Stillwater Artisanal - "Duck Sauce" DIPA

At the risk of doing *another* Stillwater Artisanal beer only a couple posts after the last one, this beer is too intriguing to pass up. It's called "Duck Sauce", and is a 9.00% ABV double IPA made with apricots, plums, pineapples, ginger, and Candi syrup. 

Just like hops and malts, brewers can use different types of sugars to make their beers and to impact the taste. Today's beer is made with Candi sugar (which is reduced to a syrup in this example). Candi sugar is often used in Belgian beers, like trippels or dubbels, and is in the same general family as molasses. Beers like Fordham & Dominion's "Candi" trippel is one of the more famous domestic examples, and I think it's a nice addition to heavier beers.  

OK, time to try this. Wow, pours lighter than expected. Given all the ingredients, including Candi sugar, I'd expect it to be darker. Instead, it's light gold.

Generates an aroma of fresh, juicy hops, with fruit. But almost like an artificial fruit smell, like you'd get from those old Airheads candy. 

Hmm, there's a lot going on here. It's full of fruit, with pineapple dominant, accompanied by oranges, apricots, lemons, and some heavy, sweet plum flavors, like you'd get from those fancy jams they sell at Whole Foods. Not getting much ginger, though. In terms of hops, there's really almost no bitterness, but some herbal flavors, which is kind of nice for a double IPA. The Candi sugar is most evident after swallowing, and along with more pineapple, there's a caramel sugariness kind of like crème brûlée crust. Aftertaste is sticky and I'm getting more of that pineapple flavor. 

You know what - it actually kind of tastes like duck sauce, in a way. It isn't nearly as viscous, but it's got some of the same types of fruit flavors and thick, jammy texture. I admit that I actually quite enjoy beers that are made to emulate other beverages or foods - it's fun to see something recreated in beer format. For example - Crooked Run's "Macchu Pisco". 

This was $19.99 for a four-pack of pint cans, so somewhat pricey. For me, this falls under the "neat thing to try" category and although it's not cheap, I did end up getting a second four-pack. It's 9.00% ABV, so pretty hefty, but worth a try I think. 

Black Tooth Brewing Co. - "Saddle Bronc" brown ale

Courtesy of former D'Vines colleague Austin, I came across a can or two of this libation, a 4.80% ABV English-style brown ale from Sheridan, WY-based Black Tooth Brewing. Austin grabbed a few cans on a recent work trip, and was kind enough to pass them along. Thanks, Austin!

The brainchild of founders Tim Barnes, Tim Barnes, Sr., Mike Strahan, and top brewer Travis Zeilstra, Black Tooth was founded in 2010. This offering, and several others, have received medals in various beer competitions, so I'm excited to try. My only other experience with Wyoming beer has been at SAVOR in 2018, where I tried MISHAP! Brewing Co.'s lovely "Fire Hole" chili porter. Outside of events like this, or from cans smuggled back from trips, beers from microbreweries from out West seldom truly make it to DC. Black Tooth's stuff, for example, is available in cans and on draught from Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana, and to some parts of South Dakota, but no further.

Fun fact - "saddle bronc", the name of the beer, is a rodeo event also known as "bronc riding" where a rider mounts a horse using a special saddle and attempts to stay on as long as possible - 8 seconds is goal. I'd last .08 seconds, probably.

OK, let's take a look - remarkably root-beer clear, aromas of earth and a slight note of sugar.

Light, fresh, and a touch sweet, this brown ale has an exceptionally clean texture - surprisingly so. There's a touch of sweet caramel that I really dig, followed by a nice malt backbone, but the real excitement here is how soft and easy-drinking this is. Some brown ales are heavy on certain elements of the beer, or often mixed with coffee and other stuff, but "Saddle Bronc" is straightforward, well-done, and very enjoyable as a sessionable brown ale. I'd actually compare this, favorably, to another Rocky Mountain staple - Big Sky Brewing's "Moose Drool." I think the "Saddle Bronc" is a better version of "Moose Drool", packing a bit more flavor while still retaining that light, malty, easy-drinking quality.  This lovely session brown would be a great pairing with some meatloaf or burgers on the grill while watching the sun set over the Bighorn National Forest.

Stillwater Artisanal / Tired Hands - "Smoking Buddies" smoked DIPA

I'm a big fan of savory, smoky beers, so naturally I had to pick up this four-pack of IPAs from the shop. It's called "Smoking Buddies" and is an 8.00% ABV double IPA made with malted barley aged on Spanish cedar. This beer is a collaboration between Stillwater Artisanal, a gypsy brewery founded by electronica DJ Brian "Stillwater" Strumke, and Tired Hands Brewing Company based in Ardmore, Delaware County, PA. I actually can't find much about this beer beyond the description and some reviews online - normally, were this the case, I'd call the brewer to hear the story behind it, but that's hard to do now so failing any additional anecdotes I'll have to see for myself.

Medium amber color in the glass, quite pretty. Thick cap of white, fizzy foam. I was most interested to see the aroma, as it could be super smoky or not at all. It's somewhere in the middle - a hint of smoke but majorly hop-forward. Hmmm.

There's a big burst of pineapple at first, with a nice showing of juicy West Coast hops and a strong dash of grapefruit. Not super bitter, but definitely has a bite, which slowly develops into a very noticeable and welcome flavor of soft, aromatic wood and oranges. Not smoke, mind you, but a very pronounced cedar savoriness. The finish is quite fresh, and the flavor doesn't last too long in the mouth after swallowing.

There's an interesting juxtaposition here - I like the full, juicy flavors that traditionally come with a double IPA, somewhat similar to Alchemist Brewing's famed "Heady Topper", but it's also nice to see that tang mitigated by the "base" quality of the wood aging. It lacks the heavy, wet maltiness of a rauchbier like Aecht Schenkerla, so it's easier to show off the more delicate flavors. By its name, one can be forgiven for expecting this beer to be similar to a rauchbier, but here, the "smoking" doesn't refer to smoke itself, but the aged cedar that make up cigar boxes and contribute to the wood aging of the beer. Presumably the guys at Stillwater and Tired Hands came up with this idea while sharing a fine cigar one day!

The beer costs $19.99 for four pints, so on the medium-higher end of the spectrum, but I think it's worth it. I'd buy it again.

Mora Estate - 2014 "Valpo" red blend

Today's wine has come to me all the way from California, shipped special as part of my membership in the Sonoma Wine Club. During my trip to California in August 2018, one afternoon we drove from Inverness to Sebastapol and had a delicious three-course meal at La Bodega, located at 2295 Gravenstein Highway, South in Sebastapol, CA. Aside from three wonderful courses prepared by Ric the chef - I had the minestrone 'au pistou', veal in wine mushroom cream (life changing) and finished with some Alfajadores - Peruvian wedding cookies with dulce de leche.

But that wasn't the true highlight of the visit - it was a professional wine tasting / palate calibration by Meekk Shelef, general manager of this little slice of heaven. Unlike some wine tastings, which focus on larger pours of a handful of wines, this was a marathon. Meekk served over 20 wines, about 1oz each, and after each dram, we discussed what I liked, what I didn't, and she took notes. I joined the wine club and, for each quarterly shipment, Meekk uses the notes she took during our tasting to specially choose the wines I receive. Each shipment is curated to my particular palate.

So here's one from the last shipment - it's a red blend from Mora Estate, a Windsor, CA-based winery founded by Fabiano Ramaci in 2009. Mora Estate is the only California winery dedicated to making-Amarone style wine.

This wine is a blend of Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, Molinara, Negrara and Cabernet Franc - so grapes that resemble a traditional grape bill of Amarone della Valpolicella. According to the label - "our Valpo is a combination of passito (semi-dried) and ripasso (re-ferment) method that resembles a baby Amarone style wine." You'll recall I reviewed a gargantuan bottle of Amarone della Valpolicella back in October, so I am familiar with the style somewhat. But, of course, any wine made in a particular "style" - especially if it's made in the New World to replicate an Old World style - is going to be interesting. The name of the wine, "Valpo", is a direct reference to Valipolicella.

Pours a blood red color in the glass; projects quite the aroma...chocolate, dark berries, and a touch of alcohol esters.

Like a true Amarone, this wine delivers a butter-smooth texture and somewhat-sweet flavors of candied dates, figs, and dark grapes. There's a dose syrupy sweetness, like Chambord liqueur almost, paired with a soft oak that's present but not front-and-center. I didn't detect any sherried notes, as I did with the Cesari. The Mora variant seems savorier than its Italian counterpart, which is nice, and the finish is quite long and really coats the mouth. I was tasting this wine long after swallowing.

Wow, OK, we have a winner here. I loved this - the texture was perfect and the savoriness is definitely up my alley. It's not that I don't like fruit-forward wines, but there's something about a full, savory, well-balanced red that really hits the spot. At $54.99, this was a one of the more expensive bottles I've ever had, but well worth it and something I'll get again. Authentic Amarones are at similar price point, so this isn't overpriced. If you're looking to pair this with food, try something heavy - a steak or some lamb and barley stew.

And if you ever find yourself in Sonoma, definitely pay La Bodega a visit - it's absolutely worth it and is the best mail-order wine subscription you can get. You'll be supporting a small business, too.