[Update: This will also be on sale at the brewery Thursday, July 3 from 1-5pm for $7/bottle]

(San Diego, CA) – Alesmith’s prized Double IPA hits store shelves in Southern California as early as this week and distribution to select parts of the US should take place soon after. Alesmith Yulesmith (summer) is in a tie for #49 at RateBeer and sits at #40 on Beer Advocate.

South Bay Drugs is reportedly getting in a shipment today that goes 12-15 cases deep. [ed: Considering that SBD&L ships, some of you that don't have this locally could potentially swing an order that includes Yulesmith, Stone 12th (arriving next Monday), Hair of the Dog Fred, Hair of the Dog Blue Dot, The Bruery, etc. Just be wary of the Yulesmith selling out!]

As far as other SoCal stores, I haven’t seen any yet that keep very good beer pages or show this as arriving. Alesmith also doesn’t list distributors online. If a shipment of this is coming to your store soon, feel free to leave a comment for our readers.

(Quebec City, QUEBEC) – Unibroue Quatre-centième was first released a month ago at a special event in Montreal along with a tasting of two 5-year old Mathusalems (6 liter bottles) of Trois Pistoles. What’s the story with this beer?

From the Canadian Newswire’s press release:

[...] the Quatre-centième will be available to Quebecers and beer lovers in more than 20 countries worldwide, including the United States and France. Unibroue hopes this gesture will enable everyone to share in Quebec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations [...]

The Quatre-centième is a Belgian style double ale, with a strong profile and slightly tart. We managed to balance four spices: one for each century of Quebec City’s history.

According to Pubzone, as of June 9, “La Quatre-centième is available across Quebec in 750 mL bottles and on tap. A series of 400 6L bottles will also be available in limited edition.”

The Wine and Cheese Place in St. Louis is advertising pre-orders on its website.

For those that want the press release in French, click here.

leviathan (lēvī’əthən) , in the Bible [Job], aquatic monster, presumably the crocodile, the whale, or a dragon. It was a symbol of evil to be ultimately defeated by the power of good. – Columbia University Press

(Boston, MA) – Harpoon Brewery, the 10th ranked craft brewery in the country (in 2007 sales), recently made a splash with the announcement of its new Leviathan line of beers. For years, the brewery’s 100 Barrel Series has been its only play at the limited release market, the biggest growth segment in craft brewing in 2007 according to the Brewers Association. Unfortunately, the 100 Barrel Series beers have been met with mixed reviews over the years. The new Leviathan line, however, could put Harpoon on the radar of those looking for upper echelon brews. Continue on! »

Let me preface this week’s roundup by pointing you to our new polling system. Each week I will throw up a new poll (found on the lower right sidebar). This week’s poll, which I will keep up through the middle of next week, asks readers what new item/improvement they would like to see on this blog next. I may have left out an option or two that you would like to see (i.e., more frequent updating of the release date list!). If I did leave something out, email me or leave a comment in this thread. While the most votes doesn’t necessarily mean that I will automatically introduce that feature, I will give the results strong consideration.

There are multiple forms of feedback available. This poll is just one of them. If there is anything pertaining to the site that you’d like to comment on (posts you like, errors/glitches, beer tips even if it’s from your own brewery, etc.), you can hit me up by email (upper left), comment in a thread, or send me a quick note on Twitter (upper left). OK, now that you’re asleep, here is the news in quick hit-style since there is so much ground to cover…

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Lost Abbey
Tomme Arthur has probably been more busy at his computer than brewing recently. He initially made waves this week in officially announcing this Saturday’s release of Continue on! »