BEER TASTING!

Okay, its officially official now.

I'll be hosting a beer tasting at our store on Tuesday, December 22nd from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.

I know I kind of tossed out a few other dates, but this is what we've settled on. And the best part is the line-up. Prepare yourselves for this...

• Blue Moon Grand Cru
• Goose Island Matilda (Belgian Pale)
• Troeg's Mad Elf
• Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome
• Magic Hat Howl

I can't wait for this. There's a lot of good stuff right there, and the variety in styles is all over the place. Plus all of these brews will be 10% during the tasting only.

Be sure to mark your calendars.

Tasting coming up!!!... sort of...

The weekend has ended, which means its back to booze time for us at RPWL.

- Belgian 6-pack gift sets with 6 different beers will be in later this week. This will make an awesome gift for any beer aficionado. I'll try to get the specifics on what beers are included.

- We're finalizing a date and line-up for a beer tasting to be held sometime this month. Right now, we're leaning towards either December 23rd/24th or the 30th/31st. Thoughts?

- For this tasting, we're going to focus on some things that many of you haven't had a chance to try yet. Right now, we're specifically talking about Goose Island's Matilda (I tried it Saturday. An amazingly subtle, yet complex and smooth, Belgian pale ale. Couldn't put it down. I'll get around to posting my notes later.) and Blue Moon's Grand Cru. We'll let you know more info as it becomes available.

Saturday Updates

Caps got DESTROYED by the Sabres on Wednesday night. Awesome game. I'm enjoying my case of beer courtesy of Erek. And Ryan Miller, too, I suppose.

- Goose Island's Matilda is here. 4-packs are cold and in the beer doors. They're selling for $9.99 a pop. I'll try to do a review later and hopefully we'll be able to throw it in a tasting sometime soon as well.

- I know everyone's pushing gift ideas on you right now, but one gift set we have that's worth the try is Dooley's Liqueur. It's a toffee flavored, cream-like liqueur, and it comes with a Dooley's tumbler glass. All for $19.99. Not a bad deal, and a great gift idea if you need one for a booze-loving friend.

- Also, as the holidays are quickly approaching, Erek and I have done our homework and brought in some great favorites for this time of year. Our single malt selection is at an all-time best and we have some great deals, too. And we have extremely overhauled our sparkling wine section. Gloria Ferrier, Argyle, Rigol Cava... and those are just a few of the newbies to the store. As always, we're glad to help you find exactly what you're looking for. Feel free to ask us.

Well, that's all for now. Check back later for some tasting notes.

And Go Navy!

Sabres v Caps, Ver. 2.0

Buffalo hosts the Caps tonight. Erek and I have another case of beer on the line and I can't afford to lose this.

Puck drops @ 7. Pick up some brews at the store before then.

Magic Hat Winter Seasonal: Howl

A review for you all to enjoy...

Magic Hat (Burlington, VT) Brewing, the makers of #9, Circus Boy, and other wheat-y, fruit inspired concoctions have decided to give us their version of a schwarzbier. This beer replaces Jinx as their winter seasonal in the limited release line-up. Dark 12-oz bottle with eyes peering over random objects that spell out the beer's name.

Appearance: Dark. Not completely black, but close to it. Brownish hues. An off-white frothy head with clumps of bottles.

Smell: Sweet and malty. A lot of coffee notes. Lots of schwarzbier goodness here. I'm surprised that this is coming from Magic Hat.

Taste: Bittersweet and cola-like. A good amount of smokiness and smoked meat (sounds odd, but it's pleasant in the background.) Very above average for the style. The finish almost makes you think it won't linger, but the good earthy, dark malt sticks with you for a bit. Quite nice.

Drinkability: I like this quite a bit. Carbonation is spot on and fizzy. An easy drinker and you'll want to keep sipping it.

Overall: Highly recommended. There aren't many schwarzbiers out there that are in this price range. (Sam Adams Black Lager?) And this ranks right there with anything else you'll find. Good stuff from MH.

Playoffs?! PLAYOFFS?!?!

So, the Ravens were pretty bad last night. And I'm still seeing little yellow pieces of cloth on the ground for some reason. Maybe some beer updates will take care of that...

BEER UPDATES

Incoming stuff! We're going to be carrying a new brewery out of New York called Butternuts. That's not a typo. It sounds so fun to say. "Hey man, you want a beer? How 'bout a Butternuts?"

Anyways, we'll have a variety 12-pack from 'em and they should be in today. If I'm not mistaken, it will have 3 pale ale, 3 IPA, 3 stout, and 3 hefeweizen. I haven't had any of their stuff yet, but the reviews look decent enough. I'll post a review tonight. (I still owe you Magic Hat and Blue Moon reviews, too. My bad... they did taste good, though.)

Also, I said I'd let you know when Goose Island comes in. Well, it is... sort of. We'll have 4-packs of their Belgian Strong Pale Ale, called 'Matilda.' This will definitely be included in our upcoming holiday beer tasting. Unfortunately, it looks like the rest of their line-up may not be available until January. Again, we'll keep you updated.

Until tonight (when I promise I'll have a Butternuts review for you,) keep drinking booze and staying warm.

SNOW!

Wow, it's crazy here! The wine sale is ending tomorrow night. Set your cell phone alarm and make sure you stock up your cellar before 9 p.m. tomorrow.

In other news, the white stuff falling from the sky has apparently made everyone on Roland Avenue forget how to drive. Be cautious when driving by the store.

Also, a new beer in stock that I wanted to mention. Magic Hat Howl is the new seasonal brew from the Vermont based brewery that used to make condoms (and that is completely true.) It's a schwarzbier and based on the reviews I've read, it packs a lot of flavor compared to their other stuff. I've already got a 6'er chilling, so look back for a personal review later tonight. Here's more from beeradvocate for the meantime.

Hope to see you all soon.

As promised...

Since this blog took a brief vacation, I've decided to do a brief run down of some things we've got chillin' in the coolers. Here's a quick list...

- The Oktoberfests are gone, but the winter beers have replaced them quite well. Fairly impressed so far this year. Sammy Adams did well again and seems to be on par with their brew from last year. Snow Goose, from Wild Goose in Frederick, has really impressed us. A great balance of malt and spice. K-9 from Flying Dog is also in. Not bad, but nearly as good as year's previous.

- Nitro Cans. We've gone on a nitro can kick here. It just adds a new dimension to the beer. We now have Old Speckled Hen & Belhaven Scotish Ale in addition to Boddington's and the regular line of Irish dry stouts.

- Perhaps the most interesting new 6-pack is Wolaver's Coffee Porter. Intense dry, bitter coffee flavor. Definitely worth the try.

- New in single beers... Jerome Stout. A stout from Argentina. I had really low expectations for this beer and it blew me away. Amazing flavor. Well balanced. Not too heavy and not bitter like I expected. Great stuff.

- Blue Moon Grand Cru. A large, single bottle wheat beer. Amazing citrus and yeast flavors. Unlike most wheat beers, though, this has a nice warming finish from the 8.2% ABV.

- Petrus Oud Bruin. One of my favorite styles of beer. It's all malt. No hops. Leaves a sour flavor in your mouth. Some people say it doesn't even taste like a beer because it's so different. It'll broaden your taste in beers, for sure.

Well, I suppose that's enough for now. If I think of anything else, I'll slab it up here. If not, I'll be back later for some tasting notes. (Woot!)

A post!

Alright, this blog is back.

I hope you are, too.

So, anyways, the store has just kicked off a great wine sale. When you buy a bottle, you get half off any second bottle in the store.

Just passing word along. I'll have a list of some new intriguing beers later this afternoon and hopefully some tasting notes on something delicious later this evening.

Toodles.