New Arrivals For Tueday September 1

Not much in the way of new things, but I figured people would want a heads up about a couple of these.

New Arrivals:

• Russian River - Temptation: A mid-strength (at least for RR) sour blond aged in Chardonnay barrels with every pretty much every wild yeast available. This is not an introductory wild ale as the levels of tartness and horse blanket mustiness will probably scare off people who aren't already in love with the style, but for lovers of wild brews this is one of the best. I'd put it second only to Supplication in RR's "regular" sour line-up.
• Mad River - The Mad Belgian: I haven't had it yet, but based on the few reviews that have been posted it's a coppery colored Belgian-style ale with some candi sugar maltiness, tropical fruit overtones from the yeast, and some citrusy hops to balance it out. Sounds pretty darn good.
• Flying Dog - Dogtoberfest: (commercial description) Dogtoberfest is a unique beer containing five premium malts. This lager draws its influence from the Vienna Marzen or Oktoberfest style. It is rich and malty with a sweet aroma and deep mahogany color.
• Leinenkugel's - Oktoberfest: A classic festbier from a classic midwest brewery. Ignore the low ratings, I think Leinenkugel's scores suffer more from being owned by Miller than from any flaw in the beers themselves. Except for the summery one that tastes like Fruity Pebbles™, that stuff deserves its low rating.
  
• Southern Oregon Brewing - "Na Zdravi" Czech Pils: Solid pils with a smooth body, just a hint of sulpher, and a crisp noble-hoppiness to the finish. This is a pretty short run seasonal, so grab some now.
  
• Hale's Ales - O'Brien's Harvest Ale: An aggressively hopped, copper-hued ale, perfect for the warm days and cooler nights of September.
  

The following aren't new, but they don't come in very often so it's worth noting:

• Alesmith - Wee Heavy
• Alesmith - Devil
• Alesmith - IPA

Last but not least, we should be receiving a small shipment of Russian River Pliny the Elder and Blind Pig IPA on Friday, but we're at the mercy of distributors and trucking companies, so don't get mad at me if it doesn't arrive.

New Arrivals For Tuesday 11.06.07

Todays' delivery brings us some of the most sought after beer of the season, so let's not waste time on idle chit chat...

Anchor - Our Special Ale 2007 (aka Anchor Christmas): This one's a mystery every year, but thankfully the rep brought a sample bottle the other day (Thanks, Brady!), so we got to try it before bringing it in. This year's recipe has less of the nutmeg/clove combo and features more earthy, spruce needle flavors. Quite tasty now, and it seems like it will be a tasty vintage to lay down for a few months or more. Available in 12oz bottles, 1.5ltr magnums, and draft for a limited time.


Stone - Double Bastard: Ye shall know the Bastard, and the Bastard shall set you free! If you've never heard of Double Bastard, or the "regular" Arrogant Bastard, then this beer probably isn't for you. Clocking in at 10% abv it isn't quite double the arrogance, but it's enough to knock you down a peg or two if you're not careful. Available for a VERY limited time in 22oz bottle and 3 ltr Jeroboams.


Lagunitas - Cappuccino Stout: This welcome addition to the holiday beer calendar is brewed with Sebastapol Coffee. Big buzz, small price. What more could you ask for?


Mad River - John Barleycorn: One of my favorite barleywines, and reasonably priced too. Best of all, it's organic, so you can feel good about saving the planet while drinking it.


Beer Valley - Pigskin Pale Ale: Brand new, we'll let you know as soon as we've tried it.


Beer Valley - Highway to Ale: Also brand new. Check back soon for an update.


That's it for now. If you happen to read this in the next couple hours be sure and pop in for the first in our series of Winter Beer Tastings. Tonight's tasting includes Deschutes Jubelale, Big Sky Powderhound, Lost Coast Winterbraun, Golden Valley Tannenbomb, New Belgium 2 Below, Pyramid Snow Cap, Sam Smiths Winter Welcome Vintage 2006, and the new St. Peter's Winter Ale. As usual, we'll have sale prices on the tasting beers throughout the evening.