"Let me guess. Randall sent you, didn't he?"

Le Pousseur (100% Syrah), Bonny Doon Vineyard, 2008, Central Coast
(13.5% abv)

There is something transporting about this wine, like being wrapped up in a harlot’s velvet shawl.

You enter the room somewhat willingly, thinking you know what you’re in store for, wanting to keep it light and fun, only to find your mind and emotions wrapped up in a deeper draw and the feeling of hot attraction coursing through your veins. This courtesan is much bigger than you can handle. You run from the room, only to get outside, take in a breath of fresh air and decide you MUST return.

This is not the type of wine I was expecting to feel this way about. Call it “single vineyard snobbery,” if you will, but I lowered my expectations when I read “Central Coast Syrah.” It could be from anywhere there–the Central Coast is a huge place. But then again, these grapes are in the able hands of Randall Grahm…and he knows his Syrah.  It’s going to be something authentic.

The color of the Bonny Doon Le Pousseur 2008 is near opaque, pouring a dark, purplish red. On the nose, a haunting, deep aroma of black berries, spicy brambles and a note of black cherry cream. I was drawn so deeply in, I found my nostrils a bit stung by the heat of the alcohol. But it only proved to spur me on…

This hare will be perfect with Le Pousseur. You just wait.

On the palate, I was caressed by a velvety mouthfeel and I soon found myself feeling like Tom Sawyer, seduced by the fresh, tart huckleberry pie cooling in the window.  Mmmm….so delicious.  Must have.  Must steal and run off into the woods with. It tantalized me with this tartness. Mouth-watering fruit with a backbone of strength holding it firm and supported.  The tannins are rich and chewy, the flavors layered.

This is a wine that would make Mark Twain proud.  In his words: “Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough.”

(*Editor’s note: this wine was a press sample)

PUMPKIN: Trick or Treat, punk. YOU: But it's August! PUMPKIN: Deal wit it

There are certain sign posts that mark the passage of the seasons.  The first smoke billowing forth from the chimneys, the first leaf you see falling from the trees, the first flower you see resiliently climbing forth from the sidewalk cracks on 12th street, or the first snowflake you see falling from the sky, silhouetted by a street light.

For me, one of my favorite bookmarks of time, one of those indicators that you know the page is about to turn, are pumpkin beers.  (To be honest, though, its frickin August 12th!  Should these quintessential beers be hitting the shelfs NOW?!  Is the beer industry making a statement on global weather change?).

Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale 2011: first on the shelf

But come they have.  Last week, I looked on bewildered by what I was seeing: Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale was on the shelf at my local grocery.  Today, I bought a six-pack.

Pumpkin Ales are tricky (for those long-time readers of my blog, you may recall I first wrote about them when I brewed my own: Praise the Gourd).  To get the balance right between capturing the flavor of the pumpkin while finding harmony with the fall spices is crucial.  This year, I can’t say I love Smuttynose’s latest release, though, a few years ago, they were my favorite.  (Each year I seek out as many as I can; I feel it tells us a lot about the brewer).  Smuttynose’s 2011 is good, and I’m confident it will be in my top 10, but it leaves something lacking in the malt department.

Beautiful on the nose, with an intoxicating aroma of clove, cinnamon and gingerbread, the beer hits very upfront with its bitterness, yet doesn’t have the body or the sweetness of the malt to balance.  These beers are tricky.  And with that much spice, you gotta have a big, malty backbone.  Last year, I found myself leaning towards the Imperial, jacked-up versions to perform that balancing act.  We’ll see where I end up this year.

In the meantime, I’m sticking my head in the sand until I see another sign of Fall.  I’ll get back on the wagon in September…unless the Headless Horseman catches me first.

You best be ready. I've got an onslaught of Pumpkin Ales coming your way...

Tomorrow, we return to NYC after 93 days in Europe.  Along the way, we have met countless inspiring artisans making wine, beer and spirits in the name of craftsmanship. They toil away in nooks around the world, battling the forces of mega, multi-national companies looking to stamp them out.

We are returning with thousands of pictures, hours of video and countless stories of the people that create from their soul and give up everything to do so. They are not rich, they are not famous. They are authentic, they are driven and they can inspire us all.

Over the coming months, we will be telling their stories. Through pictures, videos and writing, we will do our best to honor them: The brewer who continued on after his wife’s death in the brewery. The couple that chose their family’s business over having children, the winemaker who was nearly mauled to death by a wild boar.  And this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Keep an eye here on the site for the latest stories and below are two short videos we managed to make on the road.  All the best and thanks for your support! We’re super excited.

• Paris: In the Shadow of Quasimodo
• Nicolas Joly (Biodynamics: Nature’s Quaalude)

My only request for Kat’s beer run was to include “some interesting boozy thing in a can”.  Along with a cold tall boy of Mythos and one of Fix Hellas, she came back with this beauty.

“OriGINal Long Drink”: Gin-Grapefruit drink.  Contains the following:  water, sugar, gin, carbon dioxide, acid, flavours, stabilizer, safflower and lemon extract.

Not too shabby, although let’s be honest, if I wasn’t on a beach chair looking out at the Mediterranean and bikinis, it would probably be a disappointment.  But right now, more “stabilizer” please!

Design by Steven Solomon (stevensolo.com)

Forget wine. Forget beer. They’re mere newbies in the world of fermented beverages. Mead is the patriarch, the original, the granddaddy that launched the human fascination with alcohol. But, strangely enough, it’s fallen out of fashion. How could this be? This was the drink of Aristotle and the Ancient Greeks; the drink of the brave Danish warriors in Beowulf. But now? Where have you gone, mead? It’s time to reclaim your glorious throne.

That's some sweet, sweet bee ass

Mead is a true symbiosis between insect, nature and man. The bees are king. And for lovers of terroir, their honey is as reflective of their home as any Pinot Noir grape.

Just like with grapes or cheese or oysters, honey tastes different the world over. Be it from clover plants, wildflowers or orange blossoms, bees transport the various flower nectars in their stomach (where it is combined with digestive enzymes), later storing it in a honey “cell” or “comb,” allowing it to partially dehydrate. The types of flowers and plants in an environment—such as those found in a high-altitude meadow in the Alps—and their inherent flavors and characteristics come through in the taste of the honey.

Stairway to Honey

The bees are the conduit, the driving force. They are the backing beats of John Bonham to the stage-shredding antics of Jimmy Page. While there are over 20,000 species of bees, only about seven of them are true honey bees (genus Apis). These are the gatherers of the gold that humans have chased around the world for nearly 10,000 years, prizing their valuable booty like pirates do their loot. Having both antifungal and antibacterial properties, honey won’t rot or ferment in normal conditions. It’s a complex mixture, primarily consisting of glucose and fructose. And it’s a perfect human food. A satchel of honey will provide nourishment and energy to a well-worn tribe of hunters chasing Wooly Mammoths across the tundra. And after discovering that…they soon discovered mead. And then the warriors were really happy.

The earliest archeological evidence of the production of mead dates back to 7,000 BC in Northern China. Pottery fragments were found with a mixture of mead, rice and other fruits along with organic compounds of fermentation. They were making booze. The mead was flowing. And honey was tops. Across the world, centuries later, Scottish warriors gathered in massive mead halls where the feasting, boasting and drinking were legendary.

It’s time to channel your inner warrior and philosopher. It’s time to rediscover the beverage that predates them all…

Met, Steinwalder Hausbrennerei Schraml, 2009, Bavaria

From a third-generation distiller. The Bavarian honey sees a very long fermentation, followed by aging in 30-year old French Limousin Oak casks (approximately 3 months) which were previously used to mature plum brandy. Notes of honey-bathed plums, bright lemon citrus and a slight tannin profile from the oak. (15.5% abv)

Viking Blod, Dansk Mjød, Denmark

Produced by a one-man operation, Viking Blod is based on a traditional recipe from 1700. 100% natural product flavored with Hibiscus flowers and hops. Big, bold flavor with an upfront sweetness and spicy herbs on the nose; akin to a hearty Viking pie. (19% abv)

Single Variety Lime Tree Blossom, Die Hochland Imker, Austria

Found in the rolling countryside of the Muehlviertel in Upper Austria—between the valley of the Danube and the forests of Bohemia—the Hochland beekeepers are committed to maintaining the character of their region by adhering to organic principles. A bit more dryness on the palate than the previous-listed meads, with a clean, floral, lime flavor that pervades the silky mouth feel. (13.5% abv)

Get your honey on.

Warning: this is what happens when friends let friends wear viking costumes.

The mega-winery minions launch their 2011 marketing campaigns

Pinot Gris, Prophet’s Rock, 2009, Central Otago
(13.2% abv)

The orcs are moving in on you.  You can hear their gnarled grunts approaching the perimeter of your camp like a fast-moving plague.  The ringwraiths were spotted yesterday on the horizon, their ghostlike, ethereal figures barely visible through the fog.

You’re being hunted.  And the enemy is mass-produced, characterless wines that threaten to swallow us up in their suffocating embrace.  Welcome to Central Otago, New Zealand, the land where Lord of the Rings was shot and where the battle for the underdog wine region lives.

New Zealand is a late-comer to the wine world.  With wine grapes first being planted in 1883 by James Busby—a pioneer in the Australian wine industry—it wasn’t until the early 1970′s that quality varieties like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon were brought to the islands.  Being a newcomer has it’s advantages; with no connection to the ways of the past, New Zealand quickly embraced the latest technology and viticulture techniques available to them and is now a major player on the world market.

Lying in a tiny pocket on the South Island is the region of Central Otago.  The world’s southernmost wine region, it has the driest and most continental climate in New Zealand.  The vineyards lie in the Southern Alps where there are extreme differences in temperature; warm days and cold nights allow the flavors to fully concentrate.  It is an ideal spot for Pinot Noir, Riesling and Pinot Gris to grow.  It’s also an ideal spot for wasting orcs with a swing of your broadsword…or so I’d imagine; my ork-wasting experience is minimal but my heart is strong.

Prophet’s Rock winery sources grapes from two of their estate vineyards located in the Bendigo and Pisa sub-regions of Central Otago—this is where the magic happens, where the sacred ring is forged.  When I tried their Pinot Gris 2009 recently, I was floored.  Near water-clear in color, it gave absolutely no hint of the depth of flavor to come, akin to the princess who wears the clothes of a peasant and goes unsuspecting in the crowd.  A hint of honeysuckle and lemon meringue on the nose, I invited her into my house to warm up from the cold, still unaware of what I was getting into…

Simple? Unassuming? Just wait till she removes her cloak...

Upon first taste, my mouth was met with a concentrated burst of flavor that I was defenseless to.  Who are you, maiden?  Comparable to that of an Alsatian Pinot Gris, it is fat and rich with huge acidity.  The flavors of lemons and minerals seemed to be cascading over river rocks in a high-mountain waterfall.  I had chosen my mistress wisely.  The tip of my tongue was left vibrating like a guitar string.  Wow.  She is an unsuspecting vixen, and is welcome in my house any day.

The battle against the mega-winery grows more heightened every day.  Their marketing arms stretch wide and far, attempting to drown you in their bland, merely passable grape juice.  But it is the fighters like Prophet’s Rock and the region of Central Otago that give hope that the resistance remains pure of heart.

Now where the hell has Gandalf ran off to?  Has anyone seen the princess?  Uh oh.  I suspect Gandalf is unfurling his charms in some dark pub somewhere on the South Island…

Rippon Winery in Central Otago (pic courtesy of WineAnorak.com)

Contra, Bonny Doon Vineyard, 2009, Contra Costa County
(13.5% abv)

At the mouth of Big Thompson Canyon in Northern Colorado, lies a small store that sells Black Bing Cherries.  Juices, ciders, jams, you name it.

The store itself was unmissable; a large red roof over a white building from which hung hundreds of red juice bottles like some sort of bizarre Christmas tree ornaments.

The entrance to Big Thompson Canyon

I’ve always associated the canyon with this strange store—I actually found it today through a Google search—that goes by the name of Colorado Cherry Company.

When I tasted Contra, the latest release from Randall Grahm and company over at Bonny Doon Vineyard, I couldn’t get the image of this store out of my mind.  Something about it’s flavor profile brought me back to my childhood.

In more ways than one, Randall Grahm is to Santa Cruz, as the Colorado Cherry Company is to the Big Thompson Canyon.  They channel the dirt, the air, the rivers and the soul of their environment through their fruit.  A taste of his wines are meant to be evocative of the place from which they came.

After a rather round-about journey of experimentation, irreverence and soul-searching (check out my earlier piece, Randall Grahm: Prankster and Philosopher, written after an infamous pedicure session together), Randall is on a mission to become a true soothsayer of the soil.

Randall Grahm (pic by Alex Krause)

Perhaps its because he swung so far off this path in the middle of his career, that he is now such a fervant torch-bearer of the terroir cause.  With the onset of critical and commercial success, he saw his enterprise shift into a mega-operation that churned out juice with little connection to terroir.  He has since sold off a large amount of his holdings to refocus on what inspired him in the early days of his winemaking career.

His winemaking notes and personal letter that accompanied the wine (full disclosure: I was sent a press sample) read like a cross between a personal journal entry and a playful blueprint of its journey from grape to bottle.  He states his mission clearly:  ”We’ve been gradually paring down the Bonny Doon product line with the aim of producing only those products that have a real raison (or raisin) d’être, i.e. are utterly distinctive and in some ways tangibly enrich the world.”

The grapes are hand-harvested from vineyard sites (79% Gonsalves, 16% Ca’ del Solo, 3% Bella Grace and 2% Bien Nacido) in the Central Coast Appellation and fermented in individual lots with indigenous yeast.  It is a blend of 55% Carignane, 15% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre, 7% Petite Syrah, 5% Zinfandel and 3% Syrah.

Medium-red in color with hints of purple, Contra exhibits dirty raspberries and grappa-soaked cherries on the nose backed by the slightest hint of vanilla.  Medium-bodied with a Black Bing Cherry pie-filling note that’s grounded in an earthy backbone.  The structure is solid with an acidity and spice that left my mouth salivating and my lips smacking in search of the next flavor.  It is both rustic and refined.

It’s strange how memories get stuck in the recesses of our mind, only to be unlocked and revisited years later.  Perhaps this is the universe calling to me…maybe it’s time I took a trip up the Big Thompson Canyon again.  But this time, maybe I’ll borrow the Bonny Doon dirigible; I’m sure the view of the river from up there is fantastic.

The Doon Dirigible: fueled by Black Bing Cherry cider.

A Belgian Tripel at play in the meadows of your mind

Gouden Carolus Tripel, Brouwerij Het Anker, Belgium
(9% abv)

A wolf in sheep’s clothing…yep, that about sums it up.

Belgian Tripels are deceptively smooth and ridiculously drinkable; watch out, though, cause they’ll knock you on your ass lickety-split.  Granted, you’ll have a big smile on your face, but on your ass, you will be knocked.

Bursting at the seams with alcohol, they clock in anywhere between 8% and 12% abv.  They are not your tailgate party tipple.  Instead, they are a long-established Belgian style that will put a few hairs on your chest.

In the initial stages, the brewer uses three times as much malt as they would for their standard Trappist “Simple”.  More malt = more sugar for the yeast to eat = more alcohol.  Finished off with Belgian candy sugar—which gives the beer a lighter body—and enough hops to balance out the sweetness, you’ve got a rocket-fueled steam engine on your hands that handles like a precision Ferrari.

The Gouden Carolus Tripel is a fine, fine representation of this.  It’s sleek, it’s delicious and you’ll notice your glass is empty quicker than you can say, “Gosh, officer, I could have sworn I only had two beers.  How many front lawns did you say I drove through? “

Made by the Het Anker (“The Anchor”) Brewery in Mechelin, the Gouden Carolus is named after the golden coins of Charles the Great.  In existence since 1471, the brewery now sports a distillery—their single malt whisky is made from the same malt as the Tripel—and hotel (perfect for wild nights in the tasting room followed by a short stumble to the pillow).

Medium golden in color with hints of caramel, the Gouden Carolus Tripel pours with a huge, billowy white head.  Deceptively delicate on the nose as you move in, your mouth is then hit with a wallop of flavor.  The taste of apricots drenched in clover honey mix with notes of caramel toffy.

But, most surprisingly, the beer tastes light and lifted and keeps you yearning for another sip.  Marshmallow cream and nougat come together with hints of spicy hops.  Wow.  It paired beautifully with Cookies & Cream ice cream (yep, I don’t mess around).

You be careful with those Belgian beers that moved in down the block, kids.  They sure have nice manners but there is a devilish look in their eyes, I tell you.  Especially that little Tripel…he’s got “trouble” written all over him.  Mark my words.

The machine at Het Anker that disguises feral wolves as innocent sheep (pic courtesy of A Considered Glass)

The Agave leaf: where unbridled soul awaits...

Tequila Reposado, Casa Noble, Mexico
(40% abv)

Tequila: it’s not just for margaritas anymore.

I’m kind of shocked at the sheer number of people that have never tried good tequila…and I don’t mean expensive Tequila, I just mean the authentic kind.

For all those who love it, but have only been weaned off the teet of Jose Cuervo Gold, this is akin to those who’ve drank only Budweiser and call themselves ‘beer lovers’. Tequila is a beautiful spirit, with a rich history and an incredible range of complex flavors.

As the pendulum has finally swung in our favor, we now have artisan products available to us from the backroads of Mexico, as well as Chapels to the Sacred Agave in the form of tequila lounges and bars.  When you taste a great Tequila, the experience can be life-changing. This isn’t a spirit you want to blast with lime juice and sour mix. And you can definitely keep the orange liqueur far away from your lips.  Here’s why:

Yes, the bottle doubles as a battle axe

Made from organically raised Blue Agave that’s been slow-roasted in a stone oven for 38 hours—and later aged in French White Oak barrels for 364 days—Casa Noble Reposado is the real deal.

The complexity of the aromas and the flavors is hypnotically transporting. On the nose, notes of caramel and maple syrup swim around with lime zest and the smell of sea air. On the palate, brown sugar and citrus reminded me of baked pie, but one in which I’d never encountered at the fair before (maybe I need to go to the Jalisco fair?). Bold, integrated flavors led to a long, fruity lime finish where the sweetness from the agave brought flavors of roasted pineapple.

Oh, and you can leave your salt shakers and Jimmy Buffett at home…well, okay, if you must, play the Jimmy Buffett—but save the body shots for the trip to Cancun.

Brain damage patients found in Margaritaville

Meeting a wild Lambic face to face

Oude Geuze (lambic), Drie Fonteinen, Belgium  

(6.5% abv)  

Last night, one of my co-workers asked me what my favorite beer on our list is.  

I was paralyzed.  Whoa, choose one?  But these are my babies and they’re all unique in their own way!  How could I possibly zero it down to one?  I felt like I was a kid again in front of my grandma’s ridiculously overstuffed toy drawer being told I had to choose one toy for the afternoon.  

But, if I had to, if I had to, I’d go with what I think is the most interesting beer on the list right now.  The Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze.  Not so much a beer, as a slap across the face.  A 2×4 of sensoral awakening.  It is a mind trip and a walk down the wild side of beer.  

The Pajottenland region lies Southwest of Brussels

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you:  the Lambics.  Often called “sour” beers, Lambics hail from the Pajottenland region of Belgium.  Everything you’ve learned about modern breweries—intense cleanliness, maniacal sanitization—all gets flipped on its head when you enter the lambic brewery.  Spider webs, dirt, bacteria, used barrels—these are gold for the lambic brewers.  It’s said that sweeping and cleaning is completely frowned upon, as this is where the bacteria live.  And bacteria is what these beers are all about.  

If there is terroir in beer, it is here.  Again, contrary to everything you know about brewing, lambic beers are made by spontaneous, open fermentation.  The unfermented beer is left uncovered in large vats, completely exposed to the air, and vents at the top of the brewery are opened to allow the ambient yeasts to enter the brewery.  It is these yeasts which cause the fermentation and add their own unique signature to the beer.  Once begun, the fermenting beer is syphoned into oak and chestnut barrels to age (for 1-3 years) and continue it’s journey.  Soon, it meets one of the most cherished (and feared) yeast strains in the beer and wine world: Brettanomyces.  It is from the ‘Brett’ that Lambics get their signature sour, barnyardy flavor and aromas.  

Lambics are then blended by expert tasters just like the great wine blenders of Champagne.  As each batch of Lambic can be wildly different—and take on different characteristics as time goes on—it is the blender’s job to create the final flavor.  This is how the Kriek and Geuze styles are created.  To augment the often sour flavors of these beers, the Belgians will sometimes add fruit to the beer which causes another fermentation and results in a dry beer with a fruit component.  In the case of Geuze, one, two and three-year old lambics are blended together (no fruit is used).  

Drie Fonteinen is one of the few remaining traditional geuze blenders, and uses 100% spontaneously fermented lambic and no artificial additives or sweeteners.  This beer is not for the faint of heart.  On the nose, one is greeted by a strange aromatic wonderland of funky, sweaty lemonade that’s been infused with gym socks.  Not necessarily appealing in description, but trust me, there is something that lures you in with its hypnotic charm.  On the palate, it wraps your mouth in a sour choke-hold that reveals a vast complexity of flavor.  Your mind fights to identify the myriad of flavors and sensations.  It reminds me of eating hot peppers; your body screams with the endorphin rush but after a moment of release, you’re craving more.  

Lambics are the big leagues of beer.  This is where the diehards head to experience a new realm of possibility for beer.  They are in a category of their own.  Wild mustangs on the prairie fighting to be tamed.  And, in my mind, the Drie Fonteinen Geuze remains the wildest, most transfixing beer in my stable of prized beauties.  

Just be sure to strap your saddle down real tight before tasting.  

Armand Debelder of Drie Fonteinen

Me on my way to a Loire Valley tasting

I’m a ridiculously huge fan of the whites from the Loire Valley.  Just as Pavlov’s dogs salivate at the sound of his bell, simply saying the words “white” and “Loire” in the same sentence around me will cause feverish sweats of desire and intense mouth-watering.  It is not a pretty sight.  Quite embarrassing, in fact, and I am now forced to carry a slobber towel at all times.

Agnès and René Mosse have followed an interesting path.  Originally owning a wine bar/retail shop in Tours, many great winemakers came through their door.  Over time, they were bitten by the bug themselves and left that world to study viticulture and winemaking with some of the best in the business.

After two years at the agricultural lycée in Amboise, they set off through the French countryside and worked the prized fields and wineries of the Côte-de-Beaune.  Armed with this knowledge, it was time to stake their own claim.  They returned to their home base in the Loire Valley and bought a small estate in St-Lambert-du-Lattay, in the Coteaux-du-Layon area of Anjou.

From the moment they first stuck their shovel in the soil, they’ve used organic viticultural techniques and treated the vines and earth with biodynamic preparations.  The “natural” winemaking continues in the winery and they make as few manipulations of the wine as possible and only reach for the sulfur when absolutely necessary.

In this case, their years of slinging bottles followed by earnest study and hard work have paid off.  This is the first wine I have had from them, and it is a tasty one.

As with the majority of Chenin Blanc from the Loire, the aromatic notes of the La Lettre à Élise are hypnotic.  With a nose reminiscent of a wildflower meadow just after a quick summer rain, I then experienced buttered popcorn rolled in honeysuckle and green apple.  On the palate, it’s a medium-bodied wine with similar notes as on the nose, but with the addition of a delicious creamy nougat and a hint of turpentine on the back end.

Chenin Blanc is a great grape, as (in the right hands, at least) it provides a juicy wave of acidity akin to a ride on the log flume at a waterpark.  The La Lettre à Élise is no exception.

I’m thrilled that the Mosses have found their groove in the Anjou.  I can now add the word “Mosse” to the list of words that turn me into a salivating, desirous beast…

**To find this wine near you, contact Louis Dressner Selections HERE

Agnès and René Mosse

BrewYork #4. Back Row (from l to r): Andy Zenyuch, John Kleinchester, Matt Steinberg, Greg Gallagher, Andrew Maiorana. Front Row: Lee Williams, David Flaherty, Paul Kavulak (Nebraska Brewing Co), Craig Sklar, Adam Sivits (on floor)

“Epic”: very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale); “an epic voyage”; “of heroic proportions”

This past Friday night, we embarked on an epic voyage.  Like brave conquistadors in search of the riches of the world, our ragtag faction of BrewYorker’s (a group of NY-based homebrewers, probrewers, beer bloggers and all-around geeks of the grain) summoned the beer gods with a diverse offering of liquid bounty.

The fast-becoming-legendary monthly gathering is quite simple in design: each person brings two selections of rare or sought-after specialty beers.  Whether you traded them with beer geeks across the country, pulled them from the top shelf of the beer store or stole them from Uncle Jimmy’s Craft Beer Bunker (“don’t fuck with my brew stash for fear of dismemberment” it says on the door), it’s the time to dig deep.

The reward?  An educational, boozy journey through the darkest, most creative corners of the craft beer world.  It’s a beautifully diverse group of people knitted together with passion, and this month’s bottle list reflects it.

See below for the final list on our Friday night stage.  My personal favorites are in bold and with links to take you to websites for more info.

THE EPIC BREWYORK #5 BOTTLE LIST

1. Surly – Hell Keller Bier/Zwickel Bier
2. Half Acre/Three Floyds – Shewolf IPA
3. Odell – Mountain Standard Reserve ’09 Deep Mahogany Ale
4. Mikkeller – Funky Star Belgian Strong Pale Ale
5. Dogfish Head – My Antonia
6. Sierra Nevada – Fritz & Ken Stout
7. Sierra Nevada – Charlie, Fred & Ken Helles Bock
8. Sierra Nevada – Jack & Ken Barleywine
9. Cigar City – Jai Alai’ IPA
10. Russian River – Pliny The Elder Double IPA
11. Russian River – Damnation
12. Great Divide – Wild Raspberry Ale
13. Dark Horse – Smoked Stout
14. Capt. Lawrence – Smoke from the Oak (wine barrels)
15. New Belgium – Lips of Faith Le Fleur Misseur
16. Alesmith – Old Numbskull Barleywine
17. Great Divide – 16th Anniversary Oak Aged Double IPA
18. Mike/Simply Beer – Matrimoniale ESB Wedding Beer
19. Mike/Simply Beer – Double Matrimoniale
20. Mike/Simply Beer – Bourbon Barrel Aged Double Matrimoniale
21. Lost Abbey – Carnevale  Saison
22. Cigar City – 110K+OT
23. Cigar City – “Humidor Series” 110K+OT
24. Captain Lawrence – Cuvee de Castleton–Batch #3
25. Captain Lawrence – Cuvee de Castleton–Batch #4
26. Hoppin’ Frog – B.O.R.I.S The Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout
27. Hoppin’ Frog – B.O.R.I.S The Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout–Barrel Aged
28. Urthel – Hop-It Belgian IPA
29. Brooklyn – Blue Apron Ex-French Laundry Beer
30. Goose Island – Bourbon County Stout 2010
31. Panil – Barriquee 2007
32. Goose Island – Bourbon County Coffee Stout
33. Dogfish/Sierra – Life & Limb
34. Great Divide – 16th Anniversary Wood-Aged Double IPA
35. Dogfish Head – Sah’tea
36. Dogfish Head – Black & Blue
37. Stone – 14 Emperial IPA (14th Anniversary)
38. The Bruery – Oude Tart
39. Southern Tier – Cuvee Series Two
40. New Glarus – Wisconsin Belgian Red
41. Great Divide – Yeti
42. Long Trail – Brewmaster Series Coffee Stout
43. Ommegang – Ommegeddon
44. Captain Lawrence – Golden Delicious
45. Three Floyds – Dark Lord 2009

Kenny Sherr and Friends (photo by Katie DeGraff)

Dearest readers, I am stoked to share some exciting news with you.  In addition to my vinous, brewish and libatious duties here at Grapes & Grains, I am pleased to announce that I will be expanding my reach further into the realm of the blogosphere…

I have been invited to join the staff of the New York Cork Report as their “NYC Correspondent”.  I will be covering local breweries, urban wineries and NY-state spirits.  

Also, my usual forays into underground gambling rings, heroin trafficking, cock fighting and muscle-car drag racing will, of course, continue.  Hey, a guy’s got to follow his passions, right?  Right?!  Who’s with me?  All hail the V8 engine, suckas!

If you’re not yet familiar with Lenn Thompson and the crew over at New York Cork Report, you need to get them on your radar screen.  For the last two years, they’ve taken home the gold at the American Blog Awards for “Best Single-Subject Wine Blog” because of their solid dedication.  

Their writing and reviews are tight, their editorial content is opinionated and challenging, but most of all, they are passionate about showcasing the unique people and products that the great Empire State has to offer.  I’m stoked and honored to be part of the team.  

And thankfully, I can keep up my cockfighting on the side.  I’ve been training this new bird that’s sure to win me a ton of Hamiltons…

Some links to check out:

New York Cork Report Home Page
Staff of the New York Cork Report
David Flaherty Joins NYCR as NYC Correspondent
NYCR Named “Best Single-Subject Wine Blog” at American Wine Blog Awards

Watkins Glen State Park

Can the spirit of the land be captured in a bottle?  Can time, geography and culture be turned into liquid?  Yes it can.

The Finger Lakes is a place of magic with rolling countrysides, vineyards, orchards, lakes and hamlets that remind me more of Ireland than the US.  And there, Finger Lakes Distilling is cranking out some incredible spirits.

Being from Colorado, I’m a sucker for the outdoors and if left to my own druthers, I’d disappear into the Rockies to live off the land like Ralph Waldo Emerson did at Walden Pond.  So when it came time for my wife and I to pick a wedding locale, Colorado was my top (and only) choice.  I was resolute that nowhere else possessed the natural majesty.  And then I traveled to the Finger Lakes…we had found our spot.

Composed of eleven lakes, the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York is the largest wine region in the state and because of its sheer volume of fruit, makes New York #3 in total grape production in the US.  And there, amongst the wineries of Seneca Lake, lies the regions only stand-alone distillery.  This is where the magic happens.

Sourcing ingredients from local farmers, they’re distilling in small batches and have a long line of impressive elixirs that have captured the soul of the region in bottle-form.  The roster includes whiskeys, grappas, gin, vodka and fruit liqueurs.

The Soul Transporter 2000

The still used to complete this conversion of earthly matter to liquid essence?  A 4,000 pound, giant pot still and rectification column made in Markdor, Germany and transported nearly 4,000 miles to its home in the Finger Lakes.

(Rumor has it that the still was crafted by a lone witch far in the mountains of the German hinterlands during a feverish acid-trip involving many newts and haunted cow skulls…or maybe I just started that rumor…)

The man behind the still?  Thomas Earl McKenzie of Monroesville, Arkansas, who comes from a long line of distillers and has made everything from wine to beer to spirits, and even done some farming along the way.

Thomas has teamed up with a former banker named Brian McKenzie (no relation, but how’s that for magical coincidence?) who convinced Thomas to leave the South and bring his family up to the hills of New York and launch the distillery.  I’m glad he did.

The Wizards and their Witch's Brew

Here’s the rundown of three of my favorites:

McKenzie Rye Whiskey (45.5% abv)

Using New York state grain (80% Rye and 20% Malted Barley) and distilled with old-time techniques, McKenzie Rye is then aged in charred casks and finished in sherry barrels from local wineries.  This ain’t your grand pappy’s rye whiskey.  Whereas most Ryes are strong and spicy with the ability to take the paint off a Thunderbird, the McKenzie rye has an elegance and silky mouthfeel that I haven’t come across before.  A smooth integration of spice, maple and a hint of orange is nicely accented with some butterscotch notes.

Vintner’s Vodka (40% abv)

As some of you know from my previous writing on vodka, I’m not a huge vodka fan as I just can’t sink my teeth into a spirit that’s odorless and flavorless.  But the Vintner’s Vodka is far from that.  Using a blend of local grapes (mostly Catawba) sourced from near the distillery, as well as some from their own vineyard, they’ve combined the talents of the winemaker with the distiller.  Ridiculously smooth and silky in the mouthfeel, it elicits notes of lychee, vanilla and orange with a hint of spice on the finish.

Glen Thunder Corn Whiskey (45% abv)

Clear whiskeys don’t see the inside of a charred barrel (which is how Bourbons get their coloring).  In foregoing the charred oak flavor, one can capture the flavor of the natural grain (in this case: 80% corn, 20% barley malt).  Glen Thunder is made with local, organically grown corn and will bowl you over with its aromatic notes of freshly shucked corn.  Again, with a smoothness that seems to be Thomas Earl’s trademark, this whiskey is round in the mouth, silky and with a hint of bacon (mmm…bacon…).

I don’t understand the intricacies of the still, but I do know when I taste something unique.  Something that exudes life and soul.  And I believe, with the right approach and the right ingredients, we can play Merlin on this earth.

Look for the McKenzies on your next trip to the Finger Lakes.  They’ll be the ones wearing the magical blue capes and flying around on tricked-out broomsticks.

"Welcome to Dexter, kids. It's time to get funked up"

There’s some funky shit going on in the US craft beer scene, and one brewery is leading the charge.  Located far from the usual suspects on the West coast, the East Coast and the Colorado beer belt, one must travel to the tiny town of Dexter, Michigan (population of around 3,000), to find Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales. They are jamming in a bold direction that has beer geeks atwitter from coast to coast.

After hearing about them a few months ago, and then seeing them top the NY Times’ list of top Belgian-style ales with their Oro de Calabaza, I was desperate to get my palate wet with its liquid gold.  And once anointed with its funkiness, I ordered a case immediately and had it sent to the restaurant for next day delivery.  I was bridled in like a chariot rider to his wild stallion and became an instant advocate.

Whereas most brewers’ number one concern is eradicating all microbial beasties through intense sanitization, Jolly Pumpkin embraces the wee devils like an orphanage welcoming castaways in the night.  In an ever-increasing niche in the beer world, wine barrels are finding a second life in a beautiful communion where wine meets beer.  And the matchmaker at the helm?  Ron Jeffries.

Ron Jeffries (pic courtesy of SCPR)

Founding Jolly Pumpkin in 2004, Ron was looking to go in a different direction.  Having been a successful brewer previously, he set his new sail under the banner of doing “rustic country beers”.

Never putting his beers through pasteurization or filtration, Jolly Pumpkin ages them in wine barrels which contain naturally-occurring microbiological cultures including Brettanomyces (a yeast strain familiar to winemakers).  This gives wild flavors to the beers usually described by such delightful terms as “sweat”, “horsehair”, “sour” and “earthy funk”.

These are certainly not the type of beers to pour for your Budweiser-drinking friends who are curious about the “whole craft beer thing”.  Trust me, without proper pre-requisite palate training, these beers will send them running for the hills and back to their Miller Lites faster than you can say “funky chicken”.

Using open fermentation, a cultured Belgian yeast, as well as the wild yeasts of Dexter, the Oro de Calabaza is finished in Chardonnay barrels.  For a wine and beer geek like myself, it’s the perfect union.

Pouring cloudy and hazy with an intense foaming head that unfurls from the bottle like a frothy centipede, notes of spicy honeysuckle and buttery oak seem to be wrapped up in a tortilla of fresh fruit which jumps from the glass.  With a sourness that’ll slap you into the moment, it finishes with balance and an integration of flavors that is astounding.

This is no beer for beginners nor for those looking for a forgettable, session-able beer to down at the ballpark.  No, this is a beer for those looking to taste the whole cadre of Belgian flavors in one bottle.  A genie of funk rises forth that will hypnotize you and turn you into the helpless zealot that I’ve become.

Onwards, wild stallion, onwards!

An unsuspecting innocent tasting the Oro de Calabaza for the first time