Review: Bear Republic Racer 500 Indy Pale Ale
How’s this for cute? Building off its incredibly popular Racer 5, Bear Republic recently launched Racer 500 — “inspired by and brewed to celebrate ‘the greatest spectacle in racing,’ the Indianapolis 500.” The beer is a collaboration with Indiana’s Craftroads Beverage, giving it some hometown cred. Racer 500 is brewed with Amarillo, Citra and Galaxy…
A Visit to Mauritson Family Winery
Mauritson Family Winery is easily accessible on Dry Creek Road, the main corridor of Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley. The Mauritson family arrived here in 1868 and planted its first vines in 1884. Today, the company farms 230 acres in Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, and produces wine under a handful of different labels, all of…
Review: Jagermeister Manifest
Jagermeister continues its slow grind toward premium status with this, its second line extension following Jagermeister Spice, which arrived in 2013. Jagermeister Manifest is a high-end herbal liqueur with a distinctly different approach than the dark-as-night, licorice whip of classic Jager. We had the opportunity to sample the new Jagermeister expression to see if it’s…
Review: King of Kentucky Straight Bourbon 14 Years Old (2018)
Bourbon nuts have already heard the big news: King of Kentucky, a brand established in 1881, acquired by Brown-Forman in 1936, and discontinued in 1968, is back. There’s nothing much connecting this 2018 revival to the 1968 version (it was a blended whiskey at the time), but few will pay that any mind, as this…
Review: Wines of Robert Mondavi, 2018 Releases
A trio of wines from Robert Mondavi: Two whites from its Napa Valley line, and the latest release of Maestro, an upscale Bordeaux-style blend in a special bottle. Let’s taste. 2015 Robert Mondavi Chardonnay Napa Valley – Bright with lemon on the nose, the palate offers notes of vanilla wafers, a touch of grapefruit, and…
Review: Clyde May’s Alabama Style Whiskey (2018) and Alabama Style Whiskey Cask Strength 10 Years Old
If any American distillery makes things confusing — not on purpose, mind you — it’s Alabama’s Clyde May’s. The distillery played down the “Conecuh Ridge” branding years ago, and its labels have changed design many times in the 2010s. A variety of special editions have hit the market, including a straight bourbon, which is not…
Review: Stone I’m Peach Double IPA
With current political discourse reaching contentious temperatures, it can be enough for even the most hardened political wonk to just disconnect and move out to the country. Not one to shy away from stance or fight (a spat with brewing giant MillerCoors being a recent example), Stone’s moniker for this peach-heavy IPA speaks to its…
Review: Weihenstephaner/Sierra Nevada Braupakt
The world’s oldest brewery, Weihenstephan, recently collaborated with one of the oldest American craft brewers, Sierra Nevada, on the production of a limited edition Hefe Weissbier called Braupakt (Brewery Pact). According to the company, this beer uses Hallertauer Tradition hops as well as Amarillo and Chinook hops from the American West coast to create a…