We really thought this was going to be a slow week, but turns out that there are a few new things after all.

DUCK RABBIT Rabid Duck*
GREEN FLASH Hop Head Red*
PLANK Bavarian Hefe-weizen

Dieu du Ciel is a tiny micro-brewery in the heart of Montréal, Quebec. The most famous of their beers is Péché Mortel—or “Mortal Sin”—an extremely rich coffee imperial stout. Péché Mortel is one of the few beers to receive an A+ rating on BeerAdvocate and a 100pt score on RateBeer. You can read more about it here. Péché Mortel is sent to the US in small batches of 50 cases (or less) only a few times a year. Get it while you can!

Explore the rest of the line-up as well. We just love the beer names and, maybe more, the label art.

DIEU DU CIEL Péché Mortel (Mortal Sin)
DIEU DU CIEL Dernière Volonté (Last Will)
DIEU DU CIEL Corne du Diable (Devil’s Horn)
DIEU DU CIEL Route des épices (Spice Route)
DIEU DU CIEL Rosée d’Hibiscus (Pinkish Hibiscus)

Oh, happy day! This series of brews has been looking for a home for some time now, but it’s here. De Proef, headed by creative brewmaster Dick Naudts (aka The Prof), has put out a series of brews called the Brewmaster’s Collection. Five of the six offerings were selected for Michael Jackson’s Rare Beer Club. (We gushed about Signature Ale last year, which is a collaboration between Naudts and Port Brewing/Lost Abbey brewer, Tomme Arthur. “A complex hybrid of aggressively hopped west coast IPA, combined with traditional Belgian brettanomyces fermentation.”) Only one of the brews in the series didn’t make it this week, Lozen Boer Abt, but we should have it soon.

DE PROEF Signature Ale
DE PROEF La Grande Blanche Imperial White Ale
DE PROEF Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale
DE PROEF Saison Imperiale
DE PROEF Zoetzuur Flemish Ale

Still basking in the success that was bottled Sexual Chocolate, Foothills Brewery in Winston-Salem picked-up two medals at the World Beer Cup last week. Foothills brought home the Gold for their People’s Porter (Robust Porter category) and a Silver for Total Eclipse Stout (American Style Stout category).

Ham’s Brewhouse and Restaurant in Greenville won Bronze for their Peg Leg Pale Ale (America Style Strong Pale Ale category).

Congrats! View the full list here.

We can hardly believe it’s that time again, but February sees the ‘08 release of Foothills Brewing’s delicious Sexual Chocolate. Of course, Barley’s will get a keg and they will be sent westward on February 4. Here’s the kicker (from BeerAdvocate):

Sexual Chocolate ‘08 will be tapped January 30th in dual locations: Tyler’s Durham and Foothills Brewing Company.The Sexual Chocolate will have limited distribution to accounts in North and South Carolina…only 20 kegs will be released (some will be 5gal). SC ‘08 will be found for sure at both Tyler’s, 3 Flying Saucers (Ral,Cha,Col), Six Pence Pub(Blowing Rock), 6th & Vine (WS), Snapshot (Greenville, SC), Barley’s Ashe–plus a few more. Kegs will go out the week of February 4th, so mark your calendars…Look for events at Flying Saucer Charlotte and Raleigh on Feb. 6.NOW FOR THE BIG NEWS:Foothills Brewing Company will host a Sexual Chocolate Release event on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2 at homebase. The reason for waiting a few days after the release???

We thought it might be easier for those of you with day jobs to make it on Saturday…Plus, we will be releasing Sexual Chocolate in 500, limited edition, 22oz. bottles. Exact pricing in a few days, but there will be a limit of 12 per customer. Cash or cards will be accepted—no checks. Due to the limited volume of Sexual Chocolate, no growlers will be available. Tours will be availble for those 1st timers….Saturday will also see some special beers on tap at Foothills, so come and hang out for a while. Foothills merchandise will be available as well.

I will update this post over the weekend…Thanks for your patience and loyalty. Also, please DO NOT call the pub seeking information, I will let you know as soon as I do…Just wanted to give a little planning time to those with a haul.

We are so happy that more NC breweries are seeing the value of bottling these limited releases. It creates buzz for our state and is over all a very good thing for beer.