Segura Viudas Aria Brut Cava

We picked this up the night of what I am going to call, "The Great Douche Baggery." Now that the whole thing is official, I mean, I've been "de-friended" on Facebook! When did that word become a verb? I mean I can understand "Google" being a verb but "de-friended"? That word is about as lame as the person doing the de-friending, well almost as lame anyway. It's pretty hard to be more lame than "The Great Douche Bag."

And if you are wondering, no, The Great Douche Bag is not at all like "The Great Pumpkin" in Charlie Brown who passes out toys to all the good little girls and boys that believe in him. Although, in a way, I guess he could be. The Great Pumpkin never shows up, disappoints those that believe in him, and is a fictional character existing in this case, purely in his own mind. Hmmm, philosophical and deep, I think it's time to stop this rant.

Cava is a sparkling wine from Spain that is made in the traditional bottle fermented method of Champagne. It is much cheaper than "real" Champagne but still can have all the biscuity, yeasty, bready, nuances that Champagne has since it's secondary fermentation is done in the bottle. Cava is spanish for cave and most of these wines are traditionally stored in caves in riddling racks. Lovingly turned by the riddler, (who does not dress in spandex with question marks on them) these wines are definitely budget friendly and satisfying.

D and I have a favorite from Fresh and Easy Market that is 5$ and I like their Rose as well that is 6$. If I remember right this one was 9$ from BevMo and it was decent. Fresh and Easy's is more drinkable as it is a bit more fruit forward. This one was VERY dry on the finish, which made it more of a sipper than a celebrate The Great Douchebaggery sparkler. All in all good, but I would try something else at that price point next time.

Oh and stay tuned for the first ever cross country tweeted beer tasting at Foodmented! I'm very excited! What can I say I am a HUGE nerd.

Mosby Wine's 2006 Ossessione

Mosby Winery in Santa Ynez makes exclusively Italian varietals in the classic styles of their origins. This is one of our favorite wineries and also one that we are a member of their cellar club. One of the best things about this winery aside from their wine is their incredibly artistic and beautiful labels as you can see from the picture of Ossessione. Each one of their offerings has a similarly elaborate label created by an artist named Robert Scherer of Appiano, Italy. All of them are done in watercolors and have won several awards.

Ossessione is a true Italian import with the grapes coming from Marche, Italy near the Adriatic Sea. They are sold as Montepulciano D'Abruzzo in Italy and they are the TRUE Montepulciano grape varietal unlike some of what we get here which is Montepulciano Nobile.

D and I paired this wine with some red sauced pasta with meatballs. The wine poured a very deep purple out of the bottle and had a pretty deep aroma. The wine was very fruit forward with strawberry, raspberry, and other red fruits dominating. The first sip was all fruit but as this wine settled the tannins really came out and it became a mouth puckerer. I was a fan of the first 10 minutes of this wine but not so much as it sat. I'm hoping that the tannin will fade when I finish off the bottle tonight.

Update: No such luck on the tannin fading.
Overall, too much tannin for me although I would drink it if given a bottle I wouldn't buy another one.

Wow, More Beer Products for Babies

First it was Japan and their "Beer for Babies." Now we have a company creating tiny baby "Bunwiper" baby bottles made to look like Budweiser bottles complete with nipple. Needless to say Budweiser was not amused. They are suing the company making the bottles for trademark infringement.

Brew Dog Hardcore IPA

Are YOU hardcore? I think the answer to this question for anyone used to drinking a West Coast IPA is, yes.

Brewdog's Hardcore IPA is more like Showtime, or Skinemax than Hardcore. That's not to say that it's bad, I was just expecting a bit more bitterness than what was in the glass. Especially since I could smell the hops literally from across the table, and I don't profess to have a great schnoz, AND the schnoz is stuffed up at this time. The pine aroma was exploding up out of the glass and bottle the second this was popped and poured.

There definitely was a whole lot of aromatic hops but they must have skipped the bittering hops brewing step because this was no more bitter than their "Punk IPA" that I reviewed previously.

Appearance: Golden Yellow, very small head, quite a bit of bubbles

Aroma: HUGE pine, hoppy, hoppy, hoppy. A little citrus, lemon.

Taste: Decent body weight, not too thin, not syrupy. Carbonation felt low despite the amount of bubbles for some odd reason. Much more carbonation than the "Punk IPA" though. Not as balanced as the "Punk" either. It didn't taste more bitter but there wasn't that sweetness to balance it out. The lemon in the aroma came through in the taste as well.

Overall: Good, but I'd rather drink their "Punk IPA" because it is better balanced.

Left Coast's Torrey Pines IPA

Ahh Man's Night how I love you. Man's night is so much easier now that the lawyer moved down the street. Middle of the week drunkenness is now not only possible, but safe, and responsible as well. Last week's Man's Night was highlighted by the movie "The Hurt Locker."I know it's up for an Oscar for Best Picture but aside from the visuals(I'd give it a nod for cinematography) the only thing I was impressed with was the size of the soldier's, ahem, cajones. Voluntarily disarming crazy bombs that look like they might blow up if you look at them wrong, let alone touch them, is not my idea of a plum assignment.

So little bro showed up at Man's Night with this beer. I told him to bring something interesting and he delivered. Not that that is unusual, well, ok a little. He had been two for two on fruit beer. I mean, strawberry and blueberry beer? Interesting yes, tasty? Not so much. That's why I was glad when he pulled out this IPA.

Appearance: Hazy copper coming straight out of the bottle but it cleared quickly. HUGE head. I overflowed the glass and I have not done that in a long time. It stayed there for a while too with lots of lacing. I definitely had a foam mustache because I couldn't wait to get into this one, the smell was awesome.

Aroma: Lots of pine, very very woodsy just like a good IPA should be.

Taste: I love bitter, but bitter without balance is just crap in my opinion. Left Coast nailed the balance. This beer was bitter but it didn't give you bitter beer face(Remember those commercials?) Nor does it strip your taste buds like turpentine. There is enough residual malt sugar to tone down the hops but this beer is far from sweet. A light lemon flavor almost reminiscent of a hefeweizen  and it also has that creamy mouthfeel like a good unfiltered hef does.

Overall: Great beer

Brew Dog Punk IPA

Ever since I read about Tactical Nuclear Penguin, the 32% ABV "beer" from these guys I have been intrigued by Brew Dog. I liked their packaging, I liked their website, and since penguins are my favorite animal, near and dear to my heart(tear, sniff) they had me at penguin. The first beer from Brew Dog I actually tried happened to be a collaboration with Stone out of Escondido, CA "Bashah" which I wasn't really impressed with. I sure am glad my parents taught me not to quit on anything because "Punk IPA" is really good. It may even have taken over my #1 IPA slot currently held by Dogfish Head's "90 Minute IPA."

The best part of this beer last night was that I got to share it with my brother who I don't get to see very often since he moved out to the BFE cowtown. How, in Southern California, can a town feel like it is in the middle of nowhere? I mean, the main road his complex is near actually has NOTHING on it at one point. Weird, wish he was closer though, not because I like the guy or anything, but he brought good beer to the party. Coincidentally also an IPA. But on to the Beer!

Pour: Haystack yellow and a little hazy at first it clears up after a bit. Not a huge head and it doesn't stick around for real long. Decent lacing on the side

Aroma: Pine, Pine, and Pine, with some Sweet Pine thrown in. Methinks this is an IPA.

Taste: Obviously this beer has some bitter, it's an IPA but I definitely got grapefruit right off the bat. That tart sweetness in this beer brings it all together really nicely. What was strange was as it sat the grapefruit taste was less distinct but that malty sweetness was still there. There wasn't a whole lot of bubbles like I have come to expect from many of the IPA's I have tasted. It made for a nice mouthfeel as it had some body to it that wasn't washed out by the carbonation. I could drink a few of these and they aren't real expensive at 3$ for a 22 oz.

The Rhone...Better than Bordeaux, and Cheaper Too

The Rhone, that wonderful place in France that produces all of the wines D and I love. Syrah, Mourvedre, Viognier, Roussanne, some Grenache, and blends of all.

When D and I travel into Europe the first place we want to go to is the Rhone.

Of course, we will be timing our trip with the Tour de France. What could be better than eating and drinking world class food and wine and then working it all off on a bike ride through some of the most beautiful scenery in the world? Best thing is that D suggested the Tour de France. One more of the bajillion reasons I love her.

Old Vine Cafe+New Waiter= VDay Grudge Match

If you read the post on Old Vine Cafe you know that D and I had an amazing time there. Great food, great service, and HUGE pours of all of the paired wines. I think Mario poured me 4 oz of port for my dessert and Danielle was given an entire bottle of prosecco.

Oh but how the mighty have fallen. D and I were really excited to take our friends the Rhino and W there to enjoy a Valentine's Day dinner. I even called the day before to request that we be seated in Mario's section. It's a small place but I wasn't taking any chances with "the most romantic night of the year" -wink-

When we got there we were immediately seated and I said hi to Mario. He assured me that he would be taking care of us. Come to find out Mario lied. Oh how he lied.

I knew from past experience as well as from working at my wine bar that I HATE the 2006 Frogmore Creek Chardonnay from Tasmania that was paired with my first course of scallops. It tastes like roasted pineapple, stewed fruit, and jam. Mmmmmm...tasty. I thought, no big deal, I'll just ask to be poured the wine from the other tasting menu in place of this one. I didn't ask for an off menu wine, I didn't ask for a more expensive wine, I just asked to be poured the OTHER wine that they were pouring with the first course. Reasonable right? I thought so. WRONG!

Have you ever been reamed by your Denny's waiter for ordering the All-American Slam with a coke instead of a traditional breakfast beverage? How about your Mcdonald's drive-thru attendant for choosing milk with your egg McMuffin? No? Ok ok maybe you deserve to be yelled at by the sushi chef because you ordered the wrong sake with your omikase?

Apparently I was not informed of the fact that sauvignon blanc is a poor pairing with scallops. I tend to disagree and told him so.

 Me: I think it will be fine
Him: (indignantly) Would you drink milk and orange juice together? No, I don't think so.
Me: I think it will be fine
Him: Do you know about wine? Do you have any training?
Me: Yes I studied with Master Sommelier Peter Neptune
Him: Really? I think Peter would agree that this is a horrible idea.
Me:(Thinking Peter would like the idea because shellfish and SB go great together) I think it will be fine
Him: Against my better judgement since you studied with Peter I will let you ruin your food.
Me: Thank you

He then proceeded to be an ass for the remainder of the meal. Pouring acrobatically over D's head, sloshing wine, plating food with no explanation, etc. I felt terrible for our friends because we had raved about Old Vine to them. The food was wonderful as usual, although plating was not as good as the first time. D's polenta was not creamy it was slices, but overall the food was enjoyable. Now if we could just get rid of our waiter.

So if you intend to go to Old Vine Cafe make sure that you request Mario as your server.

Köstritzer Schwarzbier, Dark and Mysterious

This beer, like the Bashah was also consumed under the guise of a pseudo-funeral for a now, not so dear, acquaintance. I chose this beer because Michael Jackson of "Beer Hunter" fame classified it as the classic example of the German Schwarz, or black, beer style. I had no idea what to expect from it but I was really happy that it only cost me 1.99$ for a pint at BevMo and if Mr. Jackson said it's good then I'm more than willing to shell out a couple bucks.

The beer poured an inky black, though not as opaque as I thought a "black" beer would be. There was a good sized off white head on it that dissipated pretty quickly and left a bit of lacing on the glass. The first whiff smelled of lightly roasted coffee, some charcoal maybe. There wasn't a whole lot of distinct aromas to pick out. It basically smelled like a thin porter. The taste followed smell as this beer tasted like a relatively thin porter. Not having tasted the Bashah yet I was unable to compare the two but in hindsight/sip I am now very impressed with my two dollar brew. I would pick this one up long before I would pay an exorbitant price for an over-hyped beer. Far from outstanding because it lacked layers, and complexity, Köstritzer, however, is enjoyable to drink and really has grown on me as I think more about it. At 4.8% ABV, and not so thick like a porter, it is an easy session brew. I will be having more of this.

Stone+Brew Dog=Bashah!!! His Head In

We had a pretty big tragedy this weekend that definitely deserved to be mourned a little. Nobody died, well, yet anyway. That still remains to be seen. Lets just say, figuratively speaking, I'd hate to have this come back at me in court, so, everyone reading this, he's dead to us, figuratively. Tiny Tiny Man.

Instead of "mourning" however, we chose to celebrate the passing of someone who, though he professed to possess an inordinate amount of intellect, committed such a stupid, childish,  act of well, stupidity. You lost buddy, you lost.

This celebration of sorts is how I came to come into the posession of a beer I have been drooling to try. It was being sold for an unseemly amount of money by the pint at the neighborhood gastropub and I couldn't in good conscience pony up the cash. This is why, when the man at BevMo asked me like the neighborhood crack dealer if I wanted his last bottle of Bashah I jumped at him, err, it.

Bashah is a collaborative effort between the crazy Scottish brewers Brew Dog and our own American Stone Brewing in Oceanside California. When I say, "crazy" I mean crazy. Brew Dog makes a "beer" called Tactical Nuclear Penguin that is pushing 32% ABV. They've since then pushed that limit as well. Needless to say these guys are creative.

Bashah is a Black Belgian Double IPA but tastes more like a porter. Lots of roasted coffee, some carbony toasty flavors, a little bit of licorice. It was a little thin and there was not very much bitterness for being a DOUBLE IPA. There wasn't even really that bready taste that comes from Belgian yeast. All in all it tasted good but I was not blown away. Maybe a case of high expectations? I would drink it if it was cheap, which it's not. I payed 5$ for a 12 oz bottle. And at 8.6% ABV I was buzzing after already having a schwarzbier that, at 2$ for a pint was every bit as good.