12.29.12 - Snowstorm and Wine

It's fitting that 2012 will come to a close, on this blog at least, not with beer which has undoubtedly produced  the best memories of the year for me, but with wine.  Yes, wine.  It's far too oft-forgotten in my drinking adventures, but can fit any situation oh so well.  Which is why I had the hankering for some tonight..  You see, it's the first, and last, "big" snowstorm of 2012.  Started while I was working the part-time gig..  got to the point where there was barely 2 inches on the ground, but it built up quick and ended up bringing traffic to all but a halt.  There was ice and shit underneath the snow.. just a mess.  30 min drive took 70..  Jesus.  So I just wanted some food and to relax while watching the storm.

"Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance" - Ben Franklin.  Words to live by..  so let's drink up!

Honestly, nothing is more relaxing than wine to me.  Yes, I love beer.. but I feel like I analyze each sip, mentally compare it to others of the style..  with wine, I just sip.  I love the warming buzz that creeps up the back of my neck and encompasses my brain.  Intoxicating.  Literally.

Clayhouse - 2007 Adobe Red.  44% Zinfandel, 32% Petite Sirah, 16% Syrah, 5% Malbec, 4% Grenache, and  2% Mourvedre.  Aged for 14 months and at 14.1% ABV.  I've had this for about 2 years now.. was hoping to do a side-by-side with the 2008, but just never got around to it.   Gorgeous ruby red pour, very light bodied.. produces no residual lacing on the glass.  Rich fruits hit the nose, blackberries, cherries and plums.. hints of oaky wood and a smooth, sweet vanilla.  Incredibly smooth body and taste, silky almost.  Average to low level of tannins.. it's drying but still maintains a sweetness, not overpowering at all.  Tart dark cherries at the front of the wine that are followed up by sweeter, smoother raspberries, strawberries and those plums again leveling it out.  Slight spice and oak is present throughout with the acidity rising as it breathed.  Bold and spicy, smooth and balanced..  this is a really good wine for the price and may be a good wine to bridge the gap from white drinkers to red drinkers.

(if I had a wine rating system, this'd be a solid 7 'grapes')

12.27.12 - 668

Happy Thursday, beer time.  Beer stash.

A half-burnt tree?  Flames...  what is this beery canned concoction? 

ghbor ... beast?  huh?  Middle-aged dude with a beer belly and a newspaper?  

Oh hey there, Mr 668!  New England Brewing Co - 668: The Neighbor of the Beast - Belgian-style Golden Ale at 9.05 ABV.  Hazy golden yellow and a minimal head..  pilsner malts and a grassy, yeasty boozy note float up from the can.  Lemon peel, oranges and a touch of spice along with some pale malts in the nose.  This beer has an identity crisis.  --- At first it was like a heavily boozed-up Tripel then fading to a malty, bright Belgian golden then more into a sweet Hefeweizen as it warmed up.  The booze warmth is very prominent from the get-go, but thankfully plays well with the light bready malts and citrus tones in the Tripel phase of the beer.  Some grassy hops come through in the middle with light spices (cardamom and coriander).  The finish sweetens up a bit with some caramel malts and a banana-clove hefeweizen yeasty note.  Delicious for sure, but a bit more body, booze and creaminess than the typical Belgian anything.. and this one struggled to find a definitive style.. slight points off for those facts, sadly.

- - 7 hops

Christmas Night

Well..  for Christmas breakfast i cracked open a Breakfast Stout because I got called to check on an alarm at work at 9:15 in the morning.  So yeah.. I deserved that one!  Then the fam cracked a bottle of 2004 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon for dinner..  WOW  Tons of body and fruit, nice warming spice.  A great surprise from the folks.

Came home after a quiet holiday..  put on some B-grade Santa slasher flicks and cracked open some beers. Went through a few standards just to have some  (I couldn't truly enjoy beer if I had to constantly blog..  so I get 6'ers.. multiples..  or just ones I've had before so I can just kick back with a beer).  Then cracked into the stash again.. it keeps growing, by the way.. and pulled out something totally unrelated to Christmas

Pike's - Monk's Uncle Tripel  9.0% ABV and 38 IBUs.  Cloudy golden yellow with a nice fluffy head.. not much lacing remained.  Instant notes of yeast, banana and a great apple note.  Like fresh pressed cider.  Touches of spice and grassy hops come through as the beer warms.  A slight Brett funk that carries into the taste is the first thing to hit.  Creamier than most Tripels that I've had.. candi sugar, yeast, honey and bananas.  Not much clove that you'd typically find, and far more wheat and light malts than usual.  Heavy on the spice and bubblegum.  Melon and apple flavors coming through and the boozy bite gains strength as it warms.  Overly sweet finish that's a bit too heavy on the esters.  It's worth a try, but there are far better Tripels out there for cheaper.

- - 5 Hops

Montreal! 12.22 & 12.23

So I just drove to Montreal and back within a 28 hour time period.. alone.. with no hotel or accommodations.  Crazy?  Maybe.  Worth it?  For sure.

Yep, that's right.  For a concert.  All the gas, all the food, beers after.. for a concert.  But hey, when you love a band.. and I really mean love them, and they've broken up and decide to do an actual official farewell tour, but doesn't hit any US cities on that tour..  well heading just over 5 hours north doesn't seem that crazy.

Alexisonfire.  Sonic amazingness.  I don't care if you don't agree.  Their URL says it all..  go look..   yep, it's true.  I had the privilege of seeing them in Worcester in May of 2010..  turns out that was the last US city they were to ever play.  But no one knew it at the time..  they announced a break-up.. then rumors of a reunion tour surfaced.  They finally announced a date when all the tour dates would be released... and on that date, whooomp whoooomp!  NO US DATES!  Well slap me silly..  guess I'm going to Montreal!  And I decided that while there I'd enjoy some poutine finally and see what Montreal has to offer for beers!

Enjoy By.. tomorrow?

Heard of "best by" dates.. shelf life?  Yeah, so have I.  But here's the thing, most people thing they apply to food and don't consider the fact that beer falls under these as well.  Just getting into beer.. well you probably haven't had the chance to have a nice cellared beer that once was great but may taste muted, or forgot about that nice hoppy spring beer only to discover it in November and suddenly it's not as hoppy anymore.  Well, beer goes bad too.  Now, it shouldn't go bad unless there's an issue with the actual batch or the cap/seal..but the beer can change.. can skunk if not stored right.. can lose flavor.

And Stone actually banked on that with their most recent special offering -

Enjoy By.  Stone means that.  Apparently the way they formulated this recipe, the flavors WILL mute after the date listed apparently.  Probably slightly gimmicky such that hop heads and beer geeks alike will rush out to get this - small batches, noted expiration - but will it live up to the hype?

The batch to hit MA (and other states, as well) is dubbed Enjoy By 12.21.12 and is a 9.4% ABV and 88 IBU Double IPA.  Even more fitting that the MA batch is "bad" by the day that the Mayan apocalypse is supposed to kill us all!  I was lucky enough to get a taste when it first hit the stores - which, by the way, it was bottled on 11.16.12 and stores in MA got it on 11.19.12... HOLY SHIT!!! - as well as snagging a small little glass at the Vertical Epic fest last week.  It was utterly amazing those times.  Let's see how it is on the eve of it's life span - 12.20.12.

Gorgeous sunshine straw pour and an average, but dense head that left great lacing as you drink.  And the nose..  literally, as soon as the cap is cracked this beer fills the immediate area with with the most glorious hop aroma you've ever laid nostril to.  It's citrusy, it's grassy, it's grapefruity, it's piney, it's thick, resiny and bright.. it's pure heaven for hop lovers.  There's the faintest underlying caramel and biscuit malts.. both in the nose and taste, but all that quickly gives way to the hops.  This could easily be marketed as pure hop extract it's THAT hoppy.  WOW.  Just take one little sip and the sticky bitterness lingers for 5+ minutes.. I'm not even kidding.  It's drying, it's harsh, it's sticky and sweet, but sweet baby Jesus you want more!  I often found myself cupping the mouth of the glass just to breathe it in.  It was huge and bold, just smooth and drinkable with amazing complexity coming from basically one ingredient (but multiple kinds).  For a double IPA, hell even a normal IPA, I'd say this is as close to perfect as it gets.  Heady Topper edges it out on the malt front just a touch and, even though it as well is supposed to be enjoyed fresh, this is fresher and this is meant to be all out hopalicious!

If I could, I'd give it 10 hops, for sure, this is the closest to perfection I've had, ever.  The slightest touch more malt would make it a perfectly rounded double IPA..  so 9+ hops ( I added the little extra beneath! )

12.12.12 - VERTICAL EPIC DAY!

Where were you on 12.12.12?!?  The same digit for the month, day AND year..  this won't happen for almost 80 more years..  you better remember this day!  As for me.. well this happened:

Whisky Schmisky

So I've had like 2 wines posts and the other 150-some-odd have been beer..  time for a change!

Technically it was SCOTCH, not just regular whiskey, but scotch schmotch doesn't have the same ring to it. Out of the blue on Monday I got an email from an event company in Boston telling me I was invited to a Macallan tasting.. I didn't sign up for one, nor ever put my name on a whisk(e)y/scotch mailing list.. but hey, it turned out to be free!  Are YOU gonna say no to that?  Didn't think so!

Gorgeous, huh?  We got the sample the 12 year Sherry cask, 15 year fine oak cask, 17 year fine oak cask and 18 year old Sherry cask!  I wish I could describe these more, but I'm just starting to get into scotch..  so let's just say they were all delicious!  To me, the stand-outs were the 12 and 15, the sherry imparts different flavors and textures than the fine oak and gives a nice full body, rich fruits and deeper caramels.  The fine oak had some nice crisp citrus to it.  The burn started to creep into the 17 and 18.. not a huge fan of that.  For instance Johnnie Green will win over Johnnie Blue for me any day because the burn is hidden, but all the flavors are there.  Either way.. I'm growing my taste for scotches and whiskys..  do you drink 'em?  Then let's go try some!!

12.4.12 - SOA and Stone

Folks.. if you don't watch Sons of Anarchy, what in the everloving Christ is wrong with you!?  OK OK.. I'll give you time to go catch up.. but by the start of season 6, ya'll better be on top of that shit!  Being able to watch, honest-to-God, one of the most amazingly written shows of my generation, as it airs..  I feel rather lucky.  Sounds cheesy, but the characters, the struggles..  it speaks to me.  It drags me in..  

A beer with the namesake as to how I'm feeling lately.. and the balls to be worthy of the SOA season finale. Stone - Lukcy 13asartd (aka Lucky Bastard) - re-release.  Originally brewed in 2010 for the 13th anniversary of the release of Arrogant Bastard..  there was so much demand they brewed it again.  an 8.5% ABV American Strong..  this should be a force to be reckoned with.  Rich ruby brown pour.. minimal head that left amazing lacing.  Strong alcoholic malts on the notes.. touches of black cherries, plum, figs.. vanilla and oak., caramel and roasted malts..  all subtle, but all huge.  The first thing to hit your tongue is that typical Stone hop profile..  from their IPA to the richest RIS, all Stone's seem to have the same hop profile.  Not that it's a bad thing..  dark fruits and the alcohol bite come into play next.. an underlying earthiness from the oak and some hops.   Citrusy, caramel..  the booze comes around as it warms.  A great brew..  it, however, doesn't separate itself from it's brethren that much.  A touch of oak here.. a little more booze there..  not even a great amalgamation of the family..  Don't get me wrong.. it's damned lovely, but not very well-refined. That being said.. I'm still lukcy, err, lucky, for the chance to try this as I had no idea about it 2010.. and also for everything else in my life..  reflect people, take the time, it's worth it.

- - 7 Hops

12.3.12 - Bacon Brown Ale

First off, sorry for the shitty pic.  I alternate between camera and phone.. and this time the phone sucked bad.  It looked OK on the phone.. not so much on here...  Sorry people!

That being said, I cracked into what should be a rather unique brew...  Uncommon Brewers - Bacon Brown Ale.  A 6.8% ABV 65 IBU ale brewed with buckwheat and real bacon.  Hmm....   can't go wrong, right?  We'll see.  Cloudy brown pour, thick billowing white head that I had to keep from overflowing the glass.  Straight up brown bread..  faint brown bread however, on the nose.  Very one dimensional..  the only extra kick comes from an incredibly muted smoke note.  This is surprisingly watered down, lacking much flavor besides slightly roasted malt.  A thicker, metallic sweetness from the smoke lingers near the end..  this is the only trace of said 'bacon' And the buckwheat..  no idea what to look for, but if it's anything other than malty, it was completely drowned out by what little malts there are.  Gimmicky?  Probably.  Good?  Not really

- - 3 Hops

Sunday Funday with Pops and the Pats

Why not invite the pops over to watch the Pats and have a few beers?  He enjoyed good ol Bud heavy, but I managed to have him sample, AND ENJOY, a Phantom Punch Winter Stout by Baxter.  During this time, I decided to have an Octoberfest show-down.  It's December, I know, but it only just started getting really cold here, so Octoberfests are still fine by me!