CS Booze Club.

[Dilorenzo]

Huh, more Rum. I'd read through it all but I only have five minutes.

I did try The Kraken dark rum, solely because it was called The Kraken. Reminded me why I'm not a rum drinker - just too sweet for me.

I still don't remember the name of the beer I had exactly, but I think it was Bell's Special Double Cream Stout. Was quite good, very smooth and very deep. Not the best thing to have on a hot day, though, as Friday was.

[Jester]

Thanks for the help Jester

No problem! Any time!

You do realize that your bar has a better selection of rums than an entire country! I’ve got to visit this wonderful place.

Yes, yes we do. And yes, yes you should.

Actually, we probably have more different rums than just about any single country. And we have rums from a lot of countries. Just off the top of my head, without looking, I can tell you we have rum from: Puerto Rico, the U.S., Curacao, Trinidad, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Spain, Fiji, Anguilla, St. Kitt's, Barbados, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Haiti, Guyana, Colombia, Panama, Peru, and Martinique, among others that I've certainly missed.

I did try The Kraken dark rum, solely because it was called The Kraken. Reminded me why I'm not a rum drinker - just too sweet for me.

Please. Kraken is no more representative of the beauty one can find in rums than a Yugo is of the fun one can have in cars. Personally, I'm not at all impressed with Kraken, and without looking at a list could name at least FIFTY better rums.

I still don't remember the name of the beer I had exactly, but I think it was Bell's Special Double Cream Stout. Was quite good, very smooth and very deep. Not the best thing to have on a hot day, though, as Friday was.

Bell's makes some GOOD beers. But no, on a hot day, dark beer is not the best choice, with few exceptions.

[Jester]

Kind of a lazy cooking day, and here it is, 4 am, and I haven't had a beer since about 6, nor an adult beverage since about 9. Who am I, and what have I done with Jester?

But I feel it's time for just one quick beer before I crash. Of course, the "one" in question is a dark triple ale from Belgium that measures in at 10.5% alcohol by volume, and comes in a 25 ounce bottle. With a cork.

Yes. A beer bottled with a cork. How fucking cool is that? (By the way, for those who object to my language, this is a thread about alcohol. Kids shouldn't be reading this shit anyway. And if you let them, it's not my damn fault.)

The corked beer in question is Gulden Draak, which I actually tried a little of on draft in Phoenix last September, but don't remember much of it. It was on draft at that bar, so I was unaware that they bottle it in bottles with corks. Yeah, still wrapping my head around that one. (I have another corked beer in my fridge, but that's for another day, and by then, I think I will be over the whole shock of a cork in a beer bottle. Ya know?)

So, let's dive into the Gulden Draak, shall we?

But first, we must uncork it. And as I'm untwisting the wire cage around the cork, I remember from my days in banquet service that you really should always keep one hand on the cork in case it pops as you remove the wire cage. Good thing I remembered to do that, as once the wires were loose, the cork popped right out. Nice!

Draak is dark brown in color (not black), with a slight reddish hue. Nice thick head. Great lacing on the glass. The nose? It smells of autumn. Slightly dark, with some hints of spice, some malt, and just a certain freshness that can't be explained. It smells....inviting.

First sip: Oh, hello, old friend. Sit with me on the couch a while. Let's just enjoy each other's company.

Second sip: A little sweet, a certain Belgian bite that I don't normally like but works here (and that I can't explain better than calling it a "Belgian bite," as it's a certain taste I only ever taste in Belgian beers, like Chimay and others). It's not a brown, it's certainly not a dark beer. Perhaps a cross between an Oktoberfest and a red? With a Belgian accent?

Seriously, some beers just defy description. The Draak is excellent, but hard to explain. And people would either love it or hate it. I love it, even with that odd Belgian thing going on. It is easily my favorite Belgian beer of all time. Except for perhaps Framboise, but that is a lambic, so that's a whole 'nother thing. And okay, St. Martin's Triple is just ridiculous. But this is still ONE of my favorite Belgian beers ever. Admittedly, that's not all that tough, as I am not normally a Belgian fan. But this....this....this.....this beer is just.....friendly.

If more Belgian beers tasted like this, I would drink more Belgian beers. I recommend it. Highly. Hell, I'll give it an 8.5 score. And suggest you go try some, if you can find it.

But please, don't ask me to explain it. I just....can't.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to spend some quality time with my newest old friend.

[Jester]

Weihenstephaner Korbinian (draft, sample size): German dopplebock. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Malty, rich, a little chocolatey. Proof that Germans perfected beer. Score: 10. My favorite beer of the whole trip, so much so that I had a friend who lives in Miami but is from Key West and comes down here a lot bring me some bottles of it, since it is unavailable in the Keys.

Just cracked the first of those Miami bottles of Korbinian. As it's been a few weeks, I can't say if it is as good from a bottle as it is on draft, but it is DAMN good, and I am enjoying the hell out of it.

A special beer for a special day.....and some would say, for a speshul guy.

[Jester]

From Rogue Brewery (as many of you know, one of my favorite breweries), we have their Russian Imperial Stout.

Much like Ten Fidy from Oskar Blues, this pours black as night, and as thick as motor oil. Hell, this LOOKS like motor oil. Not always a bad thing in a dark beer, actually.

The nose? Predominantly malty, in a dark beer way (rather than a brown malty ale, if you take my meaning). Slight hint of coffee, slighter hint of chocolate, but overwhelmingly malty. Perhaps even a hint of licorice. But I've been drinking, I could be wrong.

FIRST SIP: Rich and dark, like a bar of dark bitter chocolate. (My mom has always had a weakness for dark chocolate, and while my weakness is for white chocolate, I can't disagree with Mom on the wonders of dark chocolate. Bitter, and yet....wonderful. Amusingly, Mom thinks of beer as most people think of dirty diapers....and I have a photo to prove it.)

Ahhhh....this is tasty, but only if you like DARK beer. This is somewhere between Guinness and Left Hand Milk Stout, but you won't catch light beer drinkers quaffing this. Great for a cold winter day. Of course, if you live in the tropics, as I do, it's great for a (not boiling hot) summer night at home. Out of 10, I give this an honest 8.5. Seriously awesome.

[thansal]

So, we picked up a 6 pack of Butternuts Beer and Ale's Heinnieweisse Weissebier.

Why? Because I find good beer in cans to be amusing, and I have had their Pork Slap before as it's always on tap at my favorite BBQ place (A good pale Ale, but I'm not overly a fan of Pale Ales).

My reaction is that it's a good wheat beer. Not the best, but a good one, and nicely unique. It is decidedly lighter in flavor than my favorites, however it isn't weak. It's a bit sweeter than usual, and has a very clean finish. Basically it's a great summer beer. It goes down very nicely, and tastes fine doing so.

[Jester]

I find good beer in cans to be amusing...

It's not as rare or odd as it used to be. Due to technological advancements, canned beer can not taste just as good as bottled beer. Some of the craft brewers are doing bunches of canned beer, and some are doing theirs exclusively in cans, such as the Oskar Blues Brewery, of which I can say only great things, even though I can't stand their flagship beer, Dale's Pale Ale. I do enjoy the rest of their line, though, and absolutely love their Ten Fidy.

[thansal]

Oh, I agree completely, however, I still have the image of cans being only bud or PBR, and thus getting a good beer in a can is still a novelty to me (It will probably wear off, but I'm not sure) :P

It looks like this company (Butternuts) only does their beers in cans as well.

Tuesday of next week I will have another beer to report on. This one I have my trepidations about. Wells Banana Bread Beer.

I have stated my mistrust of fruit flavored beer, however, I have a friend coming in who loves all things banana (bread is high up on that list), and it just sounds so wrong that I have to buy a bottle.

To mitigate this (using my friends as Guinea pigs), I'm bringing a 6 pack or 2 of the Butternuts beers :P

[Jester]

...thus getting a good beer in a can is still a novelty to me (It will probably wear off, but I'm not sure)

I was the same way until I had had many of the Oskar Blues line (and some others) and realized, hey, this canned beer shit works.

Wells Banana Bread Beer.

I've had this several times, and it's not half bad. Anyone who's had a good hefeweizen knows that there is often a strong banana taste to those. Well, this takes that idea and runs with it, ignoring most of the rest of the flavor profile of hefeweizen.

It's a decent beer, and while the banana flavor is unmistakeable, it is not nearly as sweet or as obnoxious as most fruit beers are. But of course, your individual beerage may vary.

[Maria]

I hope it's all right that I hijack the thread for a moment to ask a related question...

My friend left a partially-enjoyed bottle of Frangelico in my refrigerator in mid-February, and I've been informed that she's coming to visit as soon as she's released from work. Is this stuff likely to still taste good, or should I just toss it and replace it for her before she arrives?

[Dave1982]

The frangelico is probably fine.

[Mikkel]

Liquor should keep well, even outside the refrigerator. Some of the oils in it may have separated.

[Treasure]

most liquors will keep up to a year in the fridge after being opened and if kept w/ lid on correctly ...



I picked up a new beer to try, b/c it looked interesting - its called:

Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA

Now, we all KNOW how Jester feels about IPA's - but I don't have an opinion, I know I like Amber beers, and this is about the color of Chaucer's mead... (maybe even lighter) but it's THISTLE beer! (i have a small obsession w/ Scottish Thistles) so, I'll get it opened, eventually, and actually let y'all know what I think...


I tried a new wine recently, and it was good for the meal i served it with, but it did not do so well with lighter fare
Cupcake (brand)
Red Velvet Cake ("flavor")
Year: 07? 08? 09? one of those, I'm leaning towards 09...

it tasted great w/ the Bacon wrapped "Fillet Mignon"; ranch-roasted potatoes; and steamed broccoli we had for dinner;
however a couple of nights later I had a Fruit and Cheese platter, inc. pears, and a cranberry/white cheddar cheese, w/ ham and crackers, and yogurt, and the wine was too strong/bitter for that....

[Jester]

I hope it's all right that I hijack the thread for a moment to ask a related question...

How is asking a question about booze in a booze-related thread hijacking? You're fine!

Is this stuff likely to still taste good, or should I just toss it and replace it for her before she arrives?

Liquor keeps for a long, long time. The Frangelico should be fine, unless you have left the lid off of it and allowed various nasty uninvited party guests to get into it.

Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA

Now, we all KNOW how Jester feels about IPA's -

Now wait one beer-drinking minute!

Yeah, I know, I've mentioned repeatedly that I am not an IPA guy. But I have also said (perhaps less frequently) that I don't tend to like IPA's, but that I have had a select few that were either not bad or, in a couple of cases, downright tasty to me.

I know I have tried Twisted Thistle, but for the life of me I can't remember what my impression of it was. I am guessing it wasn't bad (to me), but not a revelation either, mostly because of my complete lack of remembering it.

Up in West Palm Beach, I tried a few new beverages, and I'll be posting my notes about them in here shortly.

[thansal]

So, I lied, it was Wed, not Tues that I tried out the Banana Bread beer.

My friend, who I supposedly bought it for didn't like it, as beer isn't really her thing, no big surprise, but it was worth a shot.

I personally thought it was cloyingly sweet, and the banana flavor simply didn't work for me at all. Fortunately, the beer didn't go to waste, it was passed to another friend who enjoyed it.