Dogfish Head Red & White

While visiting Teri's Package Store in Higganum, CT today, the salesman mentioned a new brew I might be interested in. Dogfish Head Red & White ($) is another in their "big beer" series -- larger bottles, crazier ideas. Normally I try to stick to their 60 minute IPA for drinking, or their 90 & 120 minute IPAs and Old School Barleywine for cellaring. I find much of what they do to be "stunt brewing", which inevitably leads to bad ideas in a bottle.
Red & White caught my interest because, as the salesman informed me, it's aged in Pinot Noir barrels. I just couldn't pass that up. Turns out this beer has "pinot juice", coriander and orange peel added, then 11% is aged in pinot barrels, while the rest is aged in oak. The result is a fairly standard witbier meets fruit juice. My first impression, tasted in a "misc. white" wine glass, was of popcorn. Don't ask, I'm not sure why. It took a few sips, but then I got the coriander, then a strong vanilla, and finally black pepper. While the initial impression is disappointing, letting this beer breathe a little does wonders.
I tasted this beer at room temperature. Beer Advocate recommends 45*F, so I'll have to pick up another one. They also recommend using a pint glass or pilsner glass, both of which I tried, but stand firmly behind my decision to use a white wine glass.

My suggestion is to buy a bottle of this and break it out at the beginning of a "beer night" or booze cruise, and share it amongst friends. This isn't a beer that will leave a lasting impression, but is still worth trying, especially to those uninitiated into the world of "stunt brewing".

This beer has no characteristics that would lead me to try cellaring it. This is a buy once, drink once beverage.

Imperial Stout Trooper

Elm City Wino, why have you neglected us the past few days? Well, kids, it's the end-of-the-month, which is a busy time for the wine industry. After such long days (40 hrs. in 3 days), I'm not feeling up to a good bottle of wine. So we've gone back to my first love, craft beer.
The fellas over at New England Brewing have released their new stout, Imperial Stout Trooper ($). It's another of their limited-run beer-in-a-bottle deals. (NEBco is usually known for their artistry in cans). The bottle design is themed after Star Wars, font and all. Damn you, Google, for not having a pic. up yet.
Normally when a brewer "themes" their beer, it's because the beer sucks. This is not the case with IST. While there is a slight nod to Guinness, there are some delightful hints of coffee, licorice, and nuts.
I first had the opportunity to taste this beer during its unveiling at BAR during the St. Patrick's Day Parade. I found it to be a little too carbonated on tap, but after catching the same carbonation in the bottle, I am excited about the possibility of aging this beer. I look forward to opening it in about 5 years and feeling like I just opened a 50 year old Russian Black Ale.
Wine Thief and Amity Wine & Spirit have some left to take home. (I got mine at Northeast Beverage in Killingly, CT where it's hidden in the back room). Carlos at Firehouse 12 has a few left for by-the-bottle drinking, while Delaney's and Eli Cannon's in Middletown have it by the cask (or at least will in the next few days).
ed. note: eli cannons is the effing bomb

Some tasting notes: This beer is just as good at room temperature as it is from the fridge, if not better. Straight up pint glass.

Cheers.

Tonights Wines. Steltzner Sauvignon Blanc and Cenit

Steltzner Sauvignon Blanc 2005 ($$) - is described by the experts as "Intense and lovely, with distinctive earthy, herb, lemongrass, and quince flavors". Truth is, it's horrible. There is an overpowering alcohol content, and an awfully flattened taste. In the immortal words of Sir Robin, "Run away! Run away!!".

In order to wash the tastebuds of the previous mistake, a bottle of Cenit was opened. Cenit 2003 ($$$) leaves you with tastes of dark red fruits and sweet spices, with a lingering hint of licorice. The grapes, Tempranillo, are grown under harsh conditions in the Zamora region of Spain. It is found in the States as one of the Jorge Ordonez Selections, which are almost always a sure fire hit. Wine Spectator gives this wine a 91.
Translation? This wine is best had during a rooftop candlelit dinner. Never share this wine! Keep it to yourselves, you greedy bastards!!

Glassware

Not many of us can afford Riedel. IKEA's Svalka 18-pack is still just $10, and when you break a few after an all-night wine binge, they're easily replaced.

Storing Wine in a New Haven Apartment

Whether aging a collectible, or just keeping some extra bottles handy, properly storing wine can be difficult for 'Haveners. Most of us lack any type of cellar, or any real extra space.

When you don't have access to a genuine cellar, what are you to do?

First. Do you have any cellar access?
Many New Haven area apartments have some sort of basement storage area. Best case scenario is a locked "cubicle", worst case a random corner. If you have secure basement storage you are already ahead of the game. Get yourself over to IKEA and grab a rack that suits your needs.
The cellar should be a constant 55*F. While that may not always be possible, keep in mind that any temperatures down near the 30's will "numb" the wine (making it taste flat). Any temperatures up into the 80's will bake the wine, even slowly. Temperature fluctuations up and down will cause the wine itself to expand and contract, sucking air into the bottle, causing "oxidation". Most area cellars are built deep enough into our fine New England bedrock that the temperature should be quite ideal for our purposes.

Second. No cellar access? If you have the funds, get yourself a wine cabinet, a.k.a. "the wine fridge". I asked for this one for Christmas. A decent wine cabinet will have varying temperature control. The better ones will control temperature and humidity.

Third. No wine fridge for Christmas? Me neither.
Wine responds unfavorably to light. You're going to need a closet. Wine also dislikes excessive vibration, so keeping it under the sink or next to a motor or heater is out of the question. When using a closet, try to use one in a room that is air-conditioned during the summer months, if possible. If you're not using A/C, then try to find a closet towards the middle of your building, away from windows and any heat sources (baseboard heaters or air vents, etc.). Purchase a humidifier to be kept in the closet -- taking into consideration what items will need to be relocated from the closet. Bottles should be kept on their sides. This helps keep the inside of the cork wet, and effectively airtight.

Fourth. It's going to get hot soon.
If you are worried about a heatwave, it's probably time to drink the wine. Invite a few friends over and have your own wine-orgy. Or host a friends-only tasting. Or invite me over.

Fifth. Should I even be saving this stuff?
Unless you're getting into the $30 and up range, there really is no point in aging a wine. Wines that age best have high acidity, tannins, and sugar while young. All these act as natural preservatives. Some wines to consider...

• Big California Cabernets, from reputable producers. Caymus ($$$+), Beringer ($$+), Dunn Vineyards ($$$+), Robert Mondavi ($$$), Rudd ($$$+), Steltzner ($$+), Hess Estate ($$), and Staglin ($$+), are all good starting points.
  
• French Bordeauxs and Burgundies, red and white, from "Cru", "Grand Cru", and "Premier Cru" producers are a good bet. 2005 Bordeauxs, not yet available, are anticipated to be one of the best vintages in quite some time, so all you cellar-renters out there should keep these in mind.
• Champagnes will age well. Try to avoid N/V, or "non-vintage", champagnes for aging purposes. These are blended to create a consistent taste year to year, and while they will age, they will not do so as gloriously as some of the others. For example, a Clicquot N/V Yellow Label will fetch a $$$, whereas a Clicquot La Grande Dame 1996 will set you back $$$$+.
• Italian Barolos, French and German Gewurztraminers, and vintage ports are also good bets for the beginner.

When keeping wine for a very short amount of time, we can throw most of these rules out the window. Wine is delivered by noisy, unheated trucks with poor suspensions, afterall, so breaking the rules a little bit is generally okay.
The most important lesson, my fellow apartment dwellers, is that you should really just keep enough wine on hand for a couple weeks. This ensures you both some of the selection and all the quality that you would expect from a St. Ronin Street basement.

Cheers!

Tonight's Wine. Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir

Mo made a Vegan Caesar Salad from the Little Vegan Monsters cookbook tonight, and it's light, creamy dressing led to a Pinot Noir.
Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir '04 ($$) is a rich wine with big aromas of cherries and dried herbs. It is a medium bodied wine grown in Marlborough, New Zealand. Don't let the screw cap fool you, this wine will leave you with a long aftertaste of red fruit and a licorice sting that will linger on the sides of your tongue.
Translation? Buy this and impress your friends.

Today was the Vegan Cupcake Eating Contest at Fuel Coffee in the Wooster Square neighborhood. The contest was to celebrate the release of the Little Vegan Monsters' Cookbook.



I did well, consuming 11 cupcakes in a 5 minute bacchanalia of sugary glee, and breaking the unofficial world record of 10. Advancing to the second round in a head to head bout with Nick the Vegan, I opted to save my stomach, and offer him the win. I instead ate one cupcake on china with silverware. Topless.

It got me thinking about pairing wine with cake.
Bonny Doon's Muscat Vin de Glaciere ($-$$) It's typical-to-the-genre's jasmine meets cinnamon aroma is accentuated by a zesty citrus bang. And that means? This wine is sweet. It's not too expensive for a 375ml bottle. It'll go well with, or as, dessert. Serve it cold, ideally in a chilled port glass, but a champagne flute will suffice.
Bonny Doon Vineyard is an ecclectic producer of decent value wines.
Others to try would be a sweeter German riesling, or bubbly moscato d'asti.