My cool-weather beers are brown ales and my current ale of the season is New Holland's Cabin Fever Brown Ale.

Haven't tried that one yet. Have you had the New Holland Dragon's Milk? - definitely a warmer. A barreled ale, slightly sweet, vanilla, 9%ABV. On tap at Prairie Moon.

For you stout lovers, I was in Twisted Spoke the other night and they have a nice collection of them on tap: Founder's Breakfast, Beamish, the Left Hand Milk Stout and Dark Horse Too Cream Stout.

If you like Brown, they've got the Dogfish Indian Brown Ale.

I was too busy enjoying a Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball (huge malt and huge alcohol - definitely a winter warmer) and some others to get too deep in the stouts. I also had the Dark Horse Percolator Dobblebock, poured from a sawed-off shotgun tap handle. This thing was like an iced expresso, complete with a crema head.

They had a special beef tenderloin sandwich, which was awesome. Real tenderloin, toasted chiabatta, horseradish.

wow! i have heard of obovoid, Octoberfest beer etc, but never really got a chance to drink any of them. would love to try them though...

kiplog wrote:

My cool-weather beers are brown ales and my current ale of the season is New Holland's Cabin Fever Brown Ale.

Haven't tried that one yet. Have you had the New Holland Dragon's Milk? - definitely a warmer. A barreled ale, slightly sweet, vanilla, 9%ABV. On tap at Prairie Moon.

Not yet, but I'd like to. I've added it to my list, thanks. I think New Holland really imparts good flavors into their beer.

Best,
Michael

No doubt about it, Cabin Fever is a winner. Had it recently at AliveOne (Halsted and Schubert), though I think they're out by now. They do have Brooklyn Brown Ale on tap, which is always good when you need some malt to warm you up but your stomach's too full for a big stout.

I really enjoyed Surly's coffee bender, a twist on their usual brown ale.

I agree. Brown ales are usually not my thing, but bender is a really nice session beer.

I have also been taking advantage of Bell's Hop Slam popping up in Chicago. It is an exceptional double IPA. I have had it on tap at Poor Phil's in the O.P. a couple times. I highly recommend getting your hands on it while it is around.

CBS Sunday Morning on 3-1-09 featured a story on Root Beer with a special note on the XXX Root Beer Sprecher brews aged on Bourbon barrels.

Since it sounded so good, I decided to to a ice cream float using vanilla and Goose Island's Bourbon County stout. I thought it was fantastic. My wife tried it and almost projectile vomitted. Guess she won't be interested in a Guiness float in the future.

chainey wrote:CBS Sunday Morning on 3-1-09 featured a story on Root Beer with a special note on the XXX Root Beer Sprecher brews aged on Bourbon barrels.

Since it sounded so good, I decided to to a ice cream float using vanilla and Goose Island's Bourbon County stout. I thought it was fantastic. My wife tried it and almost projectile vomitted. Guess she won't be interested in a Guiness float in the future.

Root Beer aged in bourbon barrels? This is news to me! Want! Did they say where you could find it?

gleam wrote:Root Beer aged in bourbon barrels? This is news to me! Want! Did they say where you could find it?

I saw most of that piece about the root beer. I seem to remember the XXX root beer was only available at the Sprecher brewery.

Sprecher Brewing Co. Inc.
701 W. Glendale Ave.
Glendale, WI 53209
414-964-2739

I just wanted to let you know that a barrel of the Sprecher XXX Root Beer has made it down to Twisted Spoke (where I am affiliated) carried on the back of some mysterious elves. It is going to be tapped on March 31 at our annual pre-WhiskeyFest Event.

After aging in the whiskey barrel, it comes out at 4% - 5% abv. It is quite tasty. The only problem is that you can't really taste any alcohol so it would sneak up on you if you're not careful.

kiplog wrote:Have you had the New Holland Dragon's Milk? - definitely a warmer. A barreled ale, slightly sweet, vanilla, 9%ABV.

Sipping on one now... Bought a bomber at D&D liquors. Amazing. Dark and smooth, with oak-y vanilla, toasty malt, coffee, and dried fruit notes, this is extremely drinkable, given the alcohol content, which is definitely present, but not at all overwhelming. (Mine says 8.5%) Perhaps a bit heavy for a session beer, but I'll finish my bomber, no problem!


I also recently drank Rogue's Mocha Porter, and that was great as well, comparable to The Poet.

In another thread, ronnie_suburban wrote of the Sam's sale to Binny's:

ronnie_suburban wrote:My guess is that once the sale closes tomorrow, it won't be too long before the shelves at the 2 stores in question are stocked again. That said, the selection at Binny's is good, not great and with no major local competition, it's not likely to improve. Prices will probably go up, too. Where in the past, these 2 entities competed for customers by (in part) stocking more products, I doubt Binny's will bring in any products that aren't very likely to move well.

I was picking up some holiday beers for an informal tasting yesterday, and found the prices at the Whole Foods on Kingsbury to be lower across the board than the prices at Binny's in the old Sam's space on Marcy for the same beers. Granted, the selection was quite a bit more limited at Whole Foods, but it is a pretty well-curated section with a lot of local options. I have not been paying close enough attention to pricing to know whether Binny's pricing has changed for the worse since the purchase of Sam's (I have noticed $3-$4 per bottle increases from about 6 months ago on certain bourbon and rye that I purchase somewhat frequently, but that could be due in part to the liquor tax increase), but I found it interesting/noteworthy that Whole Foods has better prices on beer more or less across the board.

Here's what I got that was on offer at both places and the price differential:

Afflingem Noel (750 ml): Binny's $8.99, WFM $6.99
Three Floyd's Alpha Klaus (22 oz): Binny's $8.99, WFM $7.69
Sierra Nevada Celebration (6 pack, 12oz): Binny's $9.49, WFM $7.99 (on sale)
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza (750 ml): Binny's $14.99, WFM $10.99

(While I did not purchase any, I also noted that WFM is $2 per 4 pack lower on Goose Bourbon County compared to Binny's -- $19.99 v. $21.99.)

So, if you're in that area and looking for beer and do not mind the more limited selection, a visit to Whole Foods might be better for your wallet.