Premier Gourmet

scott097 · Post by **scott097** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 8:09 pm

Alright, so I'm finally going to make my first trip down to this place this weekend!!
Two things:
First, What's the fastest way to get there (border crossing, highways)? I hate Mapquest!

Second, I need suggestions, please. I really want to find some decent stouts and porters. As far as Stouts go, I would be looking for products along the lines of St. Ambroise and Samuel Smith's Oatmeal, or Rogue's Chocolate and Shakespear. Fuller's London Porter and Smutty Nose Robust Porter are the only two examples that style that I've really had, and I liked them both (Mill St.'s Coffee is good too). So that's what I like... What I don't like are Dragon Stout, Royal Extra, and Mackson. Too sweet. Marston's Oyster and Wychwood Black Wych are too plain, not bitter enough.

So now that you've hopefully got an idea of what I like, I'm wondering if anyone could make some helpful suggestions as to what I should keep an eye out for while I'm down there.

Your help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Scott

joey_capps · Post by **joey_capps** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 9:25 pm

Take the following Route:

QEW-405, Cross at Queenston-Lewiston Bridge
I190 South to 290 East
Take Exit 1 to Delaware
Travel South on Delaware about 1/2 mile
It's on the left.

There is a small toll on I190S. I think it's $0.50 US.

Exit 1 is the Exit for Delaware Ave but it doesn't exit directly onto Delaware. You get off one major street before and crossover. It's really easy though.

Sorry, no suggestions. There is just too much there. Ask the staff for help. They know what they are doing.

Cheers, Joe.

Kid Presentable · Post by **Kid Presentable** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 1:30 am

if you're looking for stouts try anything from kalamazoo bells, especially the expedition.

kp

A · Post by A » Tue Jun 24, 2003 10:28 am

I think a faster way is to take I90 to the Sheridan exit, and take Sheridan east to Delaware.

You wont find Bell's there - Premier does not carry them I believe. You'd have to go to Detroit to get them.

The A. LeCoq stout is quite good, I believe Lyle recommended it himself to me, so its likely to still be stocked. The Brooklyn Blach Chocolate stout is also good. Its a seasonal but they always seem to have some in stock when I'm there.

[ This Message was edited by: A on 2003-06-24 10:29 ]

Josh Oakes · Post by **Josh Oakes** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 11:20 am

Koff Porter, definitely the A. le Coq, and give the Wagner Valley Tripplebock a go if they have it.

esprit · Post by **esprit** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 11:25 am

Don't spend too much on Samuel Smith Oatmeal as you'll see it as part of a gift box at the LCBO in November and also as part of the Stouts and Porters release in January and for quite a bit less than you'll pay at Premier. If you have a hankering for Rogue Shakespeare, there's still stock in the LCBO of it's St.Paddy's incarnation, Wild Irish Rogue.

Lyle · Post by **Lyle** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 2:19 pm

Scott,

Josh - our beer manager - will definitely be in the store on Saturday and can help you choose some tasty brews. I'm not sure if/when I'll be around myself.

We've had quite a few arrivals in the last 2 weeks - most are entirely new, some are restocks of items we've been out of for a while. Here's a list of some of the recent arrivals (in no particular order):

Wild Goose IPA, Wild Goose Porter, Smuttynose Robust Porter, Smuttynose Old Brown Dog, Smuttynose Portsmouth Lager, Smuttynose Weizenheimer Ale, Cantillon Fou'foune Apricot 2001 Vintage, Cantillon Gueuze 1996 Vintage, Widmer Hefeweizen, Yuengling Lager, Yuengling Porter, Yuengling Black & Tan, Yuengling Lord Chesterfield Ale, Regenboog BBBourgondier, Regenboog Wostyntje, Belhaven Best Draught Cans, Nethergate Old Growler, Nethergate Augustinian Ale, La Choulette Framboise, Neuzeller Black Abbot, Neuzeller Golden Abbot, Neuzeller Bathbeer, Brakspear Bitter, Vintage Henley, Harpoon Munich Dark, Redhook Sunrye, Castello Birra Italiana, Yanjing Extra, De Koninck Cuvee (8%), Ellezelloise Saisis Witbier, St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel 2002, St. Feuillien Triple, Pauwel Kwak, Tripel Karmeliet, Urthel Tonicum Finiboldus Amber, Urthel Hibernus Quentum Tripel, De Groen's Dunkles Lager, De Groen's Hefeweizen, De Groen's Pils, De Groen's Marzen, Davidson Brothers Sagamore Ale, Brooklyner Weisse, Allagash Summer Ale, Long Trail Blackberry Wheat, Long Trail Hit the Trail Brown Ale, Long Trail Ale, Lake Placid 46er IPA, Lake Placid UBU Ale, Augustiner Lager, Augustiner Dark Lager, Weyerbacher Blanche Wit, Weyerbacher Merry Monk's Belgian Style Golden, Shipyard IPA, Shipyard Old Thumper, Shipyard Export, Shipyard Light Ale, and Shipyard Summer Ale.

If you have any specific questions, email Josh (josh@premiergourmet.com) or myself.

Cheers!
Lyle

_________________
Lyle Ostrow
Premier Gourmet
3465 Delaware Avenue
Kenmore, NY 14217
tel:(716) 877-3574
email: premierbeer@adelphia.net

[ This Message was edited by: Lyle on 2003-06-24 14:19 ]

scott097 · Post by **scott097** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 7:30 pm

Awesome!

Thanks guys, that definately helps me out.

Cheers!

Scott!

scott097 · Post by **scott097** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 1:54 pm

Okay, so here's the damage:

A. Lecoq Imperial Stout (1999)
Orval
Abbey Des Rocs
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout
Pauwel Kwak
Fuller's London Porter
Koff Porter (1996)
Sierra Nevada Porter
Young's Double Chocolate
Young's Oatmeal Stout
Rogue Imperial Stout
Rogue Mocha Porter
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Wild Goose Porter
Samuel Smith Imperial Stout
Samuel Smith Taddy Porter
Smutty Nose Robust Porter

Basically, a lot of Black beer. Not really the season for it, but I love the stuff!
Thanks a lot for all the help with finding what I was looking for and for the suggestions, Wesley and Josh. We found the Pizza Plant without any problems, had the Anderson Valley Hop Ottin' IPA (90 IBU's!!) Good stuff... nice and Bitter!
Good times, good beers.
That's was my first voyage down there, but it definately won't be my last.

Cheers,

Scott

smoother · Post by **smoother** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 12:51 pm

What was the damage for the whole trip?

couple hundred bucks?

SirIsm · Post by **SirIsm** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 1:03 pm

Ya...and what about the duty..wink wink nudge nudge.

scott097 · Post by **scott097** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 5:11 pm

the damage only came out to $114.22US for 35 bottles. And we declared it at the border, which ran me an extra $38.00CAN. Kinda what I had budgeted for. So almost $200 by the time it's all said and done.
No more buying beer for me for a month now!

JWalter · Post by **JWalter** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 2:50 am

Thanks for the post, I like information-sharing threads like this - Interesting to hear how people make out... So about $5/bottle though once all was said & done e h? Pretty steep, but at the same time, if you're going to take the trip, I guess you have to buy a bunch to make it worthwhile. Let us know how you enjoy them, be sure to post some reviews! Cheers!

What's this about Pizza Plant, I searched around on Google, seems like a decent place, but couldn't find anything definitive on exactly where it is, etc - Can you share? And perhaps we can have that info onto the Premier Gourmet page on the main site, help Toronto people plan a day trip...

Maybe we could even arrange regular (monthly?) beer runs or something, take a mini-van down with one rotating designated driver, or am I going too far now??

[ This Message was edited by: JWalter on 2003-07-01 03:17 ]

scott097 · Post by **scott097** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 11:25 am

Well, so far I've had a Smutty Nose Robust Porter, which I only managed to pick up one bottle of this year at the LCBO, in the broken case bin. It's such a fine example of a porter, just the way I like them, and I regret not picking up more than just two bottles. I probably don't need to tell you details on what this beer tastes like because you've probably tasted it before, however, I feel like I should try to describe it. I'm kinda shy when it comes to describing tastes of beer, but here it goes; Upon pouring, nice and thick with a head that doesn't disappear emmediately. Not a completely black beer as it shows a slight tinge of red in it. Bitter yet smoothe, with a coffee aroma and flavour with a touch of chocolate. Okay, that's it for that one

Second of all, I've had a couple of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stouts. These are not quite what I expected. They smell great! Strong Chocolate aroma, but on the palate, they come across as being more of rich imperial stout. Right on the edge of being too sweet for me to really enjoy this beer.

The only other beer I've tried so far is a Wild Goose Classic Porter from Frederick, Maryland. I like this one. It's not too thick, and it's not quite a porter really. The body is little thin, but it doesn't hurt the flavour. Malty Coffee flavour, but a sweet smelling aroma.

Okay! no more describing beers for me, what a terrible job! I'm gunna need some practice!

I'm almost affraid to try any more of my new beers, because most of them I only bought one bottle of each. So now when I drink it, and I really like it, I won't have any more of them until the next time I go down! However, there's no point in having it in the fridge if I'm not going to crack it open.

As far as the Pizza Plant goes; if you leave from Premier Gourmet as we did, you go straight back up Delaware to 290 and go east for probably no more than ten minutes until you hit Route 5 (which is Main St.). Take the second exit which is Route 5 East (there are separate exits for east and west), which exits and winds it's self back over 290. Get into the left lane on Main St. and it's in a strip plaza on your left side about 90 meters from the exit ramp. The plaza doesn't face Main St. But there's a Tim Horton's in there, so it's not too hard to find. The pizza is pretty good, a Large will fill up two people pretty easily. The tap selection is mostly American Micro's as far as I could tell, with the exception of Guinness. They post their tap list on a chalk board with a discription of the beers to go along with it, which I found to be very helpful as I didn't really know anything about any of the beers. Also I feel that it is quite important to mention that the waitresses and bartenders are HOT

If you have a little beer tasting session as we did at Premier on Saturday, you'll get the munchies. Pizza Plant is, as far as Josh told me, probably the closest restaurant to Premier with a decent tap list, and if you bring a Growler along, they'll fill 'er up for you.

Pizza Plant
5110 Main Street
Williamsville, NY
(716) 626-5566

Cheers

Scott

DougShoemaker · Post by **DougShoemaker** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 12:44 pm

Hi Scott,
You are correct when You thought the Broolyn Black Chocolate Stout was more like an Imperial Stout, which in fact it is. Which proves You're better at describing a beer than You give Yourself credit. Keep up the good work.

Cheers, Doug