Yay! No kidding. We got our first Octoberfest beer in on August 1st from Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland. Since then we have gotten Octoberfest beer from Stoudt’s (Pennsylvania), Summit (St. Paul), Left Hand (Colorado), and Weihenstephan “Fest Bier” from Germany (they can’t call it Octoberfest in Germany because the brewery, which is the oldest in the world, is not located in the city of Munich).

Other seasonal beers fresh off the truck include Weyerbacher Autumnfest, Abita Pecan Harvest Ale, Left Hand Rye Bock lager, and Rodenbach Red Bach (it’s Belgian sour beer with cherry juice).

Lest I forget, we have Shipyard Pumpkin, Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, and Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin.

Oh yeah, I saved the best for last: Bell’s Batch 8,000. Imagine an imperial version of Bell’s Oberon. It is so gooood! And, SOOOO limited. We could get only 2 cases of it.

Come on down. The beer tastes mighty fine this Octoberfest.

Vick (the beer guy) Mickunas

Here at the Emporium we have lots of summer beers. I have tried them all and I have chosen the best. Here they are:

Dogfish Head Festina Peche–If you have ever had wheat beer in Berlin you know how tart it can be. That’s why they drop a dollop of fruit syrup into your glass to provide a refreshing counterpoint for the astringency of the beer. I had never had anything that compares in this country, until now. Festina Peche has all the puckering tartness of a Berliner weiss and they have thrown in some peach concentrate to give you that savory suppleness that the syrup would lend if you were quaffing like a Berliner. Perfect lawnmower beer. Low alcohol so you can imbibe without fear.

Anchor Steam Summer Beer–Dogfish Head is east coast brew (from Delaware). From the left coast we have the pride of San Francisco, the grandpa of the micro-brew set, Anchor Steam. Their summer beer is an amazingly complex wheat beer that goes down as easy as a summer rainstorm. Refreshing and revivifying.

Schneider/Brooklyner Hopfen Weisse–A collaborative effort of Schneider, the eminent Bavarian producer of legendary brews like Aventinus and Garrett Oliver of the Brooklyn Brewery. I didn’t know what to expect? It is a hefty 8.2 % alcohol and the perfect marriage of delicate German wheat style with hammerin’ Amerikan hoppiness. Wow! Bring me another!

There you have my favorite summer quaffings… I’m Vick (the beer guy) Mickunas.

And they are here now at the Emporium. Quantities are VERY limited. We were allowed to place one order and we had a ten case maximum. We got all that we could.

They are in our coolers now; five liter kegs of Bell’s Oberon Ale. Is there any better way to say: HELLO SUMMER–where you have you been all my life?

glug-glug-glugga-glug-OH YEAH, I’m Vick (the beer guy) Mickunas

That is the question. I think I can do both. I have been so busy blogging about books for the Dayton Daily News that I have been neglecting my beer bloggin’ for the Emporium.

Time to get all caught up. The biggest beer news is the return of our most popular brew, Bell’s Oberon Ale from Kalamazoo. Oberon is baseball beer. It comes out on opening day and it vanishes at the same time the Chicago Cubs are once again eliminated from another World Series title chance. 99 years and counting (for the Cubs that is). Tasty!

It’s not summer yet but the summer beers are foaming nicely already. There’s Boulder Brewing’s Sweaty Betty Blonde, Southern Tier Hop Sun, Clipper City Red Sky at Night Saison, Harpoon Summer, Breckenridge Summer Bright, and New Holland Zoomer Wheat.

We still have some spring beers in stock; Old Dominion Spring Brew, Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA, Avery Karma Ale, Dogfish Head Black and Blue (made from black raspberry and blueberry), and Victory Whirlwind Wheat Beer.

I’m pleased to say that we now carry Magic Hat from Vermont. We have their H.I.P.A, Circus Boy Hefe Weiss, and Not Quite Pale Ale. We also have some tasty beers from Pittsburgh’s Penn Brewing. We have their Pilsener, Dark, and Weizen.

So, crack open a beer and crack open a book and check out my other blog about books at www.DaytonDailyNews.com/booknook

Vick (the beer guy) Mickunas

I know, Italian beers are not exactly thought of as being high quality. I’m here to tell you that there are some craft brewers in Italy who are doing some unusual things.

One such brewer is BIRRA TROLL. We have two of their brews in stock. SHANGRI LA is a fruity beverage. I’m not a big fan of that style but there are lots of folks who are. I really like the other type that we have. PALANTRINA is brewed with chestnut flowers, dried chestnuts, chestnut honey and chestnut jam. You get the idea. I’m nuts about it!

We also have a third variant of the Italian craft brewing movement. CASSISSONA is sparkling beer brewed with black currant (cassis). Matured over 6 months, our shipment was bottled almost 2 years ago and it is getting quite drinkable. Are you looking to pair up an unusual beverage with fruit desserts or savory cheeses? This brew would fill the bill and I guarantee that your guests will never have had anything quite like it!

That reminds me of my most memorable Italian beer experience. It happened on July 7, 1973. I was in Florence (Firenze) and I was drinking a Nastro Azzuro. Several of us were sitting on the street enjoying the Tuscan scene. A long, black limousine pulled up across the street in front of a boutique.

Two women got out along with a frumpy looking man. They strolled over to us. The man looked familiar. He extended his hand to shake mine and said: “Hi, my name’s Nelson Rockefeller. What’s your name and where are you from?”

I guess the Governor of New York was good at spotting Americans. A few years later this scene would not have happened. The Red Brigades kidnapped and killed one Italian Prime Minister and Nelson Rockefeller was serving as Vice President to President Gerald Ford.

I was so stunned to meet him that I almost dropped my beer.

Vick (the beer guy) Mickunas

Gail Keen to perform at the Emporium

Flutist Gail Keen will perform at the Emporium on Friday, January 19. The music will begin at 7 PM.

Gail will be joined by pianist Larry Halpern. The program will include traditional and modern jazz, original compositions, and French music of Gabriel Fauré and Erik Satie.

The Emporium is located at 233 Xenia Ave in Yellow Springs. Admission is free. For more information, call 767-7077.

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Help end genocide in Darfur

Saturday, January 20, 2007, from 10:30am-12noon, Sylvia will be leading a postcard-writing campaign.

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Apologies from us at the Emporium for not bringing you a complete January events guide! O, the insanity of post-holiday weeks… For the latest events listing, visit us or give us a call: (937) 767-7077.

As 2006 comes to a close, the Emporium remains as open and inviting as ever! Celebrate the season with art, wine, events, and of course, lots and lots of coffee and chai and soup and mmm…

Art

This month’s artwork is “New Work” by nationally-recognized local cartoonist JENNIFER BERMAN! Check out her awesome web site: http://www.jenniferberman.com

Weekly Friday wine-tasting

Musical line-up (6:30-10p):
12/1 (tonight! eek!): the jazz stylings of G. Scott Jones Freedom Ensemble
12/8: local favorites Swingshift
12/15: local favorites Heart Strings (6:30-8:30)
12/22: blues by Nerak Roth Patterson, oh yes!

Other events

SATURDAY, DEC 2, 11P
Darfur: A Call To Action, an open discussion run by Sylvia

SATURDAY, DEC 2, 1-5P
Live holiday happening featuring Corrine Bayraktaroglu in our front window

SATURDAY, DEC 16, 3-5P
Music with Pat Olds: “Early Music Center Redux”

MONDAY, DEC 18, 7-10P
The Neighborhood open mic and jazz night! More information: http://www.neighborhoodpoetry.org

Beer…Beer…Beer…Beer…get’em while they’re cold! Hey, it’s Vick, the Emporium Beer Guy and do I have brews for you! It’s the Xmas season. How do I know? Well, first off, the Happy Hedgeball season ended last week. That was my first clue. Second, I noticed lines outside Wall-Mart at midnight. Whussup wit dat? Thirdly, and MOST telling, the XMAS BEERS are here!

From Belgium we have the super limited and utterly tasty N’Ice Chouffe. This 750 ml. behemoth is flavored with spices, thyme, and curacao peel. For those spicey Xmas thymes!!

We have some awesome giftpacks from Germany. There’s the Weinhenstephan Pack. It has bottles of their benchmark hefe-weiss AND a gorgeous beerglass. HEY, they are only the oldest brewery in the world! Coming up in just a few years they will be celebrating their millennial anniversary. Incredible! A thousand years of brewing and still in biz! YAY!

Then there’s another German fave, the Schneider Gift Packs. Another tantalizing collection of tasty brews with a special glass. Get’em fast cuz they won’t last!

Seasonal craft brews from the good ole’ USA are rolling in faster than hedgeballs on the highway. There’s the Anderson Valley Solstice Ale, the Avery Old Jubilation, the Abita Xmas, the Stoudt’s Winter Ale, the Boulder Never Summer, the Lakefront Holiday Spiced Ale, and the Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter.

We also have our special Emporium Beer Gift Packs. I make those up myself and for a limited time only when you buy one of my special packs you will find a bottle of Farson’s Lacto Stout inside your gift pack. It’s from Malta and it’s very hard to come by.

So, it’s all brew to you (and me too!) Happy Holidaze!!

Vick (the beer guy) Mickunas

OK, I admit that have been remiss in my duties as the Emporium Beer Guy. While I have kept up with my duties in stocking all the new beers that keep spilling my way I have fallen behind in the quaffing and the imbibing and as a result, in the DESCRIBING and the POSTING.

The last time I checked, it was still October and the pumpkin ales and Octoberfest beers were still flowing. Granted, there are still a few lonely bottles remaining of those brews but just like the Xmas decorations in the malls BEFORE Halloween the seasonal beers are arriving in a tsunami of delectable varieties.

The English variants have arrived, the old reliables like BAD ELF, SANTA’s BUTT, LUMP OF COAL, and RUDOLPH’s REVENGE. This year we also have the CRIMINALLY BAD ELF. Another Brit Brew of note is the ALE MARY. Let us pray.

All the American variants are arriving, the Sierra Nevadas and the Saranacs, etc.

The most notable beverages to arrive in my estimation are two extremely limited products from the dearly beloved Bell’s Brewery; the HELL HATH NO FURY Belgian style ale is superb! We still have a little bit left. This one will cellar well. Then there is the Bell’s HOPSLAM. My…My….My….the hops will crush you with flavor and it is STRONG! Oh my.

So, I’m back in the trenches and I’m bailing beer like a madman. It’s hard work and I’m not a strong swimmer but these beers were brewed for quaffin’ and that’s just what I’ll do.

Vick “the beer guy” Mickunas

It’s nearly winter! Better come inside for some warmth in the form of coffee, wine, art, and good atmos.

ART

Starting November 1:
“ugly pretty things” by Corrine Bayraktaroglu - All month long!
For information or see pictures of work please visit: http://sitekreator.com/jafagirls/ugly_pretty_things.html

WINE

On November 16 a shipment of Beaujolais Noveau arrives from France. This young French food-friendly red wine is priced at $12.99 a bottle.

WINE TASTING & MUSIC

All our weekly Friday wine-tastings are at 6:30-10pm.
11/3: A mandolin quintet or Swingshift—either way, Michael Hitchcock will be playing and it’s his birthday!
11/10: Local jazz bass player John McQueen and friends
11/17: Folk singer-songwriter Kristen Larsen
11/24: (Tentatively) Cellist Karen Patterson

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

This month’s live-jazz-and-open-mic-evening The Neighborhood will take place on either Monday, November 13 or Monday, November 20, from 7-10pm. Stay tuned! And visit their kick-butt web site: http://www.neighborhoodpoetry.org