Does a Post on Wine Get Me Kicked Out of the Club?

My dad and I made a trip out to Hunter Valley today. It's a few hour drive from Sydney and if you're a wine drinker, it is certainly worth the drive. I've never been to Napa Valley but it is what I would imagine Napa Valley is; you drive 100 feet and you end up at the next vineyard. We had 3 wine tastings on the trip (someone else was driving). The first stop was at Brokenwood. We tried a couple different semillons, which were very light in flavor and a little acidic. Both are great for a hot summer day and pair well with seafood. We also tried a chardonnay stored in Australian(?) Oak as opposed to American Oak. The flavor of the oak was much less pronounced; something I found to benefit the wine. We went through a couple reds that were honestly forgettable and finished with a port. The port was fantastic. Unfortunately, you can't purchase this port in the US and I'm not about to lug a bottle of wine around with me on vacation. It had a great sweet flavor to it. Almost too sweet, but not. It'd be perfect to finish dinner. The next tasting we had was with lunch. I can't remember the vineyard and no one really spoke to us about the wines. Straight up forgettable. Moving on…. We then went to Oakvale. I enjoyed a couple wines this vineyard served. There was a semillon sauvignon blanc (mixture of the semillon and sauvignon blanc) that gave a bit more body to the semillon without adding too much of a different flavor. I would buy a bottle of this wine. There was also a chambourcin that was made of the chambourcin grapes. Apparently, these particular grapes press with such a red color that the wine doesn't have to be fermented with the skin and seeds. This means there are less tannins in the resulting product…less pucker and less headache. I enjoyed the flavor of the wine in general so I think I would try this guy again given the opportunity. The last wine that we tried was a muscat. It was quite similar to the port in that it was very sweet and a great after dinner wine. I think I enjoyed this more than the port though because there were notes of raisins in this wine that were quite prevalent. You got the taste of fruit cake, which you may think is gross but isn't so bad when you're drinking this wine. I will likely order some wines from the Brokenwood vineyard as they have a distributor in the US and the order process seems to be pretty straight forward. Let me know if you'd be interested in getting in on my order.
Cheers,
Tim

James Squires Amber Ale

I'm drinking a James Squires Amber Ale right now. I asked for a nice local brew at this pub in Sydney Harbor...I didn't get a good look from the bartender so it worried me a bit that they didn't have any good brewers here. I would expect otherwise. Anyway, I ended up with this ale. It's got a nice, full body with a slightly bitter flavor and a dry finish. It's nice. I'd have it again but I wouldn't go out of my way to get it. Good session ale.
Cheers for now,
Tim

Monteith's Original Ale

I was told that the beer to try while in Auckland is Monteith's. I tried their Original Ale while I was out for Thai that night. It tasted a bit thin for what I would want. I had hoped for something a little heartier. I suppose there is a Dark that I could try. I'm not sure whether it's a porter or a stout but I would imagine it has a fuller body. The bartender in the Ice House that I'd visited earlier that day, and, yes, the bar was made of ice, had suggested Monteith's. Side note: the Ice House was pretty neat. I would have gotten a picture but I wasn't allowed a camera inside and I didn't really want to pay $10 for a photo. Anyway, Monteith's is worth a try if you find yourself in Auckland.
Cheers,
Tim

Another St. Louis Field Trip

This past Saturday, the St. Louis crew took another field trip. This time we went to the Urban Chestnut Brewing Company. UCBC was founded almost 1 year ago and has gone from brewing once every other week to three or four times per week. They are located in an old car repair garage from the 1920's, and have recently expanded through a couple walls so they can start bottling their beers. All of their beers fall into one of two families: Revolution and Reverence. The Revolution series is all about brewing new and interesting modern American beers like Hoppy von Pilsmark (a German Pilsner hopped up to be a DIPA). The Reverence series is a celebration of classic European styles like Zwickel (classic German lager) and Apotheosis (Saison). We were also fortunate to be able to try their new single hop IPA straight from the tank.

100 Best Beer Bars in the US

3 bars from the DC area make it into the top 100 best beer bars in the US.

Cheers from Auckland,
Tim

2nd Annual drS Beer Tournament

1st place:
Julius Echter - Hefe-Weiss-Dunkel (dark wheat)
Wurzburg, Germany

2nd place:
Penn Dark - Lager
Pittsburgh, PA

3rd place:
Hobgoblin - Dark English Ale
Oxfordshire, England

Heavy Seas Beer Dinner

Heavy Seas Beer Dinner
January 17, 2012 – starting around 7 in the evening

Heavy Seas ahead! Captained by our friends at Heavy Seas, and executed by our beer dinner crew at Granville Moore’s, prepare yourself for a night of crazy beers (including a cask of Loose Cannon “tweaked” by our Beverage Director Matt LeBarron & Chef Teddy), amazing food, and lots of “ARRRRG”ing.

We are still working on getting some of the more rare Heavy Seas beers, so this menu is more than likely going to change. But if anything, it’ll only be better!

MENU

Holy Sheet Uber Abbey
French Onion Soup, Gruyere, Pork Belly Croutons

Small Craft Warning Uber Pils
Cured Hamachi, Grapefruit, Fried Sunchokes, Chive Oil

Loose Cannon IPA
Sharp Cheddar Fondue, Raw Beef, Bread, Apples and House Made Hot Sauce

Peg Leg Imperial Stout
Pan-Seared Snapper, Fingerling Potatoes, French Beans, Vanilla-Imperial Stout Cream Sauce

Marzen
Warm Smoked Duck Breast, Brussels Sprout “Kraut,” Potato Cake, Toasted Fennel and Red Chili Butter

Really Loose Cannon (Matt & Teddy’s Creation)
Paired with *something special*

To lay claim to ye spot at the feast, give us a shout at the restaurant at 202.399.2546.