CS Booze Club.

[Dilorenzo]

Lookin forward to some of those reviews. Will be trying something new myself tonight. I have no idea what it'll be as I have to stop into Heinans and randomly pick one up on the way home. So, it's like a surprise. A beer surprise.

And as we all know, that's the best kind of surprise.

[KiaKat]

*stumbles in and collapses*

Urg. I've tasted too much swill at work. My tastebuds hate me. It's all manipulated crap that tastes like fruit juice thanks to the amount of sugar dumped in the must.

I'm grabbing a good bottle of Italian red tonight and going to town on it.

Too bad I have to work tomorrow.

[Dilorenzo]

It's all manipulated crap that tastes like fruit juice thanks to the amount of sugar dumped in the must.

Not a big wine drinker (seeing as I prefer reds and reds tend to kill me with reflux), but they do this? To wine? Why? I just, really, why?

[KiaKat]

Oh there's a lot they do to wine. Add sugar. Add acid. Add tannin. Use reverse osmosis to remove alcohol. Add alcohol. Add colour. Remove colour. Etc. Etc. Etc.

If it's cheap, it's probably had something done to it. And I finally work for someone who can walk me through *why* I don't like certain wines. My instincts are good, but my understanding as to why my instincts react the way they do is still improving.

[thansal]

Last night the GF and I went out with my mum and her friend to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner (first time we have been there for dinner). It's run by a French Canadian and his Queens wife, and the food reflects it. But that is fit for another time I guess (Seriously, the sauce on the pork belly tasted like liquid pork belly, all sorts of amazing).

So, my beer to report is Le Trou Du Diable's "V". Apparently an anniversary beer for that brewery (who are a French Canadian brewery).

Described as a Belgian Scotch Ale (Seriously, French Canadian Belgian Scottish Beer!), the first reaction to it that I had was that it reminded me of Red Wine. Like a really flavorful red wine, just with out any tannin (which is the part of wine I can't stand). This is something I have never experienced in a beer before, and I have to say I'm really happy with it. The after flavors were what I more expect from a Belgian style ale, lots of spices and strong malts. The 9% ABV also lends itself to that, creating the mouth feel of a high ABV beer.

All in all, I'm glad I had it. It was an unusual beer to go with an extraordinary meal. However, at $30 for 500ml, I will never get it again (unless some one else is picking up the tab).


As most of us wanted something after that I picked up another can of Back in Black. Still a great beer. All the hops flavor you get from an IPA, however with the perfume aspect cut via the huge amounts of dark hops.


Oh, and Jester, what's the proper mixture for a Margarita with sours (I'm curious now)?

[KiaKat]

Most cocktails are 3-2-1. 3 parts base alcohol, 2 parts mix, 1 part liqueur.

So start with 1.5oz Tequila, add 1oz sour mix (equal parts lemon juice, lime juice, simple syrup, splash of seltzer), and 1/2oz triple sec (or another orange liqueur). Adjust to taste.

[Jester]

Most cocktails are 3-2-1. 3 parts base alcohol, 2 parts mix, 1 part liqueur.

So start with 1.5oz Tequila, add 1oz sour mix (equal parts lemon juice, lime juice, simple syrup, splash of seltzer), and 1/2oz triple sec (or another orange liqueur). Adjust to taste.

I will politely and respectfully disagree with you on two counts.

One, most cocktails do not follow this ratio at all. Some do. A few do. But not most. Not the majority. Not even a whole lot. Some popular cocktails that don't follow this ratio at all, just off the top of my head:

Rum and coke.
Vodka and cranberry.
Long Island Iced Tea.
Frozen strawberry daiquiri.
Rusty Nail.
Scotch and soda.
Manhattan.
Martini.
Mojito.
Rum punch.
Amaretto sour.
Lynchburg Lemonade.
John Daly.
Caipirinha.

And on, and on, and on. Most cocktails don't use liquor AND liqueur. Some do, certainly. Most do not.

The most common and popular cocktails are the single-liquor-and-mixer-type, such as a gin and tonic or rum and diet coke.

Martinis and Manhattans use liquor and liqueur, but no mixer.

Mojitos and caipirinhas use liquor and a variety of other ingredients, but no liqueur.

Secondly, I disagree with your margarita ratios. Not just because I don't at all agree with your sour mix recipe on multiple points* But also because the ratios of that drink seem to be way off.

The way I was trained to make a margarita, the way I make a margarita, the way I drink a margarita, and the way I serve a margarita (with no complaints to date) is one of the following:

With sour mix: 3 parts tequila to one part each of lime juice, sweetener (such as triple sec or Cointreau) and sour mix. I.e., 1.5 oz. Patron Anejo, 1/2 oz. lime juice, 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier, and 1/2 oz. sour mix.

Without sour mix, adjusting the ratios to compensate for the lack of sour mix, as the original margarita didn't have anything called sour mix in it: 2 parts tequila to one part each of lime juice and sweetener. I.e., 1.5 oz. Sauza tequila, 3/4 oz. lime juice, and 3/4 oz. Cointreau.

*The thought of a fizzy margarita because there's carbonation (from the seltzer you listed) in the sour mix not only weirds me out, but makes me scratch my head, as I've never seen it. As for lemon juice, lime juice is just fine, especially if it's fresh squeezed and not the sweetened kind. Adding more tartness to the drink is not needed.

Don't even GET me started on the idea of orange juice in a margarita.

[Jester]

Finally over that illness, other than a lingering occasional cough, so...time for some beers! First up, I think I'll try this odd one: Fruli Strawberry Beer, from Belgium.

I've actually tried this beer once before at one of our local craft beer bars, but on one of my shopping trips (possibly the one on my Beercation) I picked up this small 8.4 oz. bottle of the stuff. Seems like an interesting way to start my night, eh?

From the label: "Beer brewed using coriander and orange peel with natural and artificial flavors added." Also, we find that Fruli is 4.1% ABV, so it's not really going to knock you off your ass...unless your a Smurf.

Red in color with a pinkish hue (though I can't be totally accurate on that one due to my slight colorblindness with reds and greens), Fruli pours with a frothy head. Smells like...well, like strawberry jam. All I smell is strawberry. No beer, no orange, no coriander. Time for a taste.

FIRST SIP: Sweet, but not as sweet as it smells. But don't get me wrong, definitely sweet. The orange cuts down the sweetness slightly, and you can kind of detect it under the strawberry, but the coriander is hiding under the sofa or something, cause I ain't getting it. The carbonation makes this kind of taste like a strawberry soda, but not as syrupy. Tasty. Not as heavy or sweet as, say, a framboise, but Fruli is not going to be giving Anheuser-Busch, Samuel Adams, or Guinness any headaches as far as market share. This is an occasional beer at best, for when you want something sweet or as a break from regular or even craft beers. Nice to start with, perhaps good with dessert. Might be a good beer for people who don't care for beers.

Interesting. Nice change of pace. Otherwise, not much to say. It is what it is.

[Jester]

My next foray into my stock is the Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock from Schneider-Weisse. At least, I think that’s the brewery it’s from, but the label is a bit confusing. And completely in German, which I don’t really understand, well, at all.

Okay, I’m surprised. For some reason, I was expecting this to be a lighter colored beer. (The bottle is dark brown glass, so it was impossible to tell what the beer itself looked like. Silly me, I figured an eisbock would be light. I have no idea why. Probably because weizen, white, hefeweizen, you know.

In any case, this is a deep mahogany rich grown color. Looks lovely. The nose is subtle but there is something rich going on in there, I think. Slight floral notes. Perhaps some spices. Definitely something going on in there.

FIRST SIP: Um, weird. Odd flavor. Sort of a Belgian-ish weird taste thing going on. Not living up to the promise I saw and smelled. Interesting, I suppose. Definitely not anything I’ve had before. Not unpleasant. Just….not…..I don’t know. It’s weird, because I’m pretty sure I had a wonderful product of Schneider-Weisse on my Beercation, but this is just….not.

Heh. Hard to describe this one. I would say that if generally you like Belgian style abbey beers, this is vaguely similar, and you’d enjoy it. While I have enjoyed some of those style beers, most of them don’t appeal to me. And this one…doesn’t. It’s interesting, certainly. Just not my particular taste. I don’t foresee myself having another one. Which is good, as this is the only one I have.

[Jester]

And now for some He’Brew Messiah Bold Brown Ale, from Schmaltz Brewing.

It pours beautifully brown, almost black, but not the motor oil black I've talked about with some other dark beers. This is definitely brown, but a darker brown than most browns, if that makes sense.

Rich nose, with a very distinctive note of root beer, so of course it smells sweet, and has that certain smell that only a brown can have. Those of you that have had browns know what I'm talking about. (If you haven't noticed yet, I am simply terrible at describing the nose of a beer with any real clarity or adjectives.)

FIRST SIP: Mmmmm.... A lovely brown, semi-sweet, but not overly so. Lighter than it looks, but still a brown. Hint of root beer, but not as strong as on the nose. Hmmm...the more I drink it, the lighter it seems. Very odd. Still tasty, but not as satisfying as that first delicious sip. No bitter or odd aftertaste, though. Virtually no aftertaste at all...this beer finishes very clean.

Tasty, but lacks the richness and depth of a really good brown. Sort of a brown light, as it were. Worth drinking? Yes. Worth seeking out? Other than the novelty of the name, not really. If you see it, drink it. But don't go out of your way for it.

[thansal]

I'll agree with you on He'brew. They make good beers, nothing exceptional, but good.

Schneider-Weisse's standard hefeweizen is one of our staple beers (It's a good hefe and our grocery store tends to have it in stock). It's what I think of when I think of summer beers. It's light, it tastes great cold, it makes sense that the Bavarians would drink that with brunch. I haven't tried the one you had, though I have had a dark hefeweizen before, and enjoyed it.

My report for the weekend is on Sake (this time I got the name): Kamoizumi's Summer Snow. It is a nigori sake (unfiltered), which I tend to lean towards, though I'm not sure if it's a flavor thing, or just that I like the look and mouth feel of the unfiltered sakes. This has to be one of the best sakes I have ever had. Incredibly smooth, strong flourish flavors, not overly sweet (Nigori sakes do tend to be rather sweet), not cloying, really just all around great. And it went really well with the Cold spicy noodles

[Jester]

Had yet another new beer (to me) tonight at a new bar (to me). It's a wine/cigar bar here in town that I've heard of, but never been to. They don't have a huge selection of craft beers, but they do have some, and at better prices than the other craft beer bars, which is a big plus. Majorly awesome atmosphere/ambience, too. Yes, I'll be back.

The beer in question was Cigar City Brewing's Bolita, which this bar had a big bomber bottle of for only ten bucks. (Most of the other beer bars here in town charge $13-22 for bombers.) The Bolita is, according to the label, a "Double Northern English-style brown ale." As a lover of browns, and a fan of Cigar City Brewing, especially their Maduro Nut Brown Ale, I had high hopes for this beer.

The nose was very subtle, hinting at a sweet, dark beer, suggesting a light note of chocolate, but not really giving out any real information.

And then I tasted it. It did not live up to my high hopes.

It completely surpassed them.

While Maduro is a very nice brown, Bolita is exquisite, blowing the Maduro pretty much out of the brown beer water. My notes verbatim: "Taste-aweseome-light chocolate, hint of brown sugar. Dark, rich, sweet, oatmeal-y, "chewy." Awesome brown! Hints of caramel and roasted nuts. 8-9."

That last bit is my personal score of the beer on a ten scale. For lovers of rich, dark, non-bitter beers, Cigar City's Bolita is what you've been seeking, even if you didn't know it.

I will have more of this, for it is heavenly!

Preview of coming attractions: I also bought a bottle of Spanish red at this bar, their last bottle of this particular wine. The owner/bartender said it is a really nice Spanish red, and I look forward to cracking the bottle and finding out how it rates.

[pitmonkey]

Here is one that Hubby brought home tonight, Dekuyper 03 Premium Orage Liqueur. It is not overly sweet and the orange flavor is nice. This is one that will go good on a cold damp spring night.

[Jester]

Screw the Pony Express. I now have the Hops Express.

A friend of mine from Key West who lives in Miami comes to Key West often to visit her boyfriend and her dad. And she has no problem stopping at better liquor stores and picking me up stuff that I can't get down here, since some distributors don't bother with the Keys.

And yesterday was the first running of the Hops Express. Which brought me some lovely presents. Okay, well, presents are gifts, and I paid for these, but hell, we'll call them presents. Presents to myself from myself, delivered by a lovely young lady willing to take a detour for me. Happy day!

Yesterday's presents: a bottle of Gulden Draak Ale, a Belgian brew I tried last September back in Phoenix; a bottle of Weihenstephaner Bavarian style Heffe Weissbier that I also tried on that Phoenix trip; and four bottles of Weihenstephaner Korbinian, a dark malty dopplebock that was the winner of my heart (and liver) on my recent Beercation. It was the only beer I gave a score of 10 out of 10 to. It was that awesome.

I just hope the bottled versions live up to the drafts I tried of all three.

[Boozy]

Sherry nose. Ever smell a Palamino Fino Sherry? That.

Oh good lord. I envy you for enjoying that.

Nothing smells worse to me than a sherry. I sometimes cook with sherry (not the cheap stuff, either), and the odor is repugnant. Once it starts to reduce, it's okay. But up until that point, I hate to stand over the stove.

Besides, the vast majority of non-fortified wines shouldn't have a sherry nose. That's usually a sign they've aged poorly.