September Beers - 6-pack/12-pack

September Beer Collection

This is a new one for us.

Each month, I'm going to put together a 6-pack and a 12-pack of different beers.

If you want either, just call or e-mail. If you want to cherry pick some of the beers, please do!

The 6-pack: Reg. $35.10, Sale $32.99

Brouwerij Bosteels Kwak (Belgium) $9.99 - This was a huge hit at a tasting about a year ago. This brewery dates to 1791. Pauwel Kwak first brewed beer in 1791. Family-owned. This is a Flanders style beer - producing a dry, assertively tart beer. Kwak has a slighlty sweet flavour, a fruity aftertaste, and a hint of bitterness. Top-fermented, it has a rich, copper colour with a creamy head. Traditionally served in a distinctive glass originated from coachmen needing a way to enjoy beer since Napoleonic Code forbade them sharing a drink with the passengers. Kwak developed this glass so the coachmen could remain seated yet hang the glass on the coach and enjoy the rich beer too. 750ml bottle. 8.4% alcohol.

Heavy Seas "the Big DIPA" Double India Pale Ale (Baltimore, MD) $5.99 - Big DIPA is a hoppy, big beer! Hopped 3 times in the brewing process. Copper-orange color with a great head. Earthy hoppy aromas. Aromas of caramel, fresh bread and citrus. Flavors of citrus, hops and malt. Sit and sip and savor this! 22 oz bottle. 10.6% alcohol.

Aecht Schlenkeria Rauchbier Urbock (Germany) $4.49 - Wonderfully rich. Deep mahogany color. Aromas of summer grilling, smoked meats and peat. Fuller and richer bodied than the Märzen because it uses more malt. Well-balanced flavors - starts sweetly malty...finishes with a nice hoppy, clean note. Brewed once per year for the Urbock celebration at the Schlenkeria tavern in early October. Food pairings - German food, grilled meats, salmon, smoked meat, Cheddar, Comte, Stilton. Unfiltered, unpasteurized and bottle-conditioned. 16.9 ounce bottle. 6.6% alcohol. "...not only among beers but among all alcoholic drinks a classic....the world's most famous smoked beer.," Michael Jackson, Pocket Guide to Beer. RateBeer, 98 points

Ceylon Brewery Lion Stout (Sri Lanka) $2.39 - This is an outstanding beer from one of Asia's best breweries! Deep, dark, almost black color. Beautiful tan colored head that lasts. A traditional, hearty, tasty stout. Aromatic - roasted malt, a pleasing Guinness-like sourness in the nose. Lots of roasted malt, chocolate, coffee and caramel flavors. Subtle smokiness in the aromas and flavors. Hints of dark fruit and coffee on the finish. Feels rich and soft and lush in the mouth. Almost chewy, yet smooth. Bottle-conditioned. Awards - not exactly an award, but internationally-known beer critic Michael Jackson went to Sri Lanka to hunt down this beer; his effort helped bring it the international fame and repute it deserves! Food Pairings - Smoked or Grilled meats, chocolate or with a rich creamy dessert, especially one with coconut. 330 ml bottle. 8% alcohol.

Maine Beer Company Spring Peeper Ale (Maine) $4.25 - MBC was started by two brothers originally from Michigan who are keeping their days jobs for now while moonlighting as brewers. The brewery is brewing 2-barrel (or is it 1-barrel) batches and are not focusing on any styles in particular. Spring Peeper Ale, a nice floral American Pale Ale, is their first (and only) release thus far. It is a clean, dry, bottle-conditioned ale. Very fragrant - it's dry hopped (that means they add hops in the fermenter when the wort has cooled - heat kills the aromas in hops). It has excellent head retention and a nice fruity hop aroma. 500ml bottle. 5.5% alcohol. Beer Advocate, B+

Weyerbacher Simcoe Double IPA (Pennsylvania) $7.99 - INTENSE hop flavors! It is brewed untilizing only the Simcoe hop variety, which is a hybrid hop, developed and trademarked by Select Botanicals Group, LLC in the year 2000. It was created for its high alpha acid content, maximum aromatic oils, and low cohumulone (harshness) levels so that brewers can really put a lot of 'em in a beer and not create an overly harsh taste. Double Simcoe IPA is a full-flavored ale with hints of pineapple and citrus upfront, a good malt backbone in the middle, and a clean finish that doesn't linger too long. Check it out, and you'll soon see why everyone's talking about it. 22 ounce bottle. 9.0% alcohol. Named 2006 "PA Beer of the Year" by Beer Author Lew Bryson. Rate Beer, 99 points, Beer Advocate, A-

The 12-pack (the 6-pack plus these 6 beers): Reg. $75.04, Sale $66.99

Arcadia Ales Cocoa Loco (Michigan) $7.99 - A truly one-of-a-kind brew, a Triple Chocolate Milk Stout. A combination of three different chocolate malts, cocoa nibs and 63% cacao bittersweet chocolate make this a sinfully delicious brew. The addition of lactose lends the beer a creamy quality- not unlike a milkshake- while the Blackstrap Molasses adds rich, burnt, syrupy flavors. Flavors of baker’s chocolate and espresso dominate, while rich malty flavors and a subtle kiss of hops add nice balance. This is a BIG beer. Delicious on its own, Cocoa Loco is also brilliant with many foods, or as a digestif. Recommended Foods: Brie, Cherry Cheesecake, Seared Ahi Tuna, Vanilla Ice Cream, Berry Pies. 22 ounce bottle. 7.0% alcohol. 2008 Winner, Best in Show, World Expo of Beer

Penobscot Bay Brewery Whig Street Blonde Ale (Maine) $6.99 - It's name is derived from the street the brewery is on in Winterport. The label is artwork done by a member of the brewing family. The taste is uncomplicated and clean, It is made from pale malt, a handful of malted wheat and finished with Perle hops for bittering and Cascade for aroma. It's an easy drinking, comfortable ale for those lazy days and laid-back nights. Bright, Golden, Easy to Enjoy! 22 ounce bottle. 4.2% alcohol. Beer Advocate, A-

Bar Harbor Brewing Thunder Hole Ale (Maine) $5.99 - Delicious. Full-bodied. Complex. Sure, you can say all those things. Wouldn't it be a lot more fun to take a sip of this handcrafted brown ale and come up with your own superlatives? This is the brown ale that beat Newcastle, Sam Adams and more, at the World Beer Championships in Chicago. Deep amber hue. Rich roasted, toffee-like aromas follow through on medium-bodied palate with spicy hops upfront and toasted caramel malt flavors that finish in a mildly fruity manner. An elegant and complex Brown Ale. "An American classic brewed perfectly." – Charlie Papazian

Uerige Sticke Dusseldorf Altstadt Altbier (Germany) $4.99 - A GREAT Beer! Just a beautiful dark copper/amber color. Aromas of malt, nuts, caramel,, floral and grassy hops. Big flavors - caramel, nuts, slightly dry and malty. Clean and crisp. Reminiscent of a lager. Only brewed twice per year - the 3rd Thursday in January and November. Food pairings - German food, smoked meats, fresh game, grilled meats, earthy cheese such as Chimay, Munster, Camembert, etc. Brewed from Pilsner, caramel and roasted malts and Spalt Spalter, Hallertauer and Spalt Hallertauer hops. 11.2 ounce bottle. 6% alcohol. "...the finest example of the style , and one of Germany's truly great beers," Michael Jackson, Pocket Guide to Beer

Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted Ale (Scotland) $5.99 - The Harviestoun Brewery helped launch the reemergence of high-quality microbreweries in Scotland - which in the 1980's had little in the way of well-crafted, well-made, tasty beers produced locally (a declining economy & competition from big breweries in Britain and from abroad had combined to sink Scotland's domestic breweries). The brewery is in the oddly named Scottish village of "Dollar," coming from the Latin dolor, meaning sadness. Nothing at all sad that this beermaker made a career change at age 40 and started producing world-class beers!

This is just a wonderful beer. On the pale side of a bitter....Golden in color. Sharp, beautiful blond beer with great, distinctive hop flavors -honey & grapefruit tang (from the Hersbrucker), a "twist" of lemon (Challenger hops), and subtle spiciness (Styrian). Crisp with a good head. 16.9 ounce bottle. 4.2% alcohol. Awards - Supreme Champion Beer of Britain 2003; Supreme Beer Champion of Scotland 2002; Champion Beer of Scotland (Bitter) 2001, 2003; Gold Medal & Champion, 2004 Brewing Industry International Awards, Champion Beer of Britain 2001.

J.K's Scrumpy Farmhouse Hard Cider (Michigan) $6.99 - you're right...this is not a beer! Hard ciders are delicious! This is light and fresh and refreshing! Before Prohibition, cider was probably the biggest selling adult beverage in the USA! Johnny Appleseed wasn't planting apple seeds for eating - he was planting them for cider!

"Scrumpy" is an English-style of farmhouse cider that has always been popular on the farms of southern England. This, though, is not an English style of cider, it is definitely a Farmhouse Cider. It's a cross between an English Scrumpy and a Normandy Cidre.

This is crisp, dry with a ripe apple flavors, baking spices, honey and a touch of pepper. This is the real deal - one of the best, if not the best, American cider! This is rich and full. The carbonation is mild.

Organic farming. Sulfite free. Two ingredients - apples and yeast!