Liquid Solutions

Sensuously rich texture, exotic spice & earth notes; firm, lengthy finish. Rated 90 by Wine Spectator. Drink now or hold.

Auctions will be posted on Friday.

This gift box version of the whiskey barrel aged Gonzo Imperial Porter has a limited release of only 500 units. The beer pours a dark black with a tan head that won’t quit. The aroma is of whiskey, chocolate, and roasted malts. The flavor is of coffee, black malt, whiskey and molasses with the hop going in the citrus pine range. The gift box also includes a Wild Dog glass, Gonzo pin and a piece of the barrel it was aged in. I know Christmas is a ways off but this is a perfect gift and the beer being as strong and dark as it is is only going to get better with age. I was only able to get 10 of these so don’t put it off too long or they will be gone.

This is 750ml of amber colored saison that pours with a big fluffy head. The aroma slightly fruity and floral in hops. The flavor is very refreshing with a light bitterness, and fruity quality and a mild earthy spicy yeastiness.

Made for the Japanese market this dark orange beer pours with a very frothy head with big bubbles. The aroma is of crystal malts and citrus hops. The flavor starts with an herbal hop then quickly moves to a sweeter bread / caramel malting.

Dark copper in color, this IPA beer pours with an ample head the settles to a thin layer. The aroma is of earthy, piney hops and a slight tangerine fruitiness. The flavor is juicy with the above mentioned hop components along with a slight caramel nutty malt hint. The bitterness is well balanced and comes late in the pallet.

This refreshing golden is made with Cascade hops and Kaffir lime leaves to make for a bright beer that quenches the thirst but is also full bodied.

This big IPA starts off with an earthy pine resin aroma. The flavor balances well as the bitterness of the piney hop works well with the upstanding but not over sweet caramel / toffee malt. This much malt is needed to help quell the 100 IBUs and the 9% alcohol brings a touch of spiciness to the mix.

Dark tawny in color with a tan head that laces well. The aroma is tart and apple with an earthy caramel finish, The flavor has a dark fruit hit (kind of raisin like) with modes of chocolate and spices. The hops are low and herbaly with little bitterness.

This Strong Belgian Golden style ale pours a vibrant yellow color with a voluminous head. Huge spicy fruity aroma. The flavor is sweet honey fruity tones with spicy alcohol notes. Nice and warming going down. It is a true Belgian classic.

Dark garnet in color this beer was designed for the Japanese market. Big malty up front with crystal malt and fruity aromas and flavor. I am not usually taken with red ales but this one has an aggressive flavor profile that makes it well worth it.

Binchoise brune is a complex artisanal Wallonian brown ale. It is flavored with aromatic hops, star anise and orange peel. It has dark brown color with reddish highlights, hoppy bite and aromatic spice character; rich and warming.

Boulder Cold Hop 12oz:

Dark copper in color, this IPA beer pours with an ample head the settles to a thin layer. The aroma is of earthy, piney hops and a slight tangerine fruitiness. The flavor is juicy with the above mentioned hop components along with a slight caramel nutty malt hint. The bitterness is well balanced and comes late in the pallet.

Its brown color with garnet highlights is quite attractive but the head is rather thin. The aroma is on the sweet side with a light caramel malt, and fruit (plum) with a good showing of grassy hops. The flavor is of toasty bready malt, smooth, round, medium body and a light hop finish. Very drinkable.

This lager pours a dusty amber hue with plenty of head that settles down rockier than most lagers. The aroma is sweet and amber / toffee malt with a whiff of fruity hops. Malty on the front palet with caramel and a secret chocolate hint that rides low in the malt profile. The hop flavor is pine and grass with a bitterness that overpowers the malt and lingers well into the finish. Billed as the “Freaks Favorite Beer” this lager has a unique malt and bitterness profile that I intend to go back to again and again.

Sure we have all had BARLEY wines and most of us enjoy the strong rich flavors but what if you are into wheat beers?? What would happen if you started with a great wheat beer and cranked it up to 9.7%? Well, you would get a WHEAT wine style beer. And that is exactly what the Marin “Triple Wheat Ale” is. Golden orange in color, this beer pours with a thin head, which is a bit surprising for a wheat beer. The aroma is tart and wheaty with citrus hop nose. The mouth feel is a tad slick and smooth for a 9.7% beer. The flavor is lightly sweet up front with a tart fruity tone and ends a slight bitterness with a touch of spice. It is a wonderfully unique flavorful golden brew that will sneak up on you and knock you over.

Olivers Oak Aged Dry Cider 750ml:

Pale gold in color, this cider is aged for 8 months in oak casks. The aroma is bright and has a crisp apple character. The wood aging peaks though with a light oak aroma. The flavor is quite tart with a clean apple flavor. The body is light with an easy tannin.. The oak barrels provide a deep woody note at the end. The flavor is quite amazing as it moves from light and fruity to deep and woody. It is by no mean your typical cider. Well crafted and complex makes it well worth the price

Perry is fermented pear juice; just as cider is fermented apple and mead is fermented honey. Perry is one of the most subtle and sublime drinks around. The problem with most commercially available perrys is that… one, easily available eating pears do not make for a good fermented beverage, two the product is so delicate that even the lowest amounts of sulfites can overwhelm the aroma and flavor and three perry (not pear flavored apple cider) is so unknown in the U.S. it is hard to find the right market for it. The good news is that Oliver’s is made with made with 100% English varietal perry (not eating) pears and the 8 months it spends in the oak barrels completely ages out any of the sulfite aroma and flavors you find in most perry (and craft ciders).

Oliver’s Herefordshire Dry Perry is a straw yellow color. The aroma is slightly perfumey with a nice tart pear quality. The dry flavor is lightly acidic up front then moves to an easy pear flavor that moves to a tannic texture and finishes with a dry elderberry cardamom spicy end with wood notes. This is not something you would pair with beef, pork, or even chicken but would have alone as an aperitif, with a mild white fish or shrimp with no cocktail sauce. Its 7.3% makes it a good drinker by its self on a hot day but do not overwhelm it.

Perry is fermented pear juice; just as cider is fermented apple and mead is fermented honey. Perry is one of the most subtle and sublime drinks around. The problem with most commercially available perrys is that… one, easily available eating pears do not make for a good fermented beverage, two the product is so delicate that even the lowest amounts of sulfites can overwhelm the aroma and flavor and three perry (not pear flavored apple cider) is so unknown in the U.S. it is hard to find the right market for it. The good news is that Oliver’s is made with made with 100% English varietal perry (not eating) pears and the 8 months it spends in the oak barrels completely ages out any of the sulfite aroma and flavors you find in most perry (and craft ciders).
Made with 100% Blakeney Red perry pears it pours a pale yellow. The aroma is less acidic with more sweet pear. The body is light as are the tannins. The flavor is juicy pear with a light spicy finish. Smoother that their dry perry but a little more simple. Maybe this one is a little easier for the perry beginner but tasty enough for anyone.

*** Auctions ***

Lot 63 – One 1.5 liter bottle of Hait of the Dog “Fred” batch 18
Lot 64 – One 1.5 liter bottle of Anchor Christmas 1996

This IPA tribute beer to Frank Zappa which according to the Zappa.com web site was supposed to be called “Absolutely Free” but I’m sure this title ran a foul with the feds as a miss leading piece of advertising, was named “Kill Ugly Radio”. This highly bitter slightly cynical brew pours a bright copper color with little head. The flavor and aroma is big on the hops with a large citrus pine component with only a hint of malt. Light in body and crisp in flavor makes this a hop lovers dream.

This Golden ale is deep yellow color with a medium size head that falls rather quickly. The aroma is of sweet malt, a hint of fruit and a bit of honey. Light and refreshing this Golden has a light fruity flavor with a light graininess and a ting of a hop finish.

Yellow gold in color, this pilsner pours with a small bubbly head. The aroma is spicy and floral with a nice maltiness. The soft malt texture up front gives way to a peppery hop bitterness and prickly carbonation texture.

Caracole Caracole Ale 330ml:

Amber / copper in color with a medium off white head. The aroma is lightly sweet with an earthy, coriander hit. The fruity esters are of apple and dark fruit. The flavor is spicy up front with a dry peppery orange finish. Good complexity, and ample Belgian fruitiness without being overwhelming or too alcoholic.

Lot 61 Alaskan Smoked Porter 1997, 1998, 2000
Lot 62 Orval 1995, 1996, 1996

The neo-Berliner style beer pours a hazy pale straw color with little head. The aroma is tart and fruity with nice, not overpowering peach nose. The flavor is wheaty and quite tart. The peach flavor is light and well balanced. The body is light and makes for a very refreshing brew. This is not your typically over sweet run of the mill fruit beer, those of you who know Dogfish Head know “run of the mill” is not their speed and Festina is one of the most unique and refreshing summer beer to come though.

This beer is a 6.1% NW style IPA that comes in a can. I will not go on and on about how the modern aluminum can is a superior package than glass but I will say, cheap, light, durable, and absolutely not permeable to UV light (which causes skunkiness). The beer pours deep amber with a big head that settles into a thin layer. The aroma is hoppy with a tangerine and grass character. The flavor starts nutty then moves onto the pronounced hop bitterness and finishes with a citrus rind hop flavor. The hop flavor lingers a bit and the nuttiness at the start is a quickly forgotten memory. An excellent IPA in a great package.

At 7.3% this Belgian blond is a tad on the strong side. The pale golden beer pours with a light head and the aroma is of pale malt and tangerine. The flavor is grassy / citrusy hop up front with gentle berry sweet malty character. The finish is a light hop bitterness.

This is an excellent ENGLISH style IPA; its not Northwest, not even US style but straight up English style IPA. The beer pours amber orange in color with a medium head. The aroma is big on the flowery hop and has a toffee malt nose. The flavor has a flowery grassy hop flavor up front, and a treacle and toffee malt flavor. The bitterness is not HUGE but it does overpower the malt flavor and it lingers quite well.

Three bottles each of four of the St. Peter"s beers at a 10% discount.

This Ethiopian style is a sweet mead that is made with hops. It pours a light straw yellow and makes many thin slow moving legs. The aroma is honey sweet with a hint of grass and pleasing spice. The body is heavy and the flavor is sweet with a light cinnamon and black pepper tone. The finish comes on with a light acidity but settles down to a lingering sumptuous honey sweetness. The hops do not come on as bitter because they are not boiled (like in a beer) but instead provide the grassy spicy tones that set this mead apart.

The Elsa “Mild” is an Ethiopian style sweet mead (but not as sweet as the “Addis Sweet”) that is made with hops. It pours a light straw yellow and makes many thin slow moving legs. The aroma is honey sweet with a hint of grass and pleasing spice. The flavor is sweet with a light cinnamon and black pepper tone. The finish comes on with a light acidity and finishes with a balance of tart acidity and honey sweet. The hops do not come on as bitter because they are not boiled (like in a beer) but instead provide the grassy spicy tones that set this mead apart.

This beer from Harvey and Son"s certainly lives up to its name. It is the thickest, darkest, blackest beer I have ever had (and I have had a lot of beer). A strong 9% this is not for the Pale Ale drinker, or even the IPAers, this one is for those of you like their beer as dark as night and strong enough to take on the world. You have been warned!

Dry Irish stout w/ nitrogen widget in the can. This a smooth texture and a roastier flavor I would pick this over a Guinness Draught any day.

This cream stout from Whitbread Company is an ultra smooth stout that is not to be missed. This sweet stout has a HUGE roasted malt aroma that carries into the flavor. The big mouthfeel works well with the ultra smooth texture and chocolaty aftertaste. Very little hops make it into this beer but that’s ok because the malty character is so big it doesn’t need anything else.

Lot #59 - three bottles 1998 De Dolle Stille Nacht
Lot #60 - 95,96,97,98,99,2000 Anchor Chistrmas

Shot in the Dark 750ml:

Shot in the Dark!
Take a chance and get a Mystery 6-Pack
Enjoy 6 unique wines for $80. (shipping $9.95 per 6-pack)
We have selected 2 Whites and 4 Reds for your sipping pleasures this Summer.
These wines are quite well priced with discounts running at 20% to 40% off retail - an INCREDIBLE Deal!
Available through August 10th, 2007.

This amber/red double IPA pours with a tight medium head that is well sustained. The aroma is big citrusy hops. The flavor is resin and orange in the hop with a light cake / brown bread malting. The finish is bitter and lingers well. A great IPA with some punch.

Considered a quadruple by many, this beer pours a pure copper color. The head starts well but settles thin. The aroma is peach fruity with a whiff of alcohol and at 11% that is not surprising. The flavor is cherries dipped in caramel with a cinnamon spice at the finish. You do need to serve this one a little cooler than most Belgians as the 11% does tend to heat up as it warms but this one has a lot of power in flavor as well as alcohol.

Deep amber in color, this IPA pours with a thin head. The aroma is of leafy herbal hops and dark crystal malts. The hop flavor is more lemony and grassy and the malt light with a touch of nuttiness. The hop bitterness is pronounced and comes in late in the palet. A great NW IPA that forgoes the Cascade (read grapefruit) hops.

Uerige Doppelsticke 330ml:

Light copper in color, this big Alt beer pours with a big frothy head that leave a nice lacing on the glass. The flavor starts of malty and nutty. A fruitiness creeps in and it finishes dry with spicy hops.