New Beer Friday, Happy New Year Edition (December 28)

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

Well I’m happy to report that this old, semi-retired merchant still has the stamina to put in a full day’s work. Because most of our part-time employees traveled to locations across the state to spend time with their families over the Christmas holiday, the GM (Sarah) asked me to pinch hit on a couple of days last weekend. It took a while to shake off the rust but after ringing up a few transactions, I found my groove and it felt like old times again.

I’ve always enjoyed working during the busy holiday season and despite being exhausted after those three eight-hour shifts, I think I enjoyed this year even more. It felt good to be helping folks with beer, wine, liquor, cigars, coffee, tea, brewing ingredients and winemaking supplies again.

Barb and I were pleased Sarah was able to honor everyone’s request for time off. We realize that the continued success of Siciliano’s Market is directly related to the efforts of our great staff and we believe in treating them the same way we would treat our own children. We’re just a mom-and-pop operation after all and we have always referred to our employees as our kids, an apt description considering how long some of them have been with us.

Of course, it goes without saying that Siciliano’s wouldn’t be the store it is today without our loyal customers and Barb and I are deeply grateful for your continued patronage. On behalf of the staff we would like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year.

New and Returning Beer

Brewery Vivant Plein De Vie Sereis

• Brewery Vivant Plein De Vie Escoffier, $12.99/500ml - "Auguste Escoffier is considered the master chef of the 20th century. His ideas and methods left an indellible imprint on the culinary world, and are still in use to this very day. We named our beer ’Escoffier’ to celebrate the relationship between great food and excellent beer, and how they elevate each other when enjoyed together" (source).
• Brewery Vivant Plein De Vie Strawberry Rhubarb, $10.89/500ml - "A Belgian-weiss beer soured in a melange of barrels and aged with Strawberries and Rhubarb" (source).
• Brewery Viviant Plein De Vie Tower of Sour, $10.89/500ml - "The tower we refer to here is our 40-barrel French oak foeder. It’s a large wooden tank that holds beer, allowing it to ferment with the wild yeasts already present in the oak. This beer was first debuted at our Wood-Aged Beer Festival in September 2016. Aged for six months in oak, this malty-forward ale presents a subtle chocolate, coffee roastiness, but has taken on a distinctly sour character from the wild yeast" (source).
• Central State Nice Pair of Slacks, $4.09/16oz - "This sharp looking beer is brewed to be as dry and hop-forward as possible. From the effervescent carbonation to the low residual sugar, this beer is designed to showcase the copious amounts of Hallertauer Blanc & Mosaic hops used to produce it" (source).
• Central State Rose, $3.29/16oz - "To craft this light and refreshing pink drink we combine our Rustic Blonde Ale, Table, with a few hundred pounds of raspberries and referment them with our house yeast cultures" (source).
• City Built Anabatic Flow, $4.39/16oz - "Hazy IPA. Pine Resin, Pineapple & Peach Flavor" (source).
• New Belgium Brut, $1.79/12oz - "Bubbly, dry, crisp, and refreshing, Brut IPA is inspired by our favorite sparkling wines. With hints of tropical fruits and champagne, this effervescent brew is the perfect cheers to the New Year" (source).
• New Belgium Liquid Paradise, $1.99/12oz - "Using Mosaic Incognito, Azacca and Cascade hops, Liquid Paradise boasts a mélange of tropical notes to create a delicately bitter and extremely aromatic IPA" (source).
• Oskar Blues Barrel Aged Ten Fidy, $14.29/19.2oz (1 per) - "Aged through four seasons and from a blend of the top Bourbons around, this Ten Fidy has morphed into a monster of cranked up flavor. Espresso, burnt sugar, rich chocolate, caramel notes are now driving alongside the vanilla, oak, bourbon from the barrel and been smoothed out during maturation. Even at 12.9% (75 IBUs) it is cool and drinkable, letting each sip add more and more complexity" (source).
• Tilquin Gueuze, $13.99/375ml - "The Gueuze Tilquin à l’ancienne (6.4% alc / vol) is a spontaneous fermentation beer obtained from the blending of 1, 2 and 3 years old lambics" (source).
• Tilquin Pinot Noir Gueuzerie Pinot Noir Lambic, $35.69/750ml - "Oude Pinot Noir Tilquin à l'Ancienne is a blend of 1-, 2-, and 3-year old lambics with Pinot Noir grapes" (source).

Video of the Week | Plein De Vie Series

Limited selections from Vivant's Plain de Vie Series

are now available at Siciliano's.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday, Great Smoky Edition (December 21)

This past November Steve and Barb took a road trip down through Kentucky and North Carolina. Go here and here to read about the first two legs of their journey.

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

When Barb and I were planning our road trip we agreed that she would drive and I would be the navigator. It was an arrangement that we first used while vacationing in Italy five or so years ago. On that trip I started out in the driver's seat but because my poky driving infuriated some aggressive Italian drivers and because Barb kept erroneously yelling out that we had missed a turn we thought it would be prudent to flip flop our roles.

Actually I rather enjoy sitting in the navigator's seat because I'm better able to observe and enjoy the passing scenery — the old farmhouses, silos and barns, the small streams and wide rivers, the rocky outcrops, forested foothills and tall mountains.

I've always had an affinity for mountains. While were were on the stretch of I-40 that winds through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I imagined how that section of the Appalachians looked 480 million years ago. According to geologists, the Appalachians are some of the oldest mountains on earth and when first formed were as high as the Alps and Himalayas.

It was late afternoon and the sun had dipped behind the Smokies when we pulled into the Country Inn and Suites on the southern outskirts of Asheville. After our experience with that seedy motel in Frankfort, Kentucky, we were glad to see that there was a good number of vehicles in the parking lot. We were even happier when we walked into the lobby, happier still when the clerk told us there would be no problem getting Ubers and downright overjoyed when we walked into our nicely appointed room.

It was dark by the time we were unpacked so rather than taking an Uber downtown we decided to drive to a chain restaurant down the road for dinner. That was a mistake. My entree of spaghetti and meatballs was nasty and Barb's chicken dish was worse. “Is there something wrong with your meals?” the waitress asked after eying our plates.

“I guess we weren't very hungry,” I replied.

“Would you like boxes?”

“Sure.”

As soon as we were outside we threw the to-go boxes in a trash receptacle.

After returning to our nice motel I mixed up a couple of nightcaps and turned on the TV.  While we lay in bed sipping our drinks and watching Animal Planet we were practically giddy about the fact that there were no partying sounds coming from the adjacent rooms. We wanted a good night's sleep because in the morning we were going fishing.

New and Returning Beer

• Big Lake Brakewall, $2.99/16oz - "A juicy IPA made with loads of Citra, and Mosaic hops. Weighing in at 20 IBUs, and loaded with hops this one will crash the traditional IPA wave" (source).
• Big Lake Snow Machine, $3.19/16oz - No commercial description.
• Blackrock Starman, $2.19/12oz - "Simcoe, Citra, Amarillo, Columbus, Mosaic. Take an adventurous exploration on a classic style" (source).
• Dogfish Head American Beauty, $2.79/12oz - "American Beauty, an Imperial Pale Ale inspired by the Grateful Dead, captures the spirits of the band's 30 years of touring and recording. Dogfish Head and the Dead both built their followings by connecting directly with beer lovers and music lovers, so we asked those loyal fans to help drive the recipe" (source).
• Dogfish Head IPAs for the Holidays, $23.99/12pk - "'Tis the season for family, friends and IPAs! Why IPAs, you ask? Think of the citrusy and piney characteristics this style is known to bring to the table, and then think about those foods you'll be bringing to the table. IPAs have a tendency to pair with an assortment of holiday favorites - everything from shrimp cocktail to chicken wings, and a little ham in-between" (source).
• Haymarket The Defender, $2.39/12oz - "
• This big dark ale is brewed with copious amounts of roasted barley, chocolate malt and oats, then hopped and dry-hopped with loads of Chinook. Flavors and aromas of coffee and chocolate are complimented by citrus and pine. A truly complex and intense brew" (source).
• Kuhnhenn DRIPA, $2.99/12oz - "Double Rice India Pale Ale. This gold colored West Coast style Double India Pale Ale has an intense hop nose, with aromas mainly of citrus. The high hop character dominates this IPA’s flavor pro-file. Made with American long grain rice, it is quite difficult to make but the rice con-tributes to this beer’s crisp aftertaste" (source).
• Kuhnhenn White Devil, $2.99/12oz - "Our Imperial White Ale is a cloudy straw color, and has a zesty citrus nose and a medium sweet aroma. It is refreshingly crisp with a bit of a wheat flavor. With medium hop bitterness, this is a delight-ful brew for any season" (source).
• New Holland Blue Sunday, $9.09/22oz - "This unique anniversary libation, heritage-blended from our library of barrel-soured beers, exhibits deeply layered flavors of malt and oak, with a tart finish" (source).
• North Coast BBA Old Rapsutin XXI, $25.89/500ml - "Russian imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels, the depth, intensity and complexity of this beer makes it what it is" (source).
• North Coast Rye Barrel Aged Rasputin, $25.89/500ml - "Stout Aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels" (source).
• Odd Side Firefly, $2.89/12oz - "The blend of papaya and a small dose of habaneros provide an ideal mixture of spicy and sweet" (source).
• Revolution Freedom of Press, $1.99/12oz - "Keep currant with the latest entry in our session sour series — sweet, earthy berry flavors from black currants to complement this 140-calorie, easy-drinking, lightly tart ale" (source).
• Right Brain Mangalista Pig Porter, $18.69/22oz - "Porter Brewed with Real Pig Parts. Who would have thought that what started as an inside joke amongst the Right Brain brew team would evolve into out most acclaimed beer ever? Brewed with REAL Mangalitsa pig heads and bones, this rich and chocolaty porter is infused with a symphony of salty, smoky, and savory flavors. Some have hailed it as the ’quintessential bacon beer’ while others call it a true breakfast brew. Regardless of what you call it, this imaginative and complex beer has to be tried to be understood" (source).
• Short's Uber Goober, $2.59/12oz - "Über Goober is an Oatmeal Stout brewed with peanuts. Pitch black in color with a mocha head, this beer has strong aromas of peanut butter, roast, chocolate, and oats. Full bodied with a creamy mouthfeel, the well-balanced chocolate and peanut flavors meld together like a peanut butter cup with a smooth finish. One of the oldest stouts in the Short’s portfolio, when found on tap at the pub it can be blended with Soft Parade to create PB&J Stout" (source).
• Tripelroot Tripel Stout, $17.19/22oz - "Imperial stout Coffee, chocolate, and vanilla" (source).

Video of the Week | American Beauty

Dogfish Head American Beauty is available now at Siciliano's Market.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday, Bourbon Trail Edition (December 14)

Buffalo Trace

This past November Steve and Barb took a road trip down through Kentucky and North Carolina. The following is a narrative of their visits to Frankfort and four stops on the Bourbon Trail. Go here to read about the first leg of their journey.

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

Apparently whatever was going on in that upstairs room in that seedy motel didn’t go on all night because we woke up rested and ready for our day of Bourbon tasting. After scoping out the pathetic complimentary breakfast — anemic looking bagels, white bread for toast and a selection of cold cereal — we hightailed it to the Big Boy down the road for some rib-sticking fare. After fueling up on eggs, sausage, bacon, toast and coffee we were ready to hit the road. Stop one on our itinerary was the Buffalo Trace distillery.

The first thing I noticed when we pulled into the visitors parking lot of the sprawling Buffalo Trace campus was the soot-black stains on the outside walls of the ancient brick rick houses. The stains are caused by Baudoinia compniacensis, a black fungus that has a taste for airborne alcohol. Baudoinia forms on virtually anything in the environs of a distillery and is nourished by the Angel’s Share, the worldwide term for the alcohol that evaporates from barrels during the maturation process.

Four Roses

In 2012 a group of Louisville property owners filed a class action suit against five area distilleries claiming that the fungus was hurting their property values. The suit was dismissed in 2017. While each of the tour guides at the four distilleries we visited talked briefly about the black stains, none of them mentioned the lawsuit. Bubba (his real name), the guide at Wild Turkey, acknowledged that the staining was an ongoing issue but tersely sloughed it off. “Distilleries were here before the property owners,” he growled.

Each of the tours provided similar information about the distilling process but they were also uniquely different. Buffalo Trace had the most impressive facility (those spotless ancient buildings), Four Roses the most rustic (cobwebs in the ceilings above the open wood fermenters), Woodford Reserve had the best sampling (Bourbon paired with chocolate) and Wild Turkey has a nice cash bar that mixed up some tasty cocktails. Each distillery has a gift shop that offers a selection of their respective wares. I picked up a bottle of Blanton’s at Buffalo Trace and now I wish I had picked up a couple more. Siciliano’s hasn’t been able to get it in months and it’s a damn fine bourbon.

Open fermentors at Woodford Reserve

After touring the Wild Turkey facility, our last stop of the day, Barb and I sat in the bar sipping very good Manhattans while we searched on our phones for a spot for dinner. Barb found a Mexican restaurant in downtown Frankfort that looked promising but after peering through the plate glass window we decided to keep walking and went back to Bourbon on Main. When we returned to our seedy motel I made a couple of nightcaps and we lay in bed watching Animal Planet while listening to the sounds of another party coming from that upstairs room.

“I hope that doesn’t go on all night,” Barb said, reprising her sentiments from the previous evening. We wanted a good night’s sleep because in the morning we were heading to Asheville.

New and Returning Beer

• Blackrocks 51k Azaccanot, $2.19/12oz - "Experimental variation on 51K IPA. Dry hopped with Azacca and Ekuanot hops. Bright aromas of melon, guava, pine and more" (source).
• Dogfish Head Siracusa, $4.59/12oz - "Combining a roasty Imperial Stout with a jammy Syrah wine, this beer is bold and complex. Notes of coffee, dark chocolate and anise from a blend of roasted malts meld with flavors of plums, cherries and stewed fruits from Syrah grape must in this jet black stout. Aged on American oak to add some light toasty vanilla to the mix" (source).
• Evil Twin Bozo, $9.99/16oz - "This is a really strong beer and we wanted to put it in small bottles but the two bozos were so fat they couldn't fit on the label. Enjoy this rich, ridiculous and screwball-ish Imperial Stout with hints of: molasses, lactose, chocolate, almond, hazelnut, vanilla bean, cinnamon, oak spiral, chili, marshmallow, muscovado sugar, chestnut and coffee. Made for Bozos" (source).
• Evil Twin Hot Toddy-ish, $5.49/16oz - "Blond Barleywine" (source).
• Evil Twin Saigon Selfie Scooter, $3.79/16oz - "Vietnamese style coffee stout. Rich, thick mouthfeel gives way to lush sweetness with hints of coffee character followed by notes of cream, toffee, and vanilla" (source).
• Evil Twin The Pure and Simple, $3.79/16oz - "Session IPA" (source).
• Evil Twin This IPA is Kind of a Big Deal, $5.49/16oz - "Double dry hopped DIPA brewed with raw wildflower honey" (source).
• Evil Twin Wet Dream, $2.99/16oz - "This is truly a beautiful brown ale boosted with a delightful aroma of citrus, spice and gourmet Keini, Kenya Beans from The Coffee Collective, Copenhagen - the result is amazing, lusty and incoherent – yes, it’s your wildest desires in a bottle. Close your eyes and let the drops do the talking. Enjoy y’all" (source).
• Evil TwinBA Maple Even More Jusus, $24.99/22oz - "Imperial stout aged in bourbon-flavoured maple syrup barrels" (source).
• Fat Orange Cat Bloody Orange Billy, $5.69/16oz - "The blend of Azacca and Mosaic hops bring out orange notes and coupled with blood orange puree creates a strong grapefruit flavor" (source).
• Fat Orange Cat She Drives a Plymouth Satellite, $5.69/16oz - "Galaxy, Simcoe and Citra hops" (source).
• Foundation Afterglow, $4.49/16oz - "Afterglow is an American IPA, rich in West Coast and South Pacific hop flavors and aroma. The juicy malt base enhances the notes of tangerine, pine, and berries from the hops. It finishes with a pleasingly dank and firm bitterness" (source).
• Foundation Epiphany, $4.79/16oz - "Citrus, tropical fruit and pine blend to provide you with a sublimely juicy hop experience" (source).
• New Holland Dragon's Milk Orange Chocolate, $4.89/12oz - "Roasty notes of Dragon’s Milk blended with the zestiness of real orange peel and the richness of cocoa" (source).
• Odd Side Java Mint Chip, $2.39/12oz - "Craving ice cream? This stout will ease your taste buds. It the perfect marriage of mint-chocolate-chip-ice cream and roasted coffee" (source).
• Perrin Kingdom of Tonga, $2.49/12oz - "The vanilla beans used in this beer come from... you guessed it: The Kingdom of Tonga. Tonga has over 170 islands and is located in the South Pacific. The taste profile is much different than our former Vanilla Porter. Those beans were sweeter; whereas the profile of these beans consists more of fig and raisin . Chocolate and coffee notes (with a subtle caramel touch) set this beer off while the vanilla beans lead into a delightfully dry finish" (source).
• Pigeon Hill Cinna Gram on French Toast, $6.39/12oz (2 per) - "What happens when you throw Your Mom On French Toast in barrels from Journeyman Distillery and let them soak up the whisky goodness for several months? Your Grandma On French Toast. That’s What Happens" (source).
• Pigeon Hill S'mores Beast, $4.89/12oz (4 per) - "Imperial Stout + Chocolate + Vanilla + Graham Cracker = S'More Goodness In Your Cup" (source).
• Right Brain Looping Owl, $4.19/12oz - "Amber ale aged in whiskey barrels. Sophisticated. Surprising. Tasty. Our Looping Owl is a medium bodied Amber Ale, brewed with Maris Otter Malt and Northern Brewer & Golding Hops, then aged in Grand Traverse Distillery Whiskey Barrels. A masterfully balanced and satisfying flavor with a slight ’whiskey kick’ and surprising hint of Oak. The owl may be the wisest bird in the forest, but even he needs to kick back and take a break every once in a while" (source).
• Rising Tide Back Cove Pilsner, $3.79/16oz - "Back Cove is a North German-style pilsner fermented with kellerbier yeast. Harmoniously balanced, with hints of orchard fruit, clean malt and earthy bitterness" (source).
• Rising Tide Cutter, $3.99/16oz - "In a sea of IPAs, Cutter stands tall. This imperial IPA sails with citrus and tropical fruit aromas and a balanced hoppy finish. Big, bold, and beautiful" (source).
• Rising Tide Zephyr, $3.99/16oz - "Refreshing like a westerly breeze, Zephyr is a pleasantly balanced IPA with waves of citrus. A modern classic" (source).
• Short's Superfluid, $2.19/12oz - "Superfluid is an American Double India Pale Ale that explodes with a perfume of resiny hop aromas! A simple malt bill allows the hops to shine with flavors of coconut, pineapple, and tropical fruit. The perfect bitterness resonates across the palate, complementing the awesome hop intensity within" (source).

Video of the Week | Dragon's Milk

The Orange Chocolate version of Dragon's Milk is now available at Siciliano's.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday, Know Your Port Edition (December 7)

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

I was intending to write about a recent trip to the Bourbon Trail for this week’s edition of New Beer Friday, but there must be a correlation between tooth pain and writer’s block because I’ve been dealing with both all week.

That upper molar had been bothering me for some time but because I’m a procrastinator and a bit of a wimp when it comes to having teeth ripped from their sockets, I delayed the extraction for as long as I could. As of yesterday I have one less tooth and a partial denture is on the horizon. Hopefully my creative juices will return by next week’s edition of NBF. In the meantime, please enjoy the following piece on port wine that we ran in The Buzz way back in December of 2011.

A bottle of Dow’s 1997 Vintage Port has been aging in our home wine cellar for about twelve years now. Every so often I’ll pick that bottle up and think about opening it but I always place it back on the rack. I know the wine is ready to drink now and if I was to succumb to temptation we would be entranced by its dark purple color, the aromas of licorice, chocolate and roasted coffee, and by flavors of maple syrup, blackberry and plum. But I also know that it has the potential to age gracefully for at least twelve more years and a wine like that is best enjoyed when marking a special occasion. Maybe I’ll open it when my son Chris and his fiancée Gena get married, or when Barb and I celebrate our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, or when the Lions win the Super Bowl.

While there are many fine port-style wines made throughout the world, the wines that can legally be called Porto are produced only in Portugal. The grapes are grown in the upper Duoro Valley in the north where the blazing hot summer temperatures allow them to attain high levels of sugar. Winemakers add neutral grape spirits at a certain point during the fermentation. This stops the yeast from working and results in a sweet, fortified wine. Which part of the Duoro the grapes are from and the quality of the harvest determine the style of port that’s produced — a ruby, an aged tawny, a late bottle vintage or, like that bottle aging in our cellar, a vintage porto. Vintage ports are wines of extraordinary depth and complexity that are produced only in exceptional years.

Ruby ports are the least complex and the least expensive. They are blends of young wines that are aged in oak for two to three years and are made from grapes that come from the less prestigious vineyards. While a good ruby port is a simple, straightforward wine that will not benefit from extended aging, it will entice you with it fresh berry aromas and nice red fruit flavors.

Aged tawny ports are blends of wine from several, non-vintage years that are aged in barrels until they develop nutty, brown sugar and vanilla flavors and a soft, silky texture. The extended barrel aging transforms the wine from bright ruby red to the light brown, tawny color from which it gets its name. An aged tawny will usually have a ten, twenty, thirty or forty year designation on the label. This does not necessarily mean that the wine has been barrel-aged for the specified time but rather is an indication of the target age profile. In other words a forty-year-old tawny tastes like it is made from wines that are forty years old.

Late bottle vintage ports (LBVs) are unblended wines from a single vintage that was a good but not great year. They are aged in oak barrels four to six years and then filtered and bottled. Thanks to the barrel-aging the wine matures more quickly, giving it to some extent the nuances of a vintage port. But LBVs lack the depth and complexity of vintage port and because they are filtered they will not benefit from extended aging in the bottle.

On average, about three times a decade the Duoro will experience perfect growing conditions resulting in young wines that are almost perfectly balanced. Samples of these wines are sent to the Port Wine Institute and, if approval is given, the year is declared a “Vintage.” Vintage ports are only made from grapes grown in the best vineyards. They are aged in oak barrels for two years and are then bottled unfiltered. As the wine matures the flavors and aromas become deeper, more refined and more complex.

Vintage ports are extraordinary wines that should be saved for those most special of occasions (providing you have the will power). It doesn’t look like the Lions will win the big one anytime soon, and since our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary is a still silver speck on the horizon, I guess the date Barb and I crack the '97 Dows depends on Chris and Gena.

Editor’s note: Chris and Gena are now happily married but that bottle of vintage port is still aging nicely in Steve and Barb’s wine cellar.

New and Returning Beer

• Arvon Fort Gratiot, $9.99/22oz - "Arvon Brewing Co.’s Lighthouse Series of New England style IPAs are each distinctly hopped with a single varietal, displaying the unique character of the hops as a shining beacon. The explosive hop flavor and aroma of Falconer's Flight featured in Fort Gratiot is best experienced when this beer is enjoyed fresh – drink now" (source).
• Arvon White Shoal, $9.99/22oz - "Arvon Brewing Co.’s Lighthouse Series of New England style IPAs are each distinctly hopped with a single varietal, displaying the unique character of the hops as a shining beacon. The explosive hop flavor and aroma of Mosaic featured in White Shoal is best experienced when this beer is enjoyed fresh – drink now" (source).
• Barrel + Beam Queen City Brut, $8.99/375ml - No commercial description.
• Big Lake Captians Porter, $3.19/16oz - "A traditional American Porter. Roasted malts blend with just enough noble hops to create an exquisite Porter" (source).
• Brewdog Choco Libre, $3.19/12oz - "A Mil Máscaras of flavour. This Imperial stout will wrestle your taste buds to the canvas in a Tag Team of insane sensory assault. Coffee, chocolate and a little spice on the nose. Dark chocolate mixes with mocha, vanilla and spice, all layered over a smooth nitro-styling you never saw coming. This set-up finishes with a delicate habanero drop kick as the bell sounds" (source).
• Brewery Vivant Wizard Burial Ground, $7.19/16oz - "Brewed once a year, this special quadrupel is aged in freshly drained bourbon barrels and disappears into the shadows for a full year of cellaring. This year's brew becomes next year's release. We've been wood-aging beers and experimenting with wild fermentation since we opened in 2010. We encourage those in search of funky flavors to join us at our annual Wood-Aged Beer Festival each Autumn to find out more. *See can for year designation. This beer will age gracefully when cellared appropriately (50°F and below). Enjoy" (source).
• Central State La Luzerne, $3.79/16oz - "When you find a kindred spirit in the industry, it’s easy to become fast friends - that was the case when we met the folks from Salud a few years ago. Since then they have become some of our best friends. Fresh lemons add brightness, rosemary adds a depth of flavor… and what’s more farmhouse than running your beer through alfalfa hay" (source).
• Central State Nephilim, $5.99/16oz - "This giant of a stout is as dark as the night. Rich, smooth, and warming, perfect for aging or drinking fresh" (source).
• Central State New Money, $3.99/16oz - "New Money vs. Old Money. A Rivalry that spans the ages. The Old guard holding onto tradition. The new kids trying to break down walls and redefine norms. This beer is firmly planted in the new. Brewed using the first batch of malted oats ever produced in Indiana and aggressively dry-hopped with Mosaic, Hull Melon, and Simcoe hops this beer ns anything but old school" (source).
• Central State Raspberry, $3.99/16oz - "Dripping with fruit flavor, this sour ale finishes with a touch of smooth sweetness thanks to a dose of lactose sugar" (source).
• Central State Sports Television, $3.99/16oz - "This beverage is a real barnburner – sure to fill up the whole stat sheet. It’s a lineup stacked with a Murderer’s Row of Citra & Simcoe hops in the kettle, with a Cascade, Citra, & Simcoe Cryo dry-hop batting cleanup. And we can’t forget about the hometown hero: the Indiana-malted barley, wheat, & oats brought their A-game today, folks. They have unbelievable chemistry! True professionals all the way, these grains always play the game the right way" (source).
• Central State Swipe Right, $3.99/16oz - "Endlessly scrolling. Swipe. Swipe swipe. But wait… this beer looks pretty cute. It enjoys long walks on the beach, burritos, & loves dogs. Maybe it’s time to swipe right? Loaded up with Mosaic & Hallertau Blanc hops & dry-hopped twice, your taste buds are sure to match with this beer" (source).
• Deschutes Abyss, $18.69/22oz - "A deep, dark Imperial Stout, The Abyss has almost immeasurable depth and complexity. Hints of molasses, licorice and other alluring flavors make it something not just to quaff, but contemplate" (source).
• Detroit Garage Project Methode Man, $4.49/16oz - "Brut IPA brewed with Hallertau Blanc and Nelson Sauvin hops, aged on Pinot Gris grape must" (source).
• Ellison Big Black Stout, $3.89/16oz - "A chocolate imperial stout that pours like motor oil and tastes so decadent that you won't be able to stop drinking it. Chocolate up front with a balanced roast finish" (source).
• Ellison Mosaic Evolution, $3.29/16oz - "Lighter in color, this beer will surprise you with a white wine character and have the fruit aromas and flavors of grapes, stone fruit and berries" (source).
• Ellison Nelson Evolution, $3.89/16oz - "Lighter in color, this beer will surprise you with a white wine character and has the fruit aromas and flavors of grapes, stonefruit, and berries" (source).
• Griffin Claw Erubescent, $3.59/16oz - "Imperial red ale. Brewed with 100% mosaic hops" (source).
• Lagunitas Night Pils, $5.19/22oz - "There are two kinds. There is the DayTime kind, which is bright and welcoming, and then there is the NightTime kind, which should never be confused with the DayTime. NightTime is dark and deep and may take you to unexpected places, places that the DayTime can not. But then the NightTime is not suited for ordinary life and ordinary tasks, in fact NightTime may be the answer for that sort of thing, meaning that those sorts of things may never get done. Things take time in the NightTime, things slow down and you can pause (you have to, actually) and investigate carefully to find that level of objective detachment that is only possible under the spell of the NightTime. Seek the Day but fear not the Nighttime" (source).
• Ludington Bay Tangelo Dream, $1.99/12oz - "A citrus twist on our American Pale Ale. Made with Pomelos are a fruit that produces flavors of tangerine and grapefruit" (source).
• Motor City Brewing Notorious IPA, $4.49/16oz - No commercial description.
• Odd Side Chocolade, $2.39/12oz - "Stout brewed with chocolate and coffee. A medium bodied, creamy, everyday stout with aromas of mocha espresso that are followed by earthy roasted malt and lingering flavors of coffee and chocolate" (source).
• Odd Side Shamone, $2.39/12oz - "Kettle Sour NEIPA" (source).
• Short's Liberator, $2.59/12oz - "The Liberator was made as a 30th birthday gift to Joe Short. As a double IPA, this beast employs a sizable malt bill, but it is the crazy amount of hops added to the boil every 4 minutes, for 120 minutes, that really make this beer special. Fruity, floral, and piney hop flavors penetrate throughout the caramelized malt profile. The Liberator is a well-balanced, full bodied brew that has a bitter finish due to the post fermentation addition of lemon and orange zest" (source).
• White Flame Kooky Monster, $2.79/12oz - "Brown Ale made with Steenstras Windmill (cinnamon and ginger) cookies" (source).
• White Flame Suck My Kiss, $2.99/12oz - "Sweet Hard Cider" (source).
• White Flame Super G, $2.79/12oz - "Brewed to showcase the bitterness of the high alpha-acid hops. The bitterness is derived from the early hop additions while the citrusy aromas are attributed to the late hop additions during the boil process" (source).

Video of the Week | Open Port Like a Boss

Study this video, then come buy a bottle of Vintage Port at Siciliano's.

Cheers!