Last week I promised both a bottle of Saison Dupont and the collaboration between Stone, Green Flash, and another brewery (the name escapes me at the moment). I am a huge fan of Saison, a style of Belgian Ale, which is almost champagne-like in the sense that it’s very bubbly and semi-sweet with a yeasty taste. Saison is also called “Farm house ale”, which one website informed me it was called that because they originated on farms by French speaking Wallonia in Belgian. Saison being French for "season", they were brewed on the farm to refresh the workers, being low on alcohol so that no one would pass out/vomit/be drunk while on the job.
The Saison Dupont is sweet, very light and has a spicy punch at the end that wakes up your tongue. It’s highly carbonated and comes in a green champagne looking bottle, including the cork. For around three bucks, it’s a great choice for someone just starting out in the beer world, girls mostly, who thinks all beer is just “liquid bread”. Saison brings a classy elegance to beer, like Audrey Hepburn did for the LBD (little black dress for you non-females/fashion minded people) in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. On Beer Advocate they rated this one an A, a very worthy grade for such a cheap and sophisticated brew. Saison is fantastic for a romantic get together when champagne is not on sale or you’re too broke to afford it. Like most Belgian Ales, it’s got a bit of a fruity taste (Blue Moon is the only thing I can think of that would be a worthy comparison) but it’s toned down and comes off as more refined than anything else. Saison Dupont is certainly a very refined and classy little brew, and I’d buy up as many cases as possible should I ever win the lottery. Another Belgian that’s extraordinary is one that a friend of mine introduced me to a couple weeks back called “Delirium”, I’m not certain if it’s actually an Ale or a Saison, either way, it’s ridiculously good. Girly beer drinkers, Saison and Belgians are for you. Delirium also comes in “Nocturne” or something of that nature, I don’t quite remember, what the difference is, I wouldn’t know—I’ve never had it.
Now the Scotch Ale that Stone collaborated with on, really very shocking. Most of the time I try to avoid the beer that my Scottish ancestors probably found amazing. It’s extremely strong 90% of the time, to the point where I’d rather be drinking Scotch than a beer with the same country involved. Scotch Ales are just not my cup of tea, reason being is that most will tear my tongue off and submit it to what lies beneath its kilt. But the Scotch Ale made by these guys really opened my eyes to what it could potentially be. Yes it’s on the dark side, but the dark side has cookies to tempt you with. It’s a rich body, but very straightforward with it’s distinctive taste. Yet, rather than being so rich that you feel like you’re drinking beer mixed with scotch, it’s very creamy. I didn’t know that a Scotch ale could be so smooth and creamy without compromising the strong nature of it. Granted, it was warm, but still, I think even cold the creamy consistency would have remained with it. As far as Scotch Ales go, I have no idea what the process was in order to perfect it, but Stone and Green Flash managed to do so without making it so strong that someone like me couldn’t tolerate it. And for around three dollars, I’d totally buy this again.
St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, well, it’s tomorrow. I’ll be wearing green of course, even if I’m nothing more than Ireland’s “skirt wearing” neighbor. Hey, they assault you on St. Patrick’s day for not wearing green, I don’t feel like getting shalalied either (if you have no clue what that is, look it up) for not supporting Ireland. But alas, I will be at a local pub during the day, wearing my green and drinking Guinness. What pub you ask? Why either at Joe's Bar and Grill, or his other place, Champs. So if you're out and about in Burbank, come find me.
Not that exciting I know.
In Honor of St. Patrick's day I'll be doing a review on Sam Adam's Irish Red next week as well as another surprise beer. I won't say yet, because I'm not entirely sure what it's going to be myself.
However, if YOU have suggestions on what kind of beer or your favorite that should be reviewed...just leave me a little comment. If I can find it, it will be drank (drunk?) and reviewed.
See ya'll next week!
Beer
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Baltika 6 & 7
Going a little Russian this week on the blog. My mom bought me a four pack last week, which included a spiffy glass for 8 dollars and something cents at Sunland produce (best place to buy food, seriously). I didn't realize it at the time but on the side of the #7 bottle there was a little date saying, "born" and "good until". Apparently the Baltika was close to it's "death", which is probably why this review is a little biased.
Baltika no 6 is a stout and when it's cold, it's a nice deep brown that's nearly black, with a mild scent of coffee and chocolate. Now, me being absent minded had left it sitting around and although warm beer is good sometimes...warm Baltika is disgusting. Cold, the beer has a tinge of coffee flavor and goes down fairly easy, although it had a salty taste too. The warmer it becomes, the more salty it becomes. By the time I went back to my glass (about an hour later), the carbonation was gone and it went from tasting pretty good to tasting like I was drinking soy sauce. So, if your going to by the 6, which you can at either Sunland Produce or Bevmo for under 3 bucks--make sure you keep it super cold. Otherwise, you'll end up with black sea water instead.
Up above is the no. 7 which is called a "export special", but it's a lager and it's really not that special. It's got a girly pop top like you'd find on cheap Italian food in a can. Beer needs an actual top, not a little sticky ridiculous excuse for a top. It pours nice in it's glass but look at the head on that thing. Even after it was supposed to go down and melt into the beer, the head lingered, and didn't help Baltika's case. Yeah it's a nice little beer, I'll give it that, if I wanted to drink something a little more flavorful than Coors. I don't know why they'd export this because it's nothing worth writing home about. Of the Russian beers I have had, Zhiguliovskoye (sometimes it's spelled "Zhiguleovskoye" and no, I have no idea on how to pronounce it, I just call it "Zzzzblahowhateverbeer") is way better than Baltika. The 7 tastes like a watered down version of the 9 (the nine being the "extra lager").
Now I've gotten a book and I've been given more beer lately than I can possibly drink by myself, let alone take serious notes on. Oddly in the book one of the top 10 beers in the world is a brew made by Sam Adams (which I agree because of all the major breweries in the US, Sam Adams actually has standards). So if there's something you want a review on or you think I'll enjoy it, feel free to mention it.
And on that note, it's onto next weeks awesomeness...which includes one of my favorites as well as something--completely different. And they're super cheap at Bevmo right now (hint hint).
Saison is my favorite style, which is basically Belgian "Farmhouse style" ale. It's a little sweeter than most, but it's more like a champagne than an ale. Either way it's delicious and I urge you to try a Saison once. Le Merle (North Coast Brewery) is a really good one too.
But you've got, Saison Dupont (which on Beeradvocate is rated an A-) and a collaboration between Stone brewing (those of you who are unfamiliar, Stone makes Arrogant Bastard, it's got a gargoyle devil thing on it), Green Flash, and Port Brewing. And it's a Scotch Ale, which means it's going to be dark and thick and awesome.
See ya all next week.
Baltika no 6 is a stout and when it's cold, it's a nice deep brown that's nearly black, with a mild scent of coffee and chocolate. Now, me being absent minded had left it sitting around and although warm beer is good sometimes...warm Baltika is disgusting. Cold, the beer has a tinge of coffee flavor and goes down fairly easy, although it had a salty taste too. The warmer it becomes, the more salty it becomes. By the time I went back to my glass (about an hour later), the carbonation was gone and it went from tasting pretty good to tasting like I was drinking soy sauce. So, if your going to by the 6, which you can at either Sunland Produce or Bevmo for under 3 bucks--make sure you keep it super cold. Otherwise, you'll end up with black sea water instead.
Up above is the no. 7 which is called a "export special", but it's a lager and it's really not that special. It's got a girly pop top like you'd find on cheap Italian food in a can. Beer needs an actual top, not a little sticky ridiculous excuse for a top. It pours nice in it's glass but look at the head on that thing. Even after it was supposed to go down and melt into the beer, the head lingered, and didn't help Baltika's case. Yeah it's a nice little beer, I'll give it that, if I wanted to drink something a little more flavorful than Coors. I don't know why they'd export this because it's nothing worth writing home about. Of the Russian beers I have had, Zhiguliovskoye (sometimes it's spelled "Zhiguleovskoye" and no, I have no idea on how to pronounce it, I just call it "Zzzzblahowhateverbeer") is way better than Baltika. The 7 tastes like a watered down version of the 9 (the nine being the "extra lager").
Now I've gotten a book and I've been given more beer lately than I can possibly drink by myself, let alone take serious notes on. Oddly in the book one of the top 10 beers in the world is a brew made by Sam Adams (which I agree because of all the major breweries in the US, Sam Adams actually has standards). So if there's something you want a review on or you think I'll enjoy it, feel free to mention it.
And on that note, it's onto next weeks awesomeness...which includes one of my favorites as well as something--completely different. And they're super cheap at Bevmo right now (hint hint).
Saison is my favorite style, which is basically Belgian "Farmhouse style" ale. It's a little sweeter than most, but it's more like a champagne than an ale. Either way it's delicious and I urge you to try a Saison once. Le Merle (North Coast Brewery) is a really good one too.
But you've got, Saison Dupont (which on Beeradvocate is rated an A-) and a collaboration between Stone brewing (those of you who are unfamiliar, Stone makes Arrogant Bastard, it's got a gargoyle devil thing on it), Green Flash, and Port Brewing. And it's a Scotch Ale, which means it's going to be dark and thick and awesome.
See ya all next week.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Martenitsa! Oh yeah and beer.
Hello kids and welcome to the Martenitsa special! I told you all I'd be givin you a culture lesson for the last couple weeks, because Bulgaria has somehow managed to find this blog and they keep coming back. So I thought I'd appreciate them since, well Baba Marta is happening like now. March 1st until, well the end.
Now the first time I heard about this, I was led on by a friend of mine who tried to tell me "Well the red is symbolic of the blood of our women when they're on the rag and white is for the purity of our virgins". No, he was not serious, he was totally messing with me. Because I was culturally retarded and his mother had just given him his Martenitsa and I had no idea what it was remotely about. So that's why I went to a reliable source (more so than he is anyway), I went to Wikipedia.
Correct me if I'm wrong but Baba Marta is the holiday and the мартеница (Martenitsa, in Bulgarian, copy and paste....allllriiiight) are these little white and red things. I've seen them once, on an actual person, and they looked like miniature voodoo dolls. According to Wikipedia (oh yes, the source of information on the interwebs...not remotely misleading in any way) the tassels (or creepy voodoo doll things) are called ""Пижо и Пенда" or in English but still extremely difficult to pronounce "Pizho & Penda". Anyways, the point of this whole deal is to bring spring faster, good luck, and mercy from Baba Marta. Who according to the Wikipedia thing, might as well be a very crotchety old lady with a billion cats who gets pissed at the slightest deal. By wearing this little red and white do-dads, you ask for her mercy and if she's appeased, then good luck and Spring and she's ready to retire for the year. Your supposed to wear this until either you see a Stork or a blooming tree because that will mean that Spring is for sure here, otherwise you keep it on for the entire month. Another tradition is to place the Martenitsa under a rock and the bug you find next to it the next day determines how lucky or unlucky you'll be next year. I'm not Bulgarian, I'm Scottish and a bunch of other things--I'm just into cultures.
Either way, it's an old tradition, Wikipedia touts it as one of the oldest pagan traditions in Eastern Europe. There's a couple other legends about the whole thing, one of which involves a silver stag? Which being a descendant of the Picts and Celts, the silver stag showing up is like God himself being all "yo, what up". Guess we're not so different culturally after all. But our beer....Omg...whole other story.
OMG Astika. Which, seriously, no offense is owned by Anhauser. It's a Pilsner and it looks all golden yellow and pristine and then you drink it. I was sad for this beer, it honestly has a ton of potential! It's just incredibly watered down and tastes like practically every beer ever made in America. Like Keystone with a less pissy taste and more water. I was told a long time ago that this was not a good idea to drink because apparently even some Bulgarians hate it. Shocking I know, like Americans who hate mass produced American beer (oh wait...) right? Blasphemy!
I'm joking of course, but seriously. Astika has some potential to be less shitty. If Anhauser can let go of it and maybe make something that tastes original. See a good Pilsner is light, crisp, and refreshing (in my opinion) but this...this was too light, meh on crispy, and not all that refreshing. I was sad that I actually dumped most of it out. It was bitter and sad, like a jilted lover. Bulgaria can do so much better than this mass produced swill. They make Boza for heaven sakes! Or is it Bosha? Anyway, purportedly made for breastfeeding women (funny, I just talked about this last night) because it's low alcohol content made it ideal...one of the supposed side affects was breast enlargement. Now I found a recipe for it, and I will attempt to make it someday and see if my wimpy B's can become C's in some crazy epic fashion by drinking it. If the Bulgarians have made something that grows boobs...it's gonna be the next Viagra (apparently everyone and their husband bought this when it hit the European market, but that was a few years ago I think, possibly more).
Enough History and Geography and Boob growing booze...Crazy Bulgarians...
Ya'll saw the bottle of Mississippi Mud last week, so I won't bother repeating it. It was a porter and a pilsner mixed together in supposed awesomeness. Long story short, it gave me heartburn. I didn't even know what heartburn was, because I can eat anything and pretty much stay the way I am, so I'd never had any acid issues or stomach problems until this entered my system. Oh holy blue balls...I've never taken so many tums in my life. And honestly, the taste is bleh. It's just sort of whatever, it tastes like a Pilsner only brown. But if you want a cool bottle, then for 2 bucks, it's worth it. Otherwise, save yourself 20 Tums in one night and drink something a little classier, like Miller or something. I know why this stuff stays on the market, it's because it's cheap.
I dunno, I was expecting more flavor, more "woo!" inside of this bottle but all I got was "WOO! I HAVE HEARTBURN!". I was very depressed by this experience and I even have some left in the bottle but I sure as heck ain't touchin it. I'd rather drink bi-polar Baltika No. 9 than this ever again. Hell, ASTIKA is loads better and doesn't burn my insides like my stomach is where hell is at. And if you recall from above, Astika could be improved easily, if they cared more on taste and less about mass production and cash. Seriously, it looks appealing, but I assure you the crocodile on the label looks like it's smiling because it knows your gonna be in some serious pain tonight boi.
Now if I failed on explaining Martenitsa well, I apologize. You should look it up when you get a chance.
Next blog will be in a week, this time, remember that Baltika my mom bought me...
Oh yeah, a review on that.
AND DON'T FORGET, St. Patrick's day is in March...so get your livers in shape. Cuz, it's gonna be rainin booze.
Until next week.
Cheers.
Now the first time I heard about this, I was led on by a friend of mine who tried to tell me "Well the red is symbolic of the blood of our women when they're on the rag and white is for the purity of our virgins". No, he was not serious, he was totally messing with me. Because I was culturally retarded and his mother had just given him his Martenitsa and I had no idea what it was remotely about. So that's why I went to a reliable source (more so than he is anyway), I went to Wikipedia.
Correct me if I'm wrong but Baba Marta is the holiday and the мартеница (Martenitsa, in Bulgarian, copy and paste....allllriiiight) are these little white and red things. I've seen them once, on an actual person, and they looked like miniature voodoo dolls. According to Wikipedia (oh yes, the source of information on the interwebs...not remotely misleading in any way) the tassels (or creepy voodoo doll things) are called ""Пижо и Пенда" or in English but still extremely difficult to pronounce "Pizho & Penda". Anyways, the point of this whole deal is to bring spring faster, good luck, and mercy from Baba Marta. Who according to the Wikipedia thing, might as well be a very crotchety old lady with a billion cats who gets pissed at the slightest deal. By wearing this little red and white do-dads, you ask for her mercy and if she's appeased, then good luck and Spring and she's ready to retire for the year. Your supposed to wear this until either you see a Stork or a blooming tree because that will mean that Spring is for sure here, otherwise you keep it on for the entire month. Another tradition is to place the Martenitsa under a rock and the bug you find next to it the next day determines how lucky or unlucky you'll be next year. I'm not Bulgarian, I'm Scottish and a bunch of other things--I'm just into cultures.
Either way, it's an old tradition, Wikipedia touts it as one of the oldest pagan traditions in Eastern Europe. There's a couple other legends about the whole thing, one of which involves a silver stag? Which being a descendant of the Picts and Celts, the silver stag showing up is like God himself being all "yo, what up". Guess we're not so different culturally after all. But our beer....Omg...whole other story.
OMG Astika. Which, seriously, no offense is owned by Anhauser. It's a Pilsner and it looks all golden yellow and pristine and then you drink it. I was sad for this beer, it honestly has a ton of potential! It's just incredibly watered down and tastes like practically every beer ever made in America. Like Keystone with a less pissy taste and more water. I was told a long time ago that this was not a good idea to drink because apparently even some Bulgarians hate it. Shocking I know, like Americans who hate mass produced American beer (oh wait...) right? Blasphemy!
I'm joking of course, but seriously. Astika has some potential to be less shitty. If Anhauser can let go of it and maybe make something that tastes original. See a good Pilsner is light, crisp, and refreshing (in my opinion) but this...this was too light, meh on crispy, and not all that refreshing. I was sad that I actually dumped most of it out. It was bitter and sad, like a jilted lover. Bulgaria can do so much better than this mass produced swill. They make Boza for heaven sakes! Or is it Bosha? Anyway, purportedly made for breastfeeding women (funny, I just talked about this last night) because it's low alcohol content made it ideal...one of the supposed side affects was breast enlargement. Now I found a recipe for it, and I will attempt to make it someday and see if my wimpy B's can become C's in some crazy epic fashion by drinking it. If the Bulgarians have made something that grows boobs...it's gonna be the next Viagra (apparently everyone and their husband bought this when it hit the European market, but that was a few years ago I think, possibly more).
Enough History and Geography and Boob growing booze...Crazy Bulgarians...
Ya'll saw the bottle of Mississippi Mud last week, so I won't bother repeating it. It was a porter and a pilsner mixed together in supposed awesomeness. Long story short, it gave me heartburn. I didn't even know what heartburn was, because I can eat anything and pretty much stay the way I am, so I'd never had any acid issues or stomach problems until this entered my system. Oh holy blue balls...I've never taken so many tums in my life. And honestly, the taste is bleh. It's just sort of whatever, it tastes like a Pilsner only brown. But if you want a cool bottle, then for 2 bucks, it's worth it. Otherwise, save yourself 20 Tums in one night and drink something a little classier, like Miller or something. I know why this stuff stays on the market, it's because it's cheap.
I dunno, I was expecting more flavor, more "woo!" inside of this bottle but all I got was "WOO! I HAVE HEARTBURN!". I was very depressed by this experience and I even have some left in the bottle but I sure as heck ain't touchin it. I'd rather drink bi-polar Baltika No. 9 than this ever again. Hell, ASTIKA is loads better and doesn't burn my insides like my stomach is where hell is at. And if you recall from above, Astika could be improved easily, if they cared more on taste and less about mass production and cash. Seriously, it looks appealing, but I assure you the crocodile on the label looks like it's smiling because it knows your gonna be in some serious pain tonight boi.
Now if I failed on explaining Martenitsa well, I apologize. You should look it up when you get a chance.
Next blog will be in a week, this time, remember that Baltika my mom bought me...
Oh yeah, a review on that.
AND DON'T FORGET, St. Patrick's day is in March...so get your livers in shape. Cuz, it's gonna be rainin booze.
Until next week.
Cheers.
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