blood0range
caffeinated?Archive for beer
Springboard
In a somewhat romantic effort to single-handedly stave off the seemingly endless Chicago winter, I picked up a six-pack of New Belgium’s Springboard Ale, which I saw for the first time this year at the grocery store. I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a big fan of Fat Tire, or Belgian style ale in general, but I was impressed by the smoothness and berry-like finish (which I attribute to the lycium) and the nice buzz… maybe a result of the wormwood used in the brewing process? All things considered a nice beer, round, crisp in the finish and sweet but not overpoweringly so. Worth checking out.
Top 10
It may be a little overdue, but I figured I’d throw in my obligatory end-of-the-year list. At the suggestion of a friend, I’ve resolved to rate the top ten things to have crossed the plane that lies between ‘out there’ and ‘in here’… i.e., the top ten things I have imbibed this year (excluding food, though don’t you worry, I’ve eaten my fair share of 2007).
10. 
Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Coffee, roasted by Intelligentsia. Beautiful medium bodied cup from the beverage’s birthplace with predominate notes of jasmine, bergamot, and lemon.
9. 
Monkey Picked Oolong Tea. Light and delightfully sweet with light peach and floral flavor. Not actually picked by monkeys (apparently they’ve outsourced the work to arboreal children now).
8. 
Alpha Klaus, brewed by Three Floyds. 7.5 ABV American Porter with prominent molasses, chocolate, and clove flavor. The perfect brew on a freezing day.
7. 
Brown Shugga’, brewed by Lagunitas. 9.9 ABV Strong Ale, reddish, exceedingly sweet brown sugary (big surprise), but with a slightly strong alcohol finish.
6. 
Billius Virginia Leaf, distributed by Up Down Cigar. A fine shag, mild yet pleasantly flavorful and citric tobacco.
5. 
Muyongwe, Rwanda Golden Cup #1. The first place finisher in Rwanda’s first ever national coffee competition organized by OCIR Caf, complex to an almost unattainable degree, full of light fruit (pear, candied cherry, citrus) and spice (cardamom, clove, cinnamon). Here’s to a country that deserves some good press.
4. 
FairValley Pinotage. A deep, buttery, slightly dry yet pleasantly fruity (plum, cherry, pomegranate) hybrid wine from South Africa. Inexpensive, sustainable, tasty.
3. 
Malawi Kings, distributed by Marshall McGearty Tobacco Artisans. Thick, nutty, and spicy burley leaf single-origin tobacco from Malawi, aged under huts and air-cured. The perfect pairing with a cup of coffee.
2. 
La Fin Du Mond, brewed by Unibroue. 9.0 ABV Tripel Belgian, absolutely gorgeous golden beer with a sufficient body, fruit flavor and sweetness to make me forget its high gravity.
1. 
Hacienda La Esmeralda, Auction Lot, Best of Panama 2007. Sublime no matter how it’s brewed (and I’ve tried a few including Clover, Chemex, and espresso); tangerines, jasmine, ginger, sweet vanilla. Simply put: the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had.
