I recieved the following email yesterday from a reader who, for obvious reasons, will remain nameless. I don’t however have any experience personally with any Beer of the Month Clubs myself so I’m turning to you guys for help. Can you recommend any BOTM Clubs (good, bad or otherwise) for her? Please leave a suggestion in the comment field or email it to me.

My husband is a Beer lover (microbrews with an emphasis on porters and stouts though I prefer a good IPA) with a [December] birthday. I’m always searching for a good B-Day gift that won’t get lost among the Christmas presents. I was thinking maybe a Beer of the Month club might be a way to give a gift he can enjoy throughout the year, but there are so many out there I’m not sure which one to pick…. Any information would be helpful.

Thanks everyone!

Happy Election Day to all the U.S. readers! I hope each and every one of you got out today and voted. If not, there’s still time to do so – go perform your patriotic duty. If you don’t vote, you don’t deserve a beer tonight! History is truly being made today in this country, I hope you’re a part of it. Cheers!

Don’t really know what this picture is about, but it showed up on the first page of Google images when I typed in “beer + election” so I couldn’t help but post it…

I just recieved word of a very special, very private event being held at Novare Res next Tuesday, November 11th, The Trappist Bier Tasting will feature 2 ounce pours of 21 beers from all seven Trappist Breweries (yes, even Westvleteren).

According to Novare’s owner, Eric Michaud, Tickets are $60 a piece for this once-in-a-lifetime event and there are only 40 total tickets available. The beers being poured are: Chimay: White (draught), Red, Blue; Achel: blonde, Brune, Xtra; Rochefort: 6, 8, 10; Westmalle: dubbel, Trippel; Orval; Westvleteren: 6, 8, 12; Koningshoven: bock, Dubbel, Trippel, Quad (draught).

The event will also feature pours of 3 De Struise treats and some food from the ever-improving Novare kitchen. The $60 ticket includes both tax and tip. But again – there are only fourty tickets being sold, so hurry up and get yours (available by calling or stopping by the bar).

For more information on the 7 Trappist breweries (and to understand what truly makes this a once-in-a-lifetime event), check out www.bov.ch/beer/trappists.html and the Wikipedia entry for the Westvleteren Brewery. Let me know if you’re going to be there; I’m doing my best to dig up the necessary $60 myself so hopefully I’ll see you there…

Sorry it’s been a slow bloggin’ week but it’s been a busy real-life week. I hope a happy Halloween was had by all, though! Just wanted to give a few heads ups and a few reminders.

First, The Peak Organic Espresso Amber Ale has hit store shelves nationwide. I picked up a 4-pack for about $7 at my local Whole Foods. First impressions: it seems that — as was the case with their Maple Oat Ale –  Peak’s small production, limited release beers certainly pick up where their boring three staple beers leave off. This is the first beer I’ve seen which has coffee or espresso in it that isn’t a stout or a porter. So I was a little nervous to see how the coffee would play with the lighter notes of an amber ale, but the result was a pleasant surprise. I still prefer darker beers when coffee is involved, but the result of the Peak beer is a nice, light, refreshing brew with less overpowering coffee notes. The beer was a little too sweet at first but rounded out nicely as it warmed.

Secondly, now that it’s November – be sure to keep your eyes on package store shelves as we can all expect the first two beers — a Barleywine and an Imperial Porter — from Shipyard’s Pugsley’s Select Series and the return of the RedHook Double Black Stout (I recieved a bomber of the Double Black Stout and an 86% organic dark chocolate bar from RedHook in the mail the other day, so check back here soon for an official review) this month.

Cheers,
Luke