New Beer Source Revealed

by Charlie Webster

At the picnic, someone (I admit to having a few beers that day...) mentioned a source for beers in Santa Clara called The Wine Club. Since I work near there, I decided to visit the Wine Club one day this week. Located in an industrial-looking building, the Wine Club is one the new no-frills specialty stores. No fixtures, no decor, nothing fancy except the inventory of wines. But I was looking for beer.

I finally located the beer section, and was both disappointed and pleased. Disappointed with the selection; just a few micros and ... a bunch of Belgian beers that I had never heard of. Not that I've heard of all the Belgian beers, but I am familiar with all the big names. And none of them were here.

The prices seem competitive for the imports, and certainly lower than my grocery store for the microbrews. And speaking of microbrews, they have several cases of 22oz bottles of Mendocino Brewing Co.’s "Eye of the Hawk" ale. For those who haven't tasted this yet, it's a delight.