2007 Raven's Wood Vinter's Blend Merlot

I've tried a few Raven's Wood wines in the past, and noted that the winery only actually makes their own Zinfandel. I can only assume that this merlot is blended from various other wines that the Raven's Wood vinter found at a good price.

Following along with the Raven's Wood mantra, this is no wimpy merlot. (Not that I have much experience with merlot, mind you.) I'd actually guess that there is a good portion of zinf. in this blend, given the "spicier" taste. It's fruiter than the other Zinf. or Syrah I've had, but more interesting than, say, Badger Mountain's Merlot (which came off a lot like grape juice).

Stone 13th Anniversary Ale

Stone's first Imperial/double red ale is pretty good. It's very hoppy, and ends just a little on the bitter side (mostly in the back of your throat though, so it seems less intense than, say, the Chico Estate, which sort of sears your tongue after you swallow). The hops are balanced by a healthy dose of malts that lend a richness to the aroma and toffee / chocolate notes to the flavor. I think the strength of the malts turn what would otherwise be a bland, bitter, IPA into a rich experience.

Ingredients

Malts: Pale malt, a blend of various crystal and amber malts, and a touch of chocolate malt
Hops: Lots of Chinook, dry-hop is a blend of Simcoe and Centennial

Russian River Pliny the Elder

The plain green and red label on this oddly sized bottle belie the surprisingly delicious content. I do believe this has become my favorite IPA--the aroma is a bit light, but fill your gullet with a swallow and you'll be rewarded with the fresh piny flavor of (simcoe?) hops, followed by a clean finish with very little bitterness.

Southern Tier: Pumking

Easily the best pumpkin beer I've had to date, this spiced brew starts off with the clearly identifiable scent of pumpkin pie spices without overpowering your nose. The taste is also well balanced between the spice, the hops, the pumpkin, and enough sweetness to smooth the rough edges from so many flavors.

It's a bit on the sweet side for a general drinking beer, but really, it's a pumpkin ale, so you're probably not sucking one down alongside a foot-long and a pile of fries anyway. I highly recommend it as an after-dinner/desert beer, but don't be confused: it's not nearly as sweet or cloying as many gimmicky brews.

Southern Tier seems to be a pretty sound bet if you're looking for a good new beer to try--they continue to impress. (Image credit of Southern Tier Brewing. I'll post an Ale shot next time I have a bottle.)

Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor

This is another Chevre from Cypress Grove, and it shares a lot of similarities with the Humboldt Fog by the same maker. The texture is nearly identical, and they appear pretty similar. The biggest notable difference is that this cheese doesn't have a vein of ash like the Humboldt. Instead, the cheese is speckled with bits of truffles.

I haven't had the humboldt in a while, but it almost seems that the same basic cheese was used in both of these products, and they were simply treated differently. I have a hard time telling without a side-by-side comparison though.

I like this cheese, but it is a "flavored" cheese, due to the truffles (which are a nice addition, but interfere with the texture a little).

Sierra Nevada 2009 Chico Estate Harvest Ale

The third installment of Sierra Nevada's Harvest Ale series, and possibly the hopiest. It's hoppy in a bitter way though. While the beer is very refreshing, you really don't want to stop drinking--there's not a lot to enjoy in the bitter aftertaste.

Aside from the bitter tail end, it's a fantastically hopy beer. It poured with a heavy head (as you can see) but doesn't have much aroma. The bite really is in the hops on this one. It saddens me to say it, but I'm not really a fan -- I may come around (I have a couple more to work on) but the bitter-beer-face after really kills it for me.

Ingredients

Hops: Cascade, Centennial and Chinook

Pan-roasted Sumatra - First attempt.

I've been hungry for home-brewed coffee, but the only beans in the house were some green sumatra beans a friend gave me a few months back (thanks Ulf!). Undaunted, I whipped out a stainless skillet and roasted about 100g.

Ulf and I had roasted some of these beans a while back, and it turned out fairly well, but I couldn't remember much of the details, so a quick google brought up these instructions, and I got to work.

First off, I found out that my IR thermometer doesn't work well at all for shiny surfaces. After reporting ~150f, I tossed in the beans, and promptly scorched a good third while they shot up to 300+ degrees. After dropping the heat, grabbing a spoon, and stirring like crazy (which I kept up for the duration), they began to develop color a bit more uniformly. I roasted for 9-10 minutes on medium heat, getting the beans to about 370. I think the majority of the beans hit first crack, and some probably made second crack, but I'm not sure. There are two distinct volumes to the cracks, some are much louder than others--I have no idea if that's based on first vs. second crack, or if some beans just crack louder than others.

Afraid of creating charcoal, I pulled them out and tossed them in a colander outside to blow off chaff and cool them down.




After cooling, they got a trip through the burr grinder. The coarse result looked to have a bit of chaff still (much lighter, brighter bits) but it all went into the press anyway. (about 45g of ground beans--all I need for a pot).


A standard 4-minute brew with ~200 degree water produced a very light pot. The coffee ended up with pretty strong grassy notes but with a refreshing aftertaste. Despite my concerns, it was clearly not over-roasted, so next time I'm definitely going a bit longer--probably 11-13 minutes. I think there's a lot of flavor still in these beans that didn't make it out in the final brew.