What I'm Drinking Tonight

New Belgium makes some fine beers. Don't think I've had their black lager.

Looks like Shiner makes one too.

Shiner's website lists the bitterness for all their beers, the Bock is 13, the black ale is I think 11, the strawberry blonde is also 11, and they have a light blonde that's 9. Might have to look for that.

Normal ales and IPAs are up around 55-60.

I'm working on a bottle of Squinzano. I think it's pretty good, and these reviewers seem to agree.

Sterkens White Ale (Old Belgium)

Not recommended. For me, it was undrinkable.

Y.

Y? Because I thought it tasted like crap.
I gave the unopened bottles to the handyman.

Firestone Opal Farmhouse Ale.

A touch of IPA, but not overpowering. Quite tasty.

Tonight it's a moscatel. Not sure how much I like it, I really prefer reds.

richard09 wrote:

Tonight it's a moscatel. Not sure how much I like it, I really prefer reds.

Quote :

Nose: Lychee and musk

Yikes.

Yeah. Supposedly it's good with seafood. I'm using it to accompany jerk chicken, and to be honest, I think my choice is better. The funkiness stands up to the spiciness. I'd prefer something a bit cleaner against fish.

Tonight it's a California merlot called Apple Pie. Stupid name, and not a great wine. But not too bad either. Pretty smooth, really, I've certainly drunk worse.

Did I mention my new favorite merlot? It's 14 Hands. Very complex and smooth, not a trace of the tannins often found in the less expensive reds. $7.99

Stickee Monkey.

Out-fucking-standing!

Get some of this if you can find it. You will not be disappointed. Pour a few ounces in a red wine glass and make your day complete. Go easy and sip like wine; its 11.6% ABV.

And it's from a local brewery about eight miles up the road, Firestone Walker.

I'm inclined to describe this brewery as the best in the world. That may be pushing it a little, but certainly not much. Every time I try a new brew from them, I am delighted.

Quote :

A Belgian Quad by recipe, but aging it in spirits barrels garners its own category: Central Coast Quad. A beer formulated to sit on the sweeter and malty side so that we could utilize it for blending. Turbinado brown sugar from Mexico and Belgian candi sugar add wonderful molasses flavors. It has a full body and lush texture with barrel expression all over this beer: toasted oak, coconut, leather and cigar tobacco.

Cigar tobacco???

You were hoping maybe hashish?

Prefer to keep my drink and my smoke separate.

I bought a case of red wine from Naked Wines, mostly because I had a voucher for $100, so net I was only paying about $10 a bottle. It's all California, mostly zinfandel, and I know less about American wine than I do about stuff from other countries. But what I've drunk so far has actually been pretty good. For instance, Rumpus Red. What I got was 2014, not 2009, but I agree with the reviews. Nice and smooth and dry enough you can drink it on it's own, but also very good as table wine.

Tonight it's Illuminate Wines North Coast Red Blend. Sweeter than I like, but not so sweet that I can't drink it. And quite smooth, with a bite of acid that makes it better.

In the heat, I've been drinking a lot of Stella Artois. OK, so it's not what you would call complex, but it's refreshing, and doesn't give you a fucked up hangover like cheap American beer.

Today is cooler (and wetter), so it's back to zinfandel. Karen Birmingham Lodi 2013 - very tasty, except after 2-3 glasses I'm getting dizzy. But I drank some other stuff before the wine (never a good idea).

My wife introduced me to Stella Artois. A very good beer, if a bit light.

Stella is a pretty typical Belgian Pilsner, now brewed by Annheiser-Busch. It's a good well-rounded everyday beer.

That's how I like it - every day.

I bought a case of Spanish wine through Laithwaites. I know pretty much nothing about Spanish wine, but I've grown to trust Laithwaites - I used to belong to one of their wine clubs (years ago), and in more recent times I've bought one or two of their special offers, and I don't think they've sent me a bad wine yet. Just picking one at random, I've opened a bottle of Nido De Abeja 123 Reserva La Mancha, and I'm quite enjoying it. Generally speaking, I really go for the red Rhone wines, Cotes du Rhone and Chateauneuf du Pape and like that. This Reserva isn't as heavy as one of those, but it's smooth and the flavor is complex, seeming to hit different notes on different mouthfuls. Very nice.

First World Problems

What with futzing around with various things, I seem to have accumulated quite a stock of wine. So I'm drinking a couple of glasses each evening to try and reduce the backlog. Tonight I opened a bottle of Los Hermanos Manzanos Reserva Rioja 2010, and was immediately impressed. Very berry aroma, and extremely smooth.