As we always travel with BeerFly print-outs, it was a pleasant surprise to meet Scott and Michael of Ted’s Butcher Block at the High Cotton dinner. Ted’s was already on our list. They seemed excited to meet us and Scott even reads our blog—wow!!!—so we gratefully accepted the invite to drop by today before leaving town. This amazing little market café is a gastonomic dream with world cheeses, wine, a small but top-notch beer selection, a butcher’s counter and a sandwich menu that is nearly impossible to choose from. (We went with the New Orleans panini and had no regrets.)

While we waited on paninis and shopped, Michael broke-out something from his personal stash—the brand new Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence, brewed for Ommegang’s tenth anniversary. What a treat! It’s made with Belgian chocolate and having not really had any coffee this morning, it was the perfect thing to have before lunch for a little kick. Sweet and bitter at the same time, we loved it so much that we’re going to be making some calls this week to get the scoop. This is a must-have beer for the holiday season.

At Ted’s, we were able to expand our vintages of Thomas Hardy’s, as well as add a few things to the beer cellar with Coopers Vintage Ale, De Troch’s Chapeau Framboise, Satan, some Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza and a few of the new-label Koningshoeven Quadrupel (a brew we can no longer get for whatever reason). It was a tidy little beer haul and nifty little place. We look forward to their visit to Ashvegas so we can reciprocate!

Finally, before heading home, we rounded-out the beer run with a stop at Whole Foods in Charleston, where we scored four brews from the portfolio of Cisco Brewers in Nantucket, including the Bailey’s Ale, Moor Porter, Captain Swain’s Extra Stout, and Celebration Libation. A quick run into Green’s in Columbia netted us some New Holland Black Tulip and Dragon’s Milk, as well as a sweet stash of 3 Monts.