bhodilee wrote:This is the exact way I define a beer as well, you are my hero. What do you drink, I'm always on the lookout for new things. Hence why I spend my paychecks here.

I loooooove strong/heavy beers, I'm 75% hophead and 25% malt lover. Try these, if you haven't already, based on your taste preferences for category:

Hoppy:
Arrogant Bastard Ale
Stone IPA
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Malty:
Troegs Troegenator Dopplebock
Spaten Optimator

Delicious:
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin
Weyerbacher Strong Beer Sampler (or, if all else fails, the makeup is Imperial Stout 8%ABV, Raspberry Imperial Stout 8%ABV, Merry Monks ~9%ABV(Belgian Abbey style), and Blithering indigenous pigeon Barleywine ~11%ABV iirc)
Sam Adams Black Lager
Rogue Dead Guy

Crazy:
Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Weyerbacher Quad
Gulden Draak

I think the crazy beers are all at least 10% ABV. I'm a sucker for strong beers. There really should be a beer.woot

bmckenna wrote:I loooooove strong/heavy beers, I'm 75% hophead and 25% malt lover. Try these, if you haven't already, based on your taste preferences for category:

Hoppy:
Arrogant Bastard Ale
Stone IPA
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Malty:
Troegs Troegenator Dopplebock
Spaten Optimator

Delicious:
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin
Weyerbacher Strong Beer Sampler (or, if all else fails, the makeup is Imperial Stout 8%ABV, Raspberry Imperial Stout 8%ABV, Merry Monks ~9%ABV(Belgian Abbey style), and Blithering indigenous pigeon Barleywine ~11%ABV iirc)
Sam Adams Black Lager
Rogue Dead Guy

Crazy:
Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Weyerbacher Quad
Gulden Draak

I think the crazy beers are all at least 10% ABV. I'm a sucker for strong beers. There really should be a beer.woot

Should be, but never will be barring a massive change in the law. Way too much tape to cut through. Wishful thinking though, power or positive thoughts and all that.

You strong beer lovers should try some of the Unibroue Beers... I recommend the Maudite and the Trois Pistoles. here is their products page:

http://www.unibroue.com/products/bieres.cfm

My favorite beers are Belgian Gueuze..

superspryte wrote:Yeah, me too. I'd gladly go back in time to change last week's labrat pick to this week's. Bah.

now now, town of 1, at least you got to be a rat, some of us, not so lucky yet.

vquasarv wrote:You strong beer lovers should try some of the Unibroue Beers... I recommend the Maudite and the Trois Pistoles. here is their products page:

http://www.unibroue.com/products/bieres.cfm

I forgot about those, La Fin du Monde and Trois Pistoles were quite good, as was Ephemere...like Blue Moon with apples. I'll stop the threadjacking if someone complains, but really I could talk about beer all day ;).

bmckenna wrote:I forgot about those, La Fin du Monde and Trois Pistoles were quite good, as was Ephemere...like Blue Moon with apples. I'll stop the threadjacking if someone complains, but really I could talk about beer all day ;).

When I went to school Fin du Monde was considered the very bottom of the alcoholic's barrel.

canonizer wrote:Does mumm anticipate releasing any vintage wines, especially considering how well the 2004 crop is being received? Are vintage champagne years similar to well received crop years in general?

I know it doesn't necessarily mean they will in the future, but this week's Deveaux Ranch is a 2002 as you can see in the picture.

bhodilee wrote:now now, town of 1, at least you got to be a rat, some of us, not so lucky yet.

yup, no problems here with being a labrat (other than late successful delievery). i was pleased to be selected and hope to again-just glad to be chosen and i think i was fortunate in receiving the '04 cas cab.

on another "note", has anyone tried the wine tasting kits that have a number of items to improve recognition of nose/taste? for the '04, i tasted more blackberry/blueberry than cherry as reported by the labrats and by the winemakers notes. but i did detect chocolate (more mocha, although that's probably splitting hairs) like the winemaker but no vanilla unlike some other fellow labrats.

to liz or the winemaker: how consistent are the tasting notes here? do you find many/most purchasers agree with those notes? if you get different feedback, to you rethink the notes?

canonizer wrote:When I went to school Fin du Monde was considered the very bottom of the alcoholic's barrel.

We must be talking about different things...maybe you're talking about a wine? The beer sells for about $5 a 22oz bottle.

bmckenna wrote:We must be talking about different things...maybe you're talking about a wine? The beer sells for about $5 a 22oz bottle.

i just had some of the fin du monde beer a couple of weeks ago in a restaurant. my girl actually got it and i tried a sip (or three). it was indeed very tasty.

bmckenna wrote:We must be talking about different things...maybe you're talking about a wine? The beer sells for about $5 a 22oz bottle.

Very Tasty Beer, though I've been a sucker for Delirium tremens & Piraat for a while now that is also a favorite of mine...

Now to the matter at hand... do I need to add more sparkling wine? If I hate it, it can always turn into a mimosa

pixelharmony wrote:Very Tasty Beer, though I've been a sucker for Delirium tremens & Piraat for a while now that is also a favorite of mine...

Now to the matter at hand... do I need to add more sparkling wine? If I hate it, it can always turn into a mimosa

delirium has too much of a floral taste to me. i almost feel like i'm drinking liquified tulips.

and there is absolutely nothing wrong with making mimosas out of it. i have no problem with it at least. gives me an excuse to drink at 8 am.....oh i miss college.

After a stuffing lunch (steak on pita, with cheese), I drove home, thinking of nothing more than a quick nap.

Several blocks from home, though, a Fed Ex truck started beeping at me. Thinking there was some mechanical problem with my car, I pulled over. The driver said he had a box for me, and it was adult signature only.

Did I want it now or just wait until the next day's delivery....

Being the greedy sort, I said NOW, and finished dashing home and dove into the box.

Golden Ticket! Laid gently over a bottle of Deveaux!

I wasn't going to have dinner (see earlier note about lunch), but now I will! Cheese and crackers and an apple, and BUBBLY.

I'll report back tonight.

Inkwench (and/or other La Brats) - did you see on your account that you had 2 delivery notices, or not? Just curious.

cjsiege wrote:Inkwench (and/or other La Brats) - did you see on your account that you had 2 delivery notices, or not? Just curious.

When I was a La Brat, I did not get any notice at all for the La Brat delivery. I think most La Brats have had the same experience.

cmfisher wrote:and there is absolutely nothing wrong with making mimosas out of it. i have no problem with it at least. gives me an excuse to drink at 8 am.....oh i miss college.

I hate to waste good sparkling wine making mimosas. I usually buy a cheaper brand for that, since you are covering up much of the taste of the sparkling.

jonstrib wrote:yup, no problems here with being a labrat (other than late successful delievery). i was pleased to be selected and hope to again-just glad to be chosen and i think i was fortunate in receiving the '04 cas cab.

on another "note", has anyone tried the wine tasting kits that have a number of items to improve recognition of nose/taste? for the '04, i tasted more blackberry/blueberry than cherry as reported by the labrats and by the winemakers notes. but i did detect chocolate (more mocha, although that's probably splitting hairs) like the winemaker but no vanilla unlike some other fellow labrats.

to liz or the winemaker: how consistent are the tasting notes here? do you find many/most purchasers agree with those notes? if you get different feedback, to you rethink the notes?

Wines don't smell exactly like any of the things mentioned because they aren't made from those substances. They do have some of the same aromatic compounds so they remind us of certain fruits, etc. Keep in mind that different varieties of apples, cherries, etc. smell different, and therefore wine description becomes somewhat personal, based on experience. Tasting with others or using standards such as Le Nez du Vin kits can help develop a common understanding and usage of descriptive terminology.

cjsiege wrote:Inkwench (and/or other La Brats) - did you see on your account that you had 2 delivery notices, or not? Just curious.

Nope, no notice of any earlier attempts.

bmckenna wrote:I loooooove strong/heavy beers, I'm 75% hophead and 25% malt lover. Try these, if you haven't already, based on your taste preferences for category:

Hoppy:
Arrogant Bastard Ale
Stone IPA
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Malty:
Troegs Troegenator Dopplebock
Spaten Optimator

Delicious:
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin
Weyerbacher Strong Beer Sampler (or, if all else fails, the makeup is Imperial Stout 8%ABV, Raspberry Imperial Stout 8%ABV, Merry Monks ~9%ABV(Belgian Abbey style), and Blithering indigenous pigeon Barleywine ~11%ABV iirc)
Sam Adams Black Lager
Rogue Dead Guy

Crazy:
Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Weyerbacher Quad
Gulden Draak

I think the crazy beers are all at least 10% ABV. I'm a sucker for strong beers. There really should be a beer.woot

I love all the beers I've tried and have been looking forward to the Dogfish head restaurant opening here so I can try the 120.

***** LAB RAT REPORT *******



Click on the above for other average joe, non-photographer/mediocre images, maybe one will help...

Notes: (From wife/red wine drinker)
* not too sweet, I like that.
* nice dry finish
* fruity but not too tart
* want to try with a spicy dish later tonight

Notes (me / white wine drinker)
* Very delicious sparkling wine
* easy to drink
* would go good with a fish or chicken dish
* easily used for parties/celebrations as it is very palatable to both red and white drinkers - both my wife and I enjoyed the taste
*two types of bubbles really big and extremely small
*Nose is citrus+apples
*Palate fruits are apple and apricot
* just sitting here typing and not taking a sip for a while and there's a hidden vanilla on the palate
*color: golden clear (see album and above pic)

****************************************More Later ***************************************

bmckenna wrote:We must be talking about different things...maybe you're talking about a wine? The beer sells for about $5 a 22oz bottle.

Nope, if you go to school in montreal, it's not (or was not) held in high regard. Because it's a fortified beer with a high alcohol %, it makes for good alcoholism.

SonomaBouliste wrote:Wines don't smell exactly like any of the things mentioned because they aren't made from those substances. They do have some of the same aromatic compounds so they remind us of certain fruits, etc. Keep in mind that different varieties of apples, cherries, etc. smell different, and therefore wine description becomes somewhat personal, based on experience. Tasting with others or using standards such as Le Nez du Vin kits can help develop a common understanding and usage of descriptive terminology.

appreciate the comments, sb. using analogies for both smell and taste can assist in discerning the nose or flavors. i just wonder how consistent winemakers' notes (and even reviewers and us mere mortal tasters) are and how much of it is aspirational.

over the last two years or so i think my palate is starting to pick up these flavors in more detail and with more consistency-perhaps like exercising other muscles. nevertheless, there are wines which really don't taste like what the descriptions on the label or ws/rp/st/etc. indicate.

to tie it in here, the winemaker presumably believes various offerings have melon, peach, etc. flavors, which i don't doubt, especially for sparkling wines. but if i taste pear or apple pie, am i speaking a different language or just off (not that there are necessarily any wrong answers).

unixrab wrote:***** LAB RAT REPORT *******



Click on the above for other average joe, non-photographer/mediocre images, maybe one will help...

Notes: (From wife/red wine drinker)
* not too sweet, I like that.
* nice dry finish
* fruity but not too tart
* want to try with a spicy dish later tonight

Notes (me / white wine drinker)
* Very delicious sparkling wine
* easy to drink
* would go good with a spicy fish or chicken dish
* easily used for parties/celebrations as it is very palatable to both red and white drinkers - both my wife and I enjoyed the taste
*two types of bubbles really big and extremely small
*Nose is citrus+apples
*Palate fruits are apple and apricot
* just sitting here typing and not taking a sip for a while and there's a hidden vanilla on the palate
*color: golden clear (see album and above pic)

****************************************More Later ***************************************

Stupid question, which one did you have again? Also, I'm glad I was in for two, it's sounding like I am going to very much like this.

bhodilee wrote:Stupid question, which one did you have again?

I believe he had the Cuvee M

mlhelm wrote:I believe he had the Cuvee M

Right... Cuvee M

bhodilee wrote:Stupid question, which one did you have again? Also, I'm glad I was in for two, it's sounding like I am going to very much like this.

Sorry bout that... .. I posted earlier: Cuvee M

unixrab wrote:Right... Cuvee M

nice reporting (from two different perspectives) as well as the visual aids. enjoy with your spicy dinner. sounds like a solid, flexible sparkling wine.

unixrab wrote:Right... Cuvee M

I like the use of pictures... if I'm ever a lab ratatouille I will definitely employ some camera work. Especially if its a red... you can hold it up to a light and expose the color.

Unixrab,
where are you located?

I see a BLVD brewing Co glass in those shots. My in-laws live in Missouri and that is one of my favorite craft brews

yonj46 wrote:Unixrab,
where are you located?

I see a BLVD brewing Co glass in those shots. My in-laws live in Missouri and that is one of my favorite craft brews

haha! KCMO! Nutcracker Ale just came out! PM me - I know a place that mail order's BLVD

unixrab wrote:haha! KCMO! Nutcracker Ale just came out! PM me - I know a place that mail order's BLVD

No worries, I'm headed there next month for the holidays, I'll stock my self through the spring.

Since this is the wine.woot board, you ever been out to the wine country in MO. Hermann area. My wifes family has a farm. They grow a lot sweeter wine there alot of german hybrids

vquasarv wrote:I like the use of pictures... if I'm ever a lab ratatouille I will definitely employ some camera work. Especially if its a red... you can hold it up to a light and expose the color.

I like 'em too, but if I look at wine.w00t at work, I'm more likely going to be spotted doing so with the huge pictures of wine and champaigne scrolling down my screen. :o(

Mumm Napa Cuvee M Tasting Report

The bottle is sitting in the chiller now awaiting a date with Thai yellow curry in my tummy. I will be tasting the wine first fresh out of the bottle and then with dinner.

Ok, 15 minutes on ice and the sparkler is nicely chilled... Travel must have shaken the bottle because the cork popped with much vigor and expelled a little wine. The carbonation will be pretty thick here until it settles down... First glass was almost like coke, way too fizzy but it settles down quickly.

Color: Light golden-salmon, clear throughout, very attractive.

Nose: Fresh fruit - apple, melon. Fruit/floral as opposed to yeast/biscuit aromas.

Feel: High carbonation may have been mostly a result of travel shock, although still higher than I have found in other sparklers. When settled the carbonation is not overwhelming however the bubbles remained course. Bubbles died down quickly to reveal a creamy texture with a light/medium body.

Taste: Apple, pear, melon and peach are immediate yielding to acidity and finishing with hints of vanilla if you are looking for them. Not particularly elegant or complex, very forward and the acidity overpowers the sweetness slightly in my opinion.

Overall: For the price this will be a crowd-pleasing wine with good quality. I prefer brut style sparklers and at this price point I look to Cava from Spain or Prosecco from Italy but will certainly add this to the list as the sweetness is not as high as I was expecting.

Now for dinner... I have a Thai yellow curry with tofu, green peppers, carrots and those tiny corn cob things (I forget what they are called). I got it spiced hot since I love spicy food - if I'm not in pain and sweating it wasn't hot enough!

The wine really shows its stuff with this dish - the sweetness balances out the spice releasing the aromas of both the food and the wine in the mouth. I really started to get the fruit out of the wine - pear especially - and I also started to pick out the vanilla on the finish from the wine and the sweetness from the pepper and curry came out above the spice as well. We might have a challenger for Riesling or Gewürztraminer, I definitely enjoyed the wine with the food more than the wine alone.

If you are looking for a quality every-day sparkler you would be happy with the Mumm Napa Cuvee M.

unixrab wrote:***** LAB RAT REPORT *******
Mumm Napa Cuvee M.
****************************************More Later ***************************************

OK.... wife brought home chicken (wings) Spicy Garlic... Asian Zing and Parmesan Garlic.....

Red wine wife says: The food clouded the taste of the fruit ... and it's a better "sipping" sparkling wine (she said "champagne") than just a good pairing.... but ... for a red wine drinker... it's not all 'tart and 'whitewinish'' (I object to that last phrase)


For me... I had the wings..... Spicy Garlic and Asian Zing. (BWW) For me... ...I'm not a complex guy... ...but I don't see the draw in the wine and the spicy food. However... it is a AWESOME general purpose sparkling wine...and I'm glad I was already in for two.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update an hour or so after opening and the bubbles have died down considerably which has settled the mouth feel and what I was tasting as acidity was almost completely the carbonation, there is a lot more balance in the wine and it is much more enjoyable standing alone. Too bad I finished dinner, I would like to taste this now with it since I liked it so much then.

Tyro Lab Rat reporting in....

I got a bottle of the Deveaux Ranch, and managed to pull a small group together to knock it out tonight.

Upon opening, I found it a bit sharp. Very pale, especially if you rely on reds. Slight aroma of cantaloupe.

Tiny bubbles, and as one of the three in attendance was carrying his ukelele, we got serenaded--"Tiny Bubbles," of course. My glass (cheap Tuesday Morning flutes) was the only one with tiny bubbles--everyone else had medium-sized bubbles.

From another attendee (the host, actually) said Wow! That's great! It has a round mouthfeel, and isn't too sweet, but still, not very dry. That's nice.

For a pulled-together snackage to go with, we had mashed sweet potatoes, bleu cheese, and fig preserves. Actually, all stacked on a cracker it went really well with the wine.

Combined opinion: not too sweet, not too fizzy, and the host said wonderful! Well-balanced!

I am not a La Brat, however I have had the Mumm M. It is one of my favorite sparklers (maybe next to Gruet from New Mexico). I love the color on it. It almost has a peach tone to it in the glass. I agree with the tasting notes so far, lots of apple and melon. I first had this at a tasting and was told that it was initially developed to appeal to the American palate. Not sure if that's true, but I sure think it's tasty!