Review: Beers of Riegele, 2016 Releases
Who is Riegele? Riegele is a 630 year old, family owned Bavarian brewery located in Augsburg, Germany which won the 2016 German Craft Beer of the Year, 2015 German Craft Brewery of the Year, World Beer Cup, and many other awards. Now imported into the U.S., Riegele is probably best known for collaborating with Sierra…
Review: Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve Bourbon Barrel #3402 NHLC Collection
Remember that time that the New Hampshire Liquor Commission bought 15 barrels of Jack Daniel’s, the largest single purchase of JD single barrels ever? Well, they did it again, this time with Knob Creek, purchasing 8 barrels and bottling them as New Hampshire exclusives, all 120 proof, 9 years old. We got a sample from…
Review: Broadside 2014 Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon
Here’s a pair of new releases from Broadside, based in Paso Robles. 2014 Broadside Chardonnay Central Coast Wild Ferment – This classic California chardonnay has heavy notes of brown butter, but dials back the overbearing wood character. Some mild notes of figs and pears take up the slack with a dash of vanilla extract on the…
Review: Indi Distilled Botanical Mixers
Made in Puerto de la Santa Maria, Spain, Indi lays claim to being the world’s first line of distilled botanical mixers. Made with 100 percent natural ingredients, with no artificial colorings or preservatives — including real quinine bark and local herbs, lemons, and oranges — Indi’s sodas and tonics are clearly labors of love. To produce…
Review: Wines of Francis Ford Coppola, Late 2016 Releases
A septet of new releases from our friends at FFC. Quality on this round is literally all over the place… 2014 Francis Ford Coppola Sofia Blanc de Blancs Monterey County – The cellophane wrapper should connote luxury, but to me it always comes across as scary. This wine — vintage blanc de blancs! — smells…
Review: Devils Backbone Bravo Four Point and Pumpkin Hunter
Virginia’s Devils Backbone is back with two new beers, a session IPA and a seasonal pumpkin brew. Let’s dig in. Devils Backbone Bravo Four Point Session IPA – Expectations are always low when session beers are involved, but Bravo Four Point manages to avoid hitting even those tempered hopes and dreams. This IPA starts with…
Review: Painted Stave Distilling Double TroubleD
Painted Stave Distilling (see reviews of their gins here) in Smyrna, Delaware, is part of a growing group of craft distilleries making whiskey out of (actual) beer. In the case of Double TroubleD, the beer is Double D Imperial IPA from Dominion Brewing Company in Dover, Delaware. Double D is distilled to under 160 proof,…
Review: Hermitage Brewing Company Sour Cherry Sour Ale
The name doesn’t lie. This orange-pink, wine-barrel-aged, ultra-fizzy sour from San Jose’s Hermitage Brewing is overwhelming with cherry notes up front, intensely sour from start to finish. The ale takes a turn for the earthy late in the game, which isn’t a poor match for the up-front cherry character, but the monumental sourness of the entire…
