(Not So) New Arrivals

This is generally one of, if not the slowest times of year in terms of new beers coming out. The summer seasonals have been here for months, and most of the fall/holiday seasonals won't start rolling in for a couple weeks at least. In spite of this, we've managed to maintain a steady trickle of fresh treats pretty much all summer long, most of which aren't seasonals. Over the next few days, I'm going to slowly chip away at the backlog of new things that have come in since mid-July. If you're a regular at the Station you may have already seen a few of them on the shelf, but now that I have my writing mojo back I'll catch up soon enough.


Lakefront - Fuel Cafe Coffee Stout: I've been pestering the distributors for months to find us a reasonably priced coffee beer, and my persistence finally paid off. A couple months ago somebody started bringing Lakefront into Oregon, mainly for their Organic ESB and New Grist, a gluten-free beer made with sorghum. That triggered a long lost memory of Fuel Cafe, a beer I used to enjoy when I lived in Madison, WI. It took almost three months of pleading, and promising to buy it all if no one else did, but they finally brought in a small load of this tasty "session" stout. It does have a fair amount of caffeine in it, and it's less than 5% abv, so the coffee buzz might take hold before the booze sets in, but if you're drinking a coffee beer you're probably looking for the jolt anyway. I'll be honest and admit that it doesn't have near the complexity of Alesmith Speedway Stout or Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast, but you can buy a six pack for less than the price of one bottle of either of those. The coffee flavor predominates, but they've done a good job of subduing the acrid bitterness that tends to appear in coffee that's been brewed and chilled. Combined with a silky mouthfeel and a slightly roasty (yet smooth) finish, it makes for a tasty beer that'll keep you going late.


Schmaltz Brewing - Coney Island Lager: From the fine folks who bring you the HeBrew line comes this tasty "premium lager", a fund raising effort for the famous theme park. The label alone is worth the price of admission; a borderline psychotic clown stares out at you and beckons you to see whats going on inside the tent. Seemingly every square inch, and all the required info, is covered in slogans, miniature posters, and other carnival style advertising.

Inside the bottle you'll find a refreshing, perfectly balanced lager. Despite the "premium lager" moniker, its really more akin to an Americanized version of a Dortmunder Export, a golden, slightly hoppier lager. A clean, grainy/bready malt base gives way to a gentle tickle of herbal and citrus hop flavors on it's way to a wonderfully crisp finish.

Tune in tomorrow for info on some new beers from Mahrs Brau (one of personal favorites), some top shelf British ciders, and possibly more.