Border beer stores are the bomb for beer lovers

Yes, fellow beer lovers, there is a Santa Claus.

Santa lives and works at Beers of the World, an enchanted place in Rochester, New York where presents - in the form of IPAs, Stouts and other exotic elixirs - are awarded to all the needy people of the world. At least the ones willing to drive to Rochester to get them.

This Santa Claus, regrettably, doesn't deliver.

As soon as I decided on Rochester as the destination for a three-day getaway I was planning with my son, I searched for the best beer store in the city.

Seriously. Doesn't everybody?

I discovered Beers of the World on the first google search and one look at the website, where the beers are itemized by country, sealed the deal.

Rochester, N.Y.

This place is what beer stores could be and should be. It's Heaven, Eden and the Promised Land, all rolled into one. Not to get all religious with my metaphors, but I'm drinking a couple of heavenly IIPAs from that place as I write this and I'm feeling real spiritual.

One look inside this place and you'll be a convert too.

I've been to awesome beer stores south of the border before: Total Wine in Orlando is an amazing place, but three-quarters of the building is reserved for stuff other than beer. Beers of the World is ALL beer. All the time.

I found beers - especially IPAs and all its cousins - from nearly every state in the union and bought as many as I could fit in my shopping cart. Stone, Ballast Point and Alesmith from San Diego; Founders and Bells from Michigan; Smuttynose from New Hampshire and Dogfish Head from Delaware; just to name a few.

I scored beers some international beers as well, though Brew Dog's Punk IPA (Scotland) and 8 Wired's Hopwired (New Zealand) were not to be found on this trip. Next time.

My bill was $113 and well worth every penny.

Two days later we were in Niagara Falls and though I had hardly made a dent in my stash, I decided to top up my take-home case and called in at the Consumer's Beverages Center.

Consumer's Beverages is much smaller than Beers of the World - convenience store sized, compared to grocery superstore sized - but what it lacks in size it makes up in quality.

This is the place I found Alesmith IPA (still in my fridge waiting for the call) and Bell's most awesome Two Hearted Ale. Both brews scored perfect 100s on Rate Beer. It's also where I found Devil Dancer from Founders, a 12 per cent Triple IPA and my first IIIPA ever. More on that in a future blog.

Niagara Falls, N.Y.

While Beers of the World had an incredible choice in singles, the Consumer;s Beverages outlet carried mostly six-packs and an amazing assortment of hard-to-find bomber bottles.

Nearly fifty bucks later I\m headed back to the hotel, trying to figure out how I'm going to stash the extra bottles for the next day's border crossing. Worth every penny and worth every risk.

We really need beer stores like Beers of the World and Consumer's Beverages in Ontario.

Truly a beer geek's paradise.

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I have a ton of beers to review but for this blog I'll just talk about the New York State beers, plus one from nearby Cleveland and the Two Hearted Ale from Bell's Brewery.

Commodore Perry is the signature IPA from Great Lakes Brewery in Cleveland. (Not to be confused with Canada's Brewery of the Year, Great Lakes in Toronto, as I very nearly was last spring. ) I got citrus on the nose, along with grapefruit and some tropical fruit. It was nicely hopped but not overpowering, with a nice bitter finish.

Seven point five per cent ABV with 80 IBUs, the beer scored 94 on Rate Beer.

Next up was Flower Power IPA from Ithaca Brewery, which turned out to be the best of the New York bunch.

The NY State Champion IPA

Flower Power scored a 98 on Rate Beer and with 7.5 per cent ABV and 75 IBUs, it packed a pretty good punch. It poured a deep amber with a thin head and it produced big citrus hops and lots of pine that smack you upside the head right away. Then it was some malt sweetness meeting a dynamite resiny bitterness at the finish. A real solid IPA.

The Kind IPA from Three Heads was next and this 6.8 per cent brew was hoppy on the nose with a medium bitterness. A decent if unspectacular beer.

Lake Placid IPA was next and while I declared Flower Power to be the state champion, this beer (6.8 per cent, 64 IBUs) did not put me in a New York state of mind. It poured very dark with a creamy head and the first taste is caramel malts with subdued citrus hops and a bit of a metallic finish. Not my thing.

Southern Tier's 2XIPA got me back on the winning track, delivering big piney hops right away and citrus and bitter hops on the palate. Super clean and very smooth. Damn good.

The final New York beer was Hoptical Illusion from Blue Point Brewery. Not to be confused with Hoptical Illusion from Flying Monkeys in Barrie, which, by the way, was found on the shelves at Consumer's Beverages.

This beer, which scored just 89 on Rate Beer, was tasty, though not as hoppy as advertised. Malts and piney hops battle it out with lots of carbonation, and though there are hints of citrus up front, there wasn't a lot of bitterness on the finish. Drinkable.

Two Hearted Ale from Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo may be the best IPA of the trip and the first six was so good I went back the next day to grab another. There are still a few in my fridge today. Mmmmm...

This beer, which scored 100 on Rate Beer (with 100 points for style as well!) gave me huge - and I mean huge - citrusy hops right off the bat. I picked up some tropical fruits and a floral bouquet, but it was mostly citrus-grapefruit with a bit of lemon, along with a big bitter finish.

Smooth. Outstanding. It deserved its perfect score.

Cheers!