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!