Extras beyond the first 1000

We actually have a number of tastes that went beyond the first 1000, but we were holding these back to use specific tastes for the last 5.  We'll start off with some extra new food tastes:

1001. Chuao - Honeycomb bar - This is a dark chocolate bar with caramelized honey bits inside.  The texture is similar to a crisp bar with rice, but there's a pretty subtle honey taste.  
1002. Spiced apple squares with maple whipped cream - Brett made this for Christmas day and they are delicious.  Recipe is here.
1003. Idahoan - Steakhouse bacon and ranch potatoes - We were looking for some quick potatoes as a side dish one night when we were busy.  It clearly wouldn't be hard to make these on your own, but the quick convenience was nice and they were actually pretty tasty. 

We have a number of beer tastes backlogged as well.  

1004. Elysian Brewing - Bifröst Winter Ale - This was part of the last shipment of the beer of the month club Megan won.  It was okay, but nothing too special.
1005. Founders Brewing - Breakfast Stout - This is one of the highest rated stouts on ratebeer.com, and rightly so.   Brett just slightly prefers their Imperial Stout, but this is darn good.
1006. Elysian Brewing - Loser Pale Ale - This was the other selection from Elysian in the last shipment.  It's very drinkable and went very well with dinner.  Not the best pale ale, but certainly good.
1007. Anchor Brewing - Our Special Ale (2013) - This year's version was good but our notes were based solely on a small taster.  We have a bottle to try at home, but this actually ages well so we might hold it to next year too.  
1008. Brouwerij Corsendonk - Christmas Ale - Again, part of a tasting, but this was also pretty good.
1009. Sly Fox Brewing - Christmas Ale - This was also part of a tasting - a little too much clove for my taste, but it might age and mellow out.  
1010. Mikkeller - Santas Little Helper (2013) - Another taster, this has an 11% alcohol content and it is clearly there in the taste.  It's not overwhelming, but a nice winter warmer.   
1011. Bell's Brewery - Cherry Stout - If you buy this, I hope you like cherry!  Brett loves a fruit beer, especially cherry stout, but this is way overbalanced to the cherry side of things.  
1012. New Belgium - Snow Day - Found this in the cellar, way past its "best by" date, but it was still very good.  
1013. Brouwerij De Ranke - Père Noël
1014. Brouwerij Het Anker - Gouden Carolus Noël (Christmas) - Do you like anise/licorice?  This is the beer for you!  Good grief there's a lot of licorice flavor in this.  People we talked to say that this did not taste like this last year.
1015. Perennial Artisan Ales - Fête de Noël - The flavor on this is reminiscent of a spiced rum - very warm and round in your mouth.  
1016. Dubuisson - Bush de Noël (Scaldis Noël) - Surprisingly, flavors of toffee and caramel were prevalent in this.
1017. Liefmans - Fruitesse - We had a bottle of this in the cellar.  It's a lambic blended with berries (strawberry and raspberry) and then some added sugar.  To Brett, the added sugar made this too sweet and totally overwhelmed the tartness and farmyard flavors you would expect in a fruit lambic.  Megan thought it wasn't too sweet and liked it quite a bit.
1018. Boston Beer Co - Samuel Adams Merry Maker - This is a gingerbread stout.  On its own, it's flavor is a little too dominated by black coffee with the ginger and spices playing second fiddle. But, if you want to try something fun, pour 1 - 2 oz of good quality egg nog into a glass and add the stout.  Leave plenty of head space as it's going to foam like crazy, but you know have a gingerbread-egg nog-stout shake which is delicious. 
1019. Lagunitas Brewing Company - Lagunitas Sucks - Like many breweries today, Lagunitas cannot keep up with their demand, even though they've recently increased their brewing capacity.  They did not have enough time to brew their regular holiday ale, so they instead brewed this.  It's an American strong ale, brewed with 4 grains (barley, wheat, oats, rye) and then hopped to a reasonable 63 IBU.  We believe they should just add this to their regular line-up!  

We have over 100 wine tastings yet to add so we'll stop this post here and make one gigantic wine tasting post next.  

Numbers 996 - 1000!

We're down to our last 5 tastes until we hit the 1000 mark.  Here's our final 5 tastes and because it's the last 5, we've saved some great ones and we'll give a full description of each one.  Numbers 998 - 1000 were all had the same weekend at Vintage Cellar and we provided two of them (#998 and #1000) while #999 was provided by another customer.  The remaining 5 tastes, #996 and #997, were had during a special Champagne tasting.

996. Gruyère Gougères - To go with the champagne tasting, Megan made some great little appetizers that are delicious cheese puffs. These were light, tasty, and went incredibly well with the champagne.  They went over so well, she was asked to just mail out the recipe to all attendees. Brett will definitely be begging for them to be made again (soon).  The recipe is here.  
     
997. 1997 - Salon Champagne - Brut - Blanc de Blancs - Megan belongs to a women and wine club. They were having a special champagne tasting (okay, there was one sparkling wine from California, the rest were true champagnes), but there weren't going to be enough members attending so men were allowed to come.  Brett jumped at the chance to join Megan for the tasting.  There were a lot of great champagnes that night, but this was the top of the night. This was also the most expensive wine of the night at $400/bottle.  Would we ever buy a bottle for ourselves?  Probably not especially when there were many other champagnes that were almost as good but at a significantly lower price.   Our review summary:  aroma - pear, apricot, bread; taste - sweet, honey notes, not too tart, smooth, creamy and buttery, walnut and almond oil, creamy, almost like brie; this is very very good.  
     
998. 2011 - Atlantic Brewing Company - Brother Adams Honey Bragget Ale - It's fairly rare that a beer has a vintage on it, but this one does!  We brought this back from our trip to Maine on a whim while we were at the brewery.  While this is a bragget (an ale brewed with honey), this was made in the style of a barley wine, meaning big alcohol (almost 12%).  After having this, we wish we had brought more home with us.  What a great winter drink and one bottle is plenty to share between two or three people.  Our review summary:  A 2011 bottle consumed in 2013. This was delicious and makes me wish that I’d brought more back from the brewery. Aroma - lemon, honey, toffee, cherry jolly rancher, butterscotch, becomes more raisiny as time passes after opening; taste - sour, tart, warming with bread baking, honey. This has aged amazingly well. If you have some, let it age and see how well this ages.  As we noted, the aroma and flavor changes so much from the moment of opening until the last sip, that it drinks more like a wine than any barley wine we've had.  This was most excellent.  
     
999. 2003 - d'Arenberg - Shiraz - The Dead Arm - As noted above, on the same weekend we were finishing our 1000th taste at Vintage Cellar, we were lucky enough that another customer had brought in this amazing Shiraz to share.  Originally this wine when purchased, from Vintage Cellar, was almost too big to drink.  After 10 years, it had aged beautifully and maintained all the rich fruit flavors shiraz is known for while mellowing out some of the intenseness that it was originally known for. Our review summary:  aroma - cherry, blackberry, black cherry, eucalyptus, fun and happy smelling like jumble berry pie; taste - chewy, round, okay but not overwhelming, dried oak fruits, so many berries, smoky with mineral on the finish, hint of mild tobacco.  This was amazingly delicious.  
     
1000. 1968 - Gaja - Barbaresco - Brian and Teresa Taylor (Brett's brother and sister-in-law) gave this to Brett for his 40th birthday.  It's been sitting in the cellar since then, awaiting the "perfect" occasion to open.  If we've learned nothing about this project, it's that we should be less worried about when to have a new taste and rather to just have the experience.  The event itself can be made special by having that taste.  We decided that we would share this with our friends at Vintage Cellar as they have helped us reach the magical kilotaste!  This barbaresco is pretty old - most barbarescos are to be consumed in 15 - 20 years, not 45!  The cork was moderately decayed and we were worried that with its age and the state of the cork that it could be spoiled.  We poured everyone a small glass.  Our review went like this:  This was 45 years old, but surprisingly delicious. Color - brown, red/black plum juice; pours with some sediment, looks a lot like when you make homemade grape jelly as you boil it before adding gelatin; aroma - a bit of funk on the pop and pour, slate, mineral, caramel, smoke, nutmeg shows up after bottle is opened after an hour or so; taste - cherry, not really chewy, but very complex, plum, bright strawberry and juicy, finish is tart berry followed by olive, leather, tannins, finish is slightly drying; pepperoni/cured meat at the back. With proscuitto, becomes creamer, but smoky at the finish. With bleu cheese, the wine loses its fruitiness. With a sweet cheese, the wine exhibits lots of bright fruit/strawberry flavors. What an unbelievable bottle after 45 years!!!  In short the wine was surprisingly excellent and had aged quite well.  Everyone was excited to have the opportunity to try, especially us, and it was an excellent choice to be the 1000th taste.  Thanks very much to Brian and Teresa for the bottle!  
      

We're thankful for any and all who have followed our progress.   We learned a lot, about ourselves and our likes and dislikes.  We also learned that Brett can't divide and realize 1000 new tastes is ~ 3/day when he first proposed this.  We have gone well over 1000 tastes so we'll post those beyond the kilotaste mark before the end of the year.  We'll also post some of our top 10 (maybe top 5) lists, summaries of our tastes by types, and more.   

We will continue updating this blog, but we aren't going to actively try to do another 1000 next year as it was a lot of effort and we sometimes sacrificed other activities to complete the 1000.  We encourage everyone to try lots of new things and enjoy the opportunities life throws out at you.  

New Tastes - Catching Up

We've been super busy with the end of the semester and finishing up refinishing our countertops, then we both got sick.  The good news is we made it through the semester and we've more than made 1000 tastes.   We will take this list up to 995, then over the next few days wrap up the remaining 5 with some big tastes.   We will then have a couple best of and worst of lists.  Once we get those done, we'll continue the list from 1000 on.  Because we're catching up from almost a month, there won't be tons of descriptions here.

961. Chuao - Maple Bacon Milk Chocolate - This was the first thing from Chuao that we didn't really like.  It has a "bonfire smoked salt" which was just completely overwhelming.  There was bonfire on the palate and bonfire in your nose the whole time you chewed, but it wasn't like wood smoke, it was like wood and some plastic/rubber/trash.  The smoke was just way too overwhelming to enjoy this.  It's possible that the small taster we got was just out of proportion from a full bar, but we're both a lot gun-shy to try it again.
962. New Belgium Brewing - Accumulation - This is their new seasonal white IPA and normally that's not a style either of us are huge fans of, but this is very good.  Brett surprisingly like this a whole lot.
963. Brouwerij Rodenbach - Rodenbach - Classic Belgian red sour from Belgium and it's delicious.  
964. Einbecker Brauhaus - Einbecker Winter-Bock - nice winter bock
965. Anchor Brewing - BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red - Virginia finally got some of this, well past fall, but better late than ever.  
966. 2006 - Blackwing Shiraz
967. 2012 - Nautilus Estate - Sauvignon Blanc
968. 2011 - Yalumba - Vermentino
969. 2011 - Langmeil - Hangin' Snakes
970. 2012 - Yalumba - Shiraz - Galway Vintage - Barossa Valley
971. 2010 - Yalumba - Cabernet Sauvignon - The Cigar - The Menzies
972. 2010 - Reichsrat Von Buhl - Riesling - Medium Dry - Maria Schneider Jazz
973. 2012 - Viña Robles - White4
974. 2010 - Viña Robles - Cabernet Sauvignon
975. 2010 - Viña Robles - Petite Sirah - Estate
976. 2010 - Viña Robles - RED4 - Paso Robles
977. 2012 - Locations CA - This is super delicious.  It's a ridiculous label with just "CA" and the California flag on the label.  
978. 2009 - Pietra Santa - Chardonnay - Twin Terraces
979. 2011 - Pietra Santa - Pinot Gris - Amore
980. 2006 - Pietra Santa - Cabernet Sauvignon - Signature Collection
981. 2009 - Pietra Santa - Cabernet Sauvignon
982. 2009 - Pietra Santa - Merlot
983. 2008 - Pietra Santa - Sangiovese
984. NV - Cantina del Taburno - Falanghina Folius - Falanghina - Extra Dry
985. 2012 - Domaine Bois de Boursan - Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc
986. 2008 - Brewer-Clifton - Chardonnay - Mount Carmel
987. 2012 - Zind-Humbrecht - Gewurztraminer
988. 2011 - Wwe. Dr. H. Thanisch (Erben-Thanisch) - Berncasteler - Doctor - Riesling Kabinett
989. 2008 - Brewer-Clifton - Pinot Noir - Mount Carmel
990. 2012 - Patricia Green Cellars - Pinot Noir - Freedom Hill Vineyard
991. 2010 - Domaine Serene - Pinot Noir - Evenstad Reserve
992. 2005 - Bodegas Muga - Rioja Gran Reserva - Prado Enea
993. 2008 - Azelia - Barolo - Margheria
994. 2008 - Girardet - Gewürztraminer - Frostbite
995. 2009 - St. Clement - Sauvignon Blanc - Napa Valley

That's all for now.   Check back for our final 5 tastes very very soon!

Tastes from Nov 11th - 17th

This was a relatively slow week for us.  We did do some new tastes, but with the coming end of the school year and the rush and bustle that comes with it, we have been too busy to do much.  We'll start with some tastes from our regular Vintage Cellar Saturday tasting.

952. 2008 - Guy Saget - Pouilly-Fumé - Le Domaine Saget
953. 2009 - Bouchard Finlayson - Blanc de Mer
954. 2009 - Quinta do Quetzal - Alentejo Guadalupe
955. 2007 - Bodegas y Viñedos Escudero - Rioja - Noega
956. 2003 - Castello di Lucignano - Il Solissimo
957. 2006 - Fortediga Estates - Cabernet - Syrah - Maremma - Toscana IGT

We also tried 3 new beers over the week.

958. Brewery Ommegang - Adoration - This is one spicy beer with some unusual spices you don't often find in beers like grains of paradise and mace.  It's initially a bit overpowering, but as you drink it (and it warms up some to maybe 55F), it becomes smoother and more drinkable.  
959. Epic Brewing - Fest Devious Märzen - This is a nice fall beer - quite a nice märzen.
960. Rogue Ales - Santas Private Reserve - Our second Christmas beer and this is one very hoppy ale. 

That's all for this week.  We should have a lot more tastes this coming week.  

Tastes from Nov 4th - 10th

We had a good week and went to Virginia Beach for a meeting for Brett - the Chesapeake Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers.  We had some new food tastes, starting with a trip to the Melting Pot for dinner (including a new wine).

935. Bourbon Bacon Cheddar Cheese Fondue - This had some mustard powder in it which was a bit overpowering since neither of us really enjoy mustard.  It wasn't overwhelming and certainly didn't stop us from eating every single piece of bread, vegetable, and granny smith apple that came with it!
936. White Chocolate Crème Brûlée Fondue - This was their special dessert fondue at the time.  This was a bit too sweet for Brett.  Both of us did like it, but since most of the items to dip were sweet we would have preferred something with a bit of bitterness for contrast to the fondue.
     
937. 2010 - Vinaceous - Shiraz - Snake Charmer - This was really good with dinner and made a nice complement to the fondue.
     
     
     

Megan also had a new sandwich on our return home at Panera.

938. Big Kid Grilled Cheese - Three kinds of cheese and bacon were delicious, especially with Panera's cream of tomato soup.

There was a special tasting of wines from Bourdeaux at Vintage Cellar on Thursday this week.

939. 2012 - Vieux Château Gaubert Benjamin de Vieux - Château Gaubert - Blanc
940. 2011 - Château Barrabaque - Cuvée Antoine
941. 2012 - Chateau Clou du Pin - red Bourdeaux blend
942. 2009 - Château Plaisance (Bordeaux Supérieur)
943. 2009 - Château Bellegrave du Poujeau
944. 2010 - Château Dasvin-Bel-Air
945. 2010 - Château Hourtin-Ducasse
946. NV - Domaine des Nugues Beaujolais-Villages - Made by G - Have someone who says they don't like wine?  Give them some of this to change their mind - it's light, effervescent, refreshing, and clearly grape, but very drinkable and would go very well with Thanksgiving dinner.
947. 1998 - Charles Melton - Cabernet Sauvignon - Wes, the distributor, likes to bring one wine from his cellar to play "guess the wine" with.  This is a pretty old wine and has really changed from a typical Cab Sauv flavor profile.  It was almost like a tawny, but still with what Megan feels is a typical eucalyptus aroma from Australian wines.  It's amazing what 15 years can do to change a wine's flavor and this was fun to taste.

Last but not least, we have a few new beers we tried.

948. Bison Brewing - Organic Gingerbread Ale - The first Christmas beer tried for the season.  This was interesting and is supposed to be a porter with gingerbread flavors added in.  It was okay, but nothing we would go out of the way to have again.  
949. Saucony Creek - Captain Pumpkin’s Maple Mistress - This was a maple "pumpkin" beer, but actually was made with butternut squash.  The maple that was added is hard to notice in either the aroma or on the palate.
950. J.K.’s Northern Neighbour - Farmhouse Cider - Saskatoon Cuvee - This is an absolutely excellent cider.  This is Fall in a bottle.  Superb and everyone should seek this out for an example of an excellent cider.  
951. Unibroue - La Fin du Monde - Very delicious Belgian-style triple that was fermented on lees.  Yeast and citrus aromas and a delicious taste.  

Tastes from Oct 28th - Nov 3rd

As we approach 1000 tastes, we seem to be enjoying the tasting process more and more.  Now that we're so close, we are really trying to make sure the last 100 are excellent.

We'll start off with some foods:

908. Bruno' Gastro Truck - Gooey Brownie - This is their triple chocolate brownie covered in a homemade caramel sauce.  This is deliciously chewy, chocolatey, and the caramel sauce provides a nice complement.  Plan on sharing it unless you're feeling gluttonous or super hungry.
     
     
     
     
     
909. Stella Fontina - This was a cheese Megan didn't like much, but Brett liked quite a bit.  Fontina makes a better sauce than eating raw.  
910. French toast crockpot breakfast - Supposed to be similar to a stuffed french toast.  It was made with apples and walnuts, but it didn't turn out very well and we won't be making it again, so no recipe.
911. Kettle Chips - Sweet and Salty chips - These are, like the bag says, sweet and salty.  They are not amazing, but not bad.

On to the beers we tried:

912. Anchor Brewing - Small Beer - This is a traditional-style;  the beer is made by using the second sparging of grain used to make a barley wine with the first sparge.  It's the first time that Brett has had this style before and it tastes like a watered-down barley wine.  
913. Fuller's - London Brewing - This is Brett's favorite porter of all time.  Perfect.
914. Founders Brewing - Porter - This isn't Fuller's, but it is darn good and a very good alternative if you can't find a Fuller's.
915. Southern Tier - Pumking - This is renowned as a great pumpkin ale for the season, but at least the one we had was way too much clove.  The clove becomes more subtle as it sits, but it takes awhile.  The ale is clearly pumpkin and the sweetness of the pumpkin is apparent in every single sip. 
916. Hofbräu München - Oktoberfestbier - This is probably one of the worst märzens we've had all season.  It's not bad, but it's also not very good.

Finally, we went to two, count 'em, two different wine tastings over the weekend.  A new wine shop has opened in Fairlawn called Barrel Cave Wines and Saturday was their grand opening.  

917. NV - Marsuret Prosecco - Treviso - Extra Dry
918. 2011 - Quinta das Arcas - Conde Villar - Alvarinho
919. 2012 - Neudorf - Sauvignon Blanc
920. 2012 - West Cape Howe - Chardonnay - Unwooded
921. 2007 - Bodega O. Fournier - Ribera del Duero - Spiga
922. 2010 - Klein Constantia - Cabernet Sauvignon

After that we headed over to the regular Saturday tasting at Vintage Cellar.  We were lucky and got to taste a number of really, really excellent wines.  

923. 2012 - Cantina di Gambellara - Soave - i Basalti
924. 2013 - Viña Siegel - Sauvignon Blanc - Crucero
925. 2011 - Winzer von Erbach - Erbacher Honigberg - Riesling
926. 2011 - Charles Thomas - Côtes du Rhône
927. 2012 - Chakana - Malbec - Maipe Reserve
928. 2010 - Klinker Brick - Zinfandel
     
929. NV - Rinaldi - Red Dream
930. 2008 - Fratelli Alessandria - Barolo - Monvigliero - The first of our super tastes.  This was amazing and we gave this a 92.
931. 2007 - Saint-Cosme - Châteauneuf-du-Pape - The second super taste. We gave this a 97.  It was delicious, complex, and amazing.  
932. 2009 - M. Chapoutier - Shiraz - Domaine Tournon - Lady's Lane - This was very good, but paled compared to the rest, obviously so since we gave it only an 87.
933. 2012 - Chakana Estate Selection - This is a red blend with 60% Malbec, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Shiraz.  We gave this a 96 and left with two bottles.  This will get better with a few more years aging, but it's very very good now.
     
934. 2010 - Bodegas Alto Moncayo - Campo de Borja - This was our final taste and we gave it a 90.  

It's over 900!!! Tastes for Oct 21st - 27th

We have now hit 900 tastes!  A bit over two months to go and we only need just under 100 new tastes. This week we have new foods, new beers, and new wines.  We'll start with the foods.

865. Chuao - Potato chip bar - This is a milk chocolate bar with crisp kettle cooked potato chips and a touch of sea salt.  This is a very complex milk chocolate and tastes almost like dark chocolate. It is very, very good. If you like Late Night Snack by Ben and Jerry's, you'll like this a lot.  
     
866. Liberte - Lemon Greek Yogurt - Brett loves greek yogurt and sour/tart foods and drinks.  He had never had lemon yogurt before (with real lemon juice and pulp), but it is delicious. 
867. Pepperidge Farm - Caramel Apple Pie cookies - Typical Pepperidge Farm style cookies, but this is a limited fall edition.  They taste like apple pie in cookie form with a moderate number of caramel chips.
868. Dairy Vale - Vintage Cheddar Cheese - This was surprisingly not very sharp.  It was nutty and pretty good, but would like it a bit more sharp.
869. Hennings - Garlic and Dill Cheddar - Brett likes this a lot and thinks the dill is reasonable and well-balanced with the sharpness of the cheddar and the garlic.  Megan doesn't like dill that much and doesn't agree about the well-balanced part.  To each their own!  :-)
870. Calbee - Shrimp Chips - These are shaped like Cheetos, but they taste like shrimp and leave no orange stains on your fingers.  Megan didn't try these and Brett thought they were okay, but that shrimp-flavored corn crisps are pretty weird.  
     
871. Gruyere and Horseradish Cheese Spread - This was from Kroger's deli.  Neither of us really like horseradish that much, but try it we did.  Oh my, it was like ALL horseradish.  We couldn't taste the gruyere at all.
872. Kroger - Yogurt & Berries mini rice cakes - These are much like the Quaker rice cakes that have been out for awhile now.  These were surprisingly berry tasting and pretty darn good.

Vintage Cellar had a huge closeout tasting on Wednesday.  Unfortunately, Brett has lab until 5, then has to ride home, and after all that we headed over.  By the time we got there, a lot of the wines were gone.  At some point, we'll also learn to go straight to the red wines instead of stopping and doing the whites first, even though they are right there when you walk in.  Since we generally prefer reds, you would think we'd know this by now, but apparently we're slow learners.

873. NV - Heidsieck & Co. - Monopole Champagne - Green Top Demi-Sec - This is really good.  Looking for an excellent champagne for New Year's Eve?  This would be an excellent choice.
874. NV - Heidsieck & Co. - Monopole Champagne - Rosé Top Brut
875. 2011 - Weingut Steininger - Riesling
876. 2009 - Louis Latour - Montagny 1er Cru La Grande Roche
877. 2008 - Domaine Christian Moreau Père et Fils - Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - Other people really really like this, but we didn't find this very impressive for some reason.  
878. 2010 - Doña Paula - Torrontés Estate
879. 2006 - Sonoma-Cutrer - Chardonnay Founders Reserve
880. 2009 - Sbragia Family - Chardonnay - Gamble Ranch
881. 2011 - Artesa - Chardonnay - Carneros
882. 2009 - Torii Mor - Chardonnay
883. 2011 - Tolosa Winery - Roussanne - Edna Ranch
884. 2009 - Rosenblum Cellars - Viognier - Kathy's Cuvée
885. 2010 - Altavins Viticoltors - Terra Alta - Domus Pensi
886. 2009 - Ogier Caves des Papes - Côtes du Rhône - Heritages - Blanc
887. 2010 - J. Vidal-Fleury - Côtes du Rhône - Blanc
888. 2010 - Mollydooker - Verdelho - The Violinist
889. 2011 - Don Cristóbal - 1492 - Chardonnay/Viognier/Chenin blend 
890. 2008 - Philippe Delesvaux - Coteaux du Layon - St. Aubin - This bottle was flawed.  Mostly it tasted musty, dusty, and like mothballs.  
891. 2007 - Santa Ema - Cabernet Sauvignon - Amplus
892. 2006 - Beni di Batasiolo - Barbaresco
893. 2008 - Achával-Ferrer - Malbec - Finca Bella Vista - Wow wow wow - we gave this a 95 and it's very, very good.
894. NV - Cantine Pellegrino - Marsala Superiore Sweet

We also went over for the Saturday wine tasting.  

895. 2012 - Domaine de la Grenaudière - Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie - Brett liked this more than Megan (although she also liked it).  The "sur lie" means it was aged for some time on the lees which is the yeast and other particulates that precipitate out during the fermentation (and fining).  This was crisp, tart, and citrus and very refreshing.  
896. 2012 - Jean-Paul Thibert - Mâcon-Fuissé 
897. 2012 - Avantis Estate - Evia - Greece - You don't see a lot of Greek wine being praised, but this was quite good and refreshing.  
898. 2009 - Château de Chamilly - Bourgogne
899. 2011 - Clos du Mont-Olivet - Côtes du Rhône - Vieilles Vignes Montueil la Levade - We didn't like this at all and would say maybe the bottle was flawed, but other people at the tasting thought it was great so...  
900. 2009 - Quinta das Liceiras - Douro - Made in Portugal from the same grapes that make port. This was pretty interesting and you can really taste what we guess could be called "adolescent" port.  
901. 2010 - Bodegas Volver - Monastrell - Tarima Hill - This is very good and reasonably priced (as is the 2012 if you can find it).
902. 2006 - Long Shadows Wineries - Cabernet Sauvignon - Feather - Also very excellent, but definitely not an everyday kind of wine at around $40 - $50 a bottle.  

Last, but not least, we tried a number of new beers this week.

903. Sierra Nevada - Tumbler - Autumn Brown Ale
904. Bells - Special Double Cream Stout
905. Maine Beer Company - MO - This is an excellent American Pale Ale.  It's unfortunately going to be hard for some people to find as they have fairly limited distribution.
906. Sixpoint  Brewery - Autumnation (2013) - First wet hop beer for the season that we've been able to try.  This year, Sixpoint used Mosaic hops and it was quite interesting.  
907. Left Hand Brewing - Nitro Milk Stout - This is an absolutely delicious milk stout.  If you like milk stout as a style, be sure to give this one a try.

And that is all for the week.  We can't believe we've made it to over 900 already and are really looking forward to finishing up!  

Tastes from Oct 14th - 20th

We had a fun week of tastes throughout the week.  While we didn't get a huge number of tastes, those we did get were really good.  First off, we bought a piece of fruit we'd never had before from The Fresh Market.

850. Red plumicot - A cross between a plum and apricot, this was not uniformly ripe.  One side was slightly tart with a lot of sweetness and juicy.  The other side was not quite as sweet and a bit more pulpy.  They also had black and yellow plumicots, but we didn't buy one of those.  Those would be interesting to try.

We also had a few new beers at the house as well.

851. New Belgium Brewing - La Folie - A wonderful Belgian-style sour brown ale, typical examples come from the Flanders region.  This of course comes from Ft. Collins, Colorado.  
852. Weyerbacher Brewing - Imperial Pumpkin Ale - In this case, imperial means a bit too much spicing in our opinion.    

We tried a number of beers and wines at Vintage Cellar this week on Friday.

853. Foothills Brewing - Barrel Aged People's Porter
854. The Bruery - Autumn Maple
855. 2007 - Nuschese Wines - Irpinia Cassius
856. 2011 - Nuschese Wines - Pinot Grigio delle Venezie
857. 2009 - Nuschese Wines - La Pietra
858. 2008 - Il Paggio - Chianti Classico Riserva

On Saturday, we went to GoFest in Roanoke.  Last year, we camped and stayed the whole day, but this year we decided to just go down on Saturday.  There were a lot of fun things to do again and some wonderful food and beer available as well.

859. Starr Hill Brewing - Boxcarr Pumpkin Porter - This was an underwhelming pumpkin porter - the porter part was good, but the pumpkin sweetness and spice was so subtle, it was hard to notice it was there.
860. Starr Hill Brewing - The Love - This was a pretty good local hefeweizen.  Brett liked this a lot.
861. Parkway Brewing - Get Bent Mountain IPA - A fairly typical west coast-style IPA.
862. Bruno's GastroTruck - The Royale with Cheese - This is a Kobe beef burger with braised pork belly, farm egg, bacon jam, cheddar, arugula, tomato, sriracha mayo, challah bun, and chips.  Oh my lord that was good.   It was possibly the best burger Brett has ever had.  Seriously - bacon jam AND braised pork belly?!?!  The perfectly fried egg on top really adds something.
     
863.  Noke Food truck - taco plate - There were three kinds of tacos, chicken, beef, pork.  Unfortunately the meat was only slightly spiced and most of the additional flavor was from the salsa which was filled with cilantro.  Megan hates cilantro so this made her lunch not so good.
864. Toasted by Casey - Trippple Threat - This is a grilled cheese sandwich, but not like any other grilled cheese you've ever seen.  It includes cheddar slice, swiss slice, cheese sticks (yes, you read that right), and marinara sauce.  This was delicious, but we both thought it would be better if the marinara was a dipping sauce instead of on the sandwich. 

Tastes from Oct 7th - 13th

Just a few tastes this week.  First off we had some new chips and a snack.

835. Riceworks - Wild Rice Crisps - These are tasty, but not the best crisps we've ever had.  
836. Sahale Snacks - Pecan Cashew Nut Crisp (with cinnamon, apples, and peaches) - These are delicious and addictive!

We also had a really phenomenal beer tasting at Vintage Cellar.  The Ommegang/Duvel rep was there and brought a variety to taste from their holdings.

837. Peak Organic Brewing - Fall Summit Ale - This was an old bottle we found in the cellar and it showed.  This did not age well.
838. Timmermans - Pumpkin Lambic - This was very good.  Brett liked it more than Megan.  This was nicely spiced, a bit sweet from added Belgian candy, and hints of pumpkin and typical lambic farmhouse funk.  
839. Duvel Moortgat - Duvel - Delicious - spicy, yeasty, malty, and a beautiful golden color.  
840. Ommegang Duvel Rustica - Like the original Duvel, but bottle-conditioning is done with the Ommegang yeast.  The result is similar to regular Duvel, but less spicy and a bit more fruity esters.  
841. Duvel - Tripel Hop (Sorachi Ace) - This is very hoppy on the nose, but very well balanced and complex on the palate.  
842. Brasserie d’Achouffe - Mc Chouffe - A nice Belgian strong ale, malty and fruity.  Should be delicious with food.

We had a few other beers through the week as well.

843. Samuel Adams - Octoberfest - This is an okay märzen, but nothing very special. 
844. St. George Brewing - Oktoberfest - This is also a year old and it shows.  Not very malty or märzen-like. 

Lastly we had two different wine tastes, but didn't write much down so we haven't done very extensive notes.  

844. 2009 - Icaria - Alexander Valley Cabernet - This was very delicious and fruity.
845. 2009 - Argiolas Perdera - Isola del Nuraghi

Thanks for reading and we'll be back next week with more new tastes!

Tastes for October 1st - 6th

We had a number of new tastes this week. We'll start off with the food then continue from there.

793. Kettle Brand Chips - Maple Bacon Chips - These are deliciously tasty - the initial sweetness of the maple follows with a finish of bacon and the crunch of the chip.  These are even more addictive than regular chips.
794. Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal muffins - These are very healthy and nearly gluten-free, but because of that, they are a bit bland.  A small bit of butter on them makes them much better.
795. Grandma's Apple Carrot Cake - Megan made this for Brandy's birthday.  It's filling and delicious and excellent with vanilla ice cream.
796. Spanish Chicken Rice Bake - Megan made this for dinner over the weekend.  This was really good - hearty, delicious, spicy but not hot spicy.  This is going to be a great meal for cool fall or cold winter days.
797. Nancy's - Butterscotch Fudge - Not normally a fan of butterscotch, this was actually pretty good.
798. Nancy's - Chocolate Raspberry Fudge - This was very good with layers of chocolate and raspberry flavored fudges.  
799. Nancy's - Milk Chocolate-covered Sponge Candy
800. Palmetto honey - This was at the Floyd Craft Festival
801. Adirondack Beverages - Vanilla Cream Ale

We went to Villa Appalaccia as they had their All Things Olive event.  They have a number of different olives, olive oils, and balsamic vinegars to taste, in addition their wine.  We headed there after going to the Floyd Craft Festival and tried all of the above, plus a full tasting of their wines.  Megan doesn't really like olives, so most of the comments below are from Brett.  A note about the wine reviews - currently CellarTracker is down and so the list below is just the list of what we tasted.  We'll udpate with formal reviews when CellarTracker is back online.

802. Castelvetrano olives - These are a meaty bright green olive - one of Brett's favorites.
803. Sicilian olives - These were pretty bitter.
804. Provencal olives - These have been cured with herbs of provence and were too herby for Brett's taste.
805. Nyon olives - These are a black olive and are more earthy tasting like most black olives.
806. Morocco olives - These are a black olive and they are cured with rosemary.
807. Cerignalo olives - These are a green olive and fairly meaty but not very bitter.
808. Gaeta olives - These are a purplish olive and are buttery and rich.  These were Brett's favorite olive.
809. Calamata olives - Your standard run of the mill calamata.
810. Alfonso olives - These are cured partially in red wine.  The grape is apparent in the taste and very interesting and quite unusual for an olive.  This was also quite good and one of Brett's favorites.
811. Olive Garden Olive Oil - This was used as a reference oil for all of the others that would come after.
812. Badia a Coltibuono - This is from Gaiole in Chianti and Brett has ridden his bike through this small picturesque town.  This was quite good and typically Tuscan in flavor.
813. Librandi - Another olive oil from Italy, this was a bit sharper with pepper flavor.  
814. Colli Etruschi - "Etruschi" is etruscan and this was also from Tuscany.  
815. Frantoio del Castello di Poppiano - Another Tuscan olive oil - probably Brett's favorite.
816. Olio Beato Demarco 
817. A L'oviere - A French olive oil - more buttery than Italian olive oils.
818. Dalla Terra Black Truffle oil - The olive oil here is pretty bland to allow the truffle to show through.  
819. Invecchiato 10 year old Balsamic - A bit older than a typical grocery store balsamic (usually 7 years).  Still a typical vinegar bite, but mellower than your typical balsamic.
820. Invecchiato 15 year old Balsamic - This is much less sour than 10 year old balsamic, being more rounded and fruit flavors present.
821. Invecchiato 28 year old Balsamic - This is as little like regular balsamic vinegar as apple juice is to hard apple cider.  Soft, supple, fruity with notes of raisins and fig.  Smooth, round, and utterly delicious.  
822. 2011 - Villa Appalaccia - Vermentino 
823. 2010 - Villa Appalaccia - Rosa
824. NV - Villa Appalaccia - Simpatico
825. 2008 - Villa Appalaccia - Toscanello
826. 2009 - Villa Appalaccia - Primitivo
827. 2007 - Villa Appalaccia - Cabernet Franc
828. 2011 - Villa Appalaccia - Aglianico
829. 2009 - Villa Appalaccia - Corvina
830. NV - Villa Appalaccia - Raspberry-Cab

We also had a dip for our picnic on the Parkway, but we've had it before.  It is however very good, so we wanted to link the recipe here for others who might like to try it:  Roasted Red Pepper and Cannellini Bean Dip.

We have tried a few beers this week as well.  It's October so that means lots of märzen and pumpkin beers.

831. Breckenridge Brewery - Vanilla Porter - The bottle we had was flawed.  We'll have to try this again with a bottle that's not bad.
832. Devil's Backbone Brewing - O'Fest - This was an okay märzen, but hasn't been the best we've had this season.
833. Ayinger - Oktober Fest-Märzen - This has been, by far, the best märzen of the season so far - highly recommended.
834. Dogfish Head - Punkin Ale - This is one of our favorite pumpkin beers this season.  It's close between this and the New Belgium Pumpkick we tried earlier.  

Saturday Sept 28th - Apple tasting

This is posted separately from the week update, because we lost track of our notes.  The Blacksburg Farmer's Market had their apple festival with tastes of all the apples brought in by vendors.  We have some of the list and will try to recreate what we remember, but we'll see how many we remember. There were also a couple of apple-based baked goods we tried and one drink.

764. Honey Crisp
765. Sparta Macintosh
766. Red Rome
767. Rome Beauty
768. Magnum Bonum
769. Mrs. Boyd's Special
770. Backwood Stayman
771. York
772. Brown Sugar
773. Winesap
774. Nittany
775. Stayman
776. Mutzu
777. Jonagold
778. Jonathan Winters
779. Banana apple
780. Rambo
781. Cortland
782. Lodi
783. Virginia Beauty
784. Daybreak Fuji
785. King Lush
786. Braeburn
787. carrot apple ginger hummus
788. roasted pumpkin apple hummus
789. caramel apple oat bars
790. caramel apple macaroon
791. apple cinnamon jelly
792. apple ginger drink (not apple enough to be called apple cider in our opinion)

Week of Sept 23 - 30

Another week has passed and we have had a bunch of new tastes.  We'll start off with some beer tastes we've had over the week.  A few of these we had at home and Vintage Cellar had a tasting of Oktoberfest beers as well.  Unfortunately, Ommegang didn't make it down to Virginia last week, but they are supposed to be coming down later in October to make up for it.

737. Evolution Craft Brewery - Lot No 3 IPA - This was very good and much better than their ESB in our opinion.
738. Yards Brewing - Pynk - We did a blind taste test of this and Harpoon UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen which we've had earlier.  Megan prefers the UFO and Brett prefers the Pynk - it's tarter with its additional sour cherry over the Harpoon offering.  
739. Paulaner - Original Münchner Märzen
740. Weihenstephaner - Festbier
741. Erdinger - Festweiße
742. Paulaner - Oktoberfest Bier (Wiesn Bier)

We also did our regular wine tasting on Saturday.

743. 2012 - Domaine Labbé - Vin de Savoie Abymes
744. 2010 - RJ Vinedos - Bonarda Reunion
745. 2012 - RJ Vinedos - Torrontés Reunion
746. 2012 - RJ Vinedos - Malbec Reunion
747. 2009 - Tenuta De Angelis - Rosso Piceno Superiore
748. 2011 - Cantina del Pino - Langhe Nebbiolo
749. NV Montana - Perucchi S.A. - Vermouth - wow, neither of us really likes vermouth!

We also had a couple new dinner recipes.  

750. Grilled Stuffed Beef & Potato Burritos
751. BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Both of these were delicious. If you try the quesadillas, have some mac and cheese for a side dish!

We were also pleased to be invited to the Villa Appalaccia case club dinner.  For anyone who has purchased at least one case of wine, you get an invite to a special dinner and extra discounts on any wine purchases.  The dinner was on Sunday evening and it was a beautiful fall evening on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  When we arrived we were served a glass of their Allegra (sparkling malvasia) and chatted with the others who had come for the dinner on the patio.  Once everyone had arrived, we went inside and had a small appetizer plate along with a sampling of their Corvina.  We then were brought our main course which was served with a sample of their Sangiovese.  Between main course and dessert, they brought out a special bottle of wine from their cellar, a 2002 Primitivo.  Finally, we had dessert with a small glass of their Raspberry Beret.

752. NV - Villa Appalaccia Winery - Allegra Malvasia Bianca
753. 2009 - Villa Appalaccia Winery - Corvina
754. Salami - from Chicago, but they couldn't remember the name
755. Local cheese - tasted closest to colby, but the rind had an interesting mild taste but was crunchy like almost like lettuce - weird and very fun.
756. Polenta with mushrooms and parmesan cheese.
757. Pickled tomato bruschetta - this was unusual and Megan didn't like it very much.
758. 2009 - Villa Appalaccia Winery - Sangiovese
759. Italian pole bean - tender, buttery, and very delicious.
760. Chicken cacciatore - the sauce was made with ground up anchovy and capers.  
761. 2002 - Villa Appalaccia Winery - Primitivo
762. Flourless chocolate cake with mint and raspberry.
763. NV - Villa Appalaccia Winery - Raspberry Beret

Tastes from Sept 18th - 23rd

Saturday was a rainy in the morning, but we braved the VT football game traffic and headed over to the regular Vintage Cellar tasting.

709. 2011 - Suavia - Soave Classico
710. 2010 - Buehler Vineyards - Chardonnay
711. 2012 - Hedges Family Estate - CMS White
712. 2011 - Hedges Family Estate - CMS
713. 2009 - Peter Franus - Merlot
714. 2011 - Aviva Vino - Montsant - Bula
715. 2012 - Marenco Moscato d'Asti - Strev
716. 2009 - Guffens-Heynen - Roussanne Viognier D'Aigle
717. NV - LaGarde Altas Cumbres - Extra Brut
718. 2008 - El Huique - Chardonnay Reserve
719. 2010 - Manos Negras - Torrontés
720. 2008 - El Huique - Carménère Reserve
721. 2008 - Giovanni Rosso - Dolcetto d'Alba - Le quattro vigne
722. 2009 - Bodegas Nieto Senetiner - Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva
723. 2005 - Ardévol Priorat - Coma d'en Romeu

We also decided to have a blind comparison tasting of two ESBs (Extra Special Bitter) one night.  We opened a Fuller's which is a classic British beer and an ESB from Evolution Craft Brewery, which came in our monthly craft beer mailing.  

724. Fuller's - ESB
725. Evolution Craft Brewery - Exile ESB

Technically only Brett did this blind as Megan actually poured the beers, but she'd never had either so it was essentially blind for her as well.  Brett was able to identify, by aroma alone, which was the Fuller's ESB.  It's just better and that's all there is to it.  If you have to drink a different ESB after a Fuller's you're going to be disappointed (Brett feels the same way about Fuller's London Porter).  

Brett also had a few other beers that we both tasted over this period.  

726. Schneider - Weisse Tap X - Mein Cuvée Barrique - What a beer!  This is a weizen bock that has been aged in pinot noir barrels for two years.  Brett drank bottle #415/688.  The depth and breadth of flavor rivaled that of $100 wines, but clearly was beer.  We weren't sure how the two different profiles would blend, but they marry very well.  This isn't cheap ($25 a bottle), but if you want something to savor over a relaxing evening, give it a try if you can find it.
727. Florida Beer Company - Key West Sunset Ale - This is the second of our Florida Beer Company beers - it has a somewhat traditional, if subdued, amber ale taste, but there is also a strange tangy off-putting finish.  Normally that would be associated with extract brewing, but I'd be surprised if they were using extract.  Maybe it'd be okay with food, but it's going to take us awhile to get through this.

Vintage Cellar was also having a special Monday tasting as they were filming a TV commercial so we headed over (long after filming was over) to give a few more wines a try.

728. 2011 - d'Arenberg - The Hermit Crab
729. 2009 - L'Ecole - No. 41
730. 2010 - Hedges Family Estate - Red Mountain
731. 2010 - Attems Collio - Pinot Grigio
732. 1927 - Alvear Pedro Ximénez Montilla-Moriles - Solera
733. NV - Thorn-Clarke - 18 Year Old Rare Tawny

Finally, on Monday we had three new tastes.  We tried a new recipe for dinner, which we'll list here, but won't give the recipe for because it wasn't that amazing - not bad, just bland.  We also had a new wine with that dinner.  Megan then made some amazing pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to celebrate the start of fall!

734. Chicken with pineapple and onion cooked in slow cooker
735. 2011 - E. Guigal - Côtes du Rhône Blanc
736. Pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies - Note the cookies are only 56 calories each - they taste like a lot more than that!
     

We're looking forward to a bunch of new tastes this coming week.  There's a special tasting at Vintage Cellar on Thursday, both wine and beer.  The beer is Belgian and Belgian-style beers including a special visit from Ommegang Brewery from Cooperstown, NY.  They make Belgian-style beers and also make special Game of Thrones edition beers.  Saturday is the Radford chili cook-off and also the apple festival at the Blacksburg Farmer's Market.  We'll be able to taste all kinds of apples, much like the tomato festival, then try a bunch of chilis.  We also bought a number of new beers, some special fall ones in particular, that we're looking forward to trying, including a pumpkin lambic!

Thanks for reading!

Blacksburg Brew Do Weekend

Last weekend was the Blacksburg Brew Do.  We volunteered at the event and were pouring for Heavy Seas in the afternoon.  Rather than risk the traffic and hassle parking at the event, we decided to take our bikes to the Christiansburg Mall and taking the Huckleberry Trail into town.  The ride was very cool, but very pleasant.  We were surprised at how much better people were in terms of walking on the correct side of the trail and not down the middle, and keeping their dogs close.  There also was not a single person walking with a retractable leash all extended out to 10000' (that might be a slight exaggeration).  Having gone back and ridden the path to work here in Radford again, the difference between here and there is like light and day.  The trail goes right over to 1st and Main where the event was being held, and coincidentally also the home of Vintage Cellar.  We had some time before volunteer check-in, so we went over and tried some wines.

679. 2012 - Domaine de Saint-Lannes - Vin de Pays des Côtes de - Gascogne Blanc
680. 2009 - Labouré-Roi Mâcon-Villages - Unoaked Chardonnay
681. 2009 - Matchbook - Chardonnay Old Head
682. 2009 - J. Vidal-Fleury - Côtes du Rhône
683. 2009 - Whiplash - Redemption
684. 2010 - Lone Birch
685. 2011 - Pendulum - Red Table Wine
686. 2010 - Opolo - Zinfandel
687. 2009 - Ca' Bea - del Maniero Provincia di Pavia IGT
688. 2003 - Castello di Lucignano - Chianti Classico Riserva
689. 2011 - Bodegas Mas Alta - Priorat - Black Slate La Vilella Alta
690. 2008 - Abelis Carthago Toro - Fighting Bulls
691. Raclette cheese - this was out to have with the wine;  neither of us really like raclette, but it wasn't bad with some of the red wines

We think the most interesting, if not the absolute best tasting, was the Lone Birch blend.  It has Mouvedre, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec, Barbera, Zinfandel, and Grenache grapes in one bottle...   Yep - they're all in there and the wine is a cacophony of aromas and flavors.

We wandered down to Kroger to change clothes in their restroom and tried a couple more things there. 

692. Kroger - Applewood smoked cheddar barbecue dip - this was quite good
693. El Cortijo - Manchego - nutty, smooth, and delicious

We headed over to Brew Do and started trying the 12 beers, 6 each, that we were allotted to try by volunteering, plus the 4 beers Heavy Seas brought with them.

694. Boulevard - Smokestack Series - Double Wide I.P.A.
695. Victory Brewing Company - Golden Monkey
696. Apocalypse Ale Works - Lustful Maiden
697. Starr Hill - All Access - Cryptical Imperial Stout
698. Woodchuck - Fall Cider
699. Highland Brewing - Kashmir IPA
700. Wolf Hills Brewing - White Blaze Honey Cream Ale
701. Southern Tier Brewing - IPA
702. The Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery - Milk Stout
703. Blue Mountain Brewery - Steel Wheels ESB
704. Heavy Seas - Cutlass Amber Lager
705. Heavy Seas - Loose Cannon
706. Heavy Seas - Red Sky at Night
707. Heavy Seas - Powder Monkey

Last but not least, our second mailing from the Craft Brew club came.  Brett tried one beer from this set so far:

708. Florida Beer Company - Florida Lager

Thanks for reading!

A weekend of bears, beers, and more

We decided, since the weekend weather was going to be fantastic, to head out camping.  We hadn't ever camped at the Peaks of Otter campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway, so we packed up and hit the road.  Our plan was to set up camp, then head back to Flying Mouse Brewery as they were opening up on Friday night.  We ran into a lot of traffic on our way down - we went through Salem and Roanoke to get on the Parkway and ran into traffic.  We got to the campground a little later than planned, but got camp set up and headed back to Flying Mouse in Troutville.  They have 3 beers on their menu, but only had 2 ready to go opening night.

633. Flying Mouse Brewery - No. 3 - regular lawnmower beer
634. Flying Mouse Brewery - No. 5 - this was strange and we were very surprised they served it since it had a terrible burned taste

We went out to dinner afterwards at Bellacino's Grinders in Daleview. We just had a regular ol' pizza, but it was very good and the crust was really nice.  Not really a new taste so we won't list it here, but there are many locations in the greater Virginia and West Virginia area.

Saturday we got up and had a nice breakfast, including some breakfast sausage we brought back from Vermont.

635. Dakin Farm - Cob-smoked Maple Sausage - This was pretty good, but Megan thought it almost didn't taste like breakfast sausage.  Brett liked it a lot, but both of us thought the sausage was a bit greasy, but that may have been the super quick cooking job getting ready for breakfast.

We got going a little slowly, but then went on a little outing to Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest.  This is located in... wait for it...  Forest, VA!  This was his vacation home away from the busyness of Monticello (which we went to a few years ago).  We took the tour and it lasted a bit over an hour.  We have some pictures we'll add on to this later.

After the tour and wandering around the grounds and commenting on the similarities with the construction methods and design of this home and Monticello, we headed out to Apocalypse Ale Works which was just minutes down the road.  The original plan was to go there, try a flight, then head out to lunch back in Bedford.  The plan was altered - we sat down, had a flight, and were watching professional bike racing on TV in the brewery and talking to a couple we met there.  Well, we can't leave that can we?  So we ordered a pizza from Upper Crust Pizza and stayed there and had a couple full beers with our pizza and new friends.  

636. Apocalypse Ale Works - Glorious Dead ESB
637. Apocalypse Ale Works - Golden Censor
638. Apocalypse Ale Works - Hopocalypse Imperial Red Ale
639. Apocalypse Ale Works - Sixth Seal
640. Upper Crust Pizza - chicken ranch pizza:  This was a glorious mix of ranch dressing as the pizza sauce, bite-sized chunks of chicken, and mozzarella and cheddar cheese on a tasty crust.  Brett's going to have to try making one of these at home now!

Of the beers, the ESB and the Sixth Seal (stout) were our favorites, but the Hopocalypse was also very very good.  Mostly, they don't make a bad beer and Wes was a great spokesman/bartender for the brewery.  What was going to be a quick stop ended up being a two hour period of good food, good talk, and good pizza.   

Since we were pretty close, we decided to head to the LeoGrande Winery nearby and see if we could knock out a few more tastes.  Their wine was generally not to our tastes, but here are the links to teh reviews anyway.

641. 2008 - Leo Grande - Chardonnay French Oak
642. 2007 - Leo Grande - Chardonnay
643. 2008 - Leo Grande - Sauvignon Blanc Oak
644. 2010 - Leo Grande - Sauvignon Blanc
645. 2010 - Leo Grande - Barbera
646. NV - Leo Grande - Sangiovese Roaring Red
647. 2010 - Leo Grande - Sangiovese
648. 2010 - Leo Grande - Nebbiolo
649. 2008 - Leo Grande - Syrah
650. 2010 - Leo Grande - Sangiovese Reserve
651. NV - Leo Grande - Roaring White
652. NV - Leo Grande - Roaring Rose
653. NV - Leo Grande - Autumn Kiss

After that, we headed back to the camp and enjoyed an evening fire.  Megan had made up a pile of apple crisp which we cooked over the fire.  We didn't get the temperature quite right so it cooked a little fast, but it came out hot and tasty.  The recipe is at the bottom of this update.

654. Apple Crumble

While we were sitting around the camp fire, Brett looked to the left of camp as he'd seen some motion out of the corner of his eye.  There had been a black dog in the campground earlier, so he initially thought that's what it was and told Megan there was a loose dog.  It didn't look quite right though and then Megan noticed it was a small black bear.  Megan ran and grabbed the leftover apple crumble and the bear got startled and ran off.  

The next morning we headed out and did a short hike to the Falling Water Cascades waterfall which is just north of the Peaks of Otter lodge.  It was a short hike, but it was very warm and very very humid. We were honestly very pleased that the hike was as short as it was as we had both sweated through every stitch of clothing we had on.  

We were headed back home and were passing by the Peaks of Otter Winery and Orchard.  We decided to do one last taste stop over the weekend.  Peaks of Otter makes mostly fruit wines, and a couple of grape wines, which are not really our favorites, but the whole point is to broaden our tastes so we wanted to give them a shot.  

655. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Blackberry Cobbler
656. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Light Pear
657. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Peach of Otter
658. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Pure Passion - this is made with passionfruit
659. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Plumlicious
660. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - The Mango Tango
661. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Strawberry Shortcake Liberty Jewels
662. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Puff - this is made with dragonfruit
663. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Blue Ridge Mountain Grape
664. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Sangria
665. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - "Chili Dawg" - made with 3% chile peppers
666. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Blueberry Muffin
667. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Apple Cherry Cheesecake
668. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Apple Truffle
669. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Ras Ma Tas Raspberry
670. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Frosty Morn
671. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Salty Frog Margarita Wine
672. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Light Sweet Peach
673. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Blackberry Jammed
674. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Strawberry Reserve
675. NV - Peaks of Otter Winery - Kiss the Devil - made with 30 varieties of spicy peppers, including ghost peppers

In a lot of the things above, it tasted to us like they were trying to copy a cocktail, but the cocktail would be better.   Again, most of this was very sweet and we're just not sweet wine drinkers.  The exceptions were the two made with peppers.  We didn't those at all.  We were told people cook with them, but why not just use salsa or hot sauce?  So confusing...

After that we were starting to get very hungry, so we stopped and had lunch at the Smokehouse Restaurant in Hardy, VA.  We both thought barbecue sounded pretty good and were hoping for some excellent barbecue.  We ordered drinks, both of us ordered a Coke and a water.  The cokes were flat like tap water.  We sent them back and asked them to try Dr. Pepper instead.  Nope, still flat.  They were so kind to not charge us for their flat drinks...  Brett ordered a pulled pork sandwich and Megan had a philly cheesesteak.  We won't record either sandwich as a new taste, but will make some comments about the meal.  First, Megan's philly cheesesteak was absolutely filled with onions.  She pulled maybe half of them out, and it was still filled with onions.  There was more onion than meat on that sandwich.  Secon, Brett's pulled pork sandwich came with about 1/3 of a cup of pork to be spread out on a humongous kaiser roll (probably 6 inches across) that was covered with a huge amount of corn meal (for texture?).  There was not nearly enough meat to cover that roll at all and either the meat had to be spread very thin (and still left some gaps) or the roll needed to be lots smaller. Brett also doesn't need to ever eat any more plain old corn meal again.  We will record one taste from here and that is their "Carolina-style" barbecue sauce.   Brett loves vinegar and a bit of heat so a true Carolina-style barbecue sauce is always one of his favorites.... this was not.

676. Smokehouse Restaurant - "Carolina-style" barbecue sauce:  Note that this style sauce is always made with vinegar - CIDER vinegar.  This place used, and this is not a joke, MALT vinegar. Brett couldn't tell if he was eating pulled pork or the weirdest tasting Long John Silver's ever.  

Long story short, if you're hungry near Hardy, you can knock Smokehouse Restaurant off your list of places to grab a meal.  

As we left town, we drove right by Sunken City Brewing so we made a quick stop to see what they had on tap.  They wouldn't do a flight (although they had the glasses) so we bought two full beers instead and stayed awhile.

677. Sunken City - Robust Porter
678. Sunken City - John Henry's Hammer

Of the two, we preferred the porter.  John Henry's Hammer is a stout, but its mouthfeel wasn't very full and it tasted a little thin and wasn't as rich as we were expecting for the style.  

That's all for the weekend of Sept 7th and 8th (even though this wasn't posted until the 13th). Tomorrow we are volunteering at the Blacksburg Brew Do so we'll have at least 16 new tastes for tomorrow.

Here's the recipe for the apple crumble.  Note we made this earlier, vacuum-sealed it and froze it.

• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cubed
• 4 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup rolled oats
• Pinch salt
• 2 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds

How to Make It:

Mixed it together and froze.  Thawed and cooked over a hot fire for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid burning.  

Here's a link to the full set of pictures we posted from the weekend and there's a slideshow below if you're not on a mobile device.