Brewsflash- The Pulse of Joe's Beverage Warehouse

Welcome back, everyone! We have some major industry news in the works, as well as a bounty full of new releases slated to hit our shelves this week. BREAKING NEWS : Cigar City Brewing Hitting our Shelves This February! After years of dominating the beer scene in Florida and many southern states, Tampa, Florida's Cigar City Brewing recently announced that they will be beginning distribution to the Chicago market this February. Best known for their "Jai Alai IPA" and "Hunaphu's Imperial Stout," Cigar City sits in the upper-echelon of American craft breweries in terms of overall popularity. The brewery's arrival to the Chicago market has been long-awaited. From my personal perspective, I have many customers who travel down to Tampa annually in hopes of snagging a few bottles of one of the brewery's limited beers. As with all other breweries that we work with, we plan on being THE destination for all Cigar City limited releases and special events. W

Marz Brewing of Chicago has been outright kicking ass in our store since we began carrying their beers a few months ago. This past month, Marz has serenaded us with a beautiful array of hazy IPAs, such as "Holihaze," "Tart n Tangy," "Crazy Straws," and "Overhaze." This week, Marz changed things up, brewing "Bubbly Kriek," a tart and fruity Berliner Weiss brewed with fresh cherries. I had the pleasure of drinking a few of these bad boys and I thought so highly of it that I would like to share my experience with you. Freshly Poured Into our Finest Plastic Cup (for um....Aromatic Purposes) Aroma:   This beer oozes a strong sour cherry aroma upon opening. Without having to actually taste the beer, one can sense the fruitiness and acidity it purveys from its smell alone. Pour : The fluidity of this beer's entrance into my cup was smooth as hell. With a subtle haze and the darkness of a cold glass of sweet tea on a hot summ

Welcome back my fellow beer geeks! Thank you for your continued support in providing a forum for me to share all the latest info on the craft beer scene at my store. By now I'm sure that you're sick of hearing me talk (or......reading me talk?) and want me to get to the point. Well, the point here is that we have TONS of new and exciting beer releases set for this week and you should stop by ASAP: Marz Cryoflayer  Would this list even be worth reading if it didn't include the latest concoction brewed up by Marz? This week, we'll be receiving "Cryoflayer," a  triple dry-hopped  New England-Style double IPA. Marz has brewed this beer to commemorate the 8th anniversary of their annual Dungeons and Dragons event: "Level Eater," which they do in collaboration with  3 Floyds . This beer, just like last week's Level Eater Barleyquad, weighs in at 8.88% ABV. Personally, I can't wait to guzzle down a four-pack of this hazy, juicy and aromatic bee

Welcome back my fellow beer geeks! (No we do NOT have a drinking problem, we are merely "beverage enthusiasts.") We have all sorts of cool brews coming soon and we are excited to give you some inside info! Half Acre Plane Wave This IPA is a doozy, using 30% more hops than your average IPA (not quite hopslam, which might be a good thing depending on who you ask.) Half Acre uses exclusively first-generation yeast in making this beer, which makes it incredibly fresh. While this beer uses no fruit ingredients, it is very fruit-forward on the palate. Look for Plane Wave on our shelves on Friday, January 19th. Marz Level Eater 8.88 For what it's worth, our staff unanimously-agrees that Marz is the most innovative brewery we currently stock. Taking a break from their recent hazy IPA kick (see: Holihaze, Tart n' Tangy), Marz is now diving into barrels. Their most recent release, "Level Eater 8.88," is a barleywine blended with a belgian quadruple ale. Th

In all walks of life, there are those who walk in the footsteps of giants, and there are others who choose to blaze their own trails. This holds true in the craft beer industry, where there are now over 6,000 breweries in the U.S. alone. Under these circumstances, many breweries continue to falter as they churn out the same old tired IPAs and lagers. One brewery, however, has gone out on a limb and is now changing the game and spreading its wings at Cardinal Liquor Depot Joliet. MobCraft Presenting Their Business on Reality TV hit show "Shark Tank" Changing The Game :  As I was flipping through channels one boring night, I decided to check out "Shark Tank," a reality show where business owners present their plans and goals to a group of successful wealthy business moguls in hopes of receiving their blessing in the form of an investment in their companies. On this night, MobCraft Brewing of Milwaukee was on the show, pitching their idea to the "Sharks.

Being the largest and coolest liquor store in Joliet is always fun. One of its greatest perks is that we get to taste all sorts of awesome beers. Today, our pal Imen tasted the brand new, fresh-as-hell, Marz Tart N Tangy Wild New England Style IPA. Here's what he thought of it (Disclaimer: Imen has never met a beer that he didn't like.) Marz Tart N Tangy, In all its glory! Aroma: Powerful yet delicate citrusy aroma, with a slightly funky afternote. The lemon and grapefruit flavors are palpable before tasting it. Pour: This beer looks like most New England Style IPAs, except it pours slightly lighter, probably because it is a hybrid wild sour/NE style IPA. Also, the lactose finish, which has been present in the last three Marz NEIPAs, gives the beer a more full and "hazy" look. It's not quite as thick as a stout, but also not as light as a run-of-the-mill IPA. Imen During the "Taste" Segment of this Article.  (He may have had more than a

As you all know by now, we are teaming up with Joliet's own Mygrain Brewing Co. to make some badass beer. Yesterday we drove over to the brewery to roll up our sleeves and get to work on "Escape From Stateville." The Process : I'm sure many of you are wondering how this whole process began. About a year ago, our staff caught wind of a new brewery opening in downtown Joliet. When this happened, I, a Facebook-obsessed beer slinger, messaged the brewery to see what they were all about. From there, I stayed in contact with brewery management. In early December, the brewery messaged me that they were finally ready to sell us some of their beer, and we set up a last minute tasting at the store to accompany the beer. In a hilarious turn of events, the day that we received their beer just so happened to be the same day that we received our allotment of Founders CBS. As I arrived to work that Friday afternoon, I walked past about 100 people who were waiting in line in ho

Often times in the beer industry, we know that we are going to receive certain limited releases, but we don't know exactly when they'll be in. For this reason, the best we can do, is let you know that we will be receiving them........eventually. With this, here are a few special releases that will be available this January: Bell's Hopslam : Does it even need a description? Bell's world famous (probably) Hopslam is on its way! This Double IPA will be in store in mid-January (probably Jan 15th or 16th....) Prairie Artisan Ales: Pirate Bomb and Pirate Noir Following up the enormously popular barrel-aged releases last month, we will have Prairie Pirate Bomb (Rum barrel-aged imperial stout with coffee, cocoa nibs, vanilla beans and ancho chili) and Pirate Noir (an imperial stout aged in rum barrels.) Both beers will be available soon, possibly by January 12th. Stay tuned to our facebook page for an update. Revolution Straight Jacket Revolution's Deep Woods

Hey Everyone! Thanks for checking out our brand new blog, where we'll keep you in the loop on what's new and what's on the way. We'll do our best to keep you entertained, which shouldn't be hard because we are pretty friggin' cool! Coming This Week: Marz Community Brewing: Our friends at Marz, known for their creative and unique beer styles, are back at it this week with their latest release: "Tart N' Tangy," a hybrid Wild New England Style IPA with Lactose. This release comes on the heels of Marz's previous two phenomenal "Hazy" IPAs, Holihaze and Crazy Straws. Look for Tart N' Tangy on our shelves this week. Illuminated Brew Works: To be enjoyed with people you trust, of course, Illuminated has a few new batches brewing. This week, they'll be releasing "Spoonful of Sugar," a Double Dry Hopped Double IPA brewed with Motueka, Citra and Galaxy Hops, with a lactose finish to top it off. Not in the mood for