Much like German beer, Austrian breweries tend to stick to traditional styles. They are generally brewed with a precision and consistency that we rarely find in American small breweries. Pilsners are always clean but flavorful and dunkels always slightly sweet but in balance. With the exception of bocks, most of the beers were sessionable. The most variety that you can easily find is in the yeast flavors of heffeweizens. Generally, bars and restaurants carried about three or four beers on tap from one brewery along with several different bottles. This makes sessions of the same beer the normal practice. You simply can not compare two different pilsners or dunkels from different breweries back to back at the same bar. Trying more than three styles in a night or finding a big American IPA or imperial stout would be a difficult task.

Beer in a grocery store in Innsbruck

We felt the need to discuss the beer selection in Austria, because, while quite good, it stands in stark contrast to the craft beer culture in the United States. Most bars we frequent carry at least six to eight craft beers on tap and some boast more than 20. Craft beer stores like Bierkraft or New Beer Distributor have selections of hundreds of bottles representing dozens of styles. We realized, over the two weeks that we were abroad, just how lucky we are to be participating in the craft beer culture here – in the experimentation breweries conduct, and the variety and access we have to fine beer.

And yet, there is something to be said for doing only a few things, but doing them really well.

What we found was The Beer Junction. The Beer Junction is probably the best bottle shop we have encountered in the Seattle area. The shop was well organized by beer style, which we like, and isn’t just some hodge podge of bottles thrown in the shop. We also felt like it was a very good selection of beer, and we found out from our friend that they are actually moving shop locations so that they can grow bigger.

We told ourselves before going in that we weren’t going to buy anything, but we ended up walking out with three bottles of beer. Admittedly, Full Throttle Bottle has a better selection of cider, and they also have a good selection of wine for the non-beer drinker, but their beer selection wasn’t as impressive as the Beer Junction’s.

We kind of feel like this is a little gem hidden off the beaten path and nestled into west Seattle.

While Living in Antigua Guatemala we thought we would do a little comparative shopping for groceries, beer, wine, cigarettes and a few other grocery items. After leaving the soon to be snow capped peaks of Ontario to enjoy the average daytime temperature of Antigua Guatemala we noticed we had mucho money left over each week. Why? For about the third the cost of food in Toronto we can buy the same if not better quality of a third of the price. Then again in Guatemala few Monopolies exist like in Ontario.

In Toronto Ontario due to the provincial Monopoly on Beer and Liquor we would have to have gone to Loblaws first, then to the LCBO and then The Beer store. We did not calculate the gas and time spent to accomplish such a simple task.

Some information Corporate structure created to cause the three stops we would have to make.

Loblaws is a supermarket chain with over 70 stores in Canada, headquartered in Brampton, with stores across Ontario and Quebec. Loblaws is a division of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada’s largest food distributor. Beginning in 2008, new and renovated Loblaws stores have been given a new store format and are named Loblaw Great Food and Loblaw.

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is a provincial Crown corporation in Ontario, Canada established in 1927 by Lieutenant Governor William Donald Ross, on the advice of his Premier, Howard Ferguson, to sell liquor, wine, and beer through a chain of retail stores.

The Beer Store (TBS) is the trading name for Brewers Retail, a privately owned, joint-venture chain of retail outlets in Ontario, Canada, founded in 1927. The articles of incorporation stipulate that Brewers Retail cannot sell “hard liquor” (spirits), or consumer goods (like groceries).

Its competition is found in the beer sections of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) stores, government-owned outlets which stock beers outside of the Brewers Retail system, and retail outlets at Ontario craft breweries and major breweries located in Ontario.

In Antigua Guatemala we have what is called La Bodegona or Super market, their are a number of small Tiendas as they are called more like what we have in Ontario as we would call them Convenience Stores. Some convenience in Toronto Convenience store cannot sell any Alcohol. Not the case in Antigua Guatemala. We purchased all our good in the well stocked La Bodegona and the grand total came to Cost in Guatemala 364.00 GTQ = 48.7814 CAD

Anyway back to the comparison. We went on-line in Toronto and did some price comparisons from the Beer Store, The LCBO and Loblaws. Funny if we would have purchased the same if not similar products in Toronto and three or four trips we would have spent a little over $150 Canadian. In Guatemala $48.00 Canadian. Just think if we went to the Walmart in Guatemala City how much we would have saved.

Well Canadians while you drive in the snow and freezing conditions and hop from place to place we will be sitting in the weather of Antigua Guatemala drinking and smoking for a third of the price you are spending.

Price: $ 12.95 Each
Wine, Red Wine
Made in: Central Valley, Chile
By: Via Wines
CALITERRA SAUVIGNON BLANC
LCBO 275909 | 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 8.95 each
Cigarette Price Ontario about $12, per a pack of good brands. $24.00
12 Can of Busch Beer 473 ml $20.95
Diet Coke cheapest on Amazon $1.18 a can we got 3 bottle and 3 cans. $7.08
5 lbs. of flour $4.00
Two pound of hand made chocolate $46.00
Oil Off Brand $2.99
two bottles of white wine at $8.95 = $17.90
two bottle of red wine $12.95 = $25.90
Orange Juice $2.00

Total if purchased in Ontario. $150.00

Red Cap is a discount beer available for $15.95 for a 12-pack and $28.95 for a 2-4. If we are talking about value alone, Red Cap is an excellent choice.

It pours a deep gold colour with a light head and a very light, grainy aroma. If pour and aroma are a big deal, you’ll be disappointed. However the sweet malty taste combined with the balance of the wheaty hoppy finish is quite good. For a discount beer, Red Cap is very good value. I would drink it over many mid price-range domestics any day.

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar and RastafaRye Ale - Recent Additions!

Another trip to the store, another two new bombers picked up!

This week I had the opportunity to grab two beers that I’ve been seeing on store shelves for some time.

The Hazelnut Brown Nectar comes from Rogue (@RogueAles) in Ashland, Oregon and the RastafaRye Ale from Blue Point Brewing Company (@BluePointBrewer) in Long Island, NY.

The two selections fall in line with some of my recent craft selections and sampling preferences. As you probably gauged from my previous blog posts, I’ve been on a crazy stout kick enjoying products like North Coast’s Old Rassputin (check out this blog post).

To expand my palette more, I’ve decided to move a bit more left of the beer spectrum and try out a few brown ales. While in Savannah, GA a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to try the Brown Ale by Red Brick Brewing Company (@RedBrickBrewing) in Atlanta, GA. The beer surprised me as I’ve never been a huge fan of brown ales.

Usually, I find brown ales malty and difficult to stomach – but Red Brick was different. Though boasting big malt flavor, the spices and sweetness balanced this craft beer out making it very easy to drink.

In addition to partaking in brown ale sampling, I love to sample beer with “different” and distinctive flavors. Although not always unique to the brewing process, for me hazelnut fits into that category.

Being a huge pistachio enthusiast – I’m still waiting for a solid pistachio stout (hoping that Peter from @SimplyBeer sees this post!) – until then Rogue’s Hazelnut Brown Nectar will have to do. Hoping it’s a great selection!

Despite my kick for dark and heavy beers, I did want to move even further away from my Rogue selection. Rye Ales and Rye IPAs, pale ales and IPAs brewed with a partial substitution of barely with rye, were introduced to me when I first had the Rye Squared Imperial Pale Ale by Terrapin Beer Company (@TerrapinBeerCo) from Anthens, GA (a fantastically fruity and hoppy pale ale with a taste of “something” else, hint: rye).

The RastafaRye Ale is 7.5% deep-copper rye ale that, according to the Blue Point website, contains just the right amount of rye to offset the floral and bitter characteristics of the hops. Also noted on the website is:

The Blue Point Brewing Company donates a portion of all RastafaRye Ale sales to They Often Cry Outreach (TOCO) a Taj Weekes charity foundation that helps orphaned and underprivileged children in the Caribbean and around the world: www.theyoftencryoutreach.org.

I’m not sure why, perhaps it was his overwhelming passion for rye ales in the past month, but I seem to frequently attribute the style to a fellow New Jersey Craft Beer reporter, Os (@NJBeerNerd). Typically, I pick up a Rye Ale and think “Would Os like this?”.

Again, I’m not sure why I seem to think of him – but I’m going to save this one to share with Os. Hoping he likes it.

So there you have it! Two different sides of the spectrum and both craft beers look very promising. Looking forward to sampling these recent pickups!

How different was your most recent craft beer pickup?

We only have the one bottle. We’re lucky to have that one bottle. And we really (really) want to drink it. But as an imperial stout it should age well like its cousin, KBS. Based on our previous breakfast stout and KBS experience, it will mellow out significantly and get smoother.

But it’s just sitting there, taunting us. We know it will be good. But we know it will most likely be better if we wait.  What do you think? Drink it now or let it sit for a few years? Decisions, decisions…

Next up: Old Rasputin and Traquair Jacobite!

During a recent trip to the beer store, I picked up two craft beers I have yet to try and that absolutely delighted me on the store shelves.

North Coast (@NoCoastBrewCo) Old Rasputin is a craft that practically everyone has heard of and most likely tried. There has always been something very appealing to me about the beer.

Perhaps it is Rasputin’s face on the label or the fact that I am on a complete stout kick since recently discovering the style (can’t wait for Stout Day, Nov. 3rd, 2011).

Regardless of the reason, I am happy to have finally picked up a four-pack which I anticipate on enjoying immensely.

The second selection comes from a small brewery called Traquair House Brewery (@traquairhouse) in Scotland. Their Jacobite Scotch Ale clocks in at a hefty 8% and typically retails between $5 and $7 per 12oz bottle.

I’m really looking forward to popping the cap and will most likely choose this as my guest review for Chris’ blog (@scbeerguy). Be on the look out for my thoughts on this Scottish craft!

Have you recently picked up any craft brew from your local store that you’ve always wanted to try?

On a side note, last week’s Pick of the Weekend, Long Island Brewers at Breukelen Bier Merchants, has been rescheduled to this Saturday.

Long Island breweries keep getting more attention for their high quality brews, and this Saturday some will be featured at Breukelen Bier Merchants. Barrier Brewing Co., Great South Bay, and Blind Bat Brewery (a nano-brewery we are dying to try) will be there with their beers to talk with visitors. Here is the lineup from the Breukelen Bier website:

Barrier: Antagonist ESB, Mollycoddle & Dubbel Down.
Blind Bat: Vlad the Inhaler, Hellgate Golden Ale, Honey & Basil Ale
Great South Bay: Blonde Ambition, Snaggletooth Stout & Robert Moses Pale Ale

We highly recommend the Mollycoddle from Barrier as an excellent dark mild. We won’t be able to make the event and would love to hear anyone’s thoughts on the beers.

If you thought that Bevmo was your go to store for beers, consider rethinking your options.  By chance, my counterpart Farhaad happened to find this diamond in the rough and on a whim we decided to hit it up.  Driving through the heart of hipsterville Los Angeles(Los Feliz) we were at the same time excited for what may lay ahead of us, and apprehensive for what could be a huge disappointment.  I tried to get a peek in the window as we drove by, but Farhaad insisted that I wait for him!  As the moment of truth drew near, I couldn’t help but feel giddy in the pits of my stomach, Farhaad evidently felt the same, as I heard him giggle when we approached the entrance.

Success.  Cap n Cork Jr. Market was just what I was hoping for.  Clean, organized, expansive, this was more than your run of the mill liquor store.  The sheer number of single bottles in the 750ml range was overwhelming.  Similar to Ramirez Liquor, I am pretty sure I could spend hours in here just looking through.

Overall, I’d say we spent around 40 minutes before choosing our selections for the night, but let me tell you it was a difficult process.  So many choices!  Like every store, this one had its pros and cons, although there were mostly pros.  The only thing that was slightly irritating about Cap n Cork was that prices were a little bit high compared to other beer spots.  Other than that, this was heaven.  They had the beers well organized by country of origin and by brewery, making it easy to find whatever you needed.  In addition they had all of the prices on the bottles!  No guessing what my tab would be like at Ramirez.  As added bonus they had neat little beer facts printed out and posted up throughout the store:

Overall this was a great experience and well worth the 20 minute drive.  The next time you feel like trying something new definitely give Cap n Cork a try.  They have a few snacks and wines along with the great selection of beer.  But lets be honest, you’re just going for the beer.

Cap n Cork Jr. Market

1674 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Neighborhood: Griffith Park/Los Feliz

Very unassuming, right? Looks like your average corner liquor store in the ghetto, where the winos can get their Thunderbird or MD 20/20 for less than what it costs to get a combo meal at McDonalds. Well, while you can still most certainly stroll on in to acquire such items, you’d be pretty surprised to find a massive selection of beers.

It never occurred to me to google ‘beer store los angeles’ prior to a few days ago. I was jealous of my friends in other cities and states that had genuine beer stores. So a few nights ago, that’s what Daniel and I did. We googled, and hit the jackpot.* Ramirez Liquor had a ton of beers, and then some. Belgian, German, Honduran, Spanish, British, and loads of American crafts brews. On racks, in freezers, in 12 oz. bottles, in 750ml bottles, in 4 and 6 pack cases and so on. Kasteel Rogue, Salva Vida, Orval, Three Philosophers, Daniel and I were a little overwhelmed to be honest. A quick trip turned into an almost hour long decision process. “Do I get a 4 pack of this, and a 500ml of that? Or do I get a 750ml of that, and a 4 pack of this?”

We watched about 20 to 30 people come and go as we were discussing the pros and cons of our choices. I’m sure we were quite a burden on not only the gal at the register, but the armed  security guard who had to take his eyes off of us when every new person walked into the place. Finally, after much deliberation, we chose. I took a 750ml bottle of Ommegang Abbey Ale and a 6-pack of Great Divide Claymore Scottish Ale. Daniel Chose the 750 ml bottle of Great Divide Belgian Style Yeti and a Wychwood Brewery King Goblin. So you can expect reviews of those beers very soon. While you wait, please check out Ramirez Liquor’s website, particularly their beer list! And if you’re from Los Angeles, head on down and spend an hour deciding what you’ll drink while you write a term paper and/or break up letter.

Ramirez Liquor
736 South Soto Street
Los Angeles, CA 90023

*- I thought this was the be all, end all of beer spots, but there’s many, many places in Los Angeles that have an amazingly large beer selection. Let the great experiment begin!

Now it’s time for the topic of the day, calci-yum.  I threw the “yum” in there because 1) I’m a dork and 2) getting calcium can be delicious.  In my One Hot Mess of a post, I mentioned that one of my goals is to actually take my calcium supplements instead of habitually ignoring the bottle on my vanity.  Some of you mentioned that you wouldn’t mind a special calcium-devoted post, so here it is.

According to WebMD, our bodies need calcium because it helps to strengthen bones and prevent certain cancers.  In addition, Prevention magazine states that calcium and vitamin D can also help ward off type-2 diabetes.  The National Institute of Health (NIH) suggests that calcium can also help with weight maintenance; WebMD explains how.  Here’s the NIH table of calcium requirements:

We know we need it, here are a few examples from the Milk Matters campaign explaining how to get it.

• 1 cup of milk = 300 mg and calories vary depending on type
• 1 cup plain, fat-free yogurt = 425 mg (note: most yogurt doesn’t come in 1-cup containers) and 127 calories
• 1 cup cooked soybeans = 285 mg and 175 calories
• 1 medium stalk of broccoli = 180 mg and 106 calories
• 1/2 cup spinach (cooked from frozen) = 139 mg and 27 calories

Keep in mind that the body can only take in about 500 mg of calcium at once, so don’t spend get it all in one place.

Of course, you can always pop a pill.  One WebMD article says that the type of calcium you take does not matter, so you can just opt for the cheaper one.  Getting one with vitamin D is often helpful though, since vitamin D helps calcium absorption.  (Most doctors recommend taking supplement with food to promote absorption, but the Dairy Council says veggies and grains can inhibit absorption… hmmmm???)  My doctor recommended Citracal, so that’s what I take.  Luckily, they have coupons on their website right now.

There’s more to it than popping a pill or eating yogurt.  For extra bone health, bone-up on your vitamin D, and include weight bearing exercises in your fitness routine.  (Woohoo!  All my years of playing soccer helped my bones!)  WebMD also gives us the less fun info: limit sodas, antacids, caffeine, excessive alcohol, excessive sodium, and excessive red meat.

******

Oh, and by the way, I was going to swim some laps today at the gym, but I’m just not feeling it.  I stayed up too late, and although I’m up early now, I think I’d rather just go tomorrow.  I’ll probably do some pilates later before lunch instead.

So why was I up late???  IPA Day of course!  Here’s what I did: beer shop with drinks and dinner, then a friend’s house to celebrate the occasion.

Do you take a calcium supplement?  Did you celebrate IPA Day?

Whenever we’re on Long Island visiting family, we make sure to stop by Glen Cove Beer Distributors to pick up some beers and have a chat with Pete Morra, who runs the store. On one of these trips he told us out about his involvement with the Cans for Cancer program at Winthrop University Hospital’s Cancer Center for Kids. He answered a couple of our questions:

How does the Cans for Cancer program work?

The Cans for Cancer program works with the help of large corporations and individuals donating their empties. Some major contributors are Nassau Coliseum, Adelphi University and Long Island Ducks Stadium. The hospital picks up the empties from the venues and brings them to us. We sort them, count them and package them for redemption. We then transfer the nickels to the Cancer Center for KIDS at Winthrop Hospital.

How did you get involved?

On Tuesday, May 31, 2005 my son Joseph was diagnosed with ALL, Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma, a type of Leukemia, two weeks after his second birthday, May 16. He was in treatment at Winthrop for 3 1/2 years. His final treatment was in August of 2008, one month before he started kindergarten. He is now about to finish second grade and doing fantastic.

About six months ago, Mike Ryan, a parent from Bayville who’s son was also treated for Leukemia at Winthrop, and Elizabeth Urbanski, a fundraising rep from the Cancer Center, asked if I would take over the program [which had been started in 2001]. It was in complete disarray. The hospital was using a distributor in Suffolk who was part of a redemption scam and Winthrop needed to disassociate with this individual (there are still funds missing).

How long will the program run?

As long as there are people an organizations willing to donate their empty bottles and cans.

Pete made the first donation for the Cancer Center in mid-June of 27,960 empties, totaling $1,398 for the center. The money from the program will go to a fund that helps families who don’t have insurance, as well as for the purchase of life-saving equipment.

If you’re on Long Island and are looking for a place to bring your empties for a good cause (bottles and cans), drop them off at Glen Cove Beer Distributors, 167 Sea Cliff Ave. near the corner of Sea Cliff and Glen Cove avenues.

In addition to a large selection of domestic craft beers, the store can match the imported craft selection of most of its peers. There are sixteen rotating taps for growler fills and the staff always makes sure to properly rinse and fill your growler. For those nearby the store is open until 12 a.m. on weekends so you can replenish your beer supply while the party is still going.

We also love Brooklyn Beer and Soda because it’s our neighborhood beer store. We had to give it a shout.

Last week: Why we love…McSorely’s Ale House

The Beer Store is launching a new concept store in Liberty Village this week, called The Beer Boutique, which looks like it will make the beer-buying experience a lot more pleasant.

Forget the shivery cold clinical feel of the Beer Store that you frequent, where you likely have to order your 2-4 from a list on the wall. This one is entirely self-serve, giving you the option of perusing the beverage selection for as long as you like.

The boutique has a rugged-yet-upscale look reminiscent of the historical buildings in Toronto’s Distillery District, which I think suits the concept well.

The new shop also aims to make the beer-buying experience more social and interactive. It will play host to regular beer-tasting and pairing events for customers.

The boutique is set to open in the next few days, so watch for it next time you’re in the King and Strachan area of the city.

If the new concept works well, hopefully more Beer Stores around the city will be converted into these more inviting boutiques.

Last week: Why we love…Bierkraft