Speaking of Pumpkin Ale

The current pumpkin ales are strictly a recent invention of America's craft beer industry. But interestingly (at least to me) this is not the first time America has invented a pumpkin ale. in the colonial era when colonists were short of barley and wealthy in pumpkins they would make a beer by fermenting pumpkin juice. On homebrew.com I found that The American Philosophical Society has recipe from 1771:

Receipt for Pompion Ale: Let the Pompion be beaten in a Trough and pressed as Apples. The expressed Juice is to be boiled in a Copper a considerable Time and carefully skimmed that there may be no Remains of the fibrous Part of the Pulp. After that Intention is answered let the Liquor be hopped cooled fermented &c. as Malt Beer.

Frankly I'd like to try it. But not enough to juice a bunch of pumpkins.

It's October

Well, in the beer industry it is. One of the unfortunate aspects of the market for beer is that seasonal autumn beers do not sell after October 31, they just don't (even though November has great weather for drinking a marzen). So for years craft brewers have making their fall launch dates earlier and earlier in order give some time for the beer to sell. And so now as far as beer is concerned October starts August 1.

Anyway, the reason I brought this up is we just got in or first shipment of pumpkin ales. Sometime in the 1980's a brewer was drinking beer and though, "Needs pumpkin!" Adding pumpkin to beer may sound like a strange idea but not only does it make a delicious beer but a strikingly popular one too. So popular in fact, that it is turning into the default autumn seasonal. Which brings us to what I consider one the best pumpkin ales year in and year out one of the best examples of the style Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale. It has caramelized pumpkin flavor with lost of cinnamon and nutmeg. In other words tastes like liquid pumpkin pie in beer form. Here is what the Weyerbacher people say about it.

This 8.0% ABV pumpkin ale is the mother of all pumpkin ales. It is heartier, spicier, and more “caramelly” and “pumpkiny” than its faint brethren! We have added lots of pumpkin along with Cinnamon, Nutmeg and a touch of cardamom and clove giving this beer a spicy, full-bodied flavor. This truly is an Imperial Pumpkin ale.

Try it soon, it won't be around long.

Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rose' is Back!

This is actually a post I wrote last year about Mulderbosch's exquisite Rose'. Now, normally I don't approve of re-posting (it seems dishonest somehow). But, I'm making an exception in this case because we just got the new vintage and and the only that's changed is that it's even better.

Let's talk White Zinfandel.......or not. I'm kidding of course.....well....sorta. One of my favorite wine styles is rose'. That's right rose'. Dry rose'. It can be a wonderful expressive full-flavored, refreshing, and (not unimportantly) quite inexpensive wine. And I get everyone I can to try it. Which isn't that many, because when I show someone a bottle they look at me as if I am completely insane. At wine tastings I've had sophisticated wine customers that I've recommended dozens of wine to that they never would have tried on their own and I know that they trust my judgement that I have to go through a 10 minute song and dance just get them to taste it.

Red wine is made by crushing the grapes and fermenting the wine with the grape skins still in, which brings out all that rich color and flavor that you drink at room temperature. White wine is made by crushing the grapes and taking out the skins before fermentation making the wine light and refreshing that you drink chilled. Rose' is made by crushing grapes and pulling the grape skins halfway through fermentation that make a wine that you drink chilled that is like a red wine that drinks like a white wine or maybe a white wine that has the flavors of a red wine. Either way it can make a totally AWESOME wine. Like say, Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 and it tastes like what it is--a sorta white wine version of Cabernet Sauvignon. It has all that fruit (especially strawberry) and structure (especially herbal) that you would find in a good cab but the flavors are reserved and refreshing and won't overwhelm food. It's perfect for a hot day and at $14, it's a steal. Once I get someone to buy a bottle they come back and buy more. But the first bottle is difficult, to say the least.

It just happened again five minutes ago, a woman was making dinner for her brother--grilled salmon, I had the perfect wine took her over to our South Africa section and picked a bottle of Mulderbosch Rose' and she shakes her head and looks at me like she's slightly nauseous and says,"I'm afraid he's kind of a wine snob."

The Making of Beer and Whisky (and Cheese)

The indispensable internet newspaper "The Guardian" has a series by Andrew Connelly where he describes in loving detail how to make three of Mankind's greatest inventions.

The Science and Magic of Beer

The Science and Art of Whisky Making

The Science and Magic of Cheesemaking

And no, I have no idea why beer and cheese are "magic" and whisky is merely an art.

Also Good News For Me

And for all my fellow saltoholics.

Good News For Me

I apparently have a new superpower. I'm immune to sunburn. In all seriousness even though the title of the article clearly implies that research found drinking wine protects against sunburn, the researchers found no such thing. Instead, "They found that flavonoids in the grapes can stop the chemical reaction that causes cells to die and therefore skin damage." And they found it "invitro" meaning a test tube. Nobody put wine drinkers in the sun to see what happened. So I wouldn't down a bottle of Burgundy and go to the beach, if I were you. Well, actually I would but I wouldn't do it without sunblock.

Let's Not Panic

Clay Risen of the Atlantic Monthly has an article this month with the wordy and alarmist title of, "For American Distillers a Whiskey Crisis Looms on the Horizon" warning of an impending disaster if the mostly small distillers keep trying to find a way to age whiskey faster (meaning cheaper). Personally I think that the entire point of small distillers is to experiment. The world doesn't need another whiskey that tastes like Jim Beam after all we already have Jack Daniel's for that (I kid).

Oh The Humanity!

"An unsteady forklift dropped a container full of fine Australian wine worth more than $1 million, smashing most of the bottles."

As a side note I had no idea the wine maker of Mollydooker was named "Sparky".

Session

The article is a bit on the confusing side. But it does point out a really interesting trend in craft beers--session ales. Lower alcohol beers designed for drinking sessions..

Are You a Hipster Who Drinks Wine?

Then I've found the product for you!

Chamisal Vineyards, Unoaked Chardoney, 2009, reg. $18 on sale for $14.99

Chamisal is the first vineyard planted in the Edna valley appellation in California. It also is is unfortuntely the first one to go out of business too at least until 2008 when it was restarted in 2008 with fantastic results. This is an unoaked chardonnay, light, refreshing and, fruit driven. It is a delight to drink. A fantastic value at $18, at $14.99 it's a steal.

And We Are Back

Rich The Wine Wizard has magically returned.

Moderate drinking, especially wine, associated with better cognitive function

It's settled then.

Metacognition And Strawberry Jam

Sometimes analyzing why you like something interferes with your ability to like it. I expect it works the same for wine.

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.