Hmm...I love Tuesday. Why? Because we get...

New Beer!

Today we welcome Spanish Peaks to our collection, starting with the Honey Raspberry and Black Dog Ale.

According to Spanish Peaks, the Honey Raspberry is: "a light bodied amber ale made with wildflower honey and natural raspberry. These ingredients, combined with five domestic and imported malted barleys, Pacific Northwest hops, water and ale yeast, create a unique, fruity ale with a soft palate and a touch of sweetness."

You'll notice lots of opposing reviews of this one if you check the beer geek sites, which I think is sadly common with any fruit beer. I realize some people just don't want fruit in their beer, which is fine, but why they have to go and trash a perfectly respectable brew because of personal taste is a mystery to me. I noticed a couple reviews that even said, "it's okay, but it's not a lambic"...gimme a break. Do you really think they (or anyone else) have the ability produce something resembling a lambic and sell it at retail for $1.50 a bottle? Maybe in Brussels you could get a glass of faro for $1.50, but even then any sort of "real" lambic is going to cost you twice that. Ok, enough ranting. What I'm getting at here is that this is a nice refreshing beer that advertises VERY clearly what's inside. If you like well-crafted "American style" fruit beers this is a great choice, if you don't like fruit beers we've got plenty of traditional flavored beers, like this one:

Spanish Peaks Black Dog Ale is an "English style special amber ale. This ale's full body imparts a distinctive malty, robust palate and fruity bouquet. Brewed from pale malted barley, Munich, crystal, carastan and a touch of chocolate malts, Pacific Northwest hops, water and ale yeast." It seems to stick fairly close to the guidelines of an ESB or English Pale; prominent maltiness with bready, slightly caramelly flavors, and earthy, spicy hop notes floating in the background. I'd suspect a fairly dry, nutty finish as well, but I'll have to try one later and find out.

We've also got the first run of Fish Brewing's incredible Leviathan (barleywine) AND Poseidon (imperial stout) in new 22oz bottles. I lobbied hard for magnums, but honestly I'm just glad to have them back one way or another.

There's more to come, but right now I've got a big stack of beer to deal with so check back this afternoon for the lowdown on some St. Pat's day sales.