White Birch Ol' Catty Flemish Sour
Hanging out
at the Cask & Vine bar can be dangerous. Four beer flights help you
experience what's been newly tapped and then a full glass of something that
catches your fancy can make for a dangerous night!
Last weekend
the Ol' Catty Sour from White Birch (a soured version of their Ol' Cattywhompus
Barleywine) was on tap. I will say that I am developing a taste for sour beers
and with the experience I do have I know what I like and don't in this style.
Beers that are sour for sour's sake and don't have a lot of character in their
own right just don't do it for me.
The White
Birch Ol' Catty Sour is NOT one of those beers. It's actually sweet, and sour!
Brown in color with a wonderfully rich & malty full body and earthy hops you'd be
good enough there. The sour, but not too sour, tangent adds depth to this
drink. Because it is also sweet the sour profile doesn't taste forced or out of
balance. My Facebook message on this beer finished with "damn, I love this
beer!" I guess I was having a good time.
Meinklang Burgenland White 2012
Last night
(April 24, 2013) the topics of bio-dynamics and Austrian wine were showcased on
#winechat. I received the sample kit and popped the bottles open earlier in
the day to do my tasting and note taking. The first wine I tasted was the Meinklang Burgenland White 2012 a blend of Welschriesling, Gruener Veltliner and Muskat
Ottonel. I'm a sucker for fresh & fruity white blends and this one definitely
drew me in. Bottled with some of its own carbonation the wine is a bit prickly
which adds a surprising but very workable dimension all of its own. This wine
makes a perfect summer sipper. It does need to be chilled to be best.
Aromas of
white flowers, crushed herbs and tart, white fleshed fruits (tart apples,
pears) blend together nicely in the nose and mouth. The finish is crisp and
prickly but does have just a little sweetness left before it exits. There was
plenty of conversation about this wine during #winechat and having enjoyed it
on the first really warm Spring day we've had in New Hampshire made it easy to
consider how this wine might pair well with the inevitable backyard parties of
Summer.
Thank you to
Austrian Wine USA for hosting #winechat and for the producers who participated.
Not having a lot of Gruner experience I was taking in a lot of the feedback
from others to help put these wines in context. I purposely decided to make an
Asian-inspired salad for dinner tonight so that I can return to the Sepp Moser
and Nikolaihof Gruners to experience more of what they offer!
Cheers!
Jason
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