A2's loss, BeerChick's gain

Got the sad news over the weekend that Bello Vino, an outstanding purveyor of beer and wine in Ann Arbor, is closing on January 15. They are liquidating (pun intended) their inventory, so as soon as M and I returned to A2 from the Christmas holiday, we had to go pay our respects. And how. We managed to spend a completely ridiculous amount of money on beer, 6 bottles of wine, 1 bottle of champagne, some cheese, chorizo, chocolate, and yogurt. I definitely have enough beer for a month of posts!

Before we break into that stash however, I have a few beers to share!

First, my hometown has a drive thru convenience store. (welcome to Indiana) They recently expanded to include a small cafe and pub, and my friend Scott suggested we check it out as they claim to have 10 beers on tap (believe me- in a small town, that is a big deal). We stopped in for lunch and tried the Bell's Christmas Ale (sadly, I didn't see it listed on the Bell's website!), which the menu said was a "classic Scotch ale". While it was a crisp, easy drinking beer, it wasn't nearly "heavy" enough to meet that definition. The "Christmas baked goods" finish was nice, but I wish it would have had a longer finish.

Beer tasting madness!!

OK, maybe not madness, but we have tried a LOT of different beers in the past week! I can't remember the names of all of them, so I'm gonna start with tonight and work my way backward as best I can... bear with me! Unfortunately I can't write full on reviews for all, as, well, my tastebuds won't let me, but I can at least offer up a few impressions:

Bell's Oktoberfest - an unpasteurized brew with a unique finish!
Lagunitas Sirius - never tasted anything quite like it in a bottle, and apparently they don't want the secret to get too far out... a hi-gravity cream ale. YUM! One of Lagunitas' seasonal beers, I hope we can still find some in stores...
Brooklyn Brown Ale - I don't like all brown ales, as so many of them lean toward the coffee. This one was a pleasant surprise. Reminds me a bit of Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale - tasty!
Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale - wow! I really expected it to be TOO hoppy with a name like that, but was pleasantly surprised.
Rogue Double (yes, DOUBLE) Dead Guy Ale- I couldn't find anything about it on the Rogue website, but others were talking... I've always been a Rogue fan, and this is definitely a fun addition to their list of beers.
Brugge White Ale and Triple de Ripple - some friends from Indy met us at my folks over the weekend, and brought up some treats, including a 750 each of three different Brugge Belgian beers. I only tried the white, which I'd had before, and found it to be a nice, refreshing, lounging by the pool beer. The friend who brought these brews his own, and we all agree, we like HIS Belgians better, though.

The most pleasant and fun surprise of the past few days has to be the Beer Cave at the Northside Carry Out in Wabash, IN. Thanks for the tip, Scott! Having grown up in Wabash, I've long known that if I want a decent beer while I'm there, I'd have to bring it from Indy. No longer! Northside now carries quite an outstanding selection of micros and international beers, both warm and cold, that can be mixed and matched to make your own 6 pack! SWEET! The 4 of us collaborated to come up with 6, though now I can't recall exactly what we bought, of course, except the Loose Cannon and the Rogue. Regardless, props to whoever recognized that niche and stepped up!!