Menotomy Beer & Wine

2011-08-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

Check out the Beers Richard poured
Friday, August 12th

Hey beer drinkers! My wife wasn't able to contribute to the beer reviews this week. In her absence, I have asked Dan, our wine dude, to fill in for her. If you don't know Dan, he is the loud Australian guy that may have made you feel uncomfortable once (maybe twice) and for that, I apologize. See you Friday!

Reissdorf Kolsch, GR

I checked out the website for this beer which is oh so smooth and sexual. I will back up the smooth part. The standard bearer for the Kolsch style since 1894 Reissdorf has a nice smooth body, a clean appley (it's okay to make words up when you're reviewing beer) aroma, and a palt malt graininess with a pine finish. An outstanding Kolsch from Koln, Germany. Alcohol level is low enough to allow copious amounts of consumption and at $4.99 a bottle, you can't beat it.

Dan says, "WTF is a Kolsch? As far as Kolsch's go, this is a good one. Reminds me of a Tasmanian lager".

Ommegang Hennepin Saison Ale, NY

Hennepin is one of the best American representations of this very complex beer style. Honey dominates the nose with a bit of pepper and mustiness peeking through. The taste is very sweet for a saison with nice lemon and pineapple flavors. The yeast adds a nice hint of clove and ends the brew with a spicy finish. A great introduction to the style for noobs. Dan says "clove, nutmeg, goes well with goldfish".

Pretty Things Hedgerow Bitter, MA

Thank goodness for local artisan ales! Pretty things has presented our pallets with an extremely bitter version of the English pale ale. Hopped up with Pioneer, First gold, and Sovereign, this brew lands somewhere between a traditional pale and a brown. Very dry finish with some lingering bitterness.

At this point in the evening Dan stopped talking to me. Let's just say that something a bit more feminine than I kept his undivided attention.

Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye, CA

Oooh, thats good. just good. Bear is calling this a strong American IPA but the hefty malt presence reminds me more of an imperial. A beautiful balance of sweet caramel and rye merged with with the bitter hop notes. Quite possible the best imperial IPA I have had that isn't an imperial IPA.

Dan says, "ugh, fart, sleep".

Check out the Wines Karen poured
Saturday, August 13th!!

Pewsey Vale Riesling '09, $19.99

The 2009 Pewsey Vale Riesling is a rich and intensely flavored wine. On the nose, there are classic fruit aromas of talcum, crushed stone and limes, with a hint of overlaying dried herb. The palate shows great length and depth with lemons and limes. The wine finishes with a soft but fresh natural acidity which balances the flavor intensity and a minerality that will reward medium to long-term cellaring.

Enanzo Garnacha Rosé '10, $11.99

Before his death, during one of his last visits to Spain, Ernest Hemingway was asked to recount his favorite memories of the time he spent there. He only mentioned one wine-"the fine, fresh rosé from Murchante." This was and is Enanzo. Old vine Garnacha rosé made via traditional "free-run juice" technique. Grape must obtained by gravity alone, left on the skins a few hours, then fermented without the skins at controlled temperatures to retain the fruity aromas. Raspberry-pink in the glass with fresh aromas of ripe fruit, water-melon and strawberry. Excellent with, poultry, fish, cheese, tapas and wild mushroom risotto.

Menotomy Favorite
Cline Cashmere '10, $19.99

A long-time favorite here at Menotomy, the Cline Cashmere is based on the traditional Rhône "GSM" blend. Mourvèdre, sourced from 30-year-old vines planted in sand-soil, is dry-farmed and head-pruned to develop flavorful fruit. Careful attention to Cline's Grenache vineyards in Oakley, California involve cluster thinning and leaf pulling, which increases fruit concentration. The bulk of the Syrah for the blend is also from Oakley, where the warm days and cool nights result in lush fruit and significant tannins. Cashmere is a very flavorful, smooth wine offering big cherry, raspberry and chocolate notes with hints of cracked black pepper and plum. Try Cashmere as an accompaniment to grilled salmon, pork roast or duck. Cline Cellars proudly supports Living Beyond Breast Cancer and over the years has contributed more than $200,000 to breast cancer foundations.

Mercer Merlot '07, $24.99

The Desert Wind Vineyard in the Wahluke appellation of Washington State's Columbia Valley provides over 60% of the Merlot in this blend. The balance of the Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon are from the McKinley Springs Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills A.V.A. Both appellations are warmer growing areas known for producing red wines of concentration, structure and pronounced flavor. Cabernet Franc, a low tannin variety, from the Zephyr Ridge Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills brings softness to the wine. Cherry fruit with hints of cocoa, vanilla and cedar are found in the aroma and flavors of this full-bodied Merlot. 83% Merlot is blended with 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc to bring complexity to the wine. A long mid-palate and supple tannins lend an elegant finish.

Wally's Featured Drink of the Week for August 13th

Mary's OMGtini

Ingredients:

1 part Effen Cucumber Vodka
1 part St. Germain Liqueur
1/2 part Lemonade
dash simple syrup (optional)

Shake all ingredients with ice and pour into chilled martini glass, garnish with twist of lemon or cucumber wheel and say what Mary says, "Oh my God !!!"

Drink Beer & Help Build a School

2011-05-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, May 15, we will host the 2nd Annual Menot-Ö-Fest. Yep, that's right - last year's fest was such a success we decided to do it again. This year Menot-Ö-Fest is benefiting the Genesis Network and their In addition, our goal is not only fully fund the building of this school but to completely furnish the facility, providing them with textbooks, desks, supplies, and a computer. We can't do this without your help!

How can you help? First, plan to come out this Sunday. It is going to be a great day of community, beer and great food from the Meat House Arlington. The following breweries have signed on: Shipyard, Woodchuck, Long Trail, Otter Creek, Wolavers, Narragansett, Pretty Things, Victory, The People's Pint, Haverhill Brewery, Harpoon, Gearys, Troegs, Fisherman's, Sam Adams, High & Mighty, Mayflower, Sierra Nevada, Innis & Gunn, Ithaca Brewing, Dogfish Head, Goose Island, Dark Horse, 21st Amendment & Widmer!

Next, once you are there - admission is free - think about spending a few dollars on a glass ($3 recommended donation) or tshirt ($5 recommended donation) or buying a raffle ticket. A few of the items being raffled are an HDTV donated by August Busch & Co., a limited edition framed print of the Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale label signed by the artist (only 80 copies exist),Sierra Nevada Hammock, Long Trail Golf Bag, and many items we don't even know about yet!!!!!

And if tasting all that beer and having a chance to win the above raffle items isn't enough to get you there - maybe knowing that we are raffling off a bottle of Utopias. Did your eyes just light up? That's right, we are raffling off a Jim Koch signed bottle of Samuel Adams Utopias. If you are a craft beer connoisseur, you are familiar with Utopias, if you aren't you can click here to learn more about this beautiful, labor of love of a brew - a labor of love that retails at $240 or more. Plus - this bottle is signed by Samuel Adams Brewery owner, Jim Koch making its value even greater! Raffle tickets are just $10 and can be purchased via our Facebook page or at Menotomy now.

Along with the raffle, the other piece of Menot-Ö-Fest fundraising that has already kicked off is the Menotomy 100. We are seeking out 100 folks to donate a minimum of $50. Aside from the knowledge that you just helped in a huge way in the building of a school that will be an intellectual nurturing ground for hundreds of children, you will also receive: Your name on a plaque at the school in Thailand, 2 Glasses, 2 Dinners - the food being provided by The Meat House. If you are interested in becoming part of the Menotomy 100, just call 781-646-0889 , email mary@menotomybeerandwine or swing by and see us.

We look forward to seeing you and your families May 15th, 1 - 5PM to celebrate great beer and helping hundreds of kids in Thailand who truly need our help.

Operation Success Charity Event

2010-09-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

Some fantastic pictures of a day that could not have been better. Gorgeous weather, friends, family, wine, beer, entertainment, music and all for a good cause. In one word, PERFECT! Thank you for being a part of it!

Operation Success Crew

McAlister Drive

Janet from Operation Success

Alden Booth- People's Pint

Happy Customers

Crowd Waiting for Dasty

Mike Hogan- Arlington K9 Unit

Mike and Dasty

Let the fun begin!

Kisses from Martha!

Neil getting attacked by Dasty!

Menoto-Fest 2010

2010-02-04T09:40:00.000-08:00

Happy People!

Naomi from Allagash

Dann and Martha Paquette from Pretty Things

Mary (Left) and Beth (Right)

Yum....

Luke- Thanks for all of your hard work putting this together!

Haverhill Brewery and Happy Customers

TJ From Fisherman's- Cape Ann Brewing

The Crowd

Even Babies Like Beer!

2009-11-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

Halloween At Menotomy Beer & Wine

Fall Update

2009-10-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Menotomy Friends!

In the last several months there have been a lot of events and new items coming through the store, including our fundraiser with the Massachusetts Children's Alliance, many additions to our port collection, the expansion of our wine selection, and the addition of all manner of odd brews to the beer fridge. All this has come with some changes:

You may have noticed we have a new wine rack in the center of our store. Italy now has some more room to grow, as does Germany and Portugal, which is no longer mixed in with the South American and Spanish wines. As a result, over the course of the next few months you can expect to see new wines from Germany, Portugal, Italy, Spain, South America, South Africa, and France. In short, we're going to have a far more diverse selection for you from several parts of the world. As we move into the next year look out for new wines and a more diversified selection.
We now have four full shelves of port for you to choose from, including new wine from Andresen, Sandeman, Barros, and Ramos Pinto. We now carry 10 and 20 year tawny ports, as well as a selection of ruby ports, LBVs, and a very special 30 year tawny from Sandeman. Our port tasting last night was incredibly popular and many of our customers were to surprised to find out they enjoyed even the strongest of the ports. If you're unfamiliar with the style or maybe want some suggestions from us about where to start, just ask!
Some of our customers have noticed that a few of our favorite beers have "disappeared." That's not really the case. After the fundraiser we had a nice selection of brew just waiting to be sampled and we wanted to make sure everyone got the chance to try the excellent beers that come around every fall. As a result, we've put a few ales in the back without displaying them. If there's something you're looking for and you can't find it, make sure to ask someone in the store whether or not we carry it. There's a good chance that we're simply featuring something else right now. Also, we can order cases of beer for you any time. Not only do you secure your favorite beer that way and guarantee it's going to be around for you when you want it, you save a little money, too.

With the holidays just around the corner, you're likely to see the appropriate wines featured at the front of the store. Many of the classics from last year will return this year (or are already available), but you can expect to see some new favorites, too. Among them is Westport Rivers' superb Chardonnay and sparkling wines. They're both made right here in Massachusetts and they're both receiving a lot of praise.

As per usual, the new season means new beers at Menotomy, but this season is particularly special. Thanks to changes with our distributors, there's been an influx of unique and rare beers at the store, many of them selected by Neil this time around. But don't look for Belgian additions alone; we plan on improving our German beer selection in the next month and expanding our line of unique American ales, too. That process has already begun with new ales from Victory and Tröegs already on our shelves. We also have Sierra Nevada's Torpedo in our fridge on an almost permanent basis these days. While our supply was previously limited by limits imposed on our distributor, those prohibitions have now been lifted. We'll do our best to keep it in the store for you.

Some photos from our fundraiser will be posted shortly. I'd have them for you now, but I recently installed Windows 7 and all my files are currently on a backup drive at home. There are some truly spectacular shots we'd like to share, all thanks to one very talented customer. I'll make sure they're available for browsing by Sunday.

Thanks for visiting! Send emails my way if you have any questions or comments.

Cheers,

Lucas & the Menotomy Crew

Updates: Pretty Things, Sierra Nevada, Stone, the CBC, and more!

2009-08-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've updated the site and a lot has happened that warrants updating. Dann and Martha from Pretty Things hosted a tasting in the store and brought with them three delicious beers that sold out very, very quickly. That tasting marked the first time anyone from outside the store had conducted the Friday beer ritual and it was a massive success. We'd like to thank them for visiting our store and we hope that they return in the near future. As far as inventory is concerned, we've secured a few more cases of the delicious Jack D'or for your enjoyment, but the American Darling and Baby Tree will make a triumphant return as soon as Dann and Martha can brew up some more.

Since the last update we've made Torpedo a regular part of our inventory, or at least a semi-regular. Sierra Nevada's "Extra IPA" is a year-round brew, but distributors on the east coast are apparently receiving fewer cases than they'd like. So, representatives from those distributors are limiting the number of cases they sell to each store. While that keeps most stores reasonably stocked-up on this delicious ale, it prevents us from selling as many cases as we'd like. We know there's a high demand for it and we're trying to keep up - if you don't see it here one week, check back the next. Our representative always sets aside a couple cases for us the second they hit the warehouse.

Among the new beers coming to the store in the next week is a particularly special brew concocted by a joint effort between Stone Brewing, the Cambridge Brewing Company, and BrewDog. They're calling it the Juxtaposition Black Pilsner and it's already drumming up a lot of praise. We're lucky enough to have one case coming our way sometime in the next week, but I can't promise that it'll stay around long. It's already fetching ridiculous prices on beer trading sites and it won't likely be produced again any time soon.

Thanks to customer requests we are currently carrying a lot more dark beer than is normal for summer. Examples include the Victory Storm King Stout, Berkshire's Drayman's Porter, Corsendonk's Abbey Brown Ale, Nogne Brown, and the Southern Tier Iniquity Black IPA (one of my favorite American beers). Despite the high-heat, high-humidity weather we've been getting lately, these dark beers remain customer favorites, too. If you're looking for rich, malty treats to beat the heat, we currently have plenty of them.

I'll be updating again with a picture or two from the Pretty Things tasting as well as information about our recent sake tasting and what you can expect from us in the coming months. More Thursday tastings are on the way and we hope you'll join us for them.

Cheers,
Luke

5/20: Big Changes Around the Corner

2009-05-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

We've had some new things creeping into the store the last few weeks on both the wine and the beer side. La Linda Rose has been the biggest hit among wine drinkers. It sells nearly as well as some of our best-selling reds, including Coto and Alandra! Southern Tier has, on the beer side, become an Arlington favorite. The single bottles like Uber-Sun, Iniquity, and Unearthly have sold very quickly, some of them coming into and leaving the store in just a matter of days. Their six-packs have also proven popular along with our line of Tröegs products. We should have something new in from both breweries over the course of the next month, including a special case or two from Southern Tier. But, the weather is slowly heating up and we live by the proverb "variety is the spice of life," so we're bringing back some old favorites and introducing some new things this summer at Menotomy. Over the next week we'll have Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy return the store in addition to the St. Bernardus Abt 12. We'll also be receiving the Rochefort 8, arguably one of the finest trappist ales around. We would've loved to have the 6 and the 10, but both are on short order here in Massachusetts.

The big news for west coast beer lovers is that Sierra Nevada has two new year-round beers. The first one we've had before. The Torpedo should be available in the store once again sometime next month. The other, called the Kellerweis Hefeweizen might take a little longer to get here, but you can bet we'll have it in the store as soon as is possible. Utilizing a special strain of yeast right from Bavaria and an unusual fermentation technique, Sierra Nevada has crafted its very own take on this universally loved style of German beer. Chances are that one will end up on a tasting, so keep your eye on the email.

A few new ciders may hit our shelves soon, too. Neil has both our reps and myself working nonstop to find new and unique things. We're considering placing special 6-packs in our fridge at some point in the future. Instead of making your own six-pack, we'd have pre-made varieties waiting for you. Due to space constraints, this is the best compromise we can come up with between not having mix packs and letting customers make their own. Let us know what kind of mix packs you'd like to see and we'll do our best to make it happen.

Hope to see you all at the next tasting!

Spring time = New Beers + Stone works with CBC

2009-04-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Spring has finally arrived. Though we've been settling for rainy weather the last couple of days, there's a tangible warmth in the air and it feels like spring. All kinds of new beer has been showing up at our store in the last couple of weeks, many of them arriving just for the season. New beers from Tröegs, Brooklyn Brewery, Southern Tier, Otter Creek, Smuttynose, and Victory will be hitting our shelves in the coming days, and our tasting this week focuses on the new brews from Brooklyn and Smuttynose. Belgian or Belgian-style dubbels are perfect for this time of year, but we have plenty of new product coming in that will satisfy those of you looking for something a bit lighter or more familiar. Sadly, some things are leaving the store for now, too. Sierra Nevada's excellent and popular Torpedo Extra IPA was a limited-time-only beer and probably won't be back until much later in the year or next year sometime. If anything changes in the Sierra Nevada world, you'll be able to read about it, here.

Some interesting things are happening in the world of brewing and we're trying to keep up with it all. Most notably, Stone Brewing (San Diego, CA) is teaming up with Scotland based BrewDog AND the Cambridge Brewing Company to craft a very special black pilsner. It's the first time Stone's ever brewed a lager-based beer and it's the first time I've heard of three breweries coming together to lend their talents to the crafting of a brew. You can read a lot more about this over at Stone's blog; that link includes video from the guys responsible for it. It's going to be called Juxtaposition and if I have anything to say about it (and I do), it'll be here in the store once it's made available. All the news I've read says it'll be on the market by summer.

In other local beer news, Harpoon's next Leviathan concoction is going to be a monster pilsner. The Leviathan series has been incredibly successful for Harpoon, earning them high rankings from websites and critics typically down on the brewery's style. The double IPA we had of theirs is definitely my favorite Harpoon product. We're looking forward to having it in the store.

As always, the beer rotation is in a constant state of flux! If there's anything missing from our shelves that you'd like to see, be sure to tell us. We'll do our best to get it on the shelves.

Thanks for stopping by!

Talk to you all of you on Friday!

3/11: Spring Rolls In

2009-03-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

And with the coming spring comes St. Patrick's Day! We have brought some new beers into the store this month to coincide with the celebrations, but red ales and dark lagers are not the only new items we have to offer. Neil and I have been hard at work with distributors and we are slowly being rewarded with new and rare Belgian ales, Southern Tier specialties, and a long list of new beers from microbreweries from every corner of New England.

Wheat beers, Kölsch, sweet lagers, bocks, and other exotic brews will be hitting our shelves over the next several months and we hope to continue a fun rotation throughout the summer. Among the concoctions we hope to add are beers from De Struise and Mikkeller. They are two independent and highly regarded breweries that craft some of the most exotic and delicious beer on the market. Mikkeller is a particularly interesting brewery, technically existing as a "gypsy" business, which rents facilities in order to make speciality beers all over the world. They're based in Denmark, but over the last several years they have brewed in Germany, Belgium, and various parts of the U.S.A., including Maine. Want proof that this brewery is truly unique? Check out this video, which features a Mikkeller dark ale consumed as a shot mixed with sea urchin.

Of course, we'd love to hear from you. Tell us what you'd like to see in our store; if it's available, Neil and I will find it. Unfortunately, every region of the U.S. has some beers completely unique to it, so we can't get everything... but we can try.

Hope to see you in the store, soon! Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day celebrations and be safe.

Luke

Valentine's Day Pairings: Chocolate and Wine... or Beer!

2009-02-11T16:58:00.000-08:00

Hello!

What follows is a special list of wines and beers that pair well with chocolates. We made it for you especially for Valentines Day! Do you like us? Will you go out with us? Please circle Y/N.

Thanks for coming by and we'll see you this Friday and Saturday!

Venta Mazzaron '05 Tempranillo
With coffee and chocolate notes this earthy 100% Spanish Tempranillo is the perfect choice to pair with dark chocolates. It offers a deep ruby/purple color as well as a sweet perfume of blackberries, cherries, smoke, licorice, and earth. Medium-bodied and elegant, with wonderful sweetness, plush tannin, and a long, pure finish.

Catena Alta Malbec
"Very concentrated, with dark fig and currant paste notes, but it's also pure and driven, with intense mocha, bittersweet cocoa and melted licorice notes that stretch out the long, polished finish. Really gorgeous for its density and mouthfeel. Drink now through 2013." 93 Points,Wine Spectator

Chatom Syrah
A full bodied Syrah has an introduction of intense black fruit, vanilla and a hint of oak. Flavors of baker's chocolate, deep black currants and sweet basil all lead to a wonderful lingering fruit finish.

Josh Cabernet Sauvignon
This complex, Bordeaux-style blend, bursts with ripe fruit flavors. Black currant, spicy bramble berry fruit, with a hint of cocoa and smoke are the back drop of soft, approachable tannins.

Montaribaldi Barbaresco '05
The 2005 Barbaresco Palazzina is very expansive in its expression of ripe raspberry and black cherry fruit, with hallmark violet and truffle characteristics as well. The volume and depth of the flavors, given an additional appeal by the impressive tannins.

Bitch (A little joke!)
The back label says "bitch" 77 times, followed by "some more". It is left up to you to decide what that means, because the sentiment would be appropriate for many contemporary situations. Whatever inspired it, thank goodness it arrived, because it is better than a box of chocolates.

And there are some good beers out there for chocolate lovers, but we'll just mention a few:

Berkshire's Coffeehouse Porter
Founder's Breakfast Stout
Atwater's Vanilla Java Porter
Peak Organic Espresso Ale
Otter Creek's Winter Raspberry Brown Ale

We also sell Perlino Chocolates and Truffles! Handmade by Jean Keller of Arlington, MA.

Hope this helps!!

What Are The Greatest Beers Ever? Interesting stuff from Beer Advocate

2009-02-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, the people have spoken. Every year Beer Advocate publishes a "Best Of" issue based on statistics taken from their website. Essentially, the people rate beer, the ratings are calculated in one massive math crunch, and the top beers, breweries, and pubs in the world are declared. You can check the entire list out here: http://www.stonebrew.com/news/081211/

Just two years ago the Honey Porter from Sam Adams was only available in certain mixed 12-packs. It was selected as a fan favorite and enjoyed a good deal of popularity among even the most difficult to please beer snobs. Alas, in order to enjoy it you had to either hit up a pub that carried this beer (on tap if you were lucky) or buy a 12-pack that may or may not have featured other beers you wanted to drink. Well, the six-pack of this beer is now more widely available thanks to the fact that plenty of people complained about its non-availability. While the Cream Ale, Dark Wheat, Stout, and the infamous Utopias are considered among Sam's best beers, this beauty of a porter deserves some special attention. The brewery claims it is an English style porter, but this is a sweet-tooth's dream and has "American brew" written all over it. Lots of our customers enjoy the taste of Berkshire's Drayman Porter, but I really think Sam's product is the superior one. The touch of hops in the Honey Porter adds an extra and important dimension to the beer.

Three Philosophers is finally back in our store, but it may not stay here very long. The price on this 4-pack has sky-rocketed and neither Neil nor I are happy about it. While this is as close to a Belgian Quad as any American brewer has ever been, the price jump is quite a shock. It's as expensive as Duvel , but unless we see this one flying out the door like Duvel does, you might not see it again. If you've never had it before, make sure to stop by on Friday and give this a shot. If you're familiar with the beer, come by anyways and tell us what you think of it. We love having your feedback about our beers and plenty of you have asked for this one to return. Do you think it's worth the price?

Hope to see you all soon and thanks for stopping by!

Updates, Bourbon Ale, Tastings, and Melting Ice

2009-01-29T09:38:00.000-08:00

The picture you see here was taken in Versoix Switzerland back in 2005. For those annoyed by the ice in and around Boston, just think of what life would be like if you had to deal with that. Perhaps such considerations are cold comfort, but I do have something likely to warm you right up: the Berkshire Brewing Company has finally decided to release its Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout to the general public. About a year ago, I was lucky enough to sample this miraculous ale with a few customers who happened to be around when Berkshire delivered it as a Christmas present to the store. It was early in the beer tasting event and only a couple of us were around, but we were all impressed. Finally, over a year later, Berkshire has made good on its promise to make it more widely available. To my understanding, the Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout will be available for only two months or until it sells out; I think it's likely that this beer will disappear in just a couple of weeks. In any case, this beer is exactly what it claims to be: made like a Russian Imperial Stout full of coffee, dark fruit, and chocolate flavors, the beer is then aged for eight months on oak bourbon barrels. The combination of savory flavors with the rich, warm taste of bourbon is nearly perfect. The back of the bottle has a message for Berkshire customers:

To our very special, valued customers. we at Berkshire Brewing Company would like to thank you for thirteen wonderful years of craft brewing. Because of you we have reached a milestone: America's number one micro brewery (15,000 barrels). "It's all about the beer and beer is nothing without people."

This bottle is an expression of our thanks! Imperial Stout aged eight months in oak bourbon barrels. This milestone would not have been possible without you. Thank you for your support. Things are looking up!

-Chris, Gary, and the Berkshire Brew Crew

There you have it! The Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout is the 3rd beer we've carried that features oak aging on bourbon barrels. The others have become instant best sellers and we suspect the same will happen to Berkshire's formula, only this one won't be available after too long.

Our tastings over the last couple of weeks have been enormously popular, with the 23rd's tasting being the largest and most successful, yet! Thank you for coming in and saying hello; we love our beer and we love good company. If you haven't been around lately, IPAs have been the name of the game and not because we desperately wish it were summer already (though that is true to some degree). But, if India Pale Ales don't suit you, we also have Smuttynose's Gravitation, which was very popular. Crafted in the style of a Belgian Quadruple (thing a Belgian Dubble or Tripel, only darker, more complex, and with loads more alcohol), the Gravitation doesn't exactly taste like your typical Belgian. It lacks that dreaded "bannana" taste and favors richer malts and darker, sweeter flavors.

In other news, I have some Peroni glasses sitting around the store thanks to one of our distribution representatives. If you come into the store and buy a six pack of Peroni or any other lager/pilsner in the store, we'll give you a glass for free. Different glasses really can enhance the flavors of different beers and this is especially true with pilsners. We only have a few available, though. No guarantees, though - when we get glasses in the store, we give them away for free, so they tend to disappear quickly.

Thanks for coming by!

See you at the store,
Luke

Some History and Something About Dark Ales

2008-10-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

This time of year is the best time of year for beer. Though some may bemoan the end of hefeweizen and IPA season, plenty of beer drinkers (including myself) are always anxious for cold weather and dark, rich ales, porters, stouts, and so on. Winter may not be here, yet, but the temperature outside demanded that we begin brining in our winter selections. As the Oktoberfest beers and pumpkin ales begin to disappear, richer, bigger, altogether more complex brews will begin to show themselves on our shelves. The Spaten Optimator has already proven to be a very popular six-pack this year. Compared to last season's Optimator, this one is outstanding; our customers seem to think so, too. We've already gone through two big orders of this very popular and well-known beer. If you're unfamiliar with it, make sure to give it a shot. Fans of sweet, malty beers will appreciate Optimator for its heavy caramel flavor, thick body, and sweet chocolate notes. Plenty of drinkers complain about big stouts being just too much, probably because a good stout comes with a good bit of bitterness. The Optimator dopplebock cuts that right out and aims straight for those who like their beer just a bit less aggressive.

Beer historians and lovers of general trivia and interesting stuff might be interested in an article I found about fulacht fiadh. Often referred to as "burnt mounds," these archaeological sites, found primarily in Northern Ireland, have been the subject of a good deal of debate for the last 50 or so years. Originally thought to function as communal cooking sites, studies have proposed that these strange, horseshoe shaped mounds could've functioned as communal baths or as textile production sites. New research, which you can read about right here, suggests that these mounds were used to produce a kind of hop-less ale. The most amazing part of this story is that these mounds date back to the bronze age (around 1500 B.C.E.). While research suggests that the production of alcoholic beverages is a celebrated event going back to 9000 B.C.E. (no, that's not a typo), the history of ale production in Europe and the surrounding areas is not exceedingly well known. Here's an excerpt from that article:

Recent chemical analyses of residues in pottery jars from the Neolithic village of Jiahu in Northern China by Patrick McGovern revealed that a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey and fruit was being produced as early as 9,000 years ago. Evidence for the production of beer in the Middle East has long been known - Calcium Oxalate, the principal component of an insoluble deposit known as beerstone was found on the inner surfaces of fermentation vessels at Godin Tepe (late fourth Millennium BC) in the Zagros Mountains in modern day Iran. A stamp seal from Tepe Gawra, a site near Mosul, Iraq dated to 4000 BC, shows two figures drinking beer using traditional straws and container. At Hierakonpolis near Luxor, Jeremy Geller interpreted a site known as HK24A (3100-2890 BC), as a brewery. The world’s earliest written recipe, a Sumerian cuneiform tablet dating to 1800 BC, describes the brewing of beer. The tablet, the Hymn to Ninkasi, known as ‘the Lady of the inebriating fruit’, describes preparing the beer mash in a pit in the ground using ‘sweet aromatics and honey’.

The evidence from Northern Europe is less clear. Large-scale grain processing in the Neolithic in Britain is hinted at by thousands of charred cereal grains found at Balbridie in Scotland, sherds of Grimston-Lyles pottery from pits at Machrie Moor, Arran, were found to contain cereal pollens - interpreted as the remains of a mead-type drink. Based on the high-status drinking vessels characteristic of the Beaker culture it has been suggested that these people traded in some sort of alcoholic beverage. At Ashgrove, in Scotland, archaeologists found evidence of a mixed meadowsweet/lime, a possible mead drink. Compelling evidence for alcohol consumption in early Scotland comes from Perthshire, where Gordon Barclay discovered a ‘black greasy material’ in a food vessel. This residue was radiocarbon dated to 1540 BC and pollen analysis indicated that it represented a cereal-based meadowsweet-flavoured drink. Bohncke, who carried out the palaeobotanical analysis, noted that the high proportion of cereal pollen grains suggested an ale - ‘it is distinctly possible therefore that the North Mains food vessel contained a fermented drink’.

Anyone interested in learning about how beer is made should give the article a look. It's full of good information and might help everyone get a better idea of how beer is brewed (and how easy it is to brew beer yourself).

Hope to see you all on Friday. Plenty of new beer has hit our shelves in the last couple of weeks and our line of Brooklyn beers is back on the shelf (including their Brown Ale, which rivals Smuttynose's Old Brown Dog as one of the best browns ales I know).

Talk to you all soon,
Luke

8/26: Updates and Responses

2008-08-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

Autumn is fast approaching and with the new season comes a new series of updates from the Menotomy Blog. First things first: I had a few replies via both email and blog commentary, but there's one in particular to which I'd like to give my attention.

Kcillini77 left us the following message:

"Just stumbled across your site doing a Google search on Dogfish Head Black and Blue. I thought your comment about Beer Advocate beer snobs being preoccupied with foreign beers to be pretty funny [sic]. While there's certainly a lot of beer snobbery going on at the site, I don't know how you could come away from there thinking there's a bias against American beer. Large American macro-brewers, yes, but generally the experimentation of American microbrewers is unsurpassed, and a quick look at the top 10 beers in the site's top 100 beers on planet Earth shows 2 Belgian beers and 8 brewed in the U.S. of A.

http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers"

Well, Kcillini is right in a way, but I think I might've been misunderstood. While the Beer Advocate website is an excellent way to do a little bit of beer research, their preoccupation with certain styles, especially styles borrowed from foreign brewers, is fairly obvious. The editors themselves are balanced reviewers, but many of the ratings at Beer Advocate are based on audience ratings; that is to say the editors aren't the only one with an opinion. This is all fine and good, but their is little doubt that certain, lighter styles of ale and lager are overlooked by all at Beer Advocate. Some of our best selling beers aren't smiled upon by the beer reviewing types and I think that's largely due to a preference spawned by micro-brewers looking overseas for inspiration. Thanks for the link, Kcillini! That's definitely a pretty fine list...

As far as future blog updates are concerned, you can bet that there will be more. The summer was a time of travel and turmoil, but I'll have plenty to say over the next few weeks as we start tasting some darker, heavier, altogether more potent beers. Until that time, we still have some excellent summer beer up for grabs. The Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager has been pretty popular this summer and we have some of the few remaining cases in the state. We're going to be keeping the Abita Purple Haze in for as long as we humanly can, too -- it's been one of our most popular beers.

However, all of the Octoberfest beers are beginning to come in, as well as pumpkin beer. The best news I've heard all week is that we'll be getting individual bottles of Ayinger's Octoberfest. In case the name isn't familiar, Ayinger makes two of the best beers in the world: their hefeweizen and their dopplebock are nearly unmatched. Watch for that this week.

More updates, soon!

Luke

An Early 5th of May

2008-05-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

So this past week's beer tasting came courtesy of the Battle of Puebla, in which the French armies suffered an initial defeat against Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín (1862). No, this is not Mexico's Independence Day (that's September 16th) nor is it the Day of the Dead (that's November 1st and 2nd), but somehow those two celebratory dates are always confused with Cinco de Mayo.

The beers featured on the 2nd of May were naturally from Mexico, but, contrary to popular belief, not all Mexican beers are the same. Sure, you may have had a Corona or a Dos Equis Lager (maybe even the Amber), but these are brews that follow a fairly old and odd tradition: making Mexican beer in a German style. A little over 100 years ago several German beer makers came to Mexico, observed a light lager being made and sold in large quantities, and started making their own versions of that same lager. Eventually this German-made Mexican beer became popular and folks from America started buying it in rather large quantities. Such beer has become what most Americans associate with Mexican beer, but there's more to these hot-weather lagers than limes, lemons, and salt.

Bohemia beer is 108 years old this year, is completely unlike most Mexican beers you'll find in most stores, yet resembles certain European-style beers popular throughout the world. The first word that might come to mind is "pilsner" and for good reason: Bohemia takes some of its style and bite from Czech pilsners and as such boasts a finish with a crisp, hoppy flavor and notes of the grassy aroma often associated with the better examples of that style. What sets it apart from other pilsners and pretty much every Mexican beer I've ever had is the sweet, almost apple flavors that hit you the second you take a sip. The cause for this sweet element is unknown to me, but it adds a dimension to the brew contained by no other Mexican brew I've tried. There is absolutely no reason to add a lime or salt to this drink. The best part is that it costs exactly the same as a 6-pack of Corona and is three times more dynamic.

The folks over at Beer Advocate have an article on Mexican beers with mostly good suggestions throughout, but whoever thought to call Carta Blanca a terrible beer needs to give it another chance or stop repeating word-of-mouth nonsense. Carta Blanca is neither as bland as Corona nor does it sport that musty, skunked aroma that makes the use of limes a necessity. In fact, it has a rather sweet edge to it, which appears quietly and finishes quickly. You can add a lemon if you'd like, but drinking Carta Blanca straight is also suggested.

Food pairings this week are obvious, so we'll skip those and go straight to the news:

Grimbergen Double is back in the store and we have plenty in stock; nonetheless it is selling QUICKLY. This was very popular among many of our most particular beer drinkers and is likely to go just as quickly as it did last time. Make sure to stop by and grab a 6-pack or two before it disappears again and we're told it is on back order. Hop Devil, another crowd favorite, has also returned. We're out of the Smuttynose IPA, but Hop Devil should keep the hop-heads happy until we can get that back in the store. We have Tremont Ale on the return list, so you should see that come back into the store over the next couple of weeks. With any luck we'll also have the Brooklyn Brown in the store very soon, too. Quite a few of you have asked us about this particular Brooklyn beer and we want to have it here for you, but the wait has less to do with ordering and more to do with making space, so stick with us! If you've not had a Brown ale from Brooklyn before, do yourself a favor and the next time you visit a nice pub, buy yourself one. It's truly one of the best brown ales made in America.

See you next Friday!

4/18+19: Dogfish Head Black & Blue, Summer Shandy, and More

2008-04-20T10:31:00.000-07:00

This past week saw Menotomy's first combo-tasting: beer and wine were sampled on Saturday and it ended up being quite a success. I'm not sure that this will become a regular occurrence, but I think the Dogfish Head Black and Blue surprised wine-drinkers and beer-drinkers alike. All stereotypes are begging to be broken and it is very easy to break the "beer isn't for wine drinkers" stereotype with all the micro-brews we bring into the store. Case in point, aside from the well-loved Black and Blue, is Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy. This is what some call a "pale wheat ale" and is flavored quite heavily with lemonade. The beer snobs over at Beer Advocate don't seem to like this too much, but that's OK because they're not always right and I think they're a bit too preoccupied with foreign beer to realize just how different and good some of this American brew can be. Several so-called "non-beer drinkers" enjoyed this quite a bit and I'll dare to say that we probably managed to change their mind about beer. It was a little shocking to find out, however, that here in New England the "shandy" was a relatively alien beverage. There's a long shandy history available over at Wikipedia, but if you don't want a total history lesson, the sort of it is as follows: take a light beer and add lemonade, sparkling soda, ginger ale, or perhaps a just a light soda like Sprite or Sunkist. Back home this was a popular summer drink for the ladies, but don't let that deter you from giving it a try if you happen to be male. Over in Germany shandy is very popular and they'll sometimes add raspberry or lemon syrup to their drinks to give it an even sweeter flavor. Non-alcoholic shandy is also very popular and is a great summer drink for anyone not interested in consuming alcohol. Instead of a food-pairing suggestion I'm recommending that you make a home-made shandy. Any light lager or ale will do just fine, but in my opinion a Domaine DuPage + Lemonade or a moderate IPA would make the best shandy (maybe give the Opa-Opa IPA a shot).

Next week we're bringing in a lot of new beer and will be featuring nothing but new beer for the coming warm months. We still have some of the Berry Weiss from Leinenkugel left and if you mix that with the Honey Weiss (half and half), it's a great and somewhat usual drink. The Honey Weiss cuts into the Berry Weiss' tart flavors very well and makes for a very relaxing and refreshing beer.

We're also now carrying Ayinger's Bräu-Weisse. A lot of you really enjoyed the Celebrator from Ayinger when we featured it this past winter. The Bräu-Weisse is a wheat beer on the same level as Paulaner and many argue that it is a better beer. We also have the Celebrator back in stock for those of you still craving the malty flavors of a good dopplebock.

Hope to see you all this Friday!

Thanks for stopping by,
Luke

April 4th's Tasting: it's like 89 kicks to the pants!

2008-04-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks again to everyone who came into the store this evening! It was yet another fun and successful beer tasting, but I want to make the whole event even bigger. I've been telling everyone that has come through the store that beer is just as sophisticated as wine and I mean it; it pairs with food as well as wine does and is as varied a drink as wine, if not more varied. Tell a friend about the beer tasting and let them know we're trying to break the myth that beer's just for sports events and big parties. I would love to ultimately see the beer tasting become as popular as the wine tasting. We're on our way to that, but spread the word!

We had a number of interesting beers in the lineup, tonight, but the champ was without a doubt the Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale. This beer is over 10% ABV and exhibits a number of characteristics not typical of strong IPAs; chief among them is the sweet and citric finish, which cuts the bitter flavors in half and provides balance. Some of you noted that the Maharaja also has a distinct cinnamon flavor and after a few extra sips I am inclined to agree. There's a lot of flavor in this beer and I get the feeling its popularity is only going to increase. We haven't quite sold out of this IPA, yet, but we're very close. Make sure to give it a try before it's gone! One customer took a sip and her reaction was loud and clear. She proclaimed, "That's like getting kicked in the pants! 89 kicks to the pants!" Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new ratings system here at Menotomy and it involves translating the strength of the beer into a rating based on how many times it might "kick you in the pants."

Also popular was the Innis & Gunn Scottish Ale. Despite the price we sold quite a few of these little bottles and it is easy to see why. This ale is aged in oak barrels previously used to hold whiskey. The result is a beer that has vanilla notes, a strong and creamy body, and a fairly significant touch of whiskey flavor. It may be a little expensive ($5.99 for an 11.2 oz bottle), but it's worth giving a shot.

I know that we normally post food pairings for beer, but this week's blog is going to be cut a little short in favor of dedicating some time to a nice technical surprise we'll be debuting in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for coming by,
Luke

Upcoming Tasting

2008-04-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

Of all the things beer has had blamed on its existence, curing the flu has never been among them. Over the last couple weeks school and sickness have made blog updates impossible, but that's changing this week.

We have quite a line up this week, as the newsletter pointed out, but I thought I'd give you a little more information on Avery Brewery and make mention of a few inventory updates. Avery Brewery comes first, though.

Age is often a point of pride among brewers: when you can claim that your brew has, more or less, maintained the same recipe for over 100, 200, or even 1,000 years, there's a good chance that the beer has something good going for it. Avery Brewing has only been around 13 years, but it's already proven itself to be a quality brewery. Age brings wisdom, but youth has its perks, too; in 13 years their production has increased from less than 1,000 barrels a year to over 20,000 per year. They were originally responsible for three different beer varieties, but now boast over 20. You might be thinking that's a great set of statistics for business majors in school, but small breweries don't meet with this kind of success unless they have something unique to offer.

Two of those very unique beers are the Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale and the oddly titled Collaboration Not Litigation Ale. A lot could be said about the title of the second beer (it stems from the fact that Avery and another brewery shared a beer by the same name), but what's important is the way it tastes. It's a Belgian-style American Strong Ale that balances perfectly the sweet maltiness, which these beers are known for, with the refreshing and acidic qualities for which many great light ales are known. Beer Advocate gave it that rare A grade and it is generally a very sought after beer (as it is brewed only in small quantities as is not available every year). If you like Belgian-style beers, be sure to stop by and have a taste of this; it'll likely go fast.

The Maharaja is one of those Imperial IPAs that has all the great qualities of a mild IPA combined with the characteristics usually reserved for brown or amber ales. That familiar grapefruit flavor is in the mix, but it's backed by some interesting spice notes and a very thick consistency. This is one of the most complex IPAs I've had in a long time, but it's also one of the most drinkable. I'd compare it to the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, but it has a far smoother quality than the Dogfish Head does. All you IPA fans that have been looking for something new should make sure to get in here for this treat.

As for the inventory update, we have a virtual army of new beers in the store. Not all of them are stored in the cooler, so make sure to give our counter a once-over; we finally have a Kriek in stock (Cantillon is one of the best) as well as two Jolly Pumpkin Ales that are as unique and as unusual as they come (but they aren't pumpkin flavored, that's just the name of the company). Summer beers are already gracing our shelves, Sam Adams and Harpoon were the first to get their summer brews to us. Long Trail has four different beers in our store now, including a Belgian-style White Ale. We also have two new Dogfish Head products on the shelf: Black and Blue and Midas Touch. Take it from me, the Midas Touch is an intense 4-pack. Circus Boy from Magic Hat is also back in stock as is the Grimbergen Blonde (we're waiting on the Double).

Phew. Lots of change in the beer world and there's more coming.

Hope to see all of you, tomorrow! Bring a friend with you and be ready to relax at the end of the week.

Thanks for stopping by!
Luke

3/14 Tasting, Wine News, and Thanks!

2008-03-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

Ireland smiled upon Menotomy Beer and Wine this week; the beer tasting on the 14th was our busiest and most successful, yet. Several regulars have told me that they've been out in the world saying very kind things about our store and it seems that those kind words have been good to us in more than one way. A heartfelt "Thank You!" to those of you who come in and make the event so much fun. We're going to be showing our gratitude to you in store on the 15th (Saturday) with a very special "Raise the Roof" wine tasting. We know the store's been something of a mess over the last week or so, but you all came in anyways and now that the roof has been repaired, we're happy to add a little something extra to our typical wine tasting procedure. I can't give it away, now, but come in tomorrow at 4pm on the dot. This is one tasting not to miss.

Sitting at the top of the beer mountain this week was, believe it or not, Murphy's Red. Murphy's is 152 years old this year and most people still don't know that they make something OTHER than their rather famous stout. Don't let its nickname ("a poor man's Guinness") fool you, though; Murphy's makes a distinct and original style of stout beer and they make an equally good amber ale (I prefer it to the stout, honestly).

Coming in below that was the ever-popular Guinness Extra Stout. Turns out lots of folks liked this Guinness more than the Draught version. If you've not enjoyed Guinness in the past but are willing to give it another chance, come in and try the Extra Stout.

I know I food pairings typically follow, but this week is a little different, mainly because I feel as though Guinness and Murphy's are best appreciated on their own. The Red, on the other hand, is really refreshing with the most basic of meals: a burger and fries. Make sure to serve it with aioli this week for a little extra punch. I'm not saying you can't pair these beers with good food... you can, but don't get too complicated about it. These are simple, heavy beers that deserve simple, good food.

See all of you next week for another great beer sampling; we're going ALL Belgian next week and every last one of them are excellent.

Beer Tasting 03/07/2008

2008-03-07T16:16:00.000-08:00

That's Pierre Celis - he's the man responsible for this Friday's most popular and best-selling beer: Pierre Celis' Signature Grotten Brown. Dogfish Head held its own with the Aprihop, but on the whole Celis' unique Belgian beer turned more heads and prompted more questions. Pierre Celis is an interesting fellow and if you want to read more about him and increase your beer-nerd knowledge, you can follow this link to a fine write-up about how he began brewing and why. If you don't want read all of that, know that Celis is almost single-handedly responsible for the current popularity of white ales (if you've had Allagash you know what I'm talking about) and that he has more than once fought with big beer companies whose priorities had more to do with little green pieces of paper than with good beer. Perhaps you've heard of Hoegaarden Beer? That's Celis' work and it'd still be good beer if it weren't for corporate folks deciding to get their grubby little hands involved. But I digress, what matters is that the beer is good.

Grotten is a strange brew and the most frustrating part is that there is so little information on the internet about it. Technically, it's a brown ale from Belgium and qualifies as a "strong Belgian." On the other hand it's entirely unique in that it demands certain storage conditions ("Grotten" is Flemish for "cave" and that's where this bottle is meant to be stored for the best aging conditions) and has a markedly drier finish than most Belgian beers have; those of you that missed this tasting should check it out if you're undecided about Belgian beers because this one occupies a nice middle ground between the sweet flavors this style is known for and the otherwise earthy flavors that sometimes pop up in Belgian brown ales. To top it off, this beer is now handled by the fine brewers at St. Bernardus in Watou; those are the guys responsible for St. Bernardus Abt 12, which very well may be the finest beer widely available in the world.

We know that our last email said we'd have Dogfish Head's Red and White beer, but that is currently back ordered. We'll have this in the store eventually, but because of the beer's rarity and high demand, it may not be in for another couple of weeks. When it comes in, I'll post about it in this blog and I'm sure you'll read about it in the email. Here's a quick description for those you that may not know much about it: the name comes from the fact that it's a Belgian-style white ale made with pinot noir "juice" -- not quite beer plus wine, but close! Many who claim not to like fruit in their beer may change their mind when we get a hold on this beer. So far as I know this will still be on the tasting menu when we receive it. Give the Aprihop a shot in the meantime, we received a number of cases but I get the feeling it's going to leave the store quickly.

And now for pairing suggestions:

Dogfish Head Aprihop - A few people remarked that this tasted like a desert beer and it would go incredibly well with any creamy after-dinner treat. I like this a lot with cheesecake, but don't add any chocolate or unusual toppings to it unless it's sufficiently sweet. Strawberries might work out alright, but a the bread-esque texture of cheesecake will be blend quite well with this refreshing beer all by itself. Don't like cheesecake? Try some cannoli instead, especially if it's the good stuff made with ricotta.

Anchor Bock - This one is hard to call because there's no one pairing that comes immediately to mind. Bock beers taste just fine on their own and if you're drinking it by yourself then it almost qualifies as a meal on its own. As such you're typical bar fare comes as the first suggestion: baseball season is starting soon and if you're fan enough to enjoy pre-season play, go out and buy some pistachios (raw if you like them that way) before the game. Otherwise this beer has the ability to match up to just about anything grilled; a sweet pork-steak with Kansas City-style BBQ sauce would be interesting, especially if you don't mind having pork and beans. On the other hand, you could make a pulled-pork sandwich and cook it up with a little of this bock on it.

Grotten - If you ask me this demands a salad with nuts and a strong cheese. Get some arugula, pair it with hazelnuts, add a little blue cheese or goat cheese, and then take some halves (two or three) and quarter them up, making sure they're on top of the salad. Finish the whole deal off with a light vinaigrette. Sounds a little weird, I know, but it'll be very satisfying. If that doesn't sound satisfying enough, add a little chicken, but make sure not to dry it out.

Let me know if you try any of these combos, I'd love to get feedback from you!

Thanks for coming by and see you next week!

Luke

Beer Tasting 2/29/2008

2008-02-29T17:56:00.000-08:00

This week's most popular beers fell on two extremes: the first was the Hobgoblin Dark English Ale and the second was Mississippi Mud's Black & Tan Beer. We were only able to get a single case of the Black & Tan and so quite a few people were unable to get a taste; don't worry, we'll be bringing it back as soon as possible. The Hobgoblin, on the other hand, was not only very popular, but very available from our distributors and as such we have plenty of this still in stock. For anyone who missed it, come grab a six-pack - it's very near a perfect winter brew.

As far as the Belgian Beer project goes, here's the latest: we begin ordering next week and hope to have at least three new Belgians come in with that order - we also want to bring in some strange foreign selections for you to try, so expect some product from both Canada and Norway, too. We understand that Ommegang has come back into demand, so we're going to be bringing that as well as some other Belgian-style ales. By the end of March we want to have at least a quarter of the fridge dedicated to Belgian, Belgian-style, German, and English specialty beers. You can expect somewhere between 25 and 35 new beers by the start of April.

There's also been a few questions regarding the pairing of beer with food in the last couple of weeks. I thought that perhaps I could just write up some basic pairings this week using the beers we tasted, tonight. Expect to see more of this in the coming months.

Middle Ages Grail Ale - Chicken, perhaps a lemon-sweet chicken (check out the link for a recipe) or the kind of sweet and sour chicken you'd get at a local Chinese restaurant. There's a nice blend of sweet and bitter elements in this beer and it'll mesh very nicely with a sweet meal, but without being overwhelming - the hoppy finish makes for an extra balanced beer and meal.

Shipyard Brewer's Choice Special Ale: Royal IPA - Any stew; the thicker, the better. I'm thinking a lightly spiced Italian stew would be top notch, but for you vegetarians and vegans, a lentil stew with lots of tomatoes, garlic, and onion would be perfect. This is a smoky, up-front beer with a nice malty complexity so you want your stew to have a load of flavors to go with it (just nothing to sweet because it'll contrast with the beer's strong bitter flavors).

Hobgoblin Dark English Ale - I'm sure a few of our friends from the UK are going to be upset about this, but I tend to think the Hobgoblin goes very well with dessert. This is a slow-drinking beer with some light sweetness that'd sit well with a little caramel (think Milky Way). If that doesn't sound too appealing, try having this with lamb (especially if you like sweet potatoes). Add green beans and you're golden. Hobgoblin ales are full of flavor and as such require slightly lighter fair - if you paired this with a dark steak it might be too much and the whole thing will taste either too heavy or muddled.

We'll have some more in-depth food pairings in the future, but let us know if you try any of these suggestions or if you have any information you'd like to share. You can email us at the address in the sidebar or simply leave a comment here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by and see you next week!

Luke

Your Favorite Beers

2008-01-19T16:32:00.001-08:00

Over the next month or so Neil and Luke will be in the process of converting part of the beer fridge into a Belgian beer-lover's dream (we have something for you German beer-lovers, too). We already have a number of great Belgian ales in stock; if you like Abbey Ales you should stop by and check out our selection of Chimay ales (we have all three of them), as well as the Affligem Dubbel, Delirium Tremens, Nostradamus Brown Ale, St. Bernardus Abt. 12, and Duvel Golden Ale. We're in the process of bringing in more German beers, but in the meantime you should give the very popular and superbly crafted Celebrator Doppelbock from Ayinger a shot. Without a doubt, there will be more from the Ayinger Brewery in the store, soon.

We want your advice, though. We've had a number of suggestions from different customers over the last few months - some of your suggestions have been a little difficult to find or, upon ordering them, our distributors have told us they're back-ordered. The end of the Christmas season has changed all that, however. If there is something you're absolutely dying to try or an old favorite you are having trouble finding, let us know. You can email us a menotomyblog@gmail.com and tell us what you want to see; we want to try something new, unusual, or just plain weird and we know that a lot of you know your beers very well. So don't be afraid, send us an email and we'll add to our beer collection.

In addition to the German and Belgian beers we have in mind, there's some treats from Scotland, Ireland, England, and maybe even Brazil on the way.

Hope to see you all for the next beer tasting on Friday the 25th. Remember, it starts at 4 pm and stops right around 7 pm.

Thanks for coming by!

It's been awhile!

2008-01-10T16:53:00.000-08:00

With a new year comes a new blog post and some great new beer and wine at Menotomy. Though Luke's trip back to St. Louis unearthed some fantastic new beers that we will be bringing into the store, it is with great sadness that we announce Schlafly's beer will remain unavailable here until further notice.

That particular micro-brewery simply does not have any distribution in the northeast and so its many virtues must remain a mystery to most in Boston until they decide to expand their business. In the meantime there's plenty of great news for the discerning customer:

Menotomy will soon be devoting two full shelves to Belgian beers and another two shelves to German beers. Among all our brews, those from Belgium and Germany have been far and away the most popular. Expect to see a lot of new product from those regions appear in the store over the next month or so.
Two new Berkshire beers (arguably our most popular local brews) are on their way to the store as I type this and will be ready in time for the 11th's beer tasting.
With more snow on the way to Boston, the winter beer season isn't over yet and in addition to our Belgian and German beer additions, you can expect to see a few new dark and malty beers in our collection, soon.
We're still hot on the trail of several customer requests, including several Scottish ales and a couple of Canadian drinks. Smithwick's is on backorder, but could be in the store as early as next Friday (the 18th).

We've received a few emails concerning the availability of kegs and a few customers have come into the store asking if party-sized beer orders can be fulfilled. The answer is an emphatic YES. Just come into the store one week prior to when you need the keg(s) or cases and let us know what you'd like to have; we'll make sure to get it.

We also have the Coors Light Patriot Cooler 36 pk. on sale for $24.95. That's 36 beers plus a Pats cooler for less than what a 30 pk. usually costs - take advantage of it!

As always we love to hear from you: if you have any suggestions for new beer or perhaps there's a certain something you'd like to taste before you buy it, let us know. We're always happy to try new things out and modify our beer tastings to suit our customers.

See you all soon.

Beer is not just for breakfast anymore.

2007-11-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

... or so the saying goes in St. Louis. Schlafly Beer was my introduction to micro-brewed beer and a number of their beers remain among my favorites. Unfortunately their craft brews are pretty hard to find in the northeast. We're still looking for a distributor that carries their product, but in the meantime we have quite a number of new arrivals that are well worth your time.

We'll start with this past Friday's beer tasting. It was an overwhelming success and featured four strong local beers. Nearly everyone that visits the store has become familiar with the Berkshire Brewing Company out of South Deerfield, MA. Their Steel Rail, Imperial Stout, and Coffeehouse Porter have all been very popular, but reactions to the River Ale were extremely positive. If didn't come to the tasting and haven't had the chance to buy yourself a bottle, you can rest assured that this comes highly recommended from a number of Menotomy customers and from the master of ceremonies, Luke. It pours a rich brown, off-copper color and has a thick, creamy body accompanied by both caramel and nut flavors. I had told everyone that the style is pretty much in the vein of a "nut brown ale," but after some careful research on the internet and untold hours doing... private research I found out this brew has its own distinctive category: American Strong Ale. You learn something new every day. Folks that like deeper, richer flavors and those that like stouts but wouldn't mind something with a little less punch now and again should check this out. It's most excellently balanced and is reserved enough to be inviting to drinkers that typically enjoy lighter drinks.

The other big success was the Opa-Opa brews out of Southampton, MA. Opa-Opa is a combination restaurant and brewery that has really expanded over the last few years. It used to the case that the only place you could get their beer was at the restaurant. Thankfully they've started to sell three different kinds of beer outside their restaurant and we have all three. Their amber, IPA, and light lager beers are all in stock and were very well liked by nearly everyone that visited us this past Friday. Several customers could be heard complimenting the fine balance of the IPA and the smoothness of the "Red Rock Ale" amber beer. For folks who enjoy light beers and want an alternative to some of the more common options, the Opa-Opa Light Lager has a lot of taste but is low on the calories and the carbs. The only complaint I have about this beer is that the labels are just... a little unappealing. Then again, I'm going to school to be a philosopher, not a marketer. These are three great local beers with very distinct character. If you're looking for something new to try, they offer three very good options.

Last but not least is the list of new beers in the store. Lots of folks have asked us about winter beers and what we've received so far is just the beginning. Here's what has hit our shelves so far:

Rogue - Santa's Private Reserve Ale
Anchor Brewing Co. - Merry Christmas/Happy New Year Ale
Sierra Nevada - Celebration Ale
Brooklyn Brewing Co. - Black Chocolate Stout & Winter Ale
Sam Adams - Winter Ale & Winter Classics Pack, featuring the Winter Lager, Cream Stout, Old Fezziwig Ale, Holiday Porter, and the Cranberry Lambic
Harpoon - Winter Warmer
Blue Moon - Full Moon Abbey Ale

We have more on the way over the next several weeks; make sure to check back here for updates. I'd also like to mention that you can post your suggestions or beer recommendations here by leaving us a comment or by sending an email to menotomyblog@gmail.com.

Thanks for coming by and please join us for our next beer tasting and wine tasting! There will be information regarding the wines tasted today (Saturday) in the next couple of days and there will be a food and wine review hitting the blog by the middle of the month.

Until then, drink well and be safe!
Luke

2007-10-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
Mary here. (Still a bit tired from watching the Sox post-game fun last night until 2 am! Did Beckett ever River-Dance with Papelbon?? If he did, I missed it....)

Thought I'd take this opportunity to let all of our customers know about our wine tasting last Saturday, in case you missed it. Beth's husband Brandon ran the show, and everyone had a great time, and found some great new wines.

The Heretic was a big success! The Four Vines product is kind of a contradiction...a BIG, bold Petite Sirah. We sold out of it on Saturday, but will have it back in by Wednesday. You'll be able to find it in the US section at $33.99.

The Palliser Sauvignon Blanc also found some takers. A quality, fruity and smooth Marlborough, New Zealand white at $19.99. The other white of the day, the ConClass Rueda from Spain found favor as well. And, you can't beat the price at $9.99.

If Italian wine is your thing, you'll loooove the Poggio ai Rovi Toscana. Another sellout at $9.99, this Chianti doesn't have the D.O.C. title, but it certainly is a Chianti. The winemaker blends different vintages of Chianti varietals, and a some white grapes, so he doesn't get the D.O.C., but he does get the IGT stamp of approval for this lovely red blend. This one will be back in the store tomorrow - Tuesday, so you can give it a try if you missed it this weekend.

I would say the hit of the day, however, was the value-priced Geyser Peak Cabernet Sauvignon from the Alexander Valley. A nice, everyday Cab at a great, everyday price of $14.99!
Also, look for last week's tasting champ - the Pacifico Sur Cabernet - in our South American section for $7.99.

Please feel free to post your thoughts and suggestions here on any of our current wines or beers - or something that you'd like to see on the shelves!

See you soon!
Mary

2007-10-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

This looks incredible!!! Thanks Lucas!!! Beth

Welcome!

2007-10-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and welcome to the Menotomy Blog!

There's not too much here, yet, but over the next few weeks you can expect to find a number of helpful and fun features. Some of our staff have various wine and beer reviews they'll be contributing and we're also putting together a food guide that'll help you pair food and beer or wine quickly and easily. We'll also be posting news updates here whenever new beer or wine arrives at the store. Think of this spot as a little but helpful addition to the weekly newsletter.

We'd like to encourage our customers to contribute to this site by leaving comments or emailing us suggestions. If you've tasted a wine or beer here that you've particularly liked, let us know! You can send your questions, comments, and suggestions to menotomyblog@gmail.com.

In the meantime, please come and join us for our Beer Tasting (every Friday from 4pm-7pm) and our Wine Tasting (every Saturday from 4pm-7pm) events.

Thanks for stopping by,
The Menotomy Team