The Bar Towel

Responsible Drinker wrote:I've never been, but you should also check out Monk's Cafe:

They've got the St. Bernardus & many others too!

Also, my wife picked up some rare bottles from The Foodery:
324 S 10th St (10th & Pine St.), Philadelphia

Thanks RD. I will probably not have time on this trip but I'll keep it in mind for the next trip. Monk's Cafe looks to be a better place for Belgians.

Just got back from Isaac Newton's and sadly they didn't yet have the St. Bernardus on tap. Had a bunch of IPAs and Imperial Stouts instead. Perfect for a hot day

The bar let me buy a few to take back to my hotel. Working on a Chimay Grand Reserve now. Got a Hair of the Dog Fred as well. I'm gonna have trouble finishing these. Too much alcohol.....
Fortunately I don't have to drive tonight.

the nodding head near monk's was a lot more fun, also close by: independence brewpub underrated, and for atmosphere: general lafayette and sly fox

OK back on topic.

Peter (@esprit) : Given that the author said mid September for this release can you confirm that the Westmalle Double is either here or on its way?

(As I said earlier that's a staple beer for me so I'm all excited to get my hands on several cases).

WM Dubbel must be GREAT if the Tripel is at all indicative of the quality.

Recently I've taken to buying larger amounts of Belgian seasonals and I've not regretted a single bulk purchase. They are the ultimate cellar items.

(Especially given the ever-uncertain future of quality seasonals.)

Belgian wrote:WM Dubbel must be GREAT if the Tripel is at all indicative of the quality.

Yes same quality but a better (IMO) not so heavy (on the palate and ABV) beer.

Belgian wrote:Recently I've taken to buying larger amounts of Belgian seasonals and I've not regretted a single bulk purchase. They are the ultimate cellar items.

Ditto. I've stocked up on Orval, Chimay Blue and Rochefort 10 as much as my wife will let me get away with. I'm always worried I don't have enough to last until they are true vintages.

The Westmalle Dubbel has arrived.

Yeah there's like 6000 bottles in the wearhouse, which is great news.

Excellent.
240 of the 6000 (4% of Ontario's stock) will be mine!

when is the westmalle set to hit the shelves?

Search on the LCBO website still comes up with :
0 results found for "westmalle"

When I search at work on our inside LCBO intranet, I can see that westmalle, burton porter, st peters strong, and a few others for the release are all sitting in the wearhouse. Some stores already have the porter.

Please let us know when these will be available on store shelves (and if you want to give me a head start for whatever reason, I'd appreciate it)!

Also, I haven't seen that Baron Noir Cider stuff anywhere, which was recommended. Did it sell out? Say it ain't so...

I have that cider at my store for me, and a few others to boot. But they're mostly going to Mr. Clow.

The specialty ciders are imported into the vintages sections, and are ordered by the product consultants. Most of them don't give a damn about cider, and therefore don't order it.

shintriad wrote:Also, I haven't seen that Baron Noir Cider stuff anywhere, which was recommended. Did it sell out? Say it ain't so...

If you're referring to the Baron Noir Sparkling that was listed as part of the Sept 2nd Vintages release, the Vintages website says that it has been delayed to a later release.

The ciders that SteelbackGuy has for me at his store are the Duche de Longueville ciders from the July 22 release ('Antoinette' and 'Muscadet de Dieppe'). Or at least I hope that's what he has for me, as that's what I asked for.