Can I make it to 2000 views this year? Oh and beer.

I was hoping to make it to 2000 views this year. We shall see. I am a little further from my goal than I thought i would be. So sad. That and i can't count.
Anyways. The other night a few people came over to enjoy some delicious pumpkin pie betty stuff that I made from a kit i got for the holidays. Well Christmas since there are so few jews here. Anyways, very yummy. We had a beer with dinner at DT's. Their veggie burgers, while very yummy, are no where near as FAT as the rest of the food there. I left feeling full, but not ready to puke. It was a nice change. Anyways, after that we pulled out some beers at my place. I had my mixed winter 12 pack of Dundee, my go to cheap beer. I like this beer, oddly enough due to a douchey ex. Beyond STD's ex's can pass on their bad taste. But at least antibiotics can cure one of those problems :). I mean that in a joking way. Body condoms for everyone.

Anyways, Tyler brought Leinenkugel Sunset wheat. Usually I don't mind this beer, but i'm pretty sure this set was skunked. Normally a light and somewhat fresh tasting wheat beer, this one was a little fruity in the off way. If not skunked, definitely on its way there. Or just gross. Mass produced, Leinenkugel used to be independent. I wish big beer would try harder at maintaining the integrity and feel of the smaller breweries they buy. I'll stick to their much girlier summer shandy if anything. Or berry wiess (its like soda!). No rating, the beer was no longer good.

Holiday party red's

One of the best things about the holidays is that I get to try wine at other people's homes. Their pick, their price range. Most recently I was at the home of my department head. Her and her husband love to throw holiday parties and have been doing it forever. This was only one of three that I know they threw this year.
Anyways along with a ton of wine and some really good spiked cider (i should have asked for the recipe!) they had a whole bunch of open bottles of this red from Spain. Initially, I thought it was a blended red, however, it appears that Garnacha is its own type of grape. I was super impressed by this fruity, well balanced wine that had just enough acid. It was REALLY GOOD. I was even more impressed when I found out that it runs about 10 dollars a bottle. What? In my price range? How did this happen. Thank you Spain! This wine is also a little on the strong side at about 15.2% apv. 4.9/5 for flavor. Not quite perfect, but still freaking good. And 4.5/5 for value. Only 10 dollars! I shall need to find it!
If i wasn't so full I probably would have had more. The food, however, was amazing. This wine paired with blackberry pie......nomnomnomnom.
Check out the website if you don't believe anything i say. I'm not the only one that things this wine is great.
http://www.lasrocaswine.com/

Now that I am salivating again..... cheers!

Making Mulled Wine

While I'm not a real Hoilday-y type person, every once in a while I may try to get into the spirit of things. Last night I made my basically annual attempt as a snowy, windy, yucky, storm rolled through. Since i'm crashed at a friends place and I think the heat is at 60 or something thereabouts, I needed to warm up a bit. Good thing Tyler was still in town to share his work in progress recipe for mulled wine.
Our version:
half a giant bottle of wine (sweet red)
one sliced orange
pinch ground cloves
pinch ground nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks

Simmer, or boil, whichever, and depends on how much alcohol you want in it. The first mug gave me a good buzz, the second mug was from the accidentally boiled batch and my buzz did not hold up. Smelled like holiday spirit, though :).
I think next time i'll try a real recipe.
Also, the wine we used was crap. It was a sweet red from Liberty creek, not something i would buy for anything but making cheap holiday punch. 4/5 for value (biiigggg bottle) and 1/5 for taste.

This recipe looks similar... but slightly more accurate: http://wine.about.com/od/holidayswithwine/r/MulledWines.htm

Cheers!

Flat 12 Kolsch... and Graduation

My parents were in this past weekend for my graduation, mmmm.... so much food. They feed me better than i feed myself when they come into town. When i go visit them i live off of veggie burgers and hummus, though. For our last meal as a family we headed out to Buffalo Wild Wings (don't judge me, we were near there and just wanted some appetizers). I ordered a Flat 12 porter (yum yum! See my previous post for that one) but they were out! Instead i got the Flat 12 kolsch. I haven't had a kolsch in quite a while and i forgot how fruity they are. While this isn't, by far, my favorite beer, it was pretty good. If you like a lighter colored, fruity beer, then try this. It doesn't smack you in the face with fruit like the Magic hat number 9. It is definitely light, though. No buzz.
I enjoyed it, i'd give it a 3/5 for yumminess. No word on cost. It was parentally subsidized.
Next  up! Mulled wine!
Cheers!

Graduation is upon us!

Ah, so much slackerdome. I must say that my drinking has actually been pretty lame.
Last night Kerri finished her last final! Congrats, girly! In celebration she bought herself a box of franzia white zinfindel. Holy sugar rush. I came over to join her on her bender and keep her from drinking alone. 6 sweet, sweet glasses later and it was time to pass out at her place. Ooof. Not my drink of choice.
When drinking franzia, or other super freaking cheap ass wine, i usually recommend to buy something that doesn't say its going to be sweet. Usually, especially with cheap boxed wines, it will be anyways, but it wont be as sweet as a zinfandel or a "sweet red". Then i recommend staying on the lighter side. The whites will always go down easier than the reds. Especially during a tour de franzia, if you have ever played (yea! 2011 champions!)
Next i recommend drinking it slowly and not binging on it. Headaches from all the sugar in the stuff will really get you down.

Franzia: 5/5 for value (look at the size of that bag!) 2/5 for flavor.
Also, thats not franzia in the picture, but damn, i want to be back in the mountains!

Thanksgiving week back blogging!

I'll start from the beginning... if i'm getting them all straight, its been a long week or so. On the occasion that I remember to pick up wine from the i end up with something like this: Kalbarri cabernet savignon. This australian red wasn't that exciting all and all. I'm really trying to remember when it was consumed, but it was a solid 3/5 for flavor and 3/5 for value. I think it was 5 or 6 dollars. Solidly mediocre. But hey, it wasn't a california red, like what i usually end up with (cheap!). Online it says this wine won tons of awards. I might be mistaken, but i'm pretty sure it didn't rock my socks. Check out the website if you don't believer me: http://www.kalbarriwines.com/

The next wine i brought to one of those "buy lots of sex toys!" parties, so i only got a glass or so, which promptly spilled everywhere. This blended Chianti from Italy was actually pretty yummy. I picked it up for 6 bucks at the local Aldi. They did good, but hey, they usually do. At the party I also picked up a few toys for myself. I'm excited to use them. My boyfriend, the gym, might be jealous, but i see him everyday anyways. These toys are for special occasion only ;).

Next up are the wines I bought for the shenanigan filled trip to Red River Gorge, Kentucky. Strangely  both  black themed. I bought the first one for the house, a cheap 5 dollar california merlot. This Black Oak had a nice bottle, but don't let it food you. This wine has no flavor profile. Its flat, and not in the ok, i'll drink the whole bottle way. In the wait, why am i drinking this way. 1/5 for flavor. I"m sorry :(. 1/5 for value. No value, not worth attempting a second time.

The other purchase, in a classy, classy box was a Chardonnay from Black Box. I like to buy the wine boxes to pack out to the woods when i'm done adventuring or sitting around and need to warm up. I honestly thought this was a red wine with how much bite it had. Its just a tasty chardonnay, i guess. 4/5 for flavor, and at 6 dollars for the box, 3.5/5 or value. Hey, i'm cheap. :). Definitely a good buy if you are going to be playing in the woods and don't want to hassle with glass.

Cheers friends! 

Thesis writing reprieve

What to do when your brain is about to explode from staring at statistical output for hours on end? Drink some wine! Relax for a few minutes or you will be even more useless than usual.
Last week i got to take a quick break with Kerri and Tyler and sip on some yummy reds. I brought the Black mountain Pinot Noir on the right, Tyler coughed up the Chateau Ste. Michelle cabernet savignion i believe. Yeah, shit quality pic. I've been working on getting a camera in working order. Soon my friends, soon.
Anyways, the Black Mountain was a 5 dollar trader joe's find. Easy and drinkable, i have nothing to say negatively about this wine. Its a california red, much better than most you can buy. The only caveat, if you like a wine with bite, this isn't for you. 4.5/5 for value, 3.5/5 for yumminess. Nothing wrong with it, just nothing spectacular.
The Oregon wine was also quite yummy. Probably out of my price range, but tasty, and just a little bit on the acidic side like tyler likes it. 4/5 for flavor. But no idea on value. Try it! Even the wine snob in the group enjoyed (not me i swear, although i did like it).
As I come up to my graduation date things will likely get classier (if i have a job to bankroll my enjoyment of wine) or less class (as i imbibe purple jesus, or anything else for that matter) as i search for a job.
Cheers!

Snobby beer on election days

While i voted absentee ages ago, the rest of my friends scurried around trying to vote yesterday. Most managed to do their duty as an american citizen, while a few others missed the mark. I don't care who they voted for, they just didn't make it to the polls.
Anyways, in celebration? anticipation? fear? we went out for a brew at our favorite overly loud pub. It was 3.75 midwest pint night, and i, unable to pick a beer off the list of 150, asked for help from the waiter. He helped me narrow down my choice to Flat 12 porter, now Pogue's porter from Flat 12 bierworks. This super rich chocolately porter is not for the faint of heart. I really enjoyed it, but if you don't want a brew a spoon can stand up in, you are sniffing up the wrong tree.
I'd have it again, but one was my limit at 5.5 abv when i wanted to drive home. That and it really managed to fill my stomach. Try some. Also, VOTE next time if you didn't already.
Just as a note: if you read other reviews of this beer, i had mine on tap with almost no head. It was delicious. I hear from the bottle its a mixed bag. But hey, most things are better on tap (in my opinion some ciders aren't but hey, opinions are like assholes....).

Happy Tuesday!

When it feels like the holiday season

A cold snap has finally dawned on us. On a run today, i was pelleted with tiny little snowballs. Fun. There are good aspects to the season, however. One of them came from an unexpected place: a box of franzia.
The other day I was out picking up some stuff at the supermarket with Tyler, and I couldn't resist a 6 dollar on sale box of franzia. It was chillable red, but hey, whatever, i'll give it a shot. I threw it in the fridge and popped it open a couple of days later.

Unexpectedly, it brought me back, back all the way to last winter when i spent a couple of weeks bumming around Europe with some of the coolest hobos i know. In Germany and the Czech republic this time of year, well maybe closer to Christmas, is Gluhwein season. Cheap, ubiquitous, and not too bad with a shot of absenthe or rum in it, Gluhwein can also lead to some hearty hangovers and bad decision making. Essentially its cheap red wine, mulled 'til it smells like Christmas. Or popuri. Whichever. I swore after drinking probably a half gallon of this stuff when the hostel i was staying at was giving it away for free to get rid of it, that I would never, ever bother drinking it again. I guess i'm wrong. this box of franzia with its fruity, not really wine at all flavors makes me reminisce for that mulled wine. It might be that it tastes like the cheap red base for the stuff. Who knows, but i might be getting some mulling spice soon, to try this stuff out hot.
Happy November everyone, now i'm off for a pint.

What Friday's are for.

 I don't know what you do with your Friday nights, but I spend mine with my equally entertaining friends. At least they were fully clothed this time. Also, i don't think they would call me entertaining since I kicked them out to go to bed early. I was tired.

 Tyler brought over a couple of his favorite pretentious wines. The first was a nice white riesling from Willamette Valley Vineyards. While sticky sweet like most rieslings, and lightly bubbly, it was still really enjoyable. Not the best choice to drink alternating with his other bottle, a 2009 Chehalem merlot. 

The Chehalem is his hands down favorite so i've heard. Both of these wines are from the same valley in oregon, can you guess its name? Don't get Tyler started talking about it. I think its his favorite place on earth. It does make tasty wines, though. 

The merlot was lightly acidic and had great overall flavor. I may have tried this one before.
As for ratings i'd give the merlot a 5/5, and the riesling a 4/5. Mostly because i'm not a huge riesling fan. I refuse to give either of them a value score today because they are way out of my normal price range and into Tyler's much more pretentious wine price range.
happy drinking!

Tyler enjoying his pretentious wine

Kerri had finished her's so she moved on to Jack

Brooklyn just wants some Sherbert

                                                                                 

That wine that starts with a G

I still don't know how to pronounce this, but a friend brought over a bottle of homemade Gewurztraminer on Saturday.

Please note, the color looked nothing like this in person. I was actually a pleasant mellow color, to match its fairly pleasant mellow flavor. The maker, Mike (no not the asshole who dumped me for jesus... i may or may not have relayed that story here) but a friend who works up near Chicago, admitted to losing half the sweetening pouch. He may or may not have accidentally dropped a bunch of it on the floor instead of in the wine brewing bucket. The lack of sweetness was actually quite pleasant in this wine. 

The one downside was a slight off flavor. Mike says the wine may have oxidized a bit, how unfortunate. Overall, not a bad try. I think i'll buy a bottle to see if this type of wine is for me. In its unoxidized form of course. 

Here is your wine knowledge for today:

Gewurztraminer is made from a cool weather white wine grape. Nifty. Apparently it shares some of its aromatic compounds with lychees. If you haven't tired those, you should, they are quite good.

Ok, off to do more work. Sigh.

Happy Wednesday!

Happy 50th Post!

I wasn't actually drinking in celebration, but i really should have been! This is a bottle that would have been worthy of celebrating with, too!
You may remember that over labor day weekend, I drove out to Colorado with some awesome people and had a great time. One of the adventures i had there also included going to a free wine tasting at the Canyon Wind tasting room, right below the mountain pass we went up. The tasting room offered 4 free tastings, but as awesome people, we passed ours around, and pretty much ended up tasting everything they had to offer.
Sadly, i was too cheap to buy the almost 30 dollar bottle of my favorite there, one of the anemoi series, but this came in a close second. So for 20, i was sold.
Its a yummy Cabernet Franc, which i've never heard of before. I think i mentioned before how its a grape that is most commonly blended for other table wines. It has a nice bite, and a lot of flavor. Its flavorful without being overpowering and has a nice acidity. Yes, i do sound pretentious right now. I'll give it a 4.5/5 for flavor, but a 3/5 for value. This wine went way over my usual budget. I guess once in a while i can pretend i'm not a broke graduate student and drink good wine.
Happy 50th blog post! More to come i'm sure. Actually, i've got some in the fridge i should really talk about, but that's for another day.
Cheers!

Monday work nights

There are very few acceptable ways to correct papers. My favorite is starting with a mug of tea, then moving on to a mug of wine.
"What's all over my assignment?"
"the only reason you have an A, kid; pinot noir."
Last night i sat down with a bottle of Bella Sera pinot noir from the big wine sale a month or so back. I'd finished most of it last Tuesday, but there were still enough to get me good and in the grading mood. (*facepalm, i hate grading.)
This fairly moderately priced pinor noir turned a fairly lame evening into a fairly delicious one. It is nice and smooth, but with only subtle flavor. The nose is also weak. I'd drink it though. I don't think i spent more than 4 dollars for the bottle. Bonus! I get to feel snobby because its an import from Italy. Supposedly, it contains rich fruit (cherry and plum) flavors. I'd say its on the milder side for a Pinot Noir. 4/5 for flavor. Mild can be good and 4.5/5 for value. On sale of course. At its normal price of about 7 to 14 dollars, it would only get a 3.5/5.

Try it for yourself! This one comes with my recommendation. A quick warning, though, not everyone on the internet seems to share my description of mild. Keep in mind, friends, this is a cheaper wine.

Newcastle Beer, and What is Skunked?

Last night while enjoying after finishing some leftover bottles at a friends place, I came across a bottle of Newcastle ale. While I don't think Newcastle is bad, this bottle might have been on its way out. The normally  nutty, mild beer smelled a little bit off. I think think it was on its way to being skunked. After saying as much, i realized I don't actually know that much about what skunked is. Time to do some research, both for myself and to educate my friends who argued that the beer wasn't.

What  I knew about skunked beer before:
Light affects flavor molecules
Beer has a shelf life that is frequently exceeded by smarter-than-smart college students


What I know now (and i wasn't even totally wrong!):
Light does affect beer! Ultraviolet light can over time degrade the flavor molecules derived from hops. These broken down molecules can bind with sulfur compounds to form that wonderful skunky aroma. While i did not think there were any hops in Newcastle (that's a joke because its so mild) this may have been the problem. Especially since Newcastle comes in its striking looking while useless clear bottle. Also, my friend was storing the beers on top of her fridge. Boo.
Good news however, it was only slightly skunked. We drank it anyways.

Now for the shelf life of beer. I was under the impression that beer lasts about 6 weeks. WRONG. Beer according to various sources on the ever accurate Internets beer can last 8-12 months if properly stored (away from heat and light) in cold environments (the fridge). Beer that has a higher APV can last even longer. Oh, alcohol, you are a wonderful preservative. Beer companies also take care to protect their product by employing filtration which can remove most of the microbes that help make the wondrous result, and by pasteurizing the beer.

Well now I know a little bit more. There is no way, however, that beer will last 8-12 months in my fridge.

Why I may never like Heineken

What do you reach for when you want a classier big beer?
 For me, its never Heineken, I've been told i'm a snob, but there are a few good reasons why I can't drink this beer that many assume is highly palatable, cheap, and still maintains a feel less like a miller or coors, and more like a 312 or semi local beer.
One of those reasons was my first drinking experience as a stupid, stupid 17 year old. Somehow my friends and I got a hold of wayyyy too much heineken for our own good. We drank a lot. Well, I had 4 beers. Ha, and proceeded to get super drunk and throw some if it up. Its hard to forget losing your cookies over alcohol for the first time. Doesn't make good memories.
The second bad experience I had with Heineken has to do with those mini kegs they sell. One of my friends as an undergrad received one for a housewarming present. It was just plain skunked. Skunked beer is one of the sadder things in life. Well not really, but its still pretty sad.
Anyways, this has pretty much cemented my aversion of the green bottles. I will on occasion sample one of their special darks, so i guess its not a complete loss. Drink to your hearts content, but mine won't be a heini.
Just so you know...

Becoming a Boring Drinker

Yes, I'm a terrible (or terribly boring) person. I've been ignoring my blog and working on things like rock climbing and doing actual work. Boo. I clearly should be drinking more.
In honor of what a boring person I have been lately I shall blog about the Miller lite i had last night at Trivia night where my team was coming in 8th (last) place out of 24 teams. There were a lot of ties for much better scores.

Their registered trade mark. Duh.

I suppose this will serve as something of a meter for my beer rating system. I'd actually give Miller a 2/5 for taste. It tastes like almost nothing, and therefore, when i want it to look like i'm attempting to drink something at a bar, and don't want to actually have to drink, then this works out. For value i'd actually give it a 3.5. That its not very good, adventurous and flavorful actually brings this beer down. That and the shame of drinking but big beer company beer recently :/. Otherwise, Miller is unpretentious. It knows its not a spendy fancy beer. Its just beer (almost). So they price it that way. Thank you Miller, even if i scoff you, mock you and rarely "enjoy" you, you do have a place in our beer drinking. Just not frequently.

Making New Friends With Tequila

I'm not sure how most people try and make new friends, but one of my favorite methods involves going out for a drink or two.... or pitcher. Last night in a bid to be less antisocial I went out for some delicious angry orchard cider. Then when I realized that i was clearly enjoying drinking, I popped by a friends place for some tequila drinking. Oh yes, tequila Tuesdays. We started normal, knocking back some patron silver. The shiny fancy stuff I normally don't buy myself since its out of my tequila price range. Clearly, its simply too smooth and delicious for my palate.
Next, we found a bottle of this quite interesting Patron xo cafe in the freezer. Essentially its Kahlua but made with tequila. It imparts a rich coffee or chocolate flavor followed by a nice tequila burn. For flavor i'd give it a 4/5, i'm sure it would be good mixed, but for cost, i'm just going to assume its not in my price range.
Then I found a nice comfy patch of floor to work off my buzz on. Very nice. Onward and upward. Oh, and have a sweet new year!

Working Weekends

 While everyone else seemed to have a rather inebriated weekend, I kept things relaxed and easy. On Friday a midst a tornado warning I drove over to the liqueur store to try something new. I only had a bottle of the homemade wine in the car (have i remembered to blog about that at all?) and decided I could use something different. I picked up a 6 pack of the Southampton Pumpkin Ale and a 4 pack of Kahlua mudslides hoping for a good time. At first I thought the Southampton might be a local beer. Turns out it is... to New York. Happily it wasn't overpoweringly pumpkiny and it had a nice finish. I'd consider this again, although it was on the spendier side ringing up at about 11 dollars for the 6 pack. 4/5 for being a not disappointing pumpkin ale at 5.5 apv, and 3/5 for value.

Next up are the Kahluas. Ever feel to damn lazy to mix a drink? Then try these out. They are super sweet, but still tasty. They are definitely on the girly side and a little spendy at over 6 dollars for the four pack, but hey, a girl deserves something nice now and again. Next time i'm getting the mudslide variety :). Please note, the bottles are extremely breakable, i had a few of these in with the 6 pack of beer. The bottle sweat caused the bottle to fall out and all the bottles to hit the ground, the only one that broke was the single full white russian in the bunch. So sad for me :/.
3/5 for taste, and 2.5/5 for value. Party on.

Adventures in Colorado (Take me back!)

 What better adventures are there to have than those that combine all the things i love together? Awesome people, awesome views, awesome body breaking treks and BOOZE! My labor day weekend consisted of driving down to Colorado, 18-20 hours in a car, quick camp, hiking like a maniac up a 14,000 foot peak! (WHOOT! we are awesome.) Then packing up and driving home. If you get the chance, you should do it too. It comes highly recommended.

 On the way down our caravan of cars got a little bit separated and we had to wait on a few people. The best way we could think of to fill this time was to head over to the wine tasting room right next to where we had stopped for a bite in the sleepy little Colorado town of Georgetown, Colorado. Canyon Wind (www.canyonwindcellars.com/ )offers 4 free tastings of their wines in their tasting room, which we happily took advantage of. With 3 of us, we tried just about everything on the menu. While mid-priced (meaning above my price range) I still managed to be impressed enough to walk out with a wine bottle. Yeah, I might be a sucker, and I usually do buy something at wine tastings. It is still pretty good, though! After the tasting I came away with a few findings. Their blended table wines, meh, only so so. However, some of their specialty varieties were damn good. They had two in particular that really impressed me. Unfortunately, they were both over 20 dollars. The 32 dollar Zephyrus was spicy, rich, and hardly sweet at all. I was in love. The Petit  Vedot was also quite fruity without being sweet. Really rich in flavor and just overall super yummy. I picked up a bottle of my third favorite, the cabernet franc. I'd never heard of this variety before, but apparently it is normally just blended for table reds. This is a rich, somewhat fruity red. Not quite as complex as the other two reds, it still 100% better than most of the 3 dollar reds i indulge in frequently.
It was quite refreshing to try wines that are left in their less sweet, or even dry states. Oh, Colorado. Don't let me leave you! I give the Cabernet Franc a 4/5 for yummy, and a 2/5 for value. I paid 20 for my bottle. Boo.

 Later on, when we had finally made it to the campsite, up the mountain and back down, it was time for some VICTORY BEER! One of the alumni from a club i'm in brought some delicious local beers that he was willing to share. I hypothesize that some of the reason he shared is because us less acclimated folks are funny to watch get drunk in the high altitude off one beer. Or he's just nice. Thanks either way, i think your taste in beer is amazing. The first one i tried was Old Chub Scotch Ale. This dark malty beer is award winning. At 8% it knocked me to my behind at 11,000 feet. I very much enjoyed its smooth flavors and rich overall taste. 5/5 for taste. I have no idea how much it costs, but since one was good enough to put me in a great mood all afternoon, i give it 5/5 for value.

 A little while later everyone else was drinking some hot chocolate. I decide beer was more my speed and picked up another out of the cooler. This extra special bitter from Ska brewing company, another local to the area, was also really good. In Indiana when they say bitter the beer tastes basically green from all the hops. This on the other hand was well rounded. Rich, highlighting a bitter, but delicious flavor, this is one esb that I would drink again. 4.5/5 for flavor. No idea on value :). It was a good afternoon.
Sadly, now, back to the real world. Boo.

Because it was too amusing not to try

I should know better, I really should. But somehow that doesn't stop my masochistic tendency of trying different low calorie Michelob drinks. The other night while in the supermarket picking up the classic single girl combination of Ben and Jerry's and beer, I decided to try something new. Something I hoped would be refreshing, or at least funny. I guess its sort of funny. Michelob makes something called 19th hole, which i think is supposed to be a classy series of mixed drinks that come in a can. I bought lemonade iced tea. It contains 4% alcohol by volume. And well, about 2% flavor by volume.This light beverage costs around 5 to 6 dollars for a 4 pack of 16 ounce cans. At least it has quantity on its side.
As for taste, Tyler, Kerri and I decided it tasted like something you would find in a half filled solo cup the day after a barbecue... with just a hint of dead fly.
It gets a 1/5 for tastiness, and a 1/5 for value. Again, very little value in these drinks, better to just make your own. The only redeeming factor for it is that when cold, and i'm thirsty, i will consume it.
Another winner, Michelob. Keep up the work, i suppose.

Why drinking then Whiskey isn't a good idea.

Remember the post about fireball? Well this little gem is from the same day. We are lucky I remember it. Leonard Kreusch Riesling. While I'm not normally a riesling person, due to their tendency to be cloyingly sweet and well, kinda gross, this one might make me change my mind on the whole low priced riesling category. I'm not sure who's bottle this was, Adam, Junior, or Kumar's, but it was darned delicious. Cheers to you good sir! Also, cheers for opening it when i needed it most.
Ok, back to the wine. This light wine is actually fairly dry, and at about 8 dollars a bottle, I'd say this would be great for a date or night of relaxed drinking. Not so much for when your friend (me) is on a bender. I'll give this wine a 4.5/5 for flavor :D! and a 5/5 for value. Mostly for resuscitating rieslings as a drinking and overall enjoyable drinking experience. Until, of course, I decided to drink more cinnamon whiskey than my poor liver could process.
Cheers!

When you aren't sure where or when....

I've still got something of a backlog of wines I have tried to get through. Sadly, however, I don't escpecially remember consuming this one. It was about 2 weeks ago now, but the wine didn't really make a big impression on me. The local supermarket was having a clearance sale making this, if i recall correctly, palatable wine about half or less of what it usually costs, at about 5 dollars for the bottle.
Also I didn't buy it, Mike, the now ex did. I'd hate to enjoy his choice, but it couldn't have been that bad. I always remember a bad wine. Ugh. The internet say this is a fairly fruity red for a noir, that goes down smooth. I'm going to agree for lack of opposition.
Wine. Drink it. 4/5 for taste (unremembered), 5/5 for value. I love a sale wine that i can enjoy enough to not complain about later. (thats 3/5 normally, i'd never spend more than 5-8 on this wine).

Ways to Celebrate getting Dumped

How do you celebrate getting dumped? I prefer the old fashion method of killing brain cells in a social situation with something delicious in a cup. The drink of choice yesterday evening was the ever loved Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey.

It has come up before, and it will come up again on this blog, since Fireball, AKA time machine, is one of my top hall of fame, best loved hard liquors. Originally "discovered" or at least the first time i tried it was on a mythical shenanigans weekend to Nashville. Later nick-named timemachine for its ability to transport you magically into the future, and somehow never with pants on. This drink makes its way to most social events and celebrations. Even for breakups. 

A bottle of fireball costs between 16-19 dollars at your local liquor store. It tastes just like the candy but packs a punch. You can drink it straight failure easily (that was the poison method last night at least) or you can mix it. My preference is in coke, mmm.... Its a 5/5 for awesomely yummy, and a 4/5 for value. Sadly, I have to shell out almost 20 bucks to enjoy the stuff. Worth it every time, though.

The photo below is odd and old, but I think it describes how awesome fireball is. 

Cheers! 

Take a moment to enjoy the times. And the cider.

I might be slightly behind in my blogging due to the wondrous stresses of graduate school and life in general (i'm talking about you! stupid, broken, car!). Anyways, a few weeks back, in celebration of the pre leaving event for one of the Denver-bound hero's, Derrick picked up a 6 pack of the not terribly overpriced angry  orchard cider. I've blogged about this brand before, when i picked up a 6 pack of the ginger apple cider. I might not be sure about whether or not I liked that flavor, but when it comes to plain old cider, i'm a fan. This was the Crisp variety, as opposed to the dry or ginger. Along the lines of a Woodchuck cider, this was sweet, almost soda sweet, bubbly and delicious. Nothing too classy, but its a good pick for some weekday drinking.
Also, their website (angryorchard.com) is mildly entertaining and has a long list of cocktails you can make using their cider. Mmmmm sounds like something i might have to try this fall. I only lament that to get local cider I have to drive all the way down to Indianapolis. Booo.
Tonight: Strong possibility of picking up a growler from Peoples brewing company!

Presents! :D

While I'm not usually a "buy me that! I need this! *tears off wrapping paper in a flurry of excitement" this wine could make me a convert. Stomps foot, demands more presents.
Mike brought back a bottle as an "I got to go to Italy nanananapoopoo" gift. We opened it up the other night while noshing on some awesome popovers for dinner.
He did good.
:).

This blended Italian Red wine is sweet without being overbearing or desert-like. For about 6 euro's in Italy, or 12 dollars online stateside you an enjoy this rather complex 2010 vintage. I would give it a 4.7/5 for taste. It came off a little bit on the sweet side on my first taste, but I warmed up to it after a glass, and 4/5 for value. It tastes much more expensive than it is. Always a plus!

Cleaning out the fridge Saturdays

What better way to spend a lazy saturday than helping "clean" out a friends beer fridge? After a nice, short, hot weather run, Mike and I returned and enjoyed a taste of his roomate, Nick's, Delirium Tremens. This belgian beer was unlike anything else I have ever tried. It was lightly malty, almost fruity, aromatic, and fairly high in alcohol at 8.5 percent. I'm no beer critic, but this was an experience. I'd recommend it, even though it is above the usual price range for my general consumption. I'm not sure exactly how much a 22? ounce bottle of this stuff runs, but its safe to say as it is Nick's, that its above 10 dollars. As a side note, this beer does not pour well at all. Each glass was over half head and took a while to settle down. Worth the wait at least, as this beer has been labeled the best beer in the world.

Next up was something that almost had me jumping up and down with excitement; Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu. I've been waiting to try this since I read about it a few years ago. Based on an archaeological evidence of an ancient beer from China, brewers at Dogfish head tried to recreate beer history for everyone to enjoy! Its my two favorite things rolled up into one potable masterpiece; beer and nerdiness! I was not disappointed with the beer after years of hype, either. Chateau Jiahu is light, fruity, complex and sweet. Not a normal everyday beer, more of a fruity meade or beer wine combo. At 15 a bottle, this was not a great deal. It is novel and contains 10 ABV, so I'd be willing to give it another chance.

Later on in the evening we headed out to the local mosey down mainstreet. (Why yes, it was a long day.)  I enjoyed one of the few local Indiana ciders; Oliver Beanblossom. This is pretty much Oliver Winery's basic cider. Strangely, its cheaper to buy this bottle out at the bars than at the supermarket where they sell for about 5 dollars a pop. This one was only 3.75 cold and waiting for me at Chumley's. Not as good as Magner's or Woodchuck, this cider is still sweet and delicious. There is also a nice variety of different options available from Oliver. I know of the strawberry cider and blueberry. There may be a few others i'm missing, but try them! Better yet, go to the Winery and check out the tasting room. It comes highly recommended. If you go, try the blackberry wine! 

Overall, cleaning the fridge makes for a long, enjoyable day. Not for the faint of heart, however. Thanks Nick! I hope the fridge has been cleaned enough for you, at least for a while. I'm out, lots of back blogging to get to at some point, but happy Sunday in the meantime!

Value or Greed

 

Is it the love of finding a good value or my greediness that makes me buy a GIANT bottle of wine when i'm at trader joe's? Either way, this impulse buy worked out very well. Liberty Creek Cabernet savignon was a delightfully drinkable wine. It was pleasant without being too sweet or very dry at all. For 7 dollars, I didn't expect a complex wine and I didn't get one. This TJ's find paired well with an awesome spaghetti dinner and some burnt garlic bread (my contribution). Best served among friends :). 4/5 for flavor and 5/5 for value! Also, as a side note, this wine comes in an ENORMOUS liter and a half bottle (or thereabouts).

Grilled Pizza and Chilled Pinot

 What better way is there to cheer up a sad face than by stuffing some pizza in it? Last week fancy dinner night included grilled pizza, which was actually really easy and delicious! I'm not sure what the correct pairing would be for a pizza without red sauce, but that night was Pinot Grigio from Trader Joe's. Its name is on the bottle, but basically it was an italian import Pinot Grigio. Not too complex, but decently dry and fairly tasty. I'd rate it about 3/5 for taste, and 4/5 for value. Trader Joe's does have wine for good value.
The pizza on the other hand was AWESOME! Try it the next time you can. I cannot wait to try it again.
Alright, BBQ time here again.

Things I am good at

Since grad school's got me down (don't ask, its not worth it, all that matters is i'll be blogging about beer for at least another semester) I've got to get back to my blogging! A cheer up is in order.

In the last few weeks there have been a few occasions of delicious alcohol based encounters, as well as the first rerack of the wine! And it tastes good!
Of course the following is all with a big thanks to TJ's for having the best priced, most delicious, cheer up beers available in the great crossroads state of Indiana. At least in my opinion. To the left you will find two great 22 ounce ( I think) beers Mike and I picked up last weekend after a trip to the New and IMPROVED Hoosier Heights Indy. The first is the Boatswait American IPA. This well balanced IPA was 2 dollars and well worth it. I enjoyed its complex and hoppy flavor without feeling like it was overbearly bitter. YUM! Another perk of this beer was its high alcohol content, at over 7 percent.
The Chocolate Stout bellow was lower in alcohol at just above 6 percent, but that's still higher than your average undrinkable beer. This stout was rich and dark with coffee and chocolate overtones. Too heavy to go with dinner, it made a great dessert. I'd recommend both these beers to any beer snob I find, and for 2 dollars a pop, they are well worth it. Although as a beer snob its their job to find something wrong with them.
More beer to come!

Chicago is a nice little town

What to do over a "long" weekend when you are too stressed to take a full 3 days off, your friends have to finish their thesis, get jobs or work? Well you jaunt off to Chicago to experience the city. On the way there Keith and stopped by Three Floyds Brewery to see if we could get a tour. While that never managed to happen we did both get some really tasty beer. I think i ordered the I ordered the Jinx Proof which was a nice, crisp pilsner, and Keith got the Zombie dust. While wayyy hoppier than my beer, I really enjoyed them both, and I love going to great local places. Support local business. That and they were DELICIOUS. I've yet to develop a beer rating system, but based on my wine scale they'd get 5/5 out of yumminess and 4/5 for value. They were great local beers, but i'm cheap, and 5 dollars a pint is fairly standard, but not cheap.
If you are ever headed to Chicago or in the area, definitely stop by. It appears they have a rabid following, and a really yummy menu to go along with their great beer.
Now what do you do when you get to Chicago? If you are my friends and I, you pound a bunch of cupcakes (that's not slang or a euphemism or anything, we just ate a bunch of cupcakes) drink some Rolling rock and go out for pizza. We also managed to hit trader joes and some local shops, but this blog is about drinking.
Rolling rock doesn't really need a rating. I categorize it under "Take it or leave it". I have friends that swear by it, but i'll never actually buy it. Its not a great value, brewed by the big beer companies, and honestly doesn't boast great flavors. So, the next day we switched to Cinnamon Whiskey (that deserves its own post, so i'm going to leave that gem for later), and THINGS FROM TRADER JOES!

On the right we have Josephbrau pilsner or (plznr) not sure whats up with that. Its just what it says it is, a super cheap and yummy pilsner from TJ's. On the left we have the much classier Cut the Fluff wine. Its a light fruity white wine blend, and it went really well with my stromboli from Gino's Origional. I'd give it a 4/5 for flavor. It smelled crisp but had a light sweetness, and 4.5/5 for value at $4.99 a bottle. This would make a great unimposing dinner wine.
Also, yes, i peel the labels off my beer bottles, what of it?
Back to reality tomorrow, more to come this week!

New Cider spotted in... WHAT? Light Cider?

You didn't read wrong: Light Cider. Now I'm not going to sugar coat this, and the buyer of this cider already knew, the stuff was AWEFUL. If you want a cider that is not only light on calories, but light on flavor and alcohol, go ahead, try Michelob's light cider. I combination of watered down apple juice and flat alcoholic beverage, this is something that should never have left the testing facility. It gets 0/5 for flavor (grosssssss) and it has no value. Period. Also, Hermes would like you to know that the peace sign was him. I cannot blog tag him, and my boozey pics don't make it to fbook.

Good thing Krista decided to save my evening with a nice bottle of my bread and butter: cheap red wine. Blue Fin is one of the Trader Joe's wine, and at 4$ a pop, this bottle has a hearty value of 4.5/5. It goes down nice and easy for a Pino Noir, without much dryness. I'd definitley drink this wine again, and now i'm excited to try the white wine from the same winery that I bought last weekend. Blue fin Pinot Noir rates a solid 4/5. I can't give it a 5/5 because, while it is super tasty,  it doesn't have much depth. It does go down easy, though.

Back with more stories from the Red on Monday!

Amarula, and off for the weekend

Are you feeling fancy today? Try some Amarula! Its out of my wine budget at 20 a bottle, but i should probably have a different hard liquor budget anyways. Sweet and creamy, this is definately a must try for those of you looking for something exotic. At first you get a big hit of the creamy-sweetness, followed by a mellower fruity aftertaste. I tried this the other day at keiths house (followed by the previous post's Mike's Harder).  Amarula is definately not something you can chug, but I bet it would make a nice mixed drink in a martini glass. I'll rate it 4/5 for taste, and i have no value rating comparison (so sad).

Mike's Harder, Ghost Stories, and A Boy and His Dog

Just like most any other Wendesday night, I spent last at a friend's place BBQing. Well eating hummus and chips while others threw some meat on the grill. Instead of breaking out a bottle of wine for the occasion, since I had to drive home, I only had a beer or two. Around the time when the ghost stories were being told, and I'd already eaten my delicious smore, Keith and I decided to take off for a lazy movie night.
We stoped at Bar Barry (a liquour store) so that he could  pick up Amarula, a South African fermented fruit beverage (around $20 dollars a bottle), which will be commented on later when he sends me the picture. While we were there I pickedup a Mike's harder fruit punch, just for laughs really. I only ended up drinking about 4 ounces of it while we watched A Boy and His Dog. According to Netflix its a cult classic, and while it doesn't totally make sense, its a worthwhile hour and 27 minutes. Who can resist a post-apocalyptic romp with a strangly uplifting ending?
Ah, so for ratings, Mike's get's a 5/5 for value. At 8% a can of this stuff will get you pretty buzzed for less than three dollars, and you CAN'T taste the alcohol at all, so its really a dangerous product. I'll give it a 4/5 for yumminess though, because I'm guessing the hangover from this sugary stuff could be pretty nasty. Overall, a tastey, but not totally girly outdoors type drink. Hasta luego!

The Promised Port

Ah, my old stand bye, port. My love for you has only grown since I was introduced to your inspiring flavors as an undergraduate at the University of Massachusetts (Go U!). To the left you will find my favorite variety, Porto Morgado Ruby. Like all true ports, this is an import, not that the stuff they make around here is that bad. I did learn something today, though, while researching port in my intermittent struggle to understand the differences between Tawny and Ruby port.
I'll start with Ruby. Basically, from what i understand, ruby is aged less in the cask (or steel vat) and more in the bottle. This port is less oxidized, therefore maintaining a brighter color. That means it has a less complex flavor, and slightly less sweetness. It will also have a stronger flavor (yum :). Of course, one of my favorite parts: its pretty much the cheapest type of port you can buy.
With port I have actually graduated from the bottom shelf and moved on to this 10 or so dollar bottle. It gets a 4/5 for value and 5/5 for taste. I can't give it a 5/5 for value since that goes to the 4 dollar bottles i used to buy.
Moving on to Tawny port. This is ruby port's snootier older brother. Its cask aged for a few years, and has more oxidation leading to a less intense color. This type of wine does improve with age, but i'll never let it last that long. Slightly sweeter, this wine is great for adding to Mike's blackberry sauce. But, just so he knows- yes, it was Ruby that you liked better. I was wrong. But, I'll definitely drink both any day.
Cheers to port! But remember, its stronger than regular wine, so smaller cups. I've made that mistake before.

Back blogging heaven in a cup

Sometimes I am a bad blogger. I've had this little gem sitting in my inbox for a few weeks now. Back in San Diego Krista and I could wait no longer for a drink, so we picked up some bloody mary's in the airport bar. Well mixed and delicious, these things still were not worth the 12 dollar price tag. Well, they were worth it, but I'm still going to complain about how spendy they were. I think the midwest drink prices are spoiling me! Back in Boston I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have flinched at the cost. Or in grenich village for that matter (shakes fist at the memory of a 25 dollar pitcher of beer). The moral of this story is drinking makes flying better, but wallets lighter. I'll have to make more of these bad boys at home. Yum!

Next post: Tawny vs. Ruby Port...

Can't Stop the BBQ

The roving summer bbq landed at Hermes' place again this week. Suprisingly it was pretty low key; food and hookah. While i avoid the hookah due to my lamentable lack of immune system (i have caught more colds than i can count from smoking hookah back in my UMass days) I did get to enjoy the back porch fire we started while drinking from a lovely 32 ounce Mississippi Mudd.

I say "lovely" but what i really mean is cheap, convenient and of a large size. Flavor-wise, for a black and tan it was rather bland. I'd give it a 4.5/5 for value, and a 2.5/5 for flavor/yumminess. Mostly because it didn't have much. I'd drink it again though, if i were feeling broke.

The food at the BBQ was good, though! We enjoyed grilled corn on the cob, way too many potato chips and some yummy french bread.

I can't wait to get back to wine! Its been a fairly wine free week since i'm on some meds that say "reduce alcohol consumption" on the package or something along those lines. Its been a really stressfull one so i've had to increase my good habits instead, like running and hanging out with friends, ha. Don't worry, i'll be back to my old self soon!