Friday Grab Bag

While yesterday was the official IPA Day, we thought we would make it an IPA weekend. Really, in our world, everyday is IPA Day. If you missed our blog post yesterday, we offered a six-pack of suggestions on how to enjoy IPA Day. Click here to read that post. Here are a few other IPA's to consider:

Goose Island IPA
Founders All Day IPA
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Of course, you can also ask any of our store associates for their recommendations.

In-Stores Events

For the balance of August, both stores will focus on wine tastings. This weekend, both stores will offer tastings on the regular schedules. For Lawrenceville, the tastings will be 4-6pm today, and 2-4 pm tomorrow. Click here for the tasting menu. In Woodbridge, the tastings will be 4-6pm today, and 1-3pm tomorrow. Click here for the tasting menu.

New Products

Smooth Ambler Contradiction Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Contradiction blends two whiskeys. One is a ‘wheater’, or wheated Bourbon and the other is a Bourbon made with rye. We are very proud of our knack for bringing you great spirits we hand-make and excellent spirits we hand-select; Contradiction is the opportunity to enjoy in a single sip,  the convergence of those two very different efforts.

Only 6 bottles are available per store, priced at $57.99.

Dominus 2012. 98-100 points from Wine Advocate. Their review: "Another candidate that flirts with perfection is the 2012 Dominus. Composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc that came in at 14.3% natural alcohol, it could turn out to be as great as the 2010, but very different stylistically. The 2012 recalls the 1991 and 1994. Flamboyant aromas of fruitcake, Asian spices, black currants, kirsch and unsmoked cigar tobacco are followed by a wine that’s still an infant, but exhibits explosively rich fruit, lots of glycerin, a full-bodied mouthfeel and a pungent, penetrating intensity that goes on and on in the mouth. It has been seamlessly constructed and should age effortlessly for 20+ years."

Ornus dell’Ornellaia 2011. The creation of Ornus dell’Ornellaia was inspired by our passion for the territory and desire to fully explore its potential to produce great late harvest sweet wines, assisted by the mild and well-ventilated climate, typical of Autumn in Bolgheri.

The warm, sun-blest 2011 expresses itself in an appearance of intense gold, and a nose with inebriating tropical fruit, dried apricot, citrus and caramel. The palate is remarkably rich and vibrant, redolent of fragrant honey and tropical fruit, emphatically sweet but perfectly balanced by the lively vein of acidity classic to Petit Manseng.

90 points from Wine Advocate. Only a few bottles available per store. $124.99 in the Bottle Club®.

Acinum Prosecco Extra Dry. Earlier this summer, we noted the industry news about a looming Prosecco shortage. We worked with our supplier to make sure that we had plenty on hand, and now we're adding this new brand.

Tasting Notes
Color: Yellow in color with greenish reflections
Bouquet: On the nose it displays a fruity bouquet with aromas of green apple and pink grapefruit
Flavor: A smooth, crispy, extremely elegant palate with a long, fresh and tasty finish
Pairings: Excellent as an aperitif. Ideal also with fish dishes

Only $9.96 in the Bottle Club®.

Ripped from the Headlines

Truck Delivers $123,000 of Bordeaux to Roadside Ditch. On an early Wednesday morning in July, the driver of a semi-trailer truck sped along the main road cutting through Bordeaux's Lalande-de-Pomerol near the hamlet of Les Annereaux. It's been a very hot, dry summer, but that morning the roads were slick with rain. Suddenly, the truck began zigzagging dangerously, alarming local residents. "He hadn’t been drinking, no drugs, no other car involved … he did it all on his own," said a spokesperson for the transportation company. "He was going too fast and his tire bit the turn."

Shortly thereafter, the delivery ended precipitously when the truck dangerously crossed lanes, miraculously empty of early commuters, and flipped over into a ditch. The truck driver escaped unscathed, but the same could not be said for the cargo. Boxes flew and glass smashed, upending 19,200 bottles of Château Le Ferreau Belair, the second label of Château Belair-Coubet, a 111-acre estate in Côtes de Bourg. The wine had been labeled and packaged for delivery to a warehouse.

Château Le Ferreau Belair belongs to Les Vignobles Plaisance, run by Alain Faure and his daughters Delphine Faure-Maison and Agnes Havart. "We were able to salvage about half of the load," the shipper's spokesperson told Unfiltered. Damage is estimated at $123,000.

Courtesy Wine Spectator.

Have a great weekend!

Celebrate IPA Day with Joe Canal's

Earlier today, we Tweeted that every day is IPA Day at Joe Canal's. The hoppy style that craft beer fans so adore is available at unbeatable prices every day, in bottles, cans, and Growlers. We'll note just a few of our favorites here.

Founders Centennial IPA. Get ready to bask in the glory of the frothy head’s floral bouquet. Relish the citrus accents from the abundance of dry hopping. This one’s sweet, yet balanced. Malty undertones shake hands with the hop character for a finish that never turns too bitter. 7.2% ABV, 65 IBU's, rated 99 by RateBeer. In bottles and cans.

Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin. Our Grapefruit Sculpin is the latest take on our signature IPA. Some may say there are few ways to improve Sculpin’s unique flavor, but the tart freshness of grapefruit perfectly complements our IPA’s citrusy hop character. Grapefruit’s a winter fruit, but this easy-drinking ale tastes like summer. 7% ABV, 70 IBU's.

Click here to link to our coupon page (valid for either store), to save on a purchase of up to two 6-packs of Grapefruit Sculpin.

Boulevard Brewing Pop-Up Session I.P.A.  Pop-Up Session I.P.A. joins its big brothers Single-Wide and Double-Wide in our trailer park of hop-centric beers. This “session” model is built for frequent excursions, with a very drinkable character and relatively low bitterness tucked behind a big, fruity hop aroma.  4.3% ABV, 40.5 IBU's.

Aroma: Big, fruity hops
Malt: Subtle, biscuity
Hops: Lots of hop aroma, moderate bitterness
Balance:   Hops
Body: Light to medium

Lagunitas IPA. A well-rounded, highly drinkable IPA. A bit of Caramel Malt barley provides the richness that mellows out the twang of the hops. This is our unique version of an ancient style. A style as old as the ocean trade routes of the last centuries of Great Ships. Not as old as the equator they had to cross twice en route, nor as old as the 10,000 miles or so of Di-Hyrogen Oxide and Sodium upon which they sailed, but older than the Circulithium-4 Lentoid that binds the Lupulin Quartnate onto your taste buds. Weird. Think about it. Now stop. OK, go again. Now stop. Think again. And stop. But we digress. Made with 43 different hops and 65 various malts, this redolent ale will likely float your boat, whatever planet you're on. 6.2% ABV, 51.5 IBU's.

Kane Overhead. Currently on the Growler menu at Woodbridge. Overhead is an American-style Imperial IPA.  This beer is loaded with our favorite hops; Amarillo, Columbus, Centennial and Simcoe.  It’s bittered with a gigantic charge of Columbus and Simcoe early in the kettle that is followed by several rounds of late kettle and whirlpool hops using Amarillo, Centennial and Simoce.  In the end, Overhead is brewed with over 5 pounds of hops per barrel which includes two rounds of dry hopping to create a cascade of pine, resin and citrus hop flavors that consume your palate.  Although we brew Overhead with the same imported Pilsner and light crystal malts as Head High and ferment it with our house ale strain to produce a dry crisp finish, this blend of different hops creates an entirely new experience all its own. 8.2% ABV, 100+ IBU's.

River Horse IPA. An American style IPA, brewed with American and New Zealand hops added continuously throughout the boil giving an aroma with notes of tropical fruit and citrus. The balance of hops and malt body make this the ideal year-round IPA. 5.7% ABV.

As you see from the choices listed here, our selection of IPA's is quite large. We carry local brews and the best from across the US and around the world. Celebrate IPA Day the responsible way-with selections from Joe Canal's.