Holiday Beers Are Here!!!

Look what we put on our shelves today:

Fort Colllins Brewery's Big Shot Seasonal Ale.  $8.99/ 22 oz bomber.

This seasonal brown ale will leave you wishing the season would never end, as it is a perfect warm-up for the winter.  This ale is packed full of English malts and East Kent Golding hops, and is perfect for slow sipping.  The aromas and flavors are rich with malt and approach a nice nuttiness that compliments the silky mouthfeel.  A great gift for the holidays too, as it has a beer-drinking snowman on the label! 

Delirium Noel.  $6.49/ 11.2 oz bottle.

At 10% abv, this is a big stout, that has wonderful sharp and peppery character, with a long bitter finish.  The flavor is rich, but surprisingly fresh, and the beer is sure to warm you up for the season.  This makes a great holiday gift, as it has a festive elephant on the label.  Tis the season to drink well!  Cheers.

Here's a little fun trivia for you today:

What is the difference between Thanksgiving dressing and stuffing?

Anyone?  Anyone?

The difference between the two seemed so obvious to me, once I hear the answer that is!  You see, stuffing is just that, something that is stuffed INSIDE the turkey for cooking, whereas dressing is something you cook OUTSIDE of the turkey.  Ahhhhh!  That makes sense.

However, what is important to learn here, is we have FREE dressing today!  That's right, Hannah has done it again, making a homemade dressing that is out of this world as per City Spirits tradition.  This time around, she went extremely gourment, and even included ingredients such as bacon and lamb.  You have not had dressing like this before, so make sure to stop in.  We'll also have two Thanksgiving wines available for tasting, and an entire Thanksgiving Wines Buyer's Guide for you to use as you pick the perfect pairs for your traditional dinner.

Here's just two examples of what we recommend, and these are the two wines we're pouring today and tomorrow:

A to Z Pinot Noir.  Oregon.

This pinot noir has aromas of Bing cherries and blueberries, with hints of orange and white pepper, and beautiful violet undertones.  The mouth is bright with acidity, with silky tannins and flavors of cherry that are present throughout.  Flavors similar to that of the aromas can be found, with a slight spiciness to give the wine balance.  This pinot is lively, light, and easy to drink.  A great selection for grillled salmon, turkey, duck, and portobello mushrooms.

Trimbach Riesling.  Alsace, France.

The Trimbach family has a wine-making history that dates back four centuries, and you can surely tell when you taste this riesling.  So smooth and delicious, with stone fruits and beautiful acidity.  Riesling is known for its great food-pairing abilities, but you'll find that this riesling pairs especially well with sushi, grilled fish, and spicy foods.  Also a great wine to serve with Thanksgiving dinner.

I stumbled across this article (link below) on Twitter today, and it was a very intersting read.  However, what I found most fun, was reading all the comments below the article... the split on whether or not it was valid to think that beer should no longer be served in pint glasses, and that a glass more complimentary to its aromas and flavors should win through.  There were comments about how snobby it was to even be discussing this topic, comments that felt strongly towards moving away from the pint glass, and comments in the middle of the argument.  I can't quite tell you why it was so fascinating to me, but now I'm wondering what you think out there...  either way, I think the article is a GREAT read.  Check it out and let us know.  We'd love to hear from you!

http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/stories/craft-beer-muses/show?title=should-the-shaker-pint-glass-go-away

Folks, the Denver International Wine Festival is almost here, and we want to hear from you... what wines are you excited to try and how many of you out there are attending? 

This festival was first held at the Oxford Hotel in Denver, but has since grown in size, as well as popularity.  In 2005, Mayor Hickenlooper declared the week of Denver International Wine Festival as "Denver Wine Week," so there are now several events surrounding this fun, local event.  We'd like to hear about your favorites. 

Chime in Denver!

Who doesn't love a good old hot toddy? And we've put a spin on things here this week, using Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum in ours! The recipe we've found is perfect for filling your crockpot, so that your guests can enjoy while you enjoy too. Now, you can actually attend your own party with this easy, plan-ahead, cocktail, that is sure to warm everyone up this weekend. Let's face it, with Halloween costumes these days, several of yours guests will need a little extra warmth. Stop in Friday the 26th or Saturday the 27th, between 2 and 7pm, and taste for yourself. We'll even give you our secret recipe. If you can't make it in, you can shop on our website or call for free delivery. There's no charge, and no minimum purchase required, so this service is easy and affordable!

Here's what you'll need:

25 ounces of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum

12 ounces fresh lemon juice

9 ounces of honey

64 ounces of hot water

24 pieces of cloves

2 oranges

To make:

Mix the hot water, Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum, and lemon juice together in a large crockpot. Add the honey slowly, stirring until it is completely dissolved. Slice two oranges into wedges, and pierce each wedge with a few cloves, and let the oranges and cloves float on the top.

ENJOY! And Happy Halloween for your staff at City Spirits.

When:  Friday, October 4th, 2:00-7:00pm

Where:  City Spirits Wine & Liquor

1512 Larimer Street

Denver, CO  80202

What:  Great Divide Brewing Company Sampling!

With the Great American Beer Festival being such a huge event for our city, how could we not get involved? Not to mention, our love for the local beer scene is as strong as the quality of beers themselves, so we jumped at the chance to highlight four of our favorite local breweries! It was hard to pick, but we have finally narrowed it down and set our dates (see other blog posts for the other three events). These tastings will be open to the public, and FREE of charge. We are located just off the 16th Street Mall, in Writer Square, and will have a few selections from each brewery open during the entire tasting. If you can't make it in, keep in mind, we deliver in the downtown Denver area for free, and good beer is just a call away! 720.328.3969 See our website for a map of our delivery area, and while you're there, you can also shop online. It's easy here!

We hope to see you soon! Happy GABF to you all.

When:  Saturday, October 6th, 2:00-7:00pm

Where:  City Spirits Wine & Liquor

1512 Larimer Street

Denver, CO  80202

What:  Tommyknocker Brewery Sampling!

With the Great American Beer Festival being such a huge event for our city, how could we not get involved? Not to mention, our love for the local beer scene is as strong as the quality of beers themselves, so we jumped at the chance to highlight four of our favorite local breweries! It was hard to pick, but we have finally narrowed it down and set our dates (see other blog posts for the other three events). These tastings will be open to the public, and FREE of charge. We are located just off the 16th Street Mall, in Writer Square, and will have a few selections from each brewery open during the entire tasting. If you can't make it in, keep in mind, we deliver in the downtown Denver area for free, and good beer is just a call away! 720.328.3969 See our website for a map of our delivery area, and while you're there, you can also shop online. It's easy here!

We hope to see you soon! Happy GABF to you all.

When:  Friday, October 12th, 2:00-7:00pm

Where:  City Spirits Wine & Liquor

1512 Larimer Street

Denver, CO  80202

What:  Ska Brewing Company Sampling!

With the Great American Beer Festival being such a huge event for our city, how could we not get involved? Not to mention, our love for the local beer scene is as strong as the quality of beers themselves, so we jumped at the chance to highlight four of our favorite local breweries! It was hard to pick, but we have finally narrowed it down and set our dates (see other blog posts for the other three events). These tastings will be open to the public, and FREE of charge. We are located just off the 16th Street Mall, in Writer Square, and will have a few selections from each brewery open during the entire tasting. If you can't make it in, keep in mind, we deliver in the downtown Denver area for free, and good beer is just a call away! 720.328.3969 See our website for a map of our delivery area, and while you're there, you can also shop online. It's easy here!

We hope to see you soon! Happy GABF to you all.

When:  Saturday, October 13th, 2:00-7:00pm

Where:  City Spirits Wine & Liquor

1512 Larimer Street

Denver, CO  80202

What:  Free Lefthand Brewing Company Sampling!

With the Great American Beer Festival being such a huge event for our city, how could we not get involved?  Not to mention, our love for the local beer scene is as strong as the quality of beers themselves, so we jumped at the chance to highlight four of our favorite local breweries!  It was hard to pick, but we have finally narrowed it down and set our dates (see other blog posts for the other three events).  These tastings will be open to the public, and FREE of charge.  We are located just off the 16th Street Mall, in Writer Square, and will have a few selections from each brewery open during the entire tasting.  If you can't make it in, keep in mind, we deliver in the downtown Denver area for free, and good beer is just a call away!  720.328.3969  See our website for a map of our delivery area, and while you're there, you can also shop online.  It's easy here! 

We hope to see you soon!  Happy GABF to you all.

We recently got a few gems from Mikkeller and New Belgium that won't last long so stop by and grab 'em before they're gone!

New Belgium Tart Lychee, 7.5% abv, $9.99

This is New Belgium's latest Lips of Faith series and personally one of my favorite to-date. I first fell in love with this beer last year at Avery's Sourfest and was estatic to see they were bottling it! There is a yin yang effect going on between sweet and sour. 56% of the beer is aged in oak with wild yeast which gives it the sourness and 44% is brewed with lychee and cinammon which gives it the sweetness. They are then married together to make this wonderful complex beer.

Mikkeller Ultramate 1000, 4.9% abv, $6.99

This is one for the hop heads, claiming 1000 IBU's. IBU = International Bitter Unit, which translates to hops. Most beers are rated on 0-100 IBUs so this one is certainly in a class of it's own.The hops in this provide a very piney, resinous, grapefruit taste to this beer which off-sets the bitterness. If you like hops then you need not miss out on this one!

Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel Calvados Barrel Edition, 10.9% abv, $15.49

If you haven't already figured it out, Mikkeller's claim to fame is unique, off the wall beers. The one above with over 10x the amount of a typical beer's IBUs. If you think that is unique though wait until you hear about this one. This beer is created with Kopi Luwak or civet coffee which is one of the world's most expensive and low produced coffees. The civet which is similar to a weasel eats the coffee berries, digests them and that is what the coffee is made from. The folks at Mikeller brew this beer similar to a stout then add the Civet coffee and finally age the beer in Calvados barrels which is an apple brandy. This is quite possibly one of the most extreme and complex beers I've ever tasted and don't let the story deter you because it is absolutely delicious!

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