The Community
General Category => Just for fun => Topic started by: Charger on February 24, 2018, 01:56:50 PM
-
I've been doing this on facebook for years now...It started with the idea of going through every single US made wine available here and posting reviews of them and rating them using the wine magazine rating of 85 to 95...well I did that...was a really fun journey albeit short one.
So I branched out and went for beers as well and now it's been Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition for a while...
I thought I'd share it here too...I might post some of my earlier stuff as well just for curiosity to show you what I've had but today I thought I'd start with the beer I have in my glass at the moment:
This time we have yet another first at the Wine Club, this is the first time I have EVER had Russian beer.
Like most people I would imagine my only contact with Russian beverages is Vodka, never really even considered that the Russians would be much of a beer drinking people...But atleast they have one brewery there and from that I got Baltika 6 Porter.
A dark colored Porter with tastes of liquorice, ryebread and plum even.
There is a bit of a sharpness there as well like most porters do but it isn't overpowering like it can be on some UK made porters.
I have to say I am bit surprised by this as I wasn't expecting much, but I did get a very tasty, albeit very traditional porter beer. The alcohol content of this is quite high at 7% and you can taste it too however it does not feel like it is too much.
Over all I have to say Cheers to the Russians, they can make something else than Vodka too and even make it taste good.
* * * ½
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4619/39566538445_e0dba87b8a_k.jpg)
-
Russians drink plenty of beer and vodka and also a very low-alcohol drink called kvass. It is fermented bread, often sold with the yeast still in the liquid, which gives it a very yeasty flavor and lots of Vitamin B.
But, yeah... fermented bread...
-
...fermented bread, often sold with the yeast still in the liquid...
(https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.legalcheek.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F10%2Fpuking.png&f=1)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition the Birthday eve special.
For this wine club we have something truly special, the one, the only, the real GUINNESS DRAUGHT straight from Dublin Ireland!
Guinness is probably the most known stout in the whole world and for a very good reason. It's silky smoothness is so rich with flavour it is like a party in your mouth...a party of sheer deliciousness.
I can understand that Guinness might be a bit of an acquired taste (as it is with all stouts) but if you like stouts you will LOVE Guinness...and even if you don't I'd highly recommend you try this out because...well...it just is THAT good...and as far as stouts go this is most certainly the smoothest and most approachable.
I have stated this before and I will state it officially here now again, Guinness is without a shadow of a doubt the BEST beer in the world...it is pure perfection in a liquid form.
* * * * *
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4780/38924914730_af8b323695_k.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club, Beer Edition St. Patrick's Day continuation.
Still in the aftermath of the Irish holiday this week we have an Irish Red Ale Draught from KILKENNY, part of the Guinness company.
This (just like it's black counterpart) has a small co2 cartridge inside and while pouring it mixes the foam into the drink beautifully.
I am quite surprised by just how much the taste actually resembles Guinness eventhough this is supposed to be an ale. This is also very dark amber brown in color, not pitch black like Guinness but very dark non the less.
Extermely smooth beer this too but this is tad bit sweeter than Guinness and your average ales...or stouts for that matter. But the taste is quite sublime regardless. I couldn't possibly say that this is as good as Guinness but it is pretty damn close.
* * * * *
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4785/40099962765_5ac75a9227_z.jpg)
-
Hey Charger - do you have any recommendations for a good Czech beer? Thanks!
-
Well I'm not a huge fan of Czech beer, but then again I haven't had all that many...but there is one that I can recommend very easily...This review is from about a year ago:
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition.
This week we have again a beer from the Czech Republic called Rohozec Skalak.
A nice mild flavoured amber colored draught. Czech's are known for their beers but I have not been able to find one that I've really liked...untill now. This is a really good tasting beer. It's not strong, it's not overly hoppy or malty, but it is very well balanced and smooth. There is non of that sharpness that is unfortunately so common for Czech beers.
Without a doubt among the finest beers I've ever had...so I'll be giving this one a very strong:
* * * * ½
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/798/40295120474_0649e9db4f_z.jpg)
-
Excellent, thanks!
-
Question: are there any British beers that you enjoy? Or do you steer away from any beer served warm?
-
Question: are there any British beers that you enjoy? Or do you steer away from any beer served warm?
I like a lot of british beers...but I don't drink them warm though! :naughty: to the idea even!
-
Question: are there any British beers that you enjoy? Or do you steer away from any beer served warm?
I like a lot of british beers...but I don't drink them warm though! :naughty: to the idea even!
That's the thing, though... because of the way they're brewed, they supposed to drink better warm, as opposed to other brewing methods that make those beers drink better cold.
-
Question: are there any British beers that you enjoy? Or do you steer away from any beer served warm?
I like a lot of british beers...but I don't drink them warm though! :naughty: to the idea even!
That's the thing, though... because of the way they're brewed, they supposed to drink better warm, as opposed to other brewing methods that make those beers drink better cold.
Yeah that is possible...but so far though I have not had a single bottle that specifically said "serve warm"...also I do firmly believe Beer should always be served chilled.
-
From the Wikipedia:
Temperature
One common misconception of beer served in the United Kingdom concerns the serving temperature: it is believed that British beer is served warm. In reality, beer in the UK is usually served at cellar temperature (between 10–14 °C (50–57 °F), which is often carefully controlled in a modern-day pub, although the temperature can naturally fluctuate with the seasons. Proponents of British beer say that it relies on subtler flavours than that of other nations, and these are brought out by serving it at a temperature that would make other beers seem harsh. Where harsher flavours do exist in beer (most notably in those brewed in Yorkshire), these are traditionally mitigated by serving the beer through a hand pump fitted with a sparkler, a device that mixes air with the beer, oxidising it slightly and softening the flavour.
-
This time we have a beer from the Czech Republic called Bohemia Regent.
This is a pale lager with golden brown color. The taste is slightly hoppy but nothing over powering. There is a very mild after taste that has a hint of citrus, which is not to my liking.
There is a bit of a bite present so this isn't among the smoothest of lagers but then again the czech lagers rarely are. This is not among the finest lagers or even the finest Czech lagers but far from the worst either. Quite well balanced I'd say...a rather okay basic beer. Nothing to write home about but nothing that would make me want to throw it out the window either.
* * *
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/886/40741506644_c53f4847d1_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition time again!
This time we have a strong Pilsner from Germany called BERLINER KINDL Jubiläums.
It's a very light golden colored beer. Someone might call this a rather typical German pilsner and frankly why wouldn't I?
There is nothing about this that screams ultimate flavour but on the other hand there is nothing that screams anything negative either. A very uncomplicated beer with a rather clean and smooth taste with an almost sweet aftertaste.
This is slightly stronger in alcohol content with 5.1% but you can't really tell the difference to a normal 4.7% beer.
A very good basic beer.
* * *
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/912/26741640107_5e56593033_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition.
This time we have a domestic beer for a change called Karhu Ruis IPA (which in english means Bear and Ruis=Rye). This is a brand new product from Karhu.
It's a very dark amber brown in color, almost murky. The taste is quite strong and you can really taste the rye in the aftertaste. This also is bit hoppy but not over poweringly so. All in all this is a rather "safe" tasting IPA part from the flavour of rye in the mix. Very typical product from Finland's biggest brewery company.
There is a bit higher alcohol content with 5.3% but you can't really taste the difference.
The price difference between the standard Karhu (Bear) and this is quite big, almost double and I can safely say it is NOT worth it. I'll take a good English IPA over this any day.
* * ½
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/824/41044992524_bb13914558_z.jpg)
-
How much more costly is it?
It wouldn't be the first time I read about a beverage company selling stuff that is marginally better, at best, at a huge mark-up in price.
Worst case was some Johnny Walker stuff a guy found in a Japanese duty-free shop. It was marked up, labeled exclusively for sale in Japan, something like Black Label Reserve Platinum Chateau First Pressing Organic Sun-dried GMO-free Extra Premium...
... and it wound up tasting like motor oil. Total and complete rip-off.
-
How much more costly is it?
Regular Karhu is about 2€ this was almost 3.69€...
It is quite often the case with these "special" beers that they aren't nearly as good as the original and cost more...
-
Charger's Wine Club, Beer Edition.
This time we have some Domestic beer again, something called Brewer's Special, Mosaic Pale Ale from the Saimaan Juomatehdas in Mikkeli Finland.
A quite a murky brown colored ale with a hoppy and slightly fruity citrusy taste which is not to my liking.
Citrus and beer should not mix, luckily though in this one there is only a hint of citrus so it isn't what ruins this, but the over all lackluster taste really....and the aftertaste is slightly bitter which is bit odd...
Finns do know how to make good beer...but these Finns clearly don't.
* *
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/951/27346755687_9c34fb610b_z.jpg)
-
So for these beers you try out, do you get a single bottle or a pack of several?
-
So for these beers you try out, do you get a single bottle or a pack of several?
I get a single bottle. Usually from a grocery store.
-
So for these beers you try out, do you get a single bottle or a pack of several?
I get a single bottle. Usually from a grocery store.
Good job, just in case it's a stanky beer.
I know that one that's very popular in Texas and other parts of the USA is Shiner Bock. Are you able to get that in Finland?
-
Good job, just in case it's a stanky beer.
I know that one that's very popular in Texas and other parts of the USA is Shiner Bock. Are you able to get that in Finland?
Ever since Richard and the Monkeys did that F100 for Shiner I've been wanting to try their beer...haven't been able to find one yet...but I am looking.
-
Well, it's in Texas, if you ever get out this way...
Actually, it's all across the USA: https://www.shiner.com/find
-
Didn't find any Shiner's so went with this one instead:
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition
This time we have a special beer from Germany called Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier from Märzen Brewery in Bamberg
What is special about this is that it has very long roots dating all the way back to 1405. This is also what is called a smoked beer where the hops are dried over a fire which gives them a distinct smokey aroma.
And yes this indeed tastes like smoke...or to be more precise almost like smoked ham. So I would imagine this would work perfectly with a nice piece of smoked ham or something like that. Or why not smoked fish too...
The lager is very dark brown in color and is quite strudy in flavour. But the smokiness is rather overpowering. So honestly as a stand alone beer this is bit too much but with the right food I can imagine this being rather good.
This is something of a curiosity and I'd invite everyone to try this but at the same time this isn't for everybody...not really for me atleast. But a great experience to taste something so different.
* * ½
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1749/40561841810_c4d95d07a3_z.jpg)
-
CHARGER's WINE CLUB Beer Edition!
This time we have a Pale Ale from Ridgeway Brewery in Oxfordshire called Blue.
A deep goldish brown in color and mild and fresh in taste.
You can sense a slight fruitiness in the background but it is by no means overpowering. This is also quite mildly hoppy.
A rather good but also a rather basic beer. There is nothing that really stands out...in good or in bad. This is the kind of stuff that the Brits are known for.
This is also my first ever Glutein Free beer, and I have to say that part is well made as this really doesn't taste different in that regard either.
I'll give the a moderate
* * *
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1730/42697567591_acdf7cba5a_z.jpg)
-
Have you ever had Warsteiner Charg??? My favorite import beer.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/40/Warsteiner-Logo.svg/120px-Warsteiner-Logo.svg.png)
A fabulous German beer that I can highly recommend!!
-
No I haven't!
Thanks for the recommendation! I'll see if I can find some and try it out!
-
Been a while...time to bring this one back!
This time we have something different, we have a pale Lager from China (That's right folks China!) called TsingTao 1903.
This is a very light golden colored beer with a very soft taste with a hint of rice flavour present. This also has a bit higher alcohol content of 5.0%.
One could probably say that this is the chinese equivalent for PBS or Bud. Mild, easy going beer. Makes no fuss about itself. Some might call it bit bland but honestly light flavoured fresh beers have their own place as well.
All in all a very nice basic beer...and it's from China! Like pretty much everything else.
* * *
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1948/44992337691_a62d666596_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have something very speical...We have a Lager all the way from Thailand called LEO.
I'd like to dedicate this Wine Club post to my feline brother Leo who has fallen ill a bit.
Naturally when I saw this beer at the store shelf there was no way I would not buy it. And sometimes these kind of purchases really surprise you...and sometimes even postively...like this one.
Leo is a very nice golden brown lager with a very nice soft taste. This is not an aromatic explosion in your mouth type of a beer but a very nice solid basic beer...something which I quite enjoy.
Under normal circumstances I'd give this one a three star rating but because of the name I'm giving this one a happy
* * * *
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1975/44419489944_22533734d0_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have a lager from Scotland called Tennent's T 1885 Lager.
The lager is of nice golden brown in color and has a nice soft taste. There is a hint of fruitiness and sweet maltiness.
Some Scottish beers that I've had have been very strong in flavour and not always in a positive way, but the T is milder and more easier to enjoy but it still has just enough character to make it stand out from your average beers or lagers to be more accurate.
This also has a slightly higher alcohol content of 5% but you cannot taste it.
All in all a very positive discovery and a very enjoyable beer...it is rather easy to highly recommend this one!
* * * *
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1967/31713970668_5c0a1baea4_z.jpg)
-
Tennent's T is a great beer. When I spent 3 months travelling around the UK and Europe in 2000 Tennants was one of the beers I enjoyed the most on the trip. Have never been able to track anyone down in Australia that imported it until recently but it is very expensive to buy. It's like $80 a case.
-
Tennent's T is a great beer. When I spent 3 months travelling around the UK and Europe in 2000 Tennants was one of the beers I enjoyed the most on the trip. Have never been able to track anyone down in Australia that imported it until recently but it is very expensive to buy. It's like $80 a case.
$80.00 a case? My goodness!
-
That can was about 3€ here which would make a case of 24 about 72€ which would make it about 115 AUD or 82US$
-
That can was about 3€ here which would make a case of 24 about 72€ which would make it about 115 AUD or 82US$
My goodness.
-
That can was about 3€ here which would make a case of 24 about 72€ which would make it about 115 AUD or 82US$
My goodness.
Actually that's quite cheap for an import beer here...especially considering it was a 0.5l can.
A 0.33l bottle can cost more than 6€ here.
Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
-
That can was about 3€ here which would make a case of 24 about 72€ which would make it about 115 AUD or 82US$
Cases are cheaper which is why you buy a case. You can buy a pack of 4 here for $17 which works out at $4.25 each, still a little cheaper than you paid. Not sure why that is.
You get many Aussie inports over there Charger?
-
You get many Aussie inports over there Charger?
Some...Foster's obviously but there have been few others too...I might keep an eye out for some...you have any recommendations?
-
You get many Aussie inports over there Charger?
Some...Foster's obviously but there have been few others too...I might keep an eye out for some...you have any recommendations?
Its funny! No one drinks Fosters over here but it seems to be out most well known beer abroad along with Victoria Bitter which has always been a favourite of beer drinkers in Australia
Craft beers seem to be all the rage over here at the moment though with Pirate Life and Feral War Hog being two of the better ones I've had, but I doubt they'd be available where you are.
From the bigger Breweries, James Boag's, Cascade Premiun, Coopers Pale Ale and Crown Lager are good choices.
-
You get many Aussie inports over there Charger?
Some...Foster's obviously but there have been few others too...I might keep an eye out for some...you have any recommendations?
Its funny! No one drinks Fosters over here but it seems to be out most well known beer abroad along with Victoria Bitter which has always been a favourite of beer drinkers in Australia
Craft beers seem to be all the rage over here at the moment though with Pirate Life and Feral War Hog being two of the better ones I've had, but I doubt they'd be available where you are.
From the bigger Breweries, James Boag's, Cascade Premiun, Coopers Pale Ale and Crown Lager are good choices.
I quite like Foster's actually! I have it every now and then. Victoria Bitter I've never had...
Coopers Pale Ale I know...that I've had, the others are new to me so I'll be seeing if I can find them.
Another Aussie thing I've had is Two Dogs...my god that was horrible! :D
-
^^I thought Two Dogs was like an alcoholic Soda?
-
^^I thought Two Dogs was like an alcoholic Soda?
It's beer with lemonade in it basically. Tastes horrible.
-
^^I thought Two Dogs was like an alcoholic Soda?
It's beer with lemonade in it basically. Tastes horrible.
Ah! We call that a Shandy over here. Beer & Lemonade
-
Back to the old days:
Return Of the ORIGINAL Charger's Wine Club!
Few years ago I started the mission to go through every single US made wine available here and make small reviews out of everything which was the birth of the Wine Club. Well a while ago already I had gone through all of the ones that were atleast readily available but now a few new ones have arrived so naturally I had to restart my old pet project.
So this time on Charger's Wine Club we have a 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma County California called Louis M. Martini.
This is a very smooth and almost sweet tasting red with hints of plums,herbs and chocolate and even a mild cherriness.
This is one of the better Cabernet Sauvignon's I've had. The wine is also rich in tannins too which adds to the taste perfectly.
A wine this rich in taste might even benefit from few years of aging but is also excellent to drink as it is.
As usual I'll be rating this using the wine magazine rating from 85 to 95.
The last great CS was from Noble Wines to which I gave a 94 rating and I have to say this one is probably even better so I would be doing this a disfavour if I wouldn't give it the best rating of 95!
This wine can be highly recommended.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4835/45201914144_72640fa3d2_z.jpg)
-
I’m not much of a wine drinker, I love beer.
May I recommend Victory Storm King Imperial Stout
(https://www.victorybeer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SK_NEW_12ozBottle_webtrans.png)
Great tasting heavy stout with an alcohol content of 9.1
-
Haven't seen that one anywhere...
I am usually bit weary on beers of that high alcohol content...they tend to be bit too strong for my taste but I'm always keen to trying out new stouts so if I see that one I'll give it a go!
-
Haven't seen that one anywhere...
I am usually bit weary on beers of that high alcohol content...they tend to be bit too strong for my taste but I'm always keen to trying out new stouts so if I see that one I'll give it a go!
I recommend it Charger, you won’t be disappointed.
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have a dark ale from the glorious England called Bombardier Glorious English Ale.
A very dark brown in color and quite rich and malty in taste. There are also hints of fruits and maybe even a slight caramel but this isn't particularly sweet though.
This is what you could call a typical English dark ale. There isn't anything overly special about it but there isn't really anything unpleasant about it either. Unlike some dark ales this thankfully isn't very hoppy which makes an easier drinking experience.
All in all a very nice slightly above average beer.
* * * ½
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4895/46278471262_a1ffbc4e69_z.jpg)
-
I have not had a drink in a while, but yesterday I got a Bitburger (German Beer) and my god it tasted like ass!!
I do not know if I got a bad one or if I just do not have the stomach for the imports like I did in the past.
-
Well the thing (from my experience) with German beers is that they are a hit or a miss kind of a deal...some are really good and some...well taste like ass.
-
I agree, it is just that German beer was my favorite Import beer, in particular Warsteiner. I still love that one but the Bitburger was horrible. Thing is I have had it before and liked it. Oh well, domestics are cheaper anyway.
-
Charger's Beer Club is having a Christmas special!!!
Charger's Wine Club [Christmas] Beer Edition part 1!
So it is that time of the year...ho ho ho and all that bullshit. Well I couldn't give a rats ass about some jolly fat guy in a red suit or the birth of some makebelief deity...but what I do give a rats ass about is BEER! And that's what this holiday season is gonna be all about! Different types of christmas beers!
Starting with this one, a very seasonably named Reindeer Droppings, an Ale from Ridgeway Brewery in Oxfordshire England.
A nice amber brown colored beer with tastes of raisins and even some grapefruit. But unlike most christmas beers this isn't overly strong in taste nor is it very dark. Also there are no season tastes like cinnamon or chocolate or such. It's actually almost just like a basic slightly bitter ale.
Part from the name this really has very little to do with traditional christmas beers. And that isn't entirely a bad thing but frankly season beers should be...well seasony.
But this is still a rather good beer with a rather brilliant name but nothing special.
* * ½
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7817/32550632218_f53366dfa8_z.jpg)
-
Charger have you looked for the Storm King Stout I recommended?
-
Charger have you looked for the Storm King Stout I recommended?
I have actually. Haven't seen it yet. Will keep an eye out for it though!
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition Christmas Special pt. 2!
Time to carry on with our Christmas beer special!
This time we have some Finnish beer from the Fiskars Brewery in the town of Fiskars called Joulun Tähti (which translates to Star Of Christmas).
A quite dark murky brown in color, the taste is quite yeasty as this is a bottom yeast lager. This also bit on the hoppier side but not over poweringly so though. You can also taste some rye and a hint of cinnamon.
This is clearly more christmas-y than Raindeer Droppings was but that does not mean this is better.
The slight bitterness and yeastiness is not really my cup of beer. This suffers from the same thing many small finnish brewery products do, they try so much to be something different that they go over board with it.
* *
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7837/45726292214_3b539b4c8f_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition Christmas Special Pt. 3!
And on we go with Christmas beers!
This time we have something from Belgium called Do They Know It's Christmas by Mikkeller Brewery.
A very dark brown brown in color and quite murky, with a strong bitter yeasty taste...but there is also a hint of almost sweetness like caramell but it does get over powered by the maltiness soon.
That being said as far as malty yeasty bitter beers go this isn't the worst I've had...maybe because there is that small level of sweetness balancing it out slightly. But one thing that is missing is christmas-y taste. This is more like just a yeasty IPA.
So far it seems that I haven't been able to make a lot of distictions between my Christmas ales as far as points go as this one will also be getting the same score as the ones before:
* * ½
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7902/44644954770_6ed4307805_z.jpg)
-
Charger have you looked for the Storm King Stout I recommended?
I have actually. Haven't seen it yet. Will keep an eye out for it though!
When you do find it and try it let me know on here Charger.
-
When you do find it and try it let me know on here Charger.
All new beers I try get a place at the Wine Club not to worry! ;)
-
Thanks Charger! :rockon:
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition Christmas Special pt. 4!!
This time we have some domestic stuff again. This time from Northern Finland something called Joulu (Christmas) Porter from Tornio's Brewery.
This like most porters is very very dark brown in color, almost black. The taste incorporates some roaster malts, chocolate and what brings this it's christmas-y flavour Vanilla.
This is quite sweet and soft which are extremely good qualities for a Porter to have.
This might not be the most complex porter out there but there is enough here to make this stand out though and this most certainly now takes the lead on my little christmas special with a handsome score of:
* * * *
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4892/46438441052_bb25fba8fd_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition, Christmas Special pt. 5!
We are carrying on with the domestic theme as we once again have a beer from Finland, this time from Virran Brewery in Savonlinna called Mustan Virran Talvi Olut (Black Stream Winter Beer).
It is very dark, almost black in color and has tastes of Coffee, chocolate and some berries.
Taste wise this is something of a mix between a porter and a stout I'd say...bit more on the porter side because there is some bitterness and bit of hoppiness as well present. But still this is a very easy going beer which packs a nice ammount of flavour. Eventhough I am not a big coffee fan and usually in a beer it's bit of a no no, here the taste actually complements the beer and is not overpowering in any way. The sweetness of the chocolate might help as well.
A solid....lets called it...porter with a very nice overall taste.
* * * ½
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7881/46517382031_04496aea64_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition NEW YEAR EVE SPECIAL.
Well we went through some Christmas themed beers but now it's time for the final wine club entry of 2018...but unless I manage to shoot a firework in my brain (or slip in the slippery windy conditions and crack my skull open) Wine Club will again return in 2019...
For the final entry of the year we have another Finnish beer. This time from a brewery less than 20km from me called Kuninkaantien Panimo (King's Road brewery) in Piikkiö Finland called Vahva Tuorlan Tumma (Strong Tuorla Dark).
This is very dark brown lager with a nearly sweet slightly malty taste.
A very well balanced dark lager without any bitterness or other hindering qualities. This is something that I can imagine would work well with some meaty dish or just as a stand alone enjoyment beer as well.
This I can recommend quite easily for people who want to try out some darker beers for the first time. A very good beer to end the year with.
* * * ½
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4914/45632135585_062a635f75_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition, first chapter of 2019!
Well as I've said earlier, new year is the same as the old year...nothing ever changes...thus Wine Club is still here and the journey through the world of Beers continues.
To kick the 2019 season off we have a Lager from Sweden called Pistonhead, Kustom Lager.
A golden colored lager with a mildly hoppy and malty taste.
Kind of falsely it says on the label "Real smooth taste" which this is not as it is somewhat more bitter than most lagers. Not overly so but not quite smooth in taste either.
There isn't a whole lot going on with this one, which is a good thing. In a lot of ways this is a very nice basic lager, just with that slightly hoppy edge.
* * * ½
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7804/45704434615_0dd4c3b87a_z.jpg)
-
Charger, I came across some cheap red wine from California that’s not bad, it’s called Crane Lake.
So far I’ve tried Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and a Merlot, they go for $4.00 a bottle.
Pretty good, if you’re up to trying them.
-
Thanks for the hints. But we have a very very limited selection of US wines here...We do get one or two new ones a year usually...but so far I have gone through all that are available here...but everytime I see a new one I will try it out.
-
Thanks for the hints. But we have a very very limited selection of US wines here...We do get one or two new ones a year usually...but so far I have gone through all that are available here...but everytime I see a new one I will try it out.
No problem.
They might sound like undrinkable gut rot at $4 a pop, but I must say they’re pretty good.
-
Thanks for the hints. But we have a very very limited selection of US wines here...We do get one or two new ones a year usually...but so far I have gone through all that are available here...but everytime I see a new one I will try it out.
No problem.
They might sound like undrinkable gut rot at $4 a pop, but I must say they’re pretty good.
In wines I've found out that price has actually very little to do with taste or quality of the product. I've had really expensive wines that I thought were average at best and I've had really cheap ones that I thought were excellent. So I've learned NEVER to just look at the price tag. :)
-
Thanks for the hints. But we have a very very limited selection of US wines here...We do get one or two new ones a year usually...but so far I have gone through all that are available here...but everytime I see a new one I will try it out.
No problem.
They might sound like undrinkable gut rot at $4 a pop, but I must say they’re pretty good.
In wines I've found out that price has actually very little to do with taste or quality of the product. I've had really expensive wines that I thought were average at best and I've had really cheap ones that I thought were excellent. So I've learned NEVER to just look at the price tag. :)
You’re a smart guy Charger.
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
Been I while I know but I'm back baby.
This week we have an ale from Denmark called Polar Monkeys White Collar Golden Ale.
And yes it does have a monkey on the label and no it does not have anything to do with Richard Rawlings or Gas Monkey Garage however this should I suppose be Richard's beer of choice...
But I digress...
The beer is as the name suggests a very nice golden brown in color and has a rather nice smooth taste with hints of nuts and some light fruitiness.
This has a higher alcohol content of 5.5% but the feel is still quite light. I would call this a very good quality basic ale. There is hardly anything special about it but there isn't anything wrong with it either.
* * * ½
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7800/46274799825_68d6a6dc09_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
Been a while but now again we have a Stout at the wine club!
This time something from Sheperd Neame & Co Brewery in Kent, called Double Stout.
A very dark, near black stout with a good rounded taste with hints of smokiness, cocoa and even some coffee.
This might be tad bit more bitter than most stouts but it is not overly so thankfully as best stouts are very smooth.There thankfully is some sweetness here to balance out the bitter...but regardless this is not as smooth as most Stouts are.
Still I would say this is a very enjoyable beer and if you are a fan of stouts like me you should most certainly try this one out as well!
* * * *
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7825/32318054517_26ef453c62_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have a pilsner from Czech Rebublic called Holba Premium.
Very nice golden brown in color and nice smooth soft taste. Very traditional Pilsner with a hint of maltiness and a slight side of hoppiness, but nothing over powering which is great.
This might be somewhat basic beer but on the other hand there is nothing wrong with that. You don't always need tons of different kinds of flavours and stuff...when you have the main ingredient (THE BEER) down you don't really need anything else...and this is a perfect example of that.
* * * *
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7908/33454589148_daeeffffab_z.jpg)
-
...Holba Premium...
I appreciate all of these reviews you do Charger. I might actually have to try this recent one out myself!
-
...Holba Premium...
I appreciate all of these reviews you do Charger. I might actually have to try this recent one out myself!
Thanks Vyn! I'm glad if my experiments inspire people to try out new beers! :)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition St. Patrick's Day Special!
For this day there is really only one option for the Wine Club, but it is still with a twist as we have Guinness Extra Stout.
Which techincally is Guinness but with a twist.
There is the taste we all love present but the there is also a bit of fruitiness and even some bitterness present...which the traditional classic black stuff does not have.
Taste wise this is not as incredibly smooth and easy going as the original Guinness Draught which ofcourse is simply put THE best beer in the world, thus I can not justify giving this a full 5 star rating but I'll give it the next best thing.
* * * * ½
Happy St. Paddy's day weekend to all!!! Drink and be merry! Don't be like me...
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7888/46674121344_7a7af4cf6b_z.jpg)
-
Wow been a while since I've had something new!!
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition.
This time we have a beer from Kiuchi Brewery in Japan called Red Rice Ale.
A very dark murky brown ale with a prominent maltiness and a slight taste of yeast.
This mid hoppy ale isn't among the strongest of it's kind though but it also isn't as mild as some Japanese beers can be. The alcohol content is 7% and you can taste it...it leaves kind of a strong lingering almost bitter after taste...not a very pleasant thing. In most stronger beers you can't taste the alcohol anymore but this is a bit of a blast from the past in that regard.
Otherwise the beer isn't so bad but the overpowering taste of alcohol pretty much ruins it.
* *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47600212712_d16b431a57_z.jpg)
-
^ Every time I see that glass, I think there's now a Dio Beer... :doh:
-
^ Every time I see that glass, I think there's now a Dio Beer... :doh:
Ronnie was more of a red wine guy so I think if he'd ever gone to the alcohol business it would have been wine...
But he also did like Guinness so maybe a fine stout could have been possible.
Also with all of these bands making beers and wines now not that far of a stretch that Ronnie might have wanted to do the same would he still be with us.
-
^ Every time I see that glass, I think there's now a Dio Beer... :doh:
Ronnie was more of a red wine guy so I think if he'd ever gone to the alcohol business it would have been wine...
But he also did like Guinness so maybe a fine stout could have been possible.
Also with all of these bands making beers and wines now not that far of a stretch that Ronnie might have wanted to do the same would he still be with us.
That’s because he’s Italian, his father probably made wine, most Southern Europeans make whine as part of their culture, I know a few Southern Europeans who did, Italian and Portuguese, and after they’d make their grappa with the grape mash after pressing the grapes.
-
Holy crap, I went looking around and found that Dio did a Budweiser commercial!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVczOiOO3sg
-
Yes he did indeed. I'm kind of surprised you didn't know about that...
-
Holy moses it's been almost 4 months since my last beer experiment and subsequent Wine Club entry...wow...what a sacrilege.
So it is time for the return of CHARGER's WINE CLUB's BEER EDITON:
This time we have some Kentish Strong Ale from Shepherd Neame brewery in...well Kent England called Bishops Finger.
This is a very dark brown Ale with a some what murky essense.
The taste is an interesting mixture of some caramel like sweetness combined with a slight bitterness even with a hint of citrus.
Shepherd Neame is the oldest brewery in Britain and you can sense that there is a vast tradition and skill in producing good basic beer. There are no IPA-style gimmicks here no mumbo jumbo just good traditional ale. Which is the way frankly it should be.
The slightly higher alcohol content of 5.4% is also very traditional and complements the ale well.
A rather excellent british ale...something they sure know how to do well.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48505263797_b39051129b_z.jpg)
-
Wow...it's been a while but I am back baby with a new beer!!
This time we have a Lager from Czech Republic called KOZEL Premium Lager.
It's a nice golden brown soft tasting beer. There is a hint of fruitiness and it's very mildly hoppy with yet a nicely soft maltiness, which is always a good thing.
This is a very good, I suppose you could describe it as a basic lager, but that's not a bad thing at all. Most of the time the beers you can enjoy the best are the ones that have very little gimmicky supposedly trendy "special flavours" in them. Those might be fun to have once but basic lagers, like this Kozel, are the ones that you'll return to.
I am not the biggest fan of Czech beers but this was a nice positive surprise. If you like lagers this is not to be missed.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48924525343_58de9bd24a_z.jpg)
-
Yeah, I always wonder about those special flavors.
*Can* you get (X) flavor into a beer? Sure.
*Should* you get (X) flavor into that beer? Well, maybe not... :D
-
^^^Quite well said. I've never been into all those "fancy ass" beers. Not my thing.
This time we have a product of a small Finnish brewery called Kakolan Kalpea (Kakola was an infamous prison in Turku and kalpea means pale in finnish). This beer has gotten it's name from a novel written by a famous Finnish writer Reijo Mäki.
The unfiltered Pale Ale is bit murky light brown in color and has a very prominent citrus flavour along with some bitters and maltiness.
The after taste is overly bitter and it lingers on and on.
As far as Pale Ales go this is not among the finest ones. Some bitter is fine in beer but this has bit too much of it and it carries too far in the after taste overpowering virtually everything else.
* *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48963854706_18b8aa4ee5_z.jpg)
-
This time we have a Lager from Czech Republic called Litovel Premium.
This is nice golden brown in color, taste incorporates some maltiness along with a slight sweetness and a very mild bitterness.
This is again (just like Kozel) a pretty nice standard lager, however this is not quite as smooth and easy going. But a good basic lager non the less. The slightly stronger alcohol content of 5% doesn't make much of a difference exept maybe give it some edge. Nothing special here but at the same time nothing seriously wrong with it either.
* * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49038908438_be3c27e7e2_z.jpg)
-
This time we have a light lager from Germany called Karlsbräu Helles.
Beer is very light golden brown in color, has very little acidity and very light in taste. On the can it says World Beer Awards Germany Winner, but I honestly have a very hard time understanding why.
This is a good solid light lager with an extremely mild taste so I find it hard to imagine this to have won anything. Granted there is nothing really exceptionally badly wrong with the beer either but it really raises very little emotions one way or another.
I do like mild tasting lagers and pilsners like Bud or Pabst and so forth but this doesn't have that "something" that those beer have. I could imagine this would work pretty well with food as it has very little taste of it's own. But as it is nothing to really write home about.
* * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49111259253_babc33a46e_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition part 1.
Well ho ho ho! It is that season again which means the Wine Club goes all christmassy.
To kick things off we have a product of a smaller Finnish brewery Saimaa Brewing Co. (Saimaa is the largest lake here in Finland and the brewery is located in Mikkeli on the shores of the lake) called Valkiajärvi Jouluolut (Whitelake Christmas Beer).
A very dark murky brown colored beer with a taste of raisins and slight caramel sweetness with some malty aftertaste.
As far as christmas beers go this is on the softer and smoother side but the downside of that is that it is also lacking some richness and character in the flavour department. This is maybe even bit too bland for a season ale.
However it is still smooth and easy to drink.
* * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49148222251_2c1e4a6ea7_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club CHRISTMAS Beer Edition!!
Ho Ho Ho! It is time for the annual festive season of trying out different christmas themed beers.
The perfect way to get into the holiday spirit is with a beer from Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire England called BAH HUMBUG!
The seasonal beer is quite dark brown in color and the taste incorporates some mild hoppiness with good maltiness and hints of cinnamon and dried fruits. You can also sense a hint of caramel in the aftertaste.
Unlike some christmas beer this is quite smooth and even light in taste and feel. Eventhough this has a bit higher alcohol content of 5.0%.
This is a great beer to warm yourself into the rather spicy and perhaps strong world of christmas beers. You can get the festive feel without any of the negative things that can be present in seasonal ales.
The name alone is worthy of few stars and combined with the taste this deserves a high rating of:
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49254795077_14caa15f83_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition part 3!
Moving on with our christmas season beers.
This time we have a beer from Pori Finland called ROCKING WINTER RED ALE.
A very deep dark brown in color and has a rather bitter malty taste with a hint of caramel in the after taste.
Bit of an unbalanced beer this one, on the one hand it has that bitter side and one hand the sweetness. It's like it can't fully decide what to be.
But taste aside this beer had one thing going against it the moment I opened the can. I took it straight out of the fridge, didn't shake it or anything and booom it foamed right out of the can straight onto the table, mouse mat and naturally on the keyboard which is now writing a bunch of numbers with the letters plus the "enter" button stopped working so...
Sorry... no stars for this one...as it cost me a keyboard.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49265389481_f707fa7a7f_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 4!!
This time we have an all time classic of a christmas beer, it's the BAD ELF WINTER's ALE from Ridgeway Brewing Company in Oxfordshire England.
This is a very murky golden in color and a strong yeasty and somewhat bitter hoppy taste with a hint of citrus.
For a normal beer I'd say there's bit too much hopps but for a season ale it works.
This is probably my favourite IPA style beer and that's probably because I only have it once every few years. But it is something of a christmas classic.
* * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49270514052_f4d07f4dac_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 5!
And with a brand new keyboard we soldier on with our Christmas themed beers.
This time we have yet another Finnish beer, Pakkas Paavo Talviolut 2019 from Teerenpeli Panimo in Lahti Finland.
Hard to translate that name but maybe something like Frosty Freddy or something to that effect. Or Lowtemp Louie. Anyways it's a play on words type of a thing. Talviolut is simply Winter Beer.
Anyways what's inside the bottle is more important than the name anyways.
This is a very dark brown, near black in color and has a very strong taste of coco beans and coffee.
As is the case with most dark ales this has a lot going on and is very strong in taste. Not very smooth like stouts. It says on the bottle that this would go well with meat...it indeed might...most certainly better than just as a stand alone beer I am sure. The hefty taste of bitters and coffee is bit too over powering here.
* * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49278516628_827b21302b_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition part 6!
And we are moving on with our Christmas themed Wine club again.
This time we have a dark lager from Vaasa Finland called BOCK's TALVIOLUT (Winter Beer).
Bock's brewery has a long tradition in beer making dating all the way back to the 1800s.
This dark lager is very dark brown in color with tastes of licorice, yeasty bread, some coffee and smoky herbs.
As with most seasonal beers this one too has a lot going on. But it is not overpowering. You can taste the beer underneath which is a good thing. The slightly higher alcohol content of 5.2% adds maybe a bit of tang.
This is a pretty good seasonal dark lager with a good balance in taste.
* * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49289034842_31991a91c5_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 7.
In the final edition of the Christmas beer special this time we have yet another domestic beer, this time from the Lapin Panimo (Lapland Brewery) in Rovaniemi called Lapin Joulu (Christmas In Lapland).
This dark lager is a very traditional Finnish christmas beer in both taste and color.
Very dark brown with a taste of some dark bread, chocolate, plums and soft maltiness with mild hoppiness.
I'd say out of all the Finnish christmas beers this is the best one. Very rounded flavours with nothing over power the other. Very balanced good tasting seasonal beer that you could actually drink other times as well.
Considering the Lapin Panimo has only been operational since 2016 they've mastered the craft of good seasonal beer making surprisingly well.
So the old saying good is worth the wait was definitely the case here, our last beer is the best on of the lot too!
* * * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49306121248_69c0a9d646_z.jpg)
-
Been a while but...
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition is back!!
This time we have a domestic product again this time a brand new one in fact from Mattson Brewery in Lahti Finland called Mattson Imprerial Porter.
A very dark near black in color and very velvety smooth in taste this porter is quite near a stout even. There is no crispness or tang present what so ever which you normally get from a porter.
There is a slight strongness to the taste which comes from the high alcohol content of 7.0% but even that is not over powering.
That being said I would like to taste this with a lower alcohol content as well as it might be somewhat smoother still.
Finland isn't best known for it's porters but this is quite an introduction to a new brewery and quite the first product too I might add.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49507537077_2f50e67201_z.jpg)
-
This time we have an ale from Greene King Brewery in Suffolk England called ABBOT ALE.
This nice deep amber brown colored beer has a slight caramel taste with mild hoppiness and sweet maltiness. You can even taste a hint of citrus on the aftertaste.
This is a very smooth and well balanced ale with an alcohol content of 5%. Tastes milder even which is not a bad thing.
One of the better English beers for sure this one.
* * * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49539542121_884f4f0674_z.jpg)
-
^^^^^^
Well I hope you are not drinking while on the job.
(https://image.shutterstock.com/image-vector/police-guard-man-character-sleep-260nw-561668143.jpg)
-
Hahah! Nope...day (or should I say night?) off tonight and tomorrow! ;D
-
Hahah! Nope...day (or should I say night?) off tonight and tomorrow! ;D
:geezer:
-
Been a while but we are back and this time we have a very interesting Stout from Porterhouse Brewing Company in Ireland called Oyster Stout
A very dark brown colored stout which has a surprising carbonated quality. There are quite a bit of bubbles present and the texture is similar to cola even. Very unusual for a stout.
The taste has some chocolate, liquorice and maltiness.
It is reported that actual Oysters have been used in making of the stout and that it should provide it with a minerally taste, I honestly can't tell but there is a slight earthiness to it, almost dirt-like taste which might be the result of the oysters
A very unusual beer in a lot of ways, but honestly it is nothing special taste wise...but it's nothing bad either. Maybe bit bland for something this strange.
* * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49610655231_366f6c1852_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club near Easter Edition has arrived.
This time we have a Finnish beer again in the form of Mustan Virran Panimo's (Black River Brewery) PääsiäisPortteri (Easter Porter).
Black River Brewery is located in Savonlinna in center Finland and is a small brewery specialized in special seasonal beers.
Pääsiäsiportteri is a very dark in color with a very strong taste of coffee with some bitter and hops. One thing that leaps out from the very first taste is a high ammount of acidity almost like a coke...not something I am overly fond of. Also there is an almost ashy kind of an aftertaste present which leaves much to be desired as well.
Porter's can be really good and aromatic and smooth. This is...well...neither to be honest.
Maybe paired with smokey food or rich meats like easter lamb or something it might work better but as a sipping beer..no. It is not a very good one I'm afraid.
* *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49735998807_e9f9480936_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
A while back we had a great lager from the Czech Republic called Kozel, now this time we have it's darker brother, aptly called Kozel Dark. (Clever naming I know!)
A very dark, near black in color this dark lager has a very nice smooth soft almost sweet taste with just a hint of bitter.
Just like the lighter Kozel this too is a very well balanced basic beer. There are no tricks no gimmicks, just a great smooth tasting beer.
In fact the difference between the regular Kozel and the Dark is basically the color and the bit more characteristic sweeter taste.
All in all yet another win from the Czech beer legend Velkopopovicky. It is no surprise Kozel is one of Finland's most popular import beers.
Be it light or dark this is pretty much pure gold.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49761221793_bd812e9cd9_z.jpg)
-
I had plans for a business trip to the Czech Republic the first week of May. Among other things, I was looking forward to sampling some local brew.
Of course that trip was cancelled a while back due to that thing that everyone in the world is dealing with.
So it's a little consolation to read your impressions. In fact, you do a fantastic job reviewing all of the sophisticated adult beverages you've posted about Charger!
-
^^^I concur Vyn, his reviews are great and he should be doing them for a magazine or website or something.
That is a very cool looking kozel can btw. Might have to see if I can get my hands on some here.
-
Hahaha! Thanks guys!
I think my reviews aren't quite indepth enough for magazines or websites though...my palate ain't sophisticated enough for that!
But it means a lot that you enjoy reading them...I'll keep posting them then.
-
^Don't sell yourself too short Charger. A lot of these professional magazine and online reviewers waffle on way too much about aromas and aftertastes and hints of this and hints of that where’s yours are short and to the point.
At the end of the day, most people just wanna know if it’s a fucking good drop or not :)
-
^^^
Thanks Jack...yeah that's kind of my point too...don't want to be overly complicated and make up words and tastes and what not...I'm a simpleton and I like to keep my reviews simple as well!
And on that note:
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have a lager from Germany called Spaten Munchen.
This golden colored lager has some sweet tastes of mild herbiness, slight maltiness and even some grassy hops and honey. But all in a very mild form.
Spaten is a very well balanced easy to drink, basic lager with a slightly higher alcohol content of 5.2%.
Germans quite like the Czech really know how to make good tasting basic beer. Sure both also have their more gimmicky stuff but they usually aren't as good truth be told. But basic lager is what they know best and here's another fine example.
There is nothing special on this one, but because of that there is really nothing gripe about either.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49842102363_49413b2142_z.jpg)
-
This time we have a Kölsch beer from Cologne Germany called Sünner Kölsch.
Kölsch a beer indigenous to the Köln (Cologne) area in Germany, it is usually a very light amber colored, mildly hoppy beer. That is also the case with the Sünner. But in addition it also has some mild fruitiness with hints of banana, peach and some mild citrus even.
Usually not a big fan of fruity beers but this one is so mild that it just adds slightly to the aroma of the beer instead of overpowering it like is the case with some fruitier beers.
There is a clear sweetness present as well which complements the mild hoppiness quite well. All in all a very well balanced, even if slightly complex beer.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49859724708_aec8f84abd_z.jpg)
-
This time we have an Irish Stout from the Rye River Brewing Company in Ireland called The Crafty Brewing Company Irish Stout. I know...what a clever name!
A very dark brown near black in color this stout has flavours of chocolate, coffee and some sweet toffee.
There is no singular taste element that gets overpowering and the sweetness on the background brings it all together very well.
This is a very good basic stout done with Irish precision. Not in the same class as Guinness or Murphy's but if you like stouts you should most certainly give this one a try!
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49920861887_19a1947884_z.jpg)
-
This time we have "A dark and mysterious Spellbinding porter" from Wychwood Brewery in Witney, Oxfordshire UK called Black Wych.
A very dark brown almost black in color the Black Wych has flavours of caramel, hints of nuts and liquorice and some sweetness combined with a robust aftertaste.
As far as Porters go this is among the better ones for sure. There aren't too many things going on taste wise and it's well balanced.
Another thing going for it is the label and the name...BLACK WYCH! How could you NOT love that!?
Did it cast a spell on me? Well...no...but it does taste pretty darn good.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49953184467_9c5131de48_z.jpg)
-
^ Every case of that needs to come with a free doom metal CD!
-
Hahaha! That would be fitting now wouldn't it...
-
Collect 'em all!
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have a Helles style German beer called Adlerkönig Urtyp Hell.
A very nice golden yellow in color this lager has a very nice smooth sweet almost honey like flavour with a slightly soft bitter aftertaste. Very well balanced and nice crispy edge to balance out the sweetness.
Helles is a very traditional german beer style and there is no reason to wonder why it is so popular in Germany. This is one of the better lager style beers I've ever had.
Highly recommendable!
* * * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50023759422_8a766577d2_z.jpg)
-
What is the contraption on top of the beer bottle? It looks like some kind of infernal mechanism...
-
I was looking through a Metallica book and I saw James and Kirk drinking this and was inspired to pick up a 4 pack of tall boys.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2b/Loewenbraeu_Logo.svg/220px-Loewenbraeu_Logo.svg.png)
-
Wow! I haven't seen or heard that word spoken in decades. They used to run a TV commercial for it and the guy had this Barry White sort of voice and he'd say "Lowenbrau" like he was whispering in his lover's ear or something.
I have never actually had one.
-
What is the contraption on top of the beer bottle? It looks like some kind of infernal mechanism...
That's the opening mechanism. German's like their beer bottles to have those. It's pretty easy to open and you don't need a bottle opener for it...just flip the switch on the bottom and bam it opens up.
Like the one on this one:
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/RO4AAOSwEF5c4zIo/s-l400.jpg)
As far as Löwenbräy goes I don't think I've ever had that...need to look it up...Bavarian beer is usually very good.
-
^^ Love those bottle tops, it obviously adds cost to producing the bottle though which adds to the cost of buying them though.
Attended what I was told was a Gemini party last night but ended up being a birthday celebration for me. Got smashed on Moon Dog and Crown Royal :cheers:
(https://craftypint.s3.amazonaws.com/crafty5/beer/Moon-Dog-Lager-190510-062123.png) (https://www.bottlesandcases.com/images/sites/bottlesandcases/labels/w77220354l_1.jpg)
-
Crown Royal is an excellent Canadian whiskey. And overall probably one of the best ones in it's price range.
Moon Dog I am assuming is an Aussie lager as I've never seen one....? I have however had the horrid Two Dogs Lemon beer..
-
Yes Moon Dog is an Australian craft beer brewed in Melbourne, very close to where I live actually. It’s an ok lager, very clean and smooth. Nothing to write home about though.
Agree with Crown Royal. I brought the bottle to the party. One of my favourite Canadian Whiskeys for an affordable price.
-
I think I need to get some Crown Royal again soon...been a year or two...
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have a domestic beer from Nokian Panimo in Nokia Finland called Keisari Stout (Emperor Stout).
This black in color stout has flavours of sweet liquorice and coffee and even hints of chocolate.
The taste is bit dry and has some bitter in the aftertaste but is a very nice multilayered stout.
Finland isn't known for it's stouts but Keisari Stout proves that we can do those quite well too.
This isn't near the best stouts I've ever had but it is still a very enjoyable one.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50034491781_cd4604f43a_z.jpg)
-
Wow! I haven't seen or heard that word spoken in decades. They used to run a TV commercial for it and the guy had this Barry White sort of voice and he'd say "Lowenbrau" like he was whispering in his lover's ear or something.
I have never actually had one.
Not the greatest of the German beers it is still very nice and it regularly goes on sale at a Cold Beer and Wine store I frequent.
-
Wow! I haven't seen or heard that word spoken in decades. They used to run a TV commercial for it and the guy had this Barry White sort of voice and he'd say "Lowenbrau" like he was whispering in his lover's ear or something.
I have never actually had one.
Not the greatest of the German beers it is still very nice and it regularly goes on sale at a Cold Beer and Wine store I frequent.
I tried to look for it today in the supermarket but couldn't find it... :(
-
Wow! I haven't seen or heard that word spoken in decades. They used to run a TV commercial for it and the guy had this Barry White sort of voice and he'd say "Lowenbrau" like he was whispering in his lover's ear or something.
I have never actually had one.
Not the greatest of the German beers it is still very nice and it regularly goes on sale at a Cold Beer and Wine store I frequent.
I tried to look for it today in the supermarket but couldn't find it... :(
I thought that it was one of the more popular of the German beers and would have been available across Europe.
-
If it's more popular, maybe they drank it all domestically before exporting it...
-
^^^
I have been looking for it now in several different stores...haven't found any...
This time we have a dark lager from the Czech republic called Staropramen Dark.
This very dark brown colored lager has flavours of chocolate, mild fruitiness and even a hint of coffee. There is a small presense of slight bitter hops which adds a nice different layer to the sweetness.
There is actually quite a bit of stout-y feel to this which makes it stand out a bit in the world of dark lagers, especially ones not from the UK or Ireland.
Over all a very good nice and smooth dark lager which maybe had it been made somewhere else might have been even called a stout.
This is a beer that I can say would be worth a try for both Stout and dark lager lovers.
Another fine product from the Czech Republic.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50062964002_182e1f2a01_z.jpg)
-
This time we have a stout from one of the most legendary breweries in Yorkshire UK, Samuel Smith called The Celebrated Oatmeal Stout.
That's right a Stout with oatmeal flavour!
Well in essense anyways.
This near black in color stout has flavours of chocolate, raisins, little bit of smokeyness even and some mild bitterness along with almost syrupy sweetness in the end.
But for the life of me I can't taste the oatmeal though...and I am glad that I can't as I really don't like oatmeal..at all.
This however is a very rich stout. Very heavy to drink so to speak. Not something that you could have multiple bottles of, not even two...That might be the oatmeal's doing actually...making it bit hefty. It's not quite like any other stout I've had.
Hard to really decide if that's a good or a bad thing. It is different that's for sure. Maybe not quite up my alley.There are many much better stouts out there but I am not sure there are many that are more unique.
* * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50094180948_8fec621546_z.jpg)
-
Sounds like you need a knife and fork to drink that! :)
-
^^^Pretty close! ;D
This time we have a domestic beer from Laitila Brewing company called Veikko Porter.
A very dark brown in color this porter is sweet and has some flavours of chocolate, sweet liquorice and even a slight coffee like roastiness.
You can also sense some bitterness in the aftertaste which adds a nice layer to the porter.
Porters are usually very tasty and full bodied beers and this is no different.
With the 5.5% alcohol content this can be called a strong beer but you can't really tell. The richness of the flavours covers that up very well.
A good solid porter.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50148870531_a8f1ab73e3_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club...well...WINE edition.
That's right folks. We've moved back to the realm of wines.
This time we have red wine from Spain called Borsao Crianza from 2015.
It's a mixture of Tempranillo, Grenache and Merlot grapes.
This is bit less sweet than full tempranillo wines are which is probably due to the fact that majority of the mix is Grenache which to me is an unknown grape. You can taste the Merlot though.
Taste wise you can find notes of vanilla and plum mixed with over all fruitiness and some tannins.
As usual instead of star rating wines get a wine magazine rating of 85 (poor) to 95 (Excellent).
Spain is a home to some great wines, and home to some cheap wines and expensive wines. And as we all know price is no direct sign of quality. Borsao Crianza 2015 is a rather affordable wine with price less than 10€ and one could say because of that it's no good. They'd be wrong.
This isn't as silky smooth as some pure Tempranillo's are but the grenache grape is no slouch either. It has nice flavour and very nice overall body.
So a strong 91 rating for this one.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50151987726_77567d4a2f_z.jpg)
-
Been a while since you did a wine. Mostly (and beer) for a while. :)
-
^^^
Yeah I don't drink a lot of wines anymore...mainly due to the fact that I work nights so I can't drink wine every night anymore and wine does not keep well in an opened bottle for many weeks...
Well saw this in the store the other day and with all the other Motörhead stuff going on I could not pass it up:
This time we have a special beer from Sweden called MOTÖRHEAD Bastards.
That's right this is the official beer of the legendary band.
This pale lager golden brown in color and has some light hoppiness with a twist of citrus.
Sadly the beer is rather basic lager, there is nothing real special and it is bit on the light almost watery side.
It's still a pretty decent beer, but it just has very little edge...and considering the high price this has in the end very little to offer. Honestly a band as legendary as Motörhead would have deserved something bit more special.
* * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50207386432_321a57eb68_z.jpg)
-
Well, at least you can save the bottle because it's fun to look at!
-
Indeed! The label is GREAT!
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have a pilsner from the Czech Republic called The Seventh Step.
The pilsner is deep amber brown in color and has a pretty hoppy and malty taste with hints of fruitiness and a slightly bitter after taste.
The first couple of sips the hops and the maltiness is almost overpowering and leaves somewhat of a harsh taste lingering on...but after a while it balances out a bit. It still remains slightly on the bitter side however and is not nearly as smooth as most other Czech beers are.
The slightly higher alcohol content of 5.5% also adds slightly to the over all bitterness. This is not among the best beers from this region and isn't what you'd call an easy to drink pilsner.
* * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50237712116_3ed9185155_z.jpg)
-
Here's a guy I like to follow, doing a review of 7 cheap bourbons. He also demonstrates progressive inebriation as he does so. :rofl:
-
I gotta watch that...Bulleit is one of my favourites!
But cheap bourbons??
Here's what they cost here (0.7 liter bottles):
Jack Daniels: 35.99€ (43$)
Jim Beam: 27.49€ (33$)
Bulleit: 38.99€ (46$)
Maker's Mark: 39.99€ (48$)
So no...not cheap...
Which is why I buy all my booze from Germany where Jack only costs around 20€ a bottle..
-
Those look like double the US prices... wow...
And it looks like Bulleit is actually considered to be a top-shelf, according to this website:
https://www.thecoolist.com/best-bourbons/
-
Well that looks like a list I need to go through... Only had Bulleit and Blanton's out of those...and yes Bulleit is usually considered bit more of a top shelf stuff atleast far as big batch bourbons are considered.
Granted that Pappy Van Winkle although having been my dream to taste for years and years is bit out of my range with it's 2390€ price tag...
In fact inspired by that list...I was just about to make an order this week and I'll add that Basil Hayden to the list...it's not that expensive in germany only 47.50€. yup. I'll be having that.
-
Those look like double the US prices... wow...
I kind of thought so...I was actually going to ask about that there but forgot.
-
Here's a guy I like to follow, doing a review of 7 cheap bourbons. He also demonstrates progressive inebriation as he does so. :rofl:
Man that was funny!
Also my ranking wouldn't differ too much...Never had Old Forester though...but all the others yes.
My ranking would be:
Bulleit
Maker's
Jack
Jim
Turkey
Evan
-
Best part is when he has to figure out the top three when he's already trashed. He's got another one where he's tasting Mountain Dew and gets so hopped up on sugar and caffeine by the end, just as funny as this.
-
Bia Saigon Export
* * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50271176488_c12ba0f11e_z.jpg)
-
^ Beer from Vietnam? What grain is it based on?
-
Barley... I don't really dabble in any others.
-
**REVIEW WARNING**
Sorry but for this one I do have to write a bit of a review eventhough I promised I never would just because...well this is such an odd ball one.
Please forgive me. This will be the last one I swear!
This time we have Pale Ale from Thrownbridge Brewery in Derbyshire England called Satzuma.
This slightly murky yellow colored ale has a strong taste of citrus, coming naturally from the peel of it's namesake fruit of the mandarin family as well as a rather hoppy finish.
A rather peculiar beer this one. It's not quite as insanely horrid as let's say Two Dogs which is like someone took some bad lemonade and poured it into a glass half full of stale beer but it is a bit of a bastard child of cider and beer anyways. Luckily though the after taste has more beer in it than lemonade. Probably due to the fact that only the peel of the mandarin fruit was used.
But I don't really know if I can recommend this to any decent beer fan though. However if you like the odd or you want to impress and/or shock your IPA loving hipster friends this might be worth a try.
But if you are like me and have no (hipster) friends and like your beer dark and tasting good you might want to pass this one up.
* ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50301620998_2cf31442ca_z.jpg)
-
Carry on reviewing, please! I do enjoy reading them!
-
Carry on reviewing, please! I do enjoy reading them!
Well...I might...you never know...
-
Carry on reviewing, please! I do enjoy reading them!
Well...I might...you never know...
I expect tonight you would have a German brew. :beerbang:
-
Carry on reviewing, please! I do enjoy reading them!
Well...I might...you never know...
I expect tonight you would have a German brew. :beerbang:
:)
Sadly had to work...and tonight as well and tomorrow, but on thursday night you can epect something.
-
What's the time offset for Finland? Is it the CET or are you on Russia time?
-
What's the time offset for Finland? Is it the CET or are you on Russia time?
Neither! :D
We're GMT + 2
-
OK, Dallas is GMT -6, so your Thursday night will be around my mid-day.
You have 48 hours in which time to drink a beer, Mr. Charger. :smug:
-
Except we're on British Summer Time at the moment... does that affect your maths?
-
Except we're on British Summer Time at the moment... does that affect your maths?
Oh dear me, yes it does.
Maybe Charger should just start drinking at noon and carry on for 24 hours, straight, just to cover all time zones.
-
:D
Yeah...daylight savings time here too so techincally it's GMT +3 then...but if GMT is on daylight savings time too then it's +2 but is GMT always the same? Not affected by the clock shift? I don't even know... :D
I've never drank 24 hours straight...don't think I could...not even if I'd just have one beer an hour or so...
-
BST is basically GMT shifted by an hour so assuming Finland change at the same time we do then you'll still be +2.
-
We change on March 29th and October 25th this year.
-
I hate how every nation on summer time has different start/end dates. Makes scheduling meetings a nightmare.
-
We change on March 29th and October 25th this year.
Yep, last weekend in March and October here too.
-
^^^
I thought they might be the same...
I hate how every nation on summer time has different start/end dates. Makes scheduling meetings a nightmare.
Which is why I think this whole stupid moronic and idiotic daylight savings time thingy should be abandoned ASAP!
-
Well back to business..
Charger's Wine Club...well...WINE edition!
This time we have a red from the Castilla region in Spain called Sequeral Seleccion Especial 2017.
The Tempranillo grape red has a sweet and rich taste with flavours of dark berries, fruit and even an herbal undertone.
With tempranillo it is hard to go wrong, the grape is so sweet and rich in flavour and the tannins are usually very subtle.
This is no exception. A great tasting wine that is quite affordable which makes it even more special and proves once again that you don't have to pay 90€ for a bottle of very enjoyable wine if you are just brave enough to step outside the regions of Italy or France.
As usual I'm giving this one a wine magazine rating from 85 to 95.
And I gotta say this deserves a hgh rating for two reasons, the great taste and the great price.
94
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50334186366_2a3233c49e_z.jpg)
-
That's something the wine industry has to come to grips with: there absolutely are places outside the "prestige" growing areas that produce very drinkable wines. There's no point in disparaging a region simply because it's not mentioned in the Duke of Burgundy's Book of Hours or something like that. It's a matter of chemistry, finding the right grape for the right ground with the right climate. Once you've done that, you've got the potential for a great wine.
Yes, it will vary from year to year as conditions vary along those years, but you can begin to identify places with the best "terrois" and focus on viticulture there.
And then there's the matter of blending vintages and grapes - wine forgers have known for years that blending grapes and vintages can duplicate tastes from pricier bottles so that, if opened, the forgery will match the real thing in terms of nose, taste, etc. So if we can replicate the flavors, why not? It's the same as the argument against lab-produced diamonds, the idea that there's something more "authentic" about the compressed carbon if miners risk their lives digging it out of the ground than if it's pushed out for pennies in a lab. At the end of the day, if it sparkles as brightly or tastes as subtlely, what's the difference?
I know I don't drink, but I like to watch shows about those who do. I loved following Oz Clarke and James May going through France and California, arguing about wines.
-
^^^
Indeed...and on my wine travels accross the west coast of the US I found some of the best wines I've ever had. Best one being from Washington State out of all places if memory serves me right. So that too means something.
I do love some Italian wines too...and some french ones but I've found atleast equally enjoyable ones from other various other countries too. And Spain is one of them...in fact I'd like to say that you have a better chance at getting a good tasting wine from Spain than from France by just random picking.
After Shiraz I think Tempranillo is my favourite grape! So yeah...suck it Cabernet Sauvignon!
JAMES MAY did a wine show!??!!!?!? How in the hell don't I know about that?!?!
-
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=oz+and+james%27s+big+wine+adventure
"Oz and James' Big Wine Adventure"
Season One is France, Season Two is California. Then there's Oz and James Drink to Britain, where they dabble in various alcohols of the British Isles. That one gets into beers and distilled spirits, where the first two are strictly wines.
Best parts are where James May gets after Oz for being "a wine ponce". :lol:
-
Well hotdamn!
I'll be checking those out then!
-
I have to say that I learned a *lot* from watching the serieses. When I'm at a business dinner and everyone's talking wine, I can keep up with the convo, even though I'm not doing any of the drinking. :D
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition.
This time we have a traditional Golden Ale from Badger Dorset Brewers called The Legendary Tangle Foot.
This rather clear golden brown in color ale has a rather sweet taste with hints of caramel and toffee and even vanilla flavours accompanied with some mild bitter english malts.
A very nice and well balanced beer. Very british in style and I can fully imagine there have been some feet tangled because of this Ale over the years.
Most certainly one of the better British ales I've had and sometihng I can highly recommend.
* * * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50359951273_612ba21d8c_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have a domestic beer from Fat Lizard Brewery in Espoo Finland called Fat Lizzard 101 California Pale Ale.
This bit murky brown ale has hints of citrus, medium hoppy flavour and some maltiness.
This is supposed to be influenced by a special Californian style Ale from the 80s I do not know how well they have succeeded as I was not in California in the 80s tasting their beers.
But what I can say is that this a pretty interesting beer. There is maybe bit more fruitiness and and bitter than what I usually enjoy but somehow though Fat Lizard has managed to find a pretty good balance and that makes the ale quite drinkable. It's not something you'd like to gulp down can after can, but it is something you can enjoy a can of. (No can puns intented they just appeared).
Anyways a somewhat surprising find from the domestic market and shows once again that small breweries in Finland are putting out some quality products.
Also a name like Fat Lizard...come on...what's not to like!?
* * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50418716608_dca0bb7e51_z.jpg)
-
^ So it's more a sipping beer than a chugging beer?
-
Indeed. But honestly that could be said about most of the beers I've tried here...Also I don't chug beer anymore anyways! :D
-
This time again we have domestic beer and this is bit special one as it is the name sake beer of Finland's leading rock radio station Radio Rock American Style Golden Ale from Rock Paper Scissors Brewing Company in Kuopio Finland.
This bit murky golden brown colored ale has some flavours of honey and some slight citrus with hints of herbals and some mild bitter. All of those flavours are rather mild and nothing over powers the beer itself which is a very good thing. The balance is quite good.
Eventhough this might not be the most flavourable beer in the world it is a very easy to drink one and tasty as well.
It does not have the blandness of mass produced beer but also doesn't have the weirdness of some small batch brews. As said a good balance.
Is it 100% rock? I don't know...don't know what 100% rock should taste like...the station itself isn't 100% rock either as they play fuckin' Red Hot Chili Peppers occationally!!!
So on the rock scale this isn't Slayer but it sure as fuck ain't Red Hot Chili Peppers either!
* * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50463108607_8f4254a9f4_z.jpg)
-
It says it's "American Style" ... does that mean it's pretty much brewed to be not bad? Kind of like McDonald's is an "American Style" hamburger? Won't be amazing, but it won't poison you, either.
-
^^^
Brewed not to be bad!! :D :D :D
Well yeah. This ain't bad so yeah.
But there is a beer type called American Golden Ale so I guess the idea was to do beer in that style.
-
This time we have a lager from Cape Brewing Company in South Africa (!!) called Cape Point.
The light golden colored lager has a very mild flavours of some grassy hops and very light citrus.
Over all a very basic tasting lager but that can also be a good thing as there is nothing that stands out and nothing that can irk you either.
This is my first ever taste of South African beer and it is a pleasant one. Kind of like a SA version of Bud or PBR...
* * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50545213327_7a8628bc97_z.jpg)
-
Looks like if you stick with the basics, you can make a quite decent brew.
-
That's my view at least. I know there are people who hate basic beers but I've never understood that...Just cause it's basic doesn't mean it's bad.
-
Just cause it's basic doesn't mean it's bad.
I bet just about everyone is nodding in agreement with that statement.
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition Halloween Special!
This time we have a halloween themed beer...well okay, no we don't, I tried to look for one that would just have a Halloween adjacent label and honestly this was the only one I could find so I chose this....
A domestic small brewery beer from the Hiisi Brewery in Jyväskylä Finland called Väki Forestfinnish Pils.
Then a little explanation is needed I believe... Hiisi is an ancient Finnish holy place and/or a source of various mythological creatures usually located in deep dense forest. It later turned from a place into the protective spirit of the forest.
Väki again nowadays pretty much just means "people" but in ancient mythology Väki was a group of different kinds of elves or fairies or even just magical power.
So there. This beer can be translated into Magic of the Spirit of the forest...or something along those lines...or not.
Anyhow...none of that matters what matter is the beer so moving on.
This slightly murky amber colored beer as a very rich flavour content of grain, hops, some fruity aromas as well as some slight bitterness in the after taste.
The flavours however are all very well balanced and nothing over takes the other. This might be bit richers than most of the average pilsner style beers but it is still very easily drinkable and has nothing that really should irk anyone. All in all a very good beer from a small Finnish brewery.
And yes the label has some creatures on it (Väki folk perhaps?) so Halloween themed it is.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50551274463_af5f47d983_z.jpg)
-
So, again, keeping to basics is the path to a good beer. So, my question is this: in all the beers you've tried, has there ever been one that took a big risk with a big flavor that paid off?
-
Hmmmm...
That's a good question....it is a rarity I think... But some christmas beers have done that I think...I recommend checking this thread back from last christmas...or the one before that...
Usually though having some really odd flavour in a beer doesn't work for me...especially if it is some kind of fruit.
-
This time we have porter from Thornbridge Riverside Brewery in Bakewell United Kingdom called Market Porter.
This deep dark brown porter has flavours of chocolate and coffee, some sweetness yet with a slightly bitter aftertaste.
This is maybe bit lighter than most porters and has a over all flavour profile more like a dark lager than porter, but honestly that's not a bad thing. It still has enough character to stand out.
Porter's can be bit tricky beers to fully enjoy sometimes but this has a nice over all palate and proves that the Brits can do porter quite well too.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50570856087_929cfe4aa3_z.jpg)
-
Time for a proper old school Charger's Wine Club.
That's right we're going right back to where it all started from....US based wines.
Been a long time since I've visted the liquor store and had to check the US section of the wine shelf and look and behold we had a new wine so naturally I had to pick it up.
So now we have 1924 Limited Edition Double Black Red Wine Blend of 2018 from Gnarly Head Winery in Lodi, California.
The blend consists of Zinfandel, Merlot and Syrah grapes. This medium bodied and medium tannic red has flavours of wild cherries, a hint of blackberry and even some chocolate sweetness.
The taste is quite bold and rich and it also leaves a slight lingering crisp almost spicy and acidic aftertaste.
I've had a wine from Gnarly Head before and if memory serves me that wasn't all that great but this is an improvement. Not among the best wines from California but most certainly not among the weakest either espcially considering the price of only 14€(16$).
As usual (if you still remember) instead of a star rating wines get the wine magazine rating between 85 and 95.
The 1924 is supposed to echo back to the prohibition era with it's taste and style...well I'll have to take their word on that as I wasn't around back then... But all in all this is a good wine that has a bunch of different things going on. It's not suberb by any means but it also is not just average either.
So I'm giving it a strong 91.
Worth a try if you like blended reds...and maybe even if you don't.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50598143667_c66dcc57a1_z.jpg)
-
Great write-up. The era of Prohibition always makes me think of grain alcohol, not wine, but I guess if that's their marketing ploy then more power to them.
-
Great write-up. The era of Prohibition always makes me think of grain alcohol, not wine, but I guess if that's their marketing ploy then more power to them.
Thanks! :D
Yeah same here, but I guess wine production was going on at the time too. Lot of people I think were making their own wines and that was the birth of many winery's in various states I believe.
-
Charger's Wine Club - Return of the Beer Edition!
This time we have a stout from Saltaire brewery in Shipley, West Yorkshire UK called Saltaire Triple Choc.
Like the name suggests this dark cola colored stout has an obvious taste of chocolate with hints of coffee and nuts as well as a nice sweet maltiness.
Make no mistake this is a rather sweet beer, not overly sugary or anything but the sweetness is quite evident especially in the very smooth and gentle after taste.
All in all a very enjoyable beer. As obvious as the chocolate taste and the sweetness are they still don't over power the stout and you still clearly know that you're drinking an honest stout and that some smart ass hasn't mixed Bailey's with beer.
If you're a fan of sweet stouts this one is for you.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50602007796_955cf9c602_z.jpg)
-
Fun fact: during prohibition, consumption of sacramental wine shot through the roof...
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 1.
Well it's the official start of the christmas season today so ofcourse that calls for a christmas beer and to start this festive season off we have a domestic beer called Joulu Porter (Christmas Porter) from Waahto Brewery in Savonlinna Finland.
This very dark brown cola colored porter has tastes of coffee and strong roasted maltiness. Still quite smooth to drink and has no unnecessary extras in the flavour, but is actually quite a nice pure relatively basic porter. Nothing all too christmassy about it, which is a good thing. But for a season beer I suppose you'd expect something special.
Still this is a very tasty porter with an alcohol content of 5.5% and it again proves that small breweries can do some fine products here in Finland as well.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50661926126_3e9b4d103c_z.jpg)
-
^ Suck a peppermint after drinking the beer. Instant Christmassyness!
-
:D
No I don't think I will.
-
:D
No I don't think I will.
Do it for science! :rofl:
-
:rofl:
-
This time we have domestic beer again from Kotka Steam Brewery in Kotka Finland called Steam Beer Lager.
This murky amber brown colored lager has a mild citrus flavour and some bitterness with mild hoppiness.
Steam beer a whole different style of beer made from lager yeasts and fermented in a warmer temperature than normally. The techinique was invented in California (or in Virginia based on the sources) back in the mid 19th century. Kotka Steam Brewery says they are making this as loyally to the old methods as possible.
Honestly though there isn't anything too different about this compared to your normal lager. It maybe has a bit more bitter and heftier taste but I'm not sure how much of that is from the special brewing technique.
Being bit more bitter this isn't your average lager so it isn't quite so easily drinkable, but the flavour profile is pretty good and the bitterness isn't over powering.
A good slightly special small brewery product.
Special mention from the funky looking can. The sailor eagle (Kotka = Eagle) logo is what made me buy this.
* * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50691600943_aa95f1dda6_z.jpg)
-
Yeah, that eagle is the star of the show!
-
Charger's Wine Club CHRISTMAS Beer edition pt 2.
This time again we have a domestic beer from Malmgård Brewery in Loviisa Finland simply called Malmgård Jouluolut (Christmas beer).
This very dark brown almost black in color beer has flavours of plum, caramel and some maltiness.
There is almost a stouty presense here which gives it a nice balanced feel. The plum and the caramel sweetness gives this I suppose a slight christmassy feel to it but it's not overpowering and as a blind test you might not even realise this is a season beer it is that stout-like which indeed is a good thing but there is also that "something" that makes it bit different from your average stouts. But at the same time nothing that really raises it to anykind of top category either.
All in all though a very good season beer that you could have out of season too.
* * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50723230543_7d39944413_z.jpg)
-
^ Seasonal things that are also good out of season make for some of the best seasonal things, in my view.
-
That is true.
Come christmas week (post eve that is) I'm hoping to review a new christmas beer every day but let's see...
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 3.
This time we have a christmas beer Belgium called Gouden Carolus Christmas.
This very dark brown in color Ale has flavours of Plum, some chocolate sweetness and some quite seasonal spices which include cilantro, camomile and even some anise. Making this quite a unique blend of flavours.
There is a mid level hoppiness as well as some maltiness both of which do get drowned underneath all the spices.
This reminds me of some of the christmas breads I've had in the past which have been heavily seasoned with...well seasonal spices.
The extremely high alcohol content of 10.5% doesn't taste at all though.
All in all this is quite christmassy beer that's for sure, but I think too much is...well....too much. Also the sweetness gets quite much after few mouthfulls as well.
If you want something different this is for you, but if you're like me and want your beer to just taste like beer you might want to pass on this.
* *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50755718286_90e83efb53_z.jpg)
-
Cilantro in the flavor palette sounds dangerous... that one can easily overpower its fellows.
-
Indeed...
A new one coming later tonight.
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 4.
This time we have a domestic beer called Merry Xmas IPA from Olvi brewery in Iisalmi.
This murky deep brown colored IPA has tastes of caramel, some mild citrus, bit hoppy and a typical IPA bitter aftertaste.
As you know IPA's are not among my favourite beers for multitude of reasons, main one ofcourse being the murky bitterness. But there is enough other more seasonal flavours present on this one to atleast slightly diminish the bitterness. In fact there also a mild sweetness present which works well to counter balance the natural unpleasantness of the IPA.
As far as red Indian Pale Ales go this might be among the better ones, still it's not a great tasting beer by any means but with a bit of ham and other christmassy foods this might go down rather well.
* * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50759001273_fab8e310ed_z.jpg)
-
So I went and looked up why India Pale Ales involve India and now I find that the Hittites had over 15 different types of beer, only 500 years after the earliest known recipe for beer - and even then, the Sumerians had two varieties.
Gonna read up on this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_beer :)
-
Yeah I think there's a strong history of beer making in that area...doesn't mean it tastes good though! :D
Anyways onwards we go:
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition part V
This time we have a Christmas Lager from Germany called Christkindlesmarkt Bier from Tucher brewery in Nürnberg.
This amber colored lager has flavours of sweet caramel, some herbs with mild hoppiness and a very slight bitterness in the aftertaste.
In a lot of ways a quite traditional german lager but still with a slight seasonal edge.
Unlike the Belgian counterpart we had couple of days ago this one has a nice very balanced flavour profile and nothing that really stands out, which makes it a much more enjoyable to drink.
This is a beer that one could easily imagine drinking on the christmas dinner or afterwards or before or just for the heck of it. A very nice Lager that is seasonal but not "only" seasonal.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50763865732_e6f51964cd_z.jpg)
-
Interesting comment you made about how something without a standout flavor being easier to drink - that can be the same way with food. Pizza, for example... I love it when it tastes like *pizza*, and lose my enjoyment and interest when it tastes like something else to the point of knocking out the sauce, cheese, and bread flavors. I once had a Gorgonzola pizza slice that was damn uneatable because of how the Gorgonzola just showed up and took over every bite. That's when I learned not to trust *that* restaurant any more with their new menu items!
-
^^^
Indeed. It is the same with food as it is with drinkables. If you have one flavour that overpowers everything else it's no good.
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 6
This time we have a domestic beer from the Hartwall Brewery in Lahti Finland, called Lahden Erikois Juhla (Lahti's Special Celebration).
This is a celebratory beer for the 90 years of making of Lahden Erikoinen.
It's not techincally a seasonal beer but it has a festive nature to it so it is atleast somewhat fitting.
The murky golden brown unfiltered Lager has flavours of some maltiness some hops and a mild hint of citrus.
This is a rather mild flavoured lager all in all, which is bit different as unfiltered lagers sometimes tend to have a very strong flavour profile and the taste of yeast can penetrate through but not here. This is rather basic lager actually.
At the end of the labe description it states "There's always reason for celebration" I can't agree with that by any means, but the beer is good, nothing spectacular but good.
* * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50784388596_575e9c2e15_z.jpg)
-
Basically, they're not rolling the dice on that one, they're playing it safe... which is good if you want something you can count on at an event.
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Edition Final Part.
On the final Christmas episode we have a domestic porter called Joulun Taiga Porter (Joulun being Christmas but Taiga being a bit of a pun actually, as taika means Magic and Taiga means the northern forest zone) from Honkavuori Brewery in Joensuu Finland.
This dark cola colored Porter has flavours of plums, raisins, hint of coffee and some moderate maltiness.
Nothing overly seasonal, but the plums and mild raisin flavours do add some christmassy feel to the otherwise rather good small brewery porter.
The taste palate of this one is quite well balanced and it is something that you can easily drink on it's own or pair it with some christmas ham on the dinner table as well.
* * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50792547601_fbc1081ce3_z.jpg)
-
I got it directly from Rock 'n Roll By The Pint store back when it was released in 2012...I believe it has long since sold out.
There is a new model available on Backstreet Merch now...
It has murray on the front.
https://www.backstreetmerch.com/fi-fi/artist/dio/pint-glasses/murray-beer-glass (https://www.backstreetmerch.com/fi-fi/artist/dio/pint-glasses/murray-beer-glass)
But that is sold out at the moment as well.
-
No...a British one I believe...that was just a link to their finnish site...sorry about that.
I've bought some stuff through them in the past.
-
BEER FUN FACT FROM FINLAND:
In the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, there are more verses devoted to beer than to the beginnings of mankind.
-
^^^
Now that I can believe. And no...I have not read that book...only parts in school gazillion and 30 years ago.
This time we have a pale lager from the Czech Republic called (and I just hope I'm getting this right) Postrizinske Bogan.
This amber brown colored lager has flavours of caramel and some herby hopps with a bit of maltiness at the after taste.
All in all a very fresh and well balanced lager which is something that the Czech people know very very well. Nothing overly fancy or weird or complicated just good basic drinkable beer.
But man is it a hard name to both write and pronounce...which is also something the Czech people know very well..
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50818618357_e0a960ef26_z.jpg)
-
Wow..been a month since my last update....YIKES!
This time we have a beer from our southern neighbours Estonia (!!) called Alexander.
This traditional Estonian Lager has some mild flavours of fruits, grassy hops and it has a bit of a yeasty aftertaste.
Something of a rather basic lager but with a bit of a twist. This is quite different from let's say german lagers or finnish lagers...clearly the estonians have their own way of making a good lager.
Over all I'd say this has very nice balance and has no trickery to it.
* * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50925985678_04eefda5e7_z.jpg)
-
So what would be the biggest differences? Locality of the grains/hops, or a regional difference in the processes used?
-
So what would be the biggest differences? Locality of the grains/hops, or a regional difference in the processes used?
Hard to say really...I think it might have more to do with the yeast...german lagers very rarely have any real yeast flavour in them...that I can taste anyways...this one had some in the aftertaste. Also surely the hops might make a difference...I don't know exactly what hops were used on this one.
-
This time we have a german IPA called STEAM BREW Pale Ale.
This murky golden brown IPA has quite a bit of citrus with some grassy maltiness and hoppy finish.
As typical for IPA's this has a rather muddy flavour, like you poured some real beer in a mud pool swooped it back up and squeezed a little lemon on top.
There is very little character in this. It's bit watered down tasting, which is odd for a beer with 4.9% alcohol content, but again that's a bit of an IPA thing.
The can looks really pretty and groovy so I'll give a star and a half extra for that...but the stuff inside...lets just say the can is worth more than the liquid.
* * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50980232912_44a47510c3_z.jpg)
-
Mud really isn't a flavor I'm fond of, either... :puke:
-
This time Charger's Wine Club Beer edition is a rerun, but it's also a tribute:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51006768882_9d910ee771_z.jpg)
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have something very speical...We have a Lager all the way from Thailand called LEO.
I'd like to dedicate this Wine Club post to my feline brother Leo who has fallen ill a bit.
Naturally when I saw this beer at the store shelf there was no way I would not buy it. And sometimes these kind of purchases really surprise you...and sometimes even postively...like this one.
Leo is a very nice golden brown lager with a very nice soft taste. This is not an aromatic explosion in your mouth type of a beer but a very nice solid basic beer...something which I quite enjoy.
Under normal circumstances I'd give this one a three star rating but because of the name I'm giving this one a happy
* * * *
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1975/44419489944_22533734d0_z.jpg)
-
Always good to have a way to jog the memory of a loved one.
-
Been a while since I've tried a new beer so the Beer Club has been on a break...
But now inspired by Hawaii 5-0 I thought I'd give this one a go.
So this time I am trying my first ever beer from the islands and it's called BIG WAVE Golden Ale by the Kona Brewing company.
It's very different for sure. Not your average beer, very fresh and very fruity, I am certain I'm tasting pineapple there...but then again we're talking Hawaii here, and they put pineapple in everything! And yes as most of you know I HATE pineapple, but the taste here is not that overpowering so I can sort of live with it.
I can almost imagine myself sitting in front of Kamekona's food truck eating some of his shrimps and having a bottle of this beer while McGarrett and Danno are blowing something up somewhere.
But that's about it. This isn't what I call beer for enjoyment. Too fruity for that. I like my beer tasting like beer and I'll have my fruit juice on another time...in fact there is very little of actual beer in the taste...reminds me slightly of that horrible Two Dogs thing from Australia, but this has a more variety of fruits not just lemon.
The exotic nature of this does deserve some points though but I cannot for the life of me recommend this to anyone who likes BEER...But if I'd ever go to Hawaii and sit on a beach or have something from a shrimp truck I might have this again...but otherwise...never ever never again.
* *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50999494494_fe52d82a07_z.jpg)
-
Beer + Wine = Brine + Wee :smug:
I've always associated fruits with wines, so the idea of a beer with dominant fruit flavours seems like the beer is getting out of its lane. As a hint of flavour, sure, that makes sense in any preparation, be it food or drink. But to have it take things over is a dangerous thing to do, especially if you set expectations with saying, "this is a beer." If they had said it's a fermented pineapple juice, maybe that would turn away the unadventurous buyer, but would have less of a chance of not meeting expectations of the person having a go at it.
-
^^^
Couldn't agree more. I've always found it very strange why the need to mix beer with all kinds of fruits anyways...if you want fruits drink cider for heaven's sake! :D
This time we have a Lager from the Czech Rebublic called Bakalar Premium Lager Or Pivo Svetly Lezak as it seems to be originally called what ever that means.
This golden amber colored lager has a rich full flavour with hints of honey, some herbs and even some sweetness.
This is bit more rich in flavour than some other more basic Czech beers but it has nothing gimmicky about it though, very nice honest lager, which is something the Czech beer makers sure know how to brew. Very easy to drink and easy to enjoy. And most importantly there are no artificial fancy pantsy citrus flavours or anything of the sorts.
Very good lager indeed.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51092502142_a48f6f8f89_z.jpg)
Damn just found out that the camera liked to focus on Summer's face instead of the beer...which ofcourse is understandable but not desired for this in particular occation.
-
Lol, Vyn is your man for a fuller Czech translation. All I know is that Pivo = beer.
-
Oh yes...he is.
-
This time we have a stout from Swannay Brewery in the Orkney Islands in Scotland called Sneaky Wee Orkney Stout.
This dark, near black, brown stout has flavours of mild coffee, sweet chocolate and some hoppy finish with a roasty aftertaste.
Overall a very enjoyable stout, the hoppiness isn't too overpowering and the sweetness creates a nice easy to drink feel right from the top.
The alcohol content is bit low with just 4.2% but that isn't too uncommon for a stout...and there is enough flavour in this to avoid anykind of watery taste.
And ofcourse it gets an extra point for the name...and as an added bonus it most certainly does not taste like wee either.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51099805203_3192e2e301_z.jpg)
-
Yes, it's always preferable for one's beverages to have as few notes of urine as possible.
So much for the old saw about drinking pee to survive... ya don't!
-
^^^Yes I do prefer beers that don't taste like urine...and even better if there actually is NO urine in them...
This time we have a domestic beer called Rocking American Lager from Rocking Bear Brewery in Pori Finland.
This murky golden colored lager has flavours of citrus and grassy moderate hoppiness.
This is taste wise bit closer to IPA actually than your traditional American lager to be honest. There is also a quite a strong yeast flavour present that overpowers the malt.
Rocking is something of a bastard son of an IPA and a Lager...not really sure what to make of it. Nothing too great but not as horrid as you might think either. The label is what got me to buy this....and honestly the label IS the best thing about this one.
* * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51115784053_466f854073_z.jpg)
-
That is one party lion on the can!
-
Charger's Wine Club....WINE EDITION! Been a while hasn't it!?
It seems that Finland has again been treated with some new wines from the United States so that ofcourse means returning to the old wine club days...
This time we have a red blend from Modesto California called Bear Flag Dark Red Wine Blend.
This is a blend of several grapes including Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Syrah and Tempranillo! Not a very common mix I would say. But all of those grapes are among my favourites.
The medium bodied red has some flavours of blueberry, plum and rasberry and some average tannins...there is also a bit of acicidy especially during the after taste, which adds a nice additional element. This isn't overly sweet but it most certainly is on the sweet side, which isn't a bad thing.
I would say that this would probably fit better as a barbeque wine or maybe with some spicy food than as a stand alone wine but very nice above average red blend from California non the less.
As usual I'm giving my wines the wine magazine rating of between 85 and 95 and this one gets a strong
91.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51131817288_382f390a7c_z.jpg)
-
a barbeque wine
My immediate thought was of someone putting barbecued wine out on the table and everyone talking about how good the smoke flavor in it was. I get crazy imagination flashes like that.
Now I wanna try barbecued wine... :P
-
:rofl:
Okay...now I'd like to try some too...bet it would taste like shit but still...
-
:rofl:
Okay...now I'd like to try some too...bet it would taste like shit but still...
Do you smoke your wine with hickory or walnut wood?
-
Maybe apple wood...adding that cider taste...
-
Maybe apple wood...adding that cider taste...
Mmmmmm! What goes best with barbecued wine, red or white meat?
-
Holy crap, Charger! I was goofing around with a friend and did a search for "evil doughnut" and THIS came up:
https://uncrate.com/evil-twin-imperial-doughnut-break-beer/
(https://uncrate.com/p/2014/02/imperial-doughnut-break-beer-xl.jpg)
11.5% ABV and it's a coffee doughnut porter!
:zomgwtfbbq: :wtf: :twitch: ???
EDIT: Found a review: https://beer-zombies.com/2014/09/09/review-imperial-doughnut-break-evil-twin-brewing/ Guy seemed enthusiastic about it... interesting... doughnut beer, who knew?
-
Haha! Doughnut beer! Good lord!
Honestly I'd love to taste that. I mean I love doughnuts and I love beer...so they must go well together...right?
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition.
This time we have a domestic beer again from the Mallaskoski Brewery in Seinäjoki Finland called Heller Heller Bock.
This amber brown Heller Bock beer has a mild but likeable flavour palate some sweet caramel and herby undertones and a very slight soft maltiness.
All in all a very well balanced and nice tasting beer.
What surprised me the most with this is that it also has some wheat malts in it...I usually HATE and I do mean HATE wheat beers as the taste of wheat is not meant for beers but in this it is very mild and you can taste that the most of the malt is barley. You can actually smell the wheat more than you can taste it, which is good.
I went into this beer thinking I wouldn't like it, but much to my surprise I do...
* * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51151750364_593618e86b_z.jpg)
-
This time we have a Dunkel from the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Munich Germany called Spaten München Dunkel.
This dark brown beer has flavours of rye, sweet caramel and even a slight nutty undertone with a slightly bitter after taste.
As usual with these darker german beers, especially Dunkel there is quite a bit going on flavour wise and it's quite often a rather strange fight between sweet and bitter.
At first there's a clear sweetness that almost overpowers the taste and then the bitterness hits but still leaving this almost syrup-like feel to your lips.
This is something that might go very well with some barbeque, especially sweet and sour stuff...but as a stand alone beer it's not all that enjoyable to be honest. It's like it needs something meaty on the side.
* * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51169240170_49be620721_z.jpg)
-
Anheuser-Busch is also in Germany? I did not know that, thought they were 100% American.
-
Anheuser-Busch is also in Germany? I did not know that, thought they were 100% American.
Well it says since 1397 on the bottle so I'm assuming it was originally from Germany then...unless it was the indians over there that started the brewery.... ;D
-
Did some sleuthing... OK, Googling...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AB_InBev
Spaten brewery has been running since 1397, but its ownership has been changing since 1997 or so. Now it's owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV.
-
Charger's Wine Club...well WINE edition!
That's right folks we've got some US made wine again!
This time we have some white wine from Edna Valley Vineyard in San Luis Obisbo in California's Central Coast called Edna Valley Central Coast Cardonnay 2018.
This dry Chardonnay has flavours of honey melon, peach, apple and some citrus.
For a dry white this isn't all that acidic but can't be called sweet either by any means. There is a very interesting slight tanginess that hits the palate right away but it quickly fades away and there isn't much of an after taste present.
This doesn't have much of a wow-factor but then again very few chardonnay's have. It's a very basic white wine that I can imagine being a hit at a party or a casual outing. But as a stand alone wine for enjoyment, it's nothing special.
And as usual with wines I'll be rating this with the wine magazine rating (85 to 95) instead of the star rating I'm using with beers.
I'd say this is bit below average and considering the slightly higher price of nearly 17€ this most certainly ain't worth that so I'll be giving this an
88...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51186912137_f491b4c5ec_z.jpg)
-
Yeah, if your price goes up, the excitement level needs to increase correspondingly.
-
Try ancient Mesopotamian beer with a gold and lapis lazuli straw!
-
^^
Hah! I guess I should see if I can find some!
In the meantime:
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition
This time we have a stout from the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico California imaginatevely called Sierra Nevada Stout.
The dark cola colored stout has flavours of chocolate, coffee, liquorice and some peanut.
Overall a very nice and rich flavour profile that is also smooth and extremely enjoyable. The sweetness is firmly present but still this isn't among the sweetest stouts out there, it's like there is a hint of citrus or some other acidic element in the after taste that balances the sweetness nearly perfectly.
The slightly elevated alcohol content of 5.8% is un-noticeable.
Simply put this is one of the best stouts I've ever had, and without a doubt the best stout I've had that's made in the US. If you like stouts this is a must have.
* * * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51193170367_81a8c05313_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have a domestic Porter by Hopping Brewsters Brewery in Akaa Finland called Ol' Black.
This dark cola colored Porter has a very strong smoky taste with some flavours tar and some peanut.
The first things that hits you with this is the very strong smoke taste that almost turns to ashes in your mouth (no Megadeth pun intented) and it overpowers everything.
Even more so than on the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier I had few years ago ( https://www.komunumo.net/forumo/index.php?topic=158.msg6823#msg6823 (https://www.komunumo.net/forumo/index.php?topic=158.msg6823#msg6823) ).
The thing is that smoke and beer do not mix like smoke and Whisky do. With Whisky the smoke complements the natural deep taste of the whisky...but in beer it just drowns the beer out...completely.
The best I can say about this it that's an acquired taste...and I don't have it.
* ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51195858116_b420489d19_z.jpg)
-
Smoke is a flavor that goes *with* something, should never be the main thing one tastes.
-
^^^Indeed.
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition.
This time again we have a domestic beer from Hopping Brewesters Brewery in Akaa Finland this time it's a stout called Mad Minnie Milk Stout.
This very dark cola brown colored very rich stout has flavours of strong roasted malt, some coffee and bitterness to the finish.
Don't know where the milk is though...can't taste any...but not sure that's a bad thing.
As far as stouts go this is not among the finest ones out there, not by a long shot. The bitterness is quite lingering in the after taste and it throws the balance bit off...as this isn't a very sweet stout to begin with.
Some added caramel or chocolate sweetness might elevate this but as it is now the best thing about this one is the throwback nature of the label and the rather nice looking, if somewhat mad, Minnie.
This now means two misses in a row from Hopping Brewsters...they aren't making Finland proud now...not at all...but to be fair this is quite a bit better than the smokey one we had last time...but in the end that's not saying much either...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51220663356_e6dcae3289_z.jpg)
* * ½
-
So what is money better spent? Buying the beer and ogling the lady on the label or getting a possibly cheaper beer and purchasing a book of Vargas pinups?
Yes, I know he wasn't the only pinup artist out there in the 40s, but he's the one most likely to have a book of prints.
-
Well that depends...do you want to look at pretty pictures or get drunk drinking below averege beer and looking at A pretty picture...
I have to say I'd probably go for the book in this case! :D
-
There ya go. One should always keep life's pleasures in balance. :)
-
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have a domestic beer called Boije Dry Stout from the Suomenlinnan Panimo in Helsinki.
This dark near black colored stout has flavours of coffee and some cocoa. There is a hint of acidity which is rather uncommon for stouts.
This also has not only barley malts but some oats as well. Not sure if it really adds anything but it might give this that little "different" element that is clearly present.
This isn't quite as sweet as some stouts as expected by the name, but it has a very nice flavour profile and it is a nice balanced stout with nothing too "special" in the flavour department.
A very enjoyable beer this one indeed.
* * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51271515975_e3bcdcdc61_z.jpg)
-
So the mention of coffee flavor in the beer made me wonder how long that's been a thing. In the USA, craft brewers have had coffee flavors in beers since craft brewing got off the ground in the early 1900s. Did not know it went back that far!
-
I think coffee flavour has been around as long as stouts have been made...it's always been a staple taste in them. Porters too.
Coffee seems to go well with dark beers. And I have to say I don't really like coffee at all...I only drink one cup a day...mornings...and even then I'm only using flavoured coffee..but in a stout, it almost always works...strange.
-
Charger's Wine Club.
This time we have a Rosé from Casasmith Vinery in Washington State called Vino Rosé 2018.
This very pale pink colored dry rosé has flavours of fruits, cranberries and strawberries with a slight earthy herb finish. There is also some acidity present which adds to the dryness of the wine.
As far as Rosés go this is pretty good. I don't have a huge level of experience on these types of wines but the overall flavour palate here is a nice mixture of the cleanness of whites and richness of reds.
All in all this is a very enjoyable wine, eventhough this is maybe tad bit too sour for my taste.
As usual I'll be doing the wine magazine rating here (from 85 to 95) and I'm happily giving this one a strong
91.
If you like Rosé wines you should have some of this and if you're not familiar with them this is a good wine to try out.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51287926289_2210a1ac75_z.jpg)
-
Rosés seem to be having something of a fad supporting them right now... is it really a fad, or is there some general shift in tastes that will see them considered on the same level as reds and whites?
-
I don't know...Rosés sure have become more popular...I noticed than in the liquor store the other day when I went to get that...there used to be a very small section of a shelf dedicated to them now there was almost a whole shelf...sadly there was only this one and the one I've had before from the US...but a lot from France, Italy and Spain...some even from hungary! So I do believe they're are getting more popular...and I think it's a good thing...rosés aren't just chick drinks...just cause they're pink doesn't mean men can't have 'em...at it certainly doesn't mean they don't taste good!
-
They seem to have a versatility about them, and that sounds like something that should be explored instead of fobbed off to some dustbin the wine snobs are in charge of.
-
So, what Italian wine is up for review?
-
Hmmm...don't know...
I might pick something up..maybe.
-
How about Galliano?
-
You mean the liqueur? Hell to the NO on that stuff! :D
-
:D
It was very popular in the USA, back in the 70s. :D
-
Because of public demand I did get some Italian red for this wine club... :))
Charger's Wine Club.
This time we have a red wine from Italy called Villa Borghetti Valpolicella Classico 2020.
This medium bodied red is a blend of some lesser known grapes, Corvina, Rondinella and Corvione. It has flavours of plums and cherries and has some spice and a hint of vanilla.
There is a slight tang present at first but it soon gives way to a nice smooth almost sweet finish. This is a rather pleasant tasting wine and what's nice about it is that it's not over powered by the tannins.
I was previously unfamiliar with these grapes so I did not know quite what to expect but the wine is actually quite good indeed.
As usual I'll giving this the wine magazine rating from 85 to 95 and I have to give this one a strong 92.
There's nothing overly special about this but it is just a very good and well balanced wine.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51324082823_3b582f8bb1_z.jpg)
-
Good and balanced sounds like a great combination. How's the value for the price?
-
Pretty good value I'd say... The bottle was about 13€...so about 15$.. Well worth the price.
-
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hzvhna7CbME/T-vRiofiIlI/AAAAAAAAJVU/_MjD4dg7CJQ/s1600/May&ClarkeUseThisFirst.jpg)
Oz and James approve!
-
Charger's wine club beer edition, the outdoor special!
Being the last warm night of this summer I thought I'd take myself and a beer outside for a review.
This time we have a Ruby ale from Hatherwood craft beer company in London England called The Ruby Rooster.
This dark brown colored ale has flavours of toasted peanuts, some caramel sweetness and some bitter maltiness in the aftertaste.
Overall this is a very nice tasting ale. There is is nice balance between the sweetness and the slight bitterness of the toasted malts, neither overpowers the other.
There is also a nice freshness to the taste but that might just be the extra feel from the outdoor setting. But I could easily imagine having another one while sitting here...too bad I only have this one..
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51339300123_88b19130fb_z.jpg)
Ps. Only one Fly landed right into the beer while I was drinking it.
-
Last warm night of the summer? OK, so Finland must not be Texas! :smug:
Glad you were able to enjoy a nice time out in nature!
-
No...Finland ain't Texas...
Come August our beach life will look like this:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/ik6dJGoCwmsvOJ0DZlJ0a0o1CyBjaiDHA7HtdrkUKfTW_ySautFMiXdYOk1uKUAlACOF5ixenIpeMg-8Lr6xKFEov--OZa3F1F110rDIDRlN44tdUQ6s4OfDkgil5bhayv2E)
-
We almost hit 100F today, which is 37.78C. Plenty of warm nights to go here!
-
We almost hit 100F today, which is 37.78C. Plenty of warm nights to go here!
Last night it was 4.5C (40F) here....not so warm..
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition!
This time we have a domestic beer again and it's from Malmgård Brewery in Loviisa Finland called Malmgård Cream Ale.
This slightly murky golden brown colored ale has flavours of caramel and some fruitiness. There is also some hoppiness and slight bitter maltiness at the end.
What seperates this ale from most others is that in addition to barley this also has both oat and spelt malts which aren't all that common in beer making.
Both work rather well in beer as they aren't so overpowering and frankly disgusting tasting as wheat is. BUT would I still just rather have beer made from barley. Yes, yes I would thank you very much.
There is a bit of a strange bite in the taste right away which probably comes from the spelt and in lesser extent from the oats. But is soon fades away and the beer almost turns bit watery until the final bitter edge comes along.
This bit of a mixed bag really. It clearly has a lot of things going on and some of them are good some of them are not.
This might work with some barbeque or meaty foods but as it is it's nothing spectacular...
* * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51357956779_ab642d3e86_z.jpg)
Should have bought some scottish beer for today as now I'm off to watch LOCHDOWN!
-
Hey Charger, thought you and the other beer drinkers on here would get a kick out of this little report on beer labeling regulation problems here in the U.S. :)
-
^^^
That is pretty ridiculous...I'm glad the beer maker has won his battles though. I respect that a lot.
-
Well after a few month break due to health issues I thought I'd bring this up again...it's christmas and I can't do christmas sober no matter what my health says! So time for some beer and fuck the rest!
Charger's Wine Club CHRISTMAS beer edition!
This time we have a christmassy beer from Norway...that's right folks NORWAY! Don't think I've ever had a beer from Norway before...This is called GOD JUL Christmas Ale from the Nogne brewery in Grimstad Norway.
This very dark, almost completely black Ale has flavours of chocolate, plums, coffee and crisp maltiness.
This ale has a rather high alcohol content of 8.5% and it does have a rather strong taste. However it is also quite sweet just with a hint of bitterness...it is actually rather strange as the bitterness in the beginning and fades away underneath the sweetness.
This does contain both barley and wheat which does add a slightly tangy taste....and as you might know I am not a fan of wheat malts at all.
All in all I would say that this is a rather odd duck even in the realm of christmas beers. But the main problem is that it just can't really decide whether to be bitter or sweet and that does leave a bit of a mixed taste in the mouth too.
* * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51773846235_1a766fab0b_z.jpg)
-
Being Norwegian, maybe it's having a laugh?
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition New Year Eve special:
This time we have a domestic beer from Pyynikin Panimo in Tampere Finland called Slow Smoked Santa.
This dark lager has a soft slightly smoky flavour with a nice sweetness to the aftertaste.
What makes this lager special is that in addition to barley they've also used a small ammount of wheat AND oats. But neither is over powering the flavour profile so the beer still stays well balanced and isn't ruined by the wheat. Instead they're both giving a nice softness to it.
There isn't all that much going on flavour wise but that's okay. Also the smokiness here is very mild and that's not a bad thing either. I've had smoked beers where the smoke has been overpowering and pretty much ruins the beer in Slow Smoked Santa that is not the issue. In fact it just compliments the taste.
All in all a very good seasonal lager with a nice twist.
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51789287952_cdb7d60e29_z.jpg)
-
Hey Charger, I'm starting my own line of beer. What do you think? :)
(https://i.postimg.cc/6pyYyQZm/20220605_112934[1].jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
-
Hey Charger, I'm starting my own line of beer. What do you think? :)
(https://i.postimg.cc/6pyYyQZm/20220605_112934[1].jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
River Styx Brewing, I love it!
-
Hey Charger, I'm starting my own line of beer. What do you think? :)
(https://i.postimg.cc/6pyYyQZm/20220605_112934[1].jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
Haha that's brilliant!
I'm personally not a fan of IPA's but I think I'd give that a try anyways! ;D
-
Seriously though, a neighbor of mine is always trying various alcohol products. He knows my email address starts with Typhon, so he saved a couple of empties for me. When I asked him how the beer tasted, he said it was on the heavy side.
I think I will display these 2 cans behind the bar in my game room. :beerbang:
-
You should indeed! They look very cool!
-
It's been waaay too long since I've done this so time to kick things off again on the beer front.
Charger's Wine Club CHRISTMAS BEER Edition Part 1
Part one is actually a rerun...
:sorry:
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 4!!
This time we have an all time classic of a christmas beer, it's the BAD ELF WINTER's ALE from Ridgeway Brewing Company in Oxfordshire England.
This is a very murky golden in color and a strong yeasty and somewhat bitter hoppy taste with a hint of citrus.
For a normal beer I'd say there's bit too much hopps but for a season ale it works.
This is probably my favourite IPA style beer and that's probably because I only have it once every few years. But it is something of a christmas classic.
* * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49270514052_f4d07f4dac_z.jpg)
Not much new to say about this...But as I stated this is something of a tradition every few years so it was about time...and I do like that label though... a lot.
-
Still waiting to find some Typhon beer!
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 2.
This time we have a domestic beer from the Island of Åland called Stallhagen Julbock.
This very dark cola colored dark lager has a very deep roasted malt flavour with hints of nuttyness and some sweet caramel. But this being a bock there is some bitterness present as well which does hit the palate at first but it does give way to the sweeter aftertaste.
This is quite rich bock. There's a lot going on which is typical for a season beer, especially with bocks and other dark lagers. Also this does have a slightly higher alcohol content of 6.8%
This isn't something you could drink several bottles of as it is quite "heavy" and the sweet aftertaste might get bit much...it's not among the finest dark lagers or bocks I've ever had but it's not among the worst beers I've ever had either...
* * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52585945023_4bb4d27e5c_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 3.
This time we have a Lager from Bayern Germany called Hohenthanner Winterfestbier!
This isn't so much a christmas beer as it is winterbeer. That means it is seasonal but it lacks some of the more heftier christmassy elements and flavours. For one it's not a dark lager, it's more of an amber brown in color and the flavour profile is much more on the milder side.
But you can still clearly detect flavours of vanilla and caramel sweetness along with some fruitiness. This is mildly hoppy with some honey maltiness. Over all tone is sweet but not over poweringly so. This is something you could easily pair with seasonal food and/or just drink as it is. Very easy going with a nice aftertaste.
Extremely enjoyable beer nothing overly fancy.
* * * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52588011843_1e8b697886_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 4.
Today we have an American Brown Ale from Savonlinna Finland called Santa Olaf Christmas Ale.
This brown ale is very dark in color almost black and it has flavours of nuts, plum and some sweet caramel and maybe just a hint of citrus. Not a lot of seasonal flavours part from the plum.
This is midly hoppy and has a flavour of roasted malt.
Somehow this manages to taste a bit like watered down porter. Or that someone took a bottle of good porter opened it up and left it sit there for a week and then re-canned it into this. Basic taste is okay but there is just this watered down effect that comes with every sip. Almost like this would be light beer or something, but it is not. The alcohol content is 4.9%.
If this would have bit more...in lack of a better word...kick it could be a very good beer...now it's just watered down good beer.
* * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52589236967_15d59ac22a_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 5.
This time we have a doppelbock from Bamburg Germany called Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche which has a twist. It is infused with Oak smoke! That's right this is smoked beer!
The bock is quite murky brown in color and the first thing you smell is the smoke, it is quite powerful but when you actually taste it the smokiness falls in to the background and some maltiness and sweet almost syrupy taste comes out. There is also a slight bitterness from the hops but this isn't a overly hoppy beer at all.
I've had some smoked beers before and they are a bit of an acquired taste for sure. But this isn't too bad. Smoke is there and present but it isn't overpowering. Kind of like smoked ham, you can taste the smoke but you can also still taste that you are eating ham not a burned log.
This also has a higher alcohol content of 8% which you can also sort of taste...or atleast feel. This is starting to be at the top range of alcohol content for beer.
Not something I'd have on a weekly or monthly basis but I could also imagine having it again...maybe next christmas...but not sooner.
* * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52592204804_f8250a9cf2_z.jpg)
-
Looks like the best of this season is that Winterfestbier.
-
So far yes. Hands down.
But I think I have two more to go.
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 6 New Years Special.
This time we have a Porter from Lammi Finland called Pakkas Porter (Which translates to Freezing Porter).
A very dark brown Porter with flavours of roasted malts, some cocoa, maybe some dark bread and vanilla. Quite a hefty beer. There a strong old school porter vibe with this one but that's not really surprising considering Lammin Sahti Brewery is the oldest small brewery in Finland. They do know traditions...
This is a good porter...not among the best I've had but good non the less.
Bit too eager to be drank though as it came out of the can as soon as I popped it...needed a tissue or two to clean the mess up...luckily didn't end up on my keyboard this time like a certain other domestic beer did once upon a time.
* * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52597990462_307c5d07d5_z.jpg)
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 7
This time we have a craft brewed Pale Ale from Ireland called O'Hara's Winter Star Spiced Pale Ale.
This dark amber brown colored Pale Ale indeed lives up to it's Spiced name with flavours of Vanilla, Cardamom and loads of cinnamon...this tastes like a bowl of christmas porridge and that's not really a good thing. I'll have my porridge on christmas eve morning and that's it...don't need it in my beer.
Some spiced beers can be good when it's not overpowering but here it seems like the good people at O'Hara's Brewery in Carlow Ireland have dumped enough cinnamon in the brew to make a 100 apple pies!
The thing with cinnamon is that it is STRONG...so it feels like I'm just drinking liquid cinnamon...and that's not...I mean...it's just...
:nono:
* ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52600978685_da2bf42866_z.jpg)
-
So which one wins overall as your Happy New BEER? :D
-
Out of all I've had in 2022?
-
Out of all I've had in 2022?
Well, just the memorable ones. The forgettable ones are likely forgotten, let them stay that way. :)
-
I'm not sure...looks like I didn't post a whole lot of reviews this year for some reason...
I don't really recall having something that was truly "Special"...but kind of interestingly the new O'Hara's Irish Stout was a good one. I've had several really good Czech beers as well... I used to slightly look down on those Czech beers but I've really gotten to like them. But it's really hard to raise that ONE beer above everything else...
Tonight's gonna be the last entry for the Christmas Edition...
-
Charger's Wine Club Christmas Beer Edition Part 8
In the final part of the Christmas Beer Edition we have a Rye Ale from Tallinn Estonia called Hypothermia Nordic Rye Ale.
This bit murky brown colored ale has a very earthy taste with flavours of sweet caramel a touch of hoppyness with a bit of maltiness...but ofcourse that maltiness comes with a twist as this has Rye, Oat, Wheat and Barley malts...It's an interesting mix...generating a very soft tasting ale.
This is actually a very good beer. There is a touch of bitterness but just a touch and in the after taste.
Overall a very enjoyable beer. This and the Hohenthanner from germany are the cream of the crop for sure. And it is kind of funny that neither one of these are actually branded as christmas beers but winter beers...
* * * *
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52604558222_5abe79a29b_z.jpg)
-
Looks like the moral of the story is to go with beers for the season, not the holiday.
-
Yes so it seems....for this year atleast.
-
Could be true for other seasons, as well.
Like summer in the USA...
"Ew! Is that burnt gunpowder I taste?"
"Yeah, isn't it awesome how I got that in there?"
"No, it's horrible. I need a blowtorch to get the taste out of my mouth. I thought you said this was a summer beer?"
"It's a summer *holiday* beer. July 4th, in fact."
"OK, good to know. Remind me not to try your World Earth Day beer..." :smug:
-
:lol:
Charger's Wine Club Beer Edition
This week we have a Dunkel (A german dark lager) from Ayinger called Altbairisch Dunkel.
The dark amber colored beer as flavours of plums, syryp and sweet cocoa with a hint of maltiness and very mild hoppyness.
This is quite sweet for a dark lager with very little to no bitterness at all, which is great.
Very well balanced beer with a soft flavour profile. This is something that I could easily recommend for someone who doesn't normally drink darker beers.
Extremely enjoyable dunkel.
* * * * ½
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52626459852_2e92bbe575_z.jpg)