Coral Bay Wine and Spirits

We are a locally owned establishment located in Greeley, CO, who have been proudly slangin' BOOZE since Fall 2011!

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WIBBY BREWING and a CHICAGO CUB CONNECTION

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The End Of Craft Beer?

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Colorado’s Homegrown Beer

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Wine Pairings from the Author of Cork Dork

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Vindication Brewery where proof is in the pint

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Warrior Pose One-Beer Two

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You CAN drink the water with Help From George Clooney

What is going on when it comes to stories within the World Wide Web about beer, wine and Spirits? I have a few articles that I am going to share with you. Including a story of a no hangover Tequila that is partially owned by George Clooney.

  In San Diego you can stop off at Stone Brewing for their “Full Circle” pale ale. Let me warn you first that if you are reading and eating well you might want to stop one of those. The special water for the crafted beer comes from sewage.

 Stone uses a system through San Diego’s Pure Water to treat the recycled water. In the Huffington Post article it is noted that “San Diego officials hope to purify enough recycled water by 2035 to handle one-third of the city’s drinking water supply.”

 Currently Full Circle is not for sale per Stone Brewery but if it does we will let you know.

 Do you like your wine red? Do you want to live longer? If you answered yes to those two questions then this piece by Rob Buckhaven is going to maybe change your life.

 Buckhaven writes that science has shown that there is a natural compound found in red wine called ‘resveratrol’ is the key ingredient to help slow down aging.

  Personally I am not a wine snob but knowing that red is better for you I would hope that the recommendations in Buckhaven’s article will steer you towards a healthier life style. Towards the end you will read a list of not only the best region and (a spoiler alert Australia is not on the list) but type of red wine will help with your fountain of youth.

 Coral Bay has their version of a Tequila Sommelier. His name is Mike or as the staff knows him as “OG Mike.” I would be curious of what Mike would think about a Tequila that supposedly does not give you a hangover.

  The international actor as well as businessman George Clooney along with a couple other friends has perfected this concept. Hold on before you go out and think you can drink, drink many more glasses of “Casamigos” you really should not. Moderation is what the writer Allison Millington talks about and if you are a novice to this world you really do not want to attempt over indulging.

 The three friends of Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman came up with “Casamigos” because of their passion for not just drinking tequila but creating a drink that you can sit down with friends and socialize is what I got out of Millington’s writing.

 “House Of Friends” is the translation of Casamigos and the three friends do sample each new batch. Talk about hands on approach. One of my favorite quotes from the article came from Gerber and I will admit I have a man crush on Clooney but this really says it all to me:

 "What was really important for George and I was that we have the best tequila, but we make it affordable for everyone," he said. "George doesn’t need the money, I didn’t need it, Mike didn’t need it — it wasn’t the reason behind launching a tequila. We wanted everyone to be able to drink it and not be exclusive."

 Listening to “OG Mike” talk at Coral Bay about his passion for Tequila occasionally makes me think of trying one of his recommendations but after learning about the benefits of red wine and Resveratrol I will stick with to red wine.

 What did we learn? It is OK to drink the water in San Diego and Stone Brewery. Drinking certain regions of Red Wine you will live longer. I have a man crush on George Clooney.

Tommy Maloney is a Speaker, Author, and Parenting Success Coach.  The author of “25 Tips For Divorced Dads.” “Why Not you, Why Not me and His new book “My Dad’s Advice At 5:04 AM” is coming out in 2017. Email contact: [email protected]

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Cooking Ideas With Booze

Welcome to OZ and here is a peak behind the curtain. This post is about ideas to help you with adding different flavors when you are cooking. However I am battling the “crud” and food is not where my head is. However the show must go on.

 When people come into Coral Bay many of you ask what is either a good “CHEAP” wine to use for cooking. Honestly that is an insult to your taste buds. OK, I am not saying to buy more expense wine. What I am saying is to get something that is going to enhance the flavor of the food. You do not need to be Julia Child, Rachel Ray or Bobby Flay. Have fun with cooking.

  In our refrigerator there are two beers that I am saving for to use the next time we make brats. These beers are from Crab Tree Brewery. It is their Peach Habanero Red that I want to use to boil the brats in.  

 One customer came in to purchase Redd’s for his brat’s. I found this fascinating because I have heard others using strictly beers with jalapenos infused. The recommendation was to pierce the brats (as you might do already) and that way the apple flavor will then enhance the taste.

 Another fun cooking idea came about just this past week. Beer Can Chicken is where you well, I will just let the picture here set the tone. Anyway a customer wanted more of a citrus flavor for their chicken. I would venture to guess that this too could be a fun experiment with cooking.

 There you have it and I hope that you are inspired to cook with different types of adult beverages. Learn from your purchases. Try different kinds of wines and beers. Asking your friends what they have used or maybe would of changed in a recipe. Cooking is one of those life skills that people are in “aw” of. You just might be the next Julia, Rachel, Bobby or heck YOU.

BON APPETIT!!!    

Tommy Maloney is a Speaker, Author, and Parenting Success Coach.  The author of "25 Tips For Divorced Dads.” “Why Not you, Why Not me and His new book “My Dad’s Advice At 5:04 AM” is coming out in 2017. Email contact: [email protected]

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3 Tips On How To Give A Toast

You might be freaking out, sweating through your undergarments or even maybe, just maybe ready to pass out. What am I talking about?? Do I have food poisoning? Nope you are fine. Heck you are more then fine you are to give a speech or a TOAST!

 One of the most common “Toasts” is at a wedding. In the movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral” Hugh Grants’ character gives a speech that has humor and a bit of realism with in the context of the toast because Grant is somewhat anti marriage However and yes I know it is still a movie but the toast is very well written and it has elements within the context that you could use as a blueprint.

 One more example of a wedding toast from a movie is from “Joy”. Robert De Niros’ character gives more of a toast that come across as well, to honest or even  down right pompous. Yes I know it is still a movie.

 What I want to talk to you about during this post are three tips on how to give a great toast for your next event. OK now you might be asking to yourself out loud “how does this blogger know anything about giving a toast?” What a great question to ask. I am not just a blogger but also a professional speaker. If you are familiar with TEDx Talks then I will admit I have spoken on that stage. I have presented keynotes and have a podcast as well. I am a firm believer in the world of communication.

 As the kids would say “I am keeping it real.”

 When you are going to give a toast, a presentation or maybe an interview the first tip to consider is to be authentic.  Do not try to be someone you are not. One of my hero’s was DR. Wayne Dwyer whom you might of seen on PBS or read one of his many books. He expressed that for him he had to speak from the heart. Yes you should practice your toast but it needs to be in your language or mannerisms. Personally when I am speaking I know my foundation speech but I always leave room to improvise on certain subtleties. OK we want you to speak from the heart is the first tip.

 Practice, Practice and don’t.

 I want you to practice your toast but you do not need to over do it because as I stated in the previous tip, you should be you when you speak. I do believe in rehearsing a talk until it is second nature. I do also believe in having wiggle room as well. For example maybe you met someone at the event and you can use that story in your toast. A great toast is one that sounds natural and from the heart.

  Time to go home

 The last piece is to wrap it up and bring it back home. Your opening and closing should be tied together. Your opening of a wedding toast could be how you met the bride or groom. You end the toast maybe how because all of the guest are all in one room because of the relationship’s that were formed because of the “happy couple.” For those of you who are getting ready to do a wedding toast I again would watch Hugh Grants’ toast because of how he concluded it.

 Giving a toast can be stressful but if you follow these three tips while having fun you will crush it. Words of warning are to make sure to watch your alcohol intake. Your nerves might get to you but there is nothing worse then watching a Technicolor burp while presenting the toast due to several to many drinks. Once you accomplish the toast then celebrate your personal win.

                                                            Sláinte!

 Tommy Maloney is a Speaker, Author, and Parenting Success Coach.  The author of "25 Tips For Divorced Dads.” “Why Not you, Why Not me and His new book “My Dad’s Advice At 5:04 AM” is coming out in 2017. Email contact: [email protected]

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Local Just Taste Better

What do you get when you take two great local brands in the world of adult beverages and create a unique beer? Well, you get a craft beer specially created by Grimm Brothers for Coral Bay.  Yes time is running out to get your hands on one (or two) of this once in a lifetime brew.

How did this collaboration come about? Here are the answers to that and a few other questions. From the home office in Loveland Colorado, Laura with Grimm Brothers will give you the inside scoop.

 How did this beer come about? “My co-worker Russell Fruits, who is in charge of sales was visiting Coral Bay and they were interested in doing a collaboration with Grimm Brothers’ beer and one of their barrels. We have done other liquor store barrels in the past and it is a fun opportunity to experiment with barrels on a small scale”

 Why was this flavor created? “Don, Aaron and Russell (Grimm Owners) decided that a stout, with nice chocolate and light roast notes would provide a good combination with the rum flavors.  It is approximately 5% ABV and aged in the barrel for 10 months.”

 How many cases were produced? “This was a very limited release, only producing 14 cases.”

 What is the benefit of working with a local liquor store? “The biggest benefit of creating this beer with Coral Bay is the opportunity to collaborate with local businesses in our community and do something fun and different.”

 The barrel that was used to create this beer is in the store. Is there a story behind this special barrel? “I am not familiar with the barrel's history or if it has any interesting stories. Coral Bay probably knows its history.”

The bottle uses a cork. Why did this beer go that way VS just using a bottle cap? “There are a couple of reasons for using the cork and cage method. First is that it can helps reduce oxidation and preserve the flavor as the beer ages.  Also when brewing a special beer such as this one, with such limited quantity,  Cork and cage creates a wonderful presentation, like the beer was made, by hand and with care.”

 There you have it. Please stop because as you read there was only a limit of cases created.

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To Screw or Not To Screw

Warning if you are a wine snob. Please stop reading and leave.

 For the rest of us that are somewhat normal this post is for you. This post is to answer the age-old question Cork VS Screw Cap. The question was actually posed to me twice last week and lucky for you I have done research on this topic. Two customers wanted to know the darn truth and well I gave it to them, along with a bottle of wine.

 I also am including in this post a link to an interview from a wine sommelier talking about this topic on NPR (do not roll your eyes at me).  

 http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/01/02/259128689/cork-versus-screw-cap-dont-judge-a-wine-by-how-its-sealed

 Honestly as this post is being written I am having a glass of Barefoot Merlot and it is very good from one of the little four packs. Yes it has a screw cap. I am learning more and more about being self-aware and my biggest discovery is that I would rather have a glass of wine then a glass of beer but I will save that for a post down the road. The wine helps me relax more when I write. I do not feel my creative juices when I have a beer at night to write. Red wine is my drink of choice and I have had my wine three different ways.

 The first box wine my wife Ann and I had together is a brand called Fish Eye. I am a huge fan of this product but have also enjoyed Bota Box and Black Box as box wines. They benefit is that you get more “bottles” in a single box. The wine snobs that I know would never EVER drink wine from a box. The wine is sealed very well and taste great. If you are nervous about getting wine from a box, don’t be because the technology has improved dramatically. Your next party I would recommend getting a box wine to not only try but to show your guest that you can expand your taste buds.

 There were times when I was traveling for work and very blessed to get the all holy upgrade into first class. The “official” wine for first class of the airline I was on came in a screw cap bottle. I was impressed of how well it tasted and it had nothing to do with the wine being free. The brand was called Red Tree and the local liquor store that was across the street from my town home carried it. I would pick up a couple of bottles because it was very good well for a screw cap wine.

 Yes I too thought that ALL wine needed to only be opened via a cork, not true. Listen I compare this argument to beer cans VS bottles and personally I prefer tap but that is just me. One of my favorite beers is Guinness. I refuse to get it in a can or bottle if the pub does not carry it on tap. As an Irishman I find drinking Guinness off the tap the only way to drink that beer. That is how I roll. Plus if you get one of those super talented bartenders who can make the “Shamrock” into the foam is VERY cool.

 Is there a right answer to this age-old question? Yes, yes there is and here it is. The right answer is truly what YOU enjoy drinking is the best answer.

 What is the best wine you ever had? Did it have a cork, screw cap or was it in a box? I would love to read your responses so please shoot me an email: [email protected]

 Spread the word about our Friday tasting from 4-6 at the back bar. We would love to see your happy face after a rough week.

 Tommy enjoys a good red blend while writing or hiding from the family. A dad to Betsy, Becca and Connor and husband to Ann. His new book “My Dad’s Advice At 5:04 AM” is coming out in the fall of 2016. You might actually see Tommy walking by Coral Bay with the family dog “Duke” who is a Chocolate Lab. To email Tommy: [email protected]

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Red Red Wine

Let me start off by saying Happy belated 4th to you and your family. This week I want to talk to you about three wines I had last week. I need to admit that my taste buds have matured but one of the selections would fall into the less expensive category.

 The first wine I want to tell you about is just something I picked off the shelf. There is a consistent customer who gets a white wine. She told me that this is her favorite wine. I love hearing recommendations so I bought the red of the brand. To remind you that I am not a wine solemner, far from that just someone who wants to share their tasting experience.

 I bought Clos Montblanc because as I stated a customer drinks white from this vineyard and she simply raves about it. My bonus dad once called me a wine snob because the wine we were drinking, well he kept putting the cork back in. I did start off once I got home to open the bottle to let it breath. I will also mention that I am a bad red wine drinker because I do like mine cold. We have a chiller at the store so once I bought the wine an hour before I was done with my shift; the bottle was in the chiller for about an hour. I know that you are to drink reds chilled not super chilled but that is how I roll. When I am ready to pour a glass and yes I pour a little to swirl it around as well as to smell the wine. I do try to put a mental picture of what the wine will taste like. The first taste of the Clos Montblanc to me was if I was drinking rubbing alcohol. I took a gulp of water to try it again. This wine was a dry wine and I am not a fan of dry wines. In my opinion it eventually grew on me but I would not get this again. I would guess if you like dry wines you will enjoy it.

 Next up to the glass was Hob Nob’s Merlot. I am still figuring out my own pallet when it comes to liking Merlot over Cabernet. Anyway, I have had Hob Nob in the past and even have seen it in local restaurants so it was time to reconnect like old friends. This is a fruitful wine where you do not have any astringent taste. This is a very refreshing wine that would be good to have any time of year and I mention this because in future writings I will talk about good hot day wines. The Merlot was my favorite I had during the week. This is what I would say is a great relaxing drinking wine and again a very smooth taste on the front end and back end. Trust me your taste buds will thank you.

 Finally my wife and I picked up a 4 pack of Barefoot Merlot. I have had Barefoot wines before and I am a huge fan of them because they give back to the community. Their price points are relatively inexpensive but do not let that sway your decision of this wine. The Merlot to me had a little bit more parts then the Hob Nob and I found that a little surprising. The wine was a little sweeter tasting to me but the finish as Hob Nob had no acid taste to it. The four pack was perfect for us and if you are planning a romantic picnic these are perfect for the occasion and no corkscrew needed. Barefoot is a very good brand with several different flavors so do not be a wine snob and turn your nose just because of the price.

 I hope you take the time to learn your own pallet by trying something new. As I was having dinner tonight I had a small glass of white win and it was not bad (do I sense a blog post?). That is why you need to leave work early and come on by from 4-6 on Friday’s for our tastings. Not only will your taste buds love you for giving them a new experience but also you might learn that you like a certain type of wine that you did not think you did. Heck you might be recommending me a wine or three and that my friend is what I look forward to.  

 Spread the word about our Friday tasting from 4-6 in the back of the store at the back bar. We would love to see your happy face after a rough week.

 Tommy enjoys a good red blend while writing or hiding from the family. A dad to Betsy, Becca and Connor and husband to Ann.  His new book “My Dad’s Advice At 5:04 AM” is coming out in the fall of 2016. You might actually see Tommy walking by Coral Bay with the family dog “Duke” who is a Chocolate Lab. To email Tommy: [email protected]

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Road Trip To Moab Brewery

Ah family trips. They can be so much fun and in this case it was. My wife Ann is one of those people who loves to camp. She grew up doing it and if I want to stay married to her I will too love camping. For our family camping trip we headed to the tropical environment of Moab.

 My wife did some great research on not only where we would be staying but also activities we will think about doing including a beer stop. Ann went to: http://www.discovermoab.com for her information.

This was a very good website and this is how we discovered our Mecca.  

 When I visited Moab Brewery website it was not the beer that caught my eye, oh no it was the onion rings. Let’s start off with this first. I am not a food critic or an “expert” on the world of alcohol but onion rings are in my wheelhouse. Yes order beers and we will get to that but the food was fantastic including the onion rings. Did I mention the onion rings?  Our family consists of five of us where the ages of the kids go from 19,14,13 and my wife would tell you that I am still the youngest (mentally).

 I know you want to read about the beer but let me just tell you that the food was very good. Each item and we all ordered different things had great flavors. From the burgers to the nachos to the fish and ONION RINGS (my order) the food was what a non-camper such as myself enjoyed. Our waiter Tyler was great of making that my several questions about Moab Brewery were answered and yes I did ask many since I do write and I am just naturally a curious person.

 Let’s now talk beer but I am not going to deep and there are reasons. Many of you are aware that liquor laws are just messed up and still have turn of the century ideals and Utah is no exception to this, but for me it worked very well in my favor or maybe I should say, “flavor.”

 The state of Utah has a law that the draft beer coming off the tap can only contain four percent alcohol. I am not an IPA person and you would even call me a “wimp” (or use your own word) when it comes to the taste of IPA’s. However since we are dealing with that four percent my taste buds enjoyed all of the beers we tasted, even the IPA’s. Here is another law that was not really bad but wanted to make you aware when you visit the brewery. They cannot do traditional flights because you are only able to have four sample size glasses in front of you. That was not bad at all and Chris who was one of the bartenders was ready for our “next round” when he peeked over to check on us to see that Ann and I had go through our first “round.”

 The beers that are in cans and bottles do have 7-7.5 percent alcohol so no need to worry if you pick those up and we are looking into seeing about getting Moab into Coral Bay (but be patient please). The bottom line was that Ann and I did very much enjoy the beers we tasted. We only did the “flights” because from Moab to our campsite was 51 miles in Green River, UT and even though the beers tasted very good on a day where the temperature was at 108 there was very precious cargo in the car.

 The kids also were treated to root beer. Moab Brewery makes root beer as well.  A very family friendly place and yes it is obviously in a tourist town. We did miss out on the opportunity to try the gelato but the onion rings were a perfect substitute.

 As I shared with you I did not go into great detail about the beers because it would not be very fair to compare four percent to what you and I might be use to. Each sample I tasted was smooth and not to “hoppy” or bitter.  We really do need to commend the brewers of being put in a unique spot by only having so much to work with as far as the alcohol content and still coming up very flavor filled brews.

 On a side note I did try and contact Moab Brewery to get one of the owners or a brewer for this article but they kindly declined simply because this is their busy season. I did receive a call from one of the owners but he was out of town and he was very busy as well I did not want to bother him about this silly blog post that not even my dog reads.

 http://www.themoabbrewery.com            

 Our kids had a great trip to Moab and we are already talking about going back next year (when it is a little less in triple digit temps). I know that part of that next trip will be back to Moab Brewery and my hope before then is to have what is coming off of their bottling or canning lines to get the full tasting experience. Oh and yes I forgot to mention I would also be going back to have a burger to compliment the onion rings.     

Spread the word about our Friday tasting from 4-6 in the back of the store at the back bar. We would love to see your happy face after a rough week.

Tommy enjoys a good red blend while writing or hiding from the family. A dad to Betsy, Becca and Connor and husband to Ann.  His new book “My Dad’s Advice At 5:04 AM” is coming out in the fall of 2016. You might actually see Tommy walking by Coral Bay with the family dog “Duke” who is a Chocolate Lab. To email Tommy: [email protected]

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Thing I found on the internet that deal with beer

For this blog post of the week I wanted to share with you many articles dealing with the world of beer that I have come across. You will read about a big beer company with a new no alcohol beer. A local tap house and even on your next road trip to New Orleans a place to checkout. Oh are you someone who likes to make their own beer well there is help to drink it faster.

 The first was that Budweiser Canada launched a beer with 0.0% of alcohol content. The article states that the beer uses a technology called “de-alcoholization” to make this beer. Personally I have had in the past tried non-alcoholic beer but I have known and the article also points out they are really called “Low-alcohol” beer because there is still a minimum amount of alcohol in those types of beer.

 http://www.businessinsider.com/budweiser-debuts-new-non-alcoholic-beer-2016-5?&platform=bi-androidapp

 In Florida there is a craft beer company that is making (are you sitting down for this) edible packaging. When you buy for example six-pack cans and those plastic rings are holding them and they are not good for the environment such as animals. You might have seen pictures of animals getting possibly their heads getting caught in them.

 Saltwater Brewery is creating their own version of these packaging rings where they are made from wheat and barley. Not sure how they taste but I would be willing to taste one. However to a sea creature or bird might actually enjoy them.

 http://www.businessinsider.com/r-craft-brewer-looks-to-solve-vexing-pollution-problem-2016-6?&platform=bi-androidapp

 Found this on Mashable where if you are into making your own beer this tank might help you doing it quicker.

 http://mashable.com/2016/06/07/home-brewing-beer-vessi/#grbtdh7I8kq6

 I was sitting at a coffee place when a gentleman came up and asked if he could borrow my phone charger. I had no issue but I noticed his t-shirt he was wearing. The shirt had on it a tap house name that is in Arvada called Homegrown Tap & Dough. I am waiting for a response back from management to do a post about them and please stay tuned.

 http://tapanddough.com

 One of our Coral Bay customers informed me that her brother has opened up in New Orleans a craft beer store. Looking at the website looks like they sell beer but also have 6 taps of craft beer to try while you are shopping. How cool is that?  

 http://504craftbeer.com

 Spread the word about our Friday tasting from 4-6 in the back of the store at the back bar. We would love to see your happy face after a rough week.

Tommy enjoys a good red blend while writing or hiding from the family. A dad to Betsy, Becca and Connor and husband to Ann.  His new book “My Dad’s Advice At 5:04 AM” is coming out in the fall of 2016. You might actually see Tommy walking by Coral Bay with the family dog “Duke” who is a Chocolate Lab. To email Tommy: [email protected]

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A Private Matter

The month of June we will celebrate Father’s day and I want to first say that I was late posting to mom’s and I want to say thank you to the mom’s out there. Personally, a single mom who worked two jobs to support us raised me and I do owe a lot of credit to my mom for raising me. This post might come off “preachy” and I do not mean to but this stems from a conversation I just had with my dad this past weekend. What we talked about is a viable concern that I want to share with you on a very private matter that could serve families.

I enjoy my adult beverages just as you do. Where I have my internal conflict along with my “Catholic Guilt” is walking into a liquor store with my son or even indulging in front of the youngsters in the house but I do partake.  There were family events on my dads’ side where I was not comfortable drinking in front of my dad who does not drink. This is where I want to go and that is being better role model for the youth of today. I know this article might sound from me being a hypocrite that yes I work in a liquor store, drink and even drink in front of my kid’s. You see the alcohol gene is in my family so this is a worthwhile concern as a parent and I hope you too think about your own kid’s future.

My dad called me to discuss my last post and how he really liked it. I am very blessed that my parents are my biggest fans. We then were on the subject talking about keeping an eye on my son because as I stated our family has a history of alcoholism. I will share the link with you at the end of this piece but there is a movement of a father and son wanting to have soccer teams in England ban alcohol advertising.  On a side note Budweiser announced this week that they are making a non-alcoholic beer. My dad pointed out that the gene skips a generation and my question actually to myself is “did it skip me?”  

Listen I am fully aware that I am a walking “oxymoron” (or just half of that) and this is not just a private matter in our household but possibly yours too. Adults who are around not just kids but teenagers too have a moral obligation of educating them in my opinion when it comes to drinking. What have you done in your home of teaching your kids about drinking responsible?  Would you please share them here? My whole point was not to bum you out but more of wanting to share with you my concerns as a parent as well as an employee in the liquor industry. For example please do not be offended if you are carded because the person behind the counter in a liquor store has a major obligation to not just the storeowner but also the community.

We are about three weeks away from father’s day and I know many of you might be picking up something special for your dad from your favorite liquor store (hopefully that is us). This also might be a good time to reflect of life lessons your father has taught you. At the same time what lessons will you want your kids to of learned from you as they grow up? For me I have learned from my dad is that he wants me to learn from his past mistakes but to make sure that his grandson learns from his dad by being a positive role model.

Extras: http://www.businessinsider.com/banning-alcohol-ads-from-sports-2016-5

http://www.businessinsider.com/budweiser-debuts-new-non-alcoholic-beer-2016-5?&platform=bi-androidapp

Tommy enjoys a good red blend while writing or hiding from the family. A dad to Betsy, Becca and Connor and husband to Ann.  His new book “My Dad’s Advice At 5:04 AM” is coming out in the fall of 2016. You might actually see Tommy walking by Coral Bay with the family dog “Duke” who is a Chocolate Lab.  

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Beer, Cake and Wiley Roots Brewing Company

Last week for the Friday tasting we welcomed Wiley Roots into Coral Bay. My wife Ann and I did a date night the next night at their tap house where we got cake.  I grew up in Chicago so you were either a “Bud” or “Miller” person with-in my circle of friends. Living here in Colorado I am learning has some great craft breweries making me become a bit of a snob.  One of the perks working at Coral Bay is getting to taste beers and wines that I personally would not have the opportunity to try. I was excited to try the selection that Wiley Roots brought because they are local here in Greeley Colorado.

 The three that I tasted and yes as of the writing of this post are available in the store were: Super Wheat 77, JYNX and Twice Brewed.  Having the chance to try new beer is unique for me since I really do not have a sophisticated pallet but that does not mean I drink swill either. My bonus dad once accused me of being a wine snob (true words) because I kept taking the cork out of the wine bottle that we were drinking to allow it to breathe. Maybe he was right.

 In no real order I will start with Super Wheat 77 to tell you about as best as I can. This is my new favorite light beer. To me this beer had flavor and just super clean taste when I had it both at Coral Bay and the next night at Wiley Roots. After spending the day doing yard work this is the beer I want to have, very refreshing.

 Twice Brewed is a stout with a lot, A LOT of coffee flavor to it. Yes I do love my coffee and I am a Guinness drinker. Twice Brewed was (OK let the insults start) way to much for me. Sorry to say but the coffee was even more then I wanted to taste. You might like this and I would recommend that you try it at their tap house. Please let me know your thoughts ([email protected]).

 JYNX is the last of the three I tried but not the least if you get my drift or not. A dark looking beer that did not taste like a dark beer. I was bummed that JYNX is only currently in bottle (I believe 24oz) and not on tap. However please keep reading, this was very good. To me if you are familiar with Smithwicks (Guinness) that is what JYNX reminded me of. I picked up a bottle.

 I am a very curious person by nature. When you come into Coral Bay or just handing me a piece of cake, (did I mention cake?) I want to learn about you. After tasting these beers I wanted to share the experience with Ann so we hit the town of Greeley and off to Wiley Roots. What a cool place to have the tap house and yes who knew it has been there? Yes I know you knew but you did not tell me.  The open spaces and on this night (free plug) the Wing Shack food truck was parked out front (bonus). We “bellied up” to the bar and ordered a flight. The glasses for the flight are so cool!  The atmosphere was super friendly, plus tablecloths on the tables. Then a nice lady came up to Ann and I to ask if we wanted a piece of cake from her husband’s graduation cake. He received his masters. Beer and cake! Oh heck yes.  

Listen I will be the first to admit that I can be set in my ways. Having the opportunity to try new things is what makes life that much more interesting. The great thing about living in Colorado is that we do have so many varieties of places to try craft beers even in your own backyard. My hope is that on Friday’s you will make the time and come into Coral Bay from 4-6 to try possibly a new beer, wine or liquor. There is no judging if you make a “face” if your taste buds did not like that drink. Then again you might like it and morph into a “snob.”    

http://www.wileyroots.com

Tommy enjoys a good red blend while writing or hiding from the family. A dad to Betsy, Becca and Connor and husband to Ann.  His new book “My Dad’s Advice At 5:04 AM” is coming out in the fall of 2016. You might actually see Tommy walking by Coral Bay with the family dog “Duke” who is a Chocolate Lab.  

[coralbayspirits]

3 Things You Might Not Know Working At A Liquor Store

Going to a new job is stressful. When you are working in an industry that has hundreds of products can be overwhelming, especially being new. Hello my name is Tommy M and welcome to what I hope will be many blog postings from me. I know Eric P really cared about this blog so I hope I can honor him by creating remarkable content for you. Eric is starting a new life out west so here I am a writer and a fan of adult beverages.  

I come to Coral Bay first as a customer and now as an employee. My background as a customer is that I am a Red wine guy and not an IPA fan but have recently enjoyed Blue Moon’s IPA, in my opinion is not as “Hoppy” as other IPA’s. This past weekend we had a family dinner and I picked up “Cupcake Red Velvet” and as much of a fan of Cupcake I found this wine for me was very sweet. These are pieces of information I want to share with you as far as not just what I like but what I am seeing customers are buying to help you out with your next visit into Coral Bay. I want to also address good and bad comments on our Facebook page (please “Like” us) as part of this blog.

Today I want to share with you 3 insides I have learned my first month working at Coral Bay as a sales associate, that you might not know or you did know. Not only will you get a peak behind the curtain (or cooler) but the next time you come in there is a chance you will look at the store differently. These are just observations of really not knowing what to expect working at Coral Bay. My background is not only as a software trainer but I am also a published author so working here is fun as well as a learning experience. Here we go:

1.  I switched to wearing running shoes. I normally wear my high tops but realized early on that they did not give support. This might not be a mind shattering piece of knowledge however it has been a life changing moment, at least for my feet. 

2. What ever comes out of the cooler is replaced as soon as possible. You open the cooler and grab a six pack or case of your favorite adult beverage. Our next step after ringing you up is to get into the cooler and replace what just came out of the store. There are even times on Friday’s and Saturday’s someone primarily camps out in the cooler continually re-stocking products.

3. Yes the store smells great. The store is mopped every night while the cooler is getting re-stocked for the next day. I have to say that the staff takes such pride of the neatness of Coral Bay. It is from making sure the shelves are not just stocked but that the labels are “facing” you. You will see from time to time the staff walking around making sure the bottles are rotated properly showing you the name staring right at you.

Thank you for taking the time reading this first installment and if you have topics you want for me to cover please let me know at [email protected] (or even what beer or wine you want me to try).  I look forward to even speaking with you sometime at the Friday tasting from 4-6 to hear your thoughts on the blog or ideas you might have to improve Coral Bay. 

Tommy enjoys a good red blend while writing or hiding from the family. A dad to Betsy, Becca and Connor and husband to Ann.  His new book “My Dad’s Advice At 5:04 AM” is coming out in the fall of 2016. You might actually see Tommy walking by Coral Bay with the family dog “Duke” who is a Chocolate Lab.  For more blogs from Tommy click here.