Choklat Stout
Is it Really Necessary?
Dark chocolate and stout make a wonderful combination. Whenever I crack open a bottle of Imperial stout, I like to have a square or two of dark chocolate to eat while I drink it. Now that's what I call luxury!
December 2011
The Abyss
Go Ahead, Gaze Into It
“The Abyss” from Deschutes Brewery is a superior stout, specifically a Russian Imperial Stout. Imperial stouts have quickly become one of my favorite types of beer. Why is that? Because I have always loved stout's dark color and rich, bitter flavor, but traditional stout suffers from two disadvantages.
Celebration Ale
Not My Cup Of Hops
Last week, my wife wanted me to pick up a six-pack of one of her favorite beers, “Celebration Ale” by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. I felt a certain trepidation as soon as she mentioned it, because I don't normally like most American microbrews. Some of them- like the Lagunitas stout I wrote about recently- are as good as any British or Belgian beer. Most of them, though, are just far too hoppy.
Woodchuck Granny Smith Cider
Plus a Pedantic Digression
I've always loved the tart flavor of Granny Smith apples, so when I noticed that Woodchuck hard cider came in a Granny Smith variety, I grabbed it up. But more on that in a moment. First I'd like to talk about that misleading term “hard cider,” as distinguished (only in America) from “soft cider.”
About two weeks ago, I bought a bottle of “all natural” apple juice. It was dark in color and thick in texture, and it tasted much different from what I normally think of as apple juice. In fact, it tasted exactly like what I've always been told was “soft apple cider.”