Mini adventure, and No, i didn't burn the house down

What to do when you are certifiably going insane during your job hunt? Take off and drink some beer with friends. I've found that usually takes the stress off for a little while. Last weekend I headed down to CT for some skiing (only so so, plus i forgot to sharpen my skiis). I also was nice enough to bring my own beer for once, although it didn't last too long. I packed a 6 pack of Narragansett beer, one of my favorite "crap" beers. For very little money, i think about 5 or 6 bucks at my local Trader Joe's, I picked up a six pack of tall boys to bring over. I chose this beer because, one its cheep, and my CT friend really like cheep beer, and two, I like it, too. While it really has almost no flavor, its still better than bud or busch in my eyes. Its also great on fishing trips, if thats your thing. 

After making the guys some cake in CT and catching some stuff on fire in their kitchen (nothing irreplaceable or irreparably damaged) i made my way to western MA for some more cold weather shenanigans. Which ended up just been some events. More outdoorsing next time, i think. I am wayyyy too lazy. Jeremy had some Founder's Dirty Bastard Scottish Ale in his fridge, which i was really excited to try. It was a pretty decent hearty scottish ale that packed a pretty decent punch at i think 7 or 8% ABV. I brought up some Stockyard Oatmeal stout, also from my Trader Joe's shopping trip. This was a fairly well rounded cheep oatmeal stout. For about 8 or 9 bucks for this six pack, i'd pick it up again if i was in an oatmeal stout mood. Nothing overly impressive, though. 

The most exciting, yet disappointing part of the weekend, i'd have to say, was the half dozen donuts i got. Its my own fault, the cream filled always look so good, but its the classic cake donuts that are glazed that are the best. If you are over at the Donut Man in Hadly, try the chocolate donuts, I think that one was my favorite. Bavarian creme can suck it.

Two tried from Trader Joe's

Since moving back home to look for jobs (don't judge me, i'm pretty sure this is par for the course as of late) I've been going to tj's with my dad once a week to pick up essentials. Well wine and junk food. Last week I picked up a bottle of 3.99 La Finca Tempranillo for which i had high hopes. 

Some of the blogs i've seen have said great things... others, not so much. 

Tempranillo refers to the type of spanish grape that the wine is made out of. Normally it produces a fruity red wine. I would say this was fairly flavorful for a cheap, however, after having a glass, i broke out in the first wine related reaction i've had. Tiny red spots crawled across my stomach arms and neck. Let me rephrase. Tiny, itchy red spots. Boooooooo. That was the last i'll be having of this wine. 0/5 for yumminess since i'm apparently allergic, and 1/5 for value. If only it were good. And I wasn't allergic to it.

The next try from tj's was a little more successful. I picked up a bottle of Epicuro Salice Salentino (refering to the region in Italy) Riserva 2009. Its a blended red wine, with a hearty flavor. Not particularly overwhelming, but for 6 bucks, i'm ok with it. I'm more excited that i didn't break out like last time. I'd give it a 3/5 for yumminess and a 3/5 for value. Its a decent bottle and i wouldn't hesitate to bring it with me to a dinner. 

 Cheers!

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!

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!

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.

Weekends are Always more fun!

 

This picture might look awful classy, but it was just at the sober end of a really great Cinco de Mayo BBQ. (Great job Hermes!) While not quite in the spirit of the holiday, this Beringer, California Collection Chardonnay was way better than i remember the last California collection wine i had being. I think this bottle was about 7 dollars, making it a 3 or so for value out of 5. For taste it gets a solid 4. Light, refreshing, not overly sweet or dry; it was a great wine to enjoy with chips and salsa. Followed by margaritas and banderitas, of course.

Last weekend was an awesome trip to the red river gorge in KY. Sitting around a campfire is never quite complete without something yummy to drink, so we stopped on the way before we hit the dry counties and stocked up for the weekend. I found the lovely juicebox packaged Bandit wine. While a Pinot Grigio is not my top pick for camping, the box noted that this wine would be a great option to take outside camping and hiking. I had no choice but to give it a try. 

The box, weighing in at 1.3 times the normal wine bottle size would have been great to save and pack with me if there had actually been any left after it was passed around a few times. I'd give it at 8 dollars for the box a 3.5/5 for value and 4/5 for taste.

Please don't judge the picture. No one is pretty after 6 hours hours in the car followed by camping in Kentucky.

Wednesday night Chardonnay

Today Mike came over to chill for a bit since I was ready to crash ant 7:30pm. He brought with him Santa Barbara Chardonnay from Trader Joe's. Super cheap and his first win on the wine front in a while! It was about 4 dollars (sorry already forgot) making it a 4.5/5 for value. Its a 3.5/5 for taste, but overall its drinkable, more than drinkable in fact. I easily finished half a bottle, yum, yum! We finished the bottle while watching the ever entertaining Forgetting Sarah Marshall. This wine would be great with some heavy pasta or cold weather meal.
Spaten today, beer, and pancakes!

Dealing with my problems

This was from my ever so happy Monday. After a lovely 5 hours of sleep I was greeted to an equally enthusiastic breakup. Fun. in order to keep the day going I enjoyed a nice bottle of Trader Joe's Chilean Savignon Blanc (not pictured). I did share at least at the 3rd barbeque of the season at a friend's place. Of what I could taste, that bottle was delicious. I'm pretty sure in my state it could have been radiator fluid and I still would have finished it, however. I'll give it a 5/5 for being there at the right place and time, and a 4.5 for value. It was 3.99 I believe.

Later on in the evening Mike came by  to make sure I was still alive (albeit curled into the fetal possition on the couch). He brought another of his sale bottles from the local liquer store. This particular wine was a Pinot Grigio from Blue Fish Wineries. While we were expecting a nice dry crisp wine we were greated with a lightly bubbly sweet wine. 1/5 for flavor. 3/5 for value since it was only a few dollars on sale. At regular price (about 13 dollars) it would not be worth it at all. As it was we barely made a dent in it. I'll try it again when I'm having another dissapointing evening I supose.

All in all, these helped me through my day, on to bigger and better things!

Catching up

Its been a little while and i've been a bit bad about emailing pictures to myself from my bricked out Iphone. For a quick catchup- about a week and a half ago Patrick's roommate Marissa treated a few of her awesome friends to a delicious homemade Italian dinner of stuffed pasta. In addition she provided a very tasty and well matched cabernet savignon from Livingston. For 6 dollars, this giant bottle made its way around the room. Sadly, i was not there when the bottle was drained, but it was definitely empty the next time i came by. I'd give it a 4.5 for value (giant bottle!) and a 3.5 for yumminess!
 Moving on to last Thursday! Date night! We didn't get around to eating until about 8pm, and pizza salad was on the menu. We baked some Pillsbury pizza dough up with some freshly grated parm. Then when it was done topped it with salad and some veggies that were sauteed in a fairly tasty pinot from Jacob's creek that was left in the fridge after the classy party (3 for yummines and ? for value... I . We drank some Trader Joe's Costal savignon blanc.Very tasty! Another 4 for taste and 5 for value at 4 dollars.  After dinner we enjoyed some delicious rootbeer floats spiked with vanilla vodka. A great way to top of a relaxing evening. A very filling and relaxing evening. I'm sure there will be more floats this evening since we are celebrating all things Patrick for St. Paddy's day! And while i might be a little Irish via Boston, I too cannot resist celebrating every holiday that employs drinking as its official celebratory act. More to come!