Charger's Wine (and Beer) Club

[Charger]

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

[Charger]

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

[AnnoMundi]

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.

[Charger]

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.

[AnnoMundi]

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.

[Charger]

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.

[AnnoMundi]

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]

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

[Charger]

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!

* * * *

[Charger]

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.

* * * *

[Vyn]

...Holba Premium...

I appreciate all of these reviews you do Charger. I might actually have to try this recent one out myself!

[Charger]

...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]

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...

[Charger]

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.

* *

[Zzzptm]

^ Every time I see that glass, I think there's now a Dio Beer...