Now Hear This – Sony Walkman W & The Grateful Dead

When I share product reviews they are exclusively food & beverage related. This week I will depart from that truth to tell you about the experience I've had with the Sony Walkman W Meb Keflezighi Edition.

I received my Sony Walkman W as a perk from Klout.com. I’m not a runner, one of the intended audiences, but I do walk a lot, hike and work out in the yard & gardens quite a bit. And working out in the yard is where I found the Walkman W to be a fantastic product.

I've been on a binge with the yard-work in the last couple of weeks. Between getting the existing gardens prepped & planted, clearing for new gardens, new landscaping in the front yard and some spot seeding I’ve probably spent almost an entire work week out there since Memorial Day weekend. Margot has helped with the work quite a bit, but during the times where we have worked in separate parts of the yard or when she was working elsewhere I've enjoyed taking my music with me as a work.

The Sony Walkman W is a about the side of a normal pair of headsets, with small modules at each ear for the electronics and a rubber coated cable connected the two. It has a USB plug for charging and to transfer music. It is designed to be water resistant, not swimming waterproof though, but more so sweat and rain-proof. I've tested both of those scenarios successfully.

The sound quality of the unit is exceptional. My music of choice the last couple of weeks has been live recordings of The Grateful Dead and the Jerry Garcia Band. Some of the audience recordings have good sound quality on their own and others have a bit more of the ambient noise. Even at the max volume the Sony Walkman W does a great job of making the music sound great. I don’t know exactly what the battery life is in practice (the web site says 8 hours), but I haven’t run out in between chargings which have been sporadic since I have been using it.

( A glimpse of what some of all the hard work has been about. )

I'll take a quick detour to share an observation specifically about my choice of music. The pairing of audience recordings of the Grateful Dead and yard work turned out to be superb, bordering on ethereal. The Dead never played the same show twice so the improvisational and organic quality to any collection of live recordings is part of the allure. Working in the garden is connective exercise, human with earth, and that activity and the music seemed linked in a spiritual way.  I prefer to listen to live music outdoors, it just feels better, and I think the experiences I have had in the yard these last few weeks are an extension of those feelings. With the added rush of the physical labor I was genuinely happy even after long, hard days of labor.  

I would highly recommend the Sony Walkman W to anyone who I active and would like to take their music on the go. It is light, comfortable, powerful and has enough storage (2GB) to listen to unique tracks for at least a few hours. The product retails for $69 at Sony's web site. Don’t worry about it getting sweaty or wet, it will keep on truckin'!

Cheers!

Jason

My Half Full Glass - May 14th, 2013

This is actually last week's HFG, but shit happens. I also had a bottle of wine on deck to include this installment, but with allergy season in full swing my nose just wasn't gonna do it. And now I'm on to the next thing, so here it is!

Ommegang Three Philosophers

Three Philosophers is a Belgian Quad, a high ABV Belgian beer for which there is also a growing number of domestic examples worth drinking. The most recent release of Gravitation from Smuttynose caught my attention earlier this year and I've wondered how it compared to the offering from Ommegang.

Ommegang is known for their true-to-style Belgian beers as well as paving some new ground, and I can't say I have ever been disappointed with one of their beers. This Quad was not what I expected however, but in fairness there isn't anything wrong or off about it. It is just much drier than I expected. All of the aromatic and flavor notes are representative, dried fruits, dark sweet fruits, a breadiness and some spices. The alcohol is moderate at 9.7%, and is not a detractor. In the mouth it's all there, but it is very subtle because of the low residual sugar.

Having had a few homebrewed versions that are sweet and viscous I checked the BJCP Style Guide to see what the ranges in the different attribute categories might be. Category 18E, Belgian Dark Strong Ale is where a Quad could be classified. The alcohol is expected to be between 8 and 11% and the bitterness low. As for the sweetness, there are two sub-styles, Trappist & Abbey, that differ greatly in this aspect, while retaining considerable similarities otherwise. OK, glad I checked. The BJCP style guide is one of the ways I have been learning about beer styles and the two different versions (based on dryness) of Belgian Dark Strong Ales was something new to me!

At the end of the day this is a sweet style of beer for me, which is a good thing to know. I haven't ventured to make a Quad yet, but I do like Belgian beer so after trying a few more who knows!

Cheers!

Jason 

My Half Full Glass - April 25th, 2013

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

My Half Full Glass - April 16th, 2013

Cider Rules

Last Wednesday night I had the honor of talking about cider as a guest for #winechat. Prior to the event I tasted through several styles to remind myself of the incredible diversity in cider-making traditions around the world.  I also wrote two posts (Cider Tales and More From The Orchard) on the topic of cider to help those unfamiliar with it learn more about a beverage that I both make and frequently enjoy.

One bottle I had on hand that didn't open was the Newtown Pippin from Original Sin. The Newtown Pippin apple has a great American story, originating in Long Island, NY and spreading to many locations including Virginia where both Thomas Jefferson and George Washington grew it. In modern times it is considered an heirloom apple variety and is largely used in cider-making, although it can be found at farm stands in the Eastern part of the United States. I've never actually eaten one, but have had it in cider form several times.

The Original Sin Newtown Pippin is a dry, sparkling cider that pours a light gold color. The aromas are tart apple, crab apple and apple blossom to me. In the mouth it is dry, but not bone dry, with very straightforward tart apple flavors. What I like about this cider is the balance. Dry, tart ciders can often create a sour sensation pretty quickly. This one is more gentle, not creating a big mouth pucker until late in the finish.

Aged Homemade Wine

I've only been making wine for nine years and for the first several of those years I made small enough quantities that most of it was consumed within the first year of its life. More recently I've made wine in higher volumes as well as have branched off into other beverages (cider and mead) so more of my wine has been able to age.

I recently uncorked a bottle of a Cabernet blend (Cab Sauv & Ruby Cab) made in the Spring of 2008 from buckets of juice. The wine drank well early on and I had hoped it would age. It has aged and well enough to be drinkable, but it has not really improved at all with age; not that I expected it to. When I made this wine I still had minimal experience with the process, and the ingredients I used were good, but not the best out there.

The wine is drinkable on its own, but comes off a little sweet and a bit candy-ish. The candy / bubblegum nose is a dead give-away for methyl sorbate in homemade wine, a chemical byproduct from the use of Potassium Sorbate as a stabilizer, and potentially in a larger than necessary amount. Lesson learned. I've rarely come across this attribute in my wines so for this to be found in wines I made nearly 5 years ago shouldn't be a surprise. So what to do with the wine?

Cut it with Coca-Cola, add some ice and enjoy a wine cocktail!

Cheers!

Jason

More From The Orchard

( Apple blossoms right down the street from me in the Spring. )

Yesterday I offered up a bit of a primer on cider. A little bit of historical context, characteristics & regional variations, how it's made and producers you should know. It was a lot of information but I hadn't covered all the topics that I wanted to. Today I'm back with reviews of recent tastings, some tips on pairing cider with food and a little bit about my own experience making cider at home.

Cider Reviews

I try new ciders whenever and wherever I find them. I developed a taste for cider growing up in New England. Occasionally the fresh pressed cider from a local farm had gone a little hard and while I don't think I knew about the potential alcohol in it, I did like the tartness and minor carbonation. I never got to drink much of it, it was usually spirited away upon detection that it had gone "hard", but I enjoyed it nonetheless. When I did begin to drink alcohol, legally of course, I consumed cider frequently. For me it was a much better alternative to light beer when I had the funds to buy just for myself.

Samuel Smith Organic Hard Cider

Samuel Smith Organic Hard Cider is medium dry with plenty of sweet & tart apple to go around this is a very enjoyable cider. There is a floral element to this that you will also see mentioned in quite a number of other reviews. Knowing what apple blossoms smell like, I have orchards on my street, I do agree that is what the aroma is most like. At 5% ABV this cider won't do a lot of damage in moderation. To me this is a classic commercial version of English cider.

Angry Orchard Ciders

The ciders from Angry Orchard are relatively new and until recently I hadn't tried all the varieties available in 12oz bottles.  I haven't yet tried Ice Man or Straw Man from the Cider House Collection. Both the Crisp and Traditional ciders are straightforward with the Traditional being the drier, sharper and more tart of the two. The Crisp tasted too juicy and fruity to me, but it isn't a bad cider to sit back and enjoy. The Ginger version is more interesting still, but I found the ginger flavor to be somewhat hidden by the apple aromas and sweetness. I found the Elderflower to have a skunky nose and it just wasn't a combination that I enjoyed well enough to want to drink it again.

Sarasola Basque Cider

Pours hazy and with an orange tint. The aromas are tart and sour which follows through in the mouth. The cider is funky, earthy, acetic, sour and much more interesting that I expected. The apple aromas and flavors are there but are very much masked by the Brett and sour elements. This reminds me of some of the sour Belgian ales and lambics I have had. The reviews at several of the craft beer sites for this cider were decidedly not positive. It left me wondering if the reviewers didn't know that Basque cider isn't like American cider.

Woodchuck Ginger

I've been drinking Woodchuck ciders for as long as I can remember them being available (1991) but I had never had the ginger which has only been out less than a year. This is the best ginger flavor I have had in a cider, and something I hope to replicate in a cider of my own in the next season. The cider itself is dry so the ginger stands out with a potent spicy character and apples as the backdrop.

Bantam Wunderkind

Bantam Cider Wunderkind is the best new cider I have had in some time. It pours pale straw in color and crystal clear. The tart apple and floral notes in the nose drew me in. Flavor wise this cider offers a spectrum and tart and sweet apple flavors and hints of ginger.  I would highly recommend this to anyone who can find it in or around Massachusetts where it is made.

Etienne Dupont Organic Cidre Bouché Brut de Normandie 2009

Ciders made in Normandy, like Etienne Dupont, are a real treat. In the traditional style there are unfiltered, barrel aged (fermented in part with native yeasts and sometimes Brett) and massively carbonated. This one was no slouch on any of those points. It poured and orange gold color and threw up apples, yeast funk and barnyard right away. In the mouth the cider apples reign and hints of spices come and go. There is some residual sweetness but it is kept in check by the acidity and carbonation. I bought a small bottle of this particular producer and now I know to buy the big one the next time.

Links to Older Reviews

Crispin Cider (Review #1, Review #2, Review #3)

Eden Iced Cider

Albermarle CiderWorks

Peconic Bay Winery Hard Cider

Bonny Doon Querry (An apple, pear & quince cider)

Silver Mountain Ciders

Pairing Cider with Food

Food & beverage pairing has become somewhat of a sport in the United State media, and I’m not sure that has been entirely beneficial. Matching food & beverages has an immense amount of subjective quality to it, and while most of the basic rules are valid, the focus on “perfect pairings” is driving people nuts.

Cider is an old beverage, a rustic beverage, and thus consumers of it anywhere there is a healthy cider-making tradition have tried it with absolutely every food-stuff available. This means there should be lots of experience pairing cider but it also serves to stoke the fires of subjective judgments of which regional foods & ciders go together best. We've lost a lot of the cider tradition in the US so our experience with it on the table isn't as tangible as it could be. It's coming back though. Let’s take a look at some of the basic rules in terms of cider & food pairing. No matter whether you are new to cider or not some of these suggestions will open up exciting possibilities for you to try.

( Up close with some apple blossoms. The smell is so wonderful! )

Dry, highly carbonated ciders can be paired much like Champagne and sparkling wine. The most significant difference is that the aromas and flavors are more focused around apples, but in versions that have balanced flavors it shouldn't cause pairing problems. So this means pairings with lots of different appetizers, especially fried ones, tapas, oysters and shellfish.

Cheese is the ultimate pairing tool for me, but I am a sucker for cheese! Cheddar, especially aged types, pairs well with cider. Dubliner, an Irish import, is particularly nice with both dry and medium dry ciders. Goat cheese pairs nicely as well, and even better with added fruit or a chutney. Funky cheeses can pair well with cider, and if you match some funk with funk (French & Spanish ciders) you might make magic! Blue cheese is a good match for sweeter ciders.

Poultry and cider can be paired very well, and I've often found cider to be the best match for something like Thanksgiving dinner and the convergence of all those textures and flavors. Roasted chicken with herbs and a medium dry to dry cider is a combination that I've enjoyed many times.

Desserts and any sweet treats containing apple can be paired with cider, and the basic rule of matching sweet with sweet does apply. Fresh baked apple pie with a glass of ice cider is a combination sure to please!

Making Cider At Home

Making cider at home is a straightforward act. I recently wrote a post about "scrumpy" and I presented a countertop version of it that only takes a couple weeks to ferment and is consumed before the fermentation is complete and without any fining or filtering. Check out Adventures in Fermentation - Scrumpy to see how it's done.

Cider-making at home can be much more elaborate, and if you ask my wife she'll tell you I've gone there and will likely go even bigger the next time. I made my first hard cider in 2005. I have access to fresh pressed cider from several local farms so getting the ingredients has never been a problem.  I've made hard cider from varietal juice, Mutsu in particular, as well as the "house blends" from five area farms. The only consideration about the starting product that I have made up to this point is that it can only be UV treated, but NOT pasteurized. Living sweet cider makes the best hard cider. The results have spanned a broad range, from really tart, sour & dry to gently sweet with a beautiful nose of apples and apple blossoms. Duplicating the best outcomes has been hard because each new season of apples is different.

In 2009 I embarked on a big cider project. I was interested in making several different styles of cider from the same source. I started with 35 gallons of fresh cider. I used different yeasts and finished some of the ciders with homemade fruit syrups. All of the cider I made for this project was still. I had lost a fair bit of cider in 2007 to overcharged bottles and I was loathe to see that happen again.

( The seven carboys around the outer ring are from the 2009 project. )

The outcome was very educational. The unflavored cider made with the traditional cider yeast was good, but the least interesting. The ciders made with a Sweet Mead yeast were naturally a bit sweeter and had a more complex nose. The ciders made with cherry, strawberry and raspberry fruit syrups ranged in sweetness with the raspberry one tasting like raspberry/apple candy. The best outcome was the unflavored cider fermented with Rudesheimer yeast which is actually a yeast used to make German Riesling wines. The complexity of the cider was beyond all of my wildest imagination. I named it "Rudy" and coveted each bottle that I pulled from the cellar to enjoy. That cider went on to win a first place at a regional homebrew competition and the feedback from everyone who tried it was overwhelming. If there is ever a cider I would like to recreate, it would be this one.

( Open apple blossoms. They are nice, but boy do they create a lot of pollen in the neighborhood! )

With the exception of pressing the fruit myself everything else about cider-making at home has been the same as it would be for a commercial producer, albeit on a smaller scale. In 2013 I do plan to make a larger volume than I have made in the past. I plan to blend ciders from multiple sources, use several different yeasts and even barrel age some. I've also considered using cryo-extraction to create the base for an ice cider, but that has to wait until winter comes again in New Hampshire, something I am not thinking about at all right now! I will likely get the chance to crush and press my own apples this year too. One of my brew club friends has access to lots of fruit from a family orchard and with a little bit of elbow grease I hope to bring home my hand pressed cider and make something delicious with it.

Onward to #ciderchat!

Once again there is a lot of information here. To me cider is really exciting and sharing all of this information was an exciting task. I look forward to answering questions and sharing experiences during #winechat tonight.

So what I am going to be drinking tonight during the cider conversation #winechat? I have some homemade scrumpy that I will start off with then I am going to open a bottle from the Dooryard series made by Farnum Hill and maybe a bottle of Newtown Pippin from Original Sin Ciders.

Cheers!

Jason

Cider Tales

The apple tree is considered by some as the oldest cultivated tree in the world, but with its exact origins both unknown and hotly debated we can really only go so far back before what we know about how apples were grown and used gets pretty sketchy.  The flipside is that the hot debate confirms that apples were grown all over the Old World and migrated to New World locations with explorers and settlers. I led off with this because I wanted to the following statement to be as believable as possible. Where there are apples there is hard cider.

I will let the reader discover the numerous perspectives on the history of cider, some of which can be explored via the links below.

• Wikipedia - Ciders
• Bon Appétit- History of Cider
• Organic Gardening - A Taste of History
• Farnum Hill Cider Blog
• Serious Eats- A Brief Cider History
• Buzzle -History of the Apple
• Cider, Hard& Sweet by Ben Watson (best book I have read on cider)

With the identification of the mysterious process of fermentation some eight to ten thousand years ago (Pasteur only documented the science in the mid 19th century), anything that had sugar in it was fair game to have been used to make drink. This includes fruits, honey, cereals (grains, rice) and other sources of sugar like cane. And apples weren't excluded. We don't have to travel forward in history too far to find the evidence that where there were apples there was cider.  SO, what else do you need to know?

There is a lot to know about cider both old and new. "But Jason what's the most important information to know about cider?" Well, that really depends on two things. First of, because cider is made all over the world, it is going to take time to experience enough of it firsthand to really worry about all the particulars. Second, and to me most important, is figuring out what you like. When seeking out and sampling ciders it pays to have a sense of how they work on your palate. And that is where the different style elements or characteristics come in to play.

Cider Characteristics 

• Carbonation - Ciders come in sparkling AND still styles. The range of carbonation can be from Champagne-like to soda that is going flat.  Still cider will rarely present any carbonation at all, but some versions maybe pettilent, much like some bottlings of mead.
• Aroma/Flavor - Traditional ciders, those made with heirloom or cider-making apples, are much more likely to have tart apple driving both the nose and palate, and may often be sour. Ciders made with dessert or sweet apples will be much more juicy and sweet smelling/tasting. The choice can be born of tradition or cider-maker choice, and every cider house may make different choices based on the types and quality of apples available each new season.
• Texture/Body - Cider can be bone dry and very light, but it can also be sweet and viscous with just enough acidity to manage a reasonable level of tartness. Some cider-makers filter their ciders and other do not. Some bottle conditioned ciders may pour hazy from the bottle re-fermentation, while most high-volume commercial ciders are crystal clear and are force-carbonated during the bottling process.
• Additional Ingredients - Cider-makers can be very creative and most often when they are, we all benefit. Added fruits (cherries, pears, etc), spices, maple syrup, honey, unique yeasts and barrel aging all influence the finished cider differently.

Regional cider traditions can be broadly classified in terms of the different characteristics , and here are some of the most common regional variations:

• English (West) – Traditionally are farmhouse style ciders that are most often cloudy and made from tart cider apples.
• English (East) – More often made dessert apples, filtered for clarity with an overall light & dry profile.
• France (Normandy/Brittany) – Most of the cider produced in France is made in the northwest regions where cider-making has been ongoing for hundreds of years. A range of ciders, dry to sweet and most often sparkling are produced.
• Canada (Quebec) – several styles of cider are produced in Quebec, but most notably is the Cidre de Glace, or ice cider. The production of these ciders is much like ice wine, frozen fruit is pressed to extract concentrated sugars. These ciders are exquisite and are well worth seeking out.
• Canada (Outside Quebec) – Traditional dry, sparkling ciders are produced in several Canadian provinces. I recall enjoying some BC-made cider in a pub on Victoria Island, but sadly I enjoyed that night so much that I forgot to find out who the producer was.
• United States (New England) – along with the Mid-Atlantic states New England is where ciders were first produced in what would later become the United States. Styles vary and the availability of both traditional cider AND dessert apples means that versions resembling old English styles as well as modern styles can be found readily. Several large and many small producers exist in the region.  Ice cider, having migrated over the northern border with Quebec is notable in Vermont.
• United States (New York & Mid-Atlantic) – Has a similar cider making history to New England. Several small to medium sized producers making both traditional and modern styles of cider.
• United States (Upper Midwest) – Michigan and Minnesota are home to a number of cider producers making a range of styles.
• United States (West Coast) – Cider is made by a growing list of producers from Washington to California. I’ll be seeking out more West Coast cider on several upcoming trips.
• Germany – Called Apfelwien this is a variation I have yet to try. Research suggests it is tart and sour, but that variations do exist.
• Ireland – Typically medium dry, filtered and force carbonated.
• Spain – Several styles exist both in the regions of Asturia and Basque Country. Traditional versions are tart and sour. I don’t have much experience with these but have read about the long cider-making tradition and included the reference to peek curiosity for those travelling to Spain or looking for Spanish food & drink.

Cider is produced and consumed in quite a few other countries, but at smaller volumes than the countries/ regions listed above. We have to remember that where there are apples there is cider, but sometimes just not that much.

Production Process

Cider at its simplest is the juice of crushed and pressed apples that is fermented with either ambient or cultured yeasts.

Apples must be prepared before they can be fermented and this involves crushing them, often called scratting, and then pressing the pomace to release the juice. The pressed juice is then transferred into barrels or tanks for primary fermentation. (The photo on the below on the right is from a brew club purchase of cider from 2011. I made a couple of nice ciders from the 20 gallons I purchased!)

The primary fermentation proceeds until almost all the sugars are consumed by the yeast. At this point the nearly complete cider is racked (transferred) to clean vessels for the completion of the fermentation and aging. Typically ciders will complete fermentation in about 8-12 weeks and are ready to consume in the un-finished form shortly thereafter.

What happens next is very much a cider house choice. Some ciders are aged in old barrels for years, while some ciders are bottled and released young. As mentioned above some ciders have added flavors which may require additional fermentation and aging time as well filtration depending the type and texture of the added ingredients.

Bottling takes one of two paths, a Champagne-like secondary fermentation in the bottle (sometimes called charging or bottle conditioning) or the forced carbonation of sterile filtered ciders. Enclosures range from corks & cages (again like Champagne) to traditional crown caps used for beer. Bottle size ranges from 12 oz to 22oz or 750ml containers.

Ciders You Might Find at the Store

Cider is produced all over the United States and is also imported from other countries. Many of the domestic producers are small in scale and have limited distribution so unless they are local to you it is unlikely you will easily find their products. Cider is inherently a local beverage, and the best ones are made close to the apple source, making them hyper-local. There are several major domestic and imported brands that you should be familiar with. This brings me to a rule that I use to guide my beverage explorations. As a producer’s volume increases the number of human hours per ounce of beverage drops and if you experience this growth curve first-hand you will notice a point when the quality and character of their flagship products plateaus or even drops off. If you experience these products later in the producers’ evolution you may be underwhelmed. Looking back to their history might help contextualize these experiences for what they are. This isn’t a hard and fast rule and the threshold for different beverages and producers isn’t the same. For producers who have a diverse lineup of products, those that remain in small production might not suffer this fate.

How does the guidance above apply to cider? Well, the big brands have volume and distribute their product as far as they can to support that volume as well as future growth. Their products are worth trying and will help you understand the breadth of options available. That said, it is an absolute surety that well-made versions from local producers will be more interesting, more creative and elicit a much more joyful response from people who experience them. The major brands are viewed as a benchmark for the cider industry broadly, but only because much of the remaining production is made “under the radar” of the public at-large. Traditionally products may not bear any resemblance to the "big" commercial products, and we have to take care not to overlook them.

Major Brands You Should Know

• Magners (Ireland) – available in bottles and on draft in many locations. This is bottled under the Bulmer’s name in Ireland where cider is quite popular.
• Strongbow (England) – available in bottles and on draft in pubs with a more English profile to the drink selection.
• Woodchuck (US, VT) – available in bottles nationwide, and on draft in some locations
• Angry Orchard (US, OH) – available in bottles nationwide. I have yet to run into it on draft, but I don’t know that it isn’t available that way.

Regional/Imported Brands You Might Find Nationwide

• Devil's Bit (Ireland) – a delicious import that is available here and there.
• Crispin (US, MN) - Although Crispin is now owned by MillerCoors, the products continue to be to made to the brand standards and are very enjoyable. Their standard offerings are delicious but some of their specialty versions include adjunct sweeteners (maple, honey) and are fermented with beer yeasts. The added character is well worth seeking out.
• Farnum Hill (US, NH) – a gold standard for cider in my opinion. Both dry and sweeter styles are made, including varietal versions from heirloom or cider apples like Kingston Black.
• Samuel Smith (England) – another import worth seeking out. Should be found more easily, especially in craft beer shops.

Local Brands You Should Seek Out

• Foggy Ridge Cider (US, VA)
• Albermarle CiderWorks (US, VA)
• Bellwether (Finger Lakes, NY)
• Peconic Bay (Long Island, NY)
• Eden Cider (US, VT - Iced Cider & Aperitif styles)
• Silver Mountain Ciders (US, NH)
• Champlain Orchards (US, VT)
• Bantam Ciders (US, MA)

I have enjoyed ciders from all of the "local" producers immediately above and would highly recommend them. Finding them will most likely require a trip to the region of origin, but that is changing slowly.

Phew, that's a lot of information on cider. But I'm really just getting started. Tomorrow I will share information on three more topics including reviews from recent tastings, cider & food pairing and my experiences making cider at home.

Cheers!

Jason

My Half Full Glass - April 4th, 2013

Chateau Le Bonnat 2010 Graves Blanc

I can't say that I am a fan of White Bordeaux because I've have never really had that many. But when I have had them I have typically enjoyed the experience which begs the question of why I don't seek more of them out. Who knows, life is just like that I guess!

I came by this particular selection, Chateau Le Bonnat 2010 Graves Blanc, in a Bordeaux combo pack from Lot 18 and if I recall the price per bottle was just shy of $17, which is about the current average price for the label according to sites that track price trends.

I opened the bottle for no particular reason or occasion and I don't even remember now what I had for dinner with it. Clearly getting off track with the blogging has created some undesirable outcomes!

The wine is a blend of 66 percent Sémillon and 34 percent Sauvignon Blanc, with 6 months of oak aging. I found conflicting information on whether just the Sémillon was aged or the blend. I am guessing just the Sémillon. I was met with white flowers (or maybe citrus blossoms), herbs and a bit of stone in the nose. There was also a touch of nuttiness as well. The flavors were predominantly unripe peach with a dose of tart citrus that picks up in the middle through the finish. The wine has a creamy texture with a bit of body on the palate, but does remain crisp with a clean finish and a touch of acid in the exit.

I would recommend this wine as a worthy example of Graves Blanc  and a decent value. If you are looking for a versatile white and can find it for under $17, go for it!

Smuttynose Gravitation

I had the most recent release of this beer on tap over dinner with my wife at Cask & Vine (a place I will share more about soon) in Derry, NH.

Gravitation is part of the Big Beer series from Smuttynose Brewing located in New Hampshire. At 12% ABV the word big is apt. Categorically this beer is designated as a Belgian Quad and this particular beer is made with a range of specialty malts and raisin syrup to create its unique character.

The beer is a light brown color and smells/tastes of dried fruits (raisins, prunes), unrefined/raw sugars and malts.  The alcohol is not entirely balanced and easily perceptible. The beer goes down smoothly enough making it insanely dangerous. It is sweet, but there is a crispness or sharp edge to it that keeps it from coming across as cloying.

As I was researching this beer I reviewed the comments on it at Beer Advocate. Clearly the reviews are mixed and not having much experience with the style I can't really confirm or refute any of it on a technical basis. I did enjoy it, and so did Margot, so when consumed socially rather than with my reviewer hat on, I humbly suggest that this beer is hugely enjoyable.

Cheers!

Jason

My Half Full Glass - March 21st, 2013

After a month-long break I am trying to get back on terms with my weekly posts. Some things have calmed down and others stay as insane as they were when they knocked me off track. Such is life!

This week is a celebration of drinking local with both a locally made spirit and a local mead. Do you drink local?

Flag Hill Distillery White Mountain Moonshine

I took my first sip of the Flag Hill White Mountain Moonshine whilst outside brewing a pot of beer on a sunny yet cold & windy day. I am sure the environment had something to do with my first impressions, but since they were quite positive I think the setup only ads to be mystique of drinking local moonshine!

I don't have a lot of experience with white/un-aged spirits so I don't really know how to describe them very well. The nose definitely has a punch of alcohol and reminded me of high proof vodka. The more I thought about it the more I realized that there is a greenness to the nose which I can only link to the corn and  gently malted barley being un-hidden by barrel aging. The nose is slightly sweet, but not abundantly so.

In the mouth this drink is sweet, and at 90 proof it does warm quickly, but there is not the harshness or burn that you do find in undiluted 'shine or white dog that you might get served out of an unlabelled container.  Some of amount of grain flavor was accessible to me, but I again don't feel qualified to say much more about it.

Because I was around the brewpot I thought of other communal functions where this tipple, and the cute little 375 ml handle bottle is just really cool, might fit in well. Campfires and cigar night with the boys both came to mind.

I purchased this at my local NH Liquor Store at $18.99 for the 375ml bottle. Yes that is a bit pricey, but I know, like and appreciate what the folks at Flag Hill do so it was worth it to me.

Sap House Meadery Vanilla Metheglin

I got some cheerful personal mead-making news this week in the form of a silver medal at the 2013 Mazer Cup for my vanilla mead. Realizing I hadn't sampled but one commercial version, from Moonlight Meadery (review from 2011), I sought out one made from Sap House Meadery in Center Ossipee here in New Hampshire.

Vanilla is a really wonderful spice but I don't think most people really ever experience it fully and completely. Imitation vanilla is not vanilla. The fake aromas and flavors don't do it justice. You need vanilla beans, and good ones from Madagascar or India to really understand what vanilla smells and tastes like. When you then go the next step and steep the beans in a mead (with sufficient alcohol of course) you end up making a slightly less pungent version of vanilla extract, but one you can drink! Only then can you really appreciate vanilla as it really is.

Because vanilla beans are the seed pod of the Vanilla Orchid, real vanilla will exude floral essences and anyone who loves to explore the world with their nose should spend some time with a good vanilla bean; it is heavenly.

The Sap House Meadery Vanilla Bean Mead is a local wildflower honey mead flavored with Indian Vanilla beans. The nose is very floral, both from the honey and the vanilla, and definitely inviting. The finish is sweet, but really medium-sweet like a natural cream soda versus a syrupy uber-commercialized version.

Both the honey and vanilla are accessible in the mouth and the tartness that builds from mid-sip and fades through the finish helps define the flavors nicely. Whether you drink this on its own or use it to add vanilla to a cocktail it tastes very real and classy.

Nicely done Sap House Meadery!

Cheers!

Jason

Boston Wine Expo 2013 – Thank You & Highlights

The 2013 Boston Wine Expo has come and gone. Overall I thought it was another well executed and well attended event. There were many wines, lots of foods to sample, an array of lifestyle vendors and all together I saw lots of smiling faces.

Thank You!

A number of thank you’s are owed. The organizers of the Boston Wine Expo took great care of a group of bloggers who were on hand sharing their experiences and creating buzz for others who might be watching the social networks for updates about the expo. My two-day admission to the Grand Tasting was comped, I was provided with tickets to give away to readers (Congrats to Kurt, Liz and Wayne!) as well as a discount code to share with blog visitors who might be interested in attending.

( Bloggers and wine reps tasting & learning at the Boston Wine Expo. )

During the event there was a "Blogger Lounge" overlooking the expo floor where coffee and water was available, and several times each day vendors were invited to pour wines and engage with us on the labels they represent in a more personal setting. Volunteers working in the lounge were able to answer questions on where seminars were located and what other facilities were available at the show. Nicely done!

Thank you's go out to

Resource Plus (Sharon, Janet and others)

Boston Guild of Oenophilists

Seaport World Trade Center & Seaport Hotel staff

All the vendors, sponsors, supporters

Boston Express (for getting me there and back safely both days)

Attending the Expo both days I had the pleasure of cruising the show floor looking for interesting wines with several groups of friends. It was great to meet Liz (@travelwinechick) in person. I had a great time with Richard (@RichardPF), Kurt, Christi, Todd (@vtwinemedia), Wayne and Meredith. Marie (@mariepayton) and I missed each other on Sunday afternoon, but it turned in to a cute joke about whether I was really there! Chatting with Terry (@drinkinsider) and Ray (@frenchoaktv) about beverages was fun as always! It was also nice to see Elizabeth and Matthew, at the Finger Lakes tables no less, fellow NH food and wine explorers who I've run into a couple time at events. I didn’t cover as much ground as I originally planned (I'm always optimistic!) and some of the highlights I’ll share next were worthy of a return visit on the second day so I could share them with friends who hadn’t tasted them yet.

One suggestion I have for the event organizers is that it would be eminently more helpful to attendees who might want to “plan ahead” to have the vendor list and floor map electronically (a PDF would be fine, but smart-phone-app it if you think that will help) for review ahead of the event. Would delivering the label and vendor information via a smart phone app be better here? Actually I don’t think so, and not just for this information specifically. Something more social in nature (like the Second Glass Wine Riot App) might indeed be successful with the right features and promotion.

The Social Media café in the middle of the expo floor had tweets from the event scrolling and the folks from Drync were promoting their direct shipping app active for the wines from the event in this same location. I don’t have an iPhone so I didn’t get involved in the Drync smartphone app activity.

( Social Media Lounge )

The first-thing-in-the-morning trade sessions are always the best opportunity to learn more about the wines, where they are from and how they are made, something I use to take the “pulse” of the industry. There just aren't as many people to fight through. I heard a number of reps talk about freshness, concentration of flavors but not necessarily color in red wines, and more restrained use of new oak. The recent vintages are primarily 2009 and 2010 with many reps suggesting that these years either are already or are beginning to taste well. Plenty of 2007 and 2008 wines were also poured, and I’d have to cross reference my notes before I could say which of the two groups was legitimately tasting better.

One aspect of the event that I had some conversations about on Saturday but really witnessed first-hand visually on Sunday was the change in balance between wine & food/lifestyle vendors and non-wine floor space. There appeared to be fewer tables pouring wines. On the flip side the event didn’t seem any less well attended, and I heard great things about the food, so until more feedback comes my way can't say whether this was a good or bad change.

During the afternoon sessions, when the crowd at each table was generally much larger, I took more opportunities to talk with fellow expo attendees. I love the diversity of the attendees to events like this. I talked with two women about their “wine" club (started as "book") and the challenge of consistently finding values that are both new and interesting. I sent them over to check out the Spanish and Portuguese wines where I knew they will find wines that fit the need. The three of us also talked about sensory exercises that groups of wine enthusiasts could use to sharpen their tasting skills which they can then turn around and use to explore and better develop a sense of what they like. I was excited to have a wine culture conversation with them, because in the end the Boston Wine Expo wouldn’t really be successful if it didn’t increase the desire of casual and enthusiastic drinkers  to explore more of the world of wine. I really hope these two ladies do in fact check out my blog and email me their wine questions. I’d love to share what I know to help pick the next destination in the journey.

Hey Jason, how about the wines?

Highlights from the Boston Wine Expo 2013

(in no particular order)

Berlucchi Franciacorta Sparkling Wines

Sparkling wine is a constant curiosity for me now. I think it is the texture. There is so much range and I am always looking for new and interesting textures to try. The elegance of the Berlucchi Franciacorta sparkling wines was joyful to experience. Both were crisp and clean with fine, prickly bubbles. The rosé style was just a hint sweet, pale pink in color and tasted of crushed, dried flowers.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape & Rhones

I didn't spend enough time at the Chateauneuf-du-Pape & Rhones tables because I didn't find anything that really grabbed me. The most recent vintage of both seemed leaner and more austere to me than the profile in minds-eye.

The Finger Lakes Region

The Finger Lakes region had a great presence at the Boston Wine Expo again. As a disciple of the products AND the region I have tried enough of the wines and visited some of the region to know that there is little chance one would be disappointed to visit and taste. Get out the word!

With a combination of wineries, wine trail groups and the local winery associations the Finger Lakes region had 10 tables in total! I tasted some of the Riesling at Wagner Vineyards, the Gruner at Dr. Frank's, Seyval from Hunt Country, the Ravines 2011 Dry Riesling and Game Bird Red from Heron Hill, which I found particularly interesting. I heard great things from others about many of the same wines as well as both the Cabernet France and Meritage blend from Wagner. 

I had a chance to talk with Katie Roller and Stephen Lee from Wagner about their Expo experiences. They both agreed that there had been lots of consumer interest in the wines and they were answering lots of questions. I brought several groups of friends by to check out what the region is doing. It made me realize I need to plan another warm-weather trip to the area!

Finger Lakes Wine Country

Finger Lakes Wine Alliance

( Lots of activity around the Finger Lakes tables! )

Garrafeira Vinho Tinto Alentejo 2002

Of all the red wines I tasted at the Expo Grand Tasting this wine was the most interesting. It has a spiciness to it that is so complex. I easily detected black pepper and brown spices, but there was so much more that was elusive. I am still somewhat unfamiliar with Portuguese wines so I can only rely on feedback from friends that suggests that this spicy attribute is something I can explore more with wines from different parts of the country. Exciting!

Moonlight Meadery

Nobody is going to be surprised that I mention Moonlight after a tasting event. Rock solid as always. Fran was working the table when I visited with friends and he nailed some rather specific fermentation questions (asked by a friend) with confidence, which of course made me smile. I got to taste some Utopian, which is always a pleasure. The current batch is tasting drier to me than I recall. I might have to invest in some to do further periodic tasting!

( Experienced Romance by the Glass with Moonlight Meadery. )

Codorníu Raventos Sparkling Wines

You got it, more sparkling wine! 

I tasted the Anna Codorníu Rosé in the Blogger Lounge on Sunday and tasted the Brut at the Codorníu Raventos table a bit later that day. Both are crisp and focused, and the rosé being as dry as it is it finishes with a blast of tart red fruits.

Corte Di Dionoso Amarone

This wasn't the best Amarone I tasted all weekend, but it was a very delicious start. I didn't write the vintage down but I believe it was a 2007. Richly fruity but with a surprising angularity and dryness to it. The typical stylistic sweetness was not in the proportion I expected for a young wine. Still being a medium plus bodied wine it finishes with an restrained sweetness that almost tastes like it was made in the lean vintage.

Stay tuned for a post on the Soave & Amarone seminar I went to on Sunday of the Expo.

Neige Sparkling & Neige Cidre de glace

Beverages made from apples and I are great friends. Sparkling ciders made with heirloom, vintage and traditional cider apples can be all as elegant as Champagne, but bring their own unique aromas and flavors thanks to the apple. I love them.

The Neige Sparkling Apple Wine has a balanced apple profile with flavors of both tart cider apple as well as those I more associate with dessert apples. It is plenty carbonated and served cold would be a fine stand in for something sparkling made from grapes. The cidre de glace (ice cider) is viscous liquid apple sugar. Definitely a very fine taste and an example where hard work and a concentration of resources can create something highly sought after!

Son Prim Petit Celler CUP

This wine is from the new-to-me region of Mallorca, which is the largest of the Balearic Islands off the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Made from a blend of Mantonegro, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot this wine presents a good balance of fruit and earth with an interesting savory element to the finish. This was the boldest and most characterful wine of the offerings from Son Prim in my opinion.

Roberto Ceraudo Rosé

Both of these rosé wines are made with the Gaglioppo grape in Calabria, Italy. The silver label is aged in old barriques and the copper label is not. Both wines were very straightforward and smooth with the expected hints of lees and oxidation/oxygenation from the barrel aging in the silver label version. The ability to taste the same wine made in two ways was an exciting opportunity. In research the wines, they are not yet distributed in the US, found the following article from The Wine Traveller on the wines and their producer.

La Guardiense Guardiolo

I don't have a lot of experience with the grape Aglianico, but I do know that when used to make a decent wine the grape adds a layer of wildness to the mix that excites me. This wine also includes some Sangiovese, a combination used in many areas where both grapes are grown in Italy. The wine is flavorful but not demanding, dry with a nice thread of acidity that builds through the finish. A very food friendly wine and also one that could take a chill and bring refreshment on a hot day. And all for likely between $11-13!

Those are only some of the highlights from the weekend. I estimate I tasted about 100-120 wines over the course of two days, and while my perceptions were mixed, there were plenty of wines that would be worth another taste in a different setting.

Next up will be separate posts on the two seminars I attended during the expo. One was on Bourbon and the other included both Soave and Amarone!

Cheers!

Jason

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”