Weekly Beer Update: Friday January 29, 2016

New Beer!

Almanac Beer Company (CA) - [Farm to Barrel Series] Valley of the Hearts Delight (Limited)

Single 375ml Bottle  7.00%  Wine Barrel-Aged Sour Blonde Ale w/Apricots, Dates and Mulberries

RateBeer: 99  Sour/Wild Ale

[Constellation Brands (Global)] Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits (CA) - Pineapple Sculpin (New/Limited)

Six-Pack 12oz Bottles  7.00%  India Pale Ale w/Pineapple

RateBeer:  require more ratings

[Constellation Brands (Global)] Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits (CA) - Watermelon Dorado (New/Limited)

Six-Pack 12oz Bottles  10.00%  Imperial India Pale Ale w/Watermelon

RateBeer:  requires more ratings

Boulder Beer Co. (CO) - Mojo Risin (Seasonal)
Single 22oz Bottle  10.00%  Imperial India Pale Ale
RateBeer: 94  Imperial IPA

[Duvel-Moortgat (Belgium)] Boulevard Brewing Co. (MS) - Chocolate Ale with Raspberry (New/Limited)

Single 750ml Bottle  9.10%  Chocolate Ale w/Raspberries

RateBeer:  requires more ratings

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project (CO) - Vieille Reserva Prunus Armeniaca (New/Limited)

Single 375ml Bottle  Barrel-Aged Golden Sour Ale w/Appricots

RateBeer:  requires more ratings

Dogfish Head (DE) - Oak-Aged Noble Rot (New/Limited)

Single 750ml Bottle  9.00%  Oak-Aged American Strong Ale w/Grape Must

RateBeer: not listed

Ecliptic Brewing Co. (OR) - Oort Imperial Stout (New/Seasonal)

Single 22oz Bottle  8.50%  Imperial Stout

RateBeer: 94  Imperial Stout

Ecliptic Brewing Co. (OR) - Oort Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout (New/Limited)

Single 22oz Bottle  12.10%  Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout

RateBeer: not listed

Evil Twin Brewing Co. (Nomad) - Bozo Beer (New/Limited)

Single 22oz Bottle  17.20%  Imperial Stout w/Molasses, Lactose, Chocolate, Almond, Hazelnut, Vanilla Bean, Cinnamon, Oak Spirals, Chili, Marshmallow, Muscavado Sugar, Chestnut and Coffee

RateBeer: 99  Imperial Stout

Great Divide Brewing Co. (CO) - Espresso Oak Aged Yeti (Seasonal)
Single 22oz Bottle  9.50%  Oak-Aged Imperial Stout w/Espresso
RateBeer: 100  Imperial Stout

[Gambrinus (TX)] Shiner Brewing Co. (TX) - Birthday Beer 107 Hoppy Pilsner (New/Seasonal)

Six-Pack 12oz Bottles  5.00%  Pilsner

RateBeer: 44  Pilsener

Southern Tier Brewing Co. (NY) - [Blackwater Series] Creme Brulee (New/Seasonal)

Single 22oz Bottle  10.00%  Imperial Stout w/Vanilla Beans and Natural Flavors

RateBeer: 98  Imperial Stout

Stone Brewing Co. (CA/UK) - [20th Anniversary Encore Series] Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout (Limited)

Single 22oz Bottle  9.20%  Imperial Oatmeal Stout w/Chocolate

RateBeer: 99  Imperial Stout

Stone Brewing Co. (CA/UK) - Pataskala Red IPA (New/Seasonal)

Six-Pack 12oz Bottles  7.30%  Red India Pale Ale

RateBeer: requires more ratings

Storm Peak Brewing (CO) - The Arborist (New/Limited)
Single 22oz Bottle  7.40%  Saison w/Spruce Tips
RateBeer:  requires more ratings

Strange Craft Beer Company (CO) - Big Malty (New/Seasonal)
Single 22oz Bottle  7.60%  English-Style Strong Ale
RateBeer: requires more ratings

You and I deserve better liquid.

 If you ask any of your local liquor store beer buyers they will tell you our happy Colorado beer bubble has burst. It burst a couple years ago like an unfiltered, badly canned 16oz four-pack perpetually stiffening on a warm shelf. For the first time I've been hiding from new Colorado breweries, trying to protect some integrity of what I believe Craft Beer should be and how it should be presented to you, our and their customers. I love that people are inspired by craft beer. I love that people want to brew craft beer and their desire to share that enjoyment with others. Being inspired and starting a sustainable good business are too very different things. 

 Ken Grossman home-brewed for almost ten years before opening Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. He dumped more beer down the drain then he sold for years because Ken knew the quality wasn't good enough. He hand built or customized his entire brew-house with the help of friends to perfect his liquid. This passion has created one of the greatest independent Craft Breweries of our time. His time and passion for the industry he helped form is what makes their beers so good. Where has the passion gone? The "quick buck brewery" will never make it to the high aspirations of a New Belgium or a Sierra Nevada. Those companies did not start out distributing beer the entirety of a state within 2 years. That doesn't speak to the quality of their product at the time, but to the integrity they maintained and the quality they believed their customers deserved. One of my favorite things to ask breweries new to packaging is; "How many batches have you dumped?". I never get an answer. I'm always suddenly told how many different styles and beers they make for draft and have on tap. If a brewery hasn't dumped beer, then where are all the "test" batches going? Where is all the bad beer going? Brewers have to brew a lot of bad beer to be able to brew a really good beer consistently. I don't like being a unknowing lab rat for breweries. Serving people beer that has no standards or quality risks longevity. A large misstep I see in the craft scene. Beer consumers deserve better. We have molded the industry we all are a part of and love; consumers, retailers, distributors, breweries, brewers, farmers. We deserve better. Brew the liquid we deserve!

 We, as Craft beer buyers and consumers expect more. We all haven't been trained in off flavors like Diacetyl, filtering styles, Yeasts and even pellet vs whole cone hops. But let's be honest, we can tell when a beer isn't as good as another. We know beer and let our wallets show it. Breweries are held to a higher standard now then they were 20, 10 or even 5 years ago. Yet here we are during the pinnacle of the craft brewing era in a "booming" state for craft breweries and we have shelves littered with dust collectors and potential explosives. Retailers are inundated with new breweries seemingly working hard to not only keep the selection of dust collectors and canned explosives, but to grow into a category. I'm not saying all new breweries have bad beer or liquid people do not want to buy. I'm saying that after over ten years of buying beer professionally (I've been buying beer for retail longer than most brewers have been legal to drink), I've tasted more bad new beer then good for the first time. Just because you Can doesn't mean you should've. As fast as people are being introduced to new craft beers they are flocking to trusted breweries and beers that have stood the truthful test of time. We want to love every beer we taste. It's in our nature. We also want new, but only if it has the quality and tastes that are as good as what we can already fill our glasses with. We want exciting flavors but within a quality beer. Everybody has a different palate and variety is good for the craft industry but the quality of liquid should never dwindle or be cast aside for packaging. If breweries new and old want beer to sell, be like Ken, dump beer down the drain over and over and over and over until it has the integrity and quality to become a part of our community and practice those standards forever. If breweries don't... we can not support them. 

myjellomisfit

Weekly Beer Update: Thursday January 21, 2016

I know I've missed posting about a lot of releases in the past couple weeks. Sorry about that. January is a great time of year for vacations, cleaning up and just taking a breather. I'm back in full effect until our baby arrives in early March. Thanks for your continued support. 

Lukas Liquor Superstore has received just about every specialty release beer available in Colorado and will continue to. Our loyal customers may have found plenty of selections floating around our "Bomb Shelter". Many of these beers are still available on our shelves. This weekend we are purging many of our single bottles from our "Attic" cellar. We have a lot of aged/rare/limited bombers and singles that the boss has told us to clear out of our inventory. Lucky you!

Now on to this week's list of new beers!

Avery Brewing Co. (CO) - duganA (Limited)

Single 22oz Bottle  8.50%  Imperial India Pale Ale

RateBeer: 99  Imperial IPA

Dry Dock Brewing Co. (CO) - [Signature Series] Cascara Imperial Stout (New/Limited)

Single 22oz Bottle  10.10%  Whiskey Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout w/Cascara

RateBeer: requires more ratings

Evil Twin Brewing Co. (Nomad) - I Love You with My Stout (New)

Four-Pack 12oz Bottles  12.00%  Imperial Stout

RateBeer: 99  Imperial Stout

Evil Twin Brewing Co. (Nomad) - Nomader Weisse (New)

Four-Pack 12oz Cans  4.00%  Berliner Weisse

RateBeer: 88  Berliner Weisse

Green Flash Brewing Co. (CA) - Passion Fruit Kicker (New/Year-Round)

Six-Pack 12oz Bottles  5.50%  Wheat Ale w/Passion Fruit

RateBeer:  requires more ratings

Green Flash Brewing Co. (CA) - Tangerine Soul Style IPA (New/Year-Round)

Six-Pack 12oz Bottles  6.50%  India Pale Ale w/Tangerine Zest

RateBeer: 67  India Pale Ale

New Belgium Brewing Co. (CO) - Glutiny Pale Ale (New/Year-Round)

Six-Pack 12oz Bottles  6.00%  Gluten Reduced Pale Ale

RateBeer: requires more ratings

Ninkasi Brewing Co. (OR) - Expo 58 (New/Seasonal)

Six-Pack 12oz Bottles  5.00%  Belgian-Style Pale Ale

RateBeer: 49  Belgian Ale

Ninkasi Brewing Co. (OR) - Hop Cooler Citrus IPA (New/Seasonal)

Single 22oz Bottle  7.20%  India Pale Ale w/Orange and Tangerine

RateBeer: 94  India Pale Ale

Oskar Blues Brewing Co. (CO/SC) - Deviant Dale's (New Package)

Six-Pack 12oz Cans  8.00%  Imperial India Pale Ale

RateBeer: 99  India Pale Ale

Santa Fe Brewing Co. (NM) - Adobe Igloo (New/Seasonal)

Six-Pack 12oz Cans  6.00%  Winter Warmer w/Cacao Nibs and Chile Peppers

RateBeer: requires more ratings

[Brewed/Canned at/by Against the Grain Brewing Co. (KY)] Stillwater Artisanal Ales (Nomad) - Give-Way (New)

Four-Pack 16oz Cans  4.20%  Session India Pale Ale

RateBeer: requires more ratings

The Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Co. (CA) - Serpent's Stout (Seasonal)

Single 750ml Bottle  11.00%  Imperial Stout

RateBeer: 100  Imperial Stout

Upslope Brewing Co. (CO) - Imperial India Pale Ale (New Package/Seasonal)

Four-Pack 12oz Cans  10.00%  Imperial India Pale Ale

RateBeer: 98  Imperial IPA

Victory Brewing Co. (PA) - [Blackboard Series] Agave IPA with Grapefruit (New/Seasonal)

Six-Pack 12oz Bottles  7.00%  India Pale Ale w/Agave Syrup and Grapefruit Juice

RateBeer: 74  India Pale Ale