Before I headed to Maine last week, I was on the email to the ever helpful Amy of Tully's. Careful readers with time to browse the archives will remember that I wrote about Tully's at Wells in Southern Maine and declared it one of my favorite shops. Well, this time there was more great news from the beer store in the land of beaches and "lob-stahs":

If you didn't already know we have moved the store and we are now about 1/10 of a mile south of the old location. We are in the Hannaford Plaza next to Radio Shack. Since we have moved we have added about another 100 labels of beer to the store. I am sure you will find a multitude of new beers (I hope) to try. We look forward to seeing you again...We have a new beer geek. His name is Keith and his knowledge is fantastic. We are very lucky to have him as part of our team. You would have a wonderful time gabbing with him. I will talk to him and probably have him e-mail you with new product he is raving about.

When I got in the store, I told helpful staff who I was and got adopted by one of the shops fans (who apparently trades his catering and cakes for Belgians on a one-off deal) but no Amy or Keith. Too bad as I like to say hello but the selection was fantastic and soon owner Dawn popped in and we had a great old yak about their plans and their decisions about selection. I started to load the counter with stuff I could never imagine seeing in Canada but might find at my other favorite shop, Finger Lake Beverages in Ithaca. In particular, inspired by an article in issue 8 of Beers of the World, I had been looking for some Belgian sours, whether lambics or Flemish, to do a proper investigation on my perception of these styles. I was rewarded with some Hansens, half bottles of Cantillon as well as a half of 3 Fontenien's Oude Kriek and a large bottle of Kriek De Ranke, many imported by Shelton Brothers, the Massachusetts distributors who are doing a lot to improve the selection of these beers in the States. So later this summer I will roll out a series of posts in which I investigate some of these tangy brews to challenge my notions to date. I also snabbed some New England seasonals from Allagash and Smuttynose as well as a couple of new Scandinavian porters including the one second from the left in this post of Knut's from last year. And a bunch of others. Thanks God for advertisers and a patient family - that is all I can say.

All in all a simply amazing beer geek haven easily accessible to all of central New England with a very knowledgable and cheery attitude. I even got to stick a bottle of Blanch de Namur in the hands of a newbie looking for Hoegaarden. Something of a confession - when I got there after an eleven hour drive from eastern Lake Ontario to the great Atlantic I was either too fried or too excited by the selection to get a good photo of the exterior. But all you need to know is get off I-95 at Wells, head south on Route 1 and turn left when you see the big Hannaford's grocery. Tully's sits on the south end of the big parking area. Plenty of good wine and cigars, too.