StringerBella

Thanks fo the info. I also had not seen it on the Shula website and thought that was strange., so that is why I started to look around.

I was looking for information about it, but it doesnt now show up on the Marriott website for that hotel.

Has the Shulas closed?

Thanks MD for the tiny bit of liberty (only from vineyards, and then only if they register and pay). But really, thanks soooooooooooooooooooo much for the added tax!

I know that MoCo is a no go, but does anyone know where I could find bottles of the latest release? Preferably closer to the 270 corridor, and not over in Baltimore.

Obviously there are not too many people interested in cuisine in Denver. But a good place to look for info about food and drink in Denver can be the Cafe Society Blog on the Westword website (Westword is Denver's City Paper).

When I'm back in Colorado, I ship a box of select bottles back to DC, so by the time I return home, I'll have some Odell, New Belgium, and Ska waiting for me (not to mention that you can find Deschutes and Russian River in Colorado!). Having just enjoyed a bottle of Woodcut No. 4 the other evening here in DC, I'm happy that I can have the occasional Odell on the east coast.

As for Left Hand, I've found that Westover Market in Arlington has a decent selection--I got some Fade to Black Vol. 2 there last month. I don't venture to NoVA very often (but certainly more often than I do to Longmont these days!) so when I'm there I stock up on Left Hand.

I live in the People's Republic of MoCo. You will be allowed nothing but what the county offers and like it!!!!

So no shipping to myself, unfortunately. I basically have one friend left living in DC. I dont think she would be all that happy to have a stream of boxes of beer and liquor (Stranahan's) coming to her.

I believe Left Hand is only distributed in VA. In Clarendon, both the Whole Foods and the nearby Best Cellars usually have a few of their brews. In DC, Chevy Chase Wine and Rodman's usually have Avery and Boulder.

Now if we could get Odell here...

The new and improved 21st Century Smokey and the Bandit run is your only hope, my friend.

Run, run back to CO!!!!

I am only partly joking. Even New Belgium seemingly refuses to come any closer to this area than the NC border. Although Flying Dog is now a MD beer (I have a friend in CO who now boycotts it for moving). This area seems to be getting better, but still has a long way to go.

Have you looked at Wegmans or Total Wine? The TW selections vary by store. In my search for Stone's Lucky B*stard, the TW Fairfax and McLean stores had it. The others (Sterling is the closest to me) had no idea what i was even talking about. I cannot remember specifics, but you should go peruse these stores and see what's what.

I dont know where you live, but there are some decent places further out in MD. Gilly's in Rockville. Call them; the person with whom i have spoken in the past is very knowledgeable. And they seem keen on trying to get smaller beers. They had an Oskar Blues beer on tap recently (maybe still). In Frederick, Ye Old Spirit Shop and Westridge Liquors. Calling Westridge can be fruitless. it is owned by a Korean family. I think only the son speaks enough english to answer more than basic questions. Again, i cannot tell you if they would have the beers you are looking for, but both these places have good selections of beer. Beers and Cheers in Germantown is often touted, but i have found a lot of their beers to be grossly overpriced from what you would pay elsewhere.

i have a friend who lives in Howard County. it always seems he can easily find hard to find beers that i cannot find elsewhere. but i don't have any specific names to give you, sorry.

There is a liquor store on CT Ave, just inside the DC border. I am sorry, i cannot recall the name, and i haven't been there in several years. But they had a killer selection of beers back then. definitely the best i had ever seen in this area at that time. At the time, bought a bottle of Avery's The Beast 2004. that was the year of its highest alcohol content for that beer. and yes, it is basically that long since i have been there. too hard to get down into DC.

Also, calling the distributors can be an extremely frustrating experience. it was basically a waste of time when i was looking for the aforementioned Stone beer.

So I have either made Smokey and the Bandit type runs from KC or saved the real CO beer drinking for when i am in Denver.

I take it you've never been to the one in Pentagon City.

I have been to the Pentagon City location often, although not in the last few years. I still would prefer it to the G'burg location. I know someone else also posted about the drive to Frederick. i would still rather do that drive than deal with the G'burg Costco. completely worth it. and will be even more so when i can combine it with a trip to Wegmans. germantown and gaithersburg is becoming a clogged, foresaken wasteland of rotten stores and even worse traffic. been to Lakeforest recently? Even Montgomery Mall is sinking into yuckness. but i digress...no Gaithersburg Costco for me

Wegman's is opening in Frederick this Spring...Building looks just about done from the outside. It will be in "Clemson Corner" which is on Rt 26 just off of 15 North.

Lots of buzz around here about the opening!

SO excited for this...although to me June is really spring (that is that date that they are currently using). I am not holding my breath for the one in MoCo, so i will be trekking up to Frederick for Wegman's, just like I do for Costco. I hate MoCo, right down to its rotten liquor laws.

I absolutely love Costco. One thing I wanted to mention about the meat; many world class BBQ competitors get their meat (at least beef) from Costco.

I never, ever go near the one in Gaithersburg. i think it is literally a gateway to hell; that is the only explanation for its horrific awfulness. it has two tiered parking, except you cannot get the carts down to the bottom level, unless you were to go down and around the entire block. It is always completely wall-to-wall packed with people. And apparently all the really rotten drivers in this area all shop at that Costco. I have never been rammed into or run over with carts so much anywhere else in my entire life. And then the lines for checkout. Absolutely endless. We usually drive up to Frederick. i will go to the Leesburg one if i happen to be on that side of the river. That is a great store. if you hit it on a Friday night, hardly another person in there.

I do have some gripes. First, more than once i have seen stuff in there magazine that i could never find in a store. One was a book, and another was end tables. But in both instances, these were items that were highlighted in the mag, yet i never found in a store ( even looking when in other states). the tables were in several issues of Costco mags, highlighted over and over. never saw a store in which they were stock. VERY annoying. Second, please carry Pampers! LOL! This is clearly more specific to me, but we don't use Huggies or Kirkland. And i wont go to Sam's Club. I don't patronize the Evil empire.

I too was going to hunting for it in VA (MD is a lost cause). I saw in the ABC catalog that it could be had, at least by special order. Well, i called a couple ABC stores in the Leesburg area. A couple had no idea what i was talking about. But at one I spoke to a very nice and helpful person. She said that the new pricing guide had just come out and stated Stranahan's would only be available from now on in CO only.

Not just a bummer, but completely makes NO sense. Strananhan's (for better or worse) was just bought out by a much, much larger company. So shouldn't the distribution be expanding, not contracting? And why not still be available for special orders?

This article links to their decision process, plus with an embedded link as to the sale.

http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2011/01/change_at_stranahans_colorado.php

This whole situation makes me mad. So what, i now have to try to get relatives to bring it out to me, hoping it doesn't get broken in the suitcase or stolen by a bad TSA/baggage handler?

Are they hoping it will turn into a Coors thing (or more recently Fat Tire)? Where it is in great demand, but impossible to get; therefore people go to great lengths to get it? Lame...and highly irritating.