CS Booze Club.

[Jester]

Weihenstephaner is awesome, but not always easy to find. I have to buy mine in Miami, as it is not distributed down the Keys.

Incidentally, it took me a while to learn how to spell or pronounce it. But I'll help you. It's pronounced "WINE-stuh-fahn-ur." And it tastes AWESOME. (I've tried three of their offerings to date, and have yet to be anything but impressed.)

[thansal]

Weihenstephaner is one of our staples, we are lucky enough that our local grocery store caries bottles of their basic hefe.

My GF (being the good German she is) drilled it into me on how to pronounce it early, she says no r at the end (more of a 'ah'), but that could be the Bavarian speaking vs high German (or another dialect).

The best thing though, is that the best German restaurant we know of has Weihenstephaner on tap, which is the first place I tried the dark hefe (and fell in love with it).

So, the 2 beers I tried recently were:
Kuhnhenn Hefeweizen
the GF got a pint of this. This is the first time I have actually tasted the banana flavors that people have mentioned about them (I dono, just never noticed it in another hefe).

It's delicious. It has all the wonderful spice notes I love from a good hefe, but it was also much richer and fuller in body then most random hefes. An excellent choice, though one I have never seen before (well, anything from that Brewer)

My beer was the Allagash Black.
Another Belgian style beer (Allagash is a Belgian style brewer from Maine), something I am realizing I like a lot. It's name is a bit deceptive. When I think black beers I think of the ones that don't let light through, some that even seem to absorb it, and I tend to love those beers. This was not one of them. Hold it up to the light and it's decidedly red. I was a bit disappointed when I saw it coming out of the tap, but whatever, I'm not going to shun a beer because of that.

The taste has the standard notes of what I expect from a Belgian beer. Lots of spices, a bit of a sharp hops flavor, and strong. This was also a wonderfully malty beer. The first couple sips I wasn't all that happy with it (to hoppy for me), however, after a couple more sips the malt flavor really started to come through and round out the sharpness of the rest of the beer.

Over all, it was a good beer. Not my favorite, but not one I regret spending money on, I'll probably stick with the Allagash White though.

Also: I'm starting to lean in the direction that making a fizzy bloody isn't going to work unless I can find a lighter source of tomato, though I'm still going to give it a try. That is, once I can actually find some Cel-Ray, I live in a rather Jewish area so I would think it would be here, but no such luck yet. I'm still boggled that I don't know Cel-ray. It's made by Doc Browns (one of my favorite soda companies), yet I have never seen it (I always make a point of looking over soda displays for something interesting).

[Jester]

NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

My new roommate today gave me some heart-breaking news.

As I've mentioned before, I have thoroughly stocked my fridge with craft beers to try, and one entire half shelf has nothing but said beers.

Today he told me that sometime recently, he had a mishap in the fridge, and one of the bottles broke. After some questioning, I realized he meant the He'Brew Jewbiliation 14, the 14th iteration of a special annual beer that Schmaltz Brewing (the company behind He-Brew Beers) puts out. The 14 was supposed to be something special...and now it's gone, having never been tasted. I shall have to contact the liquor store in Miami from which I bought it, to see both how much it is and if they have any more.

I can't remember the exact price, but I think it was not all that cheap, and it was a big bottle (25 oz. or so).

He apologized, but I am debating whether or not I should make him pay for the replacement....if, in fact, the Jewbiliation can even BE replaced.

My liver is sad.....

Weihenstephaner is one of our staples, we are lucky enough that our local grocery store caries bottles of their basic hefe.

I hate you.

The best thing though, is that the best German restaurant we know of has Weihenstephaner on tap...

I really, really hate you.

Kuhnhenn Hefeweizen
the GF got a pint of this. This is the first time I have actually tasted the banana flavors that people have mentioned about them (I dono, just never noticed it in another hefe).

Have you tried Hacker-Pschorr or Tucher? It's more subtle in the Tucher, though it is there, but it's pretty hard to miss in the H-P.

Also: I'm starting to lean in the direction that making a fizzy bloody isn't going to work unless I can find a lighter source of tomato, though I'm still going to give it a try.

Lighter source of tomato....huh? Explain, please.

That is, once I can actually find some Cel-Ray, I live in a rather Jewish area so I would think it would be here, but no such luck yet. I'm still boggled that I don't know Cel-ray. It's made by Doc Browns (one of my favorite soda companies), yet I have never seen it (I always make a point of looking over soda displays for something interesting).

There is a good chance that that particular flavor of soda is only sold in certain areas, not just in a rather Jewish area, but in areas that are strongly populated by Jews, such as the NYC area. Frankly, that's the only area I've seen it in, although I haven't really been looking for it.

[Jester]

Winter Hook Winter Ale, brewed by Redhook Ale Brewery, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. (5.9% alcohol by volume, and one of the few beers I’ve ever seen that puts that information right on the bottle.)

Reddish-golden in color, Winter Hook has a lovely nose, reminding you of both beer and the holidays, but mostly beer. It smells like beer, in the best possible way. Nothing overly fruity or fancy or artsy fartsy, but definitely a rich heart-warming beer.

FIRST SIP*: Thank you, Bacchus! Lovely beer, with a slightly sour/citrusy note to it. Slightly rich, slightly malty, but not slightly good….it is, rather, quite excellent.

*As with a few other beers I’ve reviewed here, this is not technically my first sip of the product, though it is the first sip of that particular bottle. But Winter Hook is a bit different, as it was the favorite of both me and Little Red and the Fort Lauderdale Beer Fest in 2010, and the one beer I never needed to consult my notes about afterwards, despite all the beers we drank there. Notes are great to remember names, spellings, and what you thought at the time, but there are certain beers, your favorites and your most hated, that you don’t need your notes too much for.

Have some Winter Hook. You won’t be sorry. Score: 8.

[thansal]

Lighter source of tomato....huh? Explain, please.

I'm thinking that standard tomato juice would probably not take a fizz. As for what a lighter (as in not as dense) source would be, I dono...

Still, all moot until I find some cel-ray :P

There is a good chance that that particular flavor of soda is only sold in certain areas, not just in a rather Jewish area, but in areas that are strongly populated by Jews, such as the NYC area. Frankly, that's the only area I've seen it in, although I haven't really been looking for it.

That is all correct. However, I live in NYC, Queens, in a mostly Jewish neighborhood, a block away from a temple. :P

Apparently my mum used to drink the stuff (though I'm still not familiar with it).

I mean, I have always lived in Jewish neighborhoods (I grew up next to a Jewish HS, 2 blocks from a reformed temple, 5 blocks from an orthodox temple, etc :P), and yet, never had a run in with the Cel-Ray. Doc Brown's is common enough for me (my local place has it, just not the Cel-Ray).

This is almost getting to the point where I'm going to have to go searching for it.

[Treasure]

I tried a new beer last week - Shinerbock Summer beer; it has Grapefruit and Ginger in it.

Normally I prefer Ziegan Bock amber and don't touch Shiner; apparently that's not uncommon - its one or the other for most people and when I started drinking beer it was in a college town - at a pool hall that had 1$ drafts w/ ID's - and they had Bud lite, Coors lite, Miller lite or Ziegan - being not a dumbbunny I went w/ Ziegan... so no Shiner for me...

unless its this citrus tangy summer offering from Shiner.... its not sweet like a cider, but its a good "bright" flavored beer - i actually finished it before it got too warm ....

would i buy a 6pk of it? probably not; but if at a party and its available, sure I'll have 1.. maybe 2 depending on what else there is ....

[Jester]

I'm thinking that standard tomato juice would probably not take a fizz. As for what a lighter (as in not as dense) source would be, I dono...

That is all correct. However, I live in NYC, Queens, in a mostly Jewish neighborhood, a block away from a temple.

Ignore everything I said, then, as there really SHOULD be some Cel-Ray somewhere near you!

This is almost getting to the point where I'm going to have to go searching for it.

I wouldn't say almost. I would say it is, in fact, time to start hunting.

I tried a new beer last week - Shinerbock Summer beer; it has Grapefruit and Ginger in it.

You sure it was called Summer? Because that sounds a lot like their Ruby Red. Which normally I would be disinclined to like, because I despise grapefruit with a passion. But I tried a friend's Shiner Ruby Red, and was shocked at how tasty it was....it's really more ginger than grapefruit, or at least balanced between the two. I expected to despise it, but found it quite light and lovely, and not at all overly grapefruity.

[thansal]

A short hunting trip it was, found the cel-ray. (and a MUCH better grocer that happens to be right on my way home!)

However, I'm going away for the weekend early tomorrow, so I'm not going to be messing with making bloodys till Monday probably.

As I will be gathering the ingredients for bloodies any way, do you have a recipe for the bloody pig? (Which I'm assuming is a bacon bloody)

[Jester]

Pretty much, yeah. A Bloody Pig is nothing more (or less) than a bloody mary, however you'd like it, with a cooked strip of bacon stuck in it.

Though we are hoping to one day experiment with bacon-flavored vodka. Sadly, though we know it exists, as of yet we have not seen any down in these parts.

[Frantic Freddie]

My good friend's father passed away recently & among the things he inherited was an unopened bottle of Ballantine's 30 Year Old Scotch that,as far as he could tell,had been sitting for at least 25 years,maybe more.It had a cork & an extra top,wrapped up.

Yes,we opened it & had some.He don't know squat about whisky (as opposed to whiskey) but I do & told him it was a fine sippin' scotch,he's decided to save it for when we have something to celebrate.

[thansal]

Pretty much, yeah. A Bloody Pig is nothing more (or less) than a bloody mary, however you'd like it, with a cooked strip of bacon stuck in it.

Though we are hoping to one day experiment with bacon-flavored vodka. Sadly, though we know it exists, as of yet we have not seen any down in these parts.

I saw mention of the bacon vodka recently and was kinda tempted to hunt it down, even though I'm not a big vodka drinker.

So, I tried making a fizzy bloody marry last night, and it went decently.

I used about half cel-ray and half tomato juice, making it come out a tad bit sweeter, though not overly celery tasting.

It was interesting.

Not the best concoction I have made, though far from the worst. The fiz doesn't come through that well, but it lightens up the consistency a good bit, making it a bit nicer of a summer drink in my mind. Admittedly, a spicy peppery summer drink, so kinda strange :P

Verdict? I'm using the rest of the cel-ray as a straight mixer most likely.

I'm also pondering if I can dissolve bacon drippings in vodka to make my own bacon infused vodka and have a go at a bacon marry that way.

[Jester]

I used about half cel-ray and half tomato juice...

I would have used just a touch of the soda myself, for the taste and the fizz. Half and half? Seems like it would be way too watery with that ratio.

I'm also pondering if I can dissolve bacon drippings in vodka to make my own bacon infused vodka and have a go at a bacon marry that way.

NO! That would only make the vodka oily, greasy, and gross. Best way to infuse a vodka would be with something solid, be it fruit or peppers or actual bacon. Bacon drippings? No. Strips or pieces of actual bacon in the bottle.

[thansal]

So, I have to send massive amounts of thanks to KiaKat for mentioning Root when I was asking about Ice Cream.

I was out shopping today (and just kinda entertaining my self at random) and append to be at Astor, so I stopped by Astor Wine and Spirits to see if they had some.

They did.

It's glorious.

It's exactly what they claim, a very good infusion of really classic root beer (apparently originally root tea) ingredients in alcohol. I'm currently enjoying some over ice with some canton (still a sucker for ginger), however it was also really good just straight over ice.

[Jester]

I'm annoyed at my replacement phone. As I did with my earlier phone, I found myself taking notes about new beers on the notepad feature of my phone. At one point, I found a duplicate of one of those notes. So I deleted one of them. And then suddenly....both copies of the note were irretrievably gone. So I lost my notes on at least one beer, possibly more.

Luckily, these were beers I liked and (I think) remember which ones they were, so I will be able to do further research on them to redo the notes.

Also, I have a bunch of hand-written notes from a recent road trip...actually, I have a bunch of notes about various beers in general that I have not yet transcribed, that will be coming soon.

In addition, it appears that I am actually going to be paid for drinking beer....with more beer. Not going into details yet, but stay tuned...this is pretty awesome.

Stay thirsty, my friends!

[BeenThereDoneThat]

Stay thirsty, my friends!

You've just blown your cover as The Most Interesting Man In the World