Beer Geek Heaven

My new shinny beer tower

2012-01-25T09:30:00.000-06:00

After 4 years of having 6 rotating draft lines in The Nova we decided to crank it up a little bit and have a place for our loyal beer customers to enjoy a great selection of craft beers on tap. The only problem was how many taps to put in, and this became a 3 month process. We didn't want to be the 50-100+ tap bar but we also wanted to have a great variety for our customers and be able to turn over enough beer that people always had something new to try when they stopped in. We settled on 12. I will now have 3-4 taps that are always the same and can rotate the other 8 with new, seasonal and one off kegs.

This new addition also allowed us to increase the amount of beers we can offer for growler fills and about 90% of the beers that we will have on tap in The Nova will be available for growler fills and a few only for glasses at the bar. The main reason for some of these not to be served in growlers is because the kegs are very hard to get and we want to make sure there are more than just 5 or 6 people being able to try these world class beers.

Now on to the beer I have been saving a few kegs until this week just so we could kick off the new tower with a great line up for everyone to enjoy.

Nebraska Brewings Lil Betty Imperial Stout - the non barrel aged version of Black Betty
The Bruery Mischief - a hoppy Belgian Ale
Bell's Expedition Stout - one of the best in its category - Imperial Stout
Oskar Blues GUBNA - Imperial IPA
Bell's Hopslam - Dbl IPA - no explanation needed

Then to round out the list:
New Glarus Spotted Cow
Oskar Blues Dales Pale Ale
Three Floyds Alpha King
Victory Yakima Glory
Three Floyds Robert the Bruce
Brau Brothers Moo Joos

The Nova is open Tuesday through Saturday at 11am so if you are in the area make sure to swing by for a pint and check out the new line up. I will also be keeping up with the list through Twitter and that automatically sends it to Facebook and this blog.

Cheers and enjoy the Hopslam while it's here and Hopslam is going to be one of those beers we are not going to fill growlers with. I am very sorry.

Tall Grass Brewing Co. is making it's way to WI

2012-01-16T15:56:00.000-06:00

After working just about every beer fest I can in MN, I got to know this great craft brewery that produced beer in a can. Like you probably already know, there is this thing in my heart for specialty beer in a can and I am totally for supporting breweries that are trying to change the norm.

Tallgrass Brewing Company out of Manhattan, KS is one of those breweries that has been available in MN for awhile and I have enjoyed everything they produce. Every time I sampled beers from them, I made sure to let them know how impressed we were and how much I would love to sell them in WI. I guess it worked. After producing their first beer as Tallgrass in Aug of 2007, they have been selling their beer around the Midwest and have finally pulled the trigger on selling beer in WI. Their newest employee has been a great friend and customer for many years and I wanted to say congrats to Megan on the new job as the Tallgrass Rep in WI. She will be at our beer fest on April 28th and we will have the new beers she represents to taste with everyone.

Now, on to the beers. Our distributor has started with 3 of their beers: Velvet Rooster, Oasis, and Buffalo Sweat (and hopefully more to come in the future). They are also known around the area for doing some pretty fun and funky firkins for different festivals so I will make sure to try and snag one of those for our fest in April.

The newest beer from Tallgrass is their Velvet Rooster Belgian-Style Tripel (8.5% ABV) which we sampled yesterday. We were impressed with its complexity. It poured with a great white head and had overwhelming fruit and spice notes to the aroma. Upon drinking it, it stood its ground with some of the traditional Belgian Tripel's we have tried. The crisp bite on the tongue followed by a lingering fruity spice was just what we were looking for in this Tripel. The 16oz can is great and the beer inside definitely makes you want to drink more.

Oasis is a fun beer to try with some friends--show them the can and have them tell you what they think is inside. I would have guessed a pale ale or golden ale, but as stated on the back of the can, I was pleasantly surprised with this aggressively hopped and malted brew. This is another huge beer with tons of bittering and aroma hops crammed into this can. For all of you hop heads this 93IBU 7.2% ABV Double IPA is one that you need to put into your rotation.

Of course they have to make something darker and by no means do they let up on this one. Buffalo Sweat is a little easier to drink at 5% ABV, but is not lacking anything in the flavor or complexity department. Smooth should be at the top of the list for descriptors followed by roasty, chocolate and a light sweetness.

These will be in stock in the next couple of weeks, so make sure to stop by and try them out for yourself. Besides, how can you turn down a great craft beer in a can.

Cheers

The Holidays are done and the only thing hurt was a few livers

2012-01-03T12:06:00.000-06:00

This has been a great year for us at Historic Casanova Liquors we have brought in many new products lost a few that we loved and unveiled a new side of the craft market in Wisconsin with the introduction of Growlers. This is my thank you post to everyone that has supported us and allowed my staff and I to push the boundaries in the craft beer industry.

In December of 2010 we decided we were going to enter the business of filling growlers and that was a venture that has changed everything we now do in this store. There are way too many pros to using these 64oz refillable bottles I just can't write them all down. A few months back we did hit a little snag and had to stop selling them but after a few letters and calls to the state they agreed with me on the interpretation our license and we are now back at full steam. Today I received a package in the mail and it was a new 12 line draft tower. We will be putting in a new 12 line system in The Nova to add more beer to pick from to fill growlers and be able to put some amazing beers on tap in The Nova for you to enjoy a glass of.

The last Saturday in April 2011 was a rainy and windy one but the 3rd annual Casanova Beer Cave Festival was one of the best to date. Tickets sold out in 2 days and the lucky 400+ people got to try some amazing beers from over 25 of our top craft and specialty breweries. This year we will be hoping for a little better weather and can't wait for another great day of drinking craft beer with all of our craft beer geek friends. Tickets will go on sale the first Monday in March and the event is going to be April 28th. Tickets will be available over the phone and in person.

Everything wasn't prefect this year we did lose some great breweries such as Dogfish Head, Two Brothers, Avery, Stone and partial distribution on 3Floyds and The Bruery. This is all due to the overwhelming growth in the craft market and in the end it is a good thing. These breweries don't want empty shelves and disappointed customers so they pulled back distribution and are growing until they can come back to the market. I have had several conversations with these breweries and they do intend to come back in the future, so we can still keep our fingers crossed.

On the good side we did bring in several new breweries and have received better distribution on other such as Anderson Valley and their cans, Bear Republic, Crispin’s whole line, Kentucky Brewing, Wasatch, Squatters, B. Nektar Mead, Grand Teton, RJ Rockers, Laughing Dog, Anchorage Brewing, Peak Organic, EPIC Beer, Liefmans, Lazy Monk, Potosi, Frankenmuth, Brau Brothers, Wild Onion, Left Hand, and Moylans.

I hope there is even more to come this year and we will try our best to keep everyone informed on what we have coming in and what’s going on in the store. Happy New Years to everyone and thanks for making our store one of your choices for great craft beer.

Cheers

It's back - Bear Republic Brewing Co.

2011-12-19T16:30:00.000-06:00

After years of varying inventory and out of stocks I hope Bear Republic is here to stay. One year ago we got the bad news that one of our distributors had gone out of business and some of their beers were favorites among our customers and employees. BR is a brewery we got to know over the last 4 years and they truly are one of California's hidden gems. A small brewery hidden in the town of Cloverdale just north of Healdsburg in Sonoma county, CA. For those of you that know this part of CA this is wine country and they placed this brewery right in the middle of it.

Bear Republic is truly a west coast style brewery but their beers are not overly hopped these guys are about balance and know when to crank it up.

Racer 5 - A hoppy golden 7% ABV and 75 IBU American IPA brewed with large amounts of Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Centennial hops. This beer has a big malty body with a crisp, citrusy nose and a piney crisp finish. This ’09 GABF gold medal winning beer is a must try and hopefully we will have another keg of it soon to fill growlers with. This is their flagship and comes in 6pk, 12pk, 22oz and every once in a while growlers.

Hop Rod Rye – This is a fun beer and different from many of the beers that are available in this area. Adding Rye to beers is a fun change to your everyday IPA. I have grown to love different rye beers but it did take a little bit. There was always something about them that didn’t fit my palate, but like anything new the more you try something the more your palate begins to accept it and start to enjoy it. This rye IPA has a nice spice and earthiness to it backed by the great hop blend of an IPA. A beer that I would defiantly throw in on a trade as an extra because this is a fun one to try that people might not pick off the shelf. Hop Rod comes in at 8% and 80 IBU’s.

Red Rocket – This beer rounds out their 6pk line and it's a hoppy, strong American Red Ale. This amber has a nice maltiness balanced with earthy flavored hops and finishs with a caramel sweetness. According to BR’s website they call it a bastardized scotch ale and it is true this is a big Amber at 6.8%.

Also in the lineup is a selection of 22oz bottle consisting of their XP Pale, Pete’s Tribute Brown Ale and Big Bear Black Stout.

Bear Republic is one of my top 10 breweries and we are definalty glad to have them back. This is one of the breweries I have not yet been able to visit but we will have our one and only Kelli traveling out there this next summer we will have her inform all of us on her travels when she gets back. Enjoy the new beers and I hope we can keep them around.

Cheers

Great beers you might have passed by

2011-12-12T09:16:00.000-06:00

With the craft industry changing so fast we have started to notice a lot of people are focusing on just the American craft side of the beer wall and are still kind of scared of the imported specialty beers. Craft beer is exploding all over the world and the US is not the only country that is pushing the envelope when it comes to great craft beer. So I took a little tour around the store and picked out six different imported beers that are new to us and are a little confusing to some and still rank with some of the best in the world. A lot has to do with the foreign languages that are on the labels and just like French wine they don't always tell you what is in the bottle.

The first brewery is Epic Beer and not to be confused with Epic Brewing out of Utah this brewery is from New Zealand. New Zealand's craft industry has been one of the faster growing in the world and there are small regional and nano breweries popping up everyday. Epic is one of the larger and we carry their Mayhem which uses a native NZ hop called riwaka in their American Strong Pale Ale that gets B+ on Beer Advocate and a 95 on RateBeer.com.

Next we will go to Denmark and check out Norrebro Bryghus La Granja Espresso Stout. Some times you have to read to the end of the label to find out what type of beer it is. This Espresso Stout has a slight sweetness to it with a well balanced coffee flavor and it receives a B on BA and a 96 RateBeer.com

Also in Denmark is the brewery Amager Bryghus and we carry their Imperial Stout which receives an A- on BA and 99 rating on RateBeer.com. At 10% ABV this is an extreme beer that presents flavors of vanilla, coffee and chocolate.

A brewery that we here at the store have grown to love in the last couple of years is Haandbryggeriet and one of their more interesting beers besides Norwegian Wood is Darkforce which is a double imperial wheat stout. As their label says this is the only known beer of this style in the universe so why not give it a try. Beer Advocate tried it and gave this Norwigian beer a B+ and RateBeer.com said it was worth a 99.

Keeping with the Norwegian theme we will try out Nogne O and their Two Captains. This is their double IPA that some say is a Pliny the Elder clone but I will let you be the judge. It is a 100 IBU beer with an 8.5% ABV that would be a fun gift or worthy of bringing to your next beer tasting with friends. BA gave it an A- and RateBeer.com a 98.

And last was a new beer I brought in after trying it on cask and it was a treat to say the least. Thornbridge Jaipur IPA is and English IPA that has more earthiness flavors in it compared to American hopped up IPA's we are accustomed to in the US but it is definatly a very well balanced beer that can be enjoyed my many. BA gave it an A- and RateBeer.com said 95.

Here was just a quick snapshot of some imported beers that some might pass by so if you are looking for a little adventure try grabbing one of your favorite beers and pick up an import you have never heard of that is in the same style and have your own tasting to see if the craft breweries on the other side of the world have the same tastes that you might.

Cheers and enjoy something you've never tried before

Who doesn't like OB in the Can

2011-12-05T14:12:00.000-06:00

On a recent trip out west to The Great American Beer Fest with a couple of my fellow beer consuming colleagues we stumbled across Oskar Blues Brewing Company. What we didn't know when we were driving around Longmont, CO is that there are 3 OB locations. Their brewery and tasting bar called the Tasty Weasel which is located in a industrial district and has a decent size tasting bar connected with their production brewery. During our tour of the brewery we found out they were also affiliated with a bar right around the corner. Upon walking into Home Made Liquids and Solids we made sure to try several of their one off OB brews and there were several that we had never even heard of. The third location is their original brewery and located in Lyons, CO. Once you’re done at the brewery having your pitcher of Deviant Dales and listening to over the top open mic you can walk around the corner and enter one of the largest pinball arcades in the US, and it's in some dudes house. Don't think this is some run of the mill arcade because these people are hardcore and way into their pinball. This was is defiantly worth the trip and this brewery/ bar/ arcade/ karaoke joint defiantly keeps you on your toes.

Now on to their beers OB's was started in 2002 with Dale Katechis with his vision to put great craft beer in a can. He is a huge outdoorsman and wanted to be able to bring his beer biking and backpacking with him and not have to deal with the glass. Dales Pale Ale was his first beer he put in a can and it started strong and has won several accolades since its inception. Old Chub Scotch ale was their second beer in the line which had been rated the top Scotch Ale by Beer Advocate and received a medal at GABF this year. Next is G'Knight their Imperial Red ale (also known as Gordon) and Mama's Lil Yella Pils which comes in 6pk cans and also new in 2009. They also have two premium beers that come in 4pk cans GUBNA Imperial IPA and 10 Fidy Imperial Stout. These both run $16.99 for 4pks but are well worth the extra change.

10-Fidy is the seasonal release that just came out and we were lucky enough to get a small keg of it for The Nova and it tastes great this year. In recent years it has been a little hot but this year it is ready to drink. It has thick, black almost oily pour with a nice mocha head that turns into creaminess fit for a mustache. On the first sip you get that intense roast that coats your mouth like a fine port. With hints of chocolate and tobacco this would pair fantastic with some chocolate or lets be real I would drink this with just about anything but it's really nice when it's snowing out, it keeps you warm at 10.5%.

OB's is one of my favorite breweries and who can turn down a great craft beer in a can and I can't wait until their new Deviant IPA comes out after winning a Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival. This beer should be available in 16oz cans in the next few months. Keep your eyes peeled.

Cheers

Beers with WINTER in the name

2011-11-29T15:25:00.000-06:00

We had our first taste of winter a few weeks ago but the cold is finally starting to set in. Winter beer season has finally arrived. For many of us we start looking for big stouts and barley wines when the tempetures plumet but this style in the last couple of years has given stouts a run for their money.

Winter beers as a style are usually more malty and sweet and can vary any where from a pale amber color to a dark roasty black. They are mostly lighter in hops and sometimes even have spices added to them for a little holiday kick.

Smuttynose Winter was no exception it started of with a nice roasty bite on your tounge and smoothed out with slightly sweet finish. This is one of your middle of the road winters it is not to high in alcohol like some of the warmers you can find and it's not drowning in spices. A decent amount of hops were present to give it a little spice presence but no real seasonal spices were apparent. It was a very well balanced winter beer that you could have more than one of.

Here are a few of our other winter beers that have arrived in the last few weeks

Goose Island Mild Winter
Point St. Benedicts
Ommegang Adoration
Rogue Santas Private Reserve
Rush River Winter Warmer
Smuttynose Winter
Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter
Hinterland Winterland
Lagunitas Sucks Hoiday Ale
Samuel Adams Winter
Summit Winter
Sierra Nevada Celebration
Capital Winter Skal
Southern Tier Old Man Winter
Weyerbacher Winter
Anderson Valley Winter Solstice

This is the list so far and it will continue to grow. Just like Octoberfest beers there are many breweries that like to stay true to style and others that like to do exactly the opposite. So get out there try a few and you determine what ones are a must when the relatives are visiting.

Cheers

Lazy Monk Brewing

2011-11-07T09:52:00.009-06:00

Based out of Eau Claire, Lazy Monk Brewing is one of the newest breweries to take root in the area. The brewery's motto is "Good Beer Brewed Locally", and that is exactly what comes out of it. Leos Frank is the man behind the monk, and I was able to ask him a few questions recently and get his thoughts. Here they are-

Me: For those that don't know, who is the Lazy Monk and how did he get to this point?

Leos: The Lazy Monk is me of course. We also have a Momma Monk and 2 little monks. I started out as a home brewer. After a few years we had a very popular backyard with all our friends saying that the beer was seriously good so much so that we decided to take it to the next level.

You hear a lot of people nowadays emphasizing "drinking locally", myself included. Why do you feel that is so important, especially when it comes to craft beer?

We think that buying locally and support your neighbour is extremely important. By doing this we support each other and keep our community strong. This goes for all aspects of life and beer is part of the picture. We as a brewery practice the same philosophy. We support local as much as we can. We feel it is important to keep our community strong, healthy and working.

Lagers seem to take a little more time, technique, and attention to detail to brew than ales, which by tasting your beers, you have definitely done well with. Not a lot of room for error or hiding flaws, especially when it comes to Pilsners and such. You dont see very many startup craft breweries come out brewing lagers, instead most of the time they begin with ales. What are your thoughts on this and what led you to begin brewing lagers? Any plans to brew ales in the future?

When we were in the process of opening a brewery we made the decision to primarily brew Czech and German beers. One reason was because they are beers from my homeland. The other reason was that not many small breweries are making good quality lagers. We understood the challenges of brewing lagers and we set up our brewery to meet those challenges. One day we might brew ales. They would be more seasonal or special release beers. Making good ale is not too much different then making a good lager.

People love growlers. There is just something about them. How did you come up with the idea to package your beer in them? Is a bottling or canning line in future plans?

We looked on all possible packaging options. I always liked 0.5 liter bottles but could not locate a supplier. I never liked 12 oz packaging because there was not enough beer in one bottle and it was too much if I open another one. We decided to go with 64 oz growler because there are four pints in a growler and it is returnable. We fill our growlers at the brewery with counter pressure fillers and we are very pleased how well the packaging preforms. As of right now we have about a 40% return rate. We suspect we will see a higher return rate shortly but we have had a lot of feedback that people are keeping them because they are so unique. We do not have any immediate plans to change our packaging. Perhaps in the future we will package in 0.5 liter returnable bottles. Returnable packaging is not only good for us but also our environment.

What does craft beer mean to you and what do you see in the future for the segment?

We believe that the craft beer movement is very much alive and people are realising that small local breweries are something they desire and want to support. Our aim is to provide good beer that people will enjoy and appreciate. We are extremely happy that our community has embraced our brewery and we appreciate all the support what we got.

As of this post, Lazy Monk has two year round beers; a Bohemian Pilsner and a Bohemian Dark Lager. They also brewed an Oktoberfest during that season and have a Baltic Porter coming out that should hit just in time for the Holiday season. It also looks like a Winter Lager will be making it's way to the public in December or January. Be sure to check out http://www.lazymonkbrewing.com/ for more information and to see what's coming up next for the Lazy Monk.

A big thank you to Leos for taking the time out of his busy days to answer my questions.

Be sure to pick up a growler or two of these great brews next time you're in the store!

Faster, Bigger, Better, Bolder (Gradually, Quietly, Steadily)

2011-11-02T20:40:00.003-05:00

Quoted from The Bruery-

"Today we can officially announce the name of the beer that we collaborated with Dogfish Head on.

Faster, Bigger, Better, Bolder (Gradually, Quietly, Steadily) is an homage to the contrasting lifestyle views of American excess set against the more humble and traditional ways of Japan.

Brewed with kumquats and our own seven spice schichimi togarashi blend along with sake yeast, this is an excessive beer brewed with tradition in mind. $1 from each bottle sale will go towards rebuilding Japanese breweries and households that were destroyed during the recent earthquake."

A great beer for a great cause. Be on the lookout for this at the store in the near future. Who says Dogfish Head left WI?

Beer & Food 101

2011-10-19T19:15:00.005-05:00

Can you think of a better type of dinner than a BEER dinner? I can't. Check this out-

Beer & Food 101

A beer and food pairing put on by Historic Casanova Liquor

October 25th, 7:00 - 9:00 PM

We want this to be an introduction into the world of American craft beer and how diverse they can be. We will be sampling 6 beers and our chef will pair different food items to go with each beer. Beer is not just for sporting events and drinking on the lawn mower any more. These beers are for every occasion and pair very well with many food items. These brewers put a lot of time and effort into these beers and we want to pass along some of our favorites to you.

Tickets are $35 and you can sign up at Casanova Liquor

Tickets are refundable until 24 hours before the event.

Breweries we will be pouring-

Oskar Blues, Anderson Valley, Founders, Victory, Lagunitas, and Southern Tier

Fock Me In The Gorch Ass!

2011-08-09T18:49:00.004-05:00

If you have ever listened to Adam Sandler's old cds that title might make sense to you. If not, that might be the dumbest thing you have ever read. Anyhoo, time to get to the reason I posted it.

We received another shipment of Three Floyds bombers in today. This one included-

Dreadnaught - "A hophead’s dream beer. This Imperial India Pale Ale has an opening salvo of mango, peach and citrus hop aromas that sit atop a pronounced caramel malt backbone. Although Dreadnaught is a strong and intensely hoppy ale, its complex flavor is both smooth and memorable."

Gorch Fock - "A light golden colored Franconian style Helles Lager. With a slightly sweet malt body, a noble hop profile and a crisp finish this beer is as traditional as we’ll ever get."

Enjoy!

Growler List Update

2011-08-02T19:36:00.003-05:00

Tyrrell's been a very busy man so I will update the growler list. As of 7:30 PM on Tuesday August 2, here is what we have available for fills-

Magners Irish Cider- 9.99

New Glarus Belgian Red- 16.99

Southern Tier Mokah- 17.99

Three Floyds Gumballhead- 7.99

O'so Hop Whoopin- 9.99

Oscar Blues Old Chub- 7.99

Weyerbacher Hops Infusion- 11.99

Founders Devil Dancer- 26.99

Three Floyds Pride and Joy- 7.99

New Glarus Spotted Cow- 5.99

New In The Store. New In The State.

2011-07-06T19:29:00.002-05:00

In the past few months there has been a lot of talk about the few breweries that have left WI. In that same time there have been a few breweries that have made it into WI as well. I felt it was time to give these breweries a little love.

Nebraska Brewing Company - http://nebraskabrewingco.com/

This brewery/brewpub located in Papillion, NE (a suburb of Omaha) opened in late 2007. Even though they are not even four years old, they have already taken home a good number of medals from various beer festivals and competitions. We have been able to get a few of their big bottle offerings as well as a good number of kegs. Here is a list of what we have gotten in from them-

Black Betty Russian Imperial Stout
Chardonnay French Oak Melange A Trois
Apricot Saison au Poivre
Brunette Nut Brown Ale
Cardinal Pale Ale
India Pale Ale
Hop God Belgian IPA

Stillwater Artisanal Ales - http://stillwaterales.blogspot.com/

Brian Strumke is the "gypsy brewer" behind Stillwater Artisanal Ales based out of Baltimore MD that started up in late 2009. He doesnt have a brewery per se, but rather travels around to different breweries and brews with these brewers using their equipment. Almost all of the beers he has brewed have been of the Farmhouse Ale and Saison styles. Here is a list of what we have been able to get in from them-

Autumnal American Farmhouse Ale
Existent American Farmhouse Ale
of Love and Regret Belgian Saison Ale
A Saison Darkly Dark Saison Ale
Jaded Dark Belgian Wheat Ale

Lexington Brewing Company - http://kentuckyale.com/

Lexington Brewing Company based out of Lexington, KY has been brewing beer since 2000. The latest new brewery to come into WI, they currently brew three beers. To nobody's surprise, one of their beers is Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. This is the only one of their beers we have been able to get in, but also seems to be their most popular one. We have had it in on tap and just this past week have been able to get it in bottles also.

Enjoy!

Stillwater Artisanal Ales: Existent

2011-05-26T10:09:00.005-05:00

Tyrrell and I enjoyed this beer after a busy day of work on Tuesday at the Nova. Knowing very little about Stillwater Artisanal Ales, I was intrigued by the label art and overall packaging of Existent. Stillwater Artisanal Ales was started by Brian Strumke, a self taught homebrewer turned professional. He prefers the name "Gypsy Brewer" versus contract brewer as he does not have a brewery of his own to call home. In the past year, he has brewed in seven different breweries in 3 countries. Now if you are like me, you are probably thinking "oh great another homebrewer that thinks he can hack it with the big dogs". But there was something about this overall package/product that sparked an interest and put Stillwater Artisanal Ales on my radar.

Existent falls under the American Farmhouse category (or so it says on the bottle). Upon first pour however, I was a little confused by the dark hue that quickly filled my glass. The light fizzy head screamed of carbonation which immediately made me think of a Belgian Dark ale crossed with a Robust Porter.

The aroma led me to believe that I may not be the only one confused by this beer. I think in a way this beer was confused as well as to exact what it was, just like Chaz Bono in high school. Fruit and funk overwhelmed my nostrils followed by a hint or roasted malt.

The initial taste brought all of my suspicions to rest. An earthy yeast character dominates the palate. I attribute the funk that I smelled earlier to the yeast strain that was used for this particular beer, and the overall farmhouse style. The beer is rounded out by some caramel and roasted malts and a nice dry (on the verge of bitter) finish.

Overall I was impressed by Existent. At 7.4% ABV, it was a very drinkable ale. I could see this as a great patio beer or a reward for a long day of yard work, although I am glad I had a partner to share it with. It was refreshing and well made, but perhaps a bit too young, as I felt the roasted malts and funky fruity esters may have competed with each other a bit. I am interested to see how this beer evolves with a little age on it. All in all, I am looking forward to trying the next offering from Brian Strumke and Stillwater Artisanal Ales.

Cheers!

New Products

2011-05-18T14:50:00.000-05:00

Just to make sure everyone knows Bear Republic is going to be back in our store in a few weeks. We will have 6 and 12pks of Racer 5, Hop Rod Rye, Red Rocket a few of their bombers and I am working on getting kegs so we can fill your new Casanova Growler with fresh Racer 5 IPA, I know it sounds just horrible. We have also recieved a few other new breweries in the last couple of weeks and so far we have had great results with these beers (Squatters, Wasatch, Grand Teton, Lost Coast, Upland, Moylan's, and Stillwater Artisinal Ales).

Today was another great day and the growlers have switch again. I am very sorry if there is something that is written and we do not have it anymore. Most of these kegs are QB's or 1/6, they go quick and we try and keep up as best we can. So here is what is on as of 2:34 on Wed.

New beers in today

North Coast Brother Thelonious Belgian Abbey - now available in cork and caged 375ml btls

Crispin Brut 4nr

Crispin Light 4nr

Victory Head Water Pale Ale in 6nr - great summer porch beer

Nebraska Brewing Company Black Betty Imperial Stout aged in Whiskey Barrels - This will go fast and I was amazed I even got some.

Peak Organic Hop Noir Black IPA

These are both brand new to the store and they are breweries we have started to do more with and you will continue to see more of them. Nebraska only does 750ml bottles in package but we often rotate through several of their kegs in the restaruant so make sure to fill up your growler when you have a chance ( Hop God Belgian IPA, IPA, Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Smoked Stout).

These are both back in and were great beers last year and can't wait to give them another shot this year.

Smuttynose Imperial Stout

New Holland El Mole Ocho

Have a great weekend and when it starts raining don't be afraid to break out some of the dark stuff. A little stout always goes well with a great thunderstorm.

Cheers

Tasting Notes: Moylan's Kilt Lifter

2011-05-13T18:48:00.005-05:00

I love winter. Skiing, snowshoeing, crisp clean air, and the whole outdoors nearly to myself. After awhile, though, winter wears itself out. I'm ready for spring. Its not that I don't like winter anymore, but I'm ready for a change. Then the first warm day comes along and, even though I've been through many springs before, its magical. Its like a metaphor for my beer:

I love IPA's. Especially in the warmer months. Not that I'm not into them the rest of the year, but something about warm(ish) weather and the crisp, clean taste of an IPA is unbeatable. Every once in awhile, though, they start to wear out their intrigue and become indistinct. That's when I know its time to change it up for a bit. Go with something out of the ordinary; something from a different season. Enter Moylan's Kilt Lifter....

I tried this one a few years back and thought it was pretty damn good. When our super cool beer guy found a conduit into Wisconsin, we snatched up a case of it - at which point I decided it was time to try it again.

This beer pours a deep amber. Nearly brown, really. The small amount of head that forms never really dissipates - at least not as long as I had it in the glass. The nose was interesting: slightly sour, then vanilla, tobacco, and... melon? (sip) Yep. Melon. Straight down the middle of my tongue, with a malty vanilla tone down the sides and hints of cinnamon throughout. Body is very creamy, and a roasted nut flavor and slight alcohol burn finish out the beer. Overall an excellent beer, even when it seems out of seasons. Now that we have distribution in the state, I'll become a semi-regular drinker.

In the end, I'm glad I get sick of the same old stuff. And I'm glad I have the variability at my disposal to make it seem new again. Better that than, say, drinking the same old macro-swill every day!

Growler List

2011-05-10T09:18:00.003-05:00

A few things have changed, so I figured an update was in order.

Dogfish Head Sahtea $26.99
The Bruery Rugbrod $17.99
Anderson Valley IPA $9.99
Oskar Blues Old Chub $7.99
Central Waters Illumination $13.99
Tripel Karmelit $23.99
Nebraska Brunette $11.99
Three Floyds Pride & Joy $7.99
Nebraska Pale Ale $11.99
New Glarus Spotted Cow $5.99

Hudson Rotaract Beer Festival

2011-04-20T10:44:00.000-05:00

I can never turn down a reason to drink great beer and this is no exception. The Rotaract Club has put together a sampling festival of local and well known craft and specialty breweries. This is there first year and with appetizers, desserts, a silent auction and a great band this will be an event you won't want to miss. Tickets are available from the contacts on the poster and for purchase at Historic Casanova Liquors. If you are looking to try some beers that you might not have had before or are just getting into craft beer this is the event for you. There will be all styles of beer for every palate. Hope to see you there. Cheers!

Growler List and Price Update

2011-04-14T13:14:00.002-05:00

Tripel Karmeliet $23.99

Three Floyds Gumball Head $7.99

Lagunitas Maximus $7.99

Anderson Valley Boont Amber $9.99

Avery New World Porter $9.99

Left Hand Fade to Black $8.99

Hinterland Luna Coffee Stout $6.99

Goose Island 312 Wheat $5.99

New Glarus Spotted Cow $5.99

Stella Artois $7.99

Casanova Beer Cave Fest UPDATE

2011-04-06T10:05:00.000-05:00

It is getting close to the most fun day of the year in a cave. I am sorry for those that are reading this and would love to come but this event sold out in one and a half days and the tickets were very limited. I would love for everyone to be able to come but our space does not allow it and even thoughI have an in with the fire dept the fire inspector made us put a cap on it. For those that have a ticket here is what I have been working on for the last few months.

These are a few of the breweries that are coming.

New Glarus - and pouring some of their new unplugged and seasonals

Hinterland

Oskar Blues - might have a 4pk series to savor

Anderson Valley

Smuttynose

Furthermore - Aaron won't be here but a beer most have not tried will be and it's not red

Capital

Liftbridge - I'm working on getting them to bring something special

3Floyds - no rep this time it's the same day as Darklord Day

The Bruery

New Belgium

Central Waters - Also working on trying to get something special

Crispin

Brady's Brewpub

Sam Adams - They are sending a Brewer and pouring a beer that is only available at the brewery

Lagunitas

Artisinal Imports - Lanny again is bringing some interesting things

O'so

Rush River - Bringing the regulars and something different

Goose Island

Bell's

Brad my beer guy - He is going to do his own beer geek table where he brings a few things from his cellar to let everyone enjoy.

I will also be filling a ton of growlers that day and we are getting some fun kegs so make sure to bring your growler(s). All updates from now on will be via twitter but don't worry our twitter feed goes to this site and our facebook page. Enjoy the next few weeks thinking of the 3rd annual cave fest.

Cheers

I got yer New Glarus IIPA right here!

2011-04-05T09:24:00.002-05:00

We just had 20 cases of New Glarus IIPA delivered this morning. For those of you who inquired before, these are the red foil 4 packs previously known as the unplugged series. They are now called the thumbprint series, but the price remains unchanged at $9.99. This is an excellent American style DIPA. See my tasting notes here. Get some of this while it is around... this release is sure to sell out in short order. And you know New Glarus: Once its gone, its gone!

2011-03-27T10:05:00.002-05:00

Growler List & Price Update

Tripel Karmeliet $23.99

Ommegang Rare Vos $6.99

Three Floyds Alpha King $7.99

Anderson Valley Boont Amber $9.99

Nebraska Brunette $11.99

Left Hand Fade to Black $8.99

Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout $8.99

Goose Island 312 Wheat $5.99

New Glarus Spotted Cow $5.99

Stella Artois $7.99

NEW BEER BEER BEER

2011-03-24T15:06:00.001-05:00

I haven't recieved this much new beer in years. Some of it we have been waiting for month to get and others most of us probably never knew were available or existed.

Founder's KBS - 1 4pk per person

The Bruery Saison De Lent - Spring Saison

Leipziger Gose

Tommy Knocker Hop Strike - Black Rye IPA

Mikkeller Barrel Aged Breakfast Stout

Central Waters Illumination Dbl IPA

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen

Professor Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse

Ommegang Gnomegang - Collabortion with La Chouffe

Achel Belgian Trappist

Samuel Adams Long Shot

Mikkeller - Not Just another Wit

HaandBic - Red Current and Cranberry Lambic aged in oak for 18 months

Norrebro - La Granja Espresso Stout

Southern Tier - Phin & Matt's

Southern Tier - Hop Sun

Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

Crispin The Saint - Elevated Hard Apple Cider With Belgian Trappist Yeasts and Organic Maple Syrup

Mikkeller - Bad Worse - Barley Wine

Not Pictured -

Avery Collaboration not Litigation - Russian River Collaboration

Avery - Maharaja Imperial IPA

Dieu Du Ciel Corne Du Diable - American IPA

Current Growler List and Pricing

2011-03-22T16:39:00.002-05:00

We've had a few people asking about updated growler pricing, so here it is-

Tripel Karmeliet- $23.99
Ommegang Rare Vos- $6.99- SALE!
Lucette Easy Rider- $7.99- New Craft Brewery from Menomonie!
Founder's Dirty Bastard- $8.99
Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball- $7.99
Left Hand Fade to Black- $8.99
Lagunitas Cappucino Stout- $8.99
Ommegang BPA- $8.99
New Glarus Spotted Cow- $5.99
Stella Artois- $7.99

New Glarus; New Beer

2011-03-22T10:44:00.003-05:00

I've fielded several calls recently for these beers. Despite the online calendar of releases indicating this would be out LAST month, our intel leads us to believe they'll be in within the next two weeks. Meanwhile, our recon found us a sample of each. Seeing as how you can't buy it yet, the next best thing is to read my tasting notes.

New Glarus Two Women

This classic german pilsner is a collaboration between (surprise!) two women: The partner/owner of New Glarus (Deb Carey) and of Weyermann Malting (Sabine Weyermann) have come together in a now male-dominated industry to produce this beer.

I've always thought lagers had a stale refrigerator nose to them, and this one is no exception. The Hallertau hops are very faint, making this a light, crisp, drinkable beer. The malt is fermented thoroughly, so very few residual sugars remain adding to the refreshing drinkability of this beer. This would be a wonderful six pack to put to use while you are grilling or mowing the lawn this spring. If you were a fan of Edel Pils a few years ago, this one should be right up your alley. This would also be a wonderful beer to convert a macro-swill drinker to the craft genre.

New Glarus Thumbprint IIPA

The Thumbprint is a re-design of the Unplugged series. Originally, the Unplugged was supposed to be once-only brewed beers. Popular demand, however, has muddied that water some. New Glarus fixed these clarity issues by creating the Thumbprint, which will have both new limited release beers as well as fan favorites. On to the contents of the bottle:

Holy Christmas tree, Grandpa! One whiff of this sends me reeling back to a woods filled with snow nearly as tall as I, my grandpa at my side, and an orange bow saw furiously pulling a spray of sap-laden sawdust from a blue spruce. To say this smells piney is like saying a rose smells flowery. Serious pine-hop aroma!

I figured, based on the nose, that it would definitely hit me upside the head with a bitter pine-hop flavor. Not so. The first thing I tasted was citrus. It didn't last long - five seconds maybe - but it was unexpected and welcomed. Dry hopping has been good to this beer! Shortly thereafter came a momentary and fleeting sweetness that disappeared beneath a wave of bitter hops that I have to imagine is loads of simcoe in the boil.

As the bitter evergreen flavor persisted on the back of my tongue, the finish of the beer itself washed away as a dry, non-sweet, fully fermented beer. The maris otter malt that makes the base of this showed through in fine fashion as a light, drinkable beer that doesn't leave you feeling full or 'coated' with a syrupy sweet beer. The 9% abv was barely perceivable in this beer, although if our source had provided more to sample, it would have become evident rather quickly!

Not what I'd usually expect out of a double IPA - the malt backbone on this is light, but that is what makes it fun! I could easily see myself putting away a few of these without feeling bloated, although I'd feel VERY happy! The hops and style on this are a juxtaposition from the traditional German Lagerhaus is comes from, but what a welcome juxtaposition it is!

Keep an eye on this blog or subscribe to our twitterfeed to get real-time updates on the arrival of these two beers and other spring arrivals!

It Was Good While It Lasted....

2011-03-15T16:39:00.003-05:00

Unfortunately, we just received our last (hopefully not forever) shipment of Dogfish Head in today. We were able to get a few more cases each of World Wide Stout, Palo Santo Marron, Raison D'Extra, and Aprihop. It won't last long so come in and get it while you can.

The 2011 Casanova Beer Cave Fest is Officially Sold Out!

2011-03-09T18:02:00.001-06:00

Now on Sale

2011-03-07T09:41:00.006-06:00

0 Regular Tickets Left, VIP Tickets are Sold Out.
3:09am 3/8/11

It is official The Third Annual Casanova Beer Cave Festival tickets are on sale. I have had great luck this early in the game and we have already confirmed.

Bell's
Central Waters
Goose Island
Lift Bridge
New Glarus
New Belgium
O'so
Rush River
Northern Brewer
Artisanal Imports

Make sure to get your tickets soon they will be gone for sure by the end of the week. There will be more posts to come but for now I just wanted to let everyone know they are on sale and going very quickly.

From the Tasting Room

2011-03-01T12:41:00.004-06:00

Its been a good long while since we've posted any tastings. Being the dedicated employee that I am, I decided to bite the bullet and drink a beer and write about it today. After all, Tuesdays are notoriously slow days, so this is a perfect opportunity to swill something new and exciting.

Milwaukee Brewing Company recently showed up in our store, after Tyrrell spent years carting it back for his own selfish interests after visiting his brother. The price is right and the availability seems to be steady as of now (some of our flagships - DFH, 3F, Founders - have become scarce as of late), so this was a good candidate for a sampling. I settled on the barrel aged Baltic Porter and got to work.

Baltics are lager style versions of the traditional Porters (or London Porters) we're accustomed to. The alcohol content is typically higher, although I find the body to often be less due to the lagering. Let's see how this one fares...

Pour:

This is a dark beer (obviously), but has a bit of transparent-ness that gives it an almost burnt amber hue that I didn't expect - I figured it would be black through and through. It is well carbonated, which lends a thick creamy head that it retains very well.

Nose:

I immediately get a slightly sour barrel smell. I was surprised to detect a fair amount of smokiness as well, which I have to imagine is imparted by the toast on the old bourbon barrels. This beer is only aged one month in the barrels, and I would have expected the toasty smokiness to have largely dissipated in the barrel's previous life. Regardless, it was an interesting and prominent distinction, with a hint of alcohol hiding behind a lightly roasty and yeasty scent as well.

Taste:

Sweet. All around sweet and malty. Hop resins are light on this one, and the creamy head had none of the bitterness the alphas would normally impart. Heavy notes of vanilla abound, and I detected a light smokiness true to the nose. Layered within were rich, warm cherry and tobacco notes offset by a lighter body due to the lagering and higher alcohol content. The initial creaminess of this lager quickly dissipated leaving a non-descript maltiness on the back of my tongue for a good long time.

Overall I think this is a fantastic beer. I truly wish I had someone here today to share this with. I will begrudgingly finish this and grab a 6 pack to take home with me tonight. At $8.99 for a 6 pack of barrel aged lager, this is a fantastic deal. I am impressed, and I think you would be too. Be advised, however, that this is a seasonal brew, so while we have a bit in the store now, eventually it will dry up. Cheers!

Happy friday they finaly arrived

2011-02-18T09:31:00.000-06:00

We just recieved a shipment that we have been waiting on for seveal weeks. Enjoy

Central Waters - Peruvian Morning and Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine

- both are $10.99 and there is a 2 4pk limit on the Barleywine because I didn't get anything close to what I ordered.

O'so's Dank Imperial Red Ale and Lupulin Maximus Imperial Pale Ale (10.99 - 4pk) - both are limited releases and we had to pull some string to get these in.

Milwaukee Brewing - Baltic Porter, Louies Demise, and Pull Chain Pale Ale ($8.99 - 6pk) - Finally because I make sure to stop here on every trip to Beer Town.

The distributor that carried Left Brewing just went out of business so we have a new distributor and we are able to get more of their beer and it is going to be consistent - and I also just recieved a keg of Fade to Black to fill growlers with and we will be putting that on soon.

For those that missed out on the first shipment we did get more of the Rush Rivers Dbl Bubble and Leinie's Big Eddy.

"Sink the Bismarck"

2011-02-17T09:08:00.005-06:00

These words were declared on May 19, 1941 by none other than Winston Churchill himself. Prompting the British Navy to chase down and sink the largest and most infamous German battleship of WWII.

On February 13, 2011 this battle was resurrected as 8 courageous beer nerds set out to conquer 33 of the greatest craft beers known to man (see the full list below). Brewdog's Sink the Bismark was one of those beers.

Just as Winston Churchill set out to surmount one of the worlds most powerful forces in 1941, Brewdog has waged war on the craft beer industry in an effort to produce the worlds strongest beer...and success is theirs. Weighing in at a staggering 41% ABV (yes that's not a typo: FORTY ONE PERCENT ALCOHOL) this beer was a true gem of the bunch. Thanks to Mike from the Liquor Barrel for sharing this bottle with us.

A: I think its safe to say that by the time we opened this bottle most of us were halfway "sunk" already. But the battle must go on. As we poured a conservative amount into our glasses there was little to no head evident. And what was there dissipated very quickly. The color was a deep golden caramel color.

S: The aroma had notes of dark fruit, sweet honey, and citrus hops all undermined by a strong alcohol bouquet...go figure.

T: The reaction by most at the table upon first sampling was close to that of a baby sucking on their first lemon....If Holy Sh*t was a tasting note this would be the appropriate beer for its usage. A surprising amount of resinous piney hop flavor was evident for a beer of this strength. The undertones of a caramel malt were there as well but the omnipotent hot alcohol flavor dominated all the way down. As a scotch drinker, I was tempted to throw an ice cube in it and light up a cigar, although I don't think you would want a lighter anywhere near this stuff.

M: Heavy syrup, much like a nice scotch. Sticks to your throat.

D: Well that depends, if you are a scotch drinker then there is nothing here you haven't tasted before. If you are a Miller Lite drinker, this may damn well be the end of you.

It was a true pleasure to have the opportunity to try this beer. It is a truly unclassifiable beer that few will have the opportunity to try. Brewdog challenged us to Sink the Bismarck, and this time the Bismarck won.

Cheers!

Another Epic Tasting

2011-02-16T17:19:00.000-06:00

We out did our selves again and put together a tasting most won't believe we actually acomplished. Every few months we have been having a meeting of extreme beer geeks that cram into a garage on a sunday and unload some of their cellar and beers we have just traded for. This was our 3rd tasting and it needs to be bragged about. Here are a few things to get everyone worked up.

Ale Smith - Wee Heavy and Speedway Stout

Surly Four

Russian River- Pliny the Elder and Consecration

Schafley - 07 and 08 Imperial Stout

Cigar City - Humidor IPA and Guava Grove

Nogne - Dark Horizon

North Coast - 2001 Old Stock

Goose Island - BCS Vanilla

Ithaca - Alphalpha

Brew Dog - Sink the Bismark

So these were a few of the 33 beers we somehow consumed and yes there were more than 4 of us. We had 8 and sorry to say we did leave a little beer in some of the bottles. What was that last beer I just typed oh ya we did try a Sink the Bismark and wow I didn't know they could do something that crazy to a beer. I am going let you take it all in and Kevin is going to write a review on Sink the Bismark and Jason is also going to give you a little on some of the other favorites.

If there are any suggestions on what we should shoot for next time I would love to hear it. Enjoy the photos and send me your photos of what your tasting with friends looks like I will put them together in some type of do it yourself beer festival post.

Cheer and make sure to share some of those special finds with a friend they might hit you back some day.

Current Events

2011-02-09T14:02:00.003-06:00

For those of you who haven't noticed the twitterfeed directly to the right of this post, we are now on Twitter. Follow us and get the latest updates - especially since its way easier and faster for me to tweet individual beer arrivals than to post each one on this blog!

That said, I'll allow some transition time until you all get up to speed with your twittering (tweeting?) skills and post this on our blog page as well:

Bell's Batch 10,000 showed up yesterday. We have about one case left. It won't last, so if you want some of the last of their batch series, get it while you can.

We found some extra hopslam buried in the 'cellar' pile that we're willing to part with. If you didn't get any before, get off your ass and get it now - this truly is the last of it! Only two six packs and two 5L kegs are up for grabs.

Brau Brothers Rubus Black is back. Despite the popping cork issues we continue to have with this one, the ones that do survive the bottle conditioning are awesome. Generally speaking, I'm not a fruit beer fan, but I always love to find exceptions to my generalities. This blackberry imperial porter is definitely one such exception. If it were a facebook post, I would hit the 'like' button! (sorry for that reference, I couldn't help myself)

Twitter

2011-02-07T21:39:00.000-06:00

I finally gave in and we are now on Twitter. CASANOVALIQUOR.

Batch 10,000 is coming tomorrow
Still no date on Central Waters
More Big Eddy arrived along with DFH WWS
Just tapped Nebraska IPA, Southern Tier Chocolat, 3F Alpha king and Ommegang Hennepin for Growlers
Beer Festival info to come the date is April 30th and tickets on sale 1st Mon in March

Bring on the Dogfish!

2011-02-04T15:27:00.002-06:00

After months of waiting, we've recieved a small allotment of DFH. We currently have a case each of Midas Touch, Raison D'Etre, and Indian Brown Ale and three each of 60 and 90 minute IPA. Hopefully this will be an omen of good things to come from one of our favorite and best selling breweries. Until that proves true, however, we will be limiting sales so everyone gets a fair shot at getting some. Limit two packs of 60 and 90 per person, one each of the rest. For now.

On a side note, Leinenkugel's has re-released a limited amount of Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout. We ended up with a small amount of this very impressive beer from a local favorite brewery.

Kickin' It Old School

2011-02-01T18:12:00.004-06:00

A couple beers have made their return to the store after a little time off.

Leinenkugel's Limited - This beer was first brewed in 1986 as a, you guessed it, limited offering. It was the brewery's first craft beer. In 1990 they turned it into a year round beer and renamed it Northwoods Lager. They stopped brewing Northwoods Lager in 2000, but brought it back for a brief stint in 2008. Nice and crisp with a touch of sweetness, this beer is definitely a sessionable one. Pick some up while you can.

Grain Belt Nordeast - This beer hasn't been gone quite as long as the Leinie's Limited has, but has been away nonetheless. August Schell Brewing Company, which now brews Grain Belt, ended up reducing distribution a while back to the Twin Cities and New Ulm after supply couldn't keep up with demand for the brew. It did alot better than they were expecting. It is now back in the store in 12 pack bottles.

Enjoy!

Holy S#*t Hopslam is in

2011-01-28T12:12:00.000-06:00

It has arrived and we recieved 6pks and 5L kegs. Sorry for all of the run around on when we were going to receive it but it is in now. Stop by and get yours before its gone again until next year.

Growler List Update

2011-01-27T19:58:00.003-06:00

Here is the up-to-date growler list as of 1/27/11 -

D'achouffe La Chouffe
New Glarus Spotted Cow
New Glarus Unplugged Apple Ale
Oskar Blues Gordon
Three Floyds Gumballhead
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus
Three Floyds Robert the Bruce
Ommegang Rare Vos
Stella Artois

Enjoy!

Hopslam did NOT come in.

2011-01-21T10:44:00.002-06:00

To all ye faithful who have been calling in droves, first last week, then on Tuesday, and assuredly today... Hopslam will not be in stock. Before you shoot the messenger, please realize that my lies have simply been forwarded from the ones passed to me from our distributor. I am assured that it will be here next week, which I will believe when I have it in hand and not a moment sooner.

In the meantime, we have these new arrivals to tide you over:
Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout
Nogne O Dark Horizon
Rogue Chatoe Rogue OREgasmic Ale
New Holland Dragon's Milk
Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial
Rush River Double Bubble
Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
New Glarus Smoked Rye Ale

What's Better Than Having a Brewery Ten Miles From the Store?

2011-01-20T19:26:00.008-06:00

Having a brewery ten miles away from the store that makes really good beer. Rush River Brewing out of River Falls continues to put out great tasting beers that please the palates of beer drinkers ranging from the once-in-a-while craft beer drinker on up to the beer geek. The latest beer to come into the store from them probably leans more to the latter. Rush River Double Bubble is their 9% ABV Imperial IPA brewed with honey. They have brewed this one for a few years now, but this is the first time that it has been made available in bottles. Drink local!

Other new beers into the store-

New Glarus Unplugged Smoked Rye Ale - Brewed using a blend of smoked malts from Germany and Wisconsin along with Wisconsin Rye this smoky sipper is also fermented with Turbinado sugar. This beer will pair perfectly with the food you take off the grill while watching the upcoming football games. GO PACK!

Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial - A rich Brown Ale brewed with real cacao, cinnamon, and sweet orange peel. A great sitting in front of the fire beer.

Hinterland Maple Bock - A dark brown Bock brewed with maple syrup. I've said it before and I'll say it again - this brewery is a true dark horse. It doesn't get a whole lot of attention but it cranks out some very solid beers.

Nogne O Dark Horizon Edition 3 - A Norwegian ale brewed with coffee. This whopper weighs in at 18% ABV and 100 IBUs. A definite candidate for aging.

Enjoy!

Fill it up!

2011-01-15T09:20:00.005-06:00

We cashed two more kegs last night, so I'm updating the growler list again. This program has us burning through kegs every couple of days, so expect this list to change frequently. At the time of this writing we have:

NG Spotted Cow $5.99
Stella Artois $7.99
3Floyds Alpha Klaus $15.99
Oskar Blues TenFidy $22.99
La Chouffe Belgian Golden $23.99
3F Alpha King $7.99
Ommegang Rare Vos $8.99
Lagunitas Lil' Sumpin' Wild $8.99
NG Apple Ale $12.99

These are refill prices. Our own growler with the historically accurate Casanova Brewing label from the pre-prohibition era is $8.00. Come and get your fill while these kegs last!

Growler List Update

2011-01-07T12:13:00.003-06:00

The growler program here is doing spectacular. Another shipment of empty growlers was already delivered to keep up with demand. There are also two more taps back in the beer cooler in the store to fill from, which brings the total of taps to choose from for growlers to eight.

Here is the updated tap list-

New Glarus Spotted Cow - $5.99
Stella Artois - $7.99
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA - $7.99
Oskar Blues Old Chub - $6.99
Dogfish Head Poppa Skull - $22.99
La Chouffe - $23.99
Ommegang Rare Vos - $8.99
Lagunitas Little Sumpin Wild - $8.99

Enjoy!

Didn't get any Bourbon County?

2011-01-01T09:19:00.004-06:00

For the majority of us who didn't get (or couldn't afford) any of the Bourbon County Stouts this year, we have an amazing deal for you! Night Stalker, Goose Island's Imperial Stout, came in this week on an amazing volume deal. Regularly $9.99 per 22oz bottle, it is down to $5.99. This is the same stout aged in whisky barrels to make the Bourbon County. Instead of the barrels, however, this one gets copious amounts of dry hops before bottling. This is an amazingly rich and smooth imperial stout that will age well for several years. Get in on this deal while it lasts!

Merry Bitchmas!

2010-12-28T11:36:00.005-06:00

For those of you who have been calling nonstop, Santa has delivered, albeit a few days late. We ended up with a single case of DFH Bitches Brew this morning. Twelve bottles, $12.99 each. Limit of one per person - first come, first served (No holds!) Let the mad dash begin!

On a side note, we also received two more cases of World Wide Stout and another case of Pangaea.

Quick New Beer Holiday Post

2010-12-23T14:13:00.000-06:00

Just in

Goose Island Rare - it won't be on the shelf so ask and we will have 1 bottle behind the counter for you as long as it lasts.

Rush River Nevermore Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

More Founders Dbl Trouble, Alpha Klaus, and 2009 Goose Island Christmas

We just put Dales Pale Ale on tap in the restaurant so stop by and have a pint while we fill up your growler.

Sorry for the short post its been a crazy day have a great and safe holiday.

Cheers

Beer To Go-Go

2010-12-20T19:24:00.006-06:00

Our growler filling program is up and going! We are now filling 64 oz growlers to go from what we have on tap at The Nova. Right now that selection includes-

New Glarus Spotted Cow
New Glarus Belgian Red
Stella Artois
Dales Pale Ale
Three Floyds Robert the Bruce
La Choufffe Belgian Golden Ale

We will be rotating the selection and will also eventually have other kegs in the beer cooler in the store to fill from. Keep checking back here for updates as we will post when something new becomes available. We have some pretty amazing kegs waiting to be tapped and others that should be making their way soon.
As for the growler itself, it looks awesome. The front is the actual logo from the Casanova Brewing Company from back in the day. Corey did a great job with it, both front and back.
Enjoy!

New Brews and Good News

2010-12-16T17:59:00.006-06:00

Yep, more wonderful new beer in at the store and some very cool news to pass along. First, the new beer -

The Bruery 3 French Hens - The third beer in the brewery's "Twelve Beers of Christmas", this Belgian-Style Dark Ale is partially (25%) aged in French oak barrels. Drink it now or cellar it away when you get all "Twelve Beers of Christmas." ABV- 10% IBU- 22.5

Founders Double Trouble - The brewery's seasonal Imperial IPA is back again. Coming in at an ABV of 9.4% and 86 IBUs, this beer can have you seeing double if you aren't careful. Did I mention it's barely a week old?

Anderson Valley Imperial IPA - From the brewery's website- "This IPA was first created in honor of our second decade as a brewer and purveyor of the finest beers in the world. This limited release, over-the-top brew is loaded with excessive amounts of malts to balance 20 separate additions of the finest Pacific Northwest hops to create what the late William Brand described as “The kind of beer that made California craft beer famous”. As with all of our products, Anniversary Imperial IPA is never sterile filtered nor heat pasteurized, and should be stored in refrigeration. However, to fully enjoy its rich and complex flavor, it should be served between 44° and 50°F" ABV - 8.7% IBU - 100

Dark Horse Too - The second beer in the brewery's Holiday Stout Series is a Cream Stout brewed with lactose. An extremely smooth drinking stout.

And now for the good news. In the very near future (as early as Monday Dec. 20) Casanova Liquor Store and The Nova Wine Bar will be selling and filling growlers on premise! We will have 64 oz. growlers with the Historic Casanova Brewing Company logo available to be filled to take home with you. All of the beers on draft at The Nova as well as a keg or more in the beer cooler at the store will be available to be put into a growler. Stay tuned for more information. Talk about a great Christmas gift as well!

Enjoy!

Goose Island BC Vanilla

2010-12-10T09:04:00.000-06:00

Goose Island Bourbon County Vanilla Stout just arrived yesterday we only got a small amount so we have limited it to 2 btls per person. This is one of Goose Islands special releases that they started this last year and have been a huge sucess starting with Bourbon Cty Coffee, Bourbon Cty Vanilla, and hopefully we will see a little Bourbon Cty Rare. The beer's base is their award winning Bourbon County Stout that releases during the winter months each year. Make sure to get your bottles soon this beer will be gone this weekend. Enjoy the holidays and make sure to bring great beer to all of your parties we can always use a few more beer geeks.

We also recieved a few more cases of Pappaskull and a 1/6th barrel, more DFH Old School Barley Wine, Central Waters Brewhouse Coffee, and a couple of Three Floyds Alpha Klaus.

Our Bruery shipment was screwed up and we are going to be getting some 3 French Hens we will just have to wait until later next week.

Enjoy and happy holidays

The Can Of Black Is Back

2010-12-07T18:36:00.004-06:00

That's right, Ten FIDY has returned! This ginormous Imperial Stout from the Colorado based brewery, Oskar Blues, comes in at a warming 10.5% ABV and a large 98 IBUs which helps balance the big malty flavors. Hints of coffee and chocolate help this go down quite smoothly. Embrace the Imperial Stout in the can!

Enjoy!

New Brewsday Tuesday

2010-11-30T19:27:00.005-06:00

A few new beers made their way into the store yesterday.

Three Floyds Alpha Klaus - Three Floyds calls this brew their American Christmas Porter and Alpha King's festive cousin. According to their website, it is brewed with English chocolate malt, Mexican sugar, and tons of strange American hops. This one is definitely in my holiday beer queue. 6% ABV, 38 IBU

Lakefront Bridge Burner - The brewery gives a great description of this on their website, so I will leave it to them - "The Bridge Burner pours a deep, fiery amber with a rocky off-white head. The assertive aroma is dominated by dry, earthy American hops: citrus, floral and pine tree notes all make a showing. The hops dominate, lending a hefty bitterness to the palate, but are backed up by the caramel malts, which lend a substantial body without any extra sweetness. A warm alcohol burn finishes it off with a nod to its considerable 8.0 % ABV". I was able to try this beer this past summer while I was in Milwaukee and really liked it. I felt it was pretty similar to Stone Arrogant Bastard. That's not a bad thing.

Hinterland Winterland - Another new beer into the store from the brewery out of Green Bay. This Porter is brewed with Juniper Berry to help it fit in great with the holidays. I have been pretty impressed with Hinterland so far, and can't wait to give this one a shot. It sounds great.

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Meal Beer Pairings

2010-11-24T12:14:00.003-06:00

CraftBeer.com is a fantastic and informative website. Randy Mosher contributes to the site and is about as good as it gets when it comes to all things craft beer. I came across this article while on the site and thought it was very helpful. Here are some beers we have in the store to pair with your Thanksgiving meal according to Mr. Mosher -

Beer Pairing Classics -

Sam Adams Boston Lager
New Belgium 1554 Black Ale

Beer for the Wine-Experienced -

New Belgium Trippel
Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

Beer for the Inner Beer Geek -

North Coast Le Merle Saison
The Bruery Autumn Maple

Just Gimme Some Hops! -

Bell's Two-Hearted Ale
Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye

Beer and Dessert -

Pecan Pie -

North Coast Brother Thelonious
Rogue Chocolate Stout

Pumpkin Pie -

Lagunitas Brown Shugga'

Enjoy!

Giving Thanks For Dogfish Head

2010-11-24T10:38:00.009-06:00

This last Sunday brought the very first episode in the television series Brew Masters on The Discovery Channel. In case you weren't able to catch it, it features Sam Calagione and his brewery Dogfish Head in Delaware. The series follows Calagione around as he comes up with the not so typical beer recipes and travels to find the ingredients to brew those recipes. It also goes into some of the brewing process and behind the scenes action as well. I thought it was really good and was able to get my wife to watch it with me and even with her not being much of a beer geek, she does enjoy good beer, she enjoyed it as well. If I understand correctly, each episode will show how they come up with a different beer, start to finish. The first episode focused on Bitches Brew, their tribute to Miles Davis. Brew Masters airs Sunday nights at 9:00 Central Time. http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/brew-masters/

Now to the beer. In the few days after the show, we have received some new goodies from Dogfish Head. Here they are in no particular order-

Chicory Stout - One of their seasonal beers, it is brewed with roasted chicory, organic Mexican coffee, St. John's Wort, and licorice root. Had a taste of it last night and liked it a lot. Nice and roasty with a touch of sweetness and a bit of coffee and smoke. On their website it says it pairs well with chocolate and I could definitely see that.

World Wide Stout - Let me start this beer off by saying this - 18% ABV. Yep, there is a one in front of that eight. Not a typo. This huge complex stout is a great sipper, obviously, and is definitely no stranger to aging.

Olde School Barleywine - Weighing in at 15% ABV, this bruiser is fermented with dates and figs. Hard to beat a big Barleywine on a cold winter's night. Also a great candidate for aging.

Poppa Skull - A collaboration beer brewed with the fine folks at Three Floyds Brewing in Indiana. I'll let Dogfish Head explain this one - "a deep, golden ale spiced with cardamom and fermented using a robust Belgian yeast strain. One third of the volume was then aged for 6 months in oak brandy barrels. Spice, esters, and sweet brandy dominate the aroma. A robust 10% abv is rounded by caramel and vanilla notes from the wood with a slight spiciness coming from the yeast." Two of the best breweries in the nation joining forces makes this a must try. I know I will.

http://dogfish.com/

Just a reminder, the store is open regular hours (9-9) on Thanksgiving Day and all of Thanksgiving weekend. Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy!

Thirsty Thursday Take Two

2010-11-18T17:52:00.005-06:00

A couple new beers in at the store and a couple new beers on tap at The Nova. Check 'em out-

At the store-

New Glarus Coffee Stout - It's here! New Glarus Brewing's last seasonal for the year made it into the store today. From the brewery's website- "Hearty and satisfying, our Coffee Stout is the ultimate full-bodied brew. Wisconsin water, roasted malts, and imported hops are the natural ingredients we use to brew this bier. Then cold pressed organic coffee from Just Coffee Co-op is infused into the brew. Expect this bier to pour a deep creamy head over an ebony rich body. Notice the powerful malt bouquet balanced by a spectrum of extravagant flavor. Served at room temperature this Wisconsin Coffee Stout is guaranteed to warm even the coldest heart." Tried this today and really liked it. Seems to have a bit more body and coffee flavor than it did last time they brewed it. Sweet coffee at first and a nice roasty bitterness on the finish. Tried it pretty much right out of the cooler, so I would recommend letting it warm a bit to really let those dark flavors shine. Great beer for this time of year.

New Belgium La Folie 2010 - Part of New Belgium's Lips of Faith series, this Sour Brown Ale ages in French Oak barrels for between one and three years before it is bottled.

Now on tap at The Nova-

Founders Breakfast Stout

New Glarus Belgian Red

Enjoy!

An Apple a Day

2010-11-16T17:42:00.010-06:00

Apple Ale that is. New Glarus Brewing Co.'s Unplugged Apple Ale has arrived for the holidays. From the brewery's website - "Apple Ale sings with the fresh crisp taste of Wisconsin Apples. Our Brewmaster begins with a brown ale base employing Wisconsin farmed wheat and a blend of Cortland, Macintosh, and Jonathan apples. Our apple growing friends squeeze them especially for this brew. Expect this ale to pour a beautiful copper color. The frest bouquet of Apple will rise to meet you even before the glass touches your lips. So be sure to sip slowly and enjoy the fruits of a Wisconsin Harvest." The last installment of the Unplugged line for the year and possibly forever (starting next year it will be called the Thumbprint series) is a true session beer coming in at 4% ABV.

Other new beers in lately -

Capital Weizen Doppelbock - From the brewery's website - "An alluring example of the sweet, tantalizing flavors associated with a Bavarian style Wiezen that have been amplified to Doppelbock might." Just a great beer style.

Capital Eisphyre - A beefed up version of their excellent beer Autumnal Fire. Big, malty, and satisfying. A great sipper around the fire. Or "phyre" in this case.

Brau Brothers Hundred Yard Dash - The name comes from how far it is from the brewery's hopyard to their brew kettle. What does that have to do with anything, you ask? Well, because this is a fresh hop beer. The hops are picked as needed and put into the beer from first hop addition through dry-hopping.

Enjoy!

Spring Beer!

2010-11-02T18:23:00.005-05:00

No, I'm not getting my seasons mixed up or wishing for winter to be done already. Well, maybe a little bit of the latter. What I'm actually getting at is that Leinenkugel's has re-released the Russian Imperial Stout from their Big Eddy series. The name comes from the Big Eddy spring that the brewery was built by for its water supply.

Last released in 2007, this big stout is a little out of the norm for Leinenkugel's and their specialty brews. Usually known to lean more toward the easy drinking craft beer crowd, this one is geared more toward the beer geeks. Using eleven malts and grains along with Warrior, Summit, and Glacier hops, this brew clocks in at 9.5% ABV with 50 IBUs and an OG of 28.

Not sure how long this will be around and not sure when they will make it again, if ever, so come on in and pick some up. It will definitely stand up to some aging as well.

Enjoy!

New Glarus is Back....

2010-10-28T16:59:00.004-05:00

....with a new seasonal brew that is. Back 40 Bock is the second seasonal bock the brewery has put out this year with Cabin Fever being the first. From the bottle - "The 'Back Forty' is property commonly found on the outskirts of the Wisconsin family farm. Here uncultivated acres wait prime for adventure - forts, tree houses, rope swings and first kisses! A place to run away, to camp, to climb, to build, to play. Not actually home but not too far away. That's the Back Forty. The beer you hold is similar both dark and adventurous still smooth and familiar. Here's a beer you can enjoy without pretense or explanation. Every mind requires some acres of possibility, space for dreams, the great escape, everyone needs a back forty."

Gave this one a try today and thought it was good. A little darker and more full-bodied than the Cabin Fever which was appreciated. Not quite up to Uff-da bock in my opinion, but close. A nice easy drinking bock with good flavor. I miss Uff-da.

Enjoy!

+1

2010-10-26T19:00:00.004-05:00

We had one more beer slip in the store after Ian wrote the last blog entry.

Dogfish Head Pangaea - This very unique (it's Dogfish Head so that pretty much goes without saying) beer is brewed with ingredients from every continent. Here is the list -

Crystallized ginger from Australia
Water from Antarctica
Basmati rice from Asia
Muscavado sugar from Africa
South American quinoa
European yeast
and North American maize.

Enjoy!

Holy new beers!

2010-10-26T11:32:00.005-05:00

As happens from time to time, we just got another shipment of awesome new beers in. Check 'em out:

Founder's Harvest Ale

Those of us East of the St. Croix have been making regular trips to

the other side to pick up Surly Wet, the wet hopped ale using uber fresh hops. No more, I say! Now we've got our own wet hopped right here in the store, and I dare say it is as good, though in a slightly different way. My guess is Founder's used Centennial to wet hop this one; it has a slightly bolder, more citrusy hop profile and less sweetness than the afore mentioned ale. Definitely worth picking up a four pack to share while its in season!

Lagunitas Brown Shugga'

Literally... this seasonal is a super sweet syrupy ale brewed with lots of brown sugar. This accident has become an annual release of delicious goodness!

Dark Horse Perkulator

Nothing welcomes winter like a rich coffee dopplebock!

New Imports

(Sorry, I don't have the time to find images for all of these right now)

Nogne O Imperial Stout

Nogne O #100 Barleywine

Mikkeller Green Gold IPA

HaandBryggeriet Dobbel Dram

HaandBryggeriet Norwegian Wood

Petrus Oud Bruin

We also recently received a shiptment of Captial Autumal Fire, a truly awesome Oktoberfest style doppelbock, as well as the new Eisphyre - apparently an ice brewed version of the Autumnal.

So many beers, so little time....

Thirsty Thursday!

2010-10-14T17:49:00.011-05:00

I love Thursdays. Mainly because of beer. I'm not really sure what that even means, but here are some new brews we've received in the past few days-

Lift Bridge Chestnut Hill - From their website - "A wonderfully big nut brown ale crafted with roasty toasty malts balanced with Yakima hops and just enough alcohol to keep you warm on a fall afternoon." It is also brewed with cinnamon and allspice to go perfect with the cooler weather.

Pannepot Reserva 2008 - From the De Struise Brewery in Belgium comes this big (10% ABV) Quadruple aged on oak. They take their regular Pannepot Old Fisherman's Ale which is great in itself and age it in oak barrels, coming up with this brew. Looking forward to this one.

De La Senne Taras Boulba - From the importer's website - "This is the perfect session beer -- loaded with complex yeast flavors, hopped to perfection, and as drinkable as any beer you've ever tried. At 4.5% alcohol, it's built for drinkability."

Smuttynose S'muttonator - A Double Bock beer that the brewers take 30 hours to brew a single batch of. Now that's attention to detail.

Smuttynose Maibock - From the website - "We brew our Maibock to be hugely malty & subtly finished with a variety of continental hops, with an eye-pleasing russet brown color."

De Graal Tripel - From the brewery's website - "A heavy blond beer (alcohol content of 9% ABV). It is lightly sweet with a nice fruity ester and hoppy taste (finest German Poperingse hops). Some spiciness kicks in with an insinuation of coriander and pepper."

Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere - This golden, naturally cloudy Farmhouse Ale is bottle conditioned and dry hopped. Tasty and refreshing is a very nice combination.

Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam - From the website - "Ruddy golden, with yeast driven esters of banana, spicy clove, and nutmeg all wrapped up with a generous dose of rapscillion delight." I guess you could call this brew "swheat and sour". Hey, I tried.

Enjoy!

The Great Fall Fridge Clean Out

2010-10-04T12:31:00.000-05:00

Fall has arrived and it came in with the Oktoberfest beers. The leaves are turning, grills are getting cleaned and ready to be stored and my fridge needs its bi-annual cleaning. Not just for the gunk and grime but to sift through the shelves of beer and figure out what I need to drink before it gets to cold.

I consider my self a seasonal beer drinker with an occasional yearning for something different. I have been collecting IPAs and crisp hoppy beers all summer and I now need to start making room for the darker maltier beers of the winter. After working ABR this weekend my pallet kind of switched and I found myself staying away from the Tea Bagged Furious and Lagunitas IPA and became sucked into the Odell Bourbon Barrel Stout, Bourbon Cty Vanilla Stout, and Surly Moe's and Jesus Juice.

I know I am going to hear it from everyone that you can drink great IPA's all year long but I usually don't unless it is something I haven’t had, I’m pairing it with food or I just need a mouth full of hops to switch it up from the 10% Bourbon Barrel Barley wine I have resting in my snifter.

You don't have to get rid of all of your PA's and IPA's but I would start to look at the balance of your selection and start to dwindle the amount of hoppier beers in your fridge. Here are a few things to replace DFH 90min, Bear Republic Racer 5, and the Dales Pale Ale.

3 Floyds Robert the Bruce Scotch Ale

Dark Horse Boffo Brown Ale

Founders Porter

North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout

Fresh beer is usually always the best beer but I always have a good variety of beers hanging around just in case you get that itch. Now go look in your fridge drink what has been there for awhile because there is always something new on the liquor store shelves and fill it up with something you haven't had before. Be adventurous it’s the only way to learn.

Raise a snifter to great winter beers

Salute

New Beer Friday!

2010-10-01T16:05:00.003-05:00

I can hardly believe it myself, but we just received a shipment of Dogfish Head's Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. From the brewery: In honor of the 40th anniversary of the original release of Bitches Brew, Miles Davis' 1970 paradigm-shifting landmark fusion breakthrough, we've created our own Bitches Brew - a bold, dark beer that's a fusion of three threads imperial stout and one thread honey beer with gesho root, a gustatory analog to Miles' masterpiece. This beer is "the ultimate partner for chili or spicy curry chicken" and best enjoyed "sipped cool, not cold, from a snifter or red wine glass while listening to the Bitches Brew album."

If that isn't awesome enough, we also received a shipment of Bell's 25th anniversary ale. From the brewery:

Brewed with Michigan barley, generously dry-hopped, and fermented with Bell's signature house yeast, 25th Anniversary Ale combines malty caramel & toffee notes with a fragrant hop character.

Its Friday, so stop in and grab these while they last. While you're at it, grab some of your old favorites too!

GABF 2010 "I wish it could be every weekend"

2010-09-24T08:47:00.000-05:00

Days after we returned from the Great Taste of the Midwest I recieved a call and was told I was going to the Great American Beer Festival. I took this opportunity to do some research for everyone that has the same dream I did.

We started out at the Sandlot brewery which is located in the Coors stadium. This is where blue moon was started and it is the Blake side of the new 10th and Blake Street brewerey a new craft venture for MillerCoors. They had a brewers event going on at the Sandlot and all of the beers they produce at that brewery were being poured. The head brewer was pouring alot of the beer and we were hanging out with the Alstrom brothers along with many other brewers and judges. I started off the day with the Hefe which was a great choice, it poured with a dense white head and banana flavors that smacked you in the front and lingered on. Next I decied to stop watching what I was drinking and I went for the Baracuda (Belgian Stong Ale). This was a great choice and came by a recomondation from the brewer. Full bodied almost barley wine like with a full malt flavor and not alot of syrupiness, don't get me wrong it still was a little sticky but in an enjoyable way.

When we left Sandlot we headed straight to the festival an hour early and when we arrived the line was already half way around the convention center. So while we stood in line we planned out our attack (West Coast, then East Coast, then Freestyle with fitting in a little midwest breweries if time allowed) of course it didn't turn out that way. Once inside the massive size just makes your head spin we hit the very first brewery we saw. I know that is a beer fest taboo but I was thirsty and it was Allagash so I grabbed a Curieux which was a perfect sipping beer to get aquainted to your souroundings. We got settled pretty quick and were off and running hitting Oskar Blues, Ska, and Avery in the first couple of minutes. We decided to head out and find somethings that we haven't had and a few we can't leave the fetival with out it in our glass. Some of my favorites were:

Alaskan Smoked Porter

Alesmith Wee Heavy

Bell's Wild One

Brooklyn Local 2

Cigar City Guava Grove

Dogfish Head Bitches Brew through a coffe press

Elysian Mr Yuck

Goose Island Lolita

Hoppin Frog Boris Imp Coffee Stout

Lost Abbey Angel's Chare Grand Cru

Ninkasi Believer Dbl Red

Odell Woodcut #4

Pizza Port Cho-Saiko Dbl IPA and Z man Stout

Port Older Viscosity

Russian River Temptaion and Suplication

Terrapin Hopsecutioner

Minneapolis Town Hall Russian Roulette

A few fun things we tried

Maui Coconut Porter
Shorts Key Lime Pie
Cigar City Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
Dogfish Head Tamarillo

There might be more but we were there for 5 hours and my pen only worked for so long and I gave it my all when I woke up to remember but no luck.

For some reason the next day we got up at the crack of dawn to go to Golden, CO and tour the Coors Brewery which was more exciting than I had expected. We got to try the Batch19 prohibition lager that is in test market around the country and then went to a local restaurant and got to try a Barman. This was a traditional pilsner from Coors' test brewery that takes 7 minutes to pour and comes out with a thick creamy head that was suprisingly smooth without any skunky pilsner finish. Definalty a great start to another full day of drinking.

Day 2 was a day of trying to find different brewer events in the city and we did alright we kept hearing of this Falling Rock Tap House so we searched it out. Walking in to this mecca of beer who can complain about 70+ taps and everything is high end import, craft or one off lines. I went for the Russian River Suplication, followed by a Petrus and then pint after pint of Pliny the Elder. Oskar Blues was on their way with 3 special pours so we settled down and hung out for a few hours playing is he the brewer or just a guy with a shirt (we were right a couple of times). Oskar blues finaly arrived and we were glad we stayed all day to drink because they brought us some treats :

Dry hopped Gubna

Barrel Aged Ten Fidy

Old Chub Kreik

Two days of making my liver hate me and trying to remember all the great beers I tried was definalty worth it. This is an event everyone needs to go to at sometime in their life. Make sure to grab a ricsahw instead of a cab when trying to get around town you can try and beat our record of 7 people on a 2 seater.

Cheers and see you there next year

Yep, A Couple More

2010-09-23T10:53:00.004-05:00

Just got these two in on Tuesday.

Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu - This brew is based off of preserved pottery jars found in Northern China that at one time held a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey, and fruit. These jars were from around 9000 years ago, right about the same time that people in the Middle East were beginning to make barley beer and grape wine. I wonder if they found a born-on date stamped on those jars.

Three Floyds Moloko - "This milk stout is brewed with a portion of golden naked oats and lactose milk sugar to give it a rounded and full-bodied mouth feel. With a deep roasted and slightly sweet maltiness." Your mom always said to drink plenty of milk.

Enjoy!

A Few MORE New Brews!

2010-09-18T10:22:00.009-05:00

Got to work Saturday morning to find a pretty good selection of new goodies. Check it out -

Founders Breakfast Stout - Yep, it's back. No description needed, because in the immortal words of Beavis and/or Butthead, "If you have to ask, dude, you'll never know." Pairs extremely well with bacon and eggs.

The Bruery Autumn Maple - Quick molasses joke for you. Papa Mole, Mama Mole and Baby Mole were out for a walk one day. Papa Mole stops and says "Ahh, smell that wonderful fresh air." Baby Mole stops right behind Papa Mole and Mama Mole and says "Hmm, all I can smell is molasses." Get it? Mole asses? Anyhoo, check out the brewery's description of this fantastic sounding beer - "Brewed with 17 lbs. of yams per barrel (in other words, a lot of yams!), this autumn seasonal is a different take on the “pumpkin” beer style. Brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, molasses, and maple syrup, and fermented with our traditional Belgian yeast strain, this bold and spicy beer is perfect on a cold autumn evening."

Hinterland Luna Coffee Stout - "Opaque, black, coffee-like character. Very creamy, extremely clean and refreshing." I'm guessing this would also go well with the morning reading of the newspaper.

Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Wild - "Another Big Sister of the Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale.... Loads of Malted Wheat for a Curious Malt Foundation and a Light Color, But Our Belgian Yeast Leaves a Huge Flavor and Complexishness." No getting around it, complexishness is just a damn fine word.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale - "A full-bodied brown ale with smooth hints of pumpkin and brown sugar. We brew our Punkin Ale with pumpkin meat, organic brown sugar and spices. This is the perfect beer to warm-up with, as the season cools." Quite possibly my favorite pumpkin beer.
Dark Horse Scotty Karate - "This beer is a big, full bodied Scottish ale. It is 9.75% alc. but it is very smooth and balanced." I can attest to that. A very well done Scottish Ale.

And the rest -

Southern Tier Harvest

Sherwood Forest India Pale Ale

Sherwood Forest Blueberry Ale

We received another fresh shipment of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA and 90 Minute IPA. Both were bottled less than two weeks ago.

We also received another shipment of Bear Republic Racer 5 six packs and it just got put on tap at The Nova as well. Absolutely awesome out of the keg. Make sure to keep checking the blog for updates, as I saw a few other great kegs sitting it the beer cooler waiting to be put on tap soon as well. You will not be disappointed.

Enjoy!

A Few New Brews

2010-09-09T16:45:00.009-05:00

We received a few more Fall brews and other goodies in the last couple of days. Here you go -

Founders Nemesis 2010 - Founders calls this the "Anti-Establishment Ale". " Every batch diabolically brewed to decimate ordinary-average-run-of-the-mill tasting beer." Pretty much. This one can definitely be laid down for a while.

Southern Tier Pumking - An imperial ale brewed with pumpkins. Pumpkin pie in beer form. Just add whipped cream.

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale - "Like a pyramid for a pharaoh, we set out to make a bold monument for The King of the Pumpkins! This 8.0% ABV pumpkin ale is the mother of all pumpkin ales. It is heartier, spicier, and more “caramelly” and “pumpkiny” than its faint brethren!" Mmmm....caramelly and pumpkiny.

And the rest....

New Glarus Staghorn Oktoberfest

Central Waters Oktoberfest

Victory Festbier

Flying Dog Dogtoberfest

Enjoy!

Beer Week

2010-08-27T18:21:00.000-05:00

Sorry it took so long for the reveiw of The Great Taste. I left the day after for Seattle and Vancouver and have been recovering ever since. So here is how it all played out.

After eagerly waiting weeks for confirmation on whether we would get tickets this year, I recieved an email from one of my distributors saying that he had tickets for us to attend The Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison. I never thought it would be difficult to find a wing man to make the trip to Madison to drink amazing beers for two days (not to mention FREE BEER), but after begging and pleading several people, I was left to make the journey on my own. So I set off on the open road to meet up with some friends and my Brother in Madison.

Friday: We headed to New Glarus and got a private tour with Jeff our sales rep and Dan and Deb Carrey. Dan gave us a tour of the new building that might be getting added onto in the near future and Deb answered most of our questions. However, most of the answers were dissapointing (and no they didn't let any dirt slip on new beers to come.) I was very impressed with the open fermentation tanks and that a large brewery would even play with something like that (for more info watch the BrewingTV episode on open fermentation). While the tour went on we did drink alot of moon man and stone soup on draft and we were sent home with a couple of the new RND series Gueze and Bourbon Barrel Aged Kriek. After trying them that night we concluded the Gueze was very crisp and almost more champagne like than sour but still a very quaffable apple tartness. The Kriek was also as impressive with hidden flavors of the belgian red with a full mouthfeel and smothness from the bourbon barrels. I will probably try another of each in the near future and lay the rest down for a few years. These beers are only sold at the brewery and this year sold out in 2 days. That night we hit up some of the pre parties in Madison where each brewery takes over a bar for the night.

Brickhouse BBQ was the first stop with Central Waters and Shorts so we drank
CW - Illumination
CW - Exodus Flanders Red
Shorts - Keylime Pie

Then we traveled on to The Glass Nickel were Founders was having a party and quaffed
Founders - Canadian Breakfast Stout "oh ya"
Founders - Devil Dancer

We had a long day ahead of us so we called it a night after 2 devil dancers.

We found out in the morning that our tickets were brewer tickets so we could go into the venue early...and that we did. No lines, very few people and everything was open. It was a perfect day and the first thing we did was hit up the real ale tent and found a few treats

Arcadia - Hop mouth Dbl IPA

Goose Island - Liquid Inspiration Stout

Jolly Pumpkin - Calabaza Blanca aged with Hibiscus

Kuhnehenn - Cherry ode'Bruine

- Gueze

Surly - Darkness

- Teabagged Furious

This is what makes the VIP tickets a special treat. Most of these beers are gone within the first hour of the festival. Only the stories and reviews of those who tried them remain. You could see the jealousy in the eyes of the common folk who did not have the opportunity to try some of these incredibly unique real ales.

I can't review all of my favorites so here are some of my top beers for the event.

Highlights

Ale Asylum - Satisfaction Jacksin Dbl IPA

Bling Pig - Belgian Imperial IPA
Central Waters - 2010 BBBW

Dave's Brew Farm - Mocha Diablo

Goose Island - Spooky Black IPA

Jolly Pumpking - Roja De Kriek

Kuhnhen - Olde Bruin Cherry

- Creme Brulee Java Stout

Shorts - Black Cherry Porter

- Nicie Spicie american wheat

- S'mores Stout

- Anniversary Ale 2010 wheat wine

Surly - Imperial Brown Ale

This is one of those events that everyone needs to attend sometime in their life. Make sure to get tickets for next year it is only 3+ hours away and its the largest event in the midwest with 125 different breweries and we weren't able to count the amount of beers there were at the tasting.

Is it October yet?

2010-08-18T15:21:00.003-05:00

Its only the third week of August, but the Oktoberfests are already showing up on the shelves. We currently have Spaten, Capital, and Leinie's Oktoberfests, New Belgium Hoptober, and Sierra Nevada's Autumn seasonal Tumbler, with plenty more to come in the next weeks.

Restocking the shelves...

2010-08-13T19:53:00.002-05:00

A large re-stock of Bear Republic showed up today. We now have bombers of Red Rocket, Racer 5, Black Bear, and Hop Rod in stock, as well as four packs of Hop Rod and six packs of Red Rocket and Racer 5. This is turning out to be a great day... and its Friday!

This just in...

2010-08-12T13:45:00.003-05:00

The next New Glarus Unplugged series just walked through the door. I haven't had a chance to try this one yet (it literally JUST walked through the door), but it is on my to-do list for today.

From New Glarus' website, it looks like this is a Flemish style brewed with Belgian Dark Candi (I haven't misspelled this - that's how the Belgians do it!) Sugar for a high alcohol content (9.75% ABV) and residual sugars for warm tones of rum, raisins, dark chocolate, and sherry-like fruit tones. They recommend drinking this slightly warm as a dessert beer.

If the recent unplugged series have been any indication of things to come, this one won't last long!

Dogfish Head is back!!

2010-08-06T17:36:00.003-05:00

I spoke too soon on my earlier post. Besides the Theobroma that showed up today, we're also stocked back up on much of the Dogfish Head that has been MIA lately. We've got 60 minute, 90 minute, and Indian Brown Ale back in stock. Hurry in to get your fix of these elusive beers!

2010-08-06T15:08:00.002-05:00

Our new brews shelf has been overflowing this week. Jason posted an update earlier this week on some of the new stuff we've gotten in, but it looks like we need to update the list a second time this week! Going to be a busy couple of nights catching up on my tasting...

Dogfish Head Theobroma
We currently have three cases of this one, brewed with honey, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder, ancho chilies, and ground annatto. Considering how difficult Dogfish has been to get lately, I'm amazed that this one showed up. Get it while you can!

Southern Tier 2XIPA
Brewed with four varieties of hops and 3 types of malts, this double IPA is more fun than a double complete rainbow!

Lagunitas a Little Sumpin' sumpin' ale
Ok, this isn't technically new, but we only had one case of it before, and that only lasted a day or two. We now have five cases of this killer beer. It still won't last long, guaranteed.

Furthermore Oscura
Its back! This amber lager tastes much bolder than its color would suggest thanks to the fair trade coffee its brewed with.

Furthermore Proper
When its time to take the training wheels off, step up to a light beer with flavor!

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

2010-08-03T18:14:00.003-05:00

Classic Movie.

Classic Brewery? Probably has a ways to go before that, but according to some reviews this beer may help push it a little closer that way.

Im speaking of Brau Brothers Brewing Company Rubus Black. I know, kind of a stretch for the title of this post but drinking good beer is a little above creative writing on my list of hobbies.

From the bottle - "Malty, sweet, and complex, Rubus Black Imperial Porter is Lucan's take on a classic British Style. Chocolate Malt dominates and is complimented by Roasted Barley, Brown Malt, and Biscuit Malt. Fuggle and Golding hops edge the southern exposure of the brewery's estate hopyard, and are exclusive in this ale. Blackberry flavor is noticeable, yet modest and is smartly tied to the malt with a fruity British Yeast."

We just got this in today and I am definitely going to need to pick one up. It sounds fantastic.

Enjoy!

http://www.braubrothersbrewing.com/

This Year, Vote For Beer!

2010-08-02T17:00:00.003-05:00

What would happen if a beer ran against a human for president? The beer would definitely win. What would happen if a beer ran against another beer for president? Tough call, right? Well, now we can find out! Sort of.

New Glarus Brewing Company is letting everybody vote on the beers they would like to see New Glarus brew next year. They have done this the past few years now and it is a really cool thing. Just follow this handy dandy link to the ballot on their web page and vote away. http://newglarusbrewing.com/BeerBallot.cfm You can only vote for five beers so choose wisely. You can also make suggestions for a beer you would like to see them brew.

The fate of the beer world rests in your hands! Vote now!

Hello, Beer.

2010-07-29T19:37:00.003-05:00

Walked back into the "beer cave" at the store tonight and you'll never guess what I saw. You guessed it, new beers, and quite a few of them. Here we go -

Ommegang Zuur - Q. What do you get when Brewery Ommegang and Brouwerij Leifmans get get together and brew a beer? A. This. "This unique Flemish sour brown ale is complex, tart with a touch of sweetness, lightly malty and gently hopped." Here you go sourheads.

Rogue Double Chocolate Stout - It has the words "double" and "chocolate" in it. Enough said.

Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze - "A true geuze - a blend of 1, 2, and 3 year-old lambic, unfiltered and unpasteurized, and aged in the bottle for at least a year after blending. Matured in oak casks." A true Belgian gem.

Arcadia Cocoa Loco - From the Michigan brewery comes this stout brewed with chocolate, molasses, and lactose. It is part of their Big Beer Series.

Nogne O India Pale Ale - "A rich, malty, and very bitter ale. Cascade hops provide a long, fruity, and spicy after-taste." Who says Norwegians cant brew a good beer. Wait, nobody said that.

Lagunitas Lucky 13 - Lagunitas isn't lying when they call this one "a mondo large red ale". 8.56% ABV and 76.92 IBU. Yep, that's pretty mondo for a red ale.

Lagunitas Imperial Stout - And here's how Lagunitas describes this brew - "Big, black, bourgeois, bolshoy, belligerent, buxom, and scary." At least they're not short on adjectives. Or good beer.

Enjoy!

Cows and Dogs and Fish. Oh, My.

2010-07-27T22:56:00.009-05:00

A couple new tasty brews made their way into the store today.

Three Floyds Apocalypse Cow - "This complex double India Pale Ale has an intense citrus and floral hop aroma balanced by a velvety malt body which has been augmented with lactose milk sugar." One of my personal Three Floyds favorites.

Dogfish Head Red and White - "A big belgian-style Wit brewed with coriander and orange peel and fermented with Pinot Noir juice. After fermentation a fraction of the batch is aged in one of our giant oak tanks. It successfully marries the refreshing citrusy qualities of a Belgian-style white beer with the robust complexity of a bold red wine." Yes, please.

Stop in and get 'em while you can.

Shall We Dance?

2010-07-20T10:56:00.008-05:00

Triple IPA? What does that mean? I feel like this is getting out of hand. What comes next, My Dad Can Beat Up Your Beer IPA? This reminds me of shaving, where first two blades, then three, now FIVE is the only way to go. That being said, it appears that Triple IPA's are breaking away from the barleywine genre by forming a basic recipe of 100% more malt and 200% more hops than your plain vanilla IPA. The result is a sweet, sticky, ultra-hoppy beer with an ABV of 11% or more.

Let's start with the label: Devil Dancer reminds me of psychology class in high school. You know, where they tell you about the subliminal advertising in liquor ads. "Liquid ecstasy inside. Drink me!" Power in advertising, no?

A rich amber liquid, Devil Dancer seems to pour like a thick syrup. One whiff cements that notion with rich malty tones and an over the top citrusy floral hop aroma garnered from a ten hop blend. Sip it, and the immediate maltiness fills your senses. The viscidity lingers on the tongue long after the 112 IBU's kick in, where they both remain for an impossible amount of time. 12% ABV makes you warm and fuzzy inside, just like the label promised. A few sips later, that feeling begins to invade your head as well - this is absolutely a sipping beer! This beer may have subtleties buried within it somewhere, but the malt, hops, and alcohol is far too omnipresent to tease them out.

Founder's Devil Dancer is for serious beer geeks, connoisseurs, and hopheads. The citrusy alphas make it a good choice for a warm summer evening, although it can age until the Devil comes calling. I'd recommend keeping a four pack tucked away for a cold, snowy winter night, at which point it will be long gone from the store shelves. Despite my initial misgivings, when it comes to beer, more is clearly better!

Dancing Man is Arriving

2010-07-19T16:06:00.000-05:00

Our distributor is right on schedule and we will be receiving some dancing man tomorrow almost exactly 3 weeks after its release date. This traditional bottle fermented Hefe was a fan favorite last year with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg on the nose and a creamy sweetness that sits on your tongue They decided to bring it back for another round and supplies are not like the Unplugged series so filling your fridge with a case and having dancing man be your session beer for the summer is a definite possibility. We will be sampling it this week so make sure to stop by and try some.

Today Was A Good (Beer) Day

2010-07-06T17:13:00.006-05:00

Im not certain that Ice Cube is a craft beer fan, but if he is he would definitely make that remix after he saw what we got in at the store today.

Central Waters Illumination Double IPA - For a description of this fantastic beer from here in Wisconsin, please see Tyrrell's post below. ( 4 pack - $11.99)

Dogfish Head Sah'tea - Another imaginative brew from the fine folks out of Delaware. "Brewed with rye, we caramelize the wort with white hot river rocks, then ferment it with a German Weizen yeast. In addition to juniper berries foraged directly from the Finnish country-side we added a sort of tea made made with black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and black pepper." Yep, that sounds pretty damn good. (750 mL - $12.99)

Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA - The hop masters over in California brewed up a big IPA using all British ingredients. Need I say more? (22 oz - $7.99)

Come on in and pick these up while you can. You won't even have to use your AK. Just a bottle opener.

Ooooooo, Ahhhhhhhh, Ohhhhhhhh,

2010-07-02T15:18:00.001-05:00

Dogfish Head Back in Stock

After weeks of bare shelves they are now full again. 60min, 90min, Palo Santo, Raison, Brown are back in. Have a great and safe holiday and enjoy drinking great beer on a hot weekend. For those of you that live in the great state of MN and wake up on Sunday morning looking to enjoy a cold one on your porch and the fridge is dry you are in luck we are open on Sunday and we would love to fill your coolers with some great craft brews. You got to love Wisconsin 9-9 365.

Cheers

New Brews In

2010-06-25T11:21:00.001-05:00

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)

2010-06-25T09:18:00.002-05:00

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!

2010-06-19T09:50:00.003-05:00

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

2010-06-16T14:06:00.000-05:00

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

2010-06-11T17:24:00.003-05:00

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....

2010-06-09T11:48:00.007-05:00

....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

2010-06-04T12:04:00.002-05:00

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

2010-06-02T09:34:00.003-05:00

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.

Weyerbacher Tiny-Belgian Style Imperial Stout

2010-05-27T09:24:00.003-05:00

Much like the dog owner who names their Great Dane Princess or Peanut, Weyerbacher has followed suit with their new Belgian Style Imperial Stout. Uncharacteristically namedTiny, this beer was anything but small, and a real treat to drink.

Tiny pours a pitch black with a nice frothy brown head to top it off. The belgian yeast aroma is very evident on the nose along with strong chocolate, roasty and dark fruit notes. One would think that at 11.8% and with a color mimicking motor oil that this beer would need to be chewed. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that this was not the case.

With a strong carbonation true to the belgian style, this effervescent ale was surprisingly easy to drink. The alcohol was a little hot, but I think with a little age in the bottle, this beer has the potential to be Great! Don't get me wrong, Tiny is definately a sipper, but its versatility and fusion of styles makes it a great brew for both a hot summer day or a cold winter night.

I highly suggest picking up a couple bottles of Tiny while you can. Drink one now and let the other age until winter.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day!

Cheers to beers!

Holy Mole(y)...

2010-05-19T09:37:00.004-05:00

During an impromptu tasting session a few nights ago we had the opportunity to taste New Holland's el Mole Ocho. Utilizing my C+ Spanish skills from college this translates to The Mole 8! See what I did there?

Actually this brew pays homage to the ancient Mole Pablano sauce, a chocolate and spicy cayenne pepper tinged sauce. There are varying thoughts of when this sauce originated, the most likely is during the pre-hispanic occupation of Mexico. Aztec king Montezuma thought that Cortez and his ships were gods coming to Mexico. In a hurried effort to please these "Gods" he had his subjects create a Mole (which loosely translates to concoction)....I bet you never thought you would learn anything from a beer blog huh? Now on to the beer.

el Mole Ocho pours a copper/reddish brown color with a thin, quickly dissipating head. The head color is indicitive of the vanilla and chocolate flavors that come out as the beer warms in the glass.

From first smell we knew that this was going to be a complex beer. Notes of cayenne pepper, chocolate, roasted malt, coffee and vanilla are all detectible. Weighing in at 8% we didn't expect the alcohol to be as evident as it was, but it just added to the array of smells that the beer was emitting.

This beer had a unique blend of spicy and sweet flavors upon first taste. Upfront roasted chocolate tones gave way to a spicy pepper finish. As the beer warmed the peppers became less evident and the sweetness of the malts really came through.

It's always fun to see breweries like New Holland push the envelope and experiment with different styles. This is defintately one to try with a friend. I look forward to hearing others thoughts on the beer!

Cheers to beers!!!

New (Old) Beer From An Old (New) Brewery

2010-05-18T22:19:00.008-05:00

Last December when my wife and I had our first child I reluctantly joined Facebook. I said I would never do it, but lo and behold I gave in. It works great to show pictures of our son to family and friends that don't get to see him very often. It also works great to catch up with what my favorite sports teams are up to. But, the main thing that I have ended up using it for is to keep up with what is going on in the wide world of good beer.

So, last week when I saw a post from Potosi Brewing Company and restaurant out of Potosi, WI on Facebook that said they were going to be bottling some of their beer I told Tyrrell about it. Before I could finish telling him the story he was online checking out their website and making a call to find out if we could get it at the store. He doesn't mess around when there is new good beer to bring in. As it turns out, we were able to get it in and it is now on our shelves. We have the following three available in six pack bottles- Good Old Potosi Beer, Potosi Pure Malt Cave Ale, and Snake Hollow India Pale Ale.

The Potosi Brewery is a brewery rich in history and tradition. It was founded in 1852 by Gabriel Hail and John Albrecht and ended up ceasing operations and closing down in 1972. At one time it was the fifth largest brewery in Wisconsin. In 1995, Gary David bought the Potosi Brewery Bottling buildings and began the restoration of the Potosi Brewery. In 2004, the American Breweriana Association selected the Potosi Brewery Foundation to be the home to its national museum.

So, come on in and grab yourself some good old beer that's new to us.

http://potosibrewery.com/

American Craft Beer Week 2010

2010-05-16T13:22:00.004-05:00

I like craft beer. A lot. If you ask my wife, she would probably even say a little too much. Chances are that since you are reading this blog you most likely do too. There's just something about it. The taste, the smell, the unique packaging, being around others that share your passion for it, searching for the latest and greatest, going back to "old reliable" once in a while, brewing it yourself, and knowing that some of the great beers you try come from people just like you that started out brewing it themselves in their kitchen are all just a few of the things that make it a wonderful hobby. For some, its much more than a hobby.

Where was I going with that? Oh, yea, American Craft Beer Week starts Monday, May 17 and runs through Sunday, May 23. It's a week to focus on all that is great with craft beer and remember what goes into it so we can enjoy it.

So, come on down to the store and restaurant and support craft beer. Pick up one of the new brews we just got in, try something you've never had, or even go back to "old reliable". Remember, without craft beer drinkers there would be no craft brewers, and without craft brewers, we wouldn't be able to drink some of the greatest beers in the world. Ah, the circle of beer.

Look Mom….I’m on TV!!!

2010-05-14T10:46:00.002-05:00

Brewing TV - Episode 1.2 from Brewing TV on Vimeo.

Brewing TV that is.

In episode 1.2 of Brewing TV, the crew explores our very own lagering caves on the premises at Historic Casanova’s. A brief history of the caves and how they would have been used back in the ‘Good ol’ days” is revealed via an interview with Professor Doug Hoverson, beer historian and author of Land of Amber Waters. Check out Tyrrell’s on- screen debut at the 1:36 mark! Way to go Tyrrell, your mom will be proud.

Episode 1.2 of Brewing TV continues on with their Time to Brew segment where Jake and Michael (the shows hosts) brew up a dark bock that was eventually lagered in the caves to be poured at our 2nd annual Casanova Beer Cave Fest. Being a home brewer myself, this is one of my favorite segments and will be especially helpful as I make the jump to all grain brewing.

With all the work out of the way its time to drink. The third segment of the episode focuses primarily on the beer fest itself. If you attended the event pay special attention to the background and you just might catch a glimpse of yourself in your prime!

Special thanks to Chip Walton, Jake Keeler, Michael Dawson and everyone else involved with Brewing TV for their hard work in documenting this year’s event. Check out their website www.brewingtv.com weekly for new episodes.

-Kevin

Mystery of the Shaft from Brewing TV on Vimeo.

Singing in the Cave from Brewing TV on Vimeo.

Why did lager become the "American" beer? from Brewing TV on Vimeo.

ENIGMA is stacked to the ceiling

2010-05-13T15:13:00.001-05:00

It is that time of the year again New Glarus has just released their next unplugged and after a little confusion they finally decided to go with Enigma and for a spring like this they made a great choice. Just in today and we got a bunch but don't expect it to last long. I got my case 2 weeks ago when we got a special shipment from the brewery for the cave festival and it is almost gone. This is for sure my new spring porch sippin beer. Enjoy and let us know what you think.

New Glarus Unplugged - Enigma - my beer of choice to pour into an oversized snifter and enjoy with a little dessert, chocolate is my craving. This complex beer pours a fiery copper/red color with limited head. A full nose of cherry and tartness sets your palate up for the flavor explosion that is about to ensue. Enigma features notes of vinegar, tart cherries, and a refreshing sourness that compliment the oak backbone. Somehow Dan Carey of New Glarus has been able to keep this beer under control and balanced, making it easily to drink 2 or 3. This sour brown is a definite score and we thank everyone that voted to bring it back.

Beers in the Very Near Future

2010-05-12T13:14:00.000-05:00

Just got the new release list from out distributor and these were a few of the gems they said were coming out in the next couple of weeks. If we are lucky we might even have them this week. I will make sure to post all of the new stuff coming in and once we give them a taste we will definatly let you know if they are a must try. Sorry for the tease but there hasn't been a ton of new beer since the festival and if all the stars align we might even have a stack of Enigma sitting on the floor tomorrow. It is tasting great again and everyone from the Cave festival that got to try some can attest to that.

Founders Cerise
Cherry Ale

Founders Old Curmudgeon
Oak Aged Old Ale

New Holland Mole Ocho
Ale brewed with Mole ingredients

Ommegang Tripel Perfection
Belgian style Tripel

Ommegang BPA
Belgian style Pale Ale

Southern Tier Mokah
Stout brewed with coffee and chocolate

Weyerbacher Tiny
Belgian Imperial Stout

The Bruery Mischief
Belgian-style Strong Pale Ale

The Bruery Trade Winds
Belgian Triple

He Said Beer, She Said Wine

2010-05-11T12:44:00.001-05:00

This is the rubber match.

Jana vs. Tyrrell to break the tie of who can pair their drink of choice with the cullinary skills of Chef Nate. Jana took the first class by a small margin with a mainly wine drinking crowd and then Tyrrell came back in the second class with some big guns like Kwak and NG Cherry Stout and won by a landslide. This will be the tasting to come to because both will be putting their dukes up throwing out some mean pairing.

The class is going to be on Saturday May 22nd starting at 5pm. Chef Nate comes up with 3 food items and Jana pairs 3 wines with the food and Tyrrell pairs 3 beers and then everyone that shows up are the judges. The winner gets braging rights and the winning beers or wines will go on sale for that week. Make sure you sign up soon because the last class sold out. So stop by Casanova Liquor to reserve your spot.

Beer Cave Fest - Recap

2010-05-02T10:38:00.007-05:00

For starters, I have to apologize on 2 counts. It didn't occur to me to take any pictures this year until we were cleaning up, so the only one I shot was this:

Dips**t Delivery

Second, sorry to anyone who was told that the Co. in Founders Brewing Co. meant they were from Colorado or that Chimay is made in Texas.
Chip Walton from Northern Brewer/Brewing TV shot a bunch of stuff and should have some type of video recap eventually. Look for it on YouTube or BrewingTV.com. Other things we learned this year:

Dave Anderson of Dave's BrewFarm may have his next six-pack release, Dichotomy, a tasty hoppy lager that would be great for summer. We'll see how that turns out. Dave also poured a Gruit, which I've never had before, and some awesome stuff including my fave, Aubexxx, a black pepper Belgian Strong Golden. Me and Pam are both pushing for that to be released in 750ml's.

Furthermore brewer Aran Madden was sampling IPA's like crazy. They may be dropping a couple beers and adding new one's to their lineup, including something hoppy. He hopes to collaborate with a Wisconsin hop farm on it.

Thanks to Jeff from New Glarus for not only scoring the last 2 cases of Cranbic from the brewery for us to pour, but also sending the new Unplugged Enigma, which we slid out as a limited special pour.

This year's moron was some guy who snatched a New Belgium tin sign out of the hands of a lady who had won it in the swag giveaway, turned to try to run with it and plowed over the fencing and t-shirt sales shelf. He got what he deserved, doing a faceplant into the asphalt. Instant asshole...just add alcohol. Massively uncool, dude.

We must have done a good job picking the brews this year (ouch that hurts my arm), cause 47 of the 80+ different beers we poured got votes. After filtering through the barely comprehensible, drunken scriblings (including someone who voted for Chimney) here's the top 5:

Furthermore Thermo Refur - No surprise here.
New Glarus Unplugged Cranbic - No surprise here, either.
Rush River Lost Arrow Porter - a tasty, jet black porter with nice coffee and roast undertones.
(tie) Magic Hat #9 & Dogfish Head Burton Baton - Magic Hat is just rolling into the area and #9 should be available in-store within the next month or so (and you may find it on tap at a few places). Burton Baton was Dogfish Head's recent seasonal and we held a case for the festival. It's all gone, so look for it this time next year.
(tie)New Glarus Moon Man & Totally Naked and O'So The Big O - all Wisconsin only distribution on these...we got it good.

It was great to have the guys from Northern Brewer here and I hope they encouraged some of you to brew your own. Many thanks to all those who volunteered. It's amazing how many people are willing to work for beer.

Brew with Furthermore

2010-05-02T09:16:00.003-05:00

Per Jason Mraz from Furthermore:

Brew a Beer with the Brewmaster.

Monday May 3rd 11am - 3pm

Join Aran Madden brewmaster for Furthermore Beer @ Vine Park to brew 1 of 6 recipes. We will have 6 kettles 4 people per kettle. You do the brewing and you get to name your beer. $53 includes 18 22oz btls with your custom lables signed by Aran, a Furthermore beer tasting, Furthermore pint glass, lunch and brewing beer instead of working! 24 spots are available. Please call Vine Park to purchase your tickets. 651-228-1355.

Not sure if there's still spots open for this, but it sounds like fun. If you want to see the unrelenting splendor that is Aran Madden in all it's stellar awesomeness, bring a lamp.

The Lineup

2010-04-30T20:04:00.003-05:00

For those of you who just can't wait until tommorow, here's most of what we will be pouring at Saturday's Casanova Beer Cave Festival.

New Belgium Fort Collins, Co
Fat Tire
Ranger
Mighty Arrow

Goose Island Chicago, IL
Matilda
312
Summertime
Sofie

Tyranena Lake Mills, WI
Bitter Woman
Three Beaches
Down’n’Dirty
Rocky’s Revenge

Founder’s Grand Rapids, MI
Dirty Bastard
Red’s Rye

Rush River River Falls, WI
Unforgiven
Bubblejack
Robust Porter
Small Axe

Dave’s BrewFarm Wilson, WI
Matacabras
Select

Central Waters Amherst, WI
Satin Solstice
Glacial Trail
Shine On

New Glarus New Glarus, WI
Moon Man
Spotted Cow
Totally Naked
Stone Soup
Unplugged Cherry Stout
Unplugged Cran-bic

Bell’s Kalamazoo, MI
Two Hearted
Oberon
Amber
Porter

O’So Plover, WI
Night Train
The Big O
Hopdinger
Picnic Ants

Three Floyds Munster, IN
Alpha King
Gumballhead

Furthermore Spring Green, WI
Three Feet Deep
Thermo Refur
Fatty Boombalatty

Pyramid Portland, OR
Haywire
Fling

The Bruery Placentia, CA
Saison De Lente

Lift Bridge Stillwater, MN
Crosscut
Farm Girl

Stone Escondido, CA
Arrogant Bastard
Ruination
Pale Ale

Chimay Baileux, Belgium
Grand Reserve (Blue)

Dogfish Head Milton, DE
Raison d’Etre
Aprihop
Burton Baton

Oskar Blues Longmont, CO
Dale’s Pale
Gubna
Mama’s Little Yella Pils

Magic Hat South Burlington, VT
#9

Lagunitas Petaluma, CA
Wilco Tango Foxtrot
New Dogtown
The Hairy Eyeball

Artisanal Imports

Triple Karmeliet
Pauwel Kwak
Meantime IPA

Plus others

Merchant Du Vin Importers
Samuel Smith India Ale
Samuel Smith Organic Lager
Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale
Samuel smith Oatmeal Stout
Samuel Smith Organic Cider
Samuel Smith Organic Raspberry
Lindemans Framboise
Ayinger Brau Weisse
Westmalle Tripel

There will also be many other special pours throughout the afternoon.

An Open Letter to Todd Haug

2010-04-22T10:01:00.000-05:00

Dear Todd,

On behalf of the beer geek nation (or at least the small percentage that has access or someone to send it to them) thank you for making Abrasive Ale. Really....from the bottom of my heart and the top of my tongue....thank you.

Frank

THE Stout Tasting

2010-04-20T19:50:00.007-05:00

The true meaning of life is to plant trees,

under whose shade you do not expect to sit.

-Nelson Henderson

With a combination of beers we've been accumulating, trades and some given to us by friends, we've ended up with an abundance of sought after beers. While the prudent move would probably be to enjoy each of these brews separately, I tend to like to try similar styles together to appreciate their differences. I'm usually surprised and come out thinking something very different from what I was expecting.

So last Friday, we steeled ourselves for a big night, with 11 different stouts chilled and ready. We invited over a couple friends and had @ it. The lineup was:

Big Sky Ivan the Terrible
North Coast Anniversary Old Rasputin
Surly Darkness 2009
Hoppin Frog Barrel-Aged B.O.R.I.S.
Alesmith Speedway Stout
The Lost Abbey Serpents Stout
Deschutes The Abyss 2007
DeMolen Hel & Verdoemenis
Goose Island Nightstalker
Three Floyds Black Sun Stout
Kuhnhenn Creme Brulee Java Stout

Despite an impressive list with a few white whales in there, I anticipated coming out thinking Abyss and Speedway Stout were just as great as advertised. While they were, that's not quite how I ended up feeling. We picked randomly and sampled half of each bomber, then came back through and tried each one again at a warmer temperature. The first 9 are Imperial Stouts, the last 2 thrown in for a change of pace. Surprisingly, the dryness of Black Sun Stout and the sweet and sour Creme Brulee Java Stout held up well. Most surprising was how difficult it was for any of us to pick out anything close to a favorite. While all the same style, each Imperial Stout had a different but well-balanced flavor. As we tried each, the differences jumped out, but never negatively. Whether barrel-aged, Belgian or with coffee (or combinations therein), they all impressed us with how well made they were. Even as I write and try to pick 1 or 2 to single out, I can't.

My overall thought at the time was, "what a great time to be a beer drinker". The options we have and the generosity of our fellow quaffers makes it even better. So give a buddy some beer you really like. Or sit down with some friends and have a little tasting. What you send into the lives of others comes back to you ten-fold.