Beermonger

Huh? I’ve been here the whole time, guys. Jesus.

Really, things have been a little crazy lately but I had a moment so I figured I’d pop in and update you all on what’s happening with me and with the shop.

So it looks like some of you read my post asking who wanted my job, and one of you actually managed to get it. Over the past month, I’ve had the pleasure of welcoming Jon Brandt onto the staff here at Rick’s Wine & Gourmet, working him into the beer buyer position. That didn’t sound right at all, but I’m leaving it for the sake of humor.

What does this mean for me, or for the blog? Well, I’m heading over to the wine department to see what kind of damage I can do over there. I’ve always been a wine lover and this is a great opportunity to introduce people to new things and create a new scene for wine in NoVA. As far as the blog is concerned, I fully intend to keep it going. I will always be your humble Beermonger. In many ways I still believe in beer being the beverage of the new century, full of exciting new creations and completely open to possibilities. As I get to try new beers I’ll continue to review them and when I have interesting stories or rants to get out I’ll be here (in fact, I’ve got one I’m working on right now that should make me either very popular or very…not). But with Jon here, who’s a very talented writer, who knows? Maybe I can talk him into guest posting, or even running Beermonger as a joint operation.

Either way, thanks for hanging in there. I know I’m not as consistent as I could be and to blame that purely on work schedule would be making excuses. So as we move on to newer and bigger beers, keep coming back in for news, opinion and fun.

And keep an eye out for the wine blog…maybe…no promises.

Beermonger

I’m out of Theobroma and it doesn’t look good as far as seeing any more.

Just got off the phone with my Dogfish guy. Here’s the deal:

The brewery expansion that happened earlier this year revealed issues with their foundation which needed to be resolved. This set the guys behind with stuff like 60 and 90 and d’Etre. They switched from running ’special’ beers like Theobroma in the 300bbl tanks to using all the 300 tanks for 60 and 90 et al. This sent Theobroma and others into 100bbl tanks, which resulted in a much smaller amount than was originally planned for.

Just under 30 cases were allocated for the NoVA area, of which I got two. As I said, those two cases are sold out. I’m sending people to DC where there wasn’t any more available, but had fewer stores buying it, so they may have more in stock.

I wish I had more. Good luck and happy hunting. If you see any out there and are so inclined, post a comment and let the rest of the class know where to get some.

Review still to come…

Beermonger

Goes to Rob Tod of Allagash, who was just in the shop a couple of hours ago. I hadn’t met Rob before; he’s a super-nice guy with a very curious and defined pallate, which I discovered as we tried out a Brasserie Mont-Blanc La Verte that he noticed and asked me about.

Of course, I’m currently out of Allagash White, Dubbel and Tripel, so I felt a little like I got caught with my pants down. Then again, I do have Hugh Malone (Belgian-Style IPA), Victor, Victoria, Black, Four and Fluxus so I don’t think there can be much questioning of my support.

Overall, a very cool guy. Thanks for making my day, Rob.

Beermonger

Just received two cases (make that one and a half, actually) of Dogfish Head Theobroma. If anyone wants in call Rick’s and I’ll set some aside for you. This stuff won’t make it to the weekend, so don’t wait.

Because of the limited amount available, I’m limiting everyone to a maximum of two bottles. Review coming later tonight or tomorrow.

Also, Bell’s Hell Hath No Fury Ale is in. This is based on a Dark Belgian Ale and has some interesting coffee notes and kinda reminded me of Aventinus when I tried it yesterday, except without some of the banana clove feel.

Beermonger

Sorry for being out for so long: I’ve been a little busy at the store (we’ve had some staff issues–more on this in a bit). It’s been an eventful past few weeks. We’ve seen a bunch of cool arrivals at the store–Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout is in, as is Bell’s Octoberfest, Double Cream Stout and Best Brown Ale. Lots of cool Southern Tier stuff around right now, with more to come (more on that later this week).

While I’m at it, I want to give a big shoutout to international BeerMinion Mike and his lady Dana for checking in from Amsterdam the other day. I’m sure they’re having a much better time there than I am here, but for once I won’t hold that against someone.

So–who wants to be a Beermonger?

Recently, one of our staff members at Rick’s had to move and her leaving puts us in a bit of a bind heading into the holiday season. Basically, I’m putting out a call here on the blog to anyone who is looking for a full-time job and is interested in taking over the beer department here at Rick’s. This is a position that will have you overseeing a selection of over 400 beers, not to mention special orders and weekly beer tastings. I can tell you first-hand that this can be a fantastic learning experience and can introduce you to many people in the craft beer business. It’s a lot of hard work, but then again it should be.

So, you may ask, why is Nick looking for a beer person? Well, as some of you know I actually have more experience as a wine sales guy. I went into my first wine job a few years ago (has it been that long? Yes, it has…) with a fair knowledge of beer, but knowing nothing about wine. This was a part-time position, stocking and keeping the store organized. My bosses offered to teach me whatever it was I’d like to know about wine and about three or four months later I was a full-time wine salesman. In fact, when I interviewed for the job here at Rick’s, I thought I was interviewing for a wine job up until the moment that Caroline told me they needed someone to run beer. I figured ‘Hey, I can do that…’ and that’s how I became the Beermonger you all know and love. Right now, though, I feel like I can be of greater service to the store on the wine side, hence looking for a beer person.

If you are looking for an ‘in’ into the beer industry; if you’re looking for a great job in a business that is tough but rewarding; if beer is a hobby that you think you could make a career call or write or come by Rick’s Wine & Gourmet and we’ll see what we can get going.

Regardless, I will continue to write on the blog here. I know I’m not the most consistent blogger on the planet, but I do have a job to do and cherish my time off. Anyway, I do have fun writing here so I’ll keep it up. You may see some ‘Winemonger’ columns on the horizon, though…

Ok, then. Write in or come by for my job. Do it. Back tomorrow or Wednesday with some very cool arrivals to tell you about. Until then,

Cheers,

Beermonger

Hey all,

I’m out of the store this week, and delays in the arrival of Dogfish Head Punkin Ale pretty much killed the Local Kicks column for the week too. I’ll still be ordering for this Saturday’s tasting, and I might even drop in for a bit. In the meantime, you can call the crew at Rick’s and put in all your special orders as usual. If I get a moment in between chores and doing whatever the hell I feel like I might pop up a couple times this week. In the meantime, bottoms up!

Beermonger

Unfortunately, the Ayinger Oktoberfest didn’t show up today, but the new Unibroue Quatre Centieme did, so we’ll be trying that out tonight.

Beermonger

Paul F. Tompkins, we speak your name.

Here he provides the Youtube Clip of the Week, explaining the joy of being a grown-up with regards to beer.

Hey Hey,

Local Kicks Column here. Kind of past-due now that I’ve had a chance to try this year’s Vertical, but oh well.

Friday Tasting at Rick’s Wine & Gourmet:

-Victory Festbier

-Paulaner Oktoberfest

-Ayinger Oktoberfest

-Just for the hell of it, I’m tasting out Allagash Four. I’m very curious to try it, and it’s my beer department so that’s what we’re going to do.

Saturday Beer Tasting at Rick’s Wine & Gourmet:

-Allagash Fluxus. Tried this tonight. Very cool beer. Ginger is very much the big flavor here, and it drinks so much bigger than the average Belgian White. This is the beer for your friends who give you shit for drinking White Rascal or Southampton Double White. You show ‘em.

-Lagunitas We’re Only In It For The Money. Surprise! The boys in Petaluma weren’t going to send this one out (didn’t want to deal with the state’s label approval bullshit—understandable) but apparently changed their foggy little blessed minds. I’ve heard it’s a Belgian-style Tripel.

-Stone Vertical Epic 8.8.08 (More info below)

-Rogue Brewers Ale 2008. Bigass ceramic bottle. Bigass amber hoppy beer. What else do you need to know?

-Weyerbacher XIII. Trying this out tomorrow. Sounds like an absolute monster. A 13.6% ABV Belgian-style (notice a pattern here?) Stout. I’ll be bringing some serious beer food to handle this beast.

So, Vertical Epic…Always a highlight of the Beer Year for me (it’s like Advent, except not). The ‘08 version is a Belgian IPA, and boy is it. It really is San Diego by way of Ghent. I’ll give a shout out to thebeersnob who mentioned mango and banana notes in it. Those are there—the yeasts are very specific in flavor and are huge even for the style. The story here is the hoppiness, which is a ballsy lupulin smack that I don’t think the Belgians have quite nailed yet. Even the biggest of the Belgian IPA’s are finesse; nothing too crazy, hoppy but never leaving your mouth slightly numb. This isn’t a Belgian IPA, per se: It’s an IPA-Tripel.

I think the fruity flavors are great in the beer, though it will be interesting to see how it develops over time. I think in about 8-12 months this is going to be a shockingly refreshing Belgian Strong Pale Ale. Almost like some of the De Dolle stuff, but more exaggerated.

Overall, 8.8.08 is kick-ass. Impressive in all kinds of new ways, as the guys at Stone (who don’t spend a lot of focus on Belgian-style ales, thought that seems to be changing) keep upping their game. Good on ya, gargoyle. See you Saturday if you can make it out.

Beermonger