Drafts from the Cultural Hub of the Midwest: Nugget Nectar, Mojo Risin, Blackout Stout

Tröegs Nuggat Nectar

Web Stuff:

TASTING NOTES
Squeeze those hops for all they’re worth and prepare to pucker up: Nugget Nectar Ale, will take hopheads to nirvana with a heady collection of Nugget, Warrior and Tomahawk hops. Starting with the same base ingredients of our flagship HopBack Amber Ale, Nugget Nectar intensifies the malt and hop flavors to create an explosive hop experience.

How does it really taste?  A tad too bitter.  The $6MMm likes it more than I do.
Grade: B-
 
Mojo Risin Double IPA
 
Tastes more like a barley wine.  Bitter at first, but a nice barley flavor follows.
Grade: B
 
Great Lakes Blackout Stout

I asked the bartender for a sample of this one, which translates to half a shot of beer in a rocks glass.  It's smokey and tastes like coffee grounds.  The sample was just the right serving size for me.  Extreme stout lovers will probably like it.
Grade: C-

Wry World of Sports Salutes Jeff Reed

In honor of Steelers kicker Jeff Reed, who has to recently sentenced to community service for getting into a scrap with the Pittsburgh po-po.  We present the Jeff Reed Flow Chart.  This is double funny, because the scrap started because his teammate Matt "Lost In" Spaeth was urinating in public.  This chart comes courtesy of FreeTankCarter.com.

Wry Slamma Jamma: I can't believe that Yakov Smirnoff is playing for the Toronto Raptors

A couple of nice pale ales

Mad River Brewing Steelhead Extra Pale Ale

Web Stuff:  Bright golden hued ale of medium body with a spicy/floral hop character and a very mild bitterness. Goes well with poultry, fish/sushi & spicy foods.

Taste:  I'll be buying this one again.  The hops are nicely balanced by a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Cost: Mix & Match
Grade: B+

Southern Tier phin & matt's extraordinary ale

Web stuff: When we sat down to collaborate on this beer, we knew we had to create something extraordinary. After sampling a wide array of great beers, we hit upon an idea: use vast amounts of whole hops, the finest malted barley North America has to offer, and crystal filtered artesian water. Thus creating this classic American style pale ale.


Flavor: It's kind of the inverse of the Mad River beer.  It's sweet in the fore, and slightly bitter in the finish.
Cost: Mix & Match
Grade: B

Wry Slamma Jamma: The Mother ship is in Orbit

I'm just saying ...

Wry Slamma Jamma: Why Everyone is Sleeping on Ohio State?

The chart to the right pretty much shows it, and even that it is misleading.  If OSU is playing a mediocre to good team, their starters are playing 35+ minutes.  I've seen several games where the guards and forwards play the full 40, and their center (Lauderdale) plays 35.

The other reason is that the soon to be national player of the year broke is back early in the season.  Amazingly, he only missed 6 games.  That was enough time for OSU to slide out of the to 25, they've come all the way back to 6 in the AP poll, and are poised to win a share of the Big 10 and be the number one seed in the conference tourney..  They'll probably be 3 seed in the big dance, maybe a 2.

The question remains, just how far can you go when you only play 6-7 guys?  We'll see.

Rogue Morimota Black Obi Soba Ale

Web stuff: A richer version of our Soba Ale with the addition of specialty malts and a special blend of hops to give it a fuller, nutty flavor while retaining a clean, crisp finish.

Is it better than the regular Morimota?  I don't think so.  It's a bit tannic.  The appeal of the normal Soba ale is that it is very smooth.  If you try really hard, you can taste the soba.  You shouldn't have to try so hard; sequels are always disappointing.

Cost: $5.49 for 20 oz.
Grade: C
Cost Adjusted Grade: C

3 cups = 1 bottle of wine, who knew?

It's Oscar time, and Mrs. Rye is squeezing a years worth of movies into 3 weeks, she recently watched Julie & Julia, and now I have to make Boeuf Bourguignon, the Julia Child version of course.

What's that have to do with a drinking site?  The recipe calls for 3 cups of red wine, which is ever so slightly less than a bottle of wine.

What's Boeuf Bourguignon?  The best damn pot roast that you've ever had.

There are two things that shocked me about this recipe?  I really can't believe that 3 cups is an entire bottle of wine.  Also, before I saw this movie, I thought Julia Child was French.  Turns out that she just spoke oddly.

My sauce should be finished reducing by now.  Bon Appetit!

Wry World of Sports Salutes the Canadian Women's Hockey Team

Shocking news came out of the Olympics today.  Women play hockey.  Who knew?  The Canadians beat the US to take the gold and they've caused quite the stir by coming back out onto the ice with beer, champagne and cigars to celebrate.  One of the team members was a year under the drinking age.  Gasp!  How are people supposed to explain to their children that adults like to have fun after they have achieved a lifelong goal?

To all of the fuddy duddies that are unhappy with the ladies behavior, we at Two Parts Rye would like to invite you to go fuck yourselves.

Rutz Cellars 2005 Dutton Ranch Russian River Pinot Noir and the Venturi Wine Aerator

For those who care, the release notes can be found here.

I had this at a tasting.  It's beyond my usual price point, but a quality wine is worth it.  Cousin David was at the same tasting, and he left with a case.  He's moving from the boonies of Tennesee to the boonies of Ohio, so when he finds something he likes, he buys in bulk.

I felt like having a good red with dinner tonight, so I grabbed this one off of the rack.  My first thought was that it was good, but it was too tight and needed to breathe.  "Too tight" and "needs to breathe" are expressions that us so-called-wine experts use so that people like you think that we are smarter than you.  We like to keep the rabble in their place.  (Once again, drinking while blogging,)

Behold!  My Valentine's day gift from Mrs. Rye.  The Venturi Red Wine Aerator.  The idea is that instead of decanting a good bottle of wine, you pour it through the aerator and get a similar result.  I don't think that it completely replaces the decanter, but when you're opening a bottle for yourself, and not a dinner party, it's an acceptable substitute.  When you pour the wine, it emits a weird hissing noise, kind of like when you are fixing that drip your bathroom sink and the under-the-sink shutoff valve sounds like it's going to explode when you try to close it.  Aaah, the joy of do-it-yourself plumbing in an older house.  I think that the aerator does make a difference.  There may be some placebo affect, but I don't care.

So how did it taste?  It has nice acidity and a nice velvet texture on the tongue, with some cherry, plum, and leather notes in the flavor.

Cost: $34.99
Grade: B+
Cost Adjusted Grade: B

Left Hand Brewing Company Fade To Black

Web Stuff:  Welcome to FADE TO BLACK.  No need to shout.  That time of the year when the day seems to fade away.  Drifting further into darkness with each passing day.  This is a beer for the clinically depressed.

How does it taste?  It's smokey at the beginning, which usually isn't my thing.  To their credit, it does not linger and the beer has a clean, bitter, stout finish.

Cost: Mix & Match
Grade: B-.  Stout lovers would probably grade it higher.

I can now sleep peacefully

Judging by the amount of dust on these bottles, the global Angostura shortage is not over.  At least I'll be able to survive the drought.  Civilization has been saved.  "Barmageddon" has been put on hold.

House Gin Challenge: The Gin & Tonic

It's odd.  Not that long ago, my bar was disturbingly ginless.  Now I have 4.  Time for a gin challenge.  I'll be doing three challenges: neat, the martini, and the gin & tonic.  Which very well means that we could have 1-3 winners.  Like the other House challenges, we'll pit these winners against other brands as I acquire them.  Since gin always gives me a hangover, I'm pretty sure that keeping the the winners winners in stock won't be an issue.

We are using Q Tonic tonight, which is made with agave nectar instead of corn syrup.  It's lo-cal, still flavorful, and ridiculously expensive for a mixer.  If anyone knows of a cane sugar based tonic, I'd be interested.

It seems logical to see which of the Rogue gins works best.  I have already reviewed the Rogue Spruce gin.  The Pink Spruce takes it up a notch,  they age the spruce gin in pinot barrels.

The pink gin is slightly overwhelmed by the tonic.  The spruce on the other hand, overwhelms the tonic.  I'll go with the spruce since I still want to taste the gin.

The next semifinal will be between Whitley Neill London Dry Gin and New Amsterdam.  The Whitley Neill tastes like your protypical gin, with juniper and orange peel being the dominant flavors.  The vanilla flavor of New Amsterdam really comes through here.  I found that flavor to be nice when drinking it straight, but it is off-putting and tastes artificial when mixed with Tonic.

The final is Whitley Neill vs Rogue Spruce:  The battle of the evergreens.  The Rogue Spruce is really interesting.  It's just a little strong.  I'm going to go with the traditional style of Whitley Neill for my gin and tonic.  I'm looking forward to see how the Rogues and New Amsterdam work in a martini, but not tonight.  I feel my quinine hangover creeping in already.  At least I'm safe from malaria.

The House Gin & Tonic Winner: Whitley Neill.

What in the Wry World of Sports is going on here?

I you like that pun, you'll love my basketball tag line.  Hint 82-84 Houston Cougars.

Anyway...

What Tiger should have said at his press conference last Friday.  "I'm a rich asshole.  Now if you excuse me, I have a noon tee-time."

Tony Kornheiser gets suspended from PTI becaause he made fun of this outfit on the radio...

Maybe she was auditioning for Cougar Town, which is aired on ESPN's sister network: ABC?

Founder's Dry Hopped IPA

Web Stuff: Pale Ale 5.4% ABV 35 IBU’S

A testament to Cascade hops in a bottle. This medium-bodied pale ale has a distinctive floral hop aroma and refreshing citrus flavor. You’ll notice a slight malty sweetness with a balanced hop finish. Perfect to enjoy anytime, anywhere.

How does it taste?  The initial sip is really bitter.  But somehow, it mellows out and tastes like their web description.  It's a nice IPA.
 
Cost: Mix & Match
Grade: B

Tales from the top shelf: Po Traminer di Poli

I don't like grappa.  Why would anyone like it?  It's made from the by-products of wine production, (stems, skins, seeds, etc) creating the liquor equivalent of razor burn.  For some reason, I decided to pick up this artisanal grappa and man, I have to reassess everything that I thought I knew about grappa.

I've had a couple of decent grappas from Clear Creek Distillery, but they still had a harsh edge in the background.  Not so for the Poli.  This particular grappa is made from the traminer, (aka gewürztraminer).  It's light, slightly sweet, with hints of fresh herbs like mint and green tea.  It's really delicious.  One of the best spirits in my collection.

Cost: $56.85
Grade: A
Cost Adjusted Grade: A

Kentucky Ale

Label stuff:  The official beer of the Alltech FEI Equestrian Games

Whoop-dee-doo!

How does it taste?  Like Sam Adams

Cost: Mix & Match 6 pack
Grade: B-

Heavy Seas Below Decks

Web Stuff:
Hops: Magnum, Fuggles, Goldings
Malts: Pale, Crystal and Carapils
ABV: 10.0%

Created to celebrate Clipper City’s 10th Anniversary – extremely limited and “vintage” dated – this extravagantly malty barley wine will show well upon release but continue to evolve for years.

Review:  It's a delicious barley wine.  Slightly sweet, nice hop flavor.  I hope that I can find a few more bottles to cellar.

 I did:  Whoo-hoo!

Cost: Mix & Match
Grade: A

Free stuff at last!

Sadly, only the nifty rocks glasses were free.

Apparently it's illegal to send free liquor.

Stupid laws.

However, we can win some free hooch.  Go register at

http://www.buffalotracesaloon.com/

The blog with the most click-thru's and memberships gets a free party.

You'll be invited.

Am I selling out?

Not really.

Go here, here, here, and here

to see that Buffalo Trace has long been the

House Bourbon of Two Parts Rye.

Big Problem

I'm trying to talk myself off the ledge.  I just found out that there is a global shortage of Angostura bitters, the final and vital ingredient to a manhattan.

How did I come across this nugget?  We're going out for my neighbor's birthday tonight and I wanted to throw a nice gift together.  I got him a cocktail book, and one of those big 50's shaker/pitcher at a local antique (junk) shop.  I figured that I'd get some small bottles of vermouth, some bitters, things that not everyone has at home, and that would be a pretty nice gift.  I'm at the liquor store and I tell them that I can't believe that they don't have any angostura.

"Good luck finding that anywhere honey".

Apparently there has been a dispute with their bottle manufacturer, but the shortage should be over soon.

She told me to use Peychaud's instead.

Fuck Peychaud's.

Angostura tastes like rootbeer and cloves.  Peychaud's tastes like watered down Robitussin.

Let's hope that they get their act together down in Trinidad and Tobago.  I only have 1/3 of a bottle left.

One more note, as I was showing Mrs. Rye his present, she says. "You know that his roommate is in AA don't you."  Info that would have been valuable 3 hours ago.  Of course, I'm wondering how I missed out on the angostura plant shutting down in November.  Feeling out of the loop here.