Tag: beer

Categories
New Arrivals

A Plethora of Pumpkins and Other New Arrivals

Have you ever wished you could be the first one in town to hear about the arrivals of seasonal beers, limited-release wines, and small-batch spirits that are hard-to-find? Well, we’ve had a solution for some time now; just head over to MainDepotConnection.com (or sign up right here on Main Party’s home page), and get on the list! What list, you ask? The VIP list that puts all this information right in your inbox, that’s what list! We don’t flood you with a torrent of trivial notices, because our Main Man David is too busy running the store and keeping the shelves stocked for you! But every couple of weeks or so, David will send you a friendly personal message giving you the low-down on all our latest arrivals and any especially-special deals we may be offering. If you’ve read this far, that means you probably didn’t get David’s latest missive, so we’ve included it below. So if you want to be the first kid on the block to know about our next round of new arrivals, just sign up, and we’ll send info like this a good week or so before it ends up on the website. And as you probably know, that can be the difference between the haves and the have-nots when it comes to limited and seasonal releases!

Here’s the latest from David:

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Categories
Holidays

Holiday Specials & Fiscal Cliff Gifts

Although many fear that the world will end this year in the Aporkalypse or Carmageddon, or that we’ll all be driving off a fiscal cliff, we’re pretty sure that all that will happen on December 21st is that the days will start getting longer like they do every year, and a few days later Christmas will be here once again. And a few days after that, those fussbudgets in Washington will work out a deal to keep the economy chugging along. That’s why we’ve gone ahead and selected some wine specials and Christmas beers to help you round out your holiday shopping without breaking the bank. This year’s Christmas beer selection has some of the same beers featured last year and the year before, a few of which are no longer in production. Like Mikkeller Santa’s Little Helper, Serafijn Christmas Angel, Ølfabrikken Winter Porter, Nøgne Ø Jolly Pumpkin Special Holiday Ale. Wow. That’s a lot of Ø’s. By the way, have you ever wondered what that “Ø” character is called? Believe it or not, it’s called an “Ø” .

If that someone special on your list is more partial to distilled spirits than beer or wine, and if money is no object, or if you want to drive off your OWN fiscal cliff, we’re here to help*. A couple of years ago, we pointed out that right above your head at Main Party is a treasure trove of exotic premium spirits, from the Dewar’s Signature Boxed set for a mere $241.53, to the Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac for just under two thousand. This year’s pricey collector’s items top out with the amazing Macallan Masters of Photography collector’s edition. The 30 Year Rankin Edition is priced at $2158.39. We also have the 20 Year Albert Watson Edition for $1215.24. But you don’t have to spend THAT much for a unique bottle of fine spirits; many of the hundreds of items on the shelves near the ceiling are less than fifty dollars, and make for a fine holiday gift. Holiday shopping got you down? Chin up, and you may find the perfect gift!

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Categories
Humor

How To Avoid a Pumpkin Tragedy


The other day, I witnessed a genuine Pumpkin Tragedy. No, not the kind you see pictured at left; we see those every year around this time. This tragedy was real, and it pained me to see the forlorn look on the customers face when David, the manager, uttered the words “Sorry, we were out of New Holland Ichabod Pumpkin Ale almost as soon as it was in the door”. The poor woman looked like she was nine years old, and just learned that her pet hamster had died. Until, that is, David told her about how she might avert this kind of craft beer catastrophe in the future. He told her about the MainDepotConnection, and how signing up was probably the ONLY way she’d have a chance at purchasing certain limited releases, and in general a pretty good way to at least get queued up to be in the store on limited release items that come in batches larger than a few cases. Sign up today to avert your OWN Pumpkin Tragedy.

Categories
New Arrivals

Gluttony May Be a Sin, but Gluten-Free is Not

Gluten Free BeerIt’s great to see so many producers striving to create some quality gluten-free beers. More and more people are discovering all the time that even if they haven’t been diagnosed with Celiac Disease – probably the most common reason to go on a gluten free diet – they just seem to FEEL better when they lower their gluten intake. And some producers are actually pulling it off; of the beers listed below, David & Joe (the manager and owner) actually RAVED about what a great beer the Brunehaut Blonde is, gluten-free or not. But you know what I’d love to see? A comprehensive blind taste test of gluten-free beer against conventional beer. Why? Because I think they’d get a much better rap than they do when the reviewer KNOWS that they’re tasting a gluten-free beer. We often link to reviews on Beer Advocate, because there is a huge community of exceptionally knowledgeable beer connoisseurs there. But we took a quick glance at what they had to say about most gluten-free beers, and decided they were being way too harsh. We first talked about people’s ability to taste nearly a decade ago, and periodically someone will do a well-publicized blind taste test of wines, and get shocking results like the $80 Pinot Noir beating the $5,000 Pinot Noir. Or discovering that the same wine tastes better when it’s priced at $90 than when it’s priced at $10. It’s likely that the reason that we don’t see many high-profile blind taste tests is because of the lesson learned by a bunch of snobs in France in 1976 at the Judgment of Paris, when a slew of lowly California wines took all the awards. The fact is, psychology plays a HUGE factor in taste, whether it’s wine, beer, spirits, or even food. So whether you’re trying to eliminate gluten from your diet or not, maybe it’s time to give one of these beers a shot. Lakefront was the first in the US to get a gluten-free label, but Bard’s is produced by two beer lovers striving to create a beer they themselves like, after finding out they had celiac disease. And New Planet is not only making some interesting beers, but each of their labels is named after a concept that helps “do good things” for the planet. So whether you want to do something good for yourself, or do something good for the planet, give gluten-free a shot. You might be surprised at how tasty some of these beers actually are, especially if you’re a cider fan. And if you ARE a cider fan, we have over 30 of those on hand to sample as well! Check out the gluten free choices below.

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Categories
Holidays

Yule Be Glad To Hear That Christmas Beer Is Here Again

Have you ever heard of the Christmas 5 Pack? According to Urban Dictionary, this is the term that describes those times when you buy that new seasonal beer that you’ve never tried for your friend as a Christmas gift, and by the time you actually get to your friend’s house, he ends up with – you guessed it –  the Christmas 5 pack. If you’ve ever experienced a Michigan winter, you know that the same conditions that inspired the hearty and flamboyant winter brews in northern Europe are just around the corner by the time December arrives, which is why we’re highlighting a few of the couple dozen winter and Christmas beers we have on hand. We went into more depth last year, but the fact is that the average craft beer lover these days is well studied enough that we won’t be telling them anything they don’t already know, so we won’t bore you. Suffice to say that ever since the Santa’s Butt Scandal of a few years ago, beer makers have all the freedom they want to have fun with their winter brews, and they exercise it. As well as the established names in winter and Christmas beers, we usually have any smaller production holiday craft beer that’s available in Michigan. Call us if you’re looking for something special, many of these craft brewery specialties are sold out almost the day they come in, so we don’t torture our valued customers by listing them!

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