A friend recently brought over some bottles of Lagunitas’ IPNA for me to try, back when he was doing Dry January—and I’ve found myself picking up occasional six-packs of it since. If you’re not familiar: this is Lagunitas’ non-alcoholic IPA, which they released toward the end of 2020. For me it’s pretty comparable to an actual IPA and, as I’ve been trying to take more days off from alcohol throughout the week, it’s been a helpful option for taking the edge off. I’ve had minimal experience with non-alcoholic beers, but it’s made me curious to try more.

One of my local shops has a whole non-alcoholic beer section, and I’ve been slowly working through things, finding some good n/a options for the off days. Athletic Brewing’s IPA was a bit less satisfying, but they’ve got a whole range of n/a releases: from hazy IPA to gose to a maple brown. Paulaner Weizen-Radler did the trick, combining a subtle hefeweizen core and spritzy lemon juice, and these have been solid beside spicy chicken sausages as a lunch-beer alternative. Weihenstephaner has an n/a wheat beer I need to check out, and I’ll get around to the various spendy Mikkeller options out there (really enjoyed their Drink’in in the Sun a friend brought on a beach trip). Note that n/a options tend to be priced like normal beers; I see these as being an occasional pickup, when I’m looking for hops etc., just sans alcohol.

Have you headed down the non-alcoholic-beer path yet? Spelunked the non-alcoholic IPA caves? Finding anything particularly good? Hit us up on Twitter via @RareBeerClub.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since we asked Tomme Arthur at The Lost Abbey to part with some of his coveted limited run vintage offerings from the brewery’s cellar. You all responded so well to that offer that we figured it was time to see what else we could try and secure from Tomme. We couldn’t be more happy with the collection of beers they were willing to share with us. Some really special stuff. All limited run, all big gravity bombs. Four vintage beers from 2016-2019 and two 2020 offerings, two of which are barrel aged beers previously only offered to the brewery’s Sinners and Saints club. You’ll want to try all six, trust us.

A list of the beers appears below, but we encourage you to visit the special offer page for full tasting notes and access to the order form.

additional exciting and hard-to-find beers. Cheers!

1. Lost Abbey Gnoel de Abbey (2019) – Holiday Brown Ale. 8.5% ABV.
2. Lost Abbey Serpent’s Stout – Imperial Stout. 11% ABV.
3. Lost Abbey Judgment Day – Abbey Quadrupel w/ raisins. 10.2% ABV.
4. Lost Abbey Ten Commandments (2016) – Belgian Strong Dark Farmhouse Ale w/ blackened raisins and rosemary. 11% ABV.
5. Lost Abbey Sinner’s Blend (2019) – Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout w/ Ecuadorian Coffee, Cacao & Mexican spices. 13.7% ABV.
6. Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme (2017) – Blended Bourbon- and Wine-Barrel-Aged Dark Wild Ale w/ Sour Cherries. 11% ABV.

Flexible ordering allows you to order 4, 6, 8, 12, 18, 24, or 48 total bottles, combining any of the six featured beers in any way to get there so that you can easily try them all.

ORDER ONLINE or at 800-625-8238 Mon – Fri, 7am – 4 pm Pacific. If your Rare Beer Club membership was a gift, you will be contacted by one of our team members for payment information if you submit your order online.

Learn More for full tasting notes, and to access the order form.

The order cut-off for this Special Offer is 12:00 PM Pacific on Thursday, September 24th. Orders will begin shipping out about a week later.

Cheers!

 

 

Kris Calef
President, The Rare Beer Club^®

We asked our owner Kris Calef which 10 beers he’d pick from our inventory to get him through the quarantine. Here’s what we got back:

1. Westvleteren XII (Only 10 bottles left! Call to order)
2. Lost Abbey – Righteous Son Barrel Aged Old Ale
3. West Sixth – Snake Eyes Imperial Stout
4. West Sixth – Hop Static IPA
5. Jopen & De Molen – Sin & Remorse Russian Imperial Stout
6. Brouwerij De Molen – Bommen & Granaten Barley Wine
7. The Bruery – Poterie Bourbon Barrel blended English-Style Old Ale
8. Harpoon – Camp Wannamango Pale Ale with Mango
9. Amager & Mikkeller – Frederiksen Vaesel Brunch Whiskey Barrel Imperial Oatmeal Stout w/ Vietnamese coffee
10. Bruery Terreux – 2017 Mélange No. 9 Bourbon Barrel Sour Blended Ale w/ Ginger & Coconut

Order Online or put together your own dream-team-quarantine mixed case by emailing or calling us at 800-625-8238. Note: You may only purchase one bottle of Westvleteren XII and there’s not too much left, so you might want to act quickly if that one’s on your bucket list.

Thanks so much for supporting our small, family-owned business during these unprecedented times. It means so much to us.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the two pints of beer.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly, and the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed again that it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up the rest of the space. He asked once more if the jar was full, and his students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two pint glasses of beer from under the table and poured the contents of both into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the grains of sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – your family, children, health, friends and your favorite passions; things that, if everything else was lost and only they remained, would still make your life full.”

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else – the small stuff.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.”

“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children, take time to get medical checkups, take your partner out to dinner and play another 18 holes. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the leaky tap. Take care of the golf balls first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities, because the rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem to be, that there’s always room for a couple of beers with a friend.”

– Author Unknown

My new home away from home in Newport News, VA

You ever just stumble into something too good to be true?  Well, that happened to me last week when I was in Newport NewsVA to visit my 93-year-old grandmother.  After flying cross-country all day, I checked into my hotel at 9:30 pm tired, thirsty and famished (I love ya Southwest, but man cannot thrive on peanuts and water alone).

I figured I’d be eating out of a vending machine that night, but asked the gal at the front desk if she knew where I could grab a bite that late on a Tuesday night.  Without hesitation, she told me I needed to head over to The County Grill,  “Some of the best BBQ in the state, hell, in the country”.  “Okay”, I said,”But I really need a place that has good beer too”. “That’s the place for you Mr. Calef”, she confirmed.  “Best beer selection for a hundred miles”.  I was sold and drove a mere 3 blocks to my destination.

I bellied up to the bar and surveyed the beer list which was indeed impressive with such rarities as Hoppin’ Frog’s B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher, a 9.4% Russian Imperial Stout, and Smaltz’s Rejewvenator,  a Belgian Dubbel-German Doppelbock hybrid, brewed with dates and figs.  Started off local, with a nicely crafted American Porter from the St. George B.C. and moved directly into Stone’s Enjoy Before 5-17-13, a 9.4% imperial IPA (I needed to wind down a bit after the long day.  It did the trick). I was now primed for the BBQ and ran with what they’re known for, their pulled pork sandwich…It did not disappoint.

Guiding me through the extensive beer list was Scotty Batten, their well loved and very knowledgeable bartender.  Over the night I shared who I was and it turned out that he’s a current member of our Domestic-International Variety Beer Club.  Gotta love that.

All in all a memorable night…Enough so that I dragged my sister Annie and cousins back the following night.

Cheers!