The Finer Things In Life

[G&T]

Soon enough more fall stuff will be out. Nice complex beers. Although, I'm really happy to have sat down and taste tested those wheats. Definitely feel like I've learned something.

 

I'm heading to the beer garden soon. Wolff's Beer Garden is the best thing that has ever happened to Albany. Get me some pancakes and Celebrator.

[bmags]

What is Leffe Blanche considered?

[G&T]

What is Leffe Blanche considered?

 

Do you mean blond? A blanche is generally a witbeir (white ale). A blonde is generally considered a "belgian ale." Sort of the catch all belgian style for those that don't fit anywhere else.

I don't see a listing for Leffe Blanche, however.

[bmags]

Do you mean blond? A blanche is generally a witbeir (white ale). A blonde is generally considered a "belgian ale." Sort of the catch all belgian style for those that don't fit anywhere else.

I don't see a listing for Leffe Blanche, however.

 

Yeah my mistake then. I had it in Belgium at a chip shop the prof we saw there took us to. It was wonderful with the fries but I had the blonde here and it wasn't very satisfying.

[FlaSoxxJim]

DBAHO is a fan of the Leffe Blonde, if I recall correctly.

 

I have four different beers from the young Cigar City Brewing that I'm ready to try on. I think the Bolita Brown is destined to be a spotlight beer tonight. I also have a bottle of Belgium's Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale that might end up being served up as well.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I have a feeling I'll like a lot of the Cigar Cuty stuff. It's been operating in Tampa for a couple of years but We just started getting it on the east coast of the state a couple of months ago. I picked up and tucked away a bottle each of the last several offerings and last night was the first opportinity I had to enjoy ne of them.

 

Bolita Brown was quite a nice beer. The bottle caled it a Double English brown ale, but in color, body and flavor and finish it was more firmly in the choolate/sweet stout style. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Dark rich color with a dense brown head, and lots of malt and chocolate in the nose. Sweet dark chocolate and roast malts dominate the flavor and a bit of dry roast comes out nicely in the finish. I'd definitely keep this beer in mind as a rich after diner or late night indulgent bottle. The 9% avb is not at all evident in te rest of the rich flavors. I guess that can be dangerous, but it's probably unlikely you would ever finish off a 750-ml bottle and immediately turn around and open another. The bottle dod go down rather easily, though.

 

I did not get to the Reinaert Wild Ale, but I had a Lindemans Cuvee Rene Gueuze today with a light home-made brunch to get my tart tastebuds primed and to use as a standard to judge the flavors of the Reinaert Wild against. I think Cantilon makes slightly better gueuze but I can't get them here. It took years to find a beer shop willing to do the legwork to get the Lindemans gueze in for me.

[G&T]

Cigar City has been getting a lot of hype lately. My brother lives in Tampa. Maybe, I should have him grab me some when I head to Orlando next weekend. I love me some brown ale and sweet stout.

 

[FlaSoxxJim]

Ever since Ybor Brewing Company closed their brewery a few years ago and started contract brewing through Indian River Brewing (a few minutes away from me), there hasn't been a decent bottled Tampa area beer. Tampa Bay Brewing Company was a brewpub that I always thought very highly of, but I haven't been there since they opened the new facility at Centro Ybor. They also used to do a lot of adventurous beers, attempting Belgian styles more than 10 years ago, but a look at their beer menu no suggests they've gone a little more mainstream. I need to get back over there.

 

I currently have three more Cigar City magnum bottles to try. Big Sound Scotch Ale is an 8.5%abv beer from their regular line. Humidor Ale and Improvisacion Oatmeal Rye India-Stle Brown Ale are both part of their "Humidor" line, distinguished from their other beers by being aged in cedar barrels. I'll give these a spin and share my thoughts, but yeah, have your brother find you some of their stuff if you can.

[FlaSoxxJim]

OK, a caipirinha sidetrip was in order before getting to some beers, particularly after the sweep completed against our craptacular ball club.

 

G&T bmags [old man edit needed to correctly identify poster] mentioned using Leblon cachaça, which is what most bars around here are starting to use for their caipirinhas. I tend to like those a lot when made correctly, but since Pitu was the brand I was first exposed to and I like the flavor AND I can still get a liter for $17, that's the house brand for now.

 

My caipirinha is only slightly tweaked from the Pitu label recipe, basically subing 2:1 simple syrup for granulated sugar. It's very often an acquired taste — the flavor of cachaca being very forward and earthy, and not like Martinique rhum agricole in that regard. But, the damn things are really addictive once you develop a taste for them. As refreshing as a good mojito can be, they can get too sweet, and caipirinhas are the perfect cure for that.

 

Modified Pitu Caipirinha

• 1/2 lime, cut into 4-6 pieces and muddled in mixing glass.

• add 1.5 oz Pitu cachaca

• add 0.5 oz 2:1 simple syrup

• add crushed ice

 

– Shake all ingredients and pour into serving glass with wedge lime for garish.

– Drink and repeat as necessary until baseball season is over.

Edited August 31, 2009 by FlaSoxxJim

[G&T]

OK, a caipirinha sidetrip was in order before getting to some beers, particularly after the sweep completed against our craptacular ball club.

G&T mentioned using Leblon cachaça, which is what most bars around here are starting to use for their caipirinhas. I tend to like those a lot when made correctly, but since Pitu was the brand I was first exposed to and I like the flavor AND I can still get a liter for $17, that's the house brand for now.

 

My caipirinha is only slightly tweaked from the Pitu label recipe, basically subing 2:1 simple syrup for granulated sugar. It's very often an acquired taste — the flavor of cachaca being very forward and earthy, and not like Martinique rhum agricole in that regard. But, the damn things are really addictive once you develop a taste for them. As refreshing as a good mojito can be, they can get too sweet, and caipirinhas are the perfect cure for that.

 

Modified Pitu Caipirinha

• 1/2 lime, cut into 4-6 pieces and muddled in mixing glass.

• add 1.5 oz Pitu cachaca

• add 0.5 oz 2:1 simple syrup

• add crushed ice

 

– Shake all ingredients and pour into serving glass with wedge lime for garish.

– Drink and repeat as necessary until baseball season is over.

 

All that looks good, but I don't even know what that stuff is.

Must have been someone else.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Awww, damn, it was bmags.

 

My apologies. And go mix yerself up one and see what you've been missing.

[FlaSoxxJim]

had the Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale last night and I thought it was very good. A well-balanced 9% abv beer, poured bright yellow with good effervescence and a fluffy white head that was not long lasting. Nose was subtly tart with earthy Belgian yeast notes as well. Good, complex flavor that simultaneously reminded me of strong Belgian golden ale, farmhouse ale/saison, and abbey-style Tripels — with some of the notable and desirable traits of each in the mix. The tartness was subdued as in a saison, nothing near the in-your-face sourness of a gueuze or Flemish brown. I was disappointed by that at first, but the understated tartness actually played really well against the other things going in in the beer. Like a tripel, the high alcohol content does not overpower the rest of the delicate flavors. The finish was similar to that of a golden ale or a saison.

 

I see a lot of low B ratings for this on BeerAdvocate, but an overal very positive impression. I'd rate it as B+ or better.

[bmags]

What is simple syrup?

[FlaSoxxJim]

What is simple syrup?

 

sugar water. It's easier to use than granulated sugar. 2 cups cane sugar to 1 cup water, boil low while stirring for 10 minutes until thoroughly dissolved. Cool and bottle. Refrigerate if you won't go through a bottle withn a couple of months.

[bmags]

now, when you say boil low...

[FlaSoxxJim]

now, when you say boil low...

 

It's really easy to burn all that sugar, and for a straight simple syrup you don't want to caramelize the sugars. Stir on medium heat until the syrup begins to boil and then reduce heat so it's just boiling, let it go for 10 minutes stirring occasionally, and the sugar will be well dissolved and woun't come out of suspension and crystalize as the bottle sits.

 

I make cinamon and dark sugar and ginger-infused simple syrups the same way, and also use the simple sugar as the sugar base for homemade falernum, allspice liqueur, etc. cheap and easy.

[FlaSoxxJim]

OK, I'm tackling these big Cigar City Brewing Company beers one by one. Today's beer, their "Humidor Series" Ale is. . . absolutely wonderful!

 

The defining feature of the rotating Humidor Series is going to be that all the beers are aged in cedar (like the lining of a cigar humidor), rather than oak of other more common aging woods. This is the first offering in the series, released about two months ago. The second beer — Improvisacion oatmeal stout — just came out two weeks ago.

 

The label of this one is very cryptic, and in fact the beer is just caled "Ale." But a little digging revealed that Humidor Ale is the cedar-aged version of the Brewery's Jai Lai IPA. Clocking in at 7.5% abv and packing a ton of IBUs using 6 different hop varieties, the brewery website calls Jai Lai a "monster interpretation of an American IPA".

 

The beer poured bright orange with pronounced chill haze (which doesn't phase me in the least) and a dense 2-fingered white head that had very god retention, eventually subsiding to a persistent thin wisp of white bubbles.

 

The nose is just spectacular! The best nose I've smelled on a hop-accentuated beer this year since Bell's fine Hopslam. And, in fact, there is a commonality to thse beers that is immediately apparent: Simcoe hops and lots of 'em. Simcoe's popularity s relatively recent, and goes hand-in-hand with the recent explosion of "Imperial IPAs", "Double IPAs", etc. It's an American hybrid hop that is essentially Cascade hops on steroids (Cascades are the floral citrusy hop that is so wonderfully evident in the aroma and flavor of classic American pale ales like Sierra Nevada). Simcoe is a considered a dual-purpose hop which means it is suitable both as a bittering as well as an late-addition aroma hop. Honestly, though, any high-alpha hop is suitable for bittering. But the Simcoes shimmer and shine as aroma hops — and especially as dry hops (added after the wort is cooled and run into the fermenters, thereby contributing almost nothing to bitterness or flavor and everything to aroma).

 

I could go on and on about the aroma of this beer, but I'll try to contain myself. Suffice to say, citrus, pine, and fresh floral grassy aromas completely enthrall and hint of things to come.

 

The flavor is exactly what you expect from the nose, and in that regard it does not disappoint at all. Assertive hop burst but no sharpness and no biting finish — just fresh hoppiness all the way. Malt and alcohol are sufficient to balance the hops, and there is a pleasant oily aspect to the mouthfeel that is again due to the lovingly extravagant hopping regime. The cedar nuances are evident, unusual enough to perk up taste buds, and a nice compliment to the rest of the flavor profile.

 

Damn, I really like this one. A shame, because I think I shelled out $13 for this bottle. I have no clue if bottled Jai Lai IPA makes it anywhere close to me, but I will certainly be on the lookout for it to hopefully serve as a serviceable stand-in once the Humidor edition is no longer available.

 

G&T, even though you and big hops don't exactly see eye-to-eye, this is one to seek out while you're down this way.

 

Edited September 2, 2009 by FlaSoxxJim

[G&T]

Oh Jim, you've got me excited. I actually talked to my brother yesterday and I'll be getting something when I head down there, but it'll be a surprise. So I'll let you know when I get the chance. Let's just say, he better not f*** it up!

 

Nevertheless, as I said earlier in this thread, Double Simcoe from Weyerbacher is a fantastic beer. A nicely balanced hoppy brew is welcomed. From the looks of it, that's what Jai Alai is. While I can't handle it in large quantities, a nice grapefruit flavor with plenty of malt is a beautiful thing.

 

By the way, I had an Orval the other night for the second time in my life. And I have to say, I'm starting to get it. The first time it was about the Belgian fruitiness which wasn't as forward as I was used to (St. Bernardus, Allagash, Ommegang). This time, however, I was able to begin picking up on the tart qualities and the hoppy characteristics. My fiance properly pointed out that it basically tasted like mango juice. At that point, I couldn't taste anything else. In another year I'll probably try again and see what else is present.

 

Tonight, I've been stuck drinking 2 for 1 Buds and Shock Tops at a minor league baseball game (Valley Cats). Honestly, I can't complain. I'm kinda wasted for a Tuesday, but that's not for this thread.

 

[FlaSoxxJim]

The Spievak 1950 Zombie. A heralded and well-regarded interpretation of the famous Don Beach cocktail that Donn himself may or may not have given Louis Spievak the recipe for.

 

Finally armed with a halfway decent substitution for Lemon Hart Demerara 151 (somebody find me a bottle!!) — Gosling's Black Seal 151 — I'm now able to do this drink justice. As I sip it, I'm liking the big flavors (and the buckets of rum!), but I think I can tweak this one and (gasp!) make it better.

 

Here's the recipe as published in 1950:

 

* 1 ounce unsweetened pineapple juice

* 1 ounce fresh lemon juice

* 1 ounce fresh lime juice

* 1 ounce passion fruit syrup

* teaspoon brown sugar

* dash Angostura bitters

* 1 ounce gold Puerto Rican rum

* 1 ounce 151 Demerara rum

* 1 ounce white Puerto Rican rum

 

- - Dissolve sugar in lemon juice. Shake everything well with crushed ice and pour into a Collins glass. Garnish with a mint sprig.

 

I mixed this to specs, subbing Gosling's 151 for the Demera, and using Cruzan 2-year as the gold and and Cruzan light as the white rum. On tasting, I immediately decided this incarnation was too sour, and I upped the teaspoon of brown sugar to a tablespoon. I used Finest Call passionfruit puree, extra blended to combat some of the pectin viscosity. Wondering if Torani's completely artificial passionfruit syrup might might actually work better in this one, but unfortunately I don't have any on-hand.

 

If I decide I have another monster rum drink in me tonight I'll remix this one, but cutting the lemon, going w/2-3 tsp of brown sugar, and maybe going 50/50 passionfruit juice and passionfruit syrup.

 

Yea Big Rum Drinks!

[FlaSoxxJim]

Spievak Zombie alterations have maybe marginally improved he drink, but I think that the lack of authentic Demerara 151 and also a less than authentic (compared to whatever they used in 1950) passionfruit syrup are keeping this cocktail from reaching its full potential. I do know that two of these is all I can take on on a school night, so I'll have to continue this exploration another night.

[bmags]

drinking a caipirinha again. Damn you go through a lot of limes on these.

 

Flaxx I'd love to see your freakin bar man.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Rocked a different iteration of the Spievak Zombie last night, keeping the lemon down to 1/2 oz and backing down to 1 tsp of brown sugar. The big modification on this one was subbing Demerara 5-year rum for the Cruzan gold to give some more mid-body rum character. A Much-improved drink now, very high-octane but with some rich layered flavors now as well.

 

I also had a chance to enjoy two rums I hadn't had in a long time, courtesy of the shopkeeper at one of the local grog shops who sees me in bying different things all the time and threw me two free airline bottles of Ron Matusalem — the Classico and the Gran Reserva. These are Dominican rums with a Cuban pedigree, and it's been so long I forgot how good they both were. The Classico, with a squeeze of lime and an ice cube is a very nice middle shelf sipper, similar in character and quality to Ron Botran 8 year and to Barbancourt 5 Star. This would mix up well in any cocktail calling for a gold rum with some depth of flavor.

 

The Gran Reserva was outstanding. A quality sipper served neat at room temperature. Lots of nice rich vanilla and wood notes like you get from Zacapa or Zaya, not cloyingly sweet but decadant all the same. When I polish off one of the sipping bottles and have some room in the rum cabinet, I think I'll have to pick this one up to enjoy or a while.

[FlaSoxxJim]

drinking a caipirinha again. Damn you go through a lot of limes on these.

 

Flaxx I'd love to see your freakin bar man.

 

You mean future Exhibit A in my wife's divorce paper filings?

 

[bmags]

for the record, I've used countless vocabulary in this thread for short stories. Grog shops will be another.

[bmags]

OK, a caipirinha sidetrip was in order before getting to some beers, particularly after the sweep completed against our craptacular ball club.

 

G&T bmags [old man edit needed to correctly identify poster] mentioned using Leblon cachaça, which is what most bars around here are starting to use for their caipirinhas. I tend to like those a lot when made correctly, but since Pitu was the brand I was first exposed to and I like the flavor AND I can still get a liter for $17, that's the house brand for now.

 

My caipirinha is only slightly tweaked from the Pitu label recipe, basically subing 2:1 simple syrup for granulated sugar. It's very often an acquired taste — the flavor of cachaca being very forward and earthy, and not like Martinique rhum agricole in that regard. But, the damn things are really addictive once you develop a taste for them. As refreshing as a good mojito can be, they can get too sweet, and caipirinhas are the perfect cure for that.

 

Modified Pitu Caipirinha

• 1/2 lime, cut into 4-6 pieces and muddled in mixing glass.

• add 1.5 oz Pitu cachaca

• add 0.5 oz 2:1 simple syrup

• add crushed ice

 

– Shake all ingredients and pour into serving glass with wedge lime for garish.

– Drink and repeat as necessary until baseball season is over.

 

mixing glass? I just pound that stuff with the long sticks.