New Arrivals and Sales for Sept. 29, 2006

EDIT - Wed. 10/4/06 at 1:00pm PST: Descriptions have been added for most of the beers so I bumped this post up again. I apologize for any spelling errors, Blogger's spellchecker is acting strange at the moment.

New Arrivals:


Full Sail - Vesuvius: This Belgian-style strong golden ale is sure to warm your body and soul with it's blend of spicy sweet flavors. It carries just enough "alcohol heat" to balance out the residual sugar and provide a tingly yet smooth finish.


Full Sail - Wassail: One of Oregon's most popular winter beers is back. This year's batch pours a beautiful dark garnet color with a creamy beige head. Wassail has an aggressive balance of dark, almost fruity malts and spicy, earthy hops that's sure to please hopheads and maltsters alike.


ReaperAles - Sleighor Double IPA: This is one intense IPA. Clocking in at over 9% ABV, it will live up to it's name and "Sleigh" you if you're not careful. There's a solid caramel/toffee malt base to it, but make no mistake, this is a showcase for the hops; they use Cascades, Centennials, and Columbus in the boil, plus a big pile of Amarillo for dry-hopping), which lead one reviewer on ratebeer.com to describe it as "a pine tree that grows fruit." Santa will be angry if you don't leave him one of these.


ReaperAles - Ritual Dark Ale: I'm not quite sure what to make of this beer. It defies being pigeon-holed by style and almost strikes me as a schizophrenic IPA/Stout hybrid. Lots of dark, roasty malt (highlighted by flavors of figs and dates) and a well integrated earthy, spicy hoppiness combine for a fairly unique brew. If you're a fan of strong dark ales like Arrogant Bastard you'll certainly want to give this Ritual a try.


Fish Tale - Winterfish: Instead of over-the-top spices, Fish Tale goes the opposite route for their winter seasonal. A simple base of bready, honey-tinged malts supports a massive dose of 100% Chinook hops leading to a clean, crisp IPA that goes down suprisingly easy for being 7% alcohol. This is hoppier than their regular IPA, and probably the hoppiest of the winter "6 pack" beers available.


Blue Moon - Pumpkin: I gotta admit, I'm always a little leery of unusual fruit/vegetable beers, especially from the Big 3, but the folks at Labatt's/Coors actually pulled this off suprisingly well. It's got a nice rounded body and mouthfeel to it that's not to full and not to thin. A pleasantly balanced mix of pumpkin spice and fruit flavors precedes a gently fizzy finish.


Dogfish Head - Punkin Ale: At 7% abv the DFH Punkin has a bit more oomph than the Blue Moon Pumpkin, but seems thinner bodied and fizzier at the same time. A similar blend of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice act as a counter balance for the light fruity malt and pumpkin flavors that would otherwise dominate.

Dogfish Head - Midas Touch (back for a limited time): The recipe for Midas Touch is based on residue found in a jar in King Midas' tomb. This brew highlights the known ingredients of barley, white Muscat grapes, honey and saffron. Somewhere between a beer, wine and mead, this smooth, dry ale will please the Chardonnay and I.P.A. drinker alike.


BJ's Brewing - Saison du Portland: This is good. Really, really good. So good I almost can't believe someone I know produced it. Dan and Alex at BJ's stuck fairly close to the standard set by DuPont when they created this brew, and I think they did an admirable job at it. There's a lovely mix of bready, yeasty aromas punctuated by some dry grassy hop notes in the long dry finish. It's still fairly "young" and hasn't finished drying out yet, but given a few months to rest this could become a truly world-class beer.


Siletz - Noggin Knocker (bottled Jan. 2006): This has been hiding in the distributor's warehouse since last winter and I haven't had a chance to try any since February, but I seem to recall enjoying it last time I had it. I'll try and work it into the rotation and shed a little more light on the situation soon.


Snipes Mountain - Roza Reserve Barleywine: This beer is "on deck" for tonight, so I should have a description coming soon.


Fantome - BBB Dark White: A beer with black pepper? Only from the brilliantly twisted mid of Dany Prignon. The beer starts out fairly normal (can you really use that word to describe a Fantome?) with tart/fruity malts, gentle spicy hops and a dose of the Fantome house flavor, best described as "funk." Things quickly get interesting as the pepper slowly builds in the back of your throat until suddenly you're surprised by the heat and wondering how it could be so well hidden. Fantome beers tend to be a love it or hate it thing, but I highly encourage anyone with an interest in unique beer to give this one a shot.

Fantome - Ete (summer): This is easily one of the best Fantome brews I've had. In the glass it has the luminous translucency of clover honey, mirroring the mild honey aroma that wafts up. This is quite possibly the perfect late summer beer. The incredibly smooth body propels the biscuit/honey malt flavor around the mouth in a soothing creamy fashion. There's just enough hops in here to balance out the sweetness, but you'll probably be so floored by the flavor balancing act that you won't even notice any bitterness.

T'ij - Plzen: This is no ordinary pilsener. It probably started life as a classic pils recipe with pale malt and spicy noble hops, but somewhere along the way the brewers at T'ij went and fiddled with it. From the moment you open the bottle it becomes obvious that they used some sort of estery Belgian ale yeast instead of a traditional lager yeast, and the fruity aspect it brings to this beer really helps it stand out. I probably wouldn't recommend it to someone who came in looking for a "Pilsener", but I'd certainly suggest it to anyone who enjoys beers like Orval or Duvel.

T'ij - Turbock: The Turbock is another hybridized offering from T'ij. If you imagine a classic medium-bodied, malt forward bock and juice it up with a good fruity house yeast you'll probably come close to this beer. Like the Plzen, it's not something I'd recommend to a customer asking for a "bock", but it's a great beer in it's own way.


SALES FOR THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO:

Aktien - Oktoberfest: Reg. $2.70/btl SALE $2.20/btl

Paulaner - Oktoberfest: Reg. $2.70/btl SALE $2.20/btl

Ayinger - Oktoberfest: Reg. $3.15/btl SALE $2.70/btl

Spaten - Oktoberfest: Reg. $8.50/6pk SALE $6.70/6pk

Beck's - Oktoberfest: Reg. $8.50/6pk SALE $5.70/6pk TEMP. OUT OF STOCK

Blue Moon Pumpkin: Reg. $8.50/6pk SALE $5.70/6pk

Fish Tale - Winterfish: Reg. $8.50/6pk SALE $6.95/6pk

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Tags: Belmont Station, Beer, Full Sail, ReaperAles, Fish Tale, Blue Moon, Dogfish Head, BJ's Brewing, Siletz, Snipes Mountain, Fantome, T'ij, Aktien, Paulaner, Ayinger, Spaten, Beck's