Evil Twin Brewing Co. - "Christmas Eve in a New York City Hotel Room Royal Suite Edition"

Well, Merry Christmas. I'm not in NYC this time, nor am I in a hotel room, but this random single I got at Irving Wines and Spirits is appropriate enough for tonight. It's from Evil Twin, and is a 12.00%  ABV imperial stout made with marshmallow, coconut, vanilla, and cocoa nibs. It's sweet, definitely strong on vanilla. I can get some marshmallow in there, not much coconut. It lacks any barrel-agee notes, which I guess might be expected, but is notable given the overall format and ingredients.

A big beer - something I'd expect to have sitting on a rooftop somewhere in Chelsea, closing out the Christmas season. 

Elder Pine Brewing & Blending Co. - "Gjærkauk" Norwegian smoked amber

I visited Irving Wines & Spirits recently on my daily walk, and the owner Jesse was in the middle of receiving some new stock of beer. I immediately recoginzed the black and gold cans as beer from Elder Pine Brewing & Blending Co.  out of Gaithersburg, MD. Aside from their cool can art, they're known for Nordic-influenced beer styles and hops. 

Always one for checking out some new fresh drops, I inquired about it. One of the four-packs on the counter was "Gjærkauk", a 7.20% smoked amber ale aged in bourbon barrels for a full year. Nice! I'm a big fan of smoked beers (and even visited the ancestral home of smokebeer in Germany back in May) so I had to pick it up. One more thing about this - it was canned the day before. Less than 24 hours old, this literally some of the freshest beer you can possibly get. Sold. 

Deep amber in the glass, and generates a heavy layer of roasted and smoky notes: tracks for a smoked amber ale. No surprises here!

Where I AM surprised about is the flavor - it's not smoky at all, but sweet. There are some roasted notes there, but it lacks any true smoke flavor. Instead, there's a bready sweetness, something I'd expect more from a Belgian dubbel than a smoked amber ale. It's quite sticky, too, with lots of lacing on the glass. 

A nice fall beverage! Super fresh, a little sweet, and a nice weight - great for fans of lighter "dark" beers, if that makes sense. Fun fact about the name: in Norwegian, it means "yeast scream", referring to a tradition of Nordic brewers screaming various magic phrases / complaints into the yeast. You can read more about this here. 

Blue Duck Tavern's Fall Menu - A Must-Try!

Anyone familiar with DC's West End restauarant scene knows the Blue Duck Tavern - the airy and warm restaurant located inside the Park Hyatt on 24th St, NW. It's been on the scene for quite some time, and features a lot of farm-to-table offerings with a focus on local, sustainable producers. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit for an exquisite chef's table exposition, led by Chef Andrew Cleverdon and supported by the fantastic front-of-house team. 

While I could write for paragraps about the presentation, flavors, and intense thought that goes into each dish, I'm going to focus on two of their cocktails served prior to dinner (OK, I'll talk a *little* about the food at the end.) But I want to focus on the cocktails, devised by head bartender Alyssa Steptoe, who was on hand to introduce each libation. 

"Rum Bunny"

The Rum Bunny was the first cocktail we tried, and it's quite visually striking. The base spirit here ius apple-infused Parrot Bay rum mixed with Gosling's Black Seal rum. I'm a big fan of Gosling's as a mixer so that was good to see. The cocktail's appearance has murkiness reminiscent of mulled cider. Very autumnal.

What's interesting here is the adjuncts: house-made carrot shrub, carrot-ginger syrup, lemon juice, and a salt solution, garnished with a cayenne salt rim and a spiralized heirloom carrot garnish. As per usual with Blue Duck Tavern, most of these ingredients are crafted in-house. When working with adjuncts, especially syrups and cocktail vinegars, a delicate balance needs to be struck to ensure the cocktail doesn't become "top-heavy." Here, the rum is quite subtle, and this cocktail is remarkably balanced. The carrot garnish made it a little difficult to drink, which has a silver lining that it forces the drinker to take small sips and savor. It's not particularly vegetal, which is suprising and good!

This is what I call a "first cocktail" — a complex cocktail best enjoyed as your first of the night. 

"West End Sour"

Named for the neighborhood of DC in which Blue Duck Tavern is located, their "West End Sour" is a take on a New York Sour and the second cocktail we were served. Traditionally a sweet, short drink consisting of whiskey, a sweetener (usually simple syrup) and lemon juice, BDT's version uses yuzu, plum, and cinnamon to give it an autumnal spin. That garnet red color? Port wine, to serve as a stand-in for simple syrup. 

It's a bit sweeter than I was expecting, likely due to the addition of Port. Fortified wines are fun to use as adjuncts in cocktails, so I'm glad to see that (ask me about the use of sherry or Madeira, too!) 

The addition of yuzu, an East Asian citrus fruit, adds to the levity without fighting with the other ingredients. It's a good choice for guests who are looking for a heavier, sweeter, after-dinner cocktail. I wouldn't recommend having this with dinner. 

If you're not a fan of rum or whiskey, their fall menu also includes cocktails with clear spirits, such as a vodka/Combier/cranberry highball; and Earl Grey-based mix of gin, sparkling wine, and Licor 43 (if you haven't tried this, please do so immediately); and the cleverly-named "Tulum It May Concern", an agave-heavy combination of tequila, mezcal, pineapple, jalapeno, lime, and spiced honey. And of course they have a zero-proof option. 

And the food? Amazing. Chef Cleverdon brought out a wide sample of culinary magic, to include marrow bones, perfectly salted and savory; a whole roast duck, aged for hours and hours to make the skin crispy and the meat melt-in-your-mouth; oysters, greens, roast vegetables, and a savory sauce perfect for spooning. After a dozen passed dishes, we were served dessert - a carrot cake topped with light and soft frosting. 

Blue Duck Tavern is a fanastic spot for cocktails, date night, or a special occasion. This was my first time, and I'll certainly be back. 

Other Half / Monkish Brewing - "JFK 2 LAX" triple IPA

I've been seeing a lot of Other Half stuff lately, and at the risk of covering yet another, I figured I'd spotlight this as it's not something I've seen before. This 10.20% ABV triple IPA is a collaboration between Monkish Brewing out of Torrance, CA. It's made with a smorgasbord of hops: Citra, Simoce, Moteuka, Citra Cryo, Simcoe Cryo, Citra Incognito, and Motueka Hop Keif. What's interesting is that it's listed as having a "High Density Hop Charge," which isn't something I've seen before. In researching it, it looks like it was actually coined at Other Half to differentiate this process from double-dry hopping. 

This approach uses hop pellets (which are often used in brewing, vice traditional hop flowers) and cryo hops, a type of concentrated hop pellet. Other Half then uses Incognito, a hop oil extract, to deeply saturate the mixture during brewing. So using the three different formats of hops - not to mention several species within - definitely lives up to the moniker "high-density hop saturation." Let's look inside.

Cracked open this 16oz can and it pours lazily into my Fremont snifter. It generates a decent aroma, lots of sticky citrus. 

Phew, this is heavy. Quite soft, but full of flavor and a very thick mouthfeel. "Dense" is almost a good word to describe it, almost like drinking tequila mixed with OJ. Not in terms of flavor, but that same "heavy" feeling and texture. There's a wave of super sticky, super resnious hops. And lots of them. It's a little sappy, not super sweet, but delivered in a Mike Tyson punch to the palate. I'm getting mango and clementine. As expected, the flavor really lingers on the palate.

I promise this is the last Other Half I'll review for a while. I was intrigued by the name and wasn't disappointed - fans of super thick East Coast-style IPAs should definitely seek this out. At $26 for 4pk of 16oz cans (at least, that's what it was at Irving Wines and Spirits) it's not cheap, but I think stands out somewhat from the rest of the pack of 3x IPAs, what limited "pack" there is of that format. 

Ragged Branch Distillery - Special Barrel Pick for the Four Seasons in Georgetown!

Recently I attended a very fun wine event at Bourbon Steak, the restaurant in the Four Seasons in Georgetown. Aside from the delicious vino and charcuterie, I was given a behind-the-scenes look at a special whiskey only found at the Four Seasons: a special barrel pick from Charlottesville, VA-based Ragged Branch Distillery. 

This distillery, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, was helped along by the late Davd Pickerell, the genuis behind some great distilleries I've visited: J. Reiger & Co. in Kansas City; the revival of the distillery at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate; and Virginia's Copper Fox...to name a few. We used to sell a good number of Ragged Branch products at D'Vines, including their blue label bottled-in-bond which was *super good.* So naturally, when I had the chance to try Bourbon Steak's new offering, I jumped. 

The limited-edition bottle is twice-barreled and double oaked, using charred American white oak, individually labelled and numbered: bottle #106, batch #2305. It's wheated, so a bit divergent from most bourbon that is made usually from corn. What's also different here is that this bourbon is cask strength - 126.56pf, or 63.28% ABV. 

That's a lot, if you can't tell. 

I tried it two ways - neat, initially, and then with a few drops cold water to open up the spirit. Cask strength whiskies are normally diluted down to "regular" strength (40% ABV, usually) so the process of diluting cask-strength spirits at the bar is a normal one. 

On the nose: as expected, LOTS of alcohol esters, strong oak, and...raisins. Interesting. 

On the palate: definitely wood forward, toothy wheat - like the sheaf, not the germ. Alcohol rounds out the  Of note: no leather or tobacco. No corn, just wheat all day and lots of flavor from the oak. 

Diluted: much softer (as expected) and the wheat becomes a bit sweeter. It loses its bite and although it's a bit easier to sip, I feel that it loses some important flavor notes. 

Finish and aftertaste: Alcohol, oak, raisins, and some lingering soft wheat. 

Verdict: Really good. I don't rate things or assign number scores, but as a high-octane whiskey, I'd definitely enjoy this neat and recommend it for fans of strong American whiskies. The mash bill isn't unusual and really shines through without the need for ice or water. 

Bonus - I had one of the house specialty cocktails, "Yo, You Got Beef ?", comprised of Wagyu fat-washed bourbon (using Washington State's Woodinville Distillery), Cocchi di Torino vermouth, house-made spiced orange bitters, and topped with a dried orange slice...then smoked.  

Fat-washing essentially blends lipids (here, fat from Wagyu beef) into some other substance and then the whole thing is frozen, the fat scraped off, and the other liquid retained, which keeps the flavor of the fat. In this cocktail, it imparts a refined, full-on savory flavor, pairing nicely with the wood-smoking. The vermouth is present but not overwhelming and the spice of the bitters provides a refreshing snappiness on the tongue.

Do yourself a favor and check out Bourbon Steak - it's well worth a visit for both the bourbon and the mixed drinks!

Kings County Brewer's Collective - "Demon Dragon" pilsner

I saw this single 16oz can at Each Peach Market in Mt. Pleasant, DC, and figured I'd give it a shot. It's a 5.20% ABV "Slovenian style" pilsner from Brooklyn's Kings County Brewer's Collective. That's kinda ironic since I'll be in Brooklyn this weekend! 

The label art is cool, and reminds me a lot of what Adroit Theory puts out. I will say that demon dragons, which I presume to be formidable and fierce creatures, aren't what I picture when I think of a pilsner. 

What's under the hood: malted barley, water, and a bunch of hops I don't recognize: Styrian Dragon, Bobek, and Savinjski Golding hops. Seems neat, I'm curious to dive in. 

Flavor wise, it's an interesting twist as it's a bit sweeter, and a bit heavier, than the pilsners I'm used to. It's not crisp and dry like an Italian pils, nor is it attenuated and thin like an American one. It's sort of like a light golden ale. The barley comes through pretty well and gives the beer a good structure and nice body. For me, this is more of a late summer / early fall beer, but I still enjoyed it. 

Rakia - A Look into Balkan Brandy (with Ambar Restaurant!)

One fun thing about today's cocktail culture is that consumers are exposed to new spirits and styles they may not be familiar with. Sure, one can walk up and down the aisles of Total Wine or some other place and see all sorts of unfamiliar liquids, labels emblazoned with words in foreign languages. But how many of us will buy a bottle off the wall without trying it first? Well, I will, but most of us won't. 

So this is where restaurants come in, and many places that feature world cuisine are realizing there's a curiosity on the part of consumers when it comes to indigenous spirits. Onesuch "newcomer" to the wider American scene is rakia:

Rakia is a fruit brandy common in the Balkans, usually made from plums, which have a high yield and are pretty easy to grow. Because of influence of the Balkan neighbors like Austria, Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire, rakia is also made form apricots, grapes, cherries, and quince. Pretty much any fruit can be used, but those are the most common ones. Wash the fruit, pop it in a barrel and add sugar, and let it sit. If you've tried ouzo, Metaxa, Sambuca, grappa, or even Mastiha, you're in the right neighborhood in terms of texture and presentation. Typically, it's taken neat, like schnapps, and served chilled or room-temp. 

If you've never heard of this, I can't blame you - it's not a common spirit here in the US...yet. Recently, I sat down virtually with Uros Jojic, director of operations for Ambar restaurant, to give us a glimpse into rakia and it's cultural connection to the Balkans. 

Let's start at the beginning: rakia started, and continues, as a folk beverage. “Traditionally, everyone was making their own [rakia]. Many people produced in the home, as there were few factories." Any farm or household would have the simple equipment. 

"At the end of September, after harvest when the farm work is mostly done, [people] would take some of late season fruits that are ripe and maybe starting to ferment on their own...and then distill them." So this ad-hoc distilling, essentially using "waste" fruits (not to say the fruit is bad, but maybe just leftover), was a great way to make some low-proof hooch easily. But it's not just for getting a buzz - it's part of the culture. 

"Rakia is part of the social glue in the Balkans," says Uros. "Every house has some on hand, and you'd offer rakia to guests even before water." Friends would get together over a glass or four of rakia, it would be served at lunchtime, or even in the early morning. Some households that make their own may have rakia aged in wooden barrels up to 25 years, saved or the most special occasions like big social gatherings, toasting weddings, and celebrating births.

Rakia isn't moonshine and it's not some bathtub gin. Much like the US has experienced a craft distilling boom in the last decade, there are now distilleries in the Balkans region making high-quality, farm-to-table rakia. Investments in improving distilling processes, sanitation equipment like autoclaves, and scientific controls give distillers in the Balkans the ability to make high-quality rakia for export. 

Speaking of - Ambar has around 30 types, if you're curious. There are plenty of "white" or clear rakia, but for those who like their rakia a bit sweeter, there are also variants dosed with cherry syrup. Ambar has a plum-based rakia that’s infused with honey, which they serve for dessert. Uros recommends sweeter rakia at the end of the meal, and the more bracing stuff before to open one's appetite before the meal.

Since cocktails are a great way to introduce US audiences to different spirits, the mixologists at Ambar are whipping up some rakia cocktails as well. Personally, I think the sweeter variants could replace liqueurs like St. Germain or any brandy in a cocktail (as opposed to, say, replacing vodka with rakia) but many rakia are nice enough to take center stage. Although mixing rakia with other stuff is not traditional, there's still room for out-of-the-box thinking. 

One more thing, about one of my favorite accessories - glassware. Rakia is traditionally served in narrow glassware with a metal top. Uros notes you can use a grappa glass for the finer stuff, but the narrow glasses originally served to limit the offensive aromas coming out. Fortunately, that's changing, so grab your favorite glass and try some rakia. 

 

Caves Bernard Massard - Luxembourgish white wine!

 After a lengthy stay in Paris in May, I took a train southeast to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It's a tiny country, just under a thousand square miles with less than 700,000 people...significantly smaller in population than Delaware and well under half Delaware's size. I visited the largest city, Luxembourg City, which is the home to the Parliament and the Grand Duke's palace. 

I joined a small group of folks to do a three-hour walking tour of the city, which included some samples of Luxembourgish wine. And since alcohol laws in Europe are not as Puritanical as in America, we could enjoy our refreshments outside on the main square without fear of the gendarmerie taking issue. 

The stuff we tried was Caves Bernard Massard, an estate located in Grevenmacher on the banks of the Mosel (Moselle) River. Calcium-rich clay soil and steep vineyards provide good sun and make spectacular white wines - like today's a Brut selection made of Chardonnay, Pinot blanc, and Pinot noir. I absolutely adore Pinot Blanc, as both a single varietal and in a mix, so I enjoyed this quite a bit. Refreshing, lightly acidic, and full of crisp and clean pear flavors. Very refreshing and perfect for a walkabout in an ancient European city!

Wine Tasting at Archibon - A True French Wine Experience!

Despite knowing a lot about wine, there's always more to learn and more to experience, so I booked a two-hour wine tasting event through AirBnB during my time in Paris. After walking from the 11th Arr. all the way to Sacre Coeur and through Montmartre, it was time for wine. 

Rue de Rougement

The event was held at a wine bar called "Archibon", owned by an ex-financier named Henri. The shop is located on Rue de Rougement, and of decent size, with wine crates lining one side and a series of small tables along the other. Like many of these AirBnB experiences, I was paired up with a motley group of other tourists, most of whom were American. 

After some explanation of French wine regions and a discussion about tasting notes, we dove into our spread. Along with bread, Henri served us five wines paired with five cheeses. The cheeses were:

• Saint-Félicien - soft white cheese made in the Rhone valley
• Ossau-Irraty -  cheese made of sheep's milk in the Pyrenees 
• Cantal - uncooked firm cheese produced in the Auvergne region
• Fourme d'Ambert - blue cheese from central France
• Truffled brie - made 50 kilometers east of Paris.

Henri says that these "classics" would likely be found at any Parisian cheese shop, such as those on the Rue de Bretagne in the Marais (not far from where I stay in the 10th near Jacques Bonsergeant), Rue Poncelet in the 17th Arr., by the Eiffel Tower, and of course those in Montmartre. 

I've loved French cheese for decades, thanks to my high school science teacher Mr. Sturgeon, who introduced me to "Say Cheese II", a now-defunct cheese shop on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford, CT. 

Onto the wine! We had the following in succession, with notes from Henri:

•  Sauvignon blanc from the Loire valley (Menetou-Salon) - a mix of lime / citrus / grapefruit, pear / peach / green apple and a bit of chalk 
• Chardonnay from Burgundy (Vezelay) - red apple / quince / honey, smoke / nuts and butter
• Gamay from Beaujolais (Cote de Brouilly) - red berries, floral - light-bodied 
• Pinot noir from Burgundy (Bourgogne Côte d'Or) - berries, plum / prune, smoke, pepper - medium-bodied 
• Syrah/Grenache blend from Vinsobres- this one reflects the common marriage between syrah and grenache: dark berries, prune, chocolate, medium-roast coffee.
• Cabernet / merlot blend from Bordeaux (Médoc - left bank) - oak / pepper, earthy flavors, currant / blueberry

A big part of the wine tasting was also the conversation - the group discussing their travels, their tasting notes, and how they enjoyed Paris. Really a perfect backdrop to a nice afternoon out, and next time I'm in Paris, I'll definitely be back to Archibon. You can find all the wines we tasted there, at 13 Rue Rougemont Paris, Île-de-France 75009.

                    

Brasserie Goudale - Biere Blonde a l'Ancienne // Gallia Paris - Champ Libre

Here's a French beer double feature! Thanks for Franprix, a local grocery store, for the singles of beer. I saw these while picking up my goodies (charcuterie, baguette, and cheese) for dinner. Always a sucker for beers I've never tried, I grabbed it for the princely sum of 6 euros for both.

First up is a 7.20% ABV Biere Blonde from Brasserie Goudale. I'm digging the 16oz format. It pours clear amber in the glass and generates a puffy white head. It's a little sweeter than expected, with some Belgian farmhouse spices mixed in with a traditional amber ale. It's also lighter in body than most amber ales are, which is nice for warmer weather.

Gallia: this is definitely closer to a Belgian white beer than a German-style amber. Hazy, with notes of clove and banana. Also medium-light in body, and less bready than the Goudale. There's more hops here for sure - a nice counter to the meat and cheeses I'm having. 

It was nice to have these singles and to try French craft beer - I imagine most are of these styles but it would be neat to see if there are any Euro craft cellars doing IPAs or hoppy beers. 

Beer flight in Amsterdam!

Well, I'm in Amsterdam. For those unaware, I've decided to spend about 18 days on vacation in Europe, hopping from one locale to the other and trying the local libations (among, you know, checking out places of historical, intellectual, and artistic import.) I'll be in Paris next, then Luxembourg, then German, then Lisbon, and finally (very briefly) through Casablanca, Morocco before heading back stateside. Watch this space for snapshots of my journey, and follow my Instagram @baconesque for more. 

After a morning spent at the Rijksmuseum, I headed south through the Museum Quarter for about a half-mile to Gollem's Proeflocall, a cafe on Overtoom street. I found some good reviews online for it, and they feature a broad spectrum of Euro craft brews, so why not?

The service staff was super friendly and very helpful - my server also studied for a semester at University of Maryland and knew some DC places I've been to, which was cool. The way beer flights work here is to pick one or two you are interested in, and then leave it to the staff to choose the others. You can also get cheese pairings with the beer, which I did not do (but maybe should have.) On the menu, I noticed Jopen's "Chai-ai-ai", a chai-spiced farmhouse ale, so chose that one along with Bacchus' traditional kriek. The other two, which happened to be the first two I served, were a surprise:

A "gelato ice cream" beer, in green, with a surprisingly-thin texture. Most ice cream beers are made with lactose, and thus creamy to replicate texture, but this one was thin and soft. I didn't catch the maker or ABV as it was chosen for me. But it was probably around 6.00%. 

and Maibock: malty, slightly sweet, and refreshing. Since it's May, it's a perfect outdoor beer (Maibock is "Mai", the month + "bock", the style.)

And the final two - a tart and sour kriek from Bacchus, a traditional style using cherries. I've had high-ABV beers like this before and it's nice to have one that's a little tamer (after all, it's the early afternoon!) And the "Chai-ai-ai"...that is an apt name because this thing is *loaded* with chai flavors, projecting a strong spice drawer aroma even a foot or so away. Seriously. The flavor delivers, as well, with tons of baking spices, chai, and full malt flavors with a surprisingly-snappy finish. Like the gelato beer, this is surprising as the texture is unusual given the style and flavors. Brewers tend to stick with a certain texture or style for certain flavors, and when they diverge, it's neat. 

According to my server, an Irish tourist recently visited Gollem's and chugged the chai beers, one after another. I do not advise this! It's a sipping beer, for sure, just like the gelato and the kriek. 

On the the next one! I'm a few days behind in posting since I'm so busy but I will get to it. 

     

Conrad DC's SUMMIT - rooftop season in Washington! And a goji berry cocktail

I love a good rooftop bar, and in a city like DC, it's even more impressive. With the height of buildings limited by an act of Congress, anyone finding themselves enjoying a libation atop a building will likely have a view of monuments or famous places. I recently had the chance to visit Summit, the expansive rooftop deck of the Conrad Hotel in City Center. 

First of all, it's got a great view. It seems most rooftops I've been to are part of hotels, which makes sense. The Conrad's is not readily accessible to folks off the street - to get there, you need to into the hotel, go up some elevators, exit, turn left then right then go straight, then go left again, go up *more* elevators, and then go right and you're there. Yeah. This is kind of fun since it cuts down on the amount of people that actually make it up there. Of course, this hotel is popular with trade associations and other corporate groups, so you'll find lots of those folks up there.

The Conrad's rooftop is one of the largest I think I've been to - there's space up here for probably 200 people. It's sort of U-shaped, with the bar at the nadir of the 'U'. Low couches with huge umbrellas are punctuated by raised planters, creating some natural dividers for privacy. There are seats at the bar and a few high-tops around the perimeter of the space. I chose a high-top, which gave me a nice view of Franklin Square and straight up 10th St NW up to Silver Spring. 

For beverages, I chose their "New Perspective", which consists of vodka, goji berry syrup, cranberry, lemon, and ginger ale. Stirred, I presume, and served over ice:

It's not super boozy, which I like actually in this setting. I feel like for some vodka drinks, the tendency is to overload it with booze but that's not the case here. The goji berry is the real star here, giving the drink a dash of tartness which, combined with ginger ale, makes it snappy and fresh. It's garnished with a fresh flower, which I did not eat but oftentimes they are edible. 

For vodka, they use Wheatley, which is a Buffalo Trace product and pretty decent. It's the only name-brand item in this ingredient list. It shouldn't matter, especially for vodka and especially for a drink with as many flavors as this. But it's still a good choice I think. I had their chili-encrusted shrimp as a snack and the spice/citrus pairing complemented the drink well.

Anyways, Summit is a cool spot and worth visiting. Obviously you need nice weather to fully appreciate it but it's worth a go.  I hope to be back at some point soon to try out their other cocktails...likewise, their restaurant Estuary is highly-rated and also on my list. Since for some reason Google decided to delete, irretrievably, my other photos, here's an awkward panorama. You get the gist, though!

The Conrad Hotel, 900 New York Avenue, NW

Sycamore Brewing - Caribbean stout

I picked up this single 12oz can for $5.99 at Total Wine in Arlington, VA, last month after brunch at O'Sullivan's, where a few friends and I watched Scotland lose to Ireland at rugby. We went to Total Wine afterward and perused their huge aisle of singles, and came away with quite a few fun finds.

This is a 7.00% ABV "Caribbean stout" from Sycamore Brewing out of Charlotte, NC. This is my first beer by Sycamore, and as none us us ever had a "Caribbean stout", we all grabbed one.

I did some research on Caribbean stouts, and was interested to find quite a bit of scholarship on the topic. Traditional wisdom suggests that in hot, steamy climates, people drink cool, crisp refreshing beers. This is oddly not the case, with a great number of darker, heavy beers being manufactured across the region (most notably Jamaica.) 

So this one is extra hopped, which is fun for a dark beer and unusual. It makes sense, though - kinda like how IPAs (India Pale Ales) started as ales heavily fortified with hops as preservatives, so it would last the long schooner journey to the Raj from England. 

Striking can. I love it when brewers used colored can blanks, pop tabs, and sealing caps. It's fun and really gives the beer some shelf appeal. 

Pours root beer colored into the glass, and generates a short but stout (ha) head. The aroma is soft with a particular herbal quality that's intriguing. 

There's a major dose of dark chocolate up front, with a few touches of caramel and toasted bread. In the middle, I've getting some medium-roast coffee - no acidity, but not bitter or oily. The finish is where I'm getting some herbs, and a touch of piney hops but not a ton. Aftertaste is light with a bit of sweet cream.

This beer is pretty interesting and has a lot of different flavor layers to it. I very much appreciate that it it's not heavy or overroasted; I'm pretty much done with those types of beers. Along with some of the usual "dark beer" flavors like caramel, the addition of hops is an interesting, and welcome touch. Here, it's not overdone or packed with bitterness but instead delivers that herbal quality which goes well. The texture is soft but not creamy and the hops don't impart any bitter or resinous qualities - it's all herbs.

Overall, I like it and is worth trying. It's a nice counter to dark, roasty beers and a good "spring stout" if such a concept exists. 

"Beck is Back" - a review of one of my favorite places in DC (for District Fray)

I've been going to Brasserie Beck for well over a decade, and finally got to feature them in an article for Fray. 

https://districtfray.com/articles/brasserie-beck-is-back/

You may recall I also interview Dean Myers, then-beverage director, back in 2017: https://vinesandleaves.blogspot.com/2017/03/field-trip-interview-with-dean-myers.html

L to R: their coconut-encrusted espresso martini; and the "Atlantic Boulevard", a strawberry-basil-infused margarita. Both are great! 

 All photos courtesy of Brasserie Beck.

SAVOR DC is not returning

I recently read that SAVOR DC, the all-you-can-drink food and beer pairing event, won't be coming back to DC this year. I'm of two minds on this: on one hand, I very much enjoyed (most) of the times I went. SAVOR was my first big event to which I was invited, and holds a special place in my heart for that reason. Pre-pandemic, it was held at the historic National Building Museum and was always such a good time: I got to enjoy some amazing beers, meet some interesting folks, and try breweries I've never heard of. The food was always tasty and there were even pre-event parties with brewers at places like Meridian Pint. We'd always leave with bags full of free samples. 

Last year, the event moved to the Anthem, and while I enjoyed it, there were some issues. Besides getting Covid-19 from the event last year, I had an unfortunate experience with Brewer's Association staff. I'm normally a pretty relaxed kind of guy, but I felt unfairly treated. While a follow-up call did a lot to smooth out those ruffled feathers, including a promise to change some procedures, it looks like they opted not to do the entire thing.

I do hope another event takes its place and gives the good people of the DC area a chance to enjoy delicious food and beer in such an august setting. While the craft beer movement has moved somewhat away from its heyday, when breweries would push the envelope and create crazy-good beers, there's still an opportunity for brewers to showcase their products and reach new customers. Let's hope something like that still happens in DC. 

Afternoon Cocktail: Pineapple Coconut Pisco Sour

 
The inspiration for today's cocktail came from both an open bottle of pisco in my home bar, and a can of Lemoncocco I grabbed from Nido Market here in Mt. Pleasant. I wanted to make a fun twist on the pisco sour, and thought the addition of the coconut would give it a fun twist.

To make this, you'll need:

• 1.5oz pisco
• 2oz Lemoncocco (or lemon soda)
• .10oz lime juice
• .25oz simple syrup
• 6 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 egg white
• a few grinds of black salt

Add in all ingredients except egg whites into a set of mixing cups. Stir. Then add the egg whites, shake vigorously to foam the eggs, and strain into coupe glasses. You could garnish with herbs or a slice of lime if you wish. 

   

Sonor Wines America - 2017 Pinot Noir

 Back when I was buying wine professionally, we got a visit from the sales rep for Sonor Wines America. He was offering a small line of wines that had labels featuring artists and their music. It's not uncommon to see artists, actors, or other Hollywood-types dipping into the wine business, and with custom crush and other craft services readily available, it's easy to buy up some grape lots and release under your own name or label...if you have the money, that is. Celebrity labels are hit-or-miss, but the price was right so we picked up a few cases. 

Sonor has a wide variety of wines at a low price point, but the kicker is, and bear with me - the wines were "imbued" with music. Austrian wine aficionado Markus Bachmann figured that by submerging speakers into the wine, and playing various musical tracks, it would somehow affect the quality of the wine or create a product enhanced with additional properties. Obviously this is quite hokey, but wine is wine, so I figured I'd write about it. I got this for $4.99 on clearance at Irving Wines & Spirits, and for five bucks, it's hard to go wrong. 

This wine features music by Jesse Cook, a Canadian guitarist. The track, "Mario Takes a Walk", is a blend of Spanish-sounding guitar, nice peppy beat, with some wood blocks and light percussion. Cool. 

So "sonic" additives aside, the wine: it's a 2017 pinot noir from Austria. Nice to see a central European red. I'm not getting much aroma from the glass, but as it sits out and I volatize a bit, there's a touch of berry. Taste-wise, it's a bit sharp, a little metallic, and off-dry. There's a good dose of raspberry and plum juice; it could definitely use a few more years in a barrel to smooth out some of those flavors. The wine isn't bad - certainly not refined or perfected - but it's a fun experiment and priced appropriately and it's fun to listen to the music. It had an original price of $9.99, which is fine, marked down to $4.99 which is much more of a value. I think this would go great with pizza, actually.  

Schilling Beer Co. - "Hemel" table saison

Here's a snapshot of a single beer I picked up at Each Peach Market in Mt. Pleasant, DC. It's a 4.90% ABV "table saison" from Schilling Beer Co. in Littleton, NH. Located in a Revolutionary War-era gristmill on the banks of the Ammonoosuc River, Schilling's focus is European-style beers: lagers, saisons, and foeder-aged brews. It looks like the do some spontaneously-fermented beers (that is, beers fermented with wild yeast and whatever's in the air. All those microbes add distinct character to the beer!)

The pour is a pale straw color, and generates a lacy off-white foam. There's some green apple, Belgian spice, and a bit of earth on the nose. The aroma isn't super strong. 

In a blind taste test, I'd think this was made with white grape must. It's floral and has an unoaked Chardonnay-like quality that I haven't experienced too much before. It's quite crisp, a little hazy, and has some good baking spice notes. It has a lip-smacking finish and is light enough to have on a hot day with lunch. In fact, that's exactly what this style was intended for!  I got this for $4.99 for a single 16oz pint, so decent but not a crazy bargain.  

Other Half Brewing - "4th Anniversary is A Zombie" quad-hopped triple IPA

Other Half, based in Brooklyn with an outpost in DC, has been pumping out some pretty solid hazy IPAs lately. It seems every few weeks, I'm seeing fresh drops of high-powered beers with weird names and cool labels. They usually come in 4-packs of 16oz cans. Here's one, that just showed up to Irving Wines and Spirits in Mt. Pleasant, and I had to try. 

It's a 10.00% ABV quadruple-hopped triple IPA called "4th Anniversary is a Zombie". Now, yeah, I get it. "Quadruple dry-hopped Triple India Pale Ale." It's a lot. All these suffixes and prefixes sometimes seem a bit too much. In fact, some of the guys I used to work with at the wine & spirits store and I used to joke about the increase in such beers...there's always a "bourbon barrel aged cinnamon mocha lactose pastry stout" or "triple dry hopped oak-aged cold India pale lager" or some other wild combination. It became a trope in the industry.

Pours orange juice-like into the glass. Leaves a sticky foam on the glass. It's not a light nose, nothing significant. It's made with Citra, Galaxy, Enigma, El Dorado, Mosaic, and Citra Cryo hops, so lots of stuff in here.

It's somewhat...flat. It's soft, juicy, with a decent resinous quality, owing to the strong showing of hops. The flavor and presentation is mild, however, and there's nothing aggressive about this beer. This tracks, I think, with Other Half's other offerings...strong,. hop-heavy beers toned down in terms of texture. It's delicious, don't get me wrong, with a short finish and refreshing "juice" at the end. And, like a lot of their stuff, doesn't taste like 10.00% ABV. 

I enjoyed trying it, although it was $6.75 for a single 16oz can...so $27 for a 4pk, therefore expensive. But nice if you like juicy, soft, but boozy IPAs.

Hill Staff Homebrew Contest (District Fray)

Here's my latest article for District Fray Magazine, in which I wrote about homebrewing and the Hill Staff Homebrew Contest. This one was interesting to write as I wasn't actually able to try the beer, nor was I invited to the event. 

https://districtfray.com/articles/into-the-brewhouse-how-to-start-homebrewing/

I actually was going to do a piece on homebrewing before the pandemic; there was some guy I met who was a master homebrewer and made some cool stuff. I've reviewed homebrewed beer four times on the blog so far:

• Ministry of Beer - Beer of Socialist Labor with Oak-Leaf Clusters
• Field Trip: Breakaway Brew Haus [Bolton, Connecticut]
• Beer Flash: Chris' "Off The Topper" IPA
• Beer Flash - Christine's 2014-vintage "Oktoberfest" ale

I'm not interested in getting into homebrewing, for a variety of reasons, but it's super neat. Some of the folks I've met have really gone all out with lots of complex machinery, turning their garage into a brewhouse (which is how Breakaway Brew Haus started.) 

Aslin Beer Company - "That Shiz Slaps" dopplebock

 I am several years behind the times, I'm told, but I have now learned what "that slaps" means — just in time to grab this seasonal from Aslin Beer Co.

It's called "That Shiz Slaps" and is a 9.50% ABV dopplebock. Bock beers, originally a German style, are a classification of strong beers that are typically dark and malty. Doppelbock is "double bock" and doubles down on the original taste and flavor of bock beers. Other variants, like weizenbock, hellesbock, or eisbock, are also available. In the US market, you most commonly see bock and doppelbocks in the fall or winter.

Here's Aslin's take on it. True to style, it's malty, definitely sweet, with some caramel notes and a bit of "chewy malts" alongside an interesting grainy wheat texture. It's sweeter than I would like, but still a nice American interpretation of the style, which you often seen in 500mL imported bottles. Also, damn, it does not taste like 9.50% ABV, that's for sure. 

It's $14.99 for a 4-pack of 16oz tallboys, so not bad. This beer does, in fact, slap.