Domaine de la Bressande - 2016 Premier Cru pinot noir [France]

For our Turkey Day dinner, we served a fine red Burgundy from Domaine de la Bressande, the home appellation of acclaimed winemaker Antonin Rodet. Grown in the French village of Mercurey, this wine is a Premier Cru - a French winemaking term used to describe wines (or broadly, a vineyard) of a high caliber. In Burgundy, specifically, this is the second-highest classification, with Grand Cru being the highest. So we're in for a treat. This wine is 100% pinot noir, aged for 8 months in an 80/20 split of old and new oak barrels.

The most striking quality of this wine is its texture - quite smooth and very savory, with a touch of salt, especially on the finish. Very silky throughout with a medium-to-soft body with no sweetness. Finish is not particularly lingering. Pretty ruby color as well. 

Quite a perfect pairing for the usual Thanksgiving fixings. I like this because it's not overly strong, therefore the herbal savory flavors of various meal components come through and aren't overpowered by the wine. This is available at Total Wine for something like $26, so generally at the higher end of what I'd suggest for wines, but for a holiday dinner, a really nice choice. 

Stone Brewing Co. - 2015 "Crime" ale

Being home in Connecticut for the Thanksgiving holiday is always fun, but when it comes to this blog, it means access to my cellar of beer and wine. Back when I lived here full-time (and in the intervening years, when I'd visit) I'd grab various fancy beers and wines and store them for the future. It's easy not to drink them when you're hundreds of miles away! Today's is one such special cellar beer, mellowing in the basement since 2015t. It's called "Crime", and is a 9.60% ABV ale made with a laundry list of peppers.

A product of Stone Brewing Co., this is another entry in their "Arrogant" line of beers. I've reviewed a few iterations of this series before, namely the "Depth-Charged Double Bastard" and "Double Bastard in the Rye". Today's is a pepper-infused variant of the "Lukcy Basartd" ale (which itself is a blend of "Arrogant Bastard", "Double Bastard", and "Oaked Arrogant Bastard"), the rather-extensive list of peppers I was able to find:

• Red & Yellow 7 Pot
• Red & Yellow 7 Pot Douglah
• 7 Pot Jonah
• Red Scorpion
• Black Naga
• Green & Red Jalapenos
• Red & Peach Moruga Scorpions (these are particularly strong)
• Chocolate Douglah
• Ghost
• Giant White Habanero
• Habanero
• Caribbean Red Hot
• Fatali
• Peach Ghost Scorpion 

Crimony, that's a lot of peppers. According to Stone's website, this is quite a strong beer, with quotes like "The heat is disturbing!"and "Be careful!" There's even a video of patrons trying the "Crime" and recoiling in horror as the flavor hits their tongue. Well, blah blah blah, everyone has their own spice levels and I love ghost peppers, so bring it on. I laugh in the face of danger.

Now - full disclosure - this has been sitting downstairs in my mother's basement for a few years.  I do not have a fresh reference bottle, and the flavors will have mellowed out over time, so I'm not really trying this as the brewers intended - however, it does say "ages well" on the bottle, so it certainly has not gone bad.

Opens with a light pop, pours medium to dark amber with not much aroma.

Whooo-eee, OK, there's a lot to unpack here. Almost instantly, this beer presents a slightly-sweet ale flavor, a bit like a barleywine (without the consistency.) Not very syrupy but has that thick woodiness. Immediately thereafter, though, the peppers come in a massive wave, and despite the aging, it's still quite lively and sharp. The peppers are oily and slightly sweet, kind of like the chili oil you get at a dim sum restaurant. Very nicely done. The hops aren't particularly present, and there's some element of char and a hint of sweetness - that's the bourbon barrels coming through. The peppers really hang on, though, and last throughout the aftertaste. Remarkably clean taste afterward, too.

Overall this is an excellent blend and very well balanced. As noted, there are numerous flavors in there - oaky sweetness, bourbon barrel char, hot peppers, and brown ale maltiness - but I find they're all blended expertly. One flavor does not particularly bulldoze any other flavors, and despite the strong character of the peppers, I can still detect other ingredients and flavor nuances. That's the mark of a great beer. Should I have had this fresh? Yes. But I also should have bought one to age, too. This is still damn good and well worth trying. I believe this was $19 for a 500mL bottle, so not super cheap, but worth it in my opinion. Happy Thanksgiving!

Ardent Brewing - "Sweet Potato & Sage" saison

Here is an interesting creation from Richmond, VA-based Ardent Craft Ales - a 6.40% ABV saison made with sweet potatoes and sage. All we need is the turkey breast and some gravy!

I've had both sweet potato and sage as ingredients in beer, but never together. The Bruery's "Autumn Maple" which I love, is made with yams, and last year at the Craft Brewer's Conference I ran into a sage saison by Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project. Both were delicious in their own ways, so I am excited to see both flavors combined.

Aroma is slightly sour, some oak. Low lacing when poured.

Hmm, OK, this is good. A bit lighter and sweeter than I was expecting, but earthy, malty, with an herbal twist. It has a similar sweet potato flavor as the "Autumn Maple", but but an interesting herbal twist to it. At 28 IBUs, it's not bitter and has a pretty subtle hop profile. The sage is not as strong as the sage beer I had from Colorado, but it's still present and noticeable. These herbal notes are coupled with Belgian spices, as well, which makes a nice blend. I should also say that the texture is off-dry...it's not particularly dry (as say a witbier might be) but has a slight crispness, especially on the finish, which I think complements the flavors as well.

If you're a fan of slightly sweet, somewhat dry, very mellow ales with no aggressive bitterness or spice, this is for you. This isn't as soft as, say, an ESB, but still pretty easy-drinking. Cost-wise, it was 10.99 for four 12oz bottles, so pretty reasonable and worth trying for sure.

Abita Brewing Co. - "Pecan Ale"

Today's beer is a seasonal release from Abita Brewing Company, based out of Abita Springs in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. I haven't had too much from Abita; four or five years ago I tried their most popular offering, "Purple Haze", which I didn't particularly like. But, you can't judge a brewery by just one beer, so I'm willing to give the folks from the Pelican State another chance.

The "Pecan Ale" is a 5.20% ABV ale made with Louisiana pecans. Pecans are my favorite nut, and pecan pie is my favorite (thanks to Becka L.'s awesome recipe!) and since I don't think I've heard of another ale made with pecans, this is going to be fun to try. The malts used are Pale, Munich, Biscuit, and Caramel, and the hop bill is 100% Willamette hops - a strain known for an herbal and floral taste. Sounds tasty!

Pours a nice light amber color in the glass, very pretty. It generated a little bit of fizzy foam, so I hard-poured it, which means I poured directly into the beer and not along the rim. Doing so made the head puff up a little bit, but still not much. I'm detecting a mild aroma of maple and malt.

Hmm, it's rather thin, unfortunately. As an ale, it's pretty standard, with some malty caramel notes and a mild amount of nut flavors. Kinda like a basic brown ale. It's hard to really pick out the pecan flavors, per se, but there is some nutty flavors present, almost like a nut shells, rather than the "meat" of the nut. The flavor dies away quickly and leaves little aftertaste.

Welp, I'm sorry to say I am not impressed. This beer would be good as a session ale, but it did not live up to my expectations. Although I wasn't expecting it to be anything woody and boozy, I was hoping there would be a more pronounced pecan taste, maybe with more sweetness. But - a good diversion from pumpkin beer, as the season permits, and it's light drinking, so not a bad purchase for $10.99 for 6.

Oliver Brewing Co. - "Noise to Signal Ratio" IPA

Here's a snapshot of a beer I had a while back which is definitely worth mentioning. I traded one of my Rogue Ales "Fresh Roast" malt beers to my former colleague Martin for a can of Oliver Brewing Co.'s "Noise to Signal Ratio", which is a 6.00% ABV kettle-soured IPA, aged for 7 months in mead casks. It's finished with Amarillo and Citra dry hops, Citra of course being my favorite.

So yeah, mead casks. I've actually been meaning to talk about mead; what once was a staple only of Renaissance fairs has now become mainstream and available at numerous beer stores both in the bottle and by the can. Mead is essentially just fermented honey, although craft meads are popping up with fancy ingredients like blueberry, basil, pumpkin, ginger, and lemon. Mead is an acquired taste, and I'm curious to see how the mead cask affects this beer; I'm assuming some of the sourness will be imparted. Let's find out.

It pours a light gold, and generates a thin, white head. There's a ton of little bubbles, and has no "legs" or lacing.

The nose is sour, for sure - wood sour, but not in a boozy way. Like a light, closer-to-a-gose kind of way.

If I was doing a blind taste test, I'd think this is a cider. It has a crispness, like a cider, and a sourness that's quite pronounced. The hops aren't terribly bright, and there's no bready "beer flavors". As the beer develops, and I swish around the sediment, some surprisingly-sweet notes begin to present themselves and continue through the finish. There's really not any bitterness at all.

So overall very interesting, and definitely not what I was expecting. I was figuring on this being perhaps a hazy IPA with some additional sweetness imparted by the barrels, but as it turns out this is more like a cider. The slightly-astringent texture and light body is definitely mead-like, as well. Since this isn't that bitter, I feel it would be an excellent choice for someone who may not be into bitter IPAs. At $14.99 for four, it's a bit expensive. Also - notice that under the name of the beer, there's a little "Volume No. 1". I wonder if this will be an ongoing thing, kinda like Firestone Walker's "Luponic Distortion" series. We'll find out, I guess!

Harpoon Brewery - "Dunkin' Coffee Porter"

Here come those blustery temperatures! I'm a big fan of coffee-flavored or coffee-infused beer, so naturally this is my favorite season. I'm not the only one, either - we've received numerous kinds of coffee beverages into the shop, many of which I've seen or had before. But not this one!

That's right - with its familiar neon lettering and white background, this is a beer inspired by Dunkin' Donuts. Now, I don't have any particular brand loyalty to Dunkin', but as a true son of New England, I have try this beer. It's a 6.00% ABV coffee porter by Harpoon Brewery, clocking in at 28 IBUs. So rather light on both the alcohol and the bitterness. Let's see how coffee-y it is...some of the coffee beers I've had are rather light on flavor, so here's hoping for something different.

Interesting -  there's really not a lot of head, even when hard-poured (pouring the beer directly down, instead of along the side of the glass.) Settles to a milkshake like cap on top, thin yet dense.

Hmm, it's quite soft actually, with some creaminess and a touch of savory, rauchbier-like smoke in the middle - very interesting and very enjoyable. There's also a touch of powdered cocoa - or is it ground coffee? - as the flavors develops on the palate. It presents a long, but thin, finish of hot dark roast - a bit burnt, a bit bitter and strong, reminiscent of a blustery winter's day and a Styrofoam cup. I'm detecting some oily, cheap coffee flavors on the aftertaste.

OK, so this IS different from other coffee beers I've had. I think the biggest takeaway for this is that it's definitely on the roasted / oily end of the spectrum and not really that sweet. I'm fine with that. I would prefer a coffee beer that's less sweet and has more of those deep, dark roast flavors...to me it tastes more like coffee. In terms of texture, this sort of the inverse of Flying Dog's "Kujo", which is also very good for different reasons. If you're a fan of oily, dark roast coffee and want a beer to match, then grab this - it's well worth the $10.99 for six.