Fermented Adventures

So I had every intention of getting back into this blog with cocktail experiments and then I decided to move and then came the packing and then the moving and then the unpacking and then the summer of weddings and so forth.

But…I still believe.

So I’m going to make another attempt to keep this thing current. Over the past few months I’ve noticed that my tastes seem to change from time to time. I’ve rediscovered my love of wine, for example. I’m a little less enthusiastic about beer these days, but I’m sure that will change. And whisky and cocktails are still things I’m trying to learn about. In other words, I should have plenty to say here.

When I stopped updating the blog it was because I didn’t think anyone was reading it. But this time I’m going back into it with the idea that this isn’t for other people. This is for me. And if other people come along for the ride, then all the better.

So, here I go, casting off and setting sail…

I know the timing could be better, at least to convince people that this is real, but I’ve decided to reactivate this blog again. In recent months it’s true that I’ve moved away (a bit, at least) from my beer appreciation, but I recently have had a renewed interest in spirits and in cocktails. My tastes run almost exclusively to the whisky side of the spectrum, but I can appreciate other spirits as well. Recently I toyed with some Absinthe cocktails, for example, and I’ve developed an interest in bitters and infusions.

So the long and short of it is, Fermented Adventures is back. I’ll still post on beer, I’m sure. And my love of wine has not diminished, but there may be more about spirits here – talk about different ones I enjoy, talk about cocktails I’ve tried and have made, talk about infusions (some of that to come soon) – things like that. And I will be including my partner in crime, N, who was the source of this new infusion experiment.

One of the problems I had with maintaining this blog before was that it seemed to end up being a string of tasting notes and links to news stories, and I’m sure that will continue to some extent, but I want it to be something more. Something creative. Something more of an adventure.

I hope you’ll join me.

If you’re reading this, and I’d be surprised if you were, you’ll see there’s been a dearth of content of late. no updates, nothing new. Truth is that o have a bunch of posts queued up, only I seem to have lost the motivation to post them.

This site never really became what I wanted it to, probably because I never gave it the time and effort it needed. It would always compete, and lose, with my writing career. and honestly, I’m tired of feeling guilty about not posting. So I’m going to stop. it’s not like I was doing anything you can’t get elsewhere and I think I’ll only come back if I can figure out a way to do something unique.

I started this mostly because I was just dipping my toe into the world of craft beer and continuing to explore the world of wine. It was a way to chronicle that and ruminate on it. Only in the course of my adventures I met other people with similar interests and that real world interaction has nicely taken the place of this little experiment.

If you are reading this, and especially if you’ve read previous posts, thank you. I appreciate that. I wish you all happiness.

Until next time,

Rajan

I know it’s been a while, but the good news is I’m in Melbourne. Why this is good is that Melbourne, Australia, despite being an amazing cosmopolitan city is a mecca of wonderful alcoholic beverages. Just about an hour away is the amazing Yarra Valley which produces wonderful wines. And it’s also a popular area (the greater Melbourne area) for craft beer, which I’m also sampling.

So, the next few entries (at least) should be some information about local fermented adventures.

Stay tuned…

Stone 14th Anniversary Imperial IPA

Last night I popped in at Barcade for their Rare West Coast Beers night. I had been eyeing the Stone 14th Anniversary ever since seeing the list, remembering how much I liked the 13th anniversary last year.

Thing is, I think I might be needing a break from massive hop blasts. The Stone double IPA starts out bitter, but it’s a lingering bitter that builds the more you drink it. Which, for me, was a shame as there were a lot of fruit flavors present in the beer. It pours apricot coloured and smells of candied fruit (I actually got a dried apricot flavor in the nose). The citrus and tropical flavors swirl underneath the hoppy bitterness, but it’s the bitterness that drives everything, lasting long after you swallow. Still, it had nice rounded flavors and hopheads out there should like it. I preferred the 13th Anniversary which had more malt to balance out the hops.

Not content to stick with one taste, I went on to the Nitro Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, thinking that something darker might be a good contrast. And the stout was good – nice chocolatey malts and roasted flavors, and very, very smooth. But perhaps a little too smooth. After the 14th Anniversary, I wanted something with a bit more kick, I think, and the Old Rasputin didn’t have much of that at the time.  A good beer, just probably not what I was looking for at the moment.

I think that my palate seems to be going through another change. The big DIPAs and other Imperial styles aren’t seeming to do it for me anymore. And heavily spiced Belgians are also putting me off. Maybe it’s the summer, or just drinking a little less.

Saturday is another Beer Club meeting – maybe I’ll find something great there.

BrewDog, the Scottish brewing company, is known for brewing extreme beer. Earlier this year they released Sink the Bismarck!, a beer with 41% alcohol by volume.  Not content with that milestone, they’ve apparently created a beer that is 55% alcohol by volume which they’re billing as the world’s strongest beer. Only 12 bottles of the End of History Ale have been made, but that’s not where the weirdness ends. No, the bottles are covered in the preserved carcasses of dead animals.

I’m all for pushing the envelope, even if it’s something I wouldn’t drink, but I am scratching my head over the dead animal packaging. None of the animals were killed for this, and a taxidermist worked on them, but it still is just bizarre and, frankly, to me, not something I’d want near my beer, let alone around it.

I just came across this icecube set, sold on Amazon, which has creates ice in the shape of the Titanic and in the shape of icebergs. For use in your drinks.

It made me chuckle.

Japan’s All Nippon Airways is the first airline to offer draft beer on an airplane flight. As mentioned briefly in the article, I wonder how and if the air pressure will affect the beer. Also, I assume this will be a lager. But I can’t help imagining a day where this might be commonplace and craft beer will rule the skies.

(Thanks to Bill Shunn for the picture)

With a few exceptions, I haven’t been able to drink rum since I was 16.  A regrettable incident at a senior prom with a bottle of Snapple and something that must have been Bacardi or Captain Morgans ruined the spirit for me. Yes, I was able to sneak it by in Jamaica in a rum punch or a pina colada, but aside from that, I couldn’t touch the stuff. One holiday season someone gave me a rum ball and I almost gagged on it.

However, while I was in Madison, I drank my first rum in a long time. And enjoyed it.

First up was Old Monk, a dark rum from India, which I drank straight. Smooth, sweet (from the sugar cane) with vanilla notes, this one went down easy. A sipper, for sure, but one that makes a good end to the evening. I need to get some of this for my liquor cabinet.

The other rum on hand was Kraken, a rum that I love as much for its name as for its taste. Actually, probably more for its name. And its cool label. I drank the Kraken in a Dark & Stormy, with real ginger beer. Tasty as well, though I’d like to try the Kraken without the mixer.

And now I can drink rum again. Hurray for dark rum.