Tough job, but somebody's got to do it...

After putting my kids to bed last night (or at least attempting to - thank you to my lovely wife for assisting), I headed over to Coborn's Liquor to taste some new beer samples with Keith, the store manager. One of our distributors dropped off 5 varieties from 2 different breweries last week. We sat down to sip on said brews and pondered whether they would be worth bringing into the store. Difficult, tough, hard work, right?

The first 3 we tried were from Big Bay Brewing out of Shorewood, WI:

• Wavehopper Kolsch Style Ale - 4.8% ABV, 21 IBU - Bready aroma, bready malt, and a doughy finish. This beer is all about bread with a little lemon crispness and a slightly bitter twang.
• Boatilla Amber Ale - 4.8% ABV, 26 IBU - Keith loved the color on this one. He said, "This is the perfect color of a good bourbon whisky." That it was. Flavors? Caramel malt with a quick sharp finish and bright, crisp mouthfeel. I did detect a very slight plastic off-flavor, but it was minimal.
• Long Weekend IPA - 5.5% ABV, 45 IBU - Citrus honey aromas are mirrored in the flavor, multiplied by grapefruit. It has a seemingly mild bitter finish because the sweet malt balances everything out.

The final 2 brews came from Atwater Brewing in Detroit, MI:

• Vanilla Java Porter - 5.5% ABV, 12 IBU - Coffee is there, but plays second fiddle to vanilla in the aroma. Taking a sip starts you at vanilla and tries to go to coffee, but ends up at milk chocolate instead. Sweet, but not overly so, with a flat, even finish.
• Voodoo Vator Doppelbock - 9% ABV, 26 IBU - Definitely the darkest doppelbock I've seen, the dark brown color borders on black. The nose is caramel and a maybe a touch of figs. Full, sweet caramel flavor combines with a touch of roastiness and transitions to a quick window of bitterness before the clean finish.

None of these beers were bad, by any means. They are all enjoyable in their own right. Decision time.

Talking it over with Keith, we decided the Big Bay brews are good, but a dime a dozen. They are so similar to many other varieties we stock that they probably aren't worth bringing into the limited space in our store.

On the other hand, the 2 Atwater brews are definitely unique (and tasty) enough to merit some shelf space. We may have some new beers on the shelves in the near future...