New Beer Friday - December 14 Edition

Customer Jackson Payer poses with
a Duvel holiday gift pack

By Chris Siciliano

Let's cut to the chase. As great as the holidays can be, there is always the added stress of finding the perfect gift for everybody on your list. For those unfortunate souls still struggling to come up with last minute gift ideas, Siciliano's has your answer: booze.

The way we see it, you have three fail-safe options when it comes to gifting booze: (1) give away the beer, wine, or cider you made yourself; (2) browse our extensive selection of professionally crafted alcoholic beverages for the most fitting libation; (3) give your friend or loved one the satisfaction of crafting their own tasty beverages.

Option three might entail purchasing a homebrewing or winemaking equipment kit. If so, rest assured knowing both kits are currently on sale, and that means you'll have more money to put toward stocking your own refrigerator at home. Speaking of beer, here's the list of the latest to arrive at Siciliano's.

New (and Returning) Beer

• Blue Point Toxic Sludge, $2.89/16oz can - "Toxic Sludge is our version of the relatively new Black IPA style. Care should be taken to not spill this heavy ale, as the results could be disastrous, so please consume BP Toxic Sludge responsibly. Hopped at four stages of the brewing process, we combined a hoppy India Pale Ale with a richer, darker malt base for a full bodied beer that’s big on flavor. This limited release, specialty brew was crafted to benefit birds affected by BP’s 2010 Gulf oil spill. 100% of the proceeds go to Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research for their “Spreading Our Wings” campaign" (source).
• Blue Point White IPA, $1.69/12oz can - "Remaining at the forefront of experimentation, the brewers at Blue Point have produced a white beer/IPA hybrid that is well on its way to creating a new style for the beer description books. Our White IPA is an unfiltered European-style white ale with a fresh American IPA finish. Brewed with malted and unmalted wheat and just the right amount of west coast hops, it’s fermented with German yeast to give it a perfectly balanced character with less bitterness than traditional IPAs" (source).
• Dogfish Head Tweason' Ale, $2.59/12oz - "Tweason’ale is a beer we brewed on the cusp of summer. It is a gluten-free sorghum based beer brewed with fresh strawberries from our friends at Fifer Orchards near Dover, Delaware. For the sorghum, we sourced a dark, sweet, syrup with notes of molasses and pit-fruit. We also used a a dark buckwheat honey with a beautiful hay-like, earthy-malty thing that we felt added the final touch to this Tweason’ale recipe" (source).
• Leinenkugel Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout, $2.99/12oz - "The Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout was brewed at Leinenkugel’s tiny 10th street brewery in Milwaukee. This brew boasts a selection of 11 malts and grains balanced by three different and distinct hops. Dark and complex, with chocolate tones and notes of dark fruits, it is daring yet delicious. Travels well. Ages well" (source).
• Dark Horse Thirsty Trout Porter, $1.79/12oz - "A richly malty ale, with clear characteristics of dark chocolate and black malt, and hints of black licorice, ale fruitiness, and molasses in the finish" (source).
• Southern Tier Choklat Stout 2012, 9.29/22oz - "At Southern Tier, we’re not surprised that hieroglyphs of the ancient Maya depict chocolate being poured for rulers and gods. Even through the many voyages of Columbus, the mystical bean remained nothing more than a strange currency of the native peoples. Moving through centuries, the circular journey of cacao has been realized in our brewing house, encompassing the complexity of the darkest, bitter-sweet candy together with the original frothy cold beverage of the ancient Maya to bring to you our Blackwater Series Choklat Stout. We have combined the finest ingredients to tempt your senses & renew the power & interrelation of history in every bottle" (source).
• New Belgium Lips of Faith Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout, $6.69/22oz - "Serving up cold and jet black, this imperial stout should be taken seriously for about one minute as the dark foam builds. Then, enjoy its velvety chocolate-covered smoothness and delicious aroma of sustainably-grown, locally roasted coffee" (source).

Picture of the Week

The Czech Pils from Big Rock Chop House,
soon-to-be Griffin Claw Brewing

Cheers!