What we've been drinking! The Good, the Bad and the Yummy!

The Good
ABandon Beer was quite tasty. It was recommend from Beer Junction who posted a picture of it with this flavor text, "Gilgamesh ABandon Brew Cranberry Saison 22oz, a Cranberry Strong Ale using Saison yeast aged in Pinot Port Barrels." I think it was a great sour. It wasn't too crazy with unexpected flavors. The lid gave us a challenge to break off.

Beer Junction threw a tasting event with Rodenbach last Thursday! I got to try 4 of their sours (plus Palm Belgian Pale) for just $4!
The Lineup:
I pre-gamed at home with the ABandon Brew.
Then they started us off with 8oz of the Palm Belgian Pale. I wasn't a huge fan but it wasn't bad. I think C liked it as a nice warm weather Session option.
Then the sour taste test!!
1. Rodenbach Grand Cru - So I've had this before but it set the baseline for all the tastings.
2. Rodenbach Foederbier - It was the essence of their sour. Nice to taste the tart origins.
3. Rodenbach Vintage 2013 - The best of the samples. This is something I hope to get again on tap in the coming week.
4. Rodenbach Caractere- I've had this one before and its a fruit sweet sour. C really liked it. I guess I'd rather go traditional then fruity. A great alternative to a mimosa or screwdriver in the morning!

We weren't sure what coffee brand would settle in as our favorite when we arrives to the PNW but Stumptown seems to be pulling into the lead. We've been trying all the varieties the local QFC offers. Lately we've noticed a strong biases to Ethiopian bean blends. Anyway, we will keep trying other local roasters, but its great to have a standard to always fall back on. I grabbed two roasted beans from the coffee place a block down the road, but C felt it was just "too coffee flavored". He is a sucker for notes of melon and other exotic tastes. We didn't think we'd like the hops notes in the Thiopia Goji blend, or hoped it wasn't really present and they were just trying to appeal to the strong hop culture around here. I'm happy to report in that it is indeed a slight hop flavor - but it fits nicely with the coffee and isn't overwhelming. Our favorite pick from them for sure!

The Bad

So C bought a box of this tea to my disapproving frown. He just wants to taste the world and I didn't think a fermented tea leaf was worth experimenting with my taste buds over. I think the internet suggests it might help with weight loss. Anyway, I get a text message from him saying the tea taste like dirt. Minutes later I get another text that ways that when you add honey to the tea it tastes like dirt with honey! haha .. Days later we tried it again with milk and sugar which makes it surprisingly drinkable. It tastes surprisingly like black english tea. So maybe it should be upgraded to the good catagory?

So I did not enjoy this sour beer, but I am thankful to it. When I taste it, my first reaction was "Yuck, taste like a sour beer blended with a cheap beer" but the taste was familiar. I realized it tasted like other fruit beers and cheaper sours I've tried in the past. I traced backwards and they all were Berliner Weisse Beers. These beers are categorized as sour wheat beers. Now that I know they aren't my thing, I wil avoid them in the future! Silver lining people!

The Yummy

I really enjoyed The Lost Abbey's  Cuvee de Tomme. They describe it on their site like this,

"A massive brown ale base that is made from four fermentable sugars including Malted Barley, Raisins, Candi Sugar and Sour Cherries, this beer is fully fermented before being placed in Bourbon barrels where the beer ages for one year with the Sour Cherries and the wild Brettanomyces yeast that we inoculate the barrels with."

It was on tap at Beer Junction when I stopped in to follow up on my Berliner Weisse hunch. I tasted a 4oz sample and then when in later for a full .5 liter. Its a strong 11% ABV and makes me a giggly mess of happy feels. After having it twice, I do feel I need a cool down but I still am a huge fan!

Me and C grabbed these two tins of tea at Safeway and one is much better then the other. I'm in love with the berry trifle. Its got a nice fruit flavor and with a little sugar scoop my favorite warm beverage to take on my journey to work. The Cinnamon Chalet is nice, but without caffeine, has less purpose and more a pleasant add on to an afternoon. We were very pleased to find the tins had more then the 15 sachets it claims. Both tins had 4 or 5 extra tea bags! Win!!

I'm including this here for everybody else, but not myself. I wanted to try a Lambic since its such a highly recommended intro sour. I guess it is just too sweet and juicy for my taste preference. I picke dup the big bottle for $10 at Trade Joes and me and C drank it over a few hours. He loved it. He feels it could be a breakfast alternative to juice. I think its tasty but loses points for only a 2.5% APV. Its carbonated juice.