New Beer Friday, Cast Your Vote Edition (Feb 17)

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

Beer City USA continues to garner national recognition for its vibrant craft beer culture. This past week USA Today announced that Grand Rapids has again made the publication’s list of the twenty best beer scenes in America, presenting GR with the opportunity to reprise its 2016 USA Today’s Readers’ Choice award as the number one destination for craft beer in the country.

“Michigan’s second-largest city sports the state’s strongest beer scene, thanks largely to the presence of the world-renowned Founders Brewing Co.,” the publication states on its 10Best website. “Not to be outdone, there are several other brewing operations around town, most notably the Belgian-inspired Brewery Vivant. The city’s official “Beer City Ale Trail” lists more than 40 breweries in the surrounding area, and the local calendar is constantly filled with beer festivals, events and promotions. Throw in exceptional beer stores such as Siciliano’s Market, and it’s easy to see why Grand Rapids proudly stakes its claim as Beer City USA.”

Also nominated for USA Today’s Readers’ Choice awards this year are Brewery Vivant and Founders Brewing Company for the country’s best brewpub and HopCat for the best beer bar. Voting for each specific category is limited to one vote per day per device and ends Monday, March 13. Click on the following links to cast your votes:

• Best Beer Scene
• Best Brewpub
• Best Beer Bar

New and Returning Beer

• Short's Uncle Steve, $1.69/12oz - "Uncle Steve’s Irish Stout is Short’s version of the classic Irish Stout, complete with a dark color, soft head, and smooth full flavor typical of this lighter bodied beer. A simple grist formula provides a base of roasted malt flavors and a creamy drinkability everyone loves" (source).
• Victory Selene Saison, $7.99/750ml - "Dark as the night sky and fermented with unique yeast, this Saison delivers earthy and spicy undertones to warm your senses all winter long" (source).
• Atwater Cherry Wheat, $1.99/12oz - "The addition cherries from Traverse City, MI, prior to fermentation, Atwater’s Cherry Wheat brings a bright tartness together with the crispness of an American Wheat ale" (source).
• Dogfish Head Beer to Drink Music To, $2.59/12oz - "Our music-inspired Tropical Blonde brewed with kiwi juice & hibiscus flowers" (source). See video below.
• Dogfish Head Festina Peche (2016), $2.59/12oz - "Our tart summer-session-sour" (source).
• Shiner Coffee, $1.69/12oz - "For our 108th birthday, we’ve brewed up something special. Our first coffee ale, crafted in collaboration with Austin’s own Chameleon Cold-Brew, made with dark-roasted specialty malt and Chameleon’s beloved cold-brewed coffee, it’s sure to wake up your tastebuds. But it won’t be here forever, so pour yourself a fresh cup while you can" (source).
• Right Brain Firestarter Chipolte Porter, $7.19/22oz - "A deep bodied and roasty porter with strong smokey notes and a mild spicy finish. Flavor profile very similar to mexican mole’ sauces" (source).
• Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock, $2.79/12oz - "A traditional Doppelbock fermented with an old world yeast. Reddish brown in color with a mild hop profile, Consecrator is a well-balanced, full-bodied lager with hints of caramel and molasses in its smooth, malty finish after spending 3 months maturing in our fermentation tanks" (source).
• Dark Horse Too Cream Stout, $2.09/12oz - "Number two in our stout series, this beer is made with milk sugar (lactose) which gives this beer a nice creamy mouth feel, pleasant sweetness, and aromas of chocolate and coffee. An earthy hop profile that mingles with flavors of roasted coffee and sweet milk chocolate provide a fulfilling finish" (source).
• Dark Horse Rail, La Spar, $2.09/12oz (4 per) - "Stout brewed with sarsapilla root and vanilla beans" (source).
• New Holland White Hatter, $1.79/12oz - "Flavorfully blends the soft malt, fruity esters and delicate spicing of a Belgian White with hoppy citrus notes of an IPA. Pleasant hints of orange are framed with chamomile, coriander and grains of paradise" (source).
• Stone Jindia Pale Ale, $2.99/12oz - "A double India Pale Ale instilled with Juniper, ginger and lemon peel" (source).
• Stone Pataskala, $1.99/12oz - "A massively dry-hopped deep crimson IPA" (source).

Dogfish Head Beer to Drink Music To

Now available at Siciliano's Market.

Cheers!