Beer haul: Cigar City, Stone, Hoppin' Frog and Bell's

After being alerted on BeerAdvocate that Stone's 13th Anniversary ale was in stock at Total Wine & More, I had to get some. (Remember, Stone calls this the "hoppiest beer we've ever brewed.") Sure enough, a phone call confirmed that they had 22-ounce bottles in stock for $7 each. So I headed over on today.

Not only did they have the anniversary ale, they also had Stone's Cali-Belgique ($6), their take on a Belgian IPA.

I also picked up a new Cigar City beer: Bolita Brown ($10 for a 750 mL), their double English brown ale that's 9 percent alcohol. Cigar City beers sell fast, so get them while you can at your favorite beer store.

I also bought three bottles of Hoppin Frog, an Ohio brewery that's a new arrival here. Pricey stuff for 22-ounce bottles: I hope they're good. The three: B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout ($10), Hoppin' to Heaven IPA ($9) and Mean Manalishi Double IPA ($12!).

Finally I bought a 12-ounce bottle of Bell's Sparkling Ale, a Belgian triple that they compare to champagne. And no, we're not talking about Miller High Life.

All these are new beers for me. Exciting stuff.

New arrival: Magic Hat

Beers from the Magic Hat Brewing Co. of Burlington, Vt., are in Sarasota. So far I've only seen their flagship, No. 9, at the Cock & Bull Pub in Sarasota. Magic Hat sent our entertainment editor a press release (and a beer!) that also said No. 9 is at The Distillery and The Lost Kangaroo Pub in Bradenton.

No. 9 is a good beer. Spicy and Belgian-like, and easy to drink and very approachable for those who aren't beer geeks.

Charity beer tasting in Sarasota

Morton's Gourmet Market, 1924 S. Osprey Ave. in Sarasota, is hosting its annual Celebration of Brewing event on Saturday, Aug. 29 from 4 to 7 p.m. The event will benefit All Faiths Food Bank.

They say they'll have beers "from around the world" and "beer-friendly cuisine," which I would argue is pretty much all food because beer is so versatile, far more versatile than wine. (Check out the menu for Mattison's Brooklyn beer dinner to see what I mean.)

I also hope the international selection of beers isn't just the usual Bud-Miller-Coors suspects with Heineken and Corona thrown in.

There will also be cooking demonstrations with Morton's chefs and a charity raffle.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Call (941) 955-9856 or visit mortonsmarket.com for more information and to buy tickets.

Details on Mattison's beer dinner

To update a previous entry, Mattison's Forty-One restaurant, 7275 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota, is hosting a five-course beer tasting dinner on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. They are featured beers from Brooklyn, an awesome New York brewery. They supplied details on the menu:

Grilled Peach Salad: 
shaved prosciutto, bitter greens, goat cheese fondue and 
honey-thyme vinaigrette
. The beer: Brooklyner Weisse

Shrimp Cocktail: 
jerk-ginger marinated shrimp, avocado relish and preserved lemon cocktail sauce
. The beer: Brooklyn Sorachi Ace

Fish and Chips: 
Brooklyn beer tempura-fried grouper, fingerling potato chips,
 caper/garlic remoulade and malt vinegar syrup. The beer: Brooklyn Lager



Pork Tenderloin Medallions: 
herbed-caraway crusted pork medallions, apple/pancetta braised cabbage and
roasted pork demiglaze. The beer: Brooklyn Local 2



and for dessert:

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout Brulee served with Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

The event is $40 per person and reservations are required. Call (941) 921-3400 or go to mattisons.com to buy tickets.

Review: Theobroma

Dogfish Head likes to brew "high concept" beers. Like Pangaea, which uses ingredients from all the continents, including water from Antarctic icebergs.

Here's their description of Theobroma:

This beer is based on chemical analysis of pottery fragments found in Honduras which revealed the earliest known alcoholic chocolate drink used by early civilizations to toast special occasions. The discovery of this beverage pushed back the earliest use of cocoa for human consumption more than 500 years to 1200 BC. As per the analysis, Dogfish Head’s Theobroma (translated into 'food of the gods') is brewed with Aztec cocoa powder and cocoa nibs (from our friends at Askinosie Chocolate), honey, chilies, and annatto (fragrant tree seeds).

I love beers like this and have always been impressed with Dogfish Head. So I had to pick up a 750 mL bottle when I saw it at Total Wine & More. It was $14, expensive.

So I opened it tonight. I'll spare you my detailed review, which you can read here.

After drinking about eight ounces, I was getting a bad feeling in my stomach and did something I've never done before: I poured the rest of the glass down the drain.

I hate to give a bad review to a beer from such a great brewery, but this beer was bad. The flavor is mainly of bad chiles and a bit of cocoa.

I'm thinking of trying to get a refund from Total Wine. But I think the beer was exactly as Dogfish Head intended it and not spoiled. Should I just chalk it up to experience?