Vacation & Happy New Year!

Stumpjack Coffee will be closed much of this week - from Monday Dec 29th most likely through Sunday Jan 3rd. We're taking a few days off to recharge the batteries, regroup and make a game plan for 2009. We are in Sturgeon Bay right now and I'm surfing some of my favorite blogs, including Dave Theiss' Working with Chemicals and The L.A. Post blogs. Unfortunately, Dave updates his blogs about as often as I go on vacation. This is unfortunate for all of the many people who religiously follow Dave's blogging, his fans, as it were. Dave is not just a highly skilled printer who puts out an outstanding product, he is also an artist who does some rather creative and visually interesting work, and his fans need to...no, they deserve to see it! This is, of course, an appeal to Dave to update his blog (I need something to read while lying in this hotel room, dangit!). And if he does, I will clothe myself like Michael Palin below and sing the Monty Python Lumberjack Song on the street corner in front of his shop. Thank you all for a very enjoyable and spunky 2008. You guys are truly the absolute best and we are so grateful for all of our friends who come into this joint and support the place.

Happy New Year!

Saturday night rockin' blues

Looking for something fun to do this Saturday evening? Well, we just booked Derek Pritzl to perform at Stumpjack Saturday night at 7:00!

Derek is back in town for the holiday and generously offered to bring his always excellent rockin' blues sound to Stumpjack this weekend. And if that weren't enough to get you pumped up, Derek's special guests will be none other than Mr. Dan Walkner (Clovis Mann) and guitarist Scott Cowling of Died love and Casual Steve.

Sounds like a great way to spend a snowy Saturday evening.

Derek Pritzl
with special guest Dan Walkner
Saturday Dec 27
7:00pm
Stumpjack Coffee

"a long journey"

We received the news this morning that John Schroeder passed away yesterday. John was the President of Schroeder's Department Store and a man very active in the Two Rivers community.

"This has been a long journey," is how the message from John's family began. It's also the beginning of another journey, for John, his family and friends, and the community as we say farewell to this man who was very much a positive force in this city. I did not know John nearly as well as many folks who have been here for many more years than I, but I came to know and like him him as a dedicated community leader, a fine businessman, and a guy with a great, dry sense of humor. Our very warmest thoughts and wishes go out to John's family.

12 Days of Christmas - day 12

On the twelfth day of Christmas Stumpjack gave to meeeeee...This is the LAST DAY of the Stumpjack 12 Days of Christmas specials. Frankly, it was a bit of a challenge coming up with a final special deal. But Kim suggested that there might be some last minute shoppers out and about and I thought if I were one of those folks I would love to have a little tasty, caffeinated treat to both warm me up and get me going...and then I thought the best Christmas treat would something tasty, caffeinated and FREE! So...today's final 12 Days of Christmas special is a free double shot of the best dang espresso you'll find outside of Italy (ok, maybe Portland too).

FREE
Double shot of Stumpjack espresso
(in-house only...no to-go orders)

FREE
And if you smile and ask for another we'll give you a second one on the house too...
We're feeling the Christmas spirit!

Today only, while we're open (we're 'sposed to be open til 4:00 but you might want to stop in before that because I might just close early today)

BTW, the two images above I borrowed from a guy who goes by the name of Tonx. I've enjoyed his photography for some time now. You can check out more of his stuff at his Flickr site.

12 Days of Christmas - day 10 & 11

Yikes! What happened to days 10 & 11? They're right here!

On the tenth and eleventh days of Christmas Stumpjack gave to meeeeee...

Nesco Home Coffee Roaster

These little beauties normally sell for around $140 + tax

We have a couple of brand-spankin'-new ones on hand direct from our friends at the company and will offer them today only for just $115 (tax included).

We're going to be getting into offering home roasting stuff for people more and more this coming year, and this Nesco Home Coffee Roaster is the one I use myself. It looks awesome and is a lot of fun when roasting your own green coffee beans at home. Here's an old blog post about it from a few months ago.

Ok, here's the second Christmas special for today...
This is a repeat of day 4...this special went over very well, but several people asked that we run it gain, either because they missed out on it the first time around or decided they wanted more mugs. So here it is again, just as great as it was the first time.

Stumpjack Mugs (12 oz.)

Regularly $10 each

Today until midnight only $7 apiece,
or 4 for $24 (that's $6 apiece)

You can take advantage of this offer by stopping into the shop or contacting us via email with the contact form on the right, before midnight tonight. We'll be open tomorrow (Wednesday) and closed on Christmas day (Thursday) so you'll have to come in tomorrow to pick up your order if you want it for Christmas.

12 Days of Christmas - day 9

On the ninth day of Christmas Stumpjack gave to meeeeee...

Big Gift Basket

Regularly $85.

Today until midnight only $70

And this is a per pound minimum special price...
nothing less than one pound.

You can take advantage of this offer by stopping into the shop or contacting us via email with the contact form on the right, before midnight tonight. Let usn know if you want before Christmas and we'll make sure you get it even though we'll probably be closed Monday and Tuesday.

TONIGHT

Becky Markvart
Saturday night...7pm
making amends to her disappointed fans for last month's cancellation

12 Days of Christmas - day 8

Caroling coffee beans by Cheyenne Smith

On the eighth day of Christmas Stumpjack gave to meeeeee...

click to enlarge
Puerto Rican
The one that so many folks have been waiting for!

Regularly $24-$26 lb.

Today until midnight only $18 lb.
$6-$8 off per pound
And this is a per pound minimum special price...
nothing less than one pound.

While supplies last. We keep a limited supply on hand and
once we reach the end that'll be the end of this particular special offer.

You can take advantage of this offer by stopping into the shop or contacting us via email with the contact form on the right, before midnight tonight. You can email us and we'll set aside your stuff for you until the end of the week, when we ask that you please come in to pay for and pick up your order.

12 Days of Christmas - day 7

On the seventh day of Christmas Stumpjack gave to meeeeee...

Highlander Grog
The favorite flavored coffee of all time!

Regularly $13 lb.

Today until midnight only $10 lb.

While supplies last. We keep a limited supply on hand and
once we reach the end that'll be the end of this particular special offer.

You can take advantage of this offer by stopping into the shop or contacting us via email with the contact form on the right, before midnight tonight. You can email us and we'll set aside your stuff for you until the end of the week, when we ask that you please come in to pay for and pick up your order.

12 Days of Christmas - day 6

On the sixth day of Christmas Stumpjack gave to meeeeee...

Stumpjack Gift Certificates
The best stocking stuffer of all time!

$20 Gift Certificates on sale

Today until midnight only $17
(we will also sell the ones that say "VOID" on them for only $2 each!)

You can take advantage of this offer by stopping into the shop or contacting us via email with the contact form on the right, before midnight tonight. You can email us and we'll set aside your stuff for you until the end of the week, when we ask that you please come in to pay for and pick up your order.

12 Days of Christmas - day 5

On the fifth day of Christmas Stumpjack gave to meeeeee...

Charred Stump Blend
The single truly dark roast coffee we put out.
A "bear hug" of a coffee...smooth, smoky and beefy.
"I love these beans!" -- Randi

Regularly $14 lb.

Today until midnight only $10 lb.

While supplies last. We keep a limited supply on hand and
once we reach the end that'll be the end of this particular special offer.

You can take advantage of this offer by stopping into the shop or contacting us via email with the contact form on the right, before midnight tonight. You can email us and we'll set aside your stuff for you until the end of the week, when we ask that you please come in to pay for and pick up your order.

12 Days of Christmas - day 4

On the fourth day of Christmas Stumpjack gave to meeeeee... Stumpjack Mugs (12 oz.)

Regularly $10 each

Today until midnight only $7 apiece,
or 4 for $24 (that's $6 apiece)

While supplies last. We keep a limited supply on hand and
once we reach the end that'll be the end of this particular special offer.

Since we're closed today (Tuesday) in order to take advantage of this offer you must contact us via email with the contact form on the right ("join our gang"), before midnight tonight. You can email us and we'll set aside your stuff for you until the end of the week, when we ask that you please come in to pay for and pick up your order.

12 Days of Christmas - day 3

On the third day of Christmas Stumpjack gave to meeeeee...

Today until midnight $5 off
Thursday night's Holiday Wines & Tapas tasting

Save five bucks on this week's tasting
(it's already cheap but Kim wanted me to make this one of the "12 Days..." specials)

Go to her Wine All You Want blog to see her post (the one with the pretty images)

Since we're closed today (Monday) in order to take advantage of this offer you must contact us via email with the contact form ("join our gang") on the right, before midnight tonight. You can email us and we'll set reserve your spot at the tasting.

12 Days of Christmas - day 2

On the second day of Christmas Stumpjack gave to meeeeee...

Jingle Bell Java
A flavored coffee soaked with flavors and aromas of Caramel,
Vanilla, Cinnamon, Pecan and warm Rum notes.

Regularly $13 lb.

Today until midnight only $8 lb.

While supplies last. We keep a limited supply on hand and
once we reach the end that'll be the end of this particular special offer.

In order to take advantage of this offer you must contact us via email with the contact form on the right, before midnight tonight, or stop in at the café today before we close. You can email us and we'll set aside your stuff for you until the next day, when we ask that you please come in to pay for and pick up your order.

12 Days of Christmas - day 1

It's that time of year again...and today is the first day of Stumpjack The 12 Days of Christmas!
Each day for the next day we will have a one-day-only special in which you will have until midnight of that particular day to take advantage of if you so desire. You will, of course, have to email us after closing time (use the contact form on the right), or stop into the shop that day to make your purchase. These are pretty much all "while supplies last" sort of deals too, unless stated otherwise.

Here we go...!

On the first day of Christmas Stumpjack gave to meeeeee...

Stumpjumpers Blend
This is fast becoming the favorite coffee blend of many of our friends (customers),
and so we're kicking off the 12 Days of Christmas with this one.
It's a fabulous all-around coffee.

Regularly $14 lb.

Today until midnight only $9 lb.
That's $5 off!

While supplies last. We keep a limited supply on hand and
once we reach the end that'll be the end of this particular special offer.

In order to take advantage of this offer you must contact us via email with the contact form on the right, before midnight tonight, or stop in at the café today before we close. You can email us and we'll set aside your stuff for you until the next day, when we ask that you please come in to pay for and pick up your order.

Those naughty Pagel boys and Mr. Z

This weekend Stumpjack has a really fine double-header of live music.

click to enlarge
Friday night (12th) at 7:30
Pick & Squeeze

Saturday night (13th) at 7:00
Pat Zyduck

"Cheese, Gromit, delicious cheeeese!"

We got some artisan cheese in this afternoon, four varieties of Sartori Reserve BellaVitano: a few small wedges of their Merlot, Black Pepper and Gold, and a 20 lb. wheel of their Raspberry BellaVitano. I had to cut that big mutha of a wheel so I could better fit it in the deli case and have it ready for smaller cutting (the smallest we cut to sell is half-a-pound). Naturally I had to taste it.
Oh...my...gosh...! This stuff is absolutely freaking awesome. I swear I could have just locked the front door, grabbed that 10 lb. half-wheel and just gleefully munched the rest of it in the back room for a couple of hours. It's a semi-crumbly Parmesan-like cheese, a tad moist and cream colored like vintage porcelain, with a nice yeasty aroma. The yeast aroma no doubt comes from the New Glarus Raspberry Tart Beer that the cheese is soaked in. The taste is unbelievable...slightly fruity, just a hint of saltiness, creamy and subtle.

This is a dignified cheese, well-mannered and gentlemanly, complex but quiet...not the kind that knocks you over like a heavyweight roundhouse punch, but rather like a series of those quick Bruce Lee short jabs that made the bad guy look confused ("I think I just got hit...a whole bunch of times") right before he drops to the ground. Even the rind, purpley from the raspberry beer, is dang yummy. I've found at least a few of my Christmas gifts this year.This Raspberry BellaVitano is so good that you'll want to Google it just to find out more. That's how I felt anyway, so let me save you some trouble. Here's a couple links with raves from another cheesaholic (she's right on the money):

Best New Cheeses in the World
Sartori Reserve Raspberry BellaVitano - one of the best new cheeses I've tasted so far this year -- took gold for Best New Cheese with additives. This is the same cheese I raved about at July's ACS contest -- where it also took a blue ribbon.

On Location: Meet the Cheesemaker
This little treasure won't be available in retail stores until October, but I suggest you purchase a wheel as soon as it hits the market...It boasts an amazing, almost cravable taste reminiscent of an aged, premium Cheddar balanced by a full flavored Parmesan. One word: wowsers.

Friday & Saturday Night live

Friday night (the 5th) at 7pm

Mike Retzinger & Joe LaForce
You already know how good these guys are...

Saturday night (the 6th) at 7pm
Eric Nassau
Ohio folkster with attitude...
yeah, the guy with the long beard...

Pastries & Coffees = Deliciousness

Thursday Night Tasting

Join us for a

Holiday Event...

Stumpjack Coffee &
Uniquely Yours Pastry

tasting

Thursday, Dec. 4...6:30-8:00pm
members $10*
nonmembers $15*

Sample decadently delicious seasonal coffees and out-of-this-world pastries specially made by Jennifer of Uniquely Yours Pastry Shoppe. Let us know if you are planning on coming.

Becky Markvart will be serenading us with beautiful Christmas music.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stumpjack will be closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for, in spite of the downturn in the economy and the usual small business challenges: we're doing business in a beautiful little city, and we've made a great many wonderful friendships (so many of you are truly grand people). We are most definitely thankful for you all, and wish you all a restful, rejuvenating and peaceful Thanksgiving. God bless.

I tried to find a picture of a turkey and coffee together, but no luck.
The closest I could come is a picture of Turkish coffee...get it?

FYI: Kim has updated her Stumpjack's Wine All You Want blog with a brief note on wine for the holiday. Also, this Friday night Becky Markvart will be performing here at the Stump.

Ethan Keller kicks butt!

Last night Ethan Keller again made it clear that he is one of the most gifted and interesting musicians around. Watching him build a song with his looping gizmos, doing his versions of unusual cover tunes (like Michael Jackson or Thomas Dolby...I'd show you his cover of Dolby's "She Blinded Me with Science" on video here, but he warned that a brick might drop if I did. lol.), and his own beautifully funky compositions is such a gas. Next time Ethan performs here you owe it to yourself to come check him out. I feel safe in saying that you won't find anyone else like him performing in this neck of the woods. I guarantee you will be duly impressed.

Here's a couple videos from last night's gig. The video and audio quality that my Flip Video records is pretty weak and hollow compared to the fullness of sound that Ethan produces while playing...you lose a lot of the little complexities of his performance. But it'll do.

We all shouted for an encore, and Marty hollered for "Christopher's Sister" off of Ethan's Face Light CD. So, this is his final tune from last night. I've placed a few others onto the Stumpjack Coffee YouTube site...check 'em out.
Here's the link to Marty's Flickr set of images from Friday night. The top two images are from Martys camera...some by him and some by me.

Friday night jazzification

ETHAN KELLER

FRIDAY, Nov. 21 (that's tonight!), 8pm

Need to warm up your cold self on this frosty day? Come on down to the Stump tonight to see and hear one of the most talented cats in the cheese state right now...Ethan Keller. I can't say enough about Ethan...he's been here, what, three or four times now, and it has always been a night of super-fine music and energy. We got our start times a little confused, so we're going with 8:00pm. I think we're going to have some hot cider with apple-cinnamon liqueur on hand too...guaranteed to warm both your spirit and your innards.

Thursday Wine Tasting - South Africa!

Wines of South Africa
Thursday Nov. 20...6:30-8:00pm
members $15
non-members $20
Call, email or stop in to reserve your spot. Seating is limited.

My ever-so-lovely and too-smart-for-her-own-good wife, Kim, has arranged to Mr. Andrew Hilliard of the Beau Joubert South African Winery conduct a tasting of their wines this Thursday at Stumpjack Coffee. Mr. Hilliard is the Managing Director of the winery and will be able to answer any questions you might have about the Beau Joubert operation and their fine wines. Kim will also have some very tasty antipasti/tapas available as part of this special event.

And if you are a wine lover don't forget to check out the Stumpjack Wine All You Want blog. Kim's blog is starting to take off and will no doubt be a valuable resource for those of you who enjoy wine.

Tonight: NOT A DARN THING!

Just received a comment on the blog asking about tonight's event. There is no event going on at the Stump tonight, folks. It's the first weekend in a long time that we have no live music on tap. John and Jeremy of NineDays were scheduled to perform but we have to reschedule that one. Didn't do a fill-in gig for tonight because if it ain't gonna be John and Jeremy it ain't gonna to be anyone! Seriously, we just decided to enjoy a quiet evening...closing early tonight (sometime between 4:00 and 5:00) to enjoy what's left of my birthday.

Becky Markvart and Bill Martell (Six Degrees) will be performing at Courthouse Pub tonight around 10:00 I think. We're probably going to head over there to relax and have folks wait on us for a change.

Cheers!

Beers in the house

Marty with a Fiddler's Elbow from the Wychwood Brewery

We've been asked a few times why we don't regularly provide a beer list of the brews we have in the cooler. The main reason is because we rarely keep the same beers in stock. We mix it up pretty regularly, bringing new beers in and not reordering others. There's really no method to the madness, and we do it this way for no other reason than because we enjoy trying new beers (and there's only so much room in the case). One thing you can usually be sure of, you'll find a fairly eclectic mix of beer when you visit...and most of them will be brands that you won't normally find in most other pubs or coffee shops.

There are, however, a few that I make a point of trying to keep in stock, just because they are on my favorites list so consistently (and I'm being entirely selfish here, because if I personally don't like the beer it won't be back).

















Having just said all that, I did take a little time yesterday to put together a list for the beers we had delivered to the shop this week. Here's part of what's in the case at the moment (images only, not adding the text for each beer):