New Beer Friday, Ides of March Edition

By Chris Siciliano

This Sunday is St. Patrick's Day, and we all know what that means—green attire, Irish beer, the occasional nip of Irish whiskey. And though Buzz readers are mostly beer enthusiasts (dare I say purists), there is nary a one of us I'm sure who has not let green-dyed beer cross his/her lips while celebrating the holiday at some college dive bar or kegger. I know I have. Go on, judge me if you have to.

But did you know another holiday with its own signature drink is separated from St. Patricks Day by a mere 24 hours. March 15 is the Ides of March, a date of religious significance for ancient Romans and also the day that Julius Caesar met his demise at the hands of 60, count 'em, 60 senatorial conspirators. Et tu, Brute?

It's on this day—and perhaps only this day—that you should mark the assassination of a 2,000-year-old Roman emperor by tippling the drink that bears his name, the Bloody Caesar. With clamato and vodka, tell me, how can you go wrong?

On second thought, here's a list of beers that might be more appealing than a big glass of tomato-clam juice.

New Beers at Siciliano's

• Eerie Brewing Mad Anthony APA, $1.89/12oz - "American Pale Ale: Balanced malt and hop flavor, a great showcase of American Hops. Pale Amber" (source).
• Eerie Brewing Misery Bay IPA, 1.89/12oz - "Light to medium maltiness with an explosive blast of hop flavor. Light Amber" (source).
• Eerie Brewing Drake's Crude Oatmeal Stout, $2.39/12oz - "Malt bonanza of roasted, and chocolate malt flavors, with a silky smooth finish" (source).
• Eerie Brewing Railbender Scottish Style Ale, $1.89/12oz - "Erie Brewing Company flagship beer features a deep malt flavor, caramel sweetness lingering in a soft hop flavor" (source).
• Eerie Brewing Presque Isle Pilsner, $1.69/12oz - "Excellent malt flavor fronted and followed by German and American Hops, Truly refreshing. Light Gold" (source).
• Eerie Brewing Fallenbock Oktoberfest Lager, $2.39/12oz - "Robust, roasted, chocolate malt flavor, followed with a clean and crisp finish. Chocolate Brown" (source).
• Robinsons Old Tom with Chocolate, $4.59/12oz - "With a distinctive ’natural’ milky sweet chocolate palate balanced by underlying hop and roasted malt characters, Chocolate Tom is a superior, rich and warming speciality beer with a dark mahogany colour" (source).
• Robinsons Old Tom with Ginger, $4.59/12oz - "Ginger Tom is a richly flavoured dark oak coloured ale with distinctive aromas of peppery spice and sweet ginger" (source).
• Hitachino Sweet Stout, $5.39/12oz - "A perfect mixture of coffee, chocolate, and roasted flavors in the nose and on the palate. No bitterness, but sweet notes throughout to the very finish" (source).
• Wintercoat Vildmoseol, $20.29/750ml - "Don't try to pronounce this one without at least one under your belt! This beer was brewed for the Lille Vildmose nature center in northern Jutland. The area is characterised by peat bogs, which inspired this brown ale with its subtle notes of peat-smoked malt, the fresh, spiciness of bog myrtle and the bittersweet fruitiness of rowan berries. These 3 ingredients harmonise beautifully with the other malts and hops used. A wonderful beer to drink with game and lamb - and it does justice to pickled herring as well!" (source).
• Porterhouse Oyster Stout, $4.29/12oz - "Brewed with fresh oyster. A smooth drinking aromatic stout with a discernible but unidentifiable aromatic aspect. Not suitable for vegetarians. This gently flavored stout has a roast malt character, full body and an aromatic character from the Goldings hops. Fresh oysters added during the brewing process, lend a discernible yet unidentifiable note" (source).
• Morland Old Golden Hen, $1.79/12oz - "Crafted by the master brewer of "Old Speckled Hen", this light golden beer, delivers both flavour and refreshment. Brewed using the finest pale malts, and the rare Galaxy hop to give a light golden colour, subtle tropical fruit notes and a deliciously smooth finish" (source).
• Meantime Coffee Porter, $4.59/12oz - "Our first formulation of this beer was the first UK brewed beer to carry the Fairtrade logo, and although we have reformulated it to create an even better blend better the malt and roast coffee flavours and can no longer get enough coffee in each bottle to qualify for Fairtrade status, we are still using the same Faitrade Araba Bourbon beans from Rwanda’s Abuhuzamugambi Co-operative. At the Meantime Brewing Co we love flavour, so it wasn’t exactly difficult for us to see how the scents and aromas of coffee and barley would create a perfect match like just like mint and lamb, toffee and banana, peaches and cream, peanut butter and jam. Serve lightly chilled with as many chocolate truffles as your conscience allows" (source).
• Innis and Gunn Irish Whiskey Cask, $2.79/12oz - "It all began in October 2011 when Innis & Gunn’s Master Brewer and Owner, Dougal Sharp, filled four hundred rare oak barrels, previously used to mature whiskey from a famous Irish distiller, with their specially brewed stout. As the beer matured the flavor seemed to improve more and more and come into its own as time passed. After aging the beer for sixty days, and using a three-step maturation process, it was finally ready to be released" (source).
• Schlenkerla Doppelbock, $4.29/17oz - "While for the classic 'Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier' traditionally beech has been - and still is - used, the malt for "Schlenkerla Oak Smoke" is kilned with Oak wood. The resulting Schlenkerla Oak Smoke Malt has a smoother and more multi layered smoky note than the intensely aromatic Beech Smoke Malt. The hence complex smokiness in the "Schlenkerla Oak Smoke" is paired with the multifaceted bitterness of finest Hallertau aroma hops. With 8% alcohol and amber color it matures for months in the deep brewery cellars underneath Bamberg into a special treat for smoke beer lovers" (source).
• Schlenkerla Weizen, $4.79/17oz - "Schlenkerla Smokebeer Wheat is an ale with light smoky aroma. As Bavarian wheat beers, it is being brewed with a mixture of both barley malt and wheat malt. The portion of barley malt is hereby a classic Schlenkerla smokemalt, while the wheat malt remains unsmoked. Served unfiltered with its natural haziness, Schlenkerla Wheat reaches its full aroma through bottle fermentation with fine top fermenting yeast" (source).
• Petrus Dubbel Bruin Ale, $3.59/12oz - "Petrus Double Brown Ale is a top-fermented dark beer. Brewed with pure spring water and carefully selected hops and malts. The dark beer with its subtle and slightly caramelized flavour is preferably served cool" (source).
• Dogfish Head ApriHop, $2.59/12oz - "A strong IPA brewed with real apricots and finished with whole leaf Willamette and Cascade hops" (source).
• Arbor Phat Abbot Tripel, $2.29/12oz - "This traditional Belgian-style triple is strong, fruity, and slightly sour. It starts with a big malt presence, followed up by a pronounced candy sugar sweetness, and balanced with a spicy hop finish. A must-try. Ask your server for a taste!" (source).

Video Time Capsule of the Week

Want to see how different Siciliano's looked 6 years ago?

Check out this video that Josh Leo, aka wanderwestmichigan,

made way back in 2007. My how things change!

Visit Josh Leo's YouTube page for other videos featuring West Michigan.

Cheers!