3 Stars Brewing Co. - "Starsky and Brunch" stout

I love coffee, and bacon, and maple, so naturally when we got this at D'Vines I had to give it a shot. As you may recall, during my 2016 trip to Miami, I tried Funky Buddha's "Wide Awake, It's Morning!" imperial stout, which is essentially almost identical to today's beer - coffee, bacon, maple. And while I'd rather not blog about something similar to a previous post, I think it might be interesting to compare the two different approaches. Today's example is called "Starsky and Brunch", an 8.30% ABV stout made by 3 Stars Brewing Company right here in the District of Columbia.

According to the can, this Breakfast of Champs was made on February 6th, 2020. So not super fresh, but that's less important for this style of beer. Let's crack it open.

Pours surprisingly quickly, and generates practically no head. Nose of cocoa powder.

OK, definitely maple-forward, with a nice touch of sweet sap flavors, which I like. Presents a thin consistency, with hints of coffee and not a lot of bacon. Finish is somewhat sweet, with a resurgence of that sap flavoring.

These things can go either way, I find - either super heavy and oily, or light and thinner on flavor. This one is closer to an ale than a stout and is quite different from the Funky Buddha entry noted above; unlike its Florida cousin, Starsky and Brunch is quite light and a bit thin. This consistency is not necessarily bad, though: it's nice to encounter these flavors is a lighter format. I wonder about the bacon, though - what is that supposed to add here? I would presume salt and savory, but no such qualities can be detected, at least not by me during this tasting. Although the light consistency toned down the power of the flavors, it's still a good beer and a decent value for $13.99 for four pints.

Rutherford Ranch Winery / Four Virtues Wines - 2016 Lodi Zinfandel, bourbon barrel aged

Here's something I grabbed at Trader Joe's a few years back, and it's about time to discuss it. TJ's was doing a wine tasting, as they often do, and this was on offer so I took a dram. Never having had a bourbon barrel-aged wine before, I  ended up enjoying it so naturally I picked up a bottle to sock away. It's a 2016 Zinfandel from Four Virtues Wines, based in the Lodi area of California. Four Virtues is apparently an imprint of Rutherford Ranch, which I visited in August of 2018.

Bourbon barrel-aged wines are somewhat of a new concept; obviously oak aging has been a part of winemaking for centuries, and while beer has been aged in bourbon barrels for many years, aging wine in ex-bourbon or ex-whiskey vessels is a somewhat new to mainstream consumers.

And what's in a name? It's called "Four Virtues" as, according to Rutherford's website, an unnamed wine writer once suggested that to be successful, "a wine must have four virtues - a distinctive style unlike other, an intense yet not overpowering flavor, a unique expression of origin, and an intense flavor satisfying intellect and palate." Well, seems pretty lofty, so let's crack it open and see which of these virtues this wine embodies.

I should say this wine is HOT - 16.80% ABV, so quite high. Pours thickly into the glass, and generates an unmistakable bourbon aroma which is detectable from a few feet away. Notice the hips on the neck of the bottle - very reminiscent of a Scotch bottle.

It seems much thicker than "normal" wine, and there's definitely some strong bourbon notes here, with a brown sugar sweetness on the end. Additionally, I'm sensing a decent amount of barrel char and some dark juice flavors, like black cherry and even prunes. Very rich, and definitely quite sweeter than I was expecting, and the bourbon woodiness takes center stage as the wine finishes up. The wine coats the mouth and lasts a long time after swallowing.

This reminds me in some ways of a tawny port...not my choice for a dinner pairing, in unfortunate retrospect. I'm on the fence as to if this wine is "intense" or "overpowering", the fine line that determines the second "virtue" stated above. Bourbon drinkers would rejoice at this wine and it's a cool concept to explore, but I think I was wrong in assuming that this wine would be a dinner wine as opposed to a dessert wine. I go back to my tawny port comparison - not something you'd drink with dinner (or maybe you would?)

A neat concept overall, and definitely something on the heavier, boozier end that could make a nice dessert wine. This was $19.99 at Trader Joe's, so if you like your wines on the super-heavy end, give this a go.

Andalou Efes Brewery - "Efes" lager

In many places outside of the US, the craft beer movement either does not exist or is in its infancy. That doesn't mean there isn't solid, decent beer to be had, however. Today's beer is one such example, a Euro-style pilsner from Andalou Efes Brewery in Turkey, billed as "the no. 1 Mediterranean beer", a claim which is of course difficult to validate. However, apparently Andalou Efes sponsors a Turkish basketball team, Andalou Efes S.K., which according to their website has won the Turkish Super League championship 14 times. I wonder if they consume their products before every match.

Before the world went to hell, I ordered this beer at the Queen Amannisa restaurant in Crystal City, VA. Our waiter said that he is from the same province that Efes is made in, so that's pretty neat. He pours the beer into a water glass, not that it really matters.

So, while it has many of the characteristics of a European lager - that is, light with pronounced wheat flavors, there are a few notable differences. "Efes" is noticeably sweeter and has less carbonation. The second part is what I appreciate the most...I always feel like I'm drinking soda when I have a lager, but this beer's texture is a bit thicker and more "still", which in my opinion allows for a clearer presentation of the flavors here. Lots of bready, yeasty flavors which come through nicely. Overall a nice beer and one that's easy drinking yet flavorful. And fun to try an Anatolian beer!