New Product Spotlight

We could make a clever Halloween reference here, but you've already heard them all. Meanwhile, we have these new items in our stores.

Underwood Pinot Gris. The Underwood Pinot Gris speaks of a journey across Oregon. Sourcing fruit from vineyards spanning the peaks and valleys of the state, this wine is the perfect everyday refresher, making us nostalgic for our long-awaited Oregon summer backyard BBQs.

Tasting Notes: Lemon, apple and pear.

Bisol Crece Prosecco. The wine is made from Glera, Verdiso and Pinot Bianco grapes grown on the steep hills of the Bisol Vineyards. The first

two varieties enjoy an ideal habitat in the clay-laden earth with a subsoil of marine sandstone known as "crede" that is common to this part of the countryside. This type of terrain is particular and beneficial to the grapes, which do not suffer from aridity during critical periods but instead become notably enriched with noble acids, varietal aromas and fruitiness.

The color is a brilliant, light straw yellow with nuances of green, while the perlage features a myriad of minute and persistent bubbles.

The bouquet of wildflowers is suitably intense, fresh and elegant and emanates an extremely agreeable fruitiness.

The flavor reflects the fruity bouquet with its scents of apples and pears and the overall harmony is completed by a rich and fine sapidity.

Barefoot Winter Red. Sorry, but there's no review currently available for this. However, we're taking this opportunity to remind you of the upcoming visit by Jen Wall, the winemaker at Barefoot. She'll visit the Lawrenceville store on November 8, from 4-6pm, and the Woodbridge store on November 9, from 1-3pm.

Terrapin Moo-Hoo. Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout - It’s Utterly Delicious. The Terrapin "Moo-Hoo" Chocolate Milk Stout proudly uses cocoa nibs and shells from Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Company to give this beer its great taste! An  appetizing cold weather treat this sweet stout is rich creamy and uniquely satisfying. Beer and Chocolate together they truly make one of life’s great indulgences. 6% ABV, 30 IBU. Scheduled to arrive this week. For more new Craft Beer information, check back tomorrow for the Craft Beer Corner.

Adele Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. There are only 546

cases of this and it comes from 2 vineyards - one in Calistoga and one on Diamond Mountain. There is a good bit of new oak here and it is full bodied, ripe and layered with plum and cassis flavors and a smooth, long finish. We would gladly blind taste this with any $60 retail Napa Cab with full confidence that Adele would equal or surpass it.

Craft Beer Candy?

We've seen a range of pairings that involve Halloween candy, but your blogger is just going to say NO. We might sip something from our fridge when we're giving out candy on Monday, but we'll just snack on something else. Of course, your palate might tell you something else, and that's fine with us.

Special note: We rarely interject anything other than craft beer news here in the Corner, but we do need to raise an important issue. If you are planning on shopping with us in this Halloween season, please know that masks, face paint, or anything else that obscures your identity cannot be worn into Joe Canal's. This is for everyone's safety, and we appreciate your cooperation.

Formalities aside, let's discuss what's really important-this week's fresh craft beer deliveries!

Neshaminy Creek Shape of Hops to Come. "Can I scream..." for more hops? You sure can. Two row American barley jammed packed with as much Apollo, Newport, Simcoe, Topaz, and Citra hops we could get our hands on, The Shape of Hops to Come is an 8.5% ABV American-styled imperial IPA hopped with Apollo, Newport, Simcoe, Topaz, and Citra hops that’s got a ton of bitterness, along with juicy, dank resiny pine-like, and citrus forward hop character that is worthy of its name. Dry hopped for two weeks, this hop bomb has as much hop power we can muster!

This is an allocated beer, with extremely limited availability. And while we anticipate having this for sale this week, this blog post is written in advance of the scheduled delivery.

Lagunitas Born Yesterday. Fresh Hop and UnFiltered, HIIIGHly Limited Ale! Born Yesterday is a newborn version of our re-born Pale, a Newer New Dogtown Pale with a fresh addition … We added some wet, lupulin-drenched, un-kilned, whole-cone, fresh-picked-and-rushed-straight-from-Yakima hops for your immaculate reception. This Un-Freakin-Filtered, wetter-than-wet beer has 11lbs-per-barrel of Simcoe, Citra, Mosaic and Indigenous Catawampus. Whoa.

According to Lagunitas, availability is "Ridiculously Limited," so the same caveats that we noted for Shape of Hops apply here as well.

River Horse Belgian Freeze. Another seasonal beer, but we will have a good supply of this dark Belgian Ale. This warming winter Ale is amber in color, malty and full bodied. Belgian yeast provides a variety of delicate characteristics in the nose and on the palate. 8% ABV.

Sixpoint 5BEANS. The Mad Scientists walked through an ancient bazaar, sniffing out ingredients for their next formulation. The stalls were buzzing with activity as exotic spice vendors promoted their fragrant wares. But what ingredient would make the fabled 5th bean? The enticing aroma of an oily, smoky pod – black cardamom – caught their attention. Now that would turn the Imperial to Bazaar...

If you're tired of run-of-the-mill flavors, maybe some coffee and exotic spices will perk you up. We gathered 5BEANS from the bazaar to create a cultural phenomenon; a melting pot of cacao, vanilla, coffee, and cardamom creates our original Turkish inspired porter. It's Mad Science.

Don't stop us if you've heard this before, but Limited Availability.

Cascade Noyaux. Cascade Brewing has been a pioneer in the sour beer renaissance since 2006 and is the proud innovator of the Northwest Sour Ale. We are, by nature, the definition of artisanal brewing: we’re not bound by stylistic guidelines, just our own imagination and the ingredients we can access.

The Noyaux project (pronounced noy-OH) is a blend of sour blond ales aged in white wine barrels for up to 24 months with fresh raspberries and apricot noyaux. "Apricot Noyaux" refers to the kernel inside of an apricot pit, which we pull from the fruit used in our Apricot project. These kernels provide a unique nutty characteristic reminiscent of toasted almonds and marzipan. We add to that more than 1,800 pounds of locally sourced raspberries to give the blend both a bright fruit character and a distinctive rosé hue. Offering a complex bouquet of raspberry fruit, rose petals, toasted almonds and soft perfume notes, the Noyaux is ready to drink now, but will reward cellaring in a cool, dark place for several years.

100 points at RateBeer.com. Available in limited quantities; 750ml bottles.

New Product Spotlight

Happy Monday to you. Might as well start the week with a positive attitude, right? Let's take a peek at today's New Product Spotlight, since we're a little unfocused under-caffeinated this morning.

First, an important reminder for anyone celebrating Halloween in the coming days. Masks, face paint or anything else that obscures your identity is not permitted at Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville and Woodbridge. We appreciate your cooperation.


Les Dimes Vouvray. Semi-sweet with a smooth palate filled with apricots, peaches and hints of acacia, with the perfect touch of acidity for structure. This versatile, crowd pleasing white wine can be served on its own, or paired with spicy foods, desserts, cheese plates and fruit cups. 100% Chenin Blanc. Only $11.97 in the Bottle Club®.


Day Sonoma County Zinfandel. Day is the new Zinfandel project of Ehren Jordan, the mastermind behind such amazing labels as Turley, Neyers, and Failla. Four acres are currently planted, with the original vines hitting the dirt in 2011. Zinfandel is, for Ehren, a return to his roots, having been the wines that established his reputation as a talented vigneron. Similar to the approach at Failla, most of the Day Zinfandel wines are sourced from Sonoma County; an area largely unexplored during Ehren's tenure at Turley.

Zinfandel, a true American varietal, is a great choice for your Thanksgiving table. We have a limited supply of these wines, so we recommend shopping soon. Priced at only $26.99 in the Bottle Club®.


Domaine Chene Macon Milly Lamartine. This vibrant, flavorful, unoaked Chardonnay should be your everyday white. Shimmering bright, light gold color. Almost Riesling-like nose of ripe, juicy yellow peach, mouthwatering crisp apple, honey and wet stones. Mouthfilling, yet extraordinarily light on its feet. Peach, pear, and apple mingle and leads to a stony, honeyed finish. Crisp acidity wraps the whole thing up. Drink over the next year for its liveliness. Only $14.96 in the Bottle Club®.

Yards Rival IPA. Contrary to its name, Rival’s ingredients work in perfect harmony for a bold, balanced IPA. The recipe starts with a base of pale crystal and rye malts, and Bravo and Nugget bittering hops. Then whole flower Chinook hops go into the hopback, extracting that signature pine character. Finally, Rival is dry hopped with Centennial, Citra, Simcoe and Columbus hops, giving this amber-colored IPA a complex citrus profile. 6.2% ABV.


Rival IPA is a bold ale that can go toe-to-toe with spicy foods. Enjoy with an Italian hoagie and long hots or kung pao chicken with dan dan noodles. This is a seasonal beer that will not last long.

Craft Beer Season Changes

If you're someone who looks forward to seasonal beers, it's time to pay attention. The first of our winter/holiday seasonal craft beers have arrived (we're looking at you, Goose Island Festivity Ale), and more will be arriving on a regular basis. That gives us the opportunity to issue a couple of important reminders; first, if you've been waiting to buy Pumpkin or Oktoberfest beer, time is running out. Second, shop early and often for the best selection of the winter and holiday beers, as many are only available in extremely limited quantities.

With those important topics addressed, it's time to talk about what you'll see in our stores as soon as this afternoon.



Ballast Point Cinnamon Raisin Commodore Stout. A stout with some spice. Our Cinnamon Raisin Commodore is truly a story of experimentation. Originally a gold-medal winning American stout first born in our R&D program, our brewers developed a new variation, adding cinnamon and raisins to this dark, bittersweet brew. The result is just the right amount of sweet and spice, with roasty maltiness at the helm. Pair with Oatmeal Cookies, Pecan-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Sauce, or Smoked Wings with Chipotle Glaze. 6.5% ABV, 62 IBU's.

Also due in from Ballast Point: Habanero Sculpin IPA and Victory at Sea Imperial Porter.



Founders Harvest Ale. This liquid dream pours a hazy golden straw color with a white, two-finger head. Your first sip rewards you with a super juicy hop presence bursting with fresh citrus, then finishes to introduce toasted malt undertones. 7.6% ABV, 70 IBU's. 99 points at RateBeer.

Great Divide Barrel Aged Yeti. This unique version of our monstrous Yeti Imperial Stout is aged for a least 12 months in whiskey barrels. The spirited aging process produces a hugely complex but mellowed Yeti, with its signature roasted flavors, hints of vanilla and oak, and a whiskeyed finish. Who says you can’t tame a beast? 12% ABV. Pair with Grilled porterhouse steak, Roaring 40s blue cheese, vanilla cheesecake, brownies.



Weyerbacher Easton Brown and Down. Easton Brown & Down is a 5.6% ABV Brown Ale. Brewed with deep-roasted chocolate malt, this brew has a warm, roasty flavor that balances out with a slightly dry finish. 15 IBU's. Pair with Hearty foods, roast pork, smoked sausage and grilled salmon, Aged Gouda, or nutty cheeses.

And while you're in the store, ask one of our Managers about Troegs Mad Elf!



The Grab Bag Returns

Although we're only here covering for our regular blogger, we thought we'd dust off some of our old favorite titles. This blog post has not theme, but that never stopped us before.

New Products

Rampur Single Malt Whisky. This will be your new favorite whisky from India. Rampur Distillery was the original name for Radico Khaitan, India's fourth largest spirits company. It has been making whisky for more than half a century, and started producing malted barley for its blends in 1990, but only launched its first single malt for export in 2016. This is a creamy and malty whisky with notes of vanilla, apricot and apple. Available in very limited quantities.


Maker's Mark, 200ML. It's the same Maker's Mark Bourbon that you love, but in the "half-pint" size. Limited availability, during the holiday season.




Holiday Gift Sets. Yes, the first of our holiday gift sets have started to arrive. In this initial wave, we have the Crystal Head Vodka gift set. We'll keep you posted as more arrive, but we always recommend shopping early for the best selection.

                           Ripped from the Headlines                    

Workers strike at the Jim Beam Distillery. Click here for the story.


So we didn't have a lot of time to prepare this post, but there's useful information all the same. Stop back tomorrow for the Craft Beer Corner.

Welcome Back!

Our resident blogger is out for a while, so your substitute blogging team is going to work to keep you as updated as possible. Today, we wander back to the Craft Beer Corner, to see what's fresh over there. As always, we recommend calling our store before making a special trip.

Dogfish Head Red & White is back after an extended absence, for a limited time. Red & White is a big, Belgian-style witbier brewed with coriander and orange peel and fermented with pinot noir juice. After fermentation, a fraction of the batch is aged in one of our 10,000-gallon oak tanks. Red & White successfully marries the refreshing citrusy qualities of a Belgian-style white beer with the robust complexity of a red wine. Also back for a brief visit is Dogfish Head Flesh & Blood IPA.

Terrapin So Fresh & So Green, Green. We brew So Fresh & So Green, Green to celebrate the glorious hop! Hops are essentially the spice of beer, adding zest and complexity, bringing the beer to life. We want to show beer lovers the impressive range of flavors and aromas that hops can impart to a beer, which is one reason we do this one as a single-hop brew and change it up every year. We also want to celebrate the agricultural side of the beer industry; drinkers may love a brewery’s beers, but they may not consider the origins of the ingredients in their liquid of choice: our farms. The hard work our hop

farmers do all season long shows in the hops that come out when they harvest; using fresh hops showcases their great work. So Fresh & So Green, Green is a farm-to-glass beer that celebrates everything about the hop from its farm fresh origins to its amazing flavor profiles to its greatest fans out there sharing this beer with friends. Available in 19oz cans!

GABF. We'll take a mid-beer break to congratulate the winners at the recent Great American Beer Festival. You can find these winners on our shelves in both stores, unless otherwise noted:

21st Amendment El Sully, Gold in the American-style Cream Ale category. Available in Lawrenceville.

Allagash Tripel, Gold in the Belgian-style Tripel category.

Yards Love Stout, Silver in the Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout category.

Flying Fish Red Fish, Silver in the Extra Special Bitter category.

Bear Republic Pace Car Racer, Silver in the Session IPA category. Lawrenceville only.

Neshaminy Creek Churchville Lager, Bronze in the Vienna-style Lager category.

Now, back to our regularly-scheduled blog post.

Central Waters Brewing Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale. New to the state. This rich, malty ale has been aged to perfection in our barrel house. Subtle and smooth, this is a decadent display of patience and process. Join us in a toast to good health. Slainte! 99 points and Top 50 at RateBeer.com.

Format change! We've been carrying Founders PC Pils in cans, in their 15-pack. Those are being phased out, and we will begin carrying PC Pils in 6-pack bottles. 

At our Lawrenceville location, ask for assistance in getting Maine Peeper, Stone Xocoveza, and other limited-availability beers.

 

Your Latest Craft Beer Deliveries!

Here are just a few of what's been delivered to our stores this week.  As always, our craft beer departments are very busy, and many items sell out quickly, so be sure to call ahead if you're coming in for something specific.

AleSmith IPA
It’s Pretty Awesome. A San Diego classic, AleSmith IPA showcases the versatility of American hops. Aromas of grapefruit and tangerine lead into an abundance of fresh pine and tropical fruit notes followed by a crisp, resinous bitterness. The complex hop profile is supported by a firm malt presence to create an incredibly flavorful and well-balanced IPA.  7.25% ABV.  This is available at both our Lawrenceville and Woodbridge locations.

Flying Dog Pearl Necklace
Pearl Necklace is brewed with local Rappahannock River Oysters and is the perfect compliment to everyone's favorite aphrodisiac - whether they are grilled, fried, stuffed, or raw.  5.5% ABV. This is available at both our Lawrenceville and Woodbridge locations.

Stone Coffee Milk Stout
We’ve discovered through delicious experimentation the delectably roasty character that comes from adding coffee beans to just about any beer style. For this traditional yet worldly stout, the mild bitterness of the roasted coffee is balanced out brilliantly by milk sugar, adding a touch of sweetness and creaminess. Cheers to the artful coalescence of two highly artisanal mediums.  5% ABV.  This is available at both our Lawrenceville and Woodbridge locations.

Stone Xocoveza
Harmoniously layered with cocoa, Mostra coffee, pasilla peppers, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and milk sugar, this beer is an insanely delicious take on Mexican hot chocolate. Thanks entirely to you and fan demand, it has gone from being a one-time offering to a yearly tradition too special to skip. Feel free to enjoy it long into the winter months because this festive beer will age beautifully and is definitely not exclusive to the holidays!  8.1% ABV.  This is available at both our Lawrenceville and Woodbridge locations.


Ommegang Game of Thrones: Valar Dohaeris
After an exciting season that saw the Starks reclaim the North and Cersei take the Iron Throne as the first queen of Westeros, Brewery Ommegang and HBO Global Licensing are introducing a new beer and bringing back a previous brew to steady the nerves of fans as they anxiously endure the show’s off-season break. Valar Dohaeris Tripel Ale is the latest beer in the series and pays homage to Arya’s season-long struggles within and around the House of Black and White.  Valar Dohaeris Tripel Ale is, much like a “faceless man,” not what it first appears to be; it shares the complexity of its sister-brew, Valar Morghulis Dubbel, and a strength masked and belied by its lighter color. 9% ABV.  This is available at both our Lawrenceville and Woodbridge locations.

21st Amendment Toaster Pastry
Our first beer out of our new brewery is an homage to its former life as a toaster pastry factory. Biscuit malts give the beer a slightly nutty, crust-like flavor, while pale and dark Crystal malts create the mouthfeel and flavors reminiscent of strawberry jam. Calypso and other experimental hops give this ruby ale a welcome bite, plus a few more in the hop back for a toasty-sweet aroma. 7.6% ABV.  This is only available at our Lawrenceville location.

New Holland Dragon's Dragon's Milk Chai
Combines robust malt character with the luxurious nuance of sweet Chai. Aged in white-oak bourbon barrels, Vanilla Chai Dragon’s Milk is a concert of luscious flavors.  11% ABV.  This is only available at our Lawrenceville location.

Forgotten Boardwalk Pocket Trick
Medium body with hints of peach, mango, and citrus. Mosiac hops help shin through, allowing this pick pocket to sneak up on you.  8.5% ABV.  This is only available at our Woodbridge location.