavor is a dichotomy of sweet and tart with some sweet caramel, earthy/spicy yeast and a finish both tart and hoppy.

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast: $12.04

This coffee oatmeal stout really is for the beer geek in all of us. Inky black with a very tight tan/brown head. The aroma is big coffee, and roasted barley. The flavor is, you guessed it, big on the coffee with hits of sweet black licorice, chocolate and grainy oats. The body is medium heavy and the finish is black malt dry with a hop bitterness that cuts through all of those dark flavors. Most of the highest-rated Danish beers are from Mikkeller, and within the past few months, the brewery was voted the Best in Denmark by the Danish Beer Enthusiasts, and Beer Geek Breakfast has also just been voted the very best beer of Denmark.

Layer Cake 2006 Shiraz: $15.66

An exceptional value! Drinks like a $25.00 bottle. Plush, dark fruit, soft tannins; hints of vanilla, graphite and tar; lingering finish of currants and spice.

Pahlmeyer 2003 Red Blend: $160.00

Rated 93 by Wine Spectator. A Cellar Must!

Andrew Will 2005 Ciel du Cheval Red Blend: $55.99

Christmas 6 Pack - Premium: $62.57

*** Dec. 10th at 2:00pm Pacific is our cutoff time for guaranteed Christmas delivery. This has to do with our delivery cycle to get products back in stock and FedExs ability to get shipments to the east coast. Rest assured we will do everything in our power to get everything delivered before Christmas, even those after the 10th. But we can not guarantee any package after cutoff. *** A six pack of high quality imported winter brews. One each of six different 750ml bottles, at a 5% discount. [KIT] Substitutions of equal or greater value may be needed due to availability.

Mikkeller Black Hole: $10.67

This coffee brewed imperial stout is as black as night and has a thin tan head. It has a wonderful aroma of coffee (duh!!) dark chocolate, bready malts and plenty of pine / orange/ grapefruit hops. The flavor has a medium high bitterness with the fore mentioned flavors. The 13% does come through in both the aroma and flavor but the flavor profile is high enough to withstand it. This one should age beautifully with the alcohol and hops smoothing out and the coffee and dark malt coming forward.

Nils Oscar Kalasol: $5.30

This “Fest” beer pours a deep copper orange color with a bubbly head. The aroma is toasted grain, caramelized sugar and flowers. The flavor is malty nutty with grassy citrus hops. The finish lingers nutty grassy and dry.

Oppigards Well Hopped Lager: $5.37

This lager pours with a frothy head, and herbal/grassy hop aroma. The flavor is lightly grainy malty up from with the hop flavors quickly rolling over it then finishing in an enjoyable bitterness.

Oppigards Golden Ale: $5.37

Gold with a tint of copper. Grassy aroma with a hint of apple. Creamy slightly sweet malt with a dry hop bitterness with a little touch of spice at the end.

St Peters Sample Pack: $51.16

Three bottles each of four of the St. Peter's beers at a 10% discount.

BFM La Meule: $7.25

BFM (That’s Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes) is a Swiss company that puts out some real gems. This sage infused golden does not disappoint. It pours a straw yellow that has some haze. The aroma is of intense pale malt, sage, and a very lemony hop. The flavor may have some pale malt in it but it is the sage and lemon that come on quick and stay until the very end that fades into a hop bitterness. Herby, lemony sharp and hop bitter, not your typical beer and not everyone may like it but I think it is brilliant.

BFM Dragonne: $21.03

After primary fermentation honey, cinnamon, anise, orange peel, cloves, cardamone, coriander and juniper are added to the maturation tank. The beer is then heated to 167 F to get all spices consummated in the liquid. La Dragonne does not have any carbonation and is to be enjoyed only hot to enjoy the intensity and balance of all flavors & aromas. Serving Instructions: 1. Open the bottle of La Dragonne 2. Heat a bain-marie (Water bath) up to 140 degrees F 3. Place the open La Dragonne in the water bath 4. Carefully pour the hot La Dragonne. 5. Caution: Make sure that the beer has slightly cooled before consuming. ** Pre Buy - $17.50 if ordered by 9/28 12:00PM Pacific time, after that $19.44 **

Birrifico Lurago La Fleurette: $20.43

La Fleurette has an amazingly unusual character and complexity. Just check out this ingredient list. - Malts: pilsner and rye - Hops: Kent Goldings - Yeast: Saccharomyces Cerevistiae - Whole Roses & Violets - Citrus Bee Honey - Elderberry - Black Pepper

Two Hands Bella s Garden 2005 Shiraz: $75.00

Rated 95 by Wine Spectator and #5 in WS top 100. Rich and complex, this is layered with green olive, mint, mineral and licorice around a plump core of black cherry and dark plum flavors which lingler on the intense and beautifully focused finish.

Makana Iqhilika: $19.95

This sweet mead is made with Birds Eye chilies. This lends to a woody nose and a deep roasty sweet flavor. The honey is an amber color with a savory spice character that lends its self well with the pepper flavor. Spicy, sweet and one of the most unique commercial meads I’ve ever seen.

Birrificio Scires: $23.67

This dark cherry ale is barrel aged and blended, young with old. Cloudy dark red with tons for carbonation that tries to creep out of the bottle when opened. The aroma is heavy cherry with a tart lactic kick. The flavor has just a short brown malt flavor that is quickly overrun by cherry, wood, and that tart lactic finish. The body is light but it is not that surprising considering it is quite dry. If you are looking for a tart dry cherry brew that is not as funky as most lambics but still has plenty of depth and character this one is for you.

Lazy Boy Mistletoe Bliss: $4.24

This roasty winter ale pours a dark brown with a touch of red around the edges. The aroma and flavor is of dark crystal with a touch of dark roasted malts. The hops are piney with some flower as well. Medium bitterness at the finish.

Beer Valley Owyhee Amber: $3.45

Owyhee Amber Ale is an easy drinking Amber that will appeal to many but has enough character to impress even this jaded old beer drinker. Brewed with 2-row barley, Munich, and crystal malts, this amber beer is a cleaner, crisper version of an ale reminiscent of an amber lager beer that has the most phenomenal body and mouth-feel. This just may be my new amber of choice.

Ridgeway Insanely Bad Elf: $5.24

This light mahogany colored 11.2% insanity pours with a dense thick head that lasts well for such a high percent. Billed as an imperial red the one thing that comes to my mind is the images of sugarplums dancing in my head. Huge plum fruity with a touch of cherry and a big candy sweetness. Very Belgian in character since I can not think of any other English beers that approach this level of strength, ester, and sweetness.

Ridgeway Warm Welcome: $5.30

Peter got to work brewing the beer, which is of course a classic Brown ale with, er, more umph. It’s 6% by volume, a little hoppier than your average Brown, and with a little extra malty sweetness. A Nut Browned worthy of the holidays, for sure. Keep an eye out for a little earthy funkiness in the beer, the result of a special multi-strained yeast

Ridgeway Seriously Bad Elf: $5.80

Another masterpiece from Peter Scholey at Ridgeway Brewing. Seriously Bad Elf is Peters's very English interpretation of a Belgian Tripel, brewed to warming 9% alcohol.

Ridgeway Very Bad Elf: $5.30

Based on an original Pale Ale recipe from 1795, Very Bad Elf has nutty and sweet-roasted flavors attributable to its use of an ancient pale malt, uniquely recreated for this delightful ale. A rare variety of Fuggles hops dating to the mid-1800’s gives the beer a soft, rounded bitterness and uncanny drinkability.

Ridgeway Bad Elf: $5.30

This English IPA style is a little less hoppy, a little more malty, and a little more festive this time around. This Elf is so bad, it’s way good.

Nils Oscar IPA: $5.30

Deep orange red in color this Nils pours with a fizzy head the settles quickly. The aroma is hop fruity with grapefruit, orange, and a touch of something tropical along with some sweet pale malts. A good bitterness showing from the hops that balances out the malts well. Lightly doughy with tropical flavors.

Nils Oscar Imperial Stout: $6.20

This highly rated imperial stout just about has it all. Big huge flavor of highly roasted malts. Lots of chocolate and coffee flavors with the over the top roastiness pulling out some woody leather tones and a bitterness as well. The light cherry fruitiness adds a little something and the dry finish make you want more.

Norrebro North Bridge Extreme: $14.95

Clear copper with a thick white head with good retention. The aroma is big spicy, herbal hops. The flavor is a bit sweet with some caramel and licorice along with a big bitterness and earthy, herbal hops. The finish is a lingering bitterness. At 9.6% this Imperial IPA is mainly for the hopheads

Norrebro Skargaards Porter: $11.95

Nice black color with a light tan head. Big coffee licorice aroma with an earthy hop. The flavor is roasty, nutty, caramel, and honey. The hop bitterness is pronounced.

Haand Norse Porter: $9.38

Big and black with a prodigious tan head. The aroma is of dark chocolate, black malt and wood. The flavor is of coffee, bitter chocolate and has a touch of smokiness. Bolder than an English porter, not as hoppy as an American but not as sweet as a Baltic. I might call it an imperial porter due to its aggressive flavor but the average 6% would keep it from that category IMHO. Imperial or not this is one tasty porter.

Mahrs Jubelfest Bier: $4.95

Pale amber in color this German winter has a tight head that leaves a nice lace. The aroma is bready with honey and light nut. The flavor is toasty with the fore mentioned honey and finished with a dry hop bitterness.

Weltenburger Winter - Traum: $2.95

This German Winter pours amber/orange in color. It has a malty body that has a touch of caramel and roasted barley to it. The aroma is floral and spicy which carries over into the flavor. This is kind of Oktoberfest style only a little more so. It goes down smooth with a touch sweet but finishes clean.

Nogne O IPA: $8.43

Reddish in color with a creamy off white head. The aroma is malty up front with big fruity hop with grapefruit and orange. The flavor is piney with a semi sweet malt. Well balanced and a very well made American style IPA from Norway.

Mikkeller Stateside IPA: $9.39

This Mikkeller pours a copper color with a thick bubbly head. Lemony herbal hop aroma with a touch of malt. The flavor is pale malt and soft citrus hoppiness with a lingering bitter finish.

Olfabrikken 100 Gram IPA: $10.58

Dark amber in color with a frothy head with lasting retention. Resiny earthy hop aroma and a big piney hops and light caramel. The bitterness is pronounced that start early and keeps going throughout the flavor profile. The whole 100 gram thing is their hop additions during the boil. 100 grams at 15min, 200 at 30, 300 at 45 and on and on. Kind of like the Dogfish Head 90 and 120 min IPA. This Imperial IPA has a great spectrum of flavors and bitterness brought on by the hops. 8.5% and hopalicious.

Nogne O Saison: $8.49

Peachy orange in color with a thin layer of foam. The aroma is of hay, pepper, sweet sage and flowers. The flavor is yeasty with floral hops and slightly sharp coriander like acidity. Bitter dry finish makes this a good saison with nice complexity.

Poperings Hommel Ale: $9.44

Although there are more and more IPAs out of Belgium, to me there is a qualitative difference between those and the Hommel ale. The new IPAs seem to be American inspired because the hop profile tends to be more on the heavy bitter with a more grassy citrus flavor. I do not know this for a fact but I would bet that the copious amount of hops it this beer come from the Poperinge area and has more of a flowery, resiny, almost cumin like flavor. To me this is a Belgian original that might just turn the head of the most jaded hophead.

Wolavers Farmhouse Ale: $4.25

This beer pours a slightly hazy golden color with a fluffy white head. The aroma is lemony with a touch of pepper and ginger. The flavor is spicy clove, hay and a solid pale malt base. The finish is crisp and dry. It is a good showing of the farmhouse style and of course Wolaver’s is organic to boot.

Blue Mountain Cranberry Apple: $17.04

This beautiful ruby red cider is slightly effervescent with an easy prickle on the tongue. The aroma is a perfumy mix of apple and cranberry. The flavor is slightly sweet but the tartness from the cranberries quickly takes over and leaves you with a dry finish and a light body. The flavors blend well and have a nice balance between the apple and cranberry. Enough of each to complement each other without dominating. It is refreshing cold but sumptuous mulled hot with just a touch of clove and some cinnamon.

Rogue Santa''s Private Reserve: $4.75

Yes, it’s true, if Santa was going to knock back a pint it would be one of these. Deep garnet in color it pours with a rather thin head. The aroma is mainly of piney resinous hop with a little crystal malt. The flavor is lightly bready, caramel malt with plenty of piney hop bitterness (44 IBU). Every year I try and convince my kids that Santa is lactose intolerant and would much rather have a beer like this with his cookies than a pint of 2%.

Baron Oktoberfest: $3.97

This Oktoberfest pours a dark copper with little head. The aroma is of fruity hop, biscuit and amber malts. The flavors start with the fruity hop (tangerine???) then moves to light crystal malt character that is replaced by an easy hop bitterness that finishes dry. Effortless drinkability with plenty of flavor.

Watari Bune: $16.78

This sake is classified as a Junmai, Ginjo 55 and is clearly stated on the label. Here is what that means. Ginjo is a government regulated term that denotes a sake as premium due to how the rice is milled. For a sake to be of Ginjo classification they must mill away at least 40% of the outer rice kernel. This mills off the proteins, fats, and amino acids that can produce unwanted flavors. The 55 stated on this sake means that the rice has had 45% milled off leaving 55%. The term Junmai means that this sake has not been fortified with distilled alcohol (more on that later). Enough terms, let’s get onto the review. Watari Bune pours still and the palest yellow. The aroma is spicy with an earthy licorice (true licorice not the anise you find in cadies) and a light fruity (banana) whiff at the end. The flavor has a very light acidity up front, a spicy warming mid pallet (16%) in which the licorice comes through. As the acidity and spiciness start to fade in the finish you are left with a mellow smoothness left on the tongue. Most Ginjo is best served chilled like a white wine (not cold) and some people prefer room temp.

Gekkeikan Zipang: $6.73

Zipang is a 7% sparkling sake that is a light and best served chilled. I drink Zipang like I would drink a nice Belgian blond or an American golden ale, that is I drink it when I want something flavorful but not too aggressive as well as something not too strong (sake can get into 18%+). Zipang pours clear and effervescent, the aroma is slightly earthy, the flavor is lemony up front with an easy slight coconut like finish. This is a good one to try if you have never had Sake.

Glazen Toren Saison: $13.17

This Belgian Saison style brew pours a deep gold with a big durable head that laces well. The aromas are of powdery earth, with a touch of straw and fruitiness of pear and apricot. The flavor is lemony, grassy with orange and black pepper. The high carbonation makes it prickly and airy. Great traditional Saison flavors but a modern (7.5%) alcohol level.

Glazen Toren Ondineke: $14.24

This well carbonated triples pours a light straw yellow. The head is a nice bright white which settles into a rocky foam. The aroma is big and spicy with coriander and light clove, leafy hops and sweet malt. The flavor malty with a touch of candy sugar, tart in its fruitiness with apple and lemon and pleasant herbal hop.

Rogue White Crane: $2.30

This dark orange beer pours with a very frothy head with big bubbles. The aroma is of crystal malts and citrus hops. The flavor starts with an herbal hop then quickly moves to a sweeter bread / caramel malting.

Geants Voisin Saison: $8.45

This is 750ml of amber colored saison that pours with a big fluffy head. The aroma slightly fruity and floral in hops. The flavor is very refreshing with a light bitterness, and fruity quality and a mild earthy spicy yeastiness.

Hebrew Coney Island Lager: $5.00

This lager pours a dusty amber hue with plenty of head that settles down rockier than most lagers. The aroma is sweet and amber / toffee malt with a whiff of fruity hops. Malty on the front palet with caramel and a secret chocolate hint that rides low in the malt profile. The hop flavor is pine and grass with a bitterness that overpowers the malt and lingers well into the finish. Billed as the “Freaks Favorite Beer” this lager has a unique malt and bitterness profile that I intend to go back to again and again.

Domaine des Lambrays 2002 Clos des Lambrays: $125.00

Rated 93 by Wine Spectator. A Cellar Must!

Kulmbacher Eisbock: $2.46

Dark brown in color with a tan milk chocolate colored head. The aroma is sweet, malty, caramel, graininess that is as intoxicating as the smell of port wine. The flavor is intense, toasty, chewy. Caramel, brown sugar and a raisin finish is the flavor with hint if licorice and spicy alcohol.

EKU Pils: $2.28

Yellow gold in color, this pilsner pours with a small bubbly head. The aroma is spicy and floral with a nice maltiness. The soft malt texture up front gives way to a peppery hop bitterness and prickly carbonation texture.

Elsa Addis Tej Mild: $11.25

The Elsa “Mild” is an Ethiopian style sweet mead (but not as sweet as the “Addis Sweet”) that is made with hops. It pours a light straw yellow and makes many thin slow moving legs. The aroma is honey sweet with a hint of grass and pleasing spice. The flavor is sweet with a light cinnamon and black pepper tone. The finish comes on with a light acidity and finishes with a balance of tart acidity and honey sweet. The hops do not come on as bitter because they are not boiled (like in a beer) but instead provide the grassy spicy tones that set this mead apart.

St Peters IPA: $4.76

This is an excellent ENGLISH style IPA; its not Northwest, not even US style but straight up English style IPA. The beer pours amber orange in color with a medium head. The aroma is big on the flowery hop and has a toffee malt nose. The flavor has a flowery grassy hop flavor up front, and a treacle and toffee malt flavor. The bitterness is not HUGE but it does overpower the malt flavor and it lingers quite well.

Le Coq's Imperial Double Stout: $6.54

This beer from Harvey and Son's certainly lives up to its name. It is the thickest, darkest, blackest beer I have ever had (and I have had a lot of beer). A strong 9% this is not for the Pale Ale drinker, or even the IPAers, this one is for those of you like their beer as dark as night and strong enough to take on the world. You have been warned!

Urthel Samaranth 750ml: $12.43

Considered a quadruple by many, this beer pours a pure copper color. The head starts well but settles thin. The aroma is peach fruity with a whiff of alcohol and at 11% that is not surprising. The flavor is cherries dipped in caramel with a cinnamon spice at the finish. You do need to serve this one a little cooler than most Belgians as the 11% does tend to heat up as it warms but this one has a lot of power in flavor as well as alcohol.

Glazen Jan de Lichte: $11.80

Deep gold in color with a huge rocky head. The aroma is honey and floral up front with lemony ctrus peel. The flavor is tart with a good hop showing in the way of floral and resin flavors. The orange and coriander are there which is good considering that they are billing this as an imperial Wit. Light mouthfeel and creamy texture make for an easy beer with tons of flavor.

Floreffe Triple: $8.75

This Belgian triple pours a nice golden orange color. It develops a big creamy head that laces well. The aroma is sweet with pear and banana. The flavor has a slight tartness in its fruitiness and has a late spice. The hopping is subtle, as the style calls for and the finish is dry with the fruit lingering.

Floreffe Melior: $8.75

I knew I would love this one as soon as I took my first whiff. This dark Belgian pours a deep brown color with an amber tint. The head is exactly what you want out of a good Belgian that is big thick and persistent. The aroma is sweet and big with a fig and dark cherry quality with a bit of woodiness at the end. The high carbonation gives it a pillowy mouth feel but a prickly finish. The beer is sweet but not heavy or sticky. The flavor is of dark cherry with a light chocolate and licorice finish. Now this is my kind of beer!!!

Viso Energy Vigor: $22.53

The Viso goal seems to be to provide people with a beverage that has the flavor of a great soda, the vitamins, minerals and electrolytes of a sports drink and some even have a caffeine level that surpasses Jolt Cola. The great thing about the Viso products is that although they have 100% of 12 vitamins and 2 minerals along with 2 electrolytes, but it does not taste like it. It tastes like a fruit drink that’s all. Vigor has all of the vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes of the other Viso products but is flavored with natural Meyer lemon, lime, and strawberry essences. It is sweetened by organic evaporated cane juice, along with the kick of 300mg of caffeine. Sold in units of 12.

Viso Diet Razza: $22.53

The Viso goal seems to be to provide people with a beverage that has the flavor of a great soda, the vitamins, minerals and electrolytes of a sports drink and some even have a caffeine level that surpasses Jolt Cola. The great thing about the Viso products is that although they have 100% of 12 vitamins and 2 minerals along with 2 electrolytes, but it does not taste like it. It tastes like a fruit drink that’s all. Razza is raspberry and strawberry flavored drink with 12 vitamins, two electrolytesand and sweetened with zero calorie Splenda ™. The thing about Viso is the flavor, sure it is good for you but who cares about that when it is something you like. Drink it for the fun and feel good in the process. Sold in units of 12.

Jolt Cola Battery: $2.17

Just when you thought you saw the last of Jolt cola, it is back and it is bigger (23.5oz) and badder than ever. Not only does it still have its great cola taste and a high caffeine JOLT but now comes packed with taurine, guarana, ginseng and b complex. A true pop culture classic with a modern twist. Sold in units of 12.

Jolt Ultra Battery: $2.17

The lemon lime flavor in Jolt’s diet “Ultra” makes it light and refreshing and works very well with the Splenda ™ sweetener. Like it says on the can it’s all positive, no funky aftertaste or medicinal flavors despite being diet AND jammed full of caffeine, taurine, guarana, ginseng and b complex. This is great stuff and I come back to it time and again.

Jolt Silver Battery: $2.17

Lemon Lime flavored jolt that is packed full of caffeine, taurine, guarana, ginseng and b complex. Sold in units of 12

Jolt Cherry Bomb Battery: $2.17

Cherry cola flavored Jolt. The cherry is well matched with the cola and does not overpower it like many of today’s cherry colas. Like the other Jolts products it has an abundance of caffeine, taurine, guarana, ginseng and b complex. Sold in units of 12

Jolt Blue Battery: $2.17

Blue is a touch sweeter than the other four varieties of Jolt. With a light berry / cotton candy flavor it is sweet and packs a punch with its supply of caffeine, taurine, guarana, ginseng and b complex.

Alaskan IPA Pint Glass: $3.50

Alaskan IPA pint Glass

Haand Norwegian Wood: $8.45

This Norwegian gruit (non hopped) ale has a powerful aroma of smoke and juniper. It pours an amber brown color with a very big head. The flavor starts off with smoked malt (beechwood would be my guess but I suppose aspen would not be out of the question) that moves on to a touch of molasses and a bitter juniper mid to finish. Those flavors linger on the tongue for some time but the dryness of the finish leaves you wanting more.

De Struise Pannepot: $5.30

Pannepot is a wonderfully spiced, 10% dark Belgian brew that is everything I expect out of an exceptional Belgian and more. Dark brown in color this beer pours with a massive meringue like head. Sweet fruity aromas that come across fig, pear with spicy notes of cinnamon and a whiff of licorice. The flavor is malty with a touch of sweetness; fig is a major flavor with brown sugar, and hints of chocolate and clove. Great creamy mouth feel and the 10% does not get in the way. A+

Eisenbahn Lust: $24.12

Method champenoise Belgian style triple from Brazil. Deep golden in color Lust pours with a voluminous head. The aroma is sweet with bread, oranges and tart apple. The high carbonation gives it a prickly feeling on the tongue. The flavors are honey, with a light clove and ample fruit. The Champaign method gives it all of the flavor and complexity of a bottle conditioned beer but without the cloudy yeast at the bottom. I’m not sure which one I like better but Lust is sure going to give the Bosteels Deus a run for its money. ----------------------- Notes from the brewery Eisenbahn Lust is the first beer in Brazil produced under the traditional champagne production method, the champenoise. After the first fermentation in the brewery the beer is sent to a winery, where it stays for three months and undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle. After that, the cuvee, remuage and dégorgement processes take place, ending in a fruity and refreshing beer, with a fine and persistent perlage. Ideal as an aperitif, pairing with cheeses and with desserts. The perfect beer for great celebrations. 750 ml / 11, 5% Vol http://www.eisenbahn.com.br/ingles/cervejas/lust.php

Kalnapilis Original: $2.37

The Original pours a beautiful gold color with a big sudsy head. The aroma is lightly of pale malt but mostly of leafy hops. The flavor is hop bitter with a bit of mineral and a slight spiciness.

Golden Pheasant 500ml: $2.19

Darker golden in color this Slovakian brew pours with a medium head that settles into a thin layer. The aroma is of pale malt and spicy lemony hops. The flavor malty but not too sweet and floral hop without a ton of bitterness. Smooth, easy and well balanced. Good lager.

Okocim Palone: $2.55

This dark Polish lager has a richness and complexity that I go for. It pours dark brown with red tint. It pours with a decent head that settles into a thin layer. The aroma is a touch sweet with toffee a light roastiness and a whiff of hops. The flavor has a light smokiness about it with caramel toasty flavors.

Kalnapils 7.30: $2.49

This 7.3% lager pours golden / copper and has a good head. Sweet malt in the aroma with a big bitter spicy hop flavor with a medium body and a prickly carbonation.

Bocq Blanche Des Moines: $9.49

Pale yellow in color this Belgian wit beer is light but flavorful, with a subtle balance between the spices and wheat. The aroma comes off orange and lemony with a hit of coriander. The flavor is of sweet spice, orange peel and a tart wheat character. The mouth feel is light and fluffy but with a tactile spiciness.

Eggenberg Urbock 23: $3.75

From those wacky Austrians who brought you Samichlaus, we are now carrying Urbock 23. This 9.6% golden bock is a tasty sipping treat. The aroma is of honey and yeasty bread. The flavor is sweet malt, herbal hop with a solid bitterness. Exactly what you would expect from the makers of Sami.

Spezial Rauchbier: $4.25

I do enjoy a good “Smoked” beer now and again and this one is my favorite. The reason I love it so is the balance. Smoke flavors are great but I hate to be hit over the head with them. This Marzen lager is amber red in color with a smooth light body. The beechwood smoke flavor mingles with the malt without overpowering it. A light crisp hoping makes it finish well and leaves you wanting more.

Golden Eagle Lager: $1.71

A straight forward lager style with a malty flavor that moves into a hop flavor that is lemony with a touch of apple. A nice brew to go with your vindaloo.

Himalayan Blue: $3.73

Pale golden in color with a thin head that falls quickly. Herbal in aroma with fresh grain whiffs. Pale malt up front with a bit of grainy husks with herbal zesty hop bitter finish. Dry in the finish with a malt tone that hangs in there.

Mountain Meadows Agave Mead: $14.62

Mountain Meadows makes very high quality meads, and does a superb job of balancing the honey character in the mead with the other flavors they add. The one thing I like about their product line is the fact that they not only have a wide selection of flavors but also have a wide selection of sweetness levels. From a semi-dry 1.5% residual sugar to a sweet 9%. This range means that they have a mead for just about every palate. This is a unique semi-dry mead made with blue agave nectar. The Agave cactus is what they make tequila out of. The flavor is not over done and has just a light smokeyt hint at the end. It is one of my personal favs, very well done and must try.

Oud Beersel Oude Geuze Veille: $7.59

Following spontaneous fermentation in wooden barrels (no yeast or sugar added), young and old lambic are blended; which results in a dry, tart and fruity wine like taste. Oud Beersel Oude Geuze is the white sparkling wine of the beer world.

Mountain Meadows Peach: $14.04

Ron once again shows that he a real talent when it comes to mead production. This semi sweet melomel (fruit mead) is one of his best. Light in body, crisp tart peach aroma and flavor. The one thing Ron never fails at is balancing any added flavors to the honey character so even though he is adding peaches it does not hide what is an awesome “mead” honey flavor.

Mountain Meadows Cherry: $16.98

This is a very well done dry mead. Making dry mead is not easy. The honey character that exists after all of the sugar is fermented out is delicate, subtle and unique in flavor. To balance this with additional fruit flavors is difficult. The fruit tends to overpower the fragile dry honey flavor. Ron and Peggy have crafted a fine dry cherry mead that has a light cherry flavor that is well balanced to honey. It is a crisp extremely refreshing mead that can easily be paired with many foods. Serve well chilled and enjoy.

Oud Beersel Oude Kriek Vielle: $7.86

Created by adding whole fresh cherries to geuze (a blend of young and old lambic), which provides both seasoning and sparks another fermentation resulting in a product of astonishing complexity. It has the acidity of champagne, the bouquet and delicate flavor of cherries, and balance of almondy dryness. Oud Beersel Oude Kriek is the pink sparkling wine of the beer world.

Oud Beersel Framboise: $6.45

Created by adding whole fresh raspberries to young lambic, which provides both seasoning and sparks another fermentation resulting in a product of great complexity. It has the acidity of champagne, the bouquet and delicate flavor of raspberries, and balance of almondy dryness.

Blaugies La Moneuse Special Winter: $9.30

A very festive and hardy holiday ‘saison’ home-made at Belgium’s smallest family brewery. Extra rich for the holiday season, at 8% alcohol by volume. Rated 8’s and 9’s (out of 10) by the authors of The Beers of Wallonia. As the label says, really just a richer version of La Moneuse, using a little caramelized malt and maybe more hops. The malt flavor of the Special is a little darker, roastier, and certainly sweeter, which must somehow distract attention a bit from the earthiness which is so notable in La Moneuse.

Blaugies La Moneuse Saison: $9.35

It has a hardy, semi-dry malt character - fresh, but not overpowering hoppiness, abundant yeasty, fruity flavors and a fairly strong, but pleasant and enticing, mustiness. Among Belgium’s saisons, La Moneuse sits with Saison Dupont on the opposite end of the spectrum from the quirky, thin, fruity varieties. But La Moneuse is quite distinct from the Dupont, which drinks much colder, hoppier, harder-edged, and has no discernible sweetness. This beer is a warmer, richer, spicier, more vinous, and arguably more approachable saison. Like many saisons, La Moneuse is a little bit over-carbonated, with an aggressive head.

Hinano Tahiti: $1.73

This brilliant yellow gold lager pours with a two finger sudsy head that leaves some lacing. Lightly grainy sweet with a herbal hop flavor and a light grassy bitter finish. (Sold by the case only.)

Koningshoeven Tripel: $10.70

Without going into too much mind numbing detail, this brewery from the Netherlands once brewed the “La Trappe” label and was an official “Trappist” ale. They then changed the brewery around and lost their “Trappist” status. The “La Trappe” label has since disappeared and the brewery is now brewing under the “Koningshoeven” label and has regained it official “Trappist” designation. This outstanding Trappist Tripel pours a little darker than most at a golden with red tints. The aroma is sweet and fruity with plum and pear components with whiffs of banana. The mouth-feel is creamy and the flavor is of plum and spicy coriander.

Longbottom Kona Fancy: $31.50

This 100% pure Kona coffee is my personal favorite. Smooth, tons of aroma and a bittersweet chocolate like flavor. Limited quantity.

Longbottom Sumatra Mandheling: $14.00

A rich flavor with a unique, deep-toned aroma and a very memorable and vibrant taste. .

From Longbottom Coffee 1lb

Longbottom Guatemalan Antigua: $9.65

A bright, distinctive, well rounded cup. Aromatic, medium-bodied, finely balanced with a lively flavor. .

From Longbottom Coffee 1lb

Bulmers Strongbow Cider Can: $2.41

Tart crisp and appley. Fizzy and refreshing.

Bulmer Strongbow Cider 12 oz: $1.65

Tart crisp and appley. Fizzy and refreshing. This is a dry English cider that is quite thirst quenching and tasty.

Manoir du Parc Pear: $9.27

This perry is the most complex, most well crafted perry I have ever had. Light in body with plenty of carbonation, its flavor is of succulent pear. It is dry and has a well placed but not over powering acidity. This causes the finish to be nice and tart. It also has a bit of tannin in it to give it a good texture. As much skill and craftsmanship goes into make this as any French wine. A unique refreshing treat not easily found here in the US.

Spire Mountain Draft Cider: $1.55

This is GREAT draft cider. Not as sweet as some but is in no way dry. Apples all the way around, big apple aroma and big apple flavor. Nice tartness to go with the sweetness and just a touch of spicy phenol. Their pear product is equally as good,

Longbottom Turkish Blend: $12.00

Indonesian and African coffees are deep roasted for a dark, exotic taste…a superb Turkish brew (full-bodied).

From Longbottom Coffee 1lb