Charger's Wine (and Beer) Club

[Charger]

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...

[Zzzptm]

Yeah, if your price goes up, the excitement level needs to increase correspondingly.

[Zzzptm]

Try ancient Mesopotamian beer with a gold and lapis lazuli straw!

[Charger]

^^ 
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.


*  *  *  *  *

[Charger]

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 ).

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

[Zzzptm]

Smoke is a flavor that goes *with* something, should never be the main thing one tastes.

[Charger]

^^^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...



*  *  ½

[Zzzptm]

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.

[Charger]

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!

[Zzzptm]

There ya go. One should always keep life's pleasures in balance.

[Charger]

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

[Zzzptm]

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!

[Charger]

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]

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.

[Zzzptm]

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?