CS Booze Club.

[Jester]

For those of you who don't know about OC they have a "World Beer Tour".

One of my planned missions is, when I move back to Phoenix, find the local OC and start a WBT. My one fear is what you came across with Keystone Light....having to drink some very bad beers (I'm talking to YOU, Heineken!) in order to finish the Tour.

I had a very bad experience with vodka when a very busty Icelandic chick fed me some Icelandic Menthol Vodka. It tasted good, but I paid the price the next day. OUCH MASSIVE HANGOVER!

Yes, but was it worth it? And by that I mean, what happened with the busty Icelandic chick. Sounded like there was a story there......

[Victory Sabre]

Yes, but was it worth it? And by that I mean, what happened with the busty Icelandic chick. Sounded like there was a story there......

Sadly, no story there (though I would have liked one).

One of my planned missions is, when I move back to Phoenix, find the local OC and start a WBT. My one fear is what you came across with Keystone Light....having to drink some very bad beers (I'm talking to YOU, Heineken!) in order to finish the Tour.

For every bad beer, you'll drink, at least, 10 good beers.

[Jester]

For every bad beer, you'll drink, at least, 10 good beers.

Perhaps on the WBT, but not in general, sadly. There are far too many bad beers out there, and even more mediocre beers.

[Victory Sabre]

Perhaps on the WBT, but not in general, sadly. There are far too many bad beers out there, and even more mediocre beers.

No arguments there.

The sad thing is that I used to like Keystone Light. No more, after last night.

[Jester]

Amusing story, somewhat related, which I have told in CS before. Not about Keystone Light, but about Coors Light, which is about the same level of swill.

A friend recently died, and as he drank Coors Light, I bought a couple for myself and my friend Frank, who normally doesn't even drink beer, but definitely doesn't drink Coors Light.

After a bit, Frank finally decided to start in on the Coors Light, and took a mighty swig from it in honor of our dear, departed, fri--

"Man, this stuff is HORRIBLE!" Said with a face of utter horror and astonishment.

"Yes, Frank, I know. Which is why I'm only drinking ONE of them."

"Good idea, Jester."

"I know."

[thansal]

So,

I goofed.

My mum took me out to an AMAZING restaurant last week for my Birthday. Specifically Kajitsu. A 2 star vegetarian Japanese restaurant. It was all sorts of amazing. They do Sake pairings with the dinners (it's all prix fixe), and I love sake, however I know next to nothing about it. All of the Sakes were excellent, they ranged the gamut of flavors and textures.

I forgot to write down which ones they were.

The only name I remember was the Born Junmai Dai Ginjo. It was one of my favorites, however it was actually the least interesting to me, as it was the closest to other Sakes I have had. Smooth, not harsh at all, all sorts of interesting flavors, etc etc.

So, here is my question:
What can people tell me about Sake? How can I figure out if there is a chance I might like one prior to buying some? Are there things I can watch out for like I would with beer and wine?

EX: I know that an IPA is going to be fairly hopy with out any strong malts, and thus have a perfumy quality I don't like. People know what to expect from a Chardonnay vs a Riesling in general.

My main way of finding sake thus far is to just randomly order things, and rarely have I been disappointed (ordering cold sake at a thai place was a bad idea :P), however there is such a large range in flavors that I never know what to expect. I mean, I know Junmai means that there is no distilled alcohol added, and that Ginjo is milled less than Dai Ginjo (and thus Dai Ginjo should be better...), however I never really know what to expect. Add on to that the fact that I never remember the names of Sake due to most of them being in Japanese, and you get a fairly confused guy who happens to like Sake.

[Victory Sabre]

Like thansal, I goofed. Badly, in my case though.

I decided to go to happy hour after work. I went to OC. I'm 4 beers away from finishing my 2nd World Beer Tour. I start out great with my fav, Grain Belt Nordeast. I have 2 of those, and they were delicious. Well I decide I've had enough alcohol, but still had a desire for more. I make the poor decision to switch to NA beer. Oh big mistake. The O'doul's Amber. It was terrible. However my my mission was clear. I next went for a St. Pauli N/A. You know when you open up a beer and it smells like manure, you're in trouble. Oh, it was awful. I had to slam it to finish it.

Oh well, next time I go, I'll be on Beer Tour #3. Bad way to end # 2, though.

[Jester]

Okay, I never advocate throwing away beer undrank, or not finishing a beer, but when it comes to NA, I would think that if it tastes like crap, pitch it. It is, after all, not alcohol abuse. And since it is not really beer, it is not beer abuse either.

I DO hope that I will not be required to drink any NA beers for any World Beer Tour, at OC or anywhere else. That just seems.....wrong.

I, too, have goofed. Have tried some new beers out and about and have not been righting them down.

One I can remember, which was quite lovely, was Hazed and Infused. No big review here, as I had it two nights ago, but it was nice. We have a new craft beer and wine bar here in KW, and I've found myself at it the last two nights running. Amusingly, almost every time I've tried to order one of the beers on their menu that I have never tried, they are out of it. It's already becoming a running joke between myself and the owner, who was tending bar both nights.

[Jester]

New beer time!

Affligem Noel, a Christmas beer from Belgium. This is one of those beers that comes in a "big boy;" in other words, a large bottle. Also, this is the first bottle of beer I've ever had that has a cork top, rather than a twist or pop top. And there is something oh-so-comforting about that initial POP! when the cork comes out.

On first view, this is a reddish brown beer, perhaps even burgundy. (I am slightly colorblind, so this may not be totally accurate.) The nose is a pleasing one, reminding one appropriately of Christmastime and Christmas spices. Dark but warming, perhaps with a little fruitiness thrown in.

FIRST SIP: Interesting. This would be most welcome at a Christmas dinner, going well with the hearty dishes one would traditionally find there. As with the nose, I am struggling to accurately describe it. It does have a bit of an odd aftertaste that I associate with a lot of Belgian beers, but unlike many, Noel's aftertaste is not overpowering. This beer is 9% ABV (alcohol by volume) so should not be chugged. Nor would you want to; this is one to savor.

Nutmeg and a hint of brown sugar are layered over a typical hearty red ale taste. Not overly hoppy, this is a well-balanced beer. Not light by any means, but not overly heavy as some holiday beers can be. I wouldn't want to drink it on a hot sweaty day, but then, I don't feel like I need to wait for the cold weather to have it either.

Interesting beer. Would I have it again? Yes. I don't know that I would seek it out, though. Memorable, yes, but not mesmerizing. On a ten scale, I would give it a solid 6 or 7.

[thansal]

I happen to like Belgium Winter style beers quite a bit. There is something to be said for the spices in them.

On the note of corked beers. All of the large bottles from Ommegang come with a champagne style corking, it's a nice addition and is probably something from the Trappist traditions (possibly related to them being bottle conditioned? I dono).

And that brings me into the Ommegang Rare Vos I had on Friday. There is an excellent pizza place one of my friends loves, as he is moving out of the city next Sunday he decided we should go there, we had no complaints :P

To top of the fact that they had an excellent Speck Pizza, they also had the Rare Vos on tap, which my GF and I decided to split a pitcher of. Like most of Omegang's beers it's rich, spicy, and a good amount of both hops and malt. The most interesting bit is that it decidedly tasted like bitter orange, reminding me of these Orange Pomanders we used to make for Christmas.

A very good beer, and it went really nicely with the Pizza (lots of strong flavors there as well).

[Jester]

NEW BEER TIME! Tonight's selection is from those fine folks at Holy Mackerel. It's their Panic Attack, which is a Belgian-style beer. If nothing else, the label is freaking hilarious and absolutely worth the price of the beer. And HOLY MACKEREL! It clocks in at a whopping 10% ABV (alcohol by volume). Ye gods!

Golden amber in color, and I mean amber, with some red hues in there. Interesting. Unexpected. Let's move on.

The nose is also unexpected. I can't pin down the very subtle aromas, but there is a freshness there, something you might expect from a freshly made salad, or sushi, or just healthy fresh produce. So far, two very unexpected twists, both of them positive. But the proof is in the pudding. So let me dive in!

FIRST SIP: I.....don't know. This beer is confounding me. It has that certain Belgian beer taste to it, that normally turns me off. But it is rather subtle here, and the taste is....I dunno, actually. Ah, here we go. Upon further sippage, I detect some deep rich honey tones. This is always a positive for me. There is a certain quality here akin to some good red beers. It's not very hoppy, a bit sweet, tasty, and.....different.

This beer draws you in like the girl you don't notice at first, and then find yourself following her every move, and you don't know why. I think it may be my second-favorite Belgian beer (even though it's American), after only St. Martin's. I will drink this again. And you should go find some, and help me to try to figure this beguiling puzzle of a beer out.

Very, very interesting. This deserves further study. Luckily, they not only have it at the Beer Monger, but at at least one of my favorite craft beer bars in town. Good times!

WARNING: I feel this beer may actually contain crack cocaine in it. Because, while it is not my favorite beer that I have ever tried, somehow, although I am only half way through this one, I am already trying to figure out where I could go RIGHT NOW to get some more, as this one was part of a mixed six pack sampler from the Beer Monger. Sadly, the Beer Monger has been closed for an hour and a half, and I don't recall seeing this beer in any of the grocery stores....two of which are closed anyway. And I KNOW it's not in the 24/7 one. Yes, I know. All this thought about getting some more. Clearly there is some devious narcotic woven into the fabric of this beer. It could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. Put the Seals and the Rangers on alert. This could be serious.

[Jester]

Non-booze post.

I love fruit juice, but really don't like the juice cocktails or fruit punches that pass for fruit juice, like Sunny Delight, etc. I have drank Juicy Juice for years, for example; despite being marketed to kids, the stuff is 100% juice and taste like what I think juice should taste like. And they have several great flavors, some of which I have commented in one of my earlier non-booze posts.

Well, I have been trying a new product recently, called Naked Juices. These are 100% fruit juice smoothies. I don't really care for the protein-boosted ones, as these taste rather chalky to me, but the regular juice ones are pretty awesome. Sadly pretty expensive, but damn tasty. Have a 32 oz. bottle of the Mighty Mango one here with me, and have just drank half of it, and feel revved and ready to rock and roll!

In the 32 oz. Mighty Mango, according to the label, you get 2.5 mangoes, 1-1/3 oranges, 3-2/3 apples, 3/4 banana, and a hint of lemon juice. Having just polished off half of the bottle, I have just pretty much consumed half of that list. Pretty freakin' great. Will probably have the other half later today, perhaps before the tv thing at The Bar.

Okay, back to boozing it up!

[thansal]

I'm not a fan of most Naked Juices. My GF loves them, but that banana is the killer to me. I just can NOT stand banana in smoothies, they end up just tasting like banana to me.

That said, there is one she gets some times that is antioxidants or super fruits or something. Basically lots of blue berry and pomegranate, and thus full of wonderful (with no banana!).

[Jester]

Tuesday tried a new beer, Zatec Lager from the Czech Republic. It's a nice, honest, tasty lager. Nothing overly special, but definitely better than the normal boring American swill so many people drink. Great alternative to a BudMillerCoors.

[Jester]

Hmmm, the club is a little quiet lately. Well, time to liven it up.

New beer time! Okay, not true. New beerS time.

First, a couple I tried at one of the local craft beer bars. (We seem to be getting more of them every day in this town, a situation I do not in any way object to.) This couple came together, as a pair, and are called Either Or. The story of these two beers are told better here, but the quick explanation is that they are two dark beers (black ales according to the bottles, black IPAs according to the reviewer in the link) crafted as a collaborative effort among three breweries.

I tried Either first. It was a nice dark beer, reminiscent of Oskar Blue's Ten Fidy (which I love). Unlike Ten Fidy, it comes in a bottle. Like Ten Fidy, it pours almost like motor oil, promising a lot of....something. Great nose, nice taste. Good, very good, not great. After savoring Either for a while, I was finally ready for Or. Again, poured like motor oil. Again, great nose. And then....POW! Or delivers what Either did not. A great, great dark beer. I love it! Of course, I don't know if one can simply buy Or without Either, but if I can, I will. (I read on the net that they may be coming out with a Neither Nor pairing, or perhaps they already have, but I look forward to tasting Neither Nor if and when they do come out. Can If Then be far behind? LOL!) (Note: I did not read the linked review until after I typed all this, but it's good to know that another reviewer agrees with me in principle on the basic merits of the two beers. Also, I thought this guy was far funnier than most beer reviewers.)

Today's review is that of a beer I've heard much about, and have had a large bottle of sitting in my fridge for some time. Part of my ridiculous splurge a few weeks back that turned a visit to a bar in which I drank one beer into an $81 bar tab. The beer is by one of my favorite breweries, Rogue. It is called John John Hazelnut Brown Nectar. I should probably point out here that Rogue has an unblemished track record with me, as I have never tried one of their offerings and not liked it. Yesterday was the first time that I tried something by Left Hand that I didn't like--before yesterday, Left Hand also had an unblemished record. So I am hoping that yesterday was not foreshadowing for today.

According to the label, John John is an "ale with natural hazelnut flavor aged in hazelnut spice rum barrels." Okay, they had me at "hello." Anyway, it pours beautifully, with a dark reddish brown color, almost (but not quite) completely opaque. You can just get a hint of the light coming through it...barely. The head is thin and doesn't last long. The nose is like no beer I've ever smelled. Sweet, slightly nutty, almost candylike, though not saccharine.

FIRST SIP: Hmmm....need another sip. Well then.

I can't say it's my favorite thing by Rogue. I can, however, say that Rogue's record with me remains unblemished. This is a lovely beer, albeit it a bit....odd. It has a lot going on. And I mean a LOT, in the sense that a Lady Gaga show has a lot going on. The hazelnut is there, of course, and there is an odd hoppy finish to the beer, but there is a complexity and a sweetness (without being overly sweet) that I just don't find in too many beers. It's like a Red Beer went out and knocked up a Christmas Spiced Ale, and John John was their love child.

Quite tasty. Just....different. Would I get it again? Oh, hell yes. Would I seek it out? No....but I would enjoy seeing it again from time to time. If that makes sense. Overall, I'd give it a B+.