New Brews In

The shelves are full again and to many to write about so here are the links and reviews on several to come.


Meantime Coffee Porter (12oz $3.99)
Meantime IPA (750ml $9.99)
Southern Tier Mokah (22oz $8.99)
Tyranena Scurvy (6nr $8.99)
Smuttynose Baltic Porter (22oz $5.99)
Smuttynose Gravitation (22oz $6.99)
Weyerbacher Double Simcoe (750ml $7.99)
Rogue Double Dead Guy (750ml $12.99)
Olivers Dry Cider (750ml $14.99)
Two Brothers Monarch White (6nr $11.49)
Weston Drop Kick Ale (6nr $7.99)
Magic Hat #9 (6nr $8.99)
Horny Goat Blonde (6nr $8.99)
Horny Goat Red Vixen (6nr $8.99)

Just as winter was ending, we were graciously presented with five different amazing works of art from the Central Waters Brewery: Bourbon Barrel Stout, Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine, Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout, Peruvian Morning, and even a little Coffee Stout.  We had been waiting the whole year for these 2 months when all these beers released and now that they are all gone we have to sit and wait until next spring.

Central Waters decided to go way out of their realm and push their 4pk series to a full spectrum.  Who would have guessed that a brewery known for their huge robust bourbon barrel aged coffee beers would come out with a 108 IBU 9% Double IPA.  We were all skeptics and have been waiting to get our hands on this experiment.

They did it and they did it right. Illumination is its name and Central Waters has now become part of the elite

Dbl IPA producers and they have concocted a beer that doesn't wear your taste buds out but gives you that punch and fruity creaminess a Dbl IPA should and allows you to savor the whole beer and maybe even another.

I poured it into my fancy new New Belgium glass that I stole from the store and it poured a crisp white head that dissolved quickly and left a frothing creme. After burying my nose in my new snifter, I was punched with citrus and a backbone of orange fruit.  This beer smelled so good I had to convince myself to drink it and I was pleasantly surprised.  First came the apricot and mango that started to release some of the bitterness that would then take you on the 108 IBU rollercoaster ride. The flavors grew through the middle and ended with a grassy kind of pine finish.  Balance is what this beer is all about. The 9% ABV doesn't show itsself until the beer is on its last gulp.  This beer is full of carbonation and towards the end it really started to round out which made the 108 IBU's subside and the fruit showed its legs.

This beer has definitely been hyped up and hopped up and there will definitely be a 4pk in my fridge all summer.  We got a stack of it, so support your local brewery and I give a hell ya to illumination. ($11.99 4pk)

Nice Tan!

The guys at Lift Bridge Brewery have added another beer to their bottled arsenal. Minnesota Tan is their summer seasonal, and is a "Belgian Triple Ale infused with Lingonberries". The name comes from the infusion of the lingonberries which gives the beer a pink tint similar to that first tan of the summer.

Minnesota Tan joins Farm Girl Saison and Crosscut Pale Ale as the bottled brews Lift Bridge puts out and we carry all three at the store. All three are also found in kegs along with a few other seasonals/limiteds. Look for Minnesota Tan on tap soon at The Nova!

Lift Bridge is based out of Stillwater, MN and currently has their beers contract brewed. However, back in April, they put out a press release stating that they had purchased a building in Stillwater that they will turn into their brewery. Always great to have another craft brewery close by.

Come on in and get a tan!

http://www.liftbridgebrewery.com

Best Liquor Store for a Sunday Beer Run

Thanks Metro Mag we always welcome mudducks on sundays and for everyone looking for new things you can't get in your great state of Minnesota here is a quick list:

New Glaurs the holy grail of wisconsin beers
Dogfish Head - I just got more Squall and Red and White we also have a little festina peche left
Stone - IRS is gone but there are a few bottles of Old Guardian
Oskar blues - I finally singled out GUBNA so grab a $5 can and check it out
Three Floyds - Black Heart came in last week and I have a stack of Dreadknot and Rabbid Rabbit
Weyerbacher and Central Waters have recently been removed from my list but I still have a bunch of options and you can always support the state you bought it from first.
Bear Republic - Same 6 and they all come in 22oz bottles Racer 5 is going to taste great tonight mowing my lawn like everyone else in town.

Hope this list helps everyone that didn't know the little gems we had in Wisconsin that you couldn't get in MN.

Cheers and hope to see everyone on sunday at Midway.

http://www.metromag.com/0p176a4179/4th-annual-hole-in-the-wall-guide/?currentPage=2

Dogfish Head Squall

My friends over at Merriam Webster tell me that, technically speaking, a squall is: 1) a sudden violent wind, often with rain or snow, or 2) a short lived commotion. While the schooner on the 750mL champagne bottle's label hints at the first definition, I believe the second will be as applicable - especially after tasting it. Indeed, of the four cases we received, only about one and a half are left (so get off your ass and get in here!)

Squall is an Imperial IPA dry hopped with six different hops, unfiltered and left to bottle condition. It pours a rich golden amber color with very little head. The nose is uber complex (that's right, I said uber!) with notes of honey, vanilla, melon, lots of yeast - even a hint of chocolate. The hop bite is immediate, but not resinous or sticky. It fades directly into a sweet, spicy maltiness punctuated by an aura of honey and yeast. The 9% ABV carries through with a good amount of burn, but only a slight insinuation of boozy flavor. The yeast found at the bottom is normal for a bottle conditioned ale. I am always inclined to swirl it into the beer before pouring to bring out the full intended flavor of the beer, but some people are sketched out by floaty stuff in their beer. My advice to them is to grow up... or let it settle to the bottom and then pour the golden deliciousness off the top. This is a big beer, VERY reminiscent of a hand-pulled cask ale in my humble opintion. I drank it slightly chilled, but would definitely let it warm to around 52 degrees on the next round and pretend I was drinking it in a dark brewpub on the eastern seaboard. I wouldn't be inclined to cellar this one too long, mostly because it's just too damn good to leave sitting around!

The best surprise was the price: $7.99 for a 750mL of Dogfish limited release? Yep. We checked the cost about four times, but it never changed. Which means that for less than a Chipotle burrito w/ guacamole, you can get super philisophical about politics, religion, and other worldly events and look classy doing it - just like I am right now. Cheers!

A Couple More Goodies....

....are now in the store! Got to work last night and saw that two more tasty brews are on our shelves. Get them while you can....

Three Floyds Blackheart- An English-style IPA done the Three Floyds way and aged on toasted oak. http://www.3floyds.com/

Dogfish Head Immort Ale- An 11% bomb brewed with maple syrup, peat-smoked barley, juniper berries, and vanilla. It is then aged in oak tanks. http://dogfish.com

Enjoy!

We hit the mother load

Finally after hundreds of phone calls and full mailboxes of inquires new beers have arrived

New this week

Cantillon Classic Gueuze - an original Belgian brewery that has been producing since the  1900 and well known for their kriek and Gueze (1, 2, and 3 year lambics blended together).  This one has become my favorite with a quaffable sour flavor that is not too intense but still a great beer to enjoy on one of the upcoming 100 degree days. (750ml $16.99)

Dogfish Head Festina Peche - It's back again and we only got a few cases so if Peach is your thing make sure to snag some before it's all gone. (4nr $8.99)

Dogfish Head Squall IPA - I have been waiting to try this one for a long time and we will have a review coming soon but I just wanted to let everyone know that we have it. An unfiltered, 100% bottle-conditioned, super-pungent imperial I.P.A. clocking in at 9% ABV and dry-hopped with Palisade, Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade, CTZ, and Willamette hops. It sounds so good reading about it I will definitely be drinking one tonight. (750ml $7.99)

Stone Old Guardian - This 11% monster was released in Feb. and I just recieved my shipment today just goes to show how awesome our distribution system is.  Also very limited so make sure to get your hands on one. Rate Beer says its #3 for Barley wine that we have available in the store right behind 3F and Victory. (22oz $7.99)

Stone Imperial Russian Stout - This beer you might be wait for a rainy day to consume or just throw a couple of bottles in your cellar to crack open when you are freezing your ass off in the middle of the winter.  Yes everyone is doing a RIS but to have such a great one at $7.99 there is no reason not to pick up a couple. (22oz $7.99)

Road Trip

On a recent adventure to visit my brother to watch him graduate from college we turned the trip into a beer recon mission. As we all know Milwaukee is one of the beer capitals of the world and not because of lakefront, sprecher or even the Milwaukee ale house but because of that girl on the moon and the red white and blue 16oz can that has a slogan that ends in asap. Besides breweries they also have a great bar scene and one of the best bottle stores in the state if not the Midwest.

I get down there about once every 3 months and everytime I go I have to take the 20min trip southwest of downtown to do a little investigating into what is available in the state that our distributors are not getting us. I have probably been to Milwaukee 20 times and have always found something I haven’t had before or that I was told I couldn’t get. So here is what I got in my goodie bag.

Three Floyds Broo Doo – Wet Hop Harvest Ale

Ale Asylum Super Nova – Belgian Triple

Ale Asylum Bedlam - Belgian IPA

Port Brewing – Wipeout IPA

Upland – Infinite Wisdom - Belgian Triple

Stone Cali Belgique – Belgian IPA

Discount Liquor is a great beer shop in a not so great neighborhood but the owner brings in everything she can get her hands on and maybe a couple of things she shouldn’t be able to get. This store has helped us get in a plethora of different beers that we were told were not available and she allows me to tell my distributors “it's available in Wisconsin so I want it”. So if you are ever in Milwaukee and want some good beer just make a little trip out of downtown and hit up Discount Liquor. There is also a great bar that we found this last time called the Sugar Maple but I only had 1 Cali Belgique so I would like to spend a good afternoon there to give every one my true critique. But they did have 60 uinique taps, all worth trying.