A little beer tasting.

Last week, the office crew decided to do an impromptu beer tasting with a main focus on German seasonal brews and as few odd-balls just for good measure.

We tried:

Ayinger Oktoberfest
Ayinger Brau Weisse
Aventinus
Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest
Anchor Porter
Weihenstephaner Korbinian

And the odd-balls...

Trader Joe's vienna lager (Marzen)
Budweiser American Ale
Michelob Porter
Black label (yes, I know...)
(I'm not linking the Black Label. It's for your own good)


That last one was bought as a joke for one of the guys that constantly reminisces about his college days and black label. I tend to associate BL with piss, so that should sum it up.

We started with the German examples.
First came the Ayinger Marzen. It was pretty well balanced and it was a crowd favorite. It lacked that "malty" character that I like on the Paulaner Oktoberfest, but Overall, nose and flavor profile was very good.

Second was the Hacker-Pschorr. For some reason, this is not a mark that I enjoy. I have tried their Hefe-weissen, and I find it "lacking". This Marzen fell under the same general category: "Needs something". I would not get this again. There are better examples for a better price, IMO.

Next, the Ayinger Brau Weisse. This was a late addition (along with the Aventinus and the Black Label), and it was a very good one. It had a very good nose, and a great fruit and spice flavor reminiscent of the exotic combos usually found on Belgian whites (like Hooegarten). I could have easily stayed drinking this one, but alas, only two bottles for 6 people :(

The Anchor Porter followed. I was pleasantly surprised. Great roasted malt flavor, and enough body to define it as a porter without weighing it down. A new favorite of mine (still, Sammy Smith's Taddy Porter is my hands-down favorite). Probably the best American Porter I have tasted. I hear the Brooklyn Porter is good, but I have not checked it out yet.

I have this "thing" with modern American brews and their liberal use of finish hops. Sometimes, it is obvious that the finished product would be superior if they have skipped the damn step, but such is life. You know that bitter finish you taste at a micro-brew place that reminds you it's not Bud? That's what I'm talking about. It has its place, and it is on the IPA brewing style. That's it! Everywhere else it's just a deterrent from the actual flavor of the beer. You heard of Pete's wicked poo? they put that flavor in everything, and that's reason #7462 why I will not spend a dime on Pete's anything.

Next, we tried the Aventinus and the Korbinian. I like the Aventinus because it reminds me of those tasty Belgians like Chimay that I like so much. The fact that it is a German brew (with their strict laws) makes it very interesting, and definitely a winner. It is a bit scary at over 8% ABV. You must respect it. The rest of the guys were kind of knocked back by the heavy clove taste from the bottle fermentation. It's not for everybody :)

The Korbinian was much more in line with the traditional doppel bock style (see Celebrator), and it was definitely good. Very good balance of yeast, malt and hops with a slight bite in the finish. Very good, but I still like Celebrator better. The rest of the guys except one liked this beer also. The one guy that didn't loves the Celebrator as well.

After a pretzel-eating break and a nature call, we checked out the other stuff. Remember that Black label? I poured it in a cup and gave it to the aforementioned buddy. He proclaimed it wasn't bad, and everyone that was in on the joke immediately laughed. I think we caught him off guard because he maintained that it wasn't as bad. I took a sip of it, and I'm still regretting it! Compared with all the other stuff we've had until this point, the black label was absolute garbage! It has a nose that reminds you of pissed-on bar floors, and a taste of warm miller(or bud) mixed with honey or some other sweet thing. Definitely disgusting. Worth the money for the joke, though :)

The Bud American Ale was a beer that I almost wanted to like. I've been waiting for them to actually make a good beer, and the fact that they're willing to try to compete with the likes of Sam Adams gives validity to the changing palate of the American consumer. The beer has a very nice color, a nice head, and a good hoppy nose. The flavor, however, seems muted, and the finish almost IPA hoppy. The moment you drink it, you think "Okay, where's the rest of it?" It lacks something, and the finish is that micro-brew finish hops thing I already bitched about. It almost overpowers the flavor of the beer, as if to make you forget what you just drank. I still give them a B+ for effort. I think it is a good first pass, but it needs work. Everyone agreed that, compared to Sam Adams, it wasn't as good.

If you suffered through that last paragraph about the Bud, then you know what I'm going to say about the Michelob Porter. Good first attempt, but it needs work. This was definitely a Porter designed for the Bud crowd. Too subdued, almost tasting like a dark lager. The malt was too light, and again, the finish hop flavr came back on this one. Same rant here: I had such high hopes for this line... Maybe the others are better?

The Trader Joe's marzen also suffered from the same "toned down example" syndrome of the two above. Everyone else agreed as well. It was almost like a nice alternative lager rather than a good marzen. It is a low-priced beer supposedly made by a decent micro brew company. Maybe the price constraints don't match the labor of the process? I suspect either the target palate doesn't really like a marzen, or the cost of making a true marzen is too high. Who knows?

At the end, the rankings were almost unanimous:

1. Ayinger Heffe-Weisse
2. Ayinger Oktoberfest Marzen
3. Anchor Porter
4. Korbinian
5. Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest
6. Aventinus
7. Trader Joe's Vienna Lager
   
8. Michelob Porter
9. Budweiser American Ale
10. Black Label

Some people liked the Korbinian more than the Anchor, but I think it is mostly about style preference rather than quality. Porter is not everyone's favorite.

I can't wait to do this again!

Later,

Restaurant Week Foray #1: The Left Bank

Restaurant week is upon us on once again in the Boston area. It is nice to check out more places "on the cheap". This time, we traveled out of the city to a place called The Left Bank located in the Stonehenge Inn in Tyngsboro, MA close to the border of NH. It is positioned as one of the hidden restaurant jewels in the area. It boasts a large wine selection and a Wine spectator award of excellence. We have friends that live close by, so it seemed like a good choice.

They have a very extensive wine list of primarily "A" list wines. The wine list seemed more "vertical" than usual. They have all the usual big name suspects from California and Bordeaux. The red Burgundy selection was very small for some reason. The Spanish selection was also a little light. The Australia section seemed ok, but I can't remember. In the interest of being fair, I looked at the red wine selection only. Their while wine list might have been different.

If you are looking to do a vertical tasting of many high-end wines, this is the place to go. If you're looking for lots of variety and some of the new players, you will probably not find it here.

The RW menu consisted of either Ceasar salad or potstickers for the starter, Steak, Salmon or Fetuccini for the second course, and Sorbet or a Banana spring roll for dessert. Out of the four of us, three stayed with the RW menu, and one went off-menu. I went for the Caesar salad, the steak, and the spring roll.

The salad course was very good. The truffle oil gave the salad an extra bit of earthiness to go with the Parmesan cheese. I'm not a big fan of Romaine lettuce ribs, and they kept them to a minimum. The Steak was undercooked on all three cases. We ordered medium-rare, medium well and medium. Every single one of them came one-notch back (medium-rare was rare, and so on). The accouterments were very meager for the amount of steak, which was a little disappointing. Being a "veteran" of RW outings and this is the one part where restaurants don't skimp. I wasn't looking for buffet portions, but something that matched the amount of steak would have been nice. It just seemed odd.

The other thing that was a disappointing was the wait staff. They simply disappeared in between . The place seemed busy, but not full by any means. Maybe they're not used to having that volume of people at a given time, or maybe they thought that we were not going to order anything else since we ordered from the prix fixe menu. They probably would have done more drink business with us if they stopped by from time to time. Their loss, I suppose.

Would I go back? sure. It is tough justifying the trip for me having similar places in the city, but if you live in the area, it is certainly a good place to visit.

Later,

EVOO

If you live in the Boston, you have probably heard of EVOO restaurant in Somerville. It is classified as an "eclectic and creative" restaurant that seems to be focused on interesting combinations (like nectarines with thyme and garlic flan) and organic ingredients.

The starters (Fried oysters with apple bacon salsa, Rabbit confit salad) were actually quite good. I was pleasantly surprised that the confit salad actually worked because I was wary of the rosemary dressing working with the port-soaked dried cherries. The wine list had some interesting choices, but for the most part it was "adequate". We stuck to wines by the glass. We had a French Sauvignon Blanc that worked great with the oyster dish. I had a glass of a Cote du Rhone that was good, but not memorable. The Lady had a California Pilot Noir that also pretty decent.

The Main entrées were a mixed bag. My lady got the "Duck, duck, goose", and I got the "Lamb two ways".
The Duck dish was very well executed. Consisting of Goose breast, Confit of duck and foie gras with lentils, haricot-verts, escarole and a sherry-ginger sauce. It was very delicious!
My dish, on the other hand, was disappointing. It was supposed to be a southwest-inspired dish consisting of ribs with adobo sauce, and a lamb empanada. The Adobo ribs were cooked more in the style of a lamb chop. They were also a little too fatty, and to put the nail in the coffin, the adobo sauce tasted more like BBQ than a southwest flavor. Not at all what I had hoped :(

The waiter was very courteous and friendly, but the overall pace of the place is very slow. The Kitchen seems a bit small, so I don't know if that is the root of the cause, but I would hope that they get it sorted out. Looking online for opinions, These things seems like common issues among consumers.

While I don't dislike the place, there are so many other great places in the city that supersede it. I think if wind up returning to the place, I would probably stick with the Duck dish, or something a little more traditional. There are so many good restaurants in the Boston area these days, so I don't think I will be making it back here any time soon.

A nice summer meal

My lady and I have this very good friend that just came back from visiting family in England. We try to help her our with her ongoing love/hate relationship my her motorcycles (yes, more than one...), and in return she gets us all kinds of good stuff when she travels. Nice deal if you ask me :) This last time, it was no different. She bought me a bottle of one of my favorite scotch whiskies: Isle of Jura Superstition, and some organic Stilton cheese.

I figured the proper thing to do was to make some accoutrement for steak, so we made a blue cheese butter sauce to go with our Rib-eye steaks. It was phenomenal (yes, heart attack on a plate, but oh-so-delicious). we also made Prosciutto-wrapped figs with stilton, and those never disappoint either. We had it with an old standby on the lower price scale: 2003 Chateau Greysac Medoc. I think it is a very good bargain at around 20 dollars. I find it very well rounded with good tannin structure and a perfect finish. I was quite surprised when I discovered it that is was so accesible. I really should have bought a case!

The previous night we tried a new wine: Two Hands Brave Faces. This is a new-world style wine with lots of fruit, full-on attach at the front of the palate, and a deep purple color. I'm not the biggest fan of new-world style wines (I did not care for a bottle of Quintessa I had in California), but I am amenable to the Rhone blends made in the new world style. It is more than the Greysac at mid 30's, but definitely worth a try if you like that style.

My lady was "complaining" that I have a pile of Nicolas Potel wines I haven't touched. I keep telling her that those babies are for long term study! :) I tried finding some of his 2005 Clos St. Denis, but they're almost impossible to get, and the prices are prohibitive. I don't clear that kind of cash.

Later,

The (short) disadvantage with motorcycle gear

While I really can't complain much about my height, I find that sometimes it is a bit painful being shorter than the average American male. Demographically, it is changing, but sometimes you cannot escape it. This is very true in the world of protective motorcycle gear.
I was looking around for a decent pair or riding overpants. Preferably leather. I discover than Icon is now selling these really nice leather overpants that also have the ability to attach to my riding jackets (both Icon). I get really excited and start looking for a pair, only to be disappointed with the fact that they come only in tall and taller size! And, as you can imagine, leather pants are not the kind of product you can take to the corner shop to be "taken in" :)

There are some short inseam offerings from other companies like Joe Rocket, but the issue is that you have to compromise. You cannot get exactly what you like from these places. And I'm not dissing JR. Their stuff is pretty good. It is the fact that I can't get what I actually want. You can, of course, have someplace live Vanson or Dainese custom-make you a pair, but we all know that's not going to be cheap! The one thing that doesn't make much sense is that there are a very large number of riders that are below the 34" inseam that a lot of vendors put out in the US market, so I don't think sales numbers would be the problem.

I wound up getting a pair of Joe Rocket overpants. So far, I have mixed feelings about them. For one thing, the inseam still seems a bit large when walking (they're fine when I'm on the riding position), and they seem a little too baggy. I should expect this with overpants, but to me, they still feel like they're too big. I had somewhat similr issues with my first jacket, but I find it easier to deal with longer and normal sleeves than it is to walk with long pants... :)

It's part of the game. I just have to accept it, or pay through the roof for custom fitted equipment.

Later,

SD: Part 2

I'm back from San Diego, and I already miss it. I can understand the allure of the place with the picture perfect weather patterns and the never-ending activities. I just wish I could make it work for me in a permanent way :)

We went to the restaurant at Del Coronado (the wrong one), and it was pretty good. We had plans to go to the 1500 restaurant, and instead went to the one next door! Newbie mistake, I suppose... I stayed with the restaurant week menu this time because it seemed pretty good. My one disappointment was that my steak was overcooked. This seems to be a prevalent issue with the restaurants in the area, not just this one. They offered a Kobe beef tenderloin wrapped in bacon and Gorgonzola butter. I ordered it medium-rare, and I got it medium-well. I asked the waiter if I had mistakenly ordered like I got it and he said no. I ate it anyway because it was good, but I was still disappointed.

The next day, we decided to skip a big dinner and head over to a wine bar in the same hotel called ENO. There are a few locations scattered around the country. The wine flights and the cheese flights were very well executed. The wine list was better than I've seen in other places, but a little too focused on the local wines. The selection of imported wines was pretty good, but the french side seemed focused on the usual suspects (really high-end items and the brand names everyone knows). I guess it is what sells, right?
The cheese side was one where I felt good that they stayed local. I tried this beautiful Gorgonzola from Oregon that was a great match for the wines and the membrillo (quince paste). I also tried an aged Jack that tasted like a young Parmesan. I also found a local farm-aged cheddar that rivalled the stuff from England. In all, a very good experience.

The other west coast peeve I have (first being the inability to cook meat properly) is the lack of selection in wines. I managed to talk to a few vendors in the area, and a few things seem to cause the problem (at least in the SoCal area):

- Plenty of California wines available
- The added cost of shipping to the west coast
- The high demand in the east coast

So I guess I'm part of the problem :)

One thing I really wanted to do but was impractical (this time) was to rent a motorcycle and ride through the coastal highway. I would have loved that very much. The problem was that I could not find a local rental place that had sport bikes. You could find a Harley pretty much down the street, but that's not what I wanted to ride. There is one popular place that delivers, but it is not worth it for just one day. Maybe next time I can arrange the transportation based on the bike :)

These things are 'solvable', so if that's all I have to complain about Southern Cal, I guess that's a good thing. I also tried my exit strategy as an early relocation option, but it failed.

I can't wait for my next trip! I hope it happens more than 8 years apart...

Later,

San Diego: Rekindling of an old flame

My lady and I are in San Diego on a 50/50 (B/P) trip. it has been a long while since we've been to SoCal, and we almost forgot how much we like this place.

We're lucky enough to be right in the heart of downtown in a nice waterfront hotel that's minutes from everything. To make things even better, it's restaurant week!

So far, we have sampled a small amount of places like Nobu at the hard rock hotel, Frank's mexican food joint on Fifth, and a corner diner on G street next to a mall. we also checked out a local pancake place called Richard ... pancake house. the place has lines that reach around the corner, even on weekdays. it's a small place, but they don't skimp on the portions. the pancakes were good, but I liked ones from the diner to be better IMO. the corned beef hash (guilty pleasure) was different than what I'm used to, and didn't kill my stomach as usual. They blended everything more, and I think that made a big difference.

Nobu was an odd experience. I'm used to California wait staff being laid back and a little slow compared to the people in the east coast. My waiter was a little loopy and more in pace with east coast guys, so we felt a little rushed (the place wasn't even 50% full). The food was mostly good. there were some rolls that seemed average like the spicy tuna roll, and others that were just perfect, like the yellowtail jalapeño roll. we also ordered their signature dish (black cod miso) and it was spot on. the waiter suggested the vegetarian version of the same dish, and that was disappointing. The eggplant lacked the saltiness of the cod, crucial to the balance of the dish.

We also visited the nine-ten restaurant in La Jolla to sample their restaurant week menu. I skipped the first course to get their truffle risotto appetizer, and it was a good choice. They did not skimp on the truffles, but the rice was a little under-cooked. the flavors were well balanced, however. It reminded me of a similar (but better) dish I had in Paris.
The second course was a braised short rib with baby vegetables that was well executed. It paired nicely with the California Pinot suggested by the staff. Although we're about to burst at this point, we decided to try a bite of the third course. I chose the lime semifreddo, and the picked the milkshake and beignets. it was so good, we managed to somehow make room for it :)
We have plans to visit the restaurant at El Coronado this thursday. I'll report on it later,