Racer 5 India Pale Ale

Had first w/Neil (also in California from bevmo)

best. "regular". ipa. ever.

this is the gold standard. hands down.

Kwak

Y'know, just wasn't that impressed. wasn't much there.

had @ the BBC and previously

Ommegang Three Philosophers Ale

part of Ommegang variety pack

You can definitely sense the kriek without getting the cherry - very well balanced overall. Full flavoured, tasty. Rolls around nicely on the tongue. Definitely something to drink on its own.

Piraat

multiple times around the city

love it! orange! tasty! noms noms!

La Chouffe

$9/draft BBC

tasty - very hazy (there wasa a mirror phrase on the back pf the glass but it was too thick to see through to there?). "coriander" on the nose - didn't get it, but perhaps in a different setting

Grimbergen Dubbel

$7/draft BBC

it's tasty, but thin

Poudou 2008 Carignan

$6.99/astor

it's fantastic! tasty, deep, good with food.

 

Color: Red
Vintage: 2008
Country: France
Region: Languedoc-Roussillon
Sub Region: Coteaux de Peyriac
Producer: La Tour Boisée
Grape Variety:  Carignan

The Wolftrap 2008 Syrah Mourvedre Viognier

$10.99/union square wines (FD)

very well balanced, perfect with marinated skirt steak. light tannins, easy going well still being quite full. not exactly the most exciting, but friendly

Zweigelt, Dürnberg Falkensteiner Rieden - NV

8.99/LTR/astor

Color: Red
Vintage: NV
Country: Austria
Region: Lower Austria
Producer: Weingut Dürnberg
Grape Variety:  Zweigelt

very easy - not particularly memorable, but definitely a good party red.

Teatro 2009 Chardonnay

Mendoza, Argentina, $6.99/astor

baked apples on the noise - it's not well balanced. a bit too high acidity, and unlikely to be food friendly. reasonably enjoyable on its own.

D'Violon 2008 Cotes du Rhone

$7.99 @ cork&bottle

not a kick in the face kind of cotes du rhone - really not much to think about, but does a good stew justice.

does not last past 1 day int hef ridge -- got very strange aromas and taste (metallic?) afterwards

Mandolin 2008 Pinot Noir

jee & mark brought up for osso buco night

it's very... high? sharp? completely opp of barbaresco.

Villadoria Serralunga d'Alba 2005 Barbaresco

$21.99/cork and bottle

had w/osso buco chez moi

didn't stand out in particular - might have been a bit too young

Fleur du Cap 2007 Pinotage

Delicious! Had it at jee's place w/korean food

bought for $14.99(?)/cork and bottle

Evans & Tate 2006 Sauvignon Blanc

completely uninteresting / too sharp =/

$6.99/astor

Excelsior 2006 Shiraz

Kind of blah

$5.99/astor

Xingu Brazilian Black Beer

kind of sweet, smooth, very different from anything I've had before.

First tried at Brewtopia 2009, also had at Sigiri (BYOB), $10 or something from whole foods for 6pk

ReLeaf 2007

Click any of the links to view more:

Color: Red
Vintage: 2007
Country: South Africa
Region: Western Cape
Grape Variety:  Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Shiraz

Very tannic-y, definitely needed to breathe for a bit. Not particularly special either way

Two Oceans 2007 Pinotage

Ah, well it's alright

Two Oceans 2007 Sauvignon Blanc

A good mix of acidity and fruit flavor - definitely alot of "tropical" fruit notes. Delicious!

Had in S. Africa for like, 20 rands or something. Great w/fish

Fonseca Porto Bin no. 27

Mrm, it's pretty alright- decent. Doesn't stand out in any way

Oracle 2008 Pinotage

Fantastic! A little less "musky"? than other pinotages I've had in the past - really it's own animal. Would be great with steaks and grilled meats.

$5.99/astor

Oracle 2009 Sauvignon Blanc

Mrm. It's kind of off. Takes a day to mellow out, but it's still rather sharp and doesn't bring anything

Western Cape, South Africa

$6.99/astor

Man Pinotage 2007

Coastal South Africa

quite good! a little less tannic-y, more approachable, very food friendly. a little on the sweet side, but no problems

had at madiba in fort greene, $30

Aleatico from Elba

had at Marea w/Gianduja (hazelnut and fior di latte gelato)

oogooggmgmm nom

USQ 3rd birthday bash tasting

particular standouts

lieb family cellars  NV bridge lane cabernet france (north fork, long island)

Benito Ferrara 2007 Aglianico "Passo del Lupo" (Campania, Italy)

Fratelli Revello 2007 Dolcetoo d'Alba (Piedmont, Italy)

Scholium Project 2008 Riquewhir Lost Slough Vineyards (California) - really quite somethin'

Fuccawee Family Vineyards 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon

Chauteau Cazal Viel 2007 Saint Chinian Cuvee des Fees

Colosi 2006 Rosso (Sicily, Italy) - only affordable one

USQ Wines Mother's Day Preview

5/9/09

Standouts I liked

Willm 2007 Gewurztraminer Reserve (Alsace, France) 13.59 - lychee lychee

Duval-Leroy NV Brut Champagne (Vertue, France) 35.99 - nutty

Duval-Leroy 1996 Femme Brut Champagne (Vertus, France) 71.99 (350mL) - very fungal... amazing

Domaine Guillard 2004 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru les Corbeaux (Burgundy, France) - wow. smoke!

 

Uninteresting

Chateau Lamothe de Haux 2008 Grand vin Blanc (Bordeaux, France)

Villa Jolanda NV Prosecco (Veneto, Italy)

Domaine Durand 2007 Sancerre (Loire Valley, France)

Ch. des Ducs 2005 Bordeaux

Bordeaux Superieur 9.99 @ astor 2005

its fantastic! vvery well balanced. had w/steak. smooth and full of flavour.

Wellies Sauvignon Blanc

$9.99 @ astor

delicious! a superb very approachable, easy, but distinctly new zealand sauvignon blanc. staple

Cape Indaba 2008 Chenin Blanc

there's something slightly salt-water, brackish unfortunately.

its dry, and definitely could go with food.

South African Spring Safari Tasting

Raats 2008 Chenin Blanc $10.39

Raats 2007 Estate Chenin Blanc $22.39

Raats 2007 Estate Cabernet Franc $29.59

Mulderbosch 2008 Sauvignon Blanc

Rudi Shultz 2004 Syrah $27.99

(none of the above were particularly interesting)

Kanonkop 2006 Estate Pinotage $31.99 - delicious! very pinotage-y tasting

De Toren 2005 Fusion V $39.99 - wow. chocolate chocolate smooth smooth chocolate. fantastic

Klein Constantia 2004 Vin de Constance - $43.99  lychee lychee l

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

$10/6pk @ whole foods

home run! what a great well balanced beer. hoppy and bitter, but just the right amount so. tons of flavour, just buckets of flavour.

Smuttynose Really Old Brown Ale

$6/12oz @ ginger man

very tasty smooth, though slightly overly sweet -- it tasted alot higher abv than it was. quite enjoyable.

Evans & Tate Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon

Color: Red
Vintage: 2005
Country: Australia
Region: Western Australia
Sub Region: Margaret River
Grape Variety:  Cabernet Sauvignon

$8.99 part of top 10 under 10 april

alot lighter than expected -- kind of tastes like what if aussies made cabernet sauvignon. chocolate and fruit scented, like a shiraz but less spicy nose. its actually a little thin, but with decent tannins in the back. naturally, inexhaustively drinkable.

Marqués de Cáceres, Blanco - 2007

 

Color: White
Vintage: 2007
Country: Spain
Region: Rioja
Grape Variety:  Viura

$7.99 from astor

must be *very very* cold. stuffed it into the freezer and then it was perfect, smooth, dry - oh so dry. like hemingway. otherwise not very good.

Kelso Pilsner

had @ charlestown in wburg - $5 pint w/free pizza nom.

delicious! great full flavour and refreshing.

USQ Wines Pinot Parade

4/4/09 @ USQ

Calera 2006 Pinot Noir (Central Cost, CA)- *shrug*

Au Bon Climate 2007 Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara County, CA)- easy

Montinore Estate 2007 Pinot Noir (Willamette, OR) - hallo acidity! can deifnitely see this with seafood. a big of a lemon pucker

Talley Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir (Arroyo Grande Valley, CA) - FANTASTIC! Amazing light and balanced flavour. Nom nom nom.

W.H. Smith 2006 (Sonoma Coast, CA) - *shrug*

Ponzi Vineyards 2007 Rosato Pinot Noir Rose  (Willamette Valley, OR) - a fantastic crisp and dry rose. very clean and refreshing.

Hinman Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir (Oregon) - thin

Praxis 2007 Pinot Noir (Monterey, CA) - thin

Plowbuster 2006 Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, OR) - *shrug*

Trapiche 2008 Pinot Noir (Mendoza, Argentina) - nom nom. very different, a bit darker, heavier, jammier, than the lighter styles that had been at the tasting. quite delicious though

Flying Horse Royal Lager

had with dinner @ Vatan w/the DIHL

as indian beers/macrolagers go, it's really not horrible. light, just a tiny bit shy of crisp, innocuous taste. had with fiery hot gujarati food and i'm really not convinced its the best match (then again, what could be besides a calming lassi?)

Sam Adams Double Bock

Had on draft @ Ginger Man

it was just awful. recommended by the bartender over the climax doppelbock, but easily the saddest bock i've had before. it was *very* sweet, infuriatingly so. had an off-taste in the back. i'm falling out of my infatuation with sam adams :/.

Southampton Secret Ale

Brewed by:
Southampton Publick House
New York, United States
Style | ABV
Altbier |  5.10% ABV

had @ becky's. asked the waitress what kind of beer it was, to which she answered, "it's a local darker ale." which is basically what the label said, except secret means... darker. very helpful.

anyhow, it was decent. nothing spectacular. i figure its a brown ale or something, but a fairly bland version of one

Church Brew Works Sleigh Wrecker

Brewed by:
Church Brew Works
Pennsylvania, United States
Style | ABV
Winter Warmer |  7.00% ABV

wasn't super thrilled. it was definitely drinkable, just indistinguishable

Atwater Voodoo Vator

had on tap @ spuyten duyvil

Brewed by:
Atwater Block Brewery
Michigan, United States
Style | ABV
Doppelbock |  9.50% ABV

it was good! fantastic; my favourite bock so far. great clarity of flavour and just the right amount of backbone. nom.

Don Q Grand Añejo Rum

had at the don q tasting facility by the docks in old san juan, puerto rico. very small shopfront... thought it would be more! ah well, it was decent. definitely not something i would buy at $45/bottle. lacking flavour, but the finish was long, nutty, with a bit of burnt molasses.

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

had at bar near san juan international airport (called "buffalo wings"... strangely enough, had the best beer selection, and crowd, in San Juan. all were northern california craft breweries) was only $5/glass; you can't get it for that much around here... came way too cold, and the waitress could only describe it as "some russian beer" 9% abv its a solid russian imperial stout; though quite honestly, I don't think I've ever met a Russian Imperial Stout I didn't enjoy

Blue Star Wheat Beer

had at bar near san juan international airport (called "buffalo wings"... strangely enough, had the best beer selection, and crowd, in San Juan. all were northern california craft breweries) this is fantastic. not too "wheaty", with just the right type of body for the flavouring. quite enjoyed this. 4.5% abv, from north coast brewing http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/beer-BlueStar.htm

Radeberger Pilsner

had this a couple times in new york, i think at lorelei. also had in puerto rico, from a random liquor store in fajardo. i don't remember initially thinking this was a particularly special pilsner, but right after medalla lights, this was f'ing fantastic! tasty, nutty, yet refreshing. a good all around pils

Medalla Light

as light beers go (really, 98cal?), its really quite good. goes down easy and has an inoffensive taste. semi-OD'd on this in puerto rico though. its great until you have a sip of a real beer (radeberger in our case). then you just start crying.

Joel Gott 2007 Sauvignon Blanc

9/glass @ flex mussels

wow. talk about not working with mussels (o_x;

Smithwick's Irish Ale

irish red ale, 4.5% abv

g & p brought over for st paddy's day celebrations

well... mrm, its not terrible but it does kind of taste like a macro lager version of an ale.

La Burgette 2007 Beaujolais-Villages

7.99 at astor

Color: Red
Vintage: 2007
Country: France
Region: Burgundy
Sub Region: Beaujolais
Grape Variety:  Gamay

Fruity

very light transparent garnet colored

oof, that was unexpected. its got a firm backbone. not thick at all, but very dark bitter in the back. had with steak, it was good. not very tasty though. just too tannicy at the end of the day... a limited food wine

Peroni Lager

had @ party.

wow.

tasteless.

yay macrolager.

Brooklyn Brewery IPA

$9.49/6pk @ food empo (they have horrible selection but non-gorging prices)

its good, but not super exciting. nice and easy for a party.

Ch. Bonnet, Entre-Deux-Mers 2007 White Bordeaux

$7.99 @ Astor (on sale)

Color: White
Vintage: 2007
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
Sub Region: Entre-Deux-Mers
Grape Variety:  Muscadelle Sauvignon Blanc Sémillon

Mrmm, nom nom. Had with chicken curry @ g's. worked quite well. been a while, so forgot the exact characteristics. it's good though.

Cantina Ronchi, Riviera 2006 Sangiovese

$5.99 @ astor

well. it is easy, and dry, good for cooking (used in eggplant bucatini... ow, really feeling that in my stomach now). not bad for the price, and i can definitely see this with pizza or burgers. not great either tho.

Astor 2009 5th Annual Natural Wine Tasting

Oh the sadness that is natural wine...

$15 event @ astor, saturday feb 21st, 2009

A good summary of the day:
A winemaker standing by her wares, picks up a bottle of white wine and dislodges a massive cloud of sediment that rises up to the top third of the bottle. We stare, slightly aghast. She hastens to explain how the wine is natural; something how regular wine has some kind of protein glue thing dipped into it during the wine-making process that gathers the sediment (I presume its some kind of agglomeration process?).

"And i don't know about you, but *i* don't want any proteins in my wine," she ends her speech, uneasily.
Four biologists stare back at her with that "let me see your primary data" look.

Most of the wines there had an off-odor or taste, especially the reds, that highly resembled gueuzes. Now, I'm not fond of gueuzes to begin with, but at the right acidity level, they're not bad. However, that sour yeast-lab-gone-wrong scent doesn't quite belong in my wine. Maybe proteins do instead.

Domaine Didier Monchovet (Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France)
Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Beaune Blanc, Monchovet 2007 - "tastes like rancidity"
Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Beaune Rouge, Monchovet 2005 - "easy like a chinatown hooker" - B

Comptoirs de Magdala (Provence, France)
La Chance, Escapade, Amourvedre - *shrug* unimpressed stick figures. something about how these are all made from one very specific type of grape

Le Loup Blanc (Minervois, Languedoc-Roussillon, France)
Le Regal du Loup, Le Loup Blanc 2006 - (-_-) wtf?
Le Trois P'tits C, VdP Val de Cesse, Le Loup Blanc 2006 - >_<

Domaine Cousin-Leduc (Anjou, Loire, France)
Saumur Brut, Cousin-Leduc NV - dry. not exciting but drinkable o_O
Grolleau "Le Cousin", Cousin-Leduc NV - this wine has a mosquito opening a bottle of wine on the label. which is always a good sign. the 4 members of our party proclaimed
"musty"
"like rancid yeast"
"very assy"
"wet carpet"
Anjou "Pure Breton", Cousin-Leduc 2006 - smells the same as the mosquito of death, and we didn't dare try

Catherine and Dominique Derain (Burgundy, France)
"Allez Goutons" Vin de Table, Derain 2007 - "basically the soul of a lemon... their souls just happen to smell good"
"Chut Derain", Vin Mousseux Brut, Derain NV - "It's like, what if the soul of a lemon had seltzer in it."
Mercurey "La Plante Chassey", Derain 2004 - a pinot noir. well. we didn't die from drinking it.

Domaine Oudin
Chablis "Les Serres", Dom, Oudin 2006 - OK (high praise for the afternoon)
Chablis 1er Cru "Vaugiraut", Oudin 2006 - not special, not worth it

Domaine Binner (Alsace, France)
This winery was the single saving grace of the entire afternoon.
Cremant d'Alsace, Extra Brut, Binner 2004 - very dry. good, eh.
Riesling "Katzenthal" Binner 2004 - an amazingly earthy fungal riesling. I set off a chain reaction after exclaiming, "how wonderful would this be with mushroom risotto??"
B: "Oh my god. Mushroom risotto."
J1: "Wait, did someone just say mushroom risotto?"
J2: "Huh, did someone just say mushroom?"
Gewurztraminer, Binner 2005 - hallo jasmine perfume! very aromatic. quite different.

 

Natural wines = lose.

Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale

smuttynose sampler

smells of pure malt but taste has alot of hops in it, clarifying clearnessw ith backend flavor. its good, but entirely the best brown ale, but altogether not bad and perhaps a good food pairing type brown ale (with something rustic... maybe even meat pies)

Echeverria 2008 Unwooded Chardonnay

13% abv, 7.99% (on sale, norm 9.99) @ astor

very nice and clean/refreshing. i'm getting quite fond of these unoaked chardonnays. could do with more flavour though; very light.

Brooklyn Blunderbuss Old Ale

draft @ david copperfield's

fantastic! great taste. actually unexpectedly sweet, but with the right amount of backend hops. solid and drinkable. nom

Mendocino Black Hawk Stout

draft @ david copperfield's

uh... its weird. i mean, it doesn't taste bad, but it really does smell like putrid socks. not my cup of tea

Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale

 

Lovely dark caramel color. sweet potato (the american orange kind) and caramel in the nose.

oof! bitter... wasn't expecting that. very upfront hops, but also one dimensional. very clean finish however. high "drinkability"; not my favorite, but definitely has its time and place (outside. summer)

Harpoon Munich Type Dark Beer

5.6% abv part of harpoon variety pack

demerits for having an awkwardly named beer

otherwise a good mix of tasty/toasty malty with a hoppy zip . long lasting flavor without being too rich. nom.

Smuttynose IPA

6.6% abv. nom nom.

sweet on the nose. wonderfully hoppy but not overly so, with a nice citrus taste. its probably my favorite (non-dogfish) ipa sthus far.

Dogfish Head Tasting Night

@ Bar Great Harry, Tuesday 2/10/09 6-10pm  http://www.bargreatharry.com/blog/?p=793

$3/4 for ~12oz. awesome prices.

 

5 Fort

I was surprisingly fond of this; not a big fruit beer person, but this perfectly captured fresh raspberries... while still being a beer.

 

4 Midas Touch Golden Elixer

very strong honey nose, light/sweet going down. i'm quite fond of this weird hybrid of mead/beer/etc.

 

3 Olde School Barleywine

its a barleywine! surprise! but its delicious.

 

5 Palo Santo Marron

delicioso!  charred pumpkin goodness. its quite a unique brown ale

 

3 Pangea

weird and slightly confused

 

4 Red & White

interesting take on a witbier, all i remember is saying; smells like a yeast lab (not a bad thing. yeast labs smell awesome.)

 

3 World Wide Stout

its a little too big/thick for me. or i guess the problem was they only had bottles of these (12oz of 20% abv monsters).

 

5 60-Minute IPA

ah the classic; the only dogfish (well, perhaps i could do the 90 too) that i could drink more than 1 in a sitting

 

90-Minute IPA (via a DFH Randell filled with hops)

they were out by the time we got to it :(

Amstel Light

3.5% abv

i mean... its better than bud light.

the end.

Lost Vineyards Argentina Merlot

12.5% abv, 2.99/astor, no year

wow! talk about thin thin thin. the flavor itself isn't bad; just kind of generic. threw it into gluhwein and it was fine. (and this could make a great sangria in summer...)

Ravenswood Vintners Blend 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon

13% abv,  brought by a dinner guest, sonoma, california

uh... lots of berry. a little fruity- bombastic in taste, but very thin. wouldn't buy this i think

Indaba 2008 Sauvignon Blanc

$6.99/astor

excellent with sushi; its nice, not too grassy, lots of pepper.

Channing Daughters 2007 Scuttlehole Chardonnay

New York long island, unoaked chardonnay

$15.99 @ Astor, bought @ USQ 30%  off for $10.49

intense honey scent. went w/honey walnut shrimp & lots of green veggies decently. went down like water, very smooth and clean. delicious.

Serras de Azeitao 2007 Vinho Regional Terras do Sado

Color: White Vintage: 2007 Country: Portugal Region: Terras do Sado Grape Variety: Arinto Chardonnay Fernão Pires Moscato Bottle Price: $6.99

from astor

very aromatic, lots of fruit on the nose, but dry and pleasant going down. mineral at the end. nom. (does become a bit thin after the initial taste)

Smuttynose Portsmouth Lager

part of variety pack

its good, nice malty backbone for a lager. flavorful

Goats do Roam 2007 Table Red

 

Color: Red
Vintage: 2006
Country: South Africa
Region: Paarl
Grape Variety:  Grenache

14% abv, $7.99 @ Astor

Mrmm.. tasty. Lots of cocoa in the back. no fruit, all wood, bramble, and repeat. delicious, and would be fabulous with food

E. Guigal 2004 Cotes-du-Rhone

had @ y&e's place, ~$13-15

fantastic! smooth on the tongue, just the right amount of tannins, and wonderfu with food

Victory Prima Pils

$19.99/12pk varietay victory pack from FD

pilsner, 5.3% abv

this is good; refreshing and good carbonation. had in winter, which was a bad time for it, but can definitely see this being great in af ew month.s

Victory HopDevil Ale

IPA 6.7% abv

19.99/12pk varietay victory pack from FD

it's ok. a little hop-bombastic. all victory beers have been a bit of "too much" unidirectional for me.

Victory Golden Monkey Ale

$19.99/12pk of victory variety

Tripel, 9.5% abv

just wasn't feeling this. also, victory has about the worst bottle art int he entire world. awful.

something off about the taste. slightly medicinal. not fond of tripels right now, and this one isn't a good example either.

Anchor Steam Beer

12.99/6pk @ FD, had @ movie night (fish called wanda, ghostbusters)

fantastic! unique, super tasty.

Harpoon Brown Session Ale

part of $18.99 12pkc wintry mix, 4.3% abv

actually goes really well w/enoki in oyster sauce. nom

not bad, needs to be quite warm. wonderful malty taste without being too heavy.

Harpoon Winter Warmer

seasonal

$18.99 in 12pk wintry mix

what the hell? its like a gingerbread man walked into a crappy spice factory and got mauled to pieces. it borders on completely undrinkable. also - pumpkin overtones. wrong.

Harpoon IPA

$18.99 in 12pk wintry mix

 

hoptastic, but very clean and crisp. superb with raw salmon. one of my favorite IPAs

Allagash White

$11.99/25oz bottle @ deli (also had on tap in cambridge)

5.2% abv witbier

absolutely fantastic. good balance, not too "yeasty", an array of spices, extremely drinkable; good body.

Weyerbacher Brewing Co's Heresy Russian Imperial Stout

8% abv, $7/12oz on tap from Spuyten Duyvil

wonderful! nice thick malty chocolate tones, still goes down nice and easy. quite drinkable for a RIS and yet still quite flavourful.

Bowmore Islay 10 year

L2379
Bowmore Islay 10 year

I think its $22 @ warehouse (about $30 @ astor i think), but received as gift during dinner party

Wow. Smoky, peaty, but NOT GOOD. harsh, very unbalanced. all smoke, nothing else in terms of flavor. nose is basically a chimney. also, the glass bottle broke randomly; not a sign of quality construction. definitely would not buy again.

Porteño 2007 Mendoza

Porteño, Mendoza - 2007 (750)

Item # 13492
Click any of the links to view more:

Color: Red
Vintage: 2007
Country: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Grape Variety:  Bonarda Malbec Merlot

$3.99 @ astor (on sale)

not bad. well balanced. eminently drinkable and works for pairing with any meal (but esp leftovers). not much else to say besides that...

Unibroue's Éphémère Apple

5.5% abv

@ ginger man

definitely apple on the nose; green granny smiths. *very* light. doesn't really taste like apple. its ok, not anything i'd want to drink again.

Unibroue's La Fin du Monde

multiple times

9% abv

not fond of tripel's recently, but as they go, this is probabl yone of the best. thick, full-flavoured, not too overwhelming... "white"-ale-ish? a little on the heavy side for me, but definitely enjoyable

Las Moras 2006 Shiraz

someone brought as gift to a party chez moi.

its not bad; a little thin (smooth), very different from australian shirazes (much less FRUIT BOMB). not anything amazing either; though a very good match for very salty foods (had w/olives).

Brooklyn Brewery Winter Ale

$10.99/6pack @ FD

6.1% abv

full bodied ale; tasty, good mix of bitter and malt, not much spices but that might make it a better pairing for food. yums

Famega Vinho Branco/Verde 2007

9.5% abv, $5 or somethign @ astor

wow. hallo pucker. all acidity and nothing else. seriously, even creme de cassis cannot save this.

Unibroue Maudite Strong Amber ALe

$8 for 12oz @ flex mussels

8%abv

its delicious, a good balance of acidity and flavor. nothing particular remarkable however