The End of History

Brewdog has made a 55% alcohol "End of History" beer. They made 12 bottles at $800 each. They, of course, have sold out. Interestingly, it's served in a dead squirrel for some reason. And as to why it's called "End of History" I'll let them explain:

The End of History: The name derives from the famous work of philosopher Francis Fukuyama, this is to beer what democracy is to history. Fukuyama defined history as the evolution of the political system and traced this through the ages until we got the Western Democratic paradigm. For Fukuyama this was the end point of man’s political evolution and consequently the end of history. The beer is the last high abv beer we are going to brew, the end point of our research into how far the can push the boundaries of extreme brewing, the end of beer.

Stirrings Liqueur $12.99

Stirrings the company that produces my favorite drink mixers. Unlike almost all other mixers Stirrings actually uses real juice. I've literally have had customers who prided themselves on squeezing their own limes give it all up once they've tried Stirrings mixers. But now they've have decided to expand their brand with a new line of liqueurs. A very new line of liqueurs. As in-- "not only can't I find any mention of them on the Stirrings website I can't even find a mention of them on the whole internet"--new. But I know they exist they are in the store, I'm selling them. And I've tasted them, which is actually the important part because just like they're mixes they make the liqueurs with real fruit. Something that is unheard of at this price. I realize this post is starting to sound like a press release for Stirrings but I can't help it. It's not my fault that using real fruit rather than flavorings to make liqueur much more complex with brighter flavors and makes better mixed drinks.

Stirrings Liqueurs

Triple Sec---Aggressive orange zest flavor.

Pomegranate---Taste like fresh pomegranate juice.

Peach---Ever tasted a ripe peach from the tree? Like that.

Ginger--Spicy and tangy. I'm already imagining what kind of drinks to make with it.

Espresso---Rich dark coffee. I rarely get real espresso with this much flavor.

Apple---Granny Smith to be exact, it actually makes an Appletini seem like a good idea.

A Bit Off Topic

One of my odder hobbies is reading about ancient history. Recently, I've been listening to a lecture series on Europe in the Late Antiquity/Early Middle Ages, specifically the Goths. Not the mopey black-clad teenagers but the fur-clad German tribe that ravaged the Balkans in the third century. Now I already knew that Roman writers complained incessantly about how bad the Goths smelled but I always chalked it up to the standard Roman contempt for the non-urbanized who don't have access to baths. I might owe those Roman writers an apology (not that they'll care, being dead and all), because the Goths liked intricate hairstyles. And their preferred hairstyling product? Butter. Rancid butter. No bathing and rancid butter for hair gel? Yeah, I think the Romans might have been justified in their complaints.

Hugl Weine, Gruner Veltliner 2009 $10.99 (liter bottle)***

People have started to come into the store and ask for an Austrian varietal, Gruner Veltiners. At least I think that's what they are doing most of the pronunciation is a little iffy. This German varietal tends to be pronounced along the lines of, "groo...uhh...grooirvleti...huh...?" which can be difficult to differentiate from people trying to say Gewerstraminer "guh ..I mean...gehvreets..um..?" Not that I'm critizising of course, german words tend to be quite long and always seem to be missing a few vowels somewhere and frankly not only can I not figure out how to type the "U" with an umlaut in "Gruner" I'm not quite sure what an umlaut is supposed to indicate (yes I know, it's the Internet and I could just look it up...so I did). Anyway, I think we are all going to have a lot of practice pronouncing "Gruner Veltliner" (grooner velt-leener) because this a fantastically refreshing white wine at a lubriciously low prices. Case in point--Hugl Weine Gruner Veltliner 2009. The first thing you notice is that the wine bottle looks funny--kinda big and it is. Unlike most other places in the world wine tends to show up in liter bottles I don't know why. but $10.99 would be great price for 750ml, for 1 liter it's insane. This wine is a full bodied and crisp white wine with a mineral base and lots of delicate citrus and tropical fruit notes.***

Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Hops

And more.

Mader, Pinot Blanc, 2009, $15.99 ****

Admit it, you have not spent a lot of time thinking about Pinot Blanc. Even though it's been around for a little less than forever. And it is one of the grapes that can show up in Champagne blends. But it's true it doesn't come out as a varietal in the U.S. too often. It ends up getting swamped by oceans of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio on the market. And that's unfortunate because Pinot Blanc can make a really nice little. Especially from Alsace (kinda like the German part of France--the cuisine involves an awful lot of pork in sausage form) which is where this lovely wine from Mader is from. It's got a rich, almost Chardonnay mouth feel but without losing the crisp refreshing feeling and citrus fruit you get from a good Sauvignon Blanc balanced with lots of soft tropical fruit notes all together lovely and really over-delivers for the price. If you've never had a Pinot Blanc before this is a great place to start. ****

Update: If you look closely at the picture you might notice that it is a bottle of Reisling and not Pinot Blanc. That's because the wine is so obscure I couldn't find a decent picture on the internet. Of course I find no one else knowing about what a good wine this to be part of the fun.