Umami is sweeping the nation....

The fifth taste discovered
#1 Sweet
#2 Sour
#3 Bitter
#4 Salty
#5 Umami

Taste #5 Umami Paste....$4.99 / 2.46 oz tube
Compare to $6 from Dean & Deluca
In stock at Forsyth

What is Umami? "Umami is the scientifically proven fifth taste and literally means "savory deliciousness" in Japanese. Umami receptors sit on the tongue alongside those for sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Is is the flavour that floods the intensely savory foods that make you go "mmmmm..." and the ultimate in food phermones. Think of caramelised bits of roast stuck to the bottom of the roasting tin, that salty anchovy that melts into the tomato in a sauce or on a pizza, the irresistible creamy combination of pancetta and Parmesan cheese in Carbonara.

Taste #5 Umami Paste is a combination of everyday Mediterranean ingredients packed with natural umami, ripe tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, Porcini mushrooms, salted anchovies, black olives, and balsamic vinegar.

1,000 uses.....
Condiment: spread on crostini, panini, bruschetta, canapes, croutons,burgers and sandwiches. Drop into dips, dressings, mayonnaise. Add to marinades, meat loaf and burger mixes. Delicious with cheese, cold meats and eggs. Seasoning: rub into raw meat, steak, chops, ribs, poultry, roasts, fish, shellfish, tofu, or vegetable before cooking.....on on and on...soups, pastas, pizza, risottos, salsas, sauces, gravies...



info from their website -- read more

Half a million hits...

Just noticed that we hit 500,000 hits on the blog yesterday sometime..  

We started the blog back in April of 2008 and now 3,489 posts later.

Bell's Midwestern Pale Ale

Bell’s Pale Ale gets a new name and label.

In stock at Forsyth now!

COMSTOCK, MICH. – Bell’s Pale Ale is getting a facelift.

While the label and the name are changing, the recipe will remain basically the same except for one small, yet very significant change.

Midwestern Pale Ale will now be brewed with a small portion of barley from the Bell’s Farm in Shepherd, Michigan and will begin shipping in mid-October.

“This is a relatively minor change to the recipe and people won’t notice anything different, however its part of a much larger picture,” said Laura Bell, Marketing Director for Bell’s Brewery, Inc.  It’s a deeper connection to the land, to Michigan and its agricultural heritage and to the Midwest, Bell said.  Barley from the Bell’s Farm is also used to brew two other beers – Christmas Ale and Harvest Ale (also made with Michigan grown hops).  The new label features an original painting of the Bell’s Farm by Kalamazoo artist Conrad Kaufman.

No Beer Tasting Tonight!

We have our big 30th Anniversary Wine 

Tasting later tonight (sold out)--

So no beer tasting tonight!

Thanks Very much!

Deschutes Hop Trip

Rock Hill just got a surprise case of  Hop Trip

He is not taking reservations.

 First come first served at the store.

Limit - 3 bottles per person to share the love. 

Deschutes Hop Trip Fresh Hop Ale
Each year around Labor Day, Deschutes brewers high-tail it over the pass to Doug Weather’s hop fields near Salem for the harvest. After bagging these aromatic jewels, we hustle back and toss them into the brew kettles within four hours of picking. Our reward: a pale ale with a uniquely bright citrus punch and fall spice. It’s something only Deschutes would take past the idle-talk stage.  Brewed with Salmon Safe Hops

Malt: NW Pale, Extra Special, Cara-Munich, Carapils
Hops: Nugget, Centennial, Fresh Crystal

Boulevard Mixed Four

Available online


Back in stock this year!!

Boulevard "Mixed Four"....$14.99 / box

Includes 12oz bottle each of

Smokestack Tank 7

Smokestack Double Wide IPA

Smokestack Long Strange Tripel

Smokestack Sixth Glass

Plus a Boulevard Tulip Glass

Stillwater Barrel Aged Debauched

Debauched Brunello Wine Barrel Aged Debauched...$8.99 / 11.2oz
Brewed with whole juniper bushes, farmhouse ale yeast (brettanomyces) and a touch of smoke. Like a Viking Saison, yeah.
Rated 96/100 RateBeer
Rated 98/100 RateBeer for the style

In stock at Forsyth and online

New Beers...

In stock now at Forsyth

Big Eddy Baltic Porter

Newcastle Winter IPA

Sam Adams Merry Mischief

Bells This one Goes to 11 Ale

Very limited - 2 bottles per person.
Our second beer release this year with a reference to Spinal Tap - see Bouelvard Reverb Pilsner

SOLD OUT

Bells This one Goes to 11 Ale...$2.79 / 12oz

11% ABV

This One Goes to 11 Ale opens with bright, juicy aromas such as tropical fruits & ripe cherries, largely derived from massive kettle & dry-hop additions of Southern Hemisphere hop varieties such as Galaxy, Motueka, and Summer. The citrus & resinous pine notes of the Pacific Northwest hop family are also well represented, making their presence known through Simcoe, Citra, and the newly released Mosaic varietal, just to name a few. A wide range of specialty malts anchor the hops in this Imperial Red Ale, contrasting the assertive bitterness & juicy aromatics with a robust, toasty depth of flavor. Fermented with Bell’s signature house ale yeast, This One Goes to 11 Ale finishes with a lingering warmth" -- Bells Brewing

Bells Winter White 2012

Order all Bells online now

Bells Winter White Ale....$9.99 / 6pk

"Taking its cues from Belgian-style white ales, Bell's Winter White Ale offers a lighter yet abundantly flavorful alternative to the traditional heavy winter warmers. Fermented with a Belgian ale yeast, this blend of barley & wheat malts yields a mixture of clove and fruity aromas, all without the use of any spices. Deliberately brewed to retain a cloudy appearance, Bell's Winter White Ale is a beer for embracing winter." -- brewery
Alcohol by Volume: 5.0%

St. Bernardus 6 LITER Bottle

You need a few friends to drink this beer!!

SOLD OUT

Check out the size of the bottle compared to a 750ml and 11.2oz bottle

St. Bernardus Abt 12....$189.99 / 6 Liter

RARE -- "Mathusalem"  (about 203 ounces of beer)

"The absolute top quality in the hierarchy of the St. Bernardus beers. It is also the beer with the highest alcohol content (10.50 %). A dark ivory coloured beer with a high fermentation. The show piece of the brewery. Thanks to its soft and unconditionally genuine aroma, the beer can be smoothly tasted. The Abt has a very fruity flavour." -- Rated 100/100 RateBeer

Sam Adams Hop Tour

Sam Adams Hop Tour...$7.49 / 6pk

2 bottles each of 

Whitewater IPA

Noble Pils

Lattitude 48

Hopfenstark Sasions from Canada

In stock at Forsyth and online

Hopfenstark Brewery offera a wide array of beers that are available all year long. Out of our regular series, only the Saison Station series are produced alternatively. Each one will be different and will be adapted according to the rhythm of the seasons. We will be keeping some of our products on reserve at our on-site pub

Hopfenstark Station 16 Saison....$11.99 / 750ml

Season 16 is a high fermentation beer Belgian style. It is distinguished by its orange color, appearance veiled by flavors of rye grain and spicy bouquet and recalling citrus and clove.

Hopfenstark Station 55 Saison....$11.99 / 750ml

Season 55 Station is a red ale with veiled look at taste of malt, hops and spices reminiscent of citrus coupled with a bitter finish. The 55 wants to be a hybrid between a Belgian beer and a local American-style IPA. It incrit in the revival brewing in Belgium

In stock now - Hermitage 2 Tun

In stock now and online

Hermitage 2 Tun Imperial Stout...$4.69 / pint

Bottled October 1

Rated 91/100 Ratebeer

Deep and rich, coffee and dark chocolate notes, with great malt flavors 

9.0 ABV

IBU 30

The Perfect Crime

Order The Perfect Crime online

A couple of new ones from The Perfect Crime: a collaboration between Stillwater, Evil Twin and 12 Percent

The Perfect Crime Hollow Point Quadruple...$4.99 / 11.2oz
"With perfectly controlled penetration and deadly accuracy, this Quad is not so dum dum at all.  It will leave no visible evidence, but for certain infiltrate and ambush your soul for a very long time." -- label

The Perfect Crime Smoking Gun Smoked Stout...$4.99 / 11.2oz
"It should be indisputable evidence when a smoking gun is right in front of you.  Maybe you can even smell the burning, toasty nose, see the easily recognizable head and taste the gun powdery finish.  This is not the case." -- label

More Evil Twin...

Order Evil Twin online

Evil Twin Aun Mas Jesus...$8.99 / 11.2oz
Imperial Stout
"On a pilgrimage for immortal craft beer we tripped on these heavenly drops of overwhelming aromas, a thick fudge-like body, pitch blac color and obviously only made in limited amounts.  And the taste...even more Jesus!" -- label

Evil Twin The Cowboy...$8.99 / 22oz
Smoked Pilsner
"I need to know what kind of beer cowboys drink, as I have recently become one.  I want to be the best cowboy I can be, and I think drinking the correct beer is important.  I already have a cowboy hat and  nice big shiny buckle."

Evil Twin Biscotti Break Imperial Porter.....$13.99 / 22oz
Rated 100 on RateBeer
Malt beverage with almonds, vanilla beans and coffee added.

"Italy has a certain “je ne sais quoi” – fab food culture, highly decadent history of art and cool countryside. Some might argue the people are loud and flamboyant, they steal our women, and their soccer players melodramatically flop on the pitch. Listen – that’s all part of the secret Italian ingredient – keep it cool, confident, arrogant and extravagant. Forza Italia!" -- label