Catching "Catch A Star" Fever!

So I have a confession for you all. You the faithful and discerning fans of good old Star Liquor. I confess to you that I have a fever. Yes, that is right, a fever. No I am not ill. I have not caught a bug, nor some sort of flu. This fever is caused by excitement and anticipation. This is "Catch a Star" fever.

Have you caught it yet?

You will!

How could you not?

What am I talking about you ask?








Why I am talking about winning a $500 Shopping Spree at Star Liquor!

$500 to stock your liquor cabinet!
$500 to pack the wine rack!
$500 to build your self a fortress inside your beer fridge that seemingly never ends!

Or maybe...just maybe...you have had your eye an a bottle for a while. You know what I am talking about. Don't you? That bottle down in Star Liquor's temperature controlled wine cellar. Maybe that bottle calling to you from the single malt scotch selection would be your choice.

The possibilities are endless and they boggle the mind.

The best part is that it is ever so easy to enter this contest. Again and again and again.

You just have to do what you were going to do anyway. You just have to come to Star Liquor...oh and look up. Look up at the sign above our door. The sign that tells you how special you are and how much we love you. (blush) On that sign there is a colored Star. That Star could be any one of 5 different colors. What you have to do is remember the color of the Star until you get home and email that color to starcontest@tds.net. We will take the first 20 emails from each color change and enter them into a drawing for the shopping spree. The drawing for the shopping spree will take place on Sunday, September 18th. The Sunday of Willy Street Fair Weekend. There will also be monthly drawing for smaller prizes beginning June 15th.

For full contest rules check our the Events page at starliquor.com. Don't miss the extreme video from Pumpkin Blast 2009 while you are there.

So remember to "Catch A Star" when you stop into Star Liquor. I mean it is $500 worth of booze. Heck, stop into Star and we will give you a card with an email reminder and then all you have to do is look up. Ha!
See you all soon!

Madison Craft Beer Week 2011

Sometimes it is easy to forget that craft beer is still just a teeny, tiny portion of the beer consumed in this country. While we sit here in Wisconsin surrounded by artists and artisans who specialize in creating masterpieces of water, hops, and malted barley there are millions of people put there who's only experience in the beer world is pale watered down slop. There are millions of people out there who actually consider the number of calories in their beer to be the most important factor when the choose there brew. Heck, I even once had a rep at a trade show look at me and proudly proclaim that I should try the beer she was pouring samples of because "it is the lightest beer in the world".

In Star Liquor's coolers about 90% of the shelf space is devoted to craft beer. That makes it easy to forget sometimes that craft beer still only accounts for about 5% of the total beer market here in the United States.

So what?

From Friday April 29th until Sunday May 8th it is the First Annual Madison Craft Beer Week. (Yes, that is 10 days but that makes for a much less catchy title.) Great beer will be highlighted all over Madison. At restaurants, taverns, and great beer retailers Madison's burgeoning craft beer cultre will be on display in all its glory. There is an impressive list of events located here.

While I am sure we will all be out taking part and enjoying all of these great events I propose this is the time to take it one step further. It is time to spread the joy. Events like this give us the opportunity to convince one of those people who are drinking those sad excuses for beer that yes indeed there is more out there! If you know one (or many) of these people sit down with them, show them the list of events and choose somewhere to visit. There are so many things going on that there is bound to be something that interests them. The variety of Fish Fry events alone would make any Wisconsinite proud.

Your friends may be reluctant.

They may even fall back into their old bad habits when it comes to choosing beer but we all have to start somewhere. You may be the one who cracks that door that will open into a greater world of beer for your friend. You may be the one who inspires someone to utter the phrase "wow I really like IPA's" for the first time, or even "barrel aged beers are really good". Think of the pride you will feel when you spot your friend wearing a hoody from a craft brewer. So get out there. Grab that friend and turn them on to the exciting world of craft beer. They will be glad you did.

STAR LIQUOR EVENTS for Madison Craft Beer Week 2011:

Friday April 29th: FREE Central Waters Tasting 4pm-7pm

Saturday April 30th: FREE Goose Island Tasting 4pm-7pm

Sunday May 1st: GREAT TASTE OF THE MIDWEST tickets go on sale at NOON

Friday May 6th: FREE New Glarus Tasting 4pm-7pm

Saturday May 7th: FREE Founder's and Great Lakes Tasting 4pm-7pm

Distill America: Get in the SPIRIT to celebrate.

It was not that many years ago that American made distilled spirits were not very easy to come by. Oh sure, the legendary Bourbon producers down in Kentucky were cranking out whiskey by the barrel full. Beyond that though the pickins were pretty slim.

Fast forward to today when there are nine liquor companies right here in Wisconsin. They make a variety of wonderful spirits, something to please every palate. From whiskey, to rum, to honey liqueur, to apple brandy, to absinthe, to horseradish vodka, and the list goes on and on and on.

This is not just a Wisconsin trend. It is happening all over the country with new distilleries popping up like weeds. Take Vermont Spirits for example, they are from Vermont (surprise) and make a vodka based in maple syrup. Take Rogue Distilling from Oregon, long known for making interesting and innovative beers now they make a whiskey that is aged in barrels in the Pacific Ocean.

It is not hard to see how this movement parallels the craft beer movement that today is experiencing a golden age. If you looked at the United States in 1980 you would have been hard pressed to find beer that was not made by one of the giant macro producers. Today we know that a beer drinker could go a whole year and never drink the same beer twice. That same thing is beginning to happen with spirits.

Trying all the different spirits can be a bit more daunting than try a bunch of different beers though. Spirits tend to be more expensive and they certainly have more kick. Also people tend to find their favorite when it comes to liquor and they are less likely to change unlike the adventurous world of craft beer buyers.

Well...that is where Distill America: A Celebration of American Distilling comes in. The Madison Malt Society has put together a tasting event that is held every February that brings together all the best spirits the good ol' USA has to offer. With close to 40 tables there is bound to be a treat there that you enjoy. Many of the tables are manned by the distillers themselves to give you a real chance to ask questions and find out what it is that you love so much.

This years tasting is at the Edgewater Hotel on February 17th. Tickets can be purchased at Star Liquor, Barriques locations around Madison, The Malt House and Merchant.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to attend this wonderful event.

If you want more info check out www.distillamerica.com