Enjoyed a few glasses of St-Emilion Grand Cru with a colleague I have a lot of time for.
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Wine and Beer Enthusiasts
- Thread starter albertfallickwa
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Thoroughly enjoyed a Gewürztraminer from Alsace and an excellent Grenache from southern France last night at dinner with a friend.
I discovered a terrific Belgian beer on tap called l’Abbaye d’Affilgem. Top fermented, golden brownish tone with a good head and a bit on the strong side (6.7 %). Only had one - but was well satisfied with it.
Belgian monks must have been the happiest in Medieval Europe.
Belgian monks must have been the happiest in Medieval Europe.
That is a stunning beer; it used to be on tap (no longer, alas) in one of my favourite pubs. Love it.
My second beer of the evening is what is called a "collaboration brew" and hails from the Lervig Aktiebryggeri; it is described as a "3 Bean Stout". The three beans in question are Tonka, Vanilla and Coca beans.
Quite exquisitely delicious.
Quite exquisitely delicious.
Not all sweet, or not at all sweet?
Sipping and savouring a glass of ten year old white port.
A Single Barrel Imperial Stout from Buxton Brewery that goes by the name of Rain Shadow.
When I first sampled this beer (stout) last year, it was unbalanced, the alcohol coming through too sharply and too strongly. A year later, it has matured nicely, is smooth and beautifully balanced, and is going down a treat.
When I first sampled this beer (stout) last year, it was unbalanced, the alcohol coming through too sharply and too strongly. A year later, it has matured nicely, is smooth and beautifully balanced, and is going down a treat.
My second beer of the night is the superlative Yellow Belly from the Buxton Brewery.
A stunning stout.
A stunning stout.
Well, then, find something to do that interests you. Reading, music, wine courses, coffee sampling, travel, dining out, whatever floats your boat.
[doublepost=1527022041][/doublepost]When I am at home on leave, I look out for concerts, or plays to attend; exhibitions, too; wine tastings - and wine classes - often I can only manage to attend - let us say, one "class" out of four or six - coffee sessions, food festivals, meetings with friends in pubs, fine dining with my brother, literary festivals, etc. simply taking a severe and sensuous pleasure in the quotidian everyday pleasures that life has to offer.
Will do. Am trying my best but find myself just drinking too much (as I just wrote that I have to say that old age comes to us all eventually. Just took a huge gulp of my Jim Beam and coke only to find out I’d forgotten to put the coke in! Whey hey!
)Have a trip planned to Apple to look for a new MacBook and later in the week am booked into a nice hotel. Am visiting my brother and his young son. I just like routine. The thought of retirement frightens me, although at least 10 years off. What the hell do you do all day?!!
Now, where’s that coke?....
Will do. Am trying my best but find myself just drinking too much (as I just wrote that I have to say that old age comes to us all eventually. Just took a huge gulp of my Jim Beam and coke only to find out I’d forgotten to put the coke in! Whey hey!)
Have a trip planned to Apple to look for a new MacBook and later in the week am booked into a nice hotel. Am visiting my brother and his young son. I just like routine. The thought of retirement frightens me, although at least 10 years off. What the hell do you do all day?!!
Now, where’s that coke?....
Well, yes; "drinking too much" - if you are on leave, or holiday, so what? Why is this a puritanical stick with which to beat yourself? What is wrong with that?
When abroad, I am often based in some of the world's worst countries. The very worst by every measurable yardstick.
Thus, as a consequence, I make no apology for seeking out some pure self-indulgence when I am home on leave or between assignments - and that can be as banal as drinking coffee in an excellent coffee shop - besides, much of the modern work place is so devoid of pleasure and satisfaction that I am more than sympathetic to immersing yourself in whatever gives you pleasure.
And, I am also looking out for wine tours; me, I like culture, history and good food and wine. Whatever Venn diagram meets all of those requirements - or ticks those respective boxes - will meet a most receptive response from me.
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Will do. Am trying my best but find myself just drinking too much (as I just wrote that I have to say that old age comes to us all eventually. Just took a huge gulp of my Jim Beam and coke only to find out I’d forgotten to put the coke in! Whey hey!
Have a trip planned to Apple to look for a new MacBook and later in the week am booked into a nice hotel. Am visiting my brother and his young son. I just like routine. The thought of retirement frightens me, although at least 10 years off. What the hell do you do all day?!!
Now, where’s that coke?....
That means you may define yourself by your work; but - hey - you can be a professor in a pub every bit as much as in the classroom - it just carries less social cachet.
I, too, define myself - to some extent - by my work (rather than my family, which is what has been expected of women historically or traditionally), and while some of my hobbies (reading, politics, current affairs, history) overlap and intersect with my professional life hugely (because I am not one of those who can work in a field that doesn't interest me), I also seek out people - in say, food, cheese, coffee and wine areas whose world interests me massively but which has nothing whatsoever to do with my professional life; I have made some great friends in these areas in recent years; I tell them about the mad places where I work and have worked; they bring me to cheese festivals, and wine festivals and food festivals - it's brilliant.
Go on tours - history tours, literary tours, food tours, - even local ones; you'll learn something new and interesting and it will take you out of yourself.
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A beer from the legendary Founder's stable: Breakfast Stout.
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Visited my wine merchant, who received some Kenyan tea straight from the producer that I had bought for him (from the producer) last Saturday.
And I bought - and had great fun selecting - a small crate of seriously elegant French white wines, mostly from Burgundy. Two different bottles of Pouilly-Fuisée, a Chablis Grand Cru, a Pouligny-Montrachet, a St-Aubin, and - the wine not from Burgundy - a Condrieu which was highly recommended.
They will be delivered tomorrow.
And I bought - and had great fun selecting - a small crate of seriously elegant French white wines, mostly from Burgundy. Two different bottles of Pouilly-Fuisée, a Chablis Grand Cru, a Pouligny-Montrachet, a St-Aubin, and - the wine not from Burgundy - a Condrieu which was highly recommended.
They will be delivered tomorrow.
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A beer from the splendid Buxton Brewery: Superluminal - Sour India Pale Ale With Raspberries.
Very good beer! I have had it on tap several times! Good stuff.
I thought it was excellent.
In my part of the world, you will find it in the sort of place (not large, usually a small independently owned place that is financially independent too) that prides themselves on their extensive, unusual and eclectic beer and wine selections; they will stock enough of the popular stuff to keep the tills happy, but will have an enthusiastic staff eager to make contact with interesting breweries and producers and vineyards - sometimes even sending staff there to see the place and engage with interlocutors, or doing tastings with representatives from breweries or vineyards, interesting and unusual ones - and will experiment with stuff, or tip you off that something excellent (such as Founder's KBS - I would never have tried it had it not been strongly recommended by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff to me a few years ago) has appeared.
I enjoyed a few glasses of Manzanilla before bed last night.
[doublepost=1527326645][/doublepost]One other thing I have noticed about these small, independent stores: The staff are always happy and enthusiastic and eager to chat about beer and wine and trade opinions and offer suggestions; they are not afraid to speak their mind (indeed, they are encouraged to do so); the owner will often send them off on training courses, or to trade fairs, or on wine or beer tours - to breweries, or vineyards to personally meet and connect with the producers of the products they sell.
So, they will experiment with a line; some they will continue to stock, some not - and sales are not always the bottom line; sometimes, they just don't like the producers, or the product, irrespective of whether it sells. Sometimes, they want to stretch themselves, and will give a local producer who is trying out a new artisan range, some shelf space (which it may not always warrant, but one applauds the sentiment).
Sometimes, they want to free up storage - and this has happened with me: Something extraordinary will appear from the vaults, (a stunning wine, or cognac) and they will say to me - this dates from the 1990s - we'll give it to you at the price we bought it for then, which is not, of course, the price for which it would retail now. (Which is how I came by some cognac above XO level).
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I picked up the Sculpin. Decent enough. So salt and vinegar crisps... just garlicky ones. I skipped them.
Oh, I love that so much. Or when you become friends with the store owner and they give you a large discount when you buy by the case.
Oh, I love that so much. Or when you become friends with the store owner and they give you a large discount when you buy by the case.