Beer and Wine Weekly Update, December 8, 2014
By Josh Downs, Beer and Wine Manager
This is one of my favorite weeks of the winter. It’s that in between time for the holidays, where you have the time to relax and enjoy a warming (not warm) drink on a cold night. The calm between the storms, if I may. In the beer and wine world, it’s the time to finish up the last of the Beaujolais Nouveau, and start stocking up on the bubbly. I always found these two holiday favorites very contradictory to the season. When it’s cold outside, I want to be drinking rich, straw yellow whites and deep, indulgent reds. Sparkling wines and Beaujolais don’t ever seem to fill that void. That being said, nothing says the New Year like popping a cork, and who can deny tradition? Throughout this month, get ready to see various sparkling wines going on sale and a few displays popping up here and there with new bottles of bubbly to try as well. For those of you whose taste is closer to mine, have no fear. There will be plenty of fantastic offerings in both the wine and beer worlds!
Not a lot of changes in the actual department this week, but we do have some new product set up around the store. Even though it is the lull between holidays, we have started getting ready for them at the store. In Aisle 1, you can find a couple new displays featuring some holiday beer and wine items, some new and some old favorites.
Everyone’s favorite Christmas and New Year’s beer that comes in a giant bottle, Anchor Christmas Ale, is proudly displayed alongside Shacksbury Hereford Cider. Both these products (the Hereford only recently) have become staples at City Market and make great gifts for anyone, including yourself! As for the new, we brought in He’Brew, The Chosen Beer’s gift pack. This pack includes 8 beers, a custom glass, and a 9th bottle with candles so you can build your own Beer Menorah. The beers included are Messiah Nut Brown Ale, Barrel Aged Funky Jewbelation, Rejewvenator Dubbel Doppel, St. Lenny’s Belgian Rye Double IPA, Reunion Ale ’14, Death of a Contract Brewer Black IPA, Haunukkah, Chanukah: Pass The Beer, and Jewbelation 18.
Cider (I know I keep talking about it) is just blowing up in Vermont right now. It feels like it’s growing just as fast as craft beer in this state (which is moving at a furious pace as well). With all the new ciders running around it’s easy to pass by some of your old favorites. Flag Hill Farm is one of those ciders that have been around for a while, and they definitely don’t deserve to be passed up. Since 1984 they have been making all organic, wild yeast fermented ciders that are truly world class. This week we are drinking the Still Cyder.
As with all Flag Hill Ciders, this is handmade from unsprayed, Vermont-grown apples. It pours a hazy, pale straw yellow, with an aroma of fresh picked apples. It feels more like a white wine than a cider and that by no means is a bad thing. The flavor is complex, with strong tart apple notes. The finish is dry, crisp, and very refreshing. Drink this alongside charcuterie and cheese, or on its own at the end of a long day.
This week we have a local favorite in the beer world, and a very not local, yet to be discovered red from Spain in the wine world. The Shed has always been a hit here at the store, and Mundo de Yuntero is a brand that we’ve only recently brought in, but is now at its lowest price ever.
The Shed, originally located in Stowe, now operating out of Middlebury, has always been a favorite beer, especially in the winter. Having a pint at the Shed and heading to the mountain was a quite regular routine when they were located in Stowe, and now that they are more readily available, you can make it part of your routine every time you head to the mountain, no matter where you are going. We are offering both the Mountain Ale and the IPA 6 packs on deal this week.
Mundo de Yuntero is the label used by the Jesus del Perdon cooperative, a large group of vineyards in the La Mancha District in Spain. The vineyards are all biodynamic and organic and promote sustainable practices in wine making. The wine itself is big and juicy, with flavors of red berries and cherry. A fantastic wine at a great price.
Being the calm between the storms, there is not a lot of news this week. We do have the new Stone Enjoy By in the store, which is pretty big news, so make sure to get that while it lasts. Also pretty exciting news in the beer world: soon we will be seeing Pelican Pub & Brewery beer in Vermont. This is something I’m very excited about. Located in Pacific City, Oregon, Pelican Pub & Brewery has been pairing world class beer with world class food for 16 years. Look forward to finding Pelican brews on the shelves of City Market in the near future! That about wraps it up for the week, relax while you can and make sure to indulge while you can too!
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or topics you’d like covered feel free to contact me at jdowns@citymarket.coop, or give me a call at 802-861-9730. Until next week, Prost!