Healthy Spirits (San Francisco, CA)

Last summer, we had the great pleasure of living for a week in the Castro while being tourists in San Francisco. Most of the brewpubs and bars we visited were closer to downtown and, locally, the bars nearest the house didn't offer a wide selection of drafts. However, Healthy Spirits was a very welcomed source of great beer that was a few blocks walk (or a short bus ride) up the hill.

I found it shortly after we arrived; unfortunately, it was after trying several other places. Minnesota friends happened to be in The City at the same time, and we had an impromptu barbecue at our apartment. The very friendly and knowledgeable help at Healthy Spirits allowed me to bring some very fine bottles to our group of beery friends. In short, it's the only beer store I've found that rivals, or surpasses, the Four Firkins. If spending any time in or near the Castro, this is the place to stock up.

Here's a sampling of the week:

Triple Voodoo Grand Cru. Healthy Spirits exclusive barrel aged version of the TV Grand Cru. Dave told me that he bottles from full barrels of bourbon to sell in the shop and then sends the barrels to local breweries. Honey, blue agave nectar, coriander and orange peel are added to this version. Burnished copper color with dark gold highlights and an off white head that falls quickly. Elegant nose with the above plus fig and some alcohol underneath. Smells a bit like a quad but lighter. Flavors meld well and flow over the tongue. Very good ale and a great first beer from this brewery.

Stone RuinTen.  Unable to find this at home before leaving, I was so happy to buy a couple. Just awesome.

Knee Deep Brewing Hoptologist DIPA. Brash and harsh bite on the tongue. Good if you like a sharp hop bite. Almost white head over a shining amber gold ale. Enormous citrus nose and a light biscuit base. Sweet on the tongue followed by strong hop bite that has a burn that feeds the beast. Fun hop forward brew that I would enjoy more when more hydrated. Almost sweet finish and a lingering hop.

Knee Deep Simtra. Marmalade ale with a white head. Clean, singular hop nose. Slightly oily taste and some hop bite but the sweetness and the bitterness don't meld completely. Not as good as the Boneyard we had at Toronado this afternoon. Hop lingers nicely on he tongue.

Pretty Things Ale Project Fluffy White Rabbits. These guys can be hit or miss,and this one is a miss for me. Muddled nose with some clear spice from hop and yeast, but the balance just doesn't make it. Side of the bottle says floral, and it is that. But this hazy orange beer with a white head has a lot of promise and is clearly well crafted, it falls short for me.

Triple Voodoo barrel aged Inception. Bottle 244 of 432 made for Healthy Spirits by aging in a barrel provided by HS. hazy gold ale with circling white film from a head that barely forms. Spice, yeast and light pepper nose that seems muted compared to the straight Inception but nice. Fruitiness on the tongue that finishes dry nice but unusually like the straight better. Straight version of TV Inception rated a bit higher for me, though I love that HS does it's own specialty aging.

Chicone's Liquor Mart (Hudson, WI)

One of three beer coolers brimming
beyond the stacks of macrobrew

One of the bonuses of living in the Twin Cities is being able to drive to Hudson to pick up beer that's not distributed in Minnesota. I've pick up Dogfish Head before their retreat from this part of the country and a drive over the river was my go to source for Stone before they finally moved into Minnesota.  Also, during speech season, when I work Saturday's for three months in a row, trips to Hudson are necessary to replenish the beer fridge because of MN blue laws.

There are two choices in Hudson from my experience: Casanova Liquors and Chicone's Liquor Mart. Both are better than good; I've switched back and forth over the years, but I slightly prefer Chicone's, especially after some of their recent changes.

New single bottle case

My main reason for going to Chicone's is that they generally are a good bet for picking up New Glarus Belgian Red (or Serendipity this year), my wife's favorite that I stock continuously. Normally, I would go to Chicone's for Belgian Red and a few standard six packs from a smaller selection; Casanova's would be for more variety in spite of a higher cost. However, on my latest trip, I was hunting Serendipity and found a re-vamped store. Chicone's seems to have added variety to its coolers, repacking them a bit more efficiently.

Plus, they've created an extensive single bottle case to take home mixed six packs.  Despite (or maybe because of) my 5000 plus beers I've tried, I'm becoming more conservative in my choices, tolerating a mediocre or worse beer less than I used to early in my beer quest.  A large variety of out-of-market singles makes the risk of a new brewery palatable.




The high point of the single bottles were both New Glarus: Black Top, a Black IPA, and the Thumbprint series IIPA, a double IPA.  Not a surprise and fun additions to my New Glarus collection. Tommyknocker Hop Strike Black IPA and Perkulator from Dark Horse were just fine, but a bottle each was good enough.  I added two breweries to my tally as well: Milwaukee Brewing and 3 Sheeps. I won't be going out of my way for either of them, but some times new for the sake of new is enough.

I just like dedication to the beer quality of Chicone's and, more importantly, having the entire beer stock in coolers (except single bottles) gives me confidence in what I buy. Just like any store that sells a fair amount of macrobrew, every beer drinker needs to be wary of how long the beer's been on the shelf (pass up on the summer ales in December, etc); however, between their normal movement of stock and extensive refrigeration, I have no complaints about my purchases over the years. Chicone's is one of my go-to beer stores and, happily, it just got better.

Liberty Village Wines & Spirits (Stillwater, MN)

Heading to Stillwater last Saturday night, the beer fridge was uncharacteristically low and I forgot to get something local before getting on the freeway.  We saw Liberty Village Wines & Spirits just off Manning Avenue on the way to the party.

We stopped to pick up a six to contribute to the festivities.  Ended up taking two 4 packs of Surly: Overrated and Cynic.  One hoppy for me and the like minded and one for everyone else.  However, I had a hard time choosing and had several different beers that I was interested in.












Fine choice for a seemingly small place in a shopping center dressed as a cheesy faux village.

In addition to a full wall of beer coolers, Liberty Village had something unique.  They put together six packs of craft beer by style. Almost went home with the Double IPA pack but kept walking in the interest of time.  Liberty Village is a better than adequate stop with a large cooler to protect that craft beer investment, plus it's presence is clear evidence of craft beer's ever expanding horizon.

Mendota Liquor (Mendota Heights, MN)

Found Mendota Liquor when we had dinner the night before at Teresa's.  Always looking for another local option for picking up beer, I decided to check it when I happened to be in the area the next day.

This small mom and pop shop is jam packed with alcoholic options.  Head to the back left for the beer cooler with a strong selection of craft beer.  On this trip I went home with six packs of Victory Golden Monkey, Flying Dog Raging Bitch and Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale for a party that night.  Out of frame to the left of the cooler is a decent selection of large bottles.  I might return for a few of the Stone Old Guardian 2013 bottles.  

And it seems to truly be a mom and pop shop with mom at the cash register as dad stocked the shelves.  Their young son held the door while dad worked.  It felt good to support this hard working family that's been through several recent break ins according to a KSTP story.  With a slightly different variety compared to my other local options, I think an occasional trip to Mendota Liquor is in order for me.

Brewberry (Paris, FR)

8/21/12

We stopped by a couple of days before we were to leave Paris and, unfortunately, Brewberry was closed.  They were also on vacation, like many of the businesses in Paris in August.  Luckily, its first day open was our last full day in town.

After a mind blowing day of water lilies at Monet's Giverny, meeting new Australian friends on the train and a less than spectacular visit to the Marmottan Museum, we headed to the Latin Quarter in hopes of finally finding some good beer to add to our Paris memories.  So far, it had been a bit slim but I wasn't trying that hard with a full itinerary of cool touristy sites with Gloria and our nieces.

Brewberry is in the middle of an eat street with a variety of restaurants all around it.  The bar itself sells a few snacks; we each had a bread and cheese plate: goude and roquefort.  Both excellent, but we thought we should have eaten before getting so excited about the beer selection.

Lily ponds of Giverny

From the outside, the few wooden tables in front of a plain store front doesn't seem to promise much, but the inside is unique and fun.  With bottles lining the wall like good beer store, the center is filled with a half dozen or so tables.  The rock ceiling is low for this 6 foot 4 inch Dutchman, but gives the place a cozy feel for drinking beer.  Besides, I was either at my table beer in hand or bent over with the iPad hunting through each label for a next great find--standing upright never really happened.  Even when the tables filled later in the evening, it was a comfortable and inviting bar with lively but not loud conversation.

For most Americans, the set up will be a bit unusual.  It's basically a liquor store with some cold bottles and tables.  For Minnesotans, imagine being able to hang out and drink all night at the Four Firkins.  We ordered a Mikkeller Magnum IPA and a Brugse Zot Tripel from De Halve Maan in Bruges from the chilled beer chalkboard list to get started.  Distracted by the stacks of bottles around us, we simply picked from the shelf and asked to have the bottle chilled while we drank the ones in front of us.  And, if a bottle is needed for the hotel, it can be put in the cooler for take away at the end of the night.  A great system of drinking without the puritanical barriers of US liquor laws.

We were among the first to arrive and sat inside because the outside tables were reserved.  Evidently, we weren't the only patrons anticipating Brewberry's opening up again.  Everything about the stop was friendly and helpful.  When we asked if there was Wifi (pronounced wee-fee in France and Belgium), Cecile simply gave us a direct access code since it wasn't set up. Very useful since I was looking up many of the beers I didn't recognize on the wall, like my next beer Monts des Cats.  This is a French Abbey that is producing their beer via Chimay.  Trappiste is in the name, but not an official trappist beer with a logo.  An interesting find nonetheless.

Inside Brewberry with  owner Cecile behind computer

To end, Gloria tried the Reinaert Grand Cru from DeProef, which was a very good beer, but a little lighter than we expected it to be. And, I finished with Rewired, a brown ale from 8 Wired Brewing of Marlborough, New Zealand.  I asked about the brewery and got an explanation of the name as a slang for ??? in New Zealand.  Some googling says it's a term of endearment for a rustic guy from Kerkom.  Cecile didn't have the description for the beer in her head on the first day back from vacation, but retrieved her tasting notes and talked me through the beer. When I tasted it, her description was spot on. Cecile is one of the best beer whisperers I've met.

The staff was friendly, hard working and attentive while still letting us sit and enjoy each beer. It takes a while to get use to the pace of service in Europe.  To many Americans, food and drink service feels slow.  After nearly a month in Belgium and France on this trip, I'd acclimated my expectations and learned how to ask for what I wanted.  At Brewberry, the staff seemed to adjust to the client expectations, treating each to their custom.  No only smart business, but it makes for comfortable drinking for everyone. They even got us an outside table on the street when a reservation cancelled. Admittedly, I was having fun and drinking fast after a short post-Belgium drought and they gladly accommodated my enthusiasm.

Cold beer board to the left of our round

Right before leaving the now packed bar, Cecile chatted with a us for a little while, even suggesting a new beer bar that opened a few weeks ago called La Fine Mousse, another bar with good beer, Express de Lyon, that we had already tried during an earlier stop at Gare de Lyon station, and a bottle shop called La Cave a Bulles. Very much a beer lover, eager to support beer, even in places other than hers.  We had intentions of trying La Fine Mousse, but when we noticed the late hour, we had to head home to pack for the next leg of our trip to Rennes in the morning.

We took home a bottle of Lindeman's Cassis, technically available in the US but this black currant lambic is hard to find and a favorite of mine. Tired when we got to the hotel, we went to bed and ended up having the Cassis the next day just before our noon hotel check out along with a strawberry tart from a local cafe, which went together very nicely.

Last round at an outside table on the street

If I find myself in Paris again, Brewberry will be my first stop for a couple of beers plus a bottle  for each night of my stay.  No ice machines in hotels, or ice for sale anywhere that we could find, so a small refrigerator in the hotel is a must unless you want to be drinking semi-warm tallboys of Hoegaarden, Kronenbourg or Pelforth after a walk from a local grocery store.

Brewberry was easily my best stop in Paris, and one of the very best drinking experiences of the trip.  I did spend a day at Westvleteren and a week in Brussels, so it's high praise among tough competition. While an oasis in the heart of a somewhat barren but growing beer scene, Brewberry would be a great beer bar anywhere in the world.

Cameron's Warehouse Liquors (Inver Grove Heights, MN)

I haven't been in Cameron's Warehouse Liquors since it closed the old location across the street from its present building on Concord down by the river.  A Star Tribune article summarizes Cameron's trials and tribulations for the short move to a much larger store.

It took me so long--years--to give Cameron's another shot because, one, I don't often travel that direction except on bike. In addition, I have the small macro offering of the old store clouding my judgement.

Imagine my shock walking in the door to see an entire aisle plus several of the coolers along the wall devoted to craft beer.  Keep going around to the left and the walk-in beer cooler has stacks of the old school macro as well.  Tested Cameron's with beers that I know well: Stone Ruination IPA and Anchor 2012 Christmas Ale. Both were in fine condition.

Plus, I went home with Dragon's Milk and Double Bastard, so not a bad stop.  Nice selection of regional and Minnesota craft beer for a range of beer drinkers.  Not a place that's going to challenge my palate or introduce me to a lot of new beers, but definitely a way to pick a six of daily drinking beer on the way home from work--and at a good price.

Another reminder to be careful not to judge the new on the old.  Nice local beer store that I just need to drive down the Concord hill.  When in there, every person buying liquor, mostly of the Coors Light and Skyy Vodka variety, seemed to know and be known by those selling behind the counter.  I felt a bit like an outsider; however, it was reminiscent of a stop at the hometown store with my dad as a kid.  If in the area, give the local family business of Cameron's Warehouse Liquors a chance.

MGM Liquor Warehouse (Inver Grove Heights, MN)

MGM Inver Grove Heights

Every once in a while, it's easier to make a beer run at MGM Liquor Warehouse while grocery shopping at Cub than to head over to Arbor Pointe Liquors.  But, MGM is a convenience stop at best--not a place to trust.

Over the years, I've bought a range of beer at MGM. As a result, I now only by from the cooler since it seems that some of the craft beer can sit on the shelf while, especially singles that can often be severely out of season. Since a daily beer in six pack form is the goal if stopping, I look for something mainstream craft that's probably moving well--like a Summit seasonal, Rogue, New Belgium, etc.

 If you stop at MGM (possibly many MGMs, but definitely the one in IGH), buy carefully from the cooler and it will be just fine.  If you're looking for super cool singles, head to the Four Firkins or The Ale Jail.  

GP Liquor (Inver Grove Heights, MN)

Driving around Robert Street, I recently noticed GP Liquor in the small mall with Home Depot and Office Max.  Thought I should give a local liquor store a chance.  According to the little used Facebook page, they've been around for since 2010.  No website that I could find.  For the weekend of home projects, I was at Home Depot already, so took a minute to take a few pics and grab two test six packs.  I chose New Belgium Ranger IPA, often a daily standard for me and a beer that I know well, and Summit's new Saga IPA because it's new.


The selection of craft brew is pretty good.  The picture to the left captures most of the doors that are filled with craft brew before changing over to the macro section.  Pretty standard selection of craft brew--most regionals represented.  No single bottles that I noticed.

Person checking me out mentioned that they are open until 10 pm rather than 8 pm during the week because of the difference in the city ordinances, so that's a possible advantage.

Otherwise, GP is a convenience stop.  With Petschen's right down the street with singles, a wider overall range and a walk in cooler, there's not a lot of reason to hit GP Liquor again.  For me locally, Arbor Pointe Liquors has a similar but slightly more hopcentric selection and singles as well.   GP Liquor seems to be perfectly fine for a six pack stop (at least both six packs were in very good condition), but they aren't a beer geek stop at the moment.

Happy Harry's Bottle Shop (Grand Forks, ND)

After a disappointing stop at JL beers, we headed over to Happy Harry's Bottle Shop for some barley refreshments to watch with the rest of the hockey game between the Gophers vs the team formerly known as Sioux.

Like many high end beer stores that aren't the Four Firkins, they are a wine store that also has an above average selection of beer.  The back wall of coolers in this photo is loaded with a good range of micros and to the left was a cooler of bigger bottles.

We were there for a fast stop, so didn't survey it all, but left with plenty of beer and felt like I had to make a choice.  So, at least, there was enough beer to get me to think a bit.  Not a bad sign.  Left with almost the entire range of Leech Lake beers that I've written about recently, a bottle of Shipyard Barleywine, two bottles of Sam Adams Infinium and a six of New Belgium 1554.  At this point, I've samples all of the bottles except the second Infinium and didn't hit a bad one in the bunch.  Seems like Happy Harry's handles its beer well and moves enough of it to keep it fresh.  I'll definitely stop at this bottle shop again the next time I find myself in Grand Forks.

Buzz (Los Angeles, CA)

Buzz wine beer shop  

So, Gloria and I were walking across downtown LA towards Angel City Brewing, and we came across Buzz wine beer shop at 460 South Spring St.  If you have been to downtown LA, it's a bit of a wasteland, and I don't mean just a beer wasteland.  A tough neighborhood that's improving very, very slowly, and to see a good beer store was a bit of a surprise.  With expectations raised, we walked in and took a look around.  Being that we had far too much beer at the hotel already, this was just an expedition to see what was there.  In a hurry, I didn't take a specific survey, but the bottles were a very respectable list of west coast big name beers, plus a nice array of Belgians.  Prices seemed reasonable as well, at least for LA.  I take it as a sign that craft beer can move into even unexpected places.

Buzz beer bottle offerings

Taps tasting area in back of  Buzz

Bauer Wine & Spirits (Boston, MA)

7/4/11

Not far from the Hynes stop on the green line, Bauer Wine & Spirits is a great little bottle shop a couple of blocks from the Sheraton and several other hotels off Boylston St.  Wished I would've hit it it earlier in the trip instead of the on the last day. Great range of beers and a large refrigerated section so it doesn't have to be chilled from room temperature in the hotel room. I went back to the hotel with BrewDog, Green Flash and Stone, including my first bottle of Old Guardian 2011 for the year. And, they have a friendly grey cat who came out to say hi during my purchase. 

Cape Wine & Spirits (Lewes, DE)

A bartender at Dogfish Head sent us over hear to pick up DFH on the way out of town.  Picked up $9 bottles of World Wide Stout that was two years old--exceptional beer at a very good price.  Also grabbed some Stone Ruination and Old Guardian as well.  All beers were in fine shape and there was a great range of beers overall.  I was a bit concerned about the bright fluorescent lights all over the place, but it didn't affect the quality of any of the beer we bought; however, I did grab bottles from inside a box for the world wide stout and from the shade on the shelf. But, that's just me.

4th Street Liquor & Wine (Calgary, AB)

The guys at 4th Street Liquor were very helpful finding beer when I simply asked "What shouldn't I miss?" Ended up taking a variety pack from Big Rock brewery that I would have missed. According to the staff, Big Rock is credited with turning beer around in British Columbia.

Also a nice range of beers not available in Minnesota from St. Peter's (England) to Innis & Gunn (Scotland) to Fruli (Belgium) to Tree Brewing (British Columbia). While the selection doesn't match the 1000 beers of my local liquor store, it is very good compared to what I've found elsewhere in Canada.

All of the beers I sampled were fresh and tasted good going down. Most of the beer was in a walk in cooler, so it is well taken care of.  Also, 4th Street Liquor is only a few blocks drive from the downtown Brewster's Brewpub in Calgary.  Nice combination stop on the way to Banff that affords an excellent chance to pick up some quality quaffs for the cooler while visiting the parks.