"SheltonBrothers" news and stories

When the average drinker brings to mind Belgian brewing, they often think of monks merrily making ales as strong as they're sweet.

"The average drinker doesn't know crap about Belgian beer," says Dan Shelton, co-owner of beer importers Shelton Brothers.

Once upon a time, Belgium was known for its hoppy, quaffable pale ales, Shelton says. "There's this perception that Belgium is all about these big beers, but the big stuff is a recent mutation from the '50s and '60s," Shelton says.

But for Belgians Bernard Leboucq and Yvan De Baets, bigger doesn't equal better. As the brewers behind Brasserie De La Senne, Leboucq and De Baets have begun rebelling against sugared-up, barely hopped ales by crafting Belgian beers the way they were once made: low alcohol, highly drinkable and as bitter as old men.

Zinnebir (5.5 percent ABV) is a light, yeasty blonde ale with a pronounced hop bite. Stouterik (4.5 percent ABV) is a bitter, chocolaty beauty. And then there's my top choice, Taras Boulba, a pale ale whose name references a tale by Russian writer Nikolai Gogol.

Shelton Brothers can't seem to catch a break with East Coast liquor boards when it comes to the yuletide themed brews it imports. A little over a week ago I wrote about Maine banning Santa's Butt Winter Porter. I don't know how I missed it but the New York State Liquor Authority was actually in the beer-humbug brigade before Maine.

Like Maine, the NYSLA has banned the brew based on the startlingly ridiculous logic that the seasonal ale is designed to appeal to kids. My fair state has also seen fit to bar entry to the company's five other festive brews. These include Warm Welcome Nut Browned Ale and Criminally Bad Elf Barley-Wine-Style Ale, which depicts a belligerent elf behind bars.

As in Maine, the company has sued the state. I really hope they win. I think Dan Shelton hit the nail on the head when he pointed out that images of Santa and elves tend to appeal to four-to-six-year-olds, who aren't interested in beer of any sort. Conversely, teenagers who are interested in beer, will no doubt find the Christmas imagery totally uncool. Good to see my tax dollars hard at work.

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Santa's Butt Winter Porter is just too naughty for Maine. The state's Bureau of Liquor Enforcement has barred Shelton Brothers from selling the beer, which sports an image of the jolly old elf hoisting a brew as he checks his list. The butt in the name is a reference to both Santa's rear and to the barrel he's perched on. Once upon a time in England brewers used large barrels called butts to store beer.

With the help of the Maine Civil Liberties Union, Shelton has sued the state agency on the grounds that not approving its label application violates the First Amendment by censoring artistic expression. The state, for its part, says that it's in the right because showing Saint Nick on a beer label might encourage the wee ones to take to the bottle.

I'm not sure I buy the state's argument. For one thing, there are many winter beers with labels that show Santa Claus. You'd think there would be legions of preteen dipsomaniacs by now. I wonder if Rogue is allowed to sell its Santa's Private Reserve in Maine.

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