Urbano Cellars

20150130:
Wine tasting!

2013 Chenin Blanc. Standard white smell. A sourness. It's okay. 4:23PM PT
2013 Vin Rosé. This has more of a red wine smell to it. I like it a bit more than the chenin blanc. 4:26PM PT
2009 Grenache. This one has an interesting smell - a deep, darker smell. The taste is very fruity. I like it. 4:36PM PT
2012 Sangiovese. This wine has that stringent smell. Oh wow, yeah, this is stringent. It also has a strange finish. It's bitter. Well, I don't normally drink wine, so my descriptions are derived from my experience with beer. 4:42PM PT
2012 Cotes du Clements. A slightly lighter wine. The taste is brighter, livelier, and perhaps fruitier. A little bitterness quickly comes and goes. 4:49PM PT
2009 Zinfandel. Before pouring this wine I was thinking of white zinfandel. In any case, this zinfandel smells as strong as the sangiovese. It is, however, extremely sour. 4:54PM PT

Urbano Cellars gives a full description of their wines on their website. Check it out!

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Urbano Cellars

Relevant Links:
Urbano Cellars

Sierra Nevada / Asheville Tater Ridge

Sierra Nevada / Asheville Tater Ridge

Relevant Links:
Tater Ridge: Scottish Ale (Beer Camp Across America) | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (BeerAdvocate.com)
Sierra Nevada / Asheville Brewers Alliance Beer Camp Tater Ridge (RateBeer.com)

20150125:
Today I have my third brew out of this Beer Camp Across America 12-pack: Tater Ridge.

It is dark reddish brown in color and is opaque. It also has a thick head that lingers. Overall, it has a malty, sweet smell, and from it I expect the beer will taste strong.

However, while I do taste a bit of the alcohol, the beer is not overly strong. Furthermore, I would take into account that I took the bottle out of the fridge and left it sitting at room temperature a bit too long.

Yes, the head is strong and the beer has many sugars. On that note, there is no discernible sugar coating in my mouth (some beers leave a film and/or heaviness on my tongue) and yet I continue to taste the beer's sweetness.

Unfortunately, perhaps because the beer is warmer than average, I probably won't have any more. 3:12PM PT

Website Information:
TATER RIDGE
SCOTTISH ALE

COLLABORATION PARTNER:
ASHEVILLE BREWERS ALLIANCE
Asheville, NC

The Asheville area is a brewing hotspot nestled in the mountains of North Carolina. Tater Ridge was brewed by something of a craft beer super group made up of members of the Asheville Brewers Alliance. We’re fortunate to call these passionate and talented brewers our neighbors, and we hope this unique ale will be the first of many collaborations to come.

We’ve made plenty of new friends in the nearly 30-strong Asheville Brewers Alliance (ABA) since we started brewing in North Carolina. Two of whom—John Stuart of Green Man Brewery and Luke Dickinson of Wicked Weed Brewing—led this collaboration recipe and work tirelessly to bring creativity and a deep-seated love of locally made craft beer to the Appalachian Mountains.

OVERVIEW:
ABV: 7.0
Beginning Gravity: 17.4
Ending Gravity: 4.1
Bitterness Units: 35

INGREDIENTS:
Yeast: Ale
Bittering Hops: Horizon
Finishing Hops: Motueka, Mosaic
Malts: Six-row Riverbend, Golden Promise, Caramel, Chocolate
Other: NC Sweet Potatoes

TASTING NOTES:
Tater Ridge pays homage to our area’s Scottish Highland history, and its craft brew pioneers. With a hint of down home Southern flair, this Scottish ale is rich and malty, using special floor-malted six-row barley from Asheville’s Riverbend Malting, and has a smooth kick from the use of sweet potatoes, a tasty Southern staple.

Green Flash Hop Head Red

20150123:
I had a taste of my friend's Hop Head Red. It had a pale ale smell, and tasted strong, but was not overbearing. This beer was, overall, more pleasing than the glass of The Lost Abbey Devotion Ale I had earlier today. 9:27PM PT

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Green Flash Hop Head Red

Relevant Links:
Hop Head Red (Green Flash Brewing Website)
Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale | Green Flash Brewing Co. (BeerAdvocate.com)
Green Flash Hop Head Red (2014-) (RateBeer.com)

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Website Information:

HOP HEAD RED

FLASH of GENIUS: 03

THIS PERFECT TEN IS A HOP HEAD TURNER

A luscious beauty, Hop Head Red® Double IPA exudes resinous hoppy qualities from Amarillo, Warrior and Nugget to overtake the full-bodied depths of a caramel malt base. Captivating and seductive floral aromas and alluring hop flavors are the result of dry hopping with mountains of Amarillo. The blissful union of Double India Pale and Red Ale make Hop Head Red an unforgettable obsession. Experience love at first sip. Every time.

DOUBLE RED INDIA PALE ALE

IBU's: 70
ABV: 8.1%
Availability: YEAR ROUND
12 oz & Keg

Bear Republic Tartare

Bear Republic Tartare

Relevant Links:
Tartare (Bear Republic Website)
Tartare | Bear Republic Brewing Co. (BeerAdvocate.com)
Bear Republic Tartare (RateBeer.com)

20150123: [20150215 Edit]
After having a glass of The Lost Abbey Devotion Ale, I decided to get a Bear Republic Tartare.

The glass had no head and the beer smelled like a candy.

The beer tasted really tart, which I thought was nice.

Pondering about the smell a bit more, I thought perhaps it smelled like a flavor of Jello.

Returning to the beer's taste, I thought it reminded me of a framboise. 8:40PM PT

This Bear Republic Tartare was definitely a great tart beer, and a great beer in general. 11:04PM PT

Website Information:
TARTARE

One of the world’s classic sour beer styles, Tartare is Bear Republic’s interpretation of Berliner Weisse, the tart, low-alcohol beer style dubbed as ‘The Champagne of the North.’

BEER DETAILS:
Style: Berliner-style Weisse
ABV: 4
IBU: 8
Color: Straw

SERVING METHODS: Draft
GENERAL PAIRING: Steamed Mussels
CHEESE PAIRING: Rich cheeses
PROTEIN PAIRING: Shellfish, Seafood

The Lost Abbey Devotion Ale

The Lost Abbey Devotion Ale

Relevant Links:
Devotion Ale (The Lost Abbey Website)
Devotion Ale | The Lost Abbey (BeerAdvocate.com)
Lost Abbey Devotion Ale (RateBeer.com)

20150123:
After having a Trumer Pils, I head over to Eureka! with friends and first order a glass of The Lost Abbey Devotion Ale. It has a banana taste... a slight bitterness... and a pale ale aftertaste. As a whole, I like the taste of this beer.

Giving the beer a whiff, I find there's a light banana smell.

Going back to the taste, I can detect the presence of malts. Yeah, this beer has a nice overall taste. 8:25PM PT

Website Information:
DEVOTION ALE

It’s an unassuming road leading to the priory. Here, off the corner of two intersecting roads, dedicated monks have been making beer for over 150 years. It’s always been a simple life — the kind that requires they brew only enough to sustain the activities of their monastery. In the silence of passing seasons, they pray, they brew and retire in solitary existence behind the sheltering walls. They live a most interesting life. Most likely one we couldn’t sustain.

Nearby, each summer, the trellised fields spring to life as rows of resinous green cones are trained toward the heavens. Rumor is some monks love these hops and being surrounded by budding yellow aromas and the leafy pungent fields inspired them. Since we aren’t sensible enough to locate our brewery near hop fields, we can only offer this blond ale in celebration of our Abbey brethren and their steadfast Devotion.

ABV: 6.3%

TASTING NOTES:
AROMA: Designed to be a hop driven beer, the aroma presents mostly European variety hops with underlying notes of fresh hay and grassy fields. There is a very low level of yeast phenols present and much of this is subtle spice come from the aromatic hops.

TASTE: A lighter bodied beer that immediately makes an initial hop impression followed by a brief thinning layer of malt which is swallowed in the driest finish by a driven hop expression.

STYLE REFERENCE: Belgian Blonde Ale

PAIR WITH: Hop driven beers find excellent partners in spicy dishes ranging from Fish Tacos to Thai Food. As this is a very dry beer, it's best served with dishes that emphasize less robust flavors and are more spiced than savory driven.

Trumer Pils

Trumer Pils

Relevant Links:
Trumer Pils Website
Trumer Pils (Wikipedia.org)
Trumer Pils | Trumer Brauerei Berkeley (BeerAdvocate.com)
Trumer Pils (RateBeer.com)

20150123: [20150215 Edit]
For happy hour I have a Trumer Pils. I wrote the following: "This beer is very carbonated. It's almost just like seltzer water. When drinking this beer, I am most reminded by Heineken." 4:46PM PT

Website Information:
A German style Pilsner, Trumer Pils is characterized by a distinct hops flavor, high carbonation and light body. A combination of Saaz and Austrian hops, malt mashing process and proprietary yeast make Trumer Pils unique among beers.

ALCOHOL BY VOLUME (WEIGHT): 4.9% ABV
BITTERNESS (IBU): 26 IBU
APPARENT EXTRACT/FINAL GRAVITY: 1.9 PLATO
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 11.5
RECOMMENDED SERVING TEMPERATURE: 38 F

Sierra Nevada / Oskar Blues CANfusion

Sierra Nevada / Oskar Blues CANfusion Rye Bock

Relevant Links:
Sierra Nevada / Oskar Bleus Beer Camp CANfusion Rye Bock (RateBeer.com)
CANfusion: Rye Bock (Beer Camp Across America) | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (BeerAdvocate.com)

20150116: [20150213 Edit]
The beer has a cloudy, dark orange color. Upon whiffing the CANfusion, there was a clear flowery smell; it is nice and pleasant.

Upon sipping the beer, I am surprised by the taste. My taste buds resonate a dark, pleasant (not bitter) sensation. It's hard to describe, but I've tasted similar beers.

I guess at times the beer feels a bit heavy. Oh! So I know how to describe it now: the beer tastes strong and is on the edge of being overbearing. And, of course, that means it reminds me of my Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA tasting experience. It's both sweet and strong, so I get these complex flavors in my mouth, but I don't feel like I can really drink much more. It is however only 7.2% ABV. 10:21PM PT

I also wrote: "Just now I took another sip, the glass is about a third of the way down, and the bitterness revealed itself. Perhaps my mouth is coated in the beer's sugars." 11:39PM PT

20150117:
It's morning and the alcoholic smell of unconsumed beer continues to reach my nose. I give whats sitting on the table two sips before pouring it out. It's obviously warm, and the first sip is strong, but interesting. The second sip has a bit of a sour flavor to it. Overall, the sips feel sugary. 1:05PM PT

Website Information:
CANFUSION
RYE BOCK

COLLABORATION PARTNER
OSKAR BLUES BREWERY
Longmont, CO / Brevard, NC

Our friends at Oskar Blues pioneered great beer in a can and, as mutual members of the canned craft club, this partnership was a perfect fit. CANfusion is a coming together—a fusion, if you will—of flavors from across the spectrum of brewing: spicy rye, tangy wheat and a bright citrusy hop aroma.

Oskar Blues is the granddaddy of canned craft beer. Like us, they have a fun-loving passion for the outdoors and bikes. It was a natural fit for them to adopt cans as a portable, durable way to tote their favorite beer on the trail, and in the process they paved the way for all other craft brewers to follow.

OVERVIEW
ABV: 7.2
Beginning Gravity: 17.5
Ending Gravity: 3.5
Bitterness Units: 45

INGREDIENTS
Yeast: Lager
Bittering Hops: Summit
Finishing Hops: Aurora, Ella

Malts: Two-row Pale, Full Pint, Rye, Red Wheat, Munich, Melanoidan, Acidulated

TASTING NOTES
CANfusion is a dry-hop rye bock with a complex malt body that launches a peppery blast from the rye, balanced by a fruity hop aroma. As the style suggests, it was dry-hopped for an added aroma punch from the unique citrusy and spice-like Australian Ella hop varietal.

Anchor IPA

Anchor IPA

Relevant Links:
Anchor IPA (Anchor Brewing Website)
Anchor IPA | Anchor Brewing Company (BeerAdvocate.com)
Anchor IPA (RateBeer.com)

20150109:
This beer has a nice, hoppy, floral smell. It's quite strong and has a bitter flavor. In fact, it's more bitter than the bitter part of a grapefruit. Reading the label, I would definitely agree with the description "spiky bitterness." With that being said, it also has a clean finish; it doesn't leave behind a bitter taste. While I would not have it again, an IPA lover may enjoy it. 4:06PM PT

Website Information:
Anchor IPA

An adventurous new brew from America's original craft brewery.

The California Gold Rush lured thousands west to "see the elephant," a 19th-century metaphor for the hopeful but risky pursuit of happiness, adventure, and fortune. As early as 1849, India Pale Ale - prepared by British brewers for export to India by adding dry hops to barrels of hoppy ale - was also heading west, from England around the Horn to San Francisco. Thirsty ‘49ers savored the best imported IPAs, but it wasn’t until 1975 that Anchor, Americas' original craft brewery, pioneered the revival of dry-hopped handmade ales. Now, that tradition fast-forwards to an adventurous new brew: Anchor IPA™.

Anchor IPA™ is made with 2-row barley malt and fresh whole-cone hops, its bright amber color, distinctively complex aroma, spiky bitterness, malty depth, and clean finish unite to create a uniquely flavorful, memorable, and timeless craft IPA.

The elephant you see on Anchor IPA™ was hand-drawn by our label artist, James Stitt. To "see the elephant" was a popular 19th-century expression that originated with a tale that predates the California Gold Rush.

There once lived a farmer who had heard of elephants but had never seen one. He longed for the day when he might catch a glimpse of this rare, exotic creature. When the circus came to town, he loaded his wagon with fresh produce and headed to market. On the way, just as he'd hoped, he came across the circus parade, nobly led by an enormous elephant. The farmer was ecstatic, but his horses were terrified. They reared and bucked, overturning his wagon and scattering its precious contents in the road. "I don’t give a hoot," exclaimed the farmer. "I have seen the elephant!"

The elephant became the universal symbol of the Gold Rush, as evidenced by the journals, letters, and sketchbooks of the forty-niners. Whether or not they struck it rich in the diggings, those plucky pioneers would forever treasure their California adventure as the defining moment of their lives. Have you seen the elephant?

Brew Facts
First Brew: 2014
First Bottling: 2014
Alc. by Volume: 6.5%
Availability: Year-round
Malt: Blend of Two-Row Pale, Munich & Caramel Barley Malt
Hops: Cascade, Bravo, Apollo
Dry Hops: Cascade, Apollo, Citra, Nelson Sauvin, Haas Experimental No. 431

Unibroue Blanche de Chambly

Unibroue Blanche de Chambly

(20150101)

Relevant Links:
Blanche de Chambly (Unibroue Website)
Unibroue Blanche de Chambly (RateBeer.com)
Blanche De Chambly | Unibroue (BeerAdvocate.com)

20150101:
Blanche de Chambly has a flowery smell. The smell is intriguing. It doesn't quite smell like banana. I suppose it smells more like wheat. Regardless, it's pleasant smell. Finally tasting the beer, I find it has a nice, light taste. Actually, it's very light, but not in a bad way (like a Bud Light). 8:25PM PT

20160301:
I like the light, refreshing taste. This beer is light with a hint of citrus flavor. It reminds me of a wheat beer and/or Blue Moon (Belgian-style witbier). Looking around the bottle, I find it classifies itself as a Belgian white ale (witbier).

On my third or fourth sip, I sense a copious amount of carbonation. Its possibly I only noticed this because J.D. mentioned being distracted by the carbonation with the other Unibroue beers he's had over the past few days.

(20160301)

Website Information:
Blanche de Chambly
Origin: Chambly, Quebec
Brewed since 1992
ABV: 5.0%
Fermentation: Top
Style: Belgian white ale (witbier)
Color: Pale golden
SRM: 4
Clarity: Cloudy
Head: White, creamy
Bubbles: Like champaign, fine and abundant
Effervescence: Slow

Nose: Subtle bouquet of spice, citrus notes, aromas of yeast breads, coriander, and cloves
Flavor: Wheat and subtle spices blanketed in citrus flavors reminiscent of orange and lemon
IBU: 10
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: Medium, short finish
Suggested serving temperature: 4°C - 6°C/39°F - 43°F
Suggested glass: Footed flute
Comment(s): The first refermented white beer brewed according to Belgian tradition in North America.