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Texas Craft Brewer’s Festival

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I had an awesome time at the Texas Craft Brewer’s Festival yesterday with my friends Scott & Roy. There is some seriously good beer being made in and around Austin. If you like craft beer you should definitely attend next year. (Come early for shorter lines.)

Here were some of my favorite beers from the day (can you tell I like ’em hoppy?):

Empire (barrel-aged IPA) from Real Ale in Blanco, TX

Cask-conditioned Wytchmaker (rye IPA) from Jester King in Austin, TX

A Cascadian dark ale from Southern Star Brewery in Conroe, TX (not sure it had an official name because it was a pro-am winner’s beer)

Fire Eagle Ale from Austin Beerworks in Austin, TX

Blur Texas Hefe from Circle Brewing Company in Austin, TX

Stash IPA from Independence Brewing in Austin, TX

Bruin (American brown ale) from (512) Brewing Company in Austin, TX

Pale Horse (American pale ale) from No Label Brewing in Katy, TX

 

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10 Most Ridiculous Pairings in Wine & Spirits August 2011

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I really enjoy Wine & Spirits magazine. I’m a subscriber. Of the major wine publications in the US, it’s the one I end up spending the most time with. I like it because it stays focused on the wine, not the wine (insert air quotes) lifestyle.

But the one thing that always makes me laugh are the food pairing notes in the individual wine reviews at the back of the magazine.

I classify them into 4 main categories:

  • The Impossibly Specific
  • The Hopelessly Obscure
  • The Practically-a-Recipe
  • The Day-Planner

While I call them ridiculous (and they are), I have to admit they’re kind of fun. I look forward to reading them in a can-you-believe-this kind of way. And they are evocative even if they aren’t terribly useful.

Having said that, below are the 10 most ridiculous examples from the most recent issue, August 2011:

The Impossibly Specific

“…would match well with steamed asparagus – or the fried clam and pickled strawberry sandwich at No. 7 Sub in NYC.”
Paul Jaboulet Aîné 2010 Côtes du Rhône Parallèle 45

“For the parmesan-crusted chicken at Jean-Georges in New York.”
Fantinel 2009 Collio Vigneti Sant’Helena Pinot Grigio

“It will come in handy for early fall dinners of roasted eggplant and the season’s last stuffed tomatoes.”
Vaeni 2006 Naoussa

The Hopelessly Obscure (so obscure, it has to be italicized)

“Decant a bottle for pasta wth rabbit squazet.”
Gravner 2004 Venezia Giulia Breg Anfora

“Then decant it for bavette.”
Wind Gap 2008 Sonoma Coast Syrah

The Practically-a-Recipe

“A rosé for a chicken fricassee with button mushrooms, cream and plenty of herbs.”
Domaine de l’Hermitage 2010 Bandol L’Oratoire

“Check it out this winter with a rabbit stewed with cinnamon and tomatoes.”
Vaeni NV Makedonikos Semi-Dry

“For spit-roasted pigeon seasoned with juniper and bay.”
La Castellada 2004 Collio Sauvignon

The Day-Planner

“…like the soppressata it might accompany on a picnic in Muir Woods.”
Failla 2009 Sonoma Coast Pearlessence Vineyard Pinot Noir

“Chill it for an evening by the lake, with fresh-caught perch on the grill.”
Henry of Pelham 2009 Niagara-on-the-Lake Chardonnay Musqué

 

Keep ’em coming, Wine & Spirits! Perhaps one day I’ll have the pleasure of reading in your pages the perfect wine pairing for human breast milk cheese (eaten whilst strolling around Piazza Navona, of course).

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Mourvedre Monday #26 (Tetra-Pak Edition): Y+B Monastrell

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Welcome to the first tetra-pak edition of #MourvedreMonday. Yellow+Blue (Y+B) sells wine from organically grown grapes in environmentally-friendly 1-liter tetra-paks. (Yellow + Blue = Green. Get it?) They source wine from a number of locales, including Malbec and Torrontes from Argentina, Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, and this Monastrell from Spain. This is the first varietally-labeled Monastrell in tetra-pak that I’ve come across (and I’ve see a lot of Mourvèdre/Monastrell/Mataro). I have to admit, it was kinda weird pulling a carton out of my mini-cellar, but I got over that quick once I poured the wine.

Price: $12 for 1 liter

This wine was provided as a sample for review by the winery.

Tetra-pak

 

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Spicy berry fruit on the nose, with a dusty herbal character. Palate is full of sappy blackberry fruit, laced with exotic spice notes and a hint of smoked meat. A light tannic astringency on the reasonably lengthy finish. Definitely worth picking up if you want an inexpensive introduction to Monastrell or just want a tasty, fun-to-drink wine that fits a green lifestyle. B

UPDATE: Another review of this wine has gone up at The Passionate Foodie. He liked it, too. Check it out.

Price: 16-20 bucks, Tasting Notes

Cleavage Creek Trio

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I am long overdue to review these wines from Cleavage Creek, kindly provided as samples by the winery. I had been waiting to do some sort of tie-in with Breast Cancer Awareness Month or something like that (Cleavage Creek donates 10% of gross sales to various breast cancer research organizations.) When I heard the awful news last month that the winery’s owner Budge Brown had died in a plane crash, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. Rest in Peace, Budge.

Note: each of these wines is priced at $18, though I received them as press samples from the winery.

Cleavage Creek Tracy Hills Merlot-Shiraz 2007

Tasting notes: Though it’s labeled “Merlot-Shiraz” it’s more Shiraz (67%) than Merlot (33%). Using the Aussie name for Syrah, tips you off to the style. Very dark in the glass. The nose is fruit-forward and fumey. A little something sour or pickley in there, too. On the palate, the wine delivers loads of sweet (almost pruney), fruit but wrapped in a smooth texture that I think many will like. It’s big and full-bodied, reminding me of Zins with punny names like Zinsanity or Livin’ in Zin. There is a note in the background, perhaps a faint Syrah-ian peppery prickle, that keeps it from total mayhem. Finishes cleaner than you’d expect; despite its’ fruitbombiness, I’m left wanting another sip. C+

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Cleavage Creek Tracy Hills Secret Red 2007

Tasting notes: The website says it’s 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Shiraz, leaving 15% unknown (that’s the Secret, I guess). On the nose, it starts out more subtle with the fruit than the Merlot-Shiraz, but by day two has opened up considerably with a heady red & black fruit aroma. I also get a bit of the pickled note I got on the Merlot-Shiraz. On the palate, it’s certainly fruit-forward with big cherry/berry flavors, but a cranberry tartness keep things in check. Finishes clean. My favorite of the three. B-

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Cleavage Creek Tracy Hills Chardonnay 2008

Tasting notes: A pretty appley/melony nose, half-buried by oak. On the palate, the oak dominates the faint melon & honey flavors. Waxy-textured, it could use more acid. Kinda what I expect from a new world Chardonnay. The nose makes me wonder what might have been if they’d dialed back the oak and let the fruit shine. C

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Overall, these are well-made fruit-forward wines. Not the style I’m into these days, but plenty of people will like these. And you can’t beat the cause.