Liquid gold.
Here’s the haul from my latest trip to my (semi)local beer mecca:
Blue Point Crop Circle Amber Ale
Brown’s Brewing Whiskey Barrel Aged Porter
Goose Island Night Stalker Imperial Stout
Goose Island Pere Jacques 2010
Harviestoun Ola Dubh 40 Special Reserve Ale
Jolly Pumpkin La Roja Artisan Amber Ale
Left Coast Asylum Belgian-Style Tripel Ale
Nogne O Dobbel IPA
Nogne O Special Holiday Ale
Pretty Things Jack d’Or Saison Americain
Schlafly Biere de Garde
Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale
Skullsplitter Orkney Ale
Trade Route Ginger Pale Ale
Williams Brothers Brewing Scottish Joker IPA
That’s maybe the least I’ve ever bought at this place. Have I mentioned lately that I like beer? Because I do. A lot.
The Monday gauntlet: 08/10/09
As part of my ongoing efforts to keep myself from sliding entirely into lethargy, I’m rebooting this feature. By that, I mean I’m going to quietly forget about the two months’ worth of backlog on this and start anew. So, here goes.
Vina Zaco, a new Rioja red. Comprised of 100% Tempranillo, it’s a dry and robust iteration of the style, yet it doesn’t overwhelm. I generally enjoy a decent affordable Rioja, and this one’s worthwhile.
El Perro Verde! I’m pretty sure this was a Verdejo-based wine, but I could be wrong about that. Only reason I gave it a whirl was for the name. The wine’s not bad - light and dry, good warm-weather stuff. But the name’s the thing.
Falesco Vitiano, an old Italian go-to value red. This is the new vintage, and it’s still damn good. It’s got a fair amount of body without losing the fruit.
The Monday gauntlet: 4/27/09
Oronoco, a new Brazilian rum made with pure sugar cane. I generally don’t care for rum, but this is pretty delicious, with a mellow sweetness that takes the edge off the alcohol. This could make a pretty dynamite mojito, now that I think about it.
An Arneis from Barale, an Italian vineyard. Great summer white — light and flavorful, with an aromatic, almost perfumed quality that lingers. Solid stuff; if you dig Viogner, you’ll dig this.
Yet another Malbec, like the oversaturated market needs another one. There’s nothing to justify this one’s existence either — it’s not bad, but neither is it especially distinguished. Mostly, it’s just there. It’ll do in a pinch, but you can find better. Hell, you can find a dozen just like it without even trying.
The Monday gauntlet: 04/20/09
Yes, I’m still doing these - I’ve just fallen a bit behind. This day started out so quietly. The floodgates opened a little after noon.
A new Guinness product to commemorate their 250th anniversary. It’s a slightly lighter, slightly fizzier product than Guinness Extra Stout (our salesman thought it closer to a porter, and I’d agree with him). It’s not bad… it’s just not Guinness.
The raging success of Blue Moon has inspired a shit-ton of other brewers to get into the white-ale act, with mixed results. This new offering from the generally-reliable Harpoon Brewing is pretty close to the bottom of that heaping pile. Like a couple other lower-end white ales I’ve had, it swings too hard on the fruit front, so that the primary perception is that of drinking liquefied Fruity Pebbles. There’s a market for this, and I’m decidedly not in it.
Two wines from Alaverdi, a winery from the Republic of Georgia. The Mukuzani is a red, the Tsinandali is a white, and both are pretty disgusting. I’ve had a couple Kindzmarulis that I found agreeable, but they tend towards the sweeter side. If this is the state of dry wine in Georgia, I think I’d prefer to drink vino from the state rather than the republic.
Les Shadoks, a solid, flavorful dry rose from France’s Bordeaux region that suffers from having one of the dumbest labels I’ve ever seen. (Apparently the characters depicted on it have some cultural cachet in France.) It’s good stuff, but it’s a hard sell.
More problems with labels: These two liqueurs that go by the name of Troll are frankly terrific — the pink one on the left is a delightful cream liqueur made with cognac and vanilla, the kind of thing that would bowl over your average Bailey’s lover, while the one on the right is described as an “Arctic root” liqueur but struck me as being similar to a Grand Marnier. Yet the labels (admittedly not the most gorgeous things, but I like ‘em) have been scaring people off, no matter how much we talk ‘em up.
Bit rough around the edges, this one. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was half vodka, half ethanol. There’s vodkas half this thing’s price that kick its ass all over town.
Puglia Arancello, an orange-flavored liqueur. It’s like limoncello but, y’know, made from oranges. And it’s pretty darn tasty. Makes for a better after-dinner nip than Campari or Fernet-Branca for my money, anyway.
Bon Bon, another French rose. (EDIT: Actually, it’s Australian. Obviously, my memory is shot from all the drinking.) Lighter and a bit fruitier than the Les Shadoks, it’s a pleasant summer drink.
Darby & Joan, a new Washingtonian label. (EDIT: This is also Australian. Not Washingtonian.) They’ve led off with a Chardonnay and a Cabernet. I liked one and didn’t like the other, and I’ve forgotten which was which. So I guess even the one I liked wasn’t that great. Oh well.
This, on the other hand, was entirely memorable. It’s Substance, a fairly new Washingtonian venture, and the name isn’t lying. Their Cabernet is a dense, chewy wine. A lot of bang for the buck here.
Ri, a new high-end pure rye whiskey from Beam Distillers. The flavor is fairly delicate at first yet slowly unfolds with that familiar, almost medicinal sting. Ends with a bit of fire and smoke that makes it perfect for chilly-weather drinking. I adore shit like this.
Lastly: As if Ruffino didn’t have enough products on the market, this is their newly released Chianti Superiore (for people who want something better than the white label but don’t want to jump up to the tan label). It’s tasty for its price and delivers pretty much exactly what you’d expect. Nothing surprising, but kind of reassuring anyway.
The Monday gauntlet: 04/13/09
It’s odd: I’ve enjoyed Coppola’s entry level Red and Pinot Grigio in the past, and his higher-end stuff is pretty good. But the Diamond Label Series, the bread and butter of the winery, rarely if ever impresses me. Their latest extension, a Petit Sirah, does not prove to be an exception. It’s a bit dull and flaccid for a Petit Sirah.
Two from Pares Balta, a Spanish vineyard. The Mas Elena Bordeaux-style red was nothing special - not bad but doesn’t deliver for its price (edging up on $20). The white, I remember nothing.
D’Arenberg, in an attempt to increase their market share, has spread their well-liked value-priced Stump Jump appellation across several new varietals (it used to only come in a red blend and a white blend). This is a “Sticky” Chardonnay, a style of dessert wine, and Lord, for ten bucks you won’t find much better. Lightly syrupy, with a pleasingly honeyed flavor, this could wrap up a good meal in fine style.
Didn’t actually try the new vintage of Joel Gott Cabernet Sauvignon on Monday - it was left over from the previous Saturday evening. But I feel it’s worth mentioning, if only because Mr. Gott had radically changed the wine’s style. In the past, it’s been a bold, full-bodied Cabernet that offered some solid structure and tasty dark fruit. This year, it’s significantly lighter with more overt fruit and less tannins - basically, a decent quaffer but nothing to get excited over. Considering how I like to go to bat for this guy’s products, I can only consider this a disappointing development.
The Monday gauntlet: 04/06/09
Three new entries in Beringer’s inexpensive California Collection. The Moscato on the left is expectedly sweet; there’s a market for this stuff, but I don’t really belong to it. The Sauvignon Blanc in the middle is exepctedly dull, as I find cheap California versions of this style to be uniformly unexciting (if you’re gonna skimp on the flavor, why not make a Pinot Grigio, I mean really). The Pinot Noir on the right is unexpectedly tasty — simple and fruity but pleasant.
Snap Dragon is a new budget-wine venture. The Chardonnay on the left and the Cabernet on the right have nothing to distinguish them. The Red in the middle, on the other hand, is a nice table wine, bright and juicy.
So apparently Moscato is the in grape now. This issue from Robert Mondavi’s well-known low-price line is marginally better than the Beringer. But this sort of thing still ain’t really my thing.
Tasty, lower-priced entry from Angeline Vineyards. They already do a couple different Pinot Noirs, but the idea of this California appelation label is to offer a quality Pinot under fifteen bucks. I call it a success - doesn’t have the earthiness of some of their other wines but does offer a nice bit of flavor without succumbing to the temptation of weak, fruity, dull Pinot. (Call it the Mirassou Exception.)
M2 Trio Red, a strong and full-bodied red blend out of California’s Sierra Foothills region, a Cabernet/Syrah blend with rich fruit flavor and a backbone to match. Nice shit.
Casa del Baio Dolcetto d’Alba. I don’t remember a thing about this wine. Must not have been impressive. We’ll move on.
This was some manner of Malbec, I believe. I vaguely remember not thinking much of it - possibly too heavy on that dusty, earthy quality that initially turned me off to Malbec.
Now this one, the Roogle Shiraz, I plainly remember not liking - struck me as being very plain. Which is a damn shame, as I generally like the wines under the Marquis Phillips label (of which this is a line extension).
Two terrific sakes from Murai Family. The Sugidama on the right is pungently flavored and drier than the average sake; quite a treat, really. The Daiginjo on the left had the pleasing, astringent sweetness that I have found characteristic of a number of better sakes. I ended up swiping the remainder of the sample and drinking it that evening. Cleanest, lightest buzz I’ve ever had.
Oh, Four Cabernet. I wanted to hate this. We simply have no use right now for a $45 glorified box wine. Alas, I damn well couldn’t hate it, mainly because the juice inside the bag drinks like a dry, robust $20 bottle of Cabernet. So yeah. It’s a bit tacky and sounds expensive for what it is, but it’s secretly an amazing value.
It’s been a while since I’ve had this Australian dessert Muscat from RL Buller, and it was nice to revisit it. It’s rich and sweet yet still carries a pleasing delicateness - it successfully avoids being overly heavy or saccharine. Robert Parker gets on this brand’s dick a lot for a reason.
Every time Dogfish Head comes out with a new limited-release beer, I always think it sounds weird. And then I try it anyway so I can be reminded of why I love these guys. The Black & Blue is like a compromise between a Belgian golden ale (i.e. Duvel) and a lambic. It’s brewed with blackberries and blueberries, hence the name, and you can certainly taste the fruit, yet it hangs in the back, allowing the crisp ale flavor to dominate. A fruit beer that actually tastes like beer, if you can believe that. I’m on this shit like the plague.
Cosmic payment.
It figures: No sooner do I get through slagging coffee stout than I finally encounter a terrific iteration of the style. A local tapas bar recently tapped a keg of Captain Lawrence Espresso Stout. Boy, that’s some delicious shit right there. It has the roasted, sharp coffee flavor one would expect from a beverage containing espresso, but it doesn’t overwhelm the natural flavor of the stout - instead, it enhances it like a well-integrated flavor should. I wish they’d bottle that stuff.
Also, it doesn’t contain any coffee, but the similarly-fucking-delicious Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, expectedly, has a bitter dark chocolate flavor that skirts the edge of coffee-bean. So, um, thanks, universe, for proving me wrong.
It should all have been so simple.
I like stout. Stout often has a coffee flavor to it. So why should coffee stout be so damn difficult to get right? The one that springs instantly to mind is Lagunitas Cappucino Stout, which isn’t bad but falls pretty decidedly into the category of “flavor with a little beer essence.” (Southern Tier is maybe the worst offender I’ve encountered in that regard outside of Belgian lambic; their Creme Brulee Imperial Stout is so sweet as to be near-undrinkable.) The first limited offering from Long Trail has the opposite problem. It’s a stout, all right. That’s really all it is — any coffee flavor, overt or subtle, is no more than you get out of your average Guinness tap. It’s certainly inoffensive, but is that really all we should strive towards?
The Monday gauntlet: 03/30/09
Two new ready-to-drink products for the summer, as if the RTD market wasn’t choked enough already. The Captain Morgan Long Island Iced Tea really demonstrates the limitations of the average entry in this category: It’s not horrid (certainly better than the TGI Friday’s premade, which is popular despite being a saccharine abomination), but it’s still nowhere near the kind of drink you’d get if you whipped it up yourself. The Smirnoff Tuscan Lemonade, on the other hand, is surprisingly good. It’s pleasingly tart, with a definite limoncello essence.
Boy oh boy, does this shit need to stop. The Mike’s Hard Mango Punch is passable, I guess. I wouldn’t drink it, but maybe chicks will dig it, and the higher alcohol content can make a frat boy’s life that much easier. But the Parrot Bay Strawberry Daiquiri… fuck, nobody should ever want to drink this. You know how Hawaiian Punch tastes when you’re a kid, how it’s really awesome at first ‘cause it’s all sweet and red and tropical, but by the end of a glass, you’re like I’m never drinking that again? Take away the initial enjoyment and you’ve got this Parrot Bay malt bev. Fucking ick.
Now this is more like it — Domaine de Chatenoy Menetou-Salon Rouge. A red Pinot Noir-based wine from the region next door to Sancerre, it’s a smooth and mild red with some subtle earthy tones. A likeable summer red, this one.
Two offerings from the ever-dwindling 2005 vintage in Bordeaux. The Chateau La Louvière Pessac-Leognan was quite good, a dry and earthy Merlot-based red with good structure. The La Bastide Dauzac Margaux was a bit disappointing in comparison; I can’t exactly call it bad, but it had almost a candied quality to it, which is not something I’d expect from a midprice Bordeaux. Must be the youth.
