Ale to the chief--that's a good one

The July/August issue of DRAFT magazine lists the top ten beers for patriotic drinkers:

10. Ale to the Chief by Avery Brewing Company: It was Teddy Roosevelt who envisioned the “speak softly and carry a big stick” diplomacy and Avery takes that to heart with his big, bold double IPA. Hoping to be a hit at the Democratic National Convention in August, this “presidential” pale ale is a play off of the “imperial” classification that originated in England. After a few sips of this hopped monster, speaking softly should prove difficult.

9. Independence Pale Ale by Independence Brewing Co.: Brewed in memory of the original American pioneers of Texas—those volunteers who sacrificed blood in an effort to break from Mexican control—this beer flaunts the battle cry of Gonzales: “Come and take it!” It’s made with Northwestern hops and barley, and the taste finishes much cleaner than any of the battles fought on Texas soil.

8. Freedom Double IPA by Elk Grove Brewery: This IPA, available only during summer months, is not only brewed in honor of our freedom, but it also presents another American ideal: giving back. For each pint purchased, 25 cents are donated to charity. And with 65 pounds of hops used to brew each batch of this massive beer, the whole experience will leave a good taste in your mouth.

7. Presidential IPA by Diamond Bear Brewing Co.: The name says it all, and so does the slogan: “A Beer Fit for a Head of State.” Perfect for any July fourth parade, the bottle is wrapped in red and white stripes; a nice replacement for Old Glory in those flag waving moments. The hop selection, reflecting our strongest diplomatic relationship, features a strong portion of American Cascades allied with British Fuggles and Goldings.

6. U.S. Pale Ale by Capital Brewery: Based in Middleton, Wis., Capital Brewery keeps this selection simple, noting that the beer features “hops with an American accent.” With assertive Cascade hops making a charge on your palate and finishing with zesty citrus notes, this brew reflects our country’s willingness to shake things up a bit.

5. Bitter American by 21st Amendment Brewery:  Whether it’s a stalling economy, a political scandal or a broken foreign policy, there’s always one reason or another to succumb to bitterness. That said, this American session beer has enough IBUs to commiserate with you. With a low 3.6% ABV, feel free to order multiple rounds while exercising the right to wax poetic about our nation’s pros and cons.

4. General Grant ESB by Sequoia Brewing Co.: Ulysses S. grant fought in the Mexican American War, served as a general in the American Civil War became this country’s 16th president and guided southern states through the strenuous Reconstruction—it’s safe to say this man deserved a beer, if not a beer name after him. Paying homage to his British roots, this English bitter using Kent Goldings hops.
3. Samuel Adams Boston Lager by Boston Beer Co.: Samuel Adams, father of the American Revolution, fueled the fire of independence from Britain and found time to indulge in the practice of brewing. Once a household name for residents of Boston in the late 1700s, Samuel Adams has returned as a prominent fixture in the craft beer movement.

2. Liberty Ale by Anchor Brewing: Introduced to the masses in 1975 to commemorate the bicentennial of Paul Revere’s midnight ride from Boston to Lexington, this beer is an ode to American history.

1. General Washington’s Tavern Porter by Yards Brewing Co.: The First American president was a fan of Philadelphia porters; he even developed his own recipe for personal consumption. Based on that recipe, this 7% ABV porter is a trip back to the dawn of modern democracy. 

Cheap hooch takes gold

At the Florida State International Wine Competition this month, a new brand, Oak Leaf Vineyards from California, took home the gold. With 84 wineries competing in chardonnay category, only four received gold medals and Oak Leaf was the biggest bargain by far, at a suggested retail price of, um, $2.97.

Available in five varietals (chard, pinot grigio/chard blend, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and white zinfandel) Oak Leaf Vineyards wines can be found at Wal-Mart and most grocery stores.

The word "recession" swirling around, tax time around the corner--a $2.97 winner sounds good to me. Here are tasting notes from the blog Cork'd:

"This chard is certainly nothing earth-shaking, but it's quite drinkable, and better than many I've tried. The nose is sour and citrusy, with a little oak and vanilla. Something floral, too, maybe honeysuckle? The taste is slightly oily but with solid acidity. Sour, refreshing, and a nice finish. There was something at first that was strident, but it disappeared as the wine warmed in the glass. GREAT value."

Talk for aspiring cork dorks

Loved Chris Sherman's Naples Winter Wine Festival story today. That's some seriously pricy hooch. For folks who are interested in wine but just learning, I thought a list of varietal descriptors might be helpful for your own next tasting. Wine's vocabulary can be somewhat intimidating, with each varietal getting its own set of key words. You might print out copies of this to see if you recognize the smells and flavors in the wines you taste.

Whites:

Sauvignon Blanc: Strong varietal character. High acid, vegetative/herbaceous (grassy, bell pepper, green olive, herbs), citrus (lemon), fig (especially if Semillon is blended in), melon, unripe fruit (apples, peaches), “kitty litter” or wet eucalyptus leaves, oak/vanilla if aged or fermented in oak. Should be bone dry (but if oak aged, might seem slightly sweet).

Chardonnay: Not very strong varietal character (much “Chardonnay” character—buttery, creamy, toasty, vanilla qualities—comes from oak aging, not the grape itself). Apples, pineapple, citrus (lemon), clove or cinnamon. Can be high-acid and light-bodied or full-bodied with more oak character.

Gewurztraminer: Fruity (peach, tropical such as passionfruit, guava, papaya, lychee), floral/perfumey (rose, gardenia, honeysuckle, orange blossom, jasmine), honey, spicy (allspice, pepper, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, ginger, curry). Bone dry to medium sweet, can have a bitter finish.

Reds:

Pinot Noir: Fruity (strawberry, cherry, plum), smoky, earthy/mushroomy, floral (violet), spicy (black pepper, sweet spices e.g. cinnamon, clove, nutmeg), oak/buttery/toasty, woodsy/herbal, tobacco leaf, tar, leather, meaty, bacon, fat.

Zinfandel: Made in several styles (white or rose, nouveau, fruity-berry, claret-like, late harvest, port). Fruity (blackberry, raspberry, plums, prune, raisin, blueberries), spice (black pepper, licorice, cinnamon), oak/vanilla, chocolate.

Merlot: Smooth, mellow, “round,” “soft tannins,” fruity (cherry, black cherry, plum, orange rind), coffee, tea leaf, sometimes woodsy or herbal, oak/vanilla, spicy (black pepper, “bake shop” spices).

Cabernet Sauvignon: Complex, intense, can be quite tannic, especially when young, fruity (cassis, berries, cherries, plums), cedar, “cigar box,” oak, vanilla, herbaceous (green pepper, green olive, mint, eucalyptus), chocolate, coffee.

Unsightly dental problems

So, what's the third Thursday in November all about? It's important, ranking up there with Halloween and, in certain circles, Groundhog's Day.

Anyone?

Thanks for playing and we have some nice consolations prizes for you.

Here's the hint: See Chris Sherman's most excellent story today. (UPDATE: SHERMAN HAS HIS TASTING NOTES FOR THIS YEAR ONLINE HERE.)

My first third Thursday of note was in 1990. I was 22 and in my second month of cooking school. Poor as heck, I was living in a one-bedroom apartment with my college room, with whom I'd moved to San Francisco. To put on airs we'd say we lived in Nob Hill, but really it was the seedy, down-the-hill beginning of the Tenderloin. I overheard people talking about Beaujolais Nouveau on my walk back from school in the afternoon. Something about free wine, and lots of it, a big party, French cafes offering free nibblies. Um, count me in.

There was a concentration of cool French cafes downtown in a little alleyway--Cafe Claude, Cafe Bastille and one more I can't remember. They were pouring deeply purple, fruity wine that perfumed the whole alley with something like blueberry and flowers. As a street party, it was da bomb: there were cheeses (first time I ever tried Explorateur) and one place served tiny croque monsieurs, everyone was celebrating, not to mention there was a serious density of adorable men with even cuter accents. People around me were talking about carbonic maceration, the gamay grape and somebody named Georges Deboeuf (to see ole Georges' tasting notes on the 2007 vintage, go here).

Whatever. Just pour me some more of that there Juicy Juice.

It didn't end well. And it took three days before my teeth were no longer stained deep purple.   

Wine Whine

What’s a reasonable wine mark-up in restaurants? It seems like generally I see roughly two times or two and a half times the restaurant’s cost (which is wholesale, not the retail price). Some of this mark-up can be attributed to the cost of temperature-controlled cellaring, serving, decanting (oh, well, sometimes), stemware, washing the stemware, etc. But really, wine mark-up is where many restaurants make their real money.

A lot of places don't have a consistent mark-up across the board. It's a sliding-scale strategy whereby less expensive wines carry a higher mark-up and the most expensive bottles are more modestly marked up. Same with food, meaning the food cost for a $20 chicken dish is actually $3, but the $35 rack of lamb costs the restaurant $20. Food cost is determined as an average of all dishes.

So, if a restaurant pays $6 for a bottle of wine, it could command a wine list price of somewhere between $12 and $18. A wine that costs the restaurant $60 might be priced at $120. Thus, the better "deals" may be had at the higher price points on the wine list.

This all make sense? Anyone have strategies for getting a good deal on restaurant wines?

Return to Sender Part Two: Poor Pours

There are only a few real reasons to send a wine back: if it’s not the wine you ordered, if it’s not the year you ordered (vintages vary wildly, so getting the advertised year is important) or if there is something technically wrong with the wine.

Says Pelagia Chef Fabrizio Schenardi, “The wine can be tricky sometimes, because there are a lot of things that can be wrong. The worst thing for a wine is for it to be corked. Then it is perfectly fine to send it back.”

A corked wine is simply a wine that has a defective cork. You’ll know this because when you are presented with the cork it may be mildewy smelling and excessively wet or bloated on one end. The wine itself will have a wet cardboard smell. Once you suspect this is the problem, call it to your waiter or sommelier’s attention, asking them to smell or taste the wine, too. Almost every restaurant will take back a corked wine.

Yo ho ho and a bottle of...

That's right, kids. August 16 is National Rum Day. Which is why the Weekend section on Thursday contains a rum-addled line-up of Pinellas beach bars. Think I missed the best one? Bring it...

But before we get embroiled in beach bars, I'd like to pause a moment to consider rum.

First, best use of rum in a refreshment?

1. Mojito
2. Daiquiri
3. Mai Tai
4. Zombie
5. Piña Colada (thank you, Rupert Holmes)
6. Hot buttered rum
7. Cuba Libre

Rum refreshments I like the sound of but have never seen personally (you bartenders out there, think about bringing some of these old chestnuts back):

1. Barkis is Willing
2. Blighter Bog
3. The Immaculata
4. Elephant Lips

New rum product that piques my curiosity:

267 Infusions mango- or pineapple-infused Barbados plantation virgin rum. It evidently won a Gold Award at the 2007 World Beverage Competition. That sounds like a seriously good spin on a mojito.

Alright, now, about those beach bars. What did I get wrong?

 

Stupidest alcoholic beverage

It's Friday, which gets me thinking about beverages I should not have consumed.

The sake bomber. First there is the cajoler, urging those weaker or more easily influenced to take the challenge. The shot glass is taken up in the left hand and dropped, in tandem with all tablemates, into the glass of beer. A moment of fizzing, small tidal waves, then the beer is hefted with the right hand and consumed in a few giant gulps. The shot glass nudging at one’s lips, this is a game of speed. If those at the table are unable to say, “Geez, that was a bad idea” in Japanese, the table resorts to short whooping sounds.

This is the kanji for "sake?! what was I thinking?"

Any other contenders for most moronic quaff?