New Beer Friday, Westside Social Edition (Dec 29)

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

Over the last several months our customers have had to work their way around a slew of work trucks, piles of building supplies and a small army of construction workers in the parking lot adjacent to Siciliano's. I’m pleased to report that all that frenetic activity is dying down and that our new neighbor, the West Side Social Tavern, will soon be open for business.

According to owner Joe DiLeonardo, West Side Social will focus on made from scratch, affordably priced American comfort food and will have twenty-four beers on tap. The restaurant will also offer a selection of fine wines and classic cocktails.

The building that housed the Shawmut Inn for the last forty years has been given a comprehensive makeover inside and out. The nicely appointed interior has an open kitchen and a new wooden bar. In nice weather patrons will have the option of sitting on an outdoor patio accented with a stone fireplace.

Joe apprised me that the restaurant should be open by mid-January. Go to West Side Social’s Facebook page for updates and further information.

New and Returning Beer

• Alaskan Spruce IPA, $1.79/12oz - "India Pale Ale brewed with spruce tips" (source).
• Brouwerij De Molen Cease & Desist, $6.49/12oz - "Cease & Desist is a sweet imperial stout with lots of chocolate and coffee notes accompanied by plums. Strong yet not overwhelming, very flavorful and powerful. Try aging it for a couple of years to get it’s full complexity" (source).
• Cambridge Brewing Arquebus, $12.99/375ml - "Named for the 15th Century firearm which was successor to the Blunderbuss, this barrel-aged barleywine aspires to change the way you think of strong beer. Intended for sipping on these sultry summer evenings on our patio (or inside, with the AC), it is at once light and drinkable yet boasts significant body, and is almost syrupy smooth in texture without being cloying. Arquebus presents beautiful, complex notes of concentrated peach and apricot fruit, wildflower honey, toast and coconut oakiness, and a soft, tannin-hinted, white wine-like finish. Aged in French oak chardonnay barrels acquired from the Silverado winery in Napa, the residual flavors contributed by the wood offer a mellowness of character not provided by stainless steel fermentation.This honey-hued, ambrosial beer, beheld in a simple stemmed glass, pours with just a mild effervescence which accentuates its myriad nuances of flavors and aromas. Several more barrels of this elixir await release in the coming years" (source).
• Estrella Jalisco, $1.69/12oz - "Estrella Jalisco is a premium, 4.5% ABV Mexican pilsner with a pale, beautiful golden yellow color and a refreshingly light, crisp flavor with no aftertaste" (source).
• Ginger Libation, $8.19/500ml - "Ginger Libation is an effervescent, pre-prohibition style ginger beer with a pleasant sweetness and distinctive ginger zing!  Artisan Beverage Cooperative has been making this popular beverage since 2010" (source).
• Mikkeller Mastodon Mother Puncher, $6.49/16oz - "A tribute to the metal band Mastodon, this farmhouse IPA ​balances notes of brettanomcyes with the sweet and tart notes of passionfruit creating a deliciously funky and fruity IPA" (source).
• Mikkeller/Omnipollo Prince and Pauper, $6.59/16oz - "Dry-Hopped Grisette. Collaboration brew with Omnipollo" (source).
• New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Hazy IPA, $1.99/12oz - "Bursting with tropical aromas and juicy fruit flavors from Mosaic and Amarillo hops, this golden IPA is perfectly bitter with a refreshing, sublime finish" (source).
• New Holland Night Tripper, $4.49/12oz - "An abundance of roasted malts and flaked barley create rich, roasty stout with deeply intense, lush flavors" (source).
• Pasteur Street Passionfruit Wheat, $3.39/12oz - "It is the tangy sweetness of Passionfruit that dominates this otherwise mild beer. Light bodied with a crisp taste and refreshing mouthful" (source).
• Pigeon Hill Grapefruit Renny, $2.29/12oz - "Ever met a crushable Double IPA? Now you have. We took our Renny “session” DIPA, added grapefruit, and turned it up to 11. The addition of grapefruit pairs perfectly with the citrus aroma and flavors that come from the use of Amarillo and Simcoe hops. Warning: It’s way too drinkable" (source).
• Stone Tangerine Express, $2.09/12oz - "An India pale ale packed with whole tangerine & pineapple" (source).
• Struise Barrel Aged Rio Reserva, $8.99/12oz - "Collaboration ale with brew master Ryohei Sugawara from Rio Brewing & Co Japan. Belgian dark golden blond quadruple with an enormous potential of aromas and flavors, and added complexity due to oak barrel aging. First aging took place in St.-Emilion oak wine barrels from Tour Baladoz. Bourbon barrels from Kentucky were next due to their very special soft roast quality and noble vanilla flavors" (source).
• To Øl Sur New England Shandy, $6.99/16oz - "Sour Mashed Session India Pale Ale Brewed with Lime & Lemon" (source).
• To Øl Tropical Rumble, $6.99/16oz - "Session India Pale Ale brewed with Mango, peach & passionfruit. Enjoy our fruity acquaintance. Heaps of fruity mosaic hops paired with the best fruits we could find" (source).

Video of the Week | Alaskan Brewing

The story of Alaskan Brewing

Cheers!

New Beer Friday, Uncle Andy Edition (December 22)

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

I can’t tell you how many times customers asked if I was related to Andy Siciliano over the years but I can unequivocally state that my affirmative replies always elicited the same response. “He sure is a nice guy,” they would invariably say after I told them Andy was my uncle.

My uncle Andy, universally acknowledged as a nice guy, passed away last week. He was seventy-three.

I’m sure that the majority of folks who had asked me about Andy in the store had met him through his work as a real estate agent. His clients liked him and they rewarded him with referrals. His competitors respected him and they had nothing but good things to say about him.

When I heard that Andy had passed I thought about the day he told me he was going into real estate. He was in his late forties and for the second time in his life he had lost a job because of a factory closing. He was excited to be starting a new career but I remember wondering about his qualifications. I worried he didn't have the chops needed to be successful in real estate sales. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

He had been in the business for about ten years when my wife and I decided to sell our house in Grandville and buy one closer to the store. He was doing well so Barb and I gave the listing to a friend who had recently gotten his license. I could sense Andy’s disappointment but he handled it graciously. He never mentioned it again but I regretted that decision for years.

A few days ago good friend and store handyman Rod Lawrence came in for a cup of coffee. Rod had purchased a house a number of years ago and Andy was his agent. When I told him about Andy he offered his condolences.

“He sent me a Christmas card every year,” Rod told me.

“That sounds like Andy.”

“He sure was a nice guy,” Rod said after a few moments.

New and Returning Beer

• Goose Island Noel, $3.79/12oz - "A Belgian Style Dark Ale" (source).
• Perrin Foudre, $2.19/12oz - "Black Currant Sour is the first batch in the Perrin Foudre Series. This beer was soured with Brett Trios yeast & Labtobacilus Brevis than aged for 9 months in an oak foudre" (source).
• Odd Side Fight Milk, $2.79/12oz - "For bodyguards, by bodyguards" (source).
• Odd Side Mango Dan, $2.79/12oz - "IPA with mango" (source).
• Odd Side Beer Me, $1.49/12oz - "Lager" (source). - "" (source).
• Tapistry Northern Trippin, $3.19/16oz. - "Very Juicy New England Style IPA. Get on board the haze craze with this IPA" (source).
• Shorts Woodmaster, $2.59/12oz - "Woodmaster is a high gravity, American Brown Ale fermented with Northern Michigan maple syrup and toasted pecans. This dark brown, full bodied ale is rich with sweet malt and syrup flavors. These flavors are complemented by the presence of hop aromas and a faint nuttiness" (source).
• Southern Tier Raspberry White, $1.89/12oz - "Over the years, we’ve fine-tuned our house brew into a beautifully crisp & slightly sweet wheat beer brewed with malted barley, unmalted wheat & raspberry puree. Perfectly balanced, light bodied & raspberry tart, Raspberry White is ready to take on the world one bottle at a time" (source).
• Southern Tier Blueberry Sour, $4.59/12oz - "Blueberry Tart is the result of two beers blended into one. The first beer is a kettle soured blonde ale. The second is a simple imperial wheat ale into which we add a whole lot of blueberry puree. This process achieves a bright and juicy blueberry aroma and a complex flavor character throughout each sip. At first it is bright and juicy, followed by sweet and round in the middle, and ending with a mild tartness that en-courages another mouthful. Slight notes of pie crust emerge in the aftertaste of this imperial ale" (source).
• Southern Tier Thick Mint, $5.49/12oz - "Inspired by the legendary cookie, Thick Mint joins our world-class rated Blackwater Series of dessert beers alongside Crème Brûlée, Choklat Oranj, Salted Caramel & Choklat in 2017. This imperial stout is a mouthful of perfectly balanced mint & chocolate. Roasty malts coalesce with notes of Belgian dark chocolate, sweet mint & just a touch of sweet caramel. So decadently delicious, you’ll wish you’d bought another box… er, bottle" (source).
• New Holland Tangerine Space Machine, $2.79/12oz - "There once lived a bitter soul, with a fruitful life as his goal, hopped in his space machine, went to New England to find his queen, came back...in a haze of tangerine" (source).
• Latitude 42 Lucifer Cuvee, $2.59/12oz - "Dangerously devastating, Lucifer’s Cuvée is our Double Chocolate Oatmeal Stout. Intense hearty rye, along with a decadent gourmet of chocolate essence, and balanced by the addition of Cascade hops" (source).
• Central Waters BBA Stout, $4.39/12oz - "The "Brewer’s Reserve" label is used only for limited edition beers. No time or expense was spared to create these beers! This is a good expression of our passion for brewing" (source).
• Against the Grain Sho'Nuff, $4.19/16oz - "This Belgian table bier is a traditional entry into the Session category. It is meant to be consumed with food but also stands well on its own. When you need to drink the whole meal and want something with plenty of flavor but don’t want to get shit-twisted from the alcohol, this is a great choice. Look for a smooth malty body with hints of biscuit and rye. The hops are subdued and mostlyp resent as a bittering agent. The yeast plays a prominent role in creating bready and lightly fruity notes" (source).
• Against the Grain/Stillwater Found Word, $4.19/16oz - "What's going to happen when Stumke comes to town? That's always the question for one of beer's biggest rock stars or maybe he's hip hop, I'm not sure. Whatever it is it's always about more than the beer with this collaboration with Stillwater Artisanal. So this hoppy guava lager is going to be good to drink but that's not all. The can is a word find so you can interact with Strumke and I without the lingering side effects" (source).
• Lindemans Ginger Gueuze, $33.39/750ml - "Breaking the mold among existing beer styles, Lindemans developed the Botanical Lambics, a collection of old gueuzes with a twist. Third in this series, GingerGueuze is based on a blend of 12 month-old lambic with two- to three-year-old lambic, fermented in oak with fresh ginger. Bottle-conditioned, GingerGueuze has a golden color and combines the sourness of lambic with the subtle flavors of fresh ginger. Ideal as an aperitif, it is also perfect for food paring" (source).

Video of the Week | The Lindeman's Family

A cool video from an old brewery — enjoy!

Cheers!

New Beer Friday, First Big Snow Edition (December 15)

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

Before going to work last Sunday morning I paused for a few moments on the back deck. The first substantial snow of the season had covered up the monotonous hues of early December and had transformed the backyard landscape into a stark but lovely picture painted in tones of black and white. When I’m in the right frame of mind I can see beauty in the monochromatic shades of winter.

Unfortunately that right frame of mind lasts only until about the second week of January. By then I’ve grown weary of stark sceneries and I begin looking forward to the time when the yard will be painted with a palette of bright colors again.

The black and white photographs of Ansel Adams are nice to look at but I’d much rather spend time gazing at the blues, reds, yellows and greens of Monet, Gauguin and Van Gogh.

New and Returning Beer

• 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" (source).
• Avery Tweak, $15.19/12oz - "Our very own Parker, of the cartoon and cat loving variety, created this cult classic character back in our 17th season. Appearing in several episodes under another stage name that was deemed inappropriate, our executive producers and editors decided that a name change and further character development— a 4-month hiatus in Bourbon barrels—were necessary to satisfy our most ardent and demanding viewers" (source).
• Ballast Point High West Barrel Aged Victory at Sea, $4.09/12oz (1 per) - "A 12 percent ABV imperial porter brewed with coffee beans sourced from Caffe Calabria, vanilla and peanut butter before being aged in barrels that previously held High West bourbon and rye. The porter has been aged in various brands of barrels and released in bottles over the years, including Woodford Reserve Bourbon Barrel-Aged Victory At Sea (12.2 percent ABV), Heaven Hills Bourbon Barrel-Aged Victory At Sea (12.2 percent ABV) and Rum & Rye Barrel-Aged Victory At Sea (12.4 percent ABV), among others" (source).
• Ellison Tailgate Crusher American Lager, $2.59/16oz - "Tailgate Crusher Light Lager 4.25% A pre-prohibition American light lager brewed specifically for hot Summer days and Fall tailgating. Brewed with barley/corn this lager has moderate hops and a smooth finish that makes you want to crush pint after pint" (source).
• Ellison Dawn Street, $3.29/16oz - "A tribute to the street that the brewery is located on, this hazy pale ale starts with a tropical aroma and then bursts forward with citrus and pine flavor. Deceptively easy to drink, this beer finishes clean and makes you ask, "where has this been all my life?" (source).
• Ellison Relativity, $3.29/16oz  - "A big late hop addition and big dry hop fills your mouth with a juicy, well-rounded nectar. This Vermont style IIPA is brewed with only Michigan grown hops and is surprisingly sweet and approachable" (source).
• Evil Twin I've Always Felt Closer to IPA's Than to People, $3.69/16oz - "Double dry hopped with Galaxy, Citra, Simcoe, and Falconers Flight hops" (source).
• Greenbush Delusion, $6.69/12oz (1 per) - "Our Imperial Cream Stout is aged in whiskey barrels for months for a mind-blowing experience. This concoction will make you ponder the randomness of the universe" (source).
• Incline Spiced Winter, $2.39/12oz - "Rooibos, cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper" (source).
• Lost Abbey Dead Man's Game, $17.79/375ml - "A blend of Rum Barrel-aged and Bourbon barrel-aged beer, Dead Man's Game begins with heavy aromas of bourbon and dates, leading to rich notes of caramel and cocoa, finishing with a sweet kick of rum and spices" (source).
• Lost Abbey Devil Went Down to Georgia, $17.49/375ml  - "Bourbon Barrel-aged Ale with Peaches and Black Tea" (source).
• New Holland Dragon's Milk Reserve Salted Caramel, $4.69/12oz - "An 11 percent ABV imperial stout brewed with salt and caramel as well as glacier and nugget hops before being aged in bourbon barrels for six months" (source).
• Ommegang Lovely Dark, $1.79/12oz - "Welcome to our winter seasonal – Oatmeal Stout, brewed to keep you company on a winter’s eve sitting beside a crackling fire, wit this fine beer in hand , the woods will always look Lovely, Dark and Deep, enticing you to a rendezvous with your winter dreams. Deep with roasty aromas, coffee with cream and chocolate notes, Ommegang House yeast imparts light fruit and spice character" (source).
• Right Brain Naughty Girl Stout, $1.99/12oz - "Thin mint cookie, meet John Niedermaier A stout made with organic locally-grown whole leaf mint. She’s just back from a stint in the cooler for being too naughty. She might have mellowed out but this stout is still naughty at heart" (source).
• Roak Hopgazer, $4.09/16oz - "Prepare to be assimilated. Ekuanot, Citra and Amarillo" (source).
• Short's Fload, $2.59/12oz - "FLOAD is a Dark American Sour Ale brewed with raspberries. Very dark in color with a red hue and mauve head, this beer smells of fresh fruit, sour raspberries, and a hint of chocolate. Leading with an intense raspberry tartness, FLOAD is complemented with a light chocolate malty backbone. The finish is dry with lingering sourness" (source).
• Short's Speedcult, $1.89/12oz - "Speedcult Black Lager is a dark, black-colored Lager with an alluring tan lace. Enticing aromas of cocoa and burnt marshmallows lead into big flavors of chocolate in this Lager. Speedcult Black Lager’s finish is clean and dry with a slight hoppy bitterness" (source).

Video of the Week | Tailgate Crusher

Now available at Siciliano's.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday, Stickers Just Everywhere Edition (Dec 8)

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

When it gets too cold for backyard deck sitting my wife, Barb and I go back to our cold weather routine of enjoying our pre-dinner Manhattans while listening to albums in our basement.

While our house was built in the 1920s, our basement isn’t one of those dank, low-ceilinged, subsurface spaces common in older homes and generally known in these parts as a “Michigan basement.” We use one room for a beer and wine cellar, another for storage and the laundry is in another. We set up the turntable and speakers in the largest room where there is also a small television set, an easy chair, an end table and a collection of exercise equipment.

It’s a fairly cozy space despite the fact that when Barb and I are listening to music we have to take turns sitting in the easy chair and on the exercise bike. If friends happen to stop over the seating options are the chair, the bike, the steps, the rowing machine and the carpeted floor.

After last May’s homebrew party, a small group of homebrewers came over for an after party on the back deck. When it began raining we moved to the basement. It was a fun night. I had so much fun in fact that I fell asleep in the easy chair. When I woke and went upstairs to remove my contacts I saw that I had a Primetime Brewers sticker plastered on my forehead. A picture was posted on the internet the following day.

My forehead wasn’t the only thing that got tagged that night. We now have both Primetime and Brewsquitos stickers on our exercise machines, on storage racks and on the furnace ducts. A couple of months after the party Barb found a Primetime sticker on a jar of stewed tomatoes in the freezer. A few nights ago she spotted another one on the hot water heater.

There’s probably a pretty good chance that we’ll find a couple more.

New and Returning Beer

• Alaskan Smoked Porter 2015 and 2016, $3.29/22oz - "Known as “rauchbier” in Germany, smoke-flavored beers were virtually unknown in the U.S. until Alaskan Smoked Porter was developed in 1988" (source).
• Dark Horse Plead the Fifth 2016 and 2017, $3.59/12oz - "Our Russian Imperial Stout is pitch black in color with a faint tan head that immediately identifies this beer as BIG. Aromas of dark fruits, chocolate, caramel and roast also make it even bigger. Roasted coffee and fruity chocolate notes are just the beginning of this beers complex flavor. You have the right to enjoy or remain silent" (source).
• Dogfish Head 120 Minute, $10.99/12oz - "Clocking in at 15-20% ABV, 120 Minute IPA is continuously hopped with a copious amount of high-alpha American hops throughout the boil and whirlpool, and then dry-hopped with another pallet of hops. Unfiltered and abundently hoppy, it's the Holy Grail for hopheads" (source).
• Great Divide Barrel Aged Gift Set, $34.89 - "As Great Divide prepares to enter a new chapter with their Barrel Aged & Sour program, they are offering a limited edition box set ($30) that includes a compilation of their Barrel Aged Classics: Hibernation, Old Ruffian and Yeti" (source). 
• Great Divide Yeti Gift Pack, $28.99 - A three-pack featuring Oatmeal Yet, Chai Yeti and Barrel-Aged Yet. 
• Griffin Claw Dark Passenger, $19.29/22oz - "If our beyond oblivious and flying buffalo stout had a baby...this would be it. Add some spices and you have a dark passenger. A tart blast with a rich sweet finish" (source).
• Griffin Claw Figure it Out, $2.39/16oz - "We had to beg Dan to make this and it turned out awesome! Coconut & Vanilla stand strong in this easy drinking Milk Stout" (source).
• Griffin Claw Flying Buffalo Barrel Aged Chocolate Raspberry, $19.29/22oz - No commercial description.
• Griffin Claw Flying Buffalo Barrel Aged Cinnamon Vanilla, $19.29/22oz - No commercial description.
• Griffin Claw Flying Buffalo Barrel Aged Coffee Stout, $19/29/22oz - "Bourbon-barrel-aged one year with coffee" (source).
• Griffin Claw Flying Buffalo Barrel Aged Stout, $19/29/22oz - "This award winning ale has a big malt profile with coffee, dark chocolate and coconut notes, accented with American hops. This ale was first brewed in England for the Russian Imperial Court. We add American hops to the recipe and dry-hop it for a more balanced profile" (source).
• Griffin Claw Oblivious, $19.29/22oz - "Our Oblivious Wheat Wine & Coffee beans aged in Bourbon Barrels for 9 months" (source).
• Odd Side Barrel Aged Rye Hipster Brunch, $8.09/12oz - "Rye Stout brewed with maple syrup, aged in rye whiskey barrels with coffee and bacon added" (source).
• Odd Side Falcon Punch, $2.39/12oz - "A \"super\ S.M.A.S.H. IPA! A single malt and single hop Imperial IPA. Made with Falconer's Flight hops and French pale malt" (source).
• Odd Side Hipster Brunch, $6.49/12oz - "It’s morning somewhere! This delectable stout has been aged in bourbon barrels with coffee, maple syrup, and bacon" (source).
• Odd Side Pretentious, $10.39/500ml - "Sour Brown Ale" (source).
• Omnipollo Shoutao, $4.09/16oz  - "Shoutao Peach Slush IPA is an IPA brewed with peach and lactose sugar. Very limited" (source).
• Port Brewing Santa's Little Helper, $3.99/12oz - "Santa’s Little Helper, our Imperial Stout, starts with an emphasis on dark cocoa and roasted coffee aromatics. The finish lends hints of sweet crystal malt, warming tones of alcohol and a touch of hops, making a perfect accompaniment to leftover fruit cake and sugar cookies" (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).

Video of the Week | 120 Minute IPA

Available for a limited tim at Siciliano's!

Cheers!

New Beer Friday, North Channel Edition (December 1)

Preamble by Steve Siciliano

Last Sunday my wife Barb and I made a quick trip north to winterize the cottage. Afterwards we took the short drive west to Manistee to check out the recently opened North Channel Brewing Company. Located in a renovated 100-year-old building next to the Manistee River, this new downtown establishment gives fans of hand-crafted beer and southern inspired cuisine another good reason to visit this historic community on the shores of Lake Michigan.

North Channel’s owners Eric and Aaron May have woven Manistee’s colorful history into the décor and overall theme of the brewery. A large picture of the Manistee, an iconic Great Lakes cargo ship, hangs behind the bar and the names of many of head brewer Bill Joslyn’s beers give a nod to the community’s lumbering and salt mining past.

Barb and I were sitting at the bar enjoying a couple of those beers when co-owner Eric May spotted us and came over to say to say hello. Eric is also the owner of Pilot Malt House and his company supplies locally sourced malted grain to craft breweries, distilleries and homebrew shops throughout Michigan.

After chatting with Eric we turned our attention to Chef Carl Eskridge’s menu and decided on an appetizer of fried pickles followed up by two of the barbecue offerings — chopped pork and brisket plates which came with sides of jalapeno corn bread, plantation slaw and house fried chips. A rack of baby back ribs is the third barbecue option. The extensive menu also includes soups and salads, macaroni and cheese, sausage selections, sandwiches, tacos and burgers.

Go to North Channel’s website for hours and additional information.

New and Returning Beer

• Greenbush Apathy, $2.09/12oz - "Snap out of whatever state of indifference you’re in with our roasty Oatmeal Stout" (source).
• New Holland 20th, $19.29/22oz - "Smooth * Warming * Vanilla Ale aged in rum barrels just shy of a year. This brew is smooth and warming with notes of vanilla and the spice of rum" (source).
• North Coast Barrel Aged Old Rasputin, $25.19/500ml (1 per) - "Every year we age a special batch of our much-loved Russian Imperial Stout in Bourbon barrels. The depth, intensity, and complexity of the flavor profile of this special release, like its predecessors, make it a worthy tribute to Old Rasputin" (source).
• Revolution Amarillo Hero, $1.99/12oz - "Amarillo-Hero showcases the hop's intense citrus and floral notes. A simple, delicate malt bill allows the fruit basket of aromas to take center stage while a touch of Cascade and Mandarina layered in amplify this Hero’s juicy characteristics" (source).
• Revolution Local Hero, $1.99/12oz - "This immensely drinkable IPA is brewed with Centennial, Cascade, Chinook, and Nugget hops, all from our friends at Hop Heads Farms in Hickory Corners, MI" (source).
• Shiner Cheer, $1.79/12oz - "Happy Holidays from the "Little Brewery" in Shiner, TX. We hope you enjoy your Shiner Cheer, an Old World Dunkelweizen brewed with Texas peaches and roasted pecans. The malty flavors of this dark wheat ale are enhanced through the use of malted barley and wheat. And Kräusening ensures a smoothnessthat makes the subtle peach and pecan flavors all the more satisfying. May your days be merry and bright and your Shiner be cold" (source).
• Shorts Cup a Joe, $2.59/12oz - "Cup A Joe Coffee Creme Stout uses Higher Grounds roasted fair trade espresso beans in every facet of the brewing process. Prominent aromatics of malt, espresso, and cocoa are abundant, and there are robust flavors of cream and coffee. This is the perfect morning night capper" (source).
• Trooper Gift Tin, $22.99/500ml - "TROOPER is a Premium British Beer inspired by Iron Maiden and handcrafted at Robinsons brewery. Malt flavours and citric notes from a unique blend of Bobec, Goldings and Cascade hops dominate this deep golden ale with a subtle hint of lemon" (source).
• Trooper Hallowed, $4.59/12oz - "Hallowed is the fourth beer created by Iron Maiden and hand crafted by Robinsons Brewery. A hybrid beer inspired by Belgium and brewed in England, Hallowed has the TROOPER DNA running through its veins. Still charged with flavour, and with crystal rye giving Hallowed a blood red hue and smooth dry finish, this is one of Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson's finest brews yet: "I have always loved Belgian beer but I had wanted to make sure that we put a British twist on our brew. I think we have created something unique." The Belgian style yeast combines with Noble hops to deliver a complex palate of subtle banana with a plum finish" (source).

Video of the Week | Founders' 20th

Happy 20th Anniversary to our friends at Founders!

Cheers!