Rogue Ales - Juniper Pale Ale

Hi all,

Firstly - let me apologize for not posting recently. Work and other obligations had me completely busy the last few weeks, so I haven't had too much time to post. But - Congress is in recess next week, so I get to take a break. And part of taking a break means trying a new beer I'd never seen before.

It's Rogue's Juniper Pale Ale, a 5.3% ABV winter ale. There was only one of these, dusty, sitting there on the shelf at Whole Foods on P Street, undoubtedly left over from the winter season. I can't say I've ever had juniper in great quantities; and while I know it's in gin, I've probably only had gin a dozen times in my life. So I was particularly interested in checking out the Juniper Pale, and thought it looked good enough to spend the $7.

The eye was not what I was expecting - it had an orange color and was bright yellow when candled. It had a thin white head that was tough to produce.

Interesting. The nose was thin, not at all like the overwhelming herbal nose I was hoping/expecting. There was a faint smell of floral hops, but nothing to write home about.

The taste was somewhat a different story. I was expecting a strong, heady, bitter herbal ale that was slightly bitter. What I got was much like many of the pale ales I've had lately - bright and strong with an underlying level of hops. There was no real, strong, recognizable juniper taste in there, at least none that I could discern, but the beer did have a solid hoppy flavor with just a hint of herbs. The aftertaste was lingering and pleasant.

So, yeah, I was surprised by this beer but not necessarily in a bad way. I was expecting something super herbal and medicinal, but ended up getting a solid beer that I wouldn't mind having again. The tastes are inoffensive, and therefore good for you risk-averse beer drinkers out there, and perhaps someone else can discern the juniper in there where I cannot. Not a bad investment for $7, I enjoyed drinking it.

Elysian Brewing Co. - Dragonstooth oatmeal stout

Today's review is another oatmeal stout - one from Seattle, WA-based Elysian Brewing Company. My brother Dan recommended this. I got this from Whole Foods on P Street, and never really noticed they carried a rather extensive line of Elysian until I went looking for it. Who knew? There's a lot of other releases from Elysian; I'm definitely interested in trying the others. But anyways - on the Dragonstooth: a 7.5% ABV oatmeal stout.

The beer is black in color. Black pour, black in the glass, black when held up to the light. Just the outermost edge is a chocolate brown when candled. It has a khaki-colored head that dissipates quickly.

The taste is good; a good example of a dark, smooth stout. Very little burnt tastes, which is very nice, and a good mouthfeel overall. The smoothness is what I like most, not the flavor (which is generally typical for a stout.) The texture is almost like a milk stout - not bubbly, just smooth and polished. The finish is dark and sweet, with just a hint of burnt stuff.

The verdict is that this stout is good. Not amazing, not awesome, just good. I like the texture and the alcohol content is respectable. It's tasty and also pretty affordable, so it's definitely a session beer you could enjoy all evening. But the best part about this beer is the price - for a 22oz bottle (a "bomber") it's $5.99. Not bad at all! This is also an inoffensive beer you could bring to parties or over to a friend's for dinner. I wouldn't mind having in my fridge now and again, just in case I'm in the mood for a dark stout.

Mikkeller - Breakfast oatmeal stout (Denmark)

Today's brew comes to me from Denmark, by way of my good buddies at Irving Wines and Spirits on Mt. Pleasant St, NW. They recommended I try this several times and finally got me to cave when I went to grab more Dogfish Head 120.

I'd never heard of Mikkeller, but it was new (so they told me), and I'm never hard to convince to try a new beer. Especially one from a strange, foreign land, full of wonder, etc. It's my first time trying a Danish beer, and I admit I'm rather ignorant of the beermaking culture in Denmark, but a friend from undergrad studied abroad there and found the alcohol selection pleasing. So what the hey - let's live a little.

The proud Danish people 

The story behind Mikkeller is rather interesting. According to an article about them, it was founded by two homebrew bros:  Mikkel Borg Bjergso and Kristian Klarup Keller (hence Mikkeller.) But - here's the thing - they don't actually have a brewery anywhere. No physical space. They've got a few bars across the world, but no dedicated brewing space. Instead, they collaborate with other breweries to make experimental beers, one-offs, and collaborations. So it makes every beer somewhat unique.

The "Breakfast" is a 7.5% ABV oatmeal stout made with coffee beans. Yes, coffee beans. Again. Sorry! It's brewed in collaboration with Lervig Aktiebryggeri, a brewery based in Stavanger, Norway. Information regarding Lerving Aktiebryggeri is scarce in English, and since the Norwegian language appears to me like the alphabet puked, I can't report back on the brewery.

No, I did not drink this for breakfast, thank you. 

The beer's appearance is black and opaque. It's got a faint chocolate nose, but generally odorless.

The beer also has a tan head that laces nicely.

I was actually surprised by the taste - instead of a muted, typical coffee / chocolate combination, I was hit with a strong wave of dark, oily coffee flavors. Any beer or alcohol flavors that might exist are overshadowed by the strong coffee tastes, which carry through all stages of the tasting process. The finish is oily coffee and the aftertaste is strong and dark (also coffee.)

And so I'm on the fence about it. On one hand, the beer is well-done and packs a serious punch in terms of flavor. On the other hand, I don't usually like coffee that dark so having it in beer format was a bit rough for me. The oiliness of it as well threw me off. Another strike against it is that it's also relatively expensive, for a single 12oz: $7.99.

So if you like espresso, or dark oily coffees, this might be the beer for you. To its credit, it's a well-crafted beer that packs a strong flavor punch. I personally am not a huge fan, because of the richness and hefty taste profile.

Cave de Roquebrun - 2011 Col de Lairole Coteaux du Languedoc (France)

Tonight's wine is another bottle I picked up from friend and wine merchant Charles Bissell of Charles Fine Wines in Glastonbury, Connecticut. It came as part of a holiday pack of French reds released Christmas of '12, and has been in my cellar ever since.

Languedoc's coat of arms

Coteaux du Languedoc (now simply called Languedoc) is an appellation from the huge Languedoc-Roussillon AOC winemaking region in the south of France, located near the cities of Perpignan, Carcassonne, and Montepellier. Languedoc wines are overwhelmingly red; with a smattering of whites and roses also produced. I reviewed another wine from this region (and under this appellation) back in February. And so I didn't hesitate to open today's bottle, judging by my experience with the previous.

So armed with that knowledge, I dutifully opened my bottle of 2011 Cave de Roquebrun Col de Lairole Languedoc. Apparently, this particular vintage won some sort of award; I can neither keep track of nor seriously care about the multitude of wine awards, medals, honorable mentions, or the like that seem to be applied to many wines. I'm sure it means something to someone, or perhaps the writers of Wine Spectator, but for my purposes, it's largely irrelevant. So long as it tastes good, ages well, and pairs well with a roasted eggplant parm or my homemade vitello alla francese, we're in business.

Cracked it open and poured some out; the nose is nice...it smells of berries, dirt, and alcohol. Which may sound gross, but it's really not. There's something pleasing about an earthy red wine, all full of spices and tannins and good rich French minerals.

The taste is pretty good - tart berries with a very pleasing note of alcohol. There's fresh, bright flavors, not overdone at all and no offensive tastes or tannic sourness. I like that there's a nice taste of alcohol with a warm feeling. The finish is smooth, much smoother than the nose suggests. The aftertaste is of berries.

The texture is key here - the wine is very drinkable and doesn't take much aerating / "opening up" to be delicious. The taste is very approachable and (mercifully) straightforward; no tannic oakiness or caustic burn. Sure, it's not as juicy and jammy as the R|Collection field blend that graced my palette in February, but then again, what is?

So like a few other wine reviews I've done, this wine intersects drinkability with affordability. I believe this wine was around $12. And you don't even need to get this exact vintage; the great part about inexpensive wines with a big production is that they're available in all sorts of formats across many labels. Look for Coteaux de Languedoc (or, if it's younger than 2011, just "Languedoc") and you should be good. In conclusion, this Languedoc was a delicious everyday wine that pairs well with a lot of foods. Seek it out and drink it with abandon; I'd drink this every day if I had enough of it to do so.