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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

Last week about 6,400 beer professionals converged in Washington for the 2013 Craft Brewers Conference. The CBC is a yearly event organized by the Brewers Association, the trade association that represents the interest of craft breweries in America. The CBC is usually held in San Diego but with BA’s other signature event SAVOR being held in New York instead of D.C. this year, we got to host the Conference instead. The whole week featured speeches, lectures, exhibitions, and some awfully cool events at local bars, breweries, and restaurants…and I missed them all. That’s life in retail for you.

The news coming out of CBC, however, was encouraging for all of us in the industry. The BA released some figures from its upcoming full analysis of 2012, and the numbers show a continued trend of growth for craft beer: there are now 2,403 total breweries in the U.S., an 18% increase over 2011. The volume share of craft beer went from 5.7% to 6.5% and the dollar share of sales went up 17%, compared to the 1% growth of the overall U.S. beer market. Over 108,000 Americans work in the craft beer industry, representing a gain of nearly 5,000 jobs in 2012.

Delivering the CBC keynote address, New Belgium Brewery President Kim Jordan discussed the realities of the growing craft beer world; among those being the importance of keeping quality standards as breweries grow larger, and the inevitable toll that growth along with the ever-rising number of craft breweries will take on resources as varied as hops, malts, staff, and shelf space. “Our influence is outsized for our growth rate” Jordan said; a statement equal parts state-of-the-industry and warning.

For now though, craft beer is on the rise and from my own modest corner of the business I just wanted to say thanks to all of you out there for the amazing growth we’ve seen in Arrowine’s beer department. With more local breweries coming online over the next couple years and the continued growth of already-established ones, I’m excited to see what the next few years bring.

Anyone get out to CBC or any of the beer dinners/tap takeovers/special events last week? Let’s hear about them in the comments; also if anyone has any general beer questions leave them here and I’ll do my best to answer. Until next time.

Cheers!

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. Sign up for Arrowine’s money saving email offers and free wine and beer tastings at www.arrowine.com/mailing-list-signup.aspx. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)

A few weeks back while writing about the evolving craft beer market, I mentioned the growing demand for more ‘everyday’ brews; beers that friends could bring to spring/summer barbecues and throw in the cooler for any and all to enjoy. Since then I’ve had more than a few customers come into the store asking which beers I meant in particular when I wrote that, so let me give you a preview of things to come as the weather finally starts to warm up again.

A trend is forming in lower-ABV hoppy Ales, which will only grow more prominent this year. Aside from the always enjoyable Bitter American from 21st Amendment (dry-hopped English Special Bitter, 4.5% ABV), Founder’s Brewing has finally started shipping its excellent All-Day IPA to Virginia. At 4.7%, it’s probably more accurate to call All-Day a Pale Ale but the IPA name does draw attention. The combination of its light, minerally body with a focused hop character make All-Day pretty irresistible regardless of how it’s classified. Look for All-Day to be available until sometime in September. Schlafly Pale Ale is also now regularly available for those looking for a classic English-style Pale. At 4.4% ABV with grassy hops and clean palate feel, Schalfly Pale can please just about any crowd. Rumors have Devils Backbone packaging the lower-ABV version of its wonderful, balanced Eight Point IPA—appropriately called Four Point IPA—sometime this summer, along with a possible canning run of Striped Bass Pale Ale. In the meantime, I can’t recommend their current short-release sixer The Congo enough. An IPA fermented with a Belgian yeast strain, The Congo exhibits restraint compared to other Belgian IPA-style beers, many of which tend to have either an exaggerated yeast character, hop profile, or both.

Those looking for Belgian-styled beers should try the newly released Swing, from Victory Brewing Company. Swing is a Saison that clocks in at 4.5% ABV, with black and Szechuan peppercorns bringing more dryness than spice to its finish. Newly arrived is Saison de Lis from St. Louis’ Perennial Artisan Ales; at 5.0% and brewed with chamomile flowers it’s a great introduction to Perennial’s lineup. Also back in stock right now is Stillwater’s Premium, my favorite new beer of 2012. Another 4.5% Ale, Premium uses two brettanomyces wild yeast strains to make for what may be the funkiest session Ale out there right now. A non-brett version of Premium called Classique has popped up on tap around the area. I got to try Classique recently during Stillwater’s tap-takeover night at Pizzeria Paradiso in Old Town: it doesn’t lack for character and if rumors pan out we may just see some canned six-packs this year. Sour fans: don’t miss out on Timmerman’s Blanche Lambicus—it’s 4.5% ABV, spiced in the manner of a Witbier, and I’m not sure how long it’ll last. Also don’t forget my go-to session beer of choice, the 4.0% Bell’s Oarsman Ale.

Speaking of Bell’s, next week sees the return of the ever-popular Oberon Ale which will keep fans refreshed through the summer; and if everything goes the way it’s supposed to this week, then by the time you read this we’ll be seeing the first shipment of Abita’s Strawberry Harvest Lager hitting area shelves. Last but certainly not least we have Port City’s Downright Pils, one of my favorite new beers of last year and a great example of an approachable craft beer that everyone can enjoy.

So hang on out there; the warm weather will be here soon and there will be a lot to look forward to beer-wise during the spring and summer, even if we find ourselves cursing the heat and humidity before the summer officially starts. Until next time.

Cheers!

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. Sign up for Arrowine’s money saving email offers and free wine and beer tastings at www.arrowine.com/mailing-list-signup.aspx. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)

Time keeps on flying — we’re already hitting St. Patrick’s Day weekend. As a Guinness drinker and an American with a drop or two of Irish blood in my makeup, I am supposed to look upon St. Patrick’s as one of the High Holidays. But if I’m honest I’ve gone a bit sour on the whole thing.

For far too many, St. Patrick’s is merely an excuse to get obscenely drunk and that stopped being fun for me years ago. I’m going back in on St. Patrick’s Day this year, however, in the spirit of spending some much-needed downtime with friends and rediscovering the joy of social interaction. For those of you still enamored with the revelry of the holiday, here are a few pointers:

Don’t go out. I know, I know; this is supposed to be advice for celebrating St. Patrick’s, but I have to lead with it. There are two nights of the year I go out of my way not to be out-and-about for: New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s. Folks who shun drinking the rest of the year make it an amateur hour scene in bars while those who do drink take it to another level. I’m planning on visiting a friend’s home this year so we can split a couple beers from our cellars while watching the fights Saturday, which is pretty big for me considering my stand on St. Patrick’s Day.

If you go out, don’t be “that guy.” We’ve covered this one before in the beer festival guide. You know the type, so do what you can to avoid getting to that point. No one cares how Irish you are, and they’re perfectly aware of how much/how little green they’re wearing. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’re probably that guy — in which case see rule number one above.

Be ready to bail. If you walk into a place and don’t like the vibe, listen to that instinct. Every establishment in the area that sells alcohol is going to be up, running, and busy — you can afford to be picky. If meeting friends, have backup plans in case the mood turns a direction you’re not comfortable with. If that means grabbing a couple beers and going home, so be it. It sounds a little silly I know, but just about every bad story from my misspent youth starts with me ignoring an instinct I should have known to listen to.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)

Clay Risen has the craft beer world all in a tizzy this week, though most beer geeks out there may not even be familiar with his name. With one New York Times article Risen, an author, Times editor and occasional contributor of some fine spirits articles to The Atlantic, reignited years-old arguments in the craft beer community with an article about his sudden and shocking discovery of 750mL bottles of craft beer, many of which sell at prices comparable to bottles of wine.

Beyond simply being late-to-the-party on the use of 750mL bottles by brewers, the article made legitimate craft beer-drinker concerns sound a bit like whining while seeming amused by the idea of beer being anything but a cheap, ‘common’ drink. The wake of the Times article saw concerns rise once again over the ‘wineification’ of beer, and debates over what the best format is for big beers and special releases.

Large beer bottles on the shelf at ArrowineIt all started with a handful of tweets Tuesday morning: some of the beer fans and writers whom I follow on Twitter started shooting links to Risen’s Times piece with pithy comments about its tone. The conversation quickly turned to concerns over the rising costs of some beers (especially those in larger formats), and frustration over 750mL bottles being too big to enjoy without help.

Let’s tackle the second point first: as a commenter on The Drinks Business points out in their report on the Times article, there are hundreds if not thousands of Belgian beers that come in 750s, while another points out that it’s often easier and more cost-effective for breweries to bottle in 750s rather than in 12oz bottles for four- or six-packs. There have always been those calling for stronger beers to be packaged in smaller bottles, as 750mL bottles demand a crowd to share reasonable servings. However, even when rarities or bigger brews are sold in the 12oz format that doesn’t necessarily mean they should be tackled on one’s own. Dogfish Head’s 120 Minute IPA and WorldWide Stout are sold as 12oz bottles, and both are strong enough to merit a group of three or four (though some of us have been known, on occasion, to take them on solo).

Slightly more concerning to me, not only as a specialty retailer but as a craft beer fan, is the umbrage being taken with more expensive beers, which increasingly make up most of the 750mL beer bottles on the market. Among us beer geeks the conversations run toward breweries we’ve seen come up from humble beginnings abandoning the diehards who supported them in their youth for an upscale, stratified market. These debates will sound familiar to music lovers who have heard laments over one band or the other ‘selling out’ — a concept whose relevance and veracity dull with age and experience, like teeth.

Beer writer and all-around good guy Jake Berg of local beer website DCBeer.com wished for craft breweries to take a route opposite what most have been doing lately by bottling their higher-ABV beers in smaller formats while saving the more everyday recipes for 750s. There is a long history of this exact thing being done and many do it today, but the trend of retail sales over the past few years has favored smaller daily drinkers: for example, I used to only carry the 750mL bottles of Saison Dupont, the classic Belgian Farmhouse Ale. These days, I stock the 12.7oz bottles as the trend went toward beer drinkers enjoying their drink, rather than the group sharing a drink.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)

There are days where you roll out of bed just knowing you’re going to get into trouble somehow. You’re not spoiling for a fight, but one’s coming regardless so you know you better sharpen up.

There has been a groundswell of discussion regarding the new Dogfish Head/Sierra Nevada collaboration Rhizing Bines, which is billed as an “East-meets-West” IPA, and with the weekend coming where I’ll finally have enough on hand to sample it out to my customers at Arrowine it’s probably time for me to make my case on its behalf. I say this because while many out there have had their preconceptions and expectations disappointed by Rhizing Bines, I feel that most are needlessly tearing down what we’ll look back on as one of the best new beers of 2013.

Rhizing BinesWhen these two big-name craft brewers first got together to develop a beer, the result was something completely new and different. 2009’s Life & Limb hit the market and was immediately hailed as a triumph. While there were of course outliers who didn’t take to the beer along with those who fell in love with it, the general consensus was that Dogfish and Sierra Nevada had succeeded with their dark, malty Ale with its sweet tones and rich palate. These two titans of hoppy Pale Ales and IPAs took a chance by giving eager fans something they would have never expected, and in doing so expanded the palates of beer geeks all over the country. A subsequent 2011 release was again met with raves; the success of the ’09 release caused the ’11 Life & Limb to be in short supply just about everywhere it was distributed.

As news started to leak that Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada were getting together again to create another new beer, the buzz began on forums and in stores all over the country. When the news came down that this new effort was to be an Imperial IPA, the hopheads rejoiced; words like finally, slam dunk, and no-brainer were bandied about, but this duo of craft brewers weren’t done taking chances.

In the spirit of their joint effort, Rhizing Bines was to be an IPA designed to unify America’s two predominant IPA styles: the super-piney, high acid-centric West Coast and the maltier, slightly fruiter style referred to as East Coast IPA. To that end both breweries contributed their proprietary yeast strains and opted for newer, less commonly-used hop varieties for Rhizing Bines—Bravo and the too-new-for-a-name Hop 644. The process by which Rhizing Bines was brewed was also a melding of the styles of the two breweries; the Bravo hops were added using the continuous hopping technique that made Dogfish Head famous in its 60, 90, and 120 Minute IPAs, while Hop 644 was used in one of Sierra Nevada’s torpedo devices which made a pit stop in Delaware on its way to Sierra’s new North Carolina brewery.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)

It doesn’t happen often, but it’s been a slow week. No huge breaking news (though it’s worth looking at the restructured InBev/Modelo deal to see how they’ll get away with that). No insane once-per-year rarities to call every store in town to find. There are some cool new beers out including the new Schwarzbier from Devils Backbone, and we’ll be sampling those on Saturday at the shop. But as far as news goes it’s a little too quiet out there.

In light of this, here are some tasting notes on beers I’ve been able to try lately. If you have any questions about beer in the area, I’ll be happy to answer them in the comments.

Bell’s HopSlam 2013: I got to try a bottle a couple of weeks ago. I’ve always been a fan of HopSlam, but it feels like the ever-increasing demand and resulting shortness of supply has created a bit of a backlash, with more folks every year saying HopSlam isn’t worth the trouble or its high price. I actually quite liked this year’s HopSlam. The honey in it seemed more utilitarian than it had over the past couple years. Where HopSlam was becoming a tick too fruity and cloying, this year’s feels more like the Imperial IPA it is meant to be. Is it worth the time and money to track down? That’s up to you, but if you can get a hold of some, it’s a fine beer as always.

Sand Creek Brewing Company: I was given a couple of this Wisconsin outfit’s brews to sample and am now officially a fan. First up was their Wild Ride IPA, which is a delightful throwback to the days where bigger wasn’t necessarily better. If the craft beer movement has been around long enough, and I’m not sure it has, it could be said that this is an old-school American IPA. The 60 IBU are well-balanced by just the perfect amount of malt. This is an IPA that I could keep in the fridge all the time, and really wish was available here in VA.

The other Sand Creek I got to try was Oscar’s Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, which is the kind of beer I think every brewer in America should try. Oscar’s is rich in body, with a silky palate featuring dark chocolate flavors that somehow avoid being sugary in any way. The best part of Oscar’s: it’s 4.5% ABV. It’s a Session beer. Seriously, seriously well-made and someone needs to get Sand Creek to expand beyond their four-market distribution range.

Blue Mountain MacHayden’s Wee Heavy: Hey — here’s something good that you can actually find for sale around here. I had no idea Blue Mountain made a Scotch Ale, but when this became available last week, I jumped on it. MacHayden’s is reminiscent of classic Scotch Ales like McEwan’s Export, with that very particular kind of sweetness from its malts that is the hallmark of the style. Too many American brewers over-roast the malts in their Scotch Ales or go too hoppy for fear of turning off U.S. beer fans, but those who seek out Scotch Ale are looking for something very specific. Blue Mountain does a great job combining traditional flavors with a stronger, more modern strength and lush mouthfeel.

Until next time.

Cheers!

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. Sign up for Arrowine’s money saving email offers and free wine and beer tastings at www.arrowine.com/mailing-list-signup.aspx. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)

So maybe it’s the day after Valentine’s Day but I know many couples who, when it lands in the middle of the week, choose to celebrate over the weekend. While it may be more traditional to have a nice bottle of Champagne or to pair some wine with a romantic dinner, there are some beers out there that I think would be appropriate for a nice romantic evening.

Biere Brut: Beers modeled after Champagne can fit right in, especially for those who have some issues with the acidity of Champagne or get too dried-out from the carbonation. Not every Biere Brut is a no-brainer, however; as much as I enjoy Mikkeller’s Nelson Sauvin Brut IPA, it’s a little funky with wild yeast character to just throw out there. I’d recommend the cidery floral notes of Deus or the Rose Champagne-styled l’Equilibrista from Italy’s Birra del Borgo. l’Equilibrista, in particular, would work quite well with a chocolate and fruit plate dessert. Speaking of chocolate:

Chocolate Stouts: Snag a 12 or 22oz bottle of a rich, chocolaty Stout and split it over dessert. Heavy Seas Siren Noire is currently available and carries a nice balance of cocoa flavor and dry Stout character. Southern Tier Choklat is outstanding poured over ice cream, if you’re making dessert at home. Evil Twin Aun Mas a Jesus would be a nice small-bottle replacement for a Ruby Port, and I’ve recommended it in the past as just that.

Blatant Pandering: The recently (in bottles anyway) released Lost Rhino Pretty In Pink sports a bright pink label containing a Saison-style Ale using pomegranates. A collaboration of local female beer pro’s (Lost Rhino’s Becky Jordan, Hardywood’s Rachael Cardwell, Kristi Mathews Griner—at the time of Vintage 50 but soon to be head brewer at Capitol City Brewing Company, and Megan Parisi of the soon-to-open Bluejacket in DC), proceeds from Pretty In Pink go toward breast cancer research. Not only is the beer for a good cause, but its blend of bright, Saison character and fruitiness is fun and refreshing. Another beer that comes to mind is Lower Dens from Stillwater Artisanal Ales; another Saison, Lower Dens uses spelt malt and hibiscus flowers to create a Farmhouse-style Ale that has a clean palate with rustic, grainy notes and a present but not overwhelming influence from the flowers.

Whatever you end up drinking this Valentine’s Day, I hope you enjoy it with the one you love. Until next time.

Cheers!

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. Sign up for Arrowine’s money saving email offers and free wine and beer tastings at www.arrowine.com/mailing-list-signup.aspx. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)

As mentioned in the comments section of last week’s column, the biggest news story in the beer industry involved the U.S. Justice Department filing suit to stop the purchase of Grupo Modelo (makers of Corona, among other brands) by AB InBev (Budweiser, Stella Artois), the biggest of the big beer companies. It’s funny which stories have ‘legs’ where others don’t; I remember the InBev purchase of Anheuser-Busch gaining quite a bit of attention, but I never got any phone calls from reporters then — and I did this week when the big guys got told “no”.

During the conversation I had with a reporter who had reached out for some perspective from the retail side, I was asked if I thought the competition between Big Beer and Craft Beer was more or less intense than a few years ago. What I think is that where once Big Beer fought to keep small breweries off the shelves because they saw a potential long-term threat, now Craft Beer is established itself.

The Sierra Nevadas and Dogfish Heads of the world aren’t going anywhere; Craft Beer is only 6% of U.S. beer sales, but that number is growing every year while the biggest names keep seeing their market share decline. Big Beer’s plan was to keep growing to the point where it would become, forgive the phrase, too big to fail. With the Grupo Modelo deal dead, or at the very least significantly delayed, I’m looking for the big beer companies to deploy a classic strategy: if you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em.

Once upon a time it was the smaller, regional brewers who would get bought out by the big guys. Today it’s Craft Breweries in the sights. The sale of Goose Island to Budweiser a few years back was just the start, if AB InBev has its way — just recently Lagunitas founder Tony Magee mentioned meeting the AB InBev employee who made the Goose Island deal happen, and insinuated that Bud was sniffing around for a potential deal for Lagunitas as well (have no fears — Tony isn’t going anywhere anytime soon). As more drinkers opt out of the ‘faux craft’ labels created by Big Beer and offerings like Bud’s new Black Crown come and go, look for more small breweries to get bought up.

No matter what, keep in mind that it’s your support that has brought America’s small brewers to this point. InBev and MillerCoors can run all the ads and buy all the breweries they want; America is discovering its craft breweries, and every day more of us learn the difference between the real thing and a line we’re being sold. Until next time.

Cheers!

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. Sign up for Arrowine’s money saving email offers and free wine and beer tastings at www.arrowine.com/mailing-list-signup.aspx. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)

Without a doubt the event of the week in our area was the yearly release of Bell’s HopSlam. We received our 25 cases at Arrowine on Monday and they sold out in under an hour, way faster than I had anticipated. Considering the madness surrounding its release, I thought of making this week’s column more an open forum where folks could discuss it, as it seems to be all anyone wants to talk about right now — but I thought that would be lazy even by my standards.

So instead I’m going to take a moment to talk about perception, trends, and realities. Because while trophy hunters have been calling incessantly about HopSlam, I’ve had to restock classic, more balanced brews from Bell’s itself, along with some from Devils Backbone, Great Lakes, and more. In my retail experience it seems as if there is always at least one Great Contradiction at play no matter what the business might be: currently the greatest of these in craft beer is between the amount of hype and media attention the big rare beers garner, and the maturing palates of craft beer drinkers, many of whom are looking for less volume and more subtlety.

Great Lakes in particular has been on the upswing lately: coming up on the first anniversary of its entering the Virginia market, the Cleveland brewery has built a following in our area by offering flavorful, well-made beers that stay true to their styles without bowing to the pressures so many breweries face in terms of making high-ABV, in-your-face, stupid rare offerings. Yes, their Christmas Ale was in very short supply this past holiday season, but I think that had more to do with demand in Ohio and other, more tenured markets than anything. The point is that even the biggest of the Great Lakes beer that I’ve had — the ‘Imperial’ beers that from most brewers tend to cut your evening short after a bottle — are enjoyable in feel while providing the depth of flavor that is expected from bigger beers.

It is easy to think being a beer geek is all about finding the rarest of the rare, the biggest of the big, and flaunting one’s finds in the faces of those mere mortals who missed out. When craft beer gets big media coverage, it tends to be related to something like a HopSlam or Founder’s KBS — so I understand the perception. What is more interesting to me is the shift toward great everyday beer, and the broader audience that can be gained through such beers. Neither can exist without the other, nor should one overshadow the other; the everyday and the extraordinary reaching out to a world still only beginning to wake up from the bland stupor that the big conglomerate breweries had kept them under for decades.

Don’t worry if you miss out on the crazy-rare beer that’s just been released; the next one’s right around the corner, and in the meantime there are more truly great beers available than ever before. Until next time.

Cheers!

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. Sign up for Arrowine’s money saving email offers and free wine and beer tastings at www.arrowine.com/mailing-list-signup.aspx. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)

Most of the time, it works like this: I get word of an upcoming release from a brewery; the brewery starts getting word out through the press, the beer is released, and then within a certain number of weeks/months a distributor clears it for Virginia and then I get it for stock. Some of the time, a beer from a brewery popular in Virginia is made in small enough quantities that it never makes it here. Then there’s the case of Left Hand’s Milk Stout Nitro.

In early 2011 I started hearing about a project Left Hand Brewing of Longmont, Colorado was working on. The rumor was Left Hand was developing a new version of its popular Milk Stout, and over that summer word got out; Left Hand had been spending a lot of money in an effort to impart a nitro-tap feel into the bottles of Milk Stout, a la Guinness Draught. In September 2011, Milk Stout Nitro officially arrived with the bold proclamation of Left Hand’s intentions to “take America back” from Guinness’ popularity.

Milk Stout Nitro made its way to Chicago and Boston while I kept my ear to the ground. As a long-time Guinness fan and someone who’s always enjoyed Left Hand Milk Stout, my excitement grew as I read review after review of Nitro — yet none was arriving for us in Virginia. In all honesty I had reached the point of giving up when earlier this week I was woken up by a text from my representative of Left Hand’s distributor in Virginia: “Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro bottles have arrived!!!”

By the time this column runs, Milk Stout Nitro will be in stock at retailers around Virginia, including Arrowine. I still will have not tried it by then, so I can’t speak to its greatness personally but from what I’ve read the Nitro indeed has the thick head and creaminess of a true nitro-tap Stout. Also, most reports have the sweet vanilla notes from the lactose used a bit muted in comparison to the standard Left Hand Milk Stout.

So yes, I’ve devoted a good chunk of my week and this column space to a beer I haven’t even tried yet. But I trust the crew at Left Hand, and am looking forward to the first of what I hope will be many Milk Stout Nitro bottles this weekend. If you happen to be in the neighborhood of Arrowine this Friday night, you might just be able to check it out yourself.

Until next time.

Cheers!

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. Sign up for Arrowine’s money saving email offers and free wine and beer tastings at www.arrowine.com/mailing-list-signup.aspx. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

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