Where exactly is 'Saint Gregory'? Sounds…..underwhelming.
Thanks for the heads up; much though I love good wine, one wants to give "abysmal" wine a very wide berth indeed.
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Wine and Beer Enthusiasts
- Thread starter albertfallickwa
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Where exactly is 'Saint Gregory'? Sounds…..underwhelming.
Thanks for the heads up; much though I love good wine, one wants to give "abysmal" wine a very wide berth indeed.
I can't remember. It was a hyphenated region. Something Laguodoc or whatever. The unfortunate thing is that there's a lot of crappy wine out there and few good ones. And for the most part, price doesn't always mean quality.
Languedoc? In my experience, many of the wines firm the Languedoc region are actually very good and manage to maintain a pretty consistent - and reasonably decent - standard.
However, I will concede that I have never, once, in my life come across the label 'St Gregory'.
A new beer ‘Augustijn’ Grand Cru 9%
A wonderful beer for a cheese table.
A new beer ‘Augustijn’ Grand Cru 9%
A wonderful beer for a cheese table.
Excellent.
Ah, @Happybunny - I recognise Guldendraak in the background (I consumed a glass or two of this delightful beverage earlier this week, and it was as good as ever).
This, 'Augustijn' - while I always love to learn of the sort of beer that would grace a cheese board well, I am rather curious as to what is its style? It is similar to a robust Tripel, or one of the rich, splendid Belgian style Quads that I am so partial to?
It was spelled Saint, IIRC. I'm not a big wine drinker myself. I usually stick with a winery I have experience with or for whites, NZ Marlborough region or German Rieslings. Have yet to have a chardonnay that doesn't taste like I'm licking oak or it being too acidic for my taste.
Okay, 'Saint'. Hm. I have still never heard of it. Will have to ask around.
Re Chardonnay, I used to hold somewhat similar views, but I suspect that this opinion has come about as a result of trying New World (somewhat over-powering bloated wines); whereas, some of the French wines - the good ones - such as Chablis which are made from chardonnay are excellent, crisp, lovely and balanced.
Any recommendation on one? I don't think I've had one or I have and can't recall. California Chardonnays are rather terrible as they fit into my complaints or feel way too heavy on the tongue. Fortunately, we do make a fair amount of good sparkling wines.
I should have supplied this information, Augustijn is a Grand Cru (DeLuxe) Quad type beer made by the same Brewery as Gulden Draak.
Augustijn is a light from colour (blonde), smooth slightly, herbs, spice/pepper sugar, malt and light caramel almost honey like. Nice bitternes.
It fits well with these cheeses IMO.
Bleu des Causses
Chabichou
Fourme de Montbrison
Cheshire
Caerphilly
Wensleydale
What a lovely, detailed tasting note (alone with some very welcome cheese recommendations). Delighted to see that it is a quad style beer - I am rather partial to those. Actually, I checked it out on Rate My Beer last night, but didn't come away any the wiser.
This morning, I have just taken delivery of a nice, fat, heavy, crate of a few quad beers - several (around 10-12) Trappist Rochefort 10, and several (a similar number) of St Bernardus Abt 12. I had paid for tho crate around a fortnight ago, when I returned from observing an election abroad, but hadn't managed to arrange for it to be delivered until today, as the lovely young manager with whom I am friendly has been out on sick leave.
Anyway, as can be seen from this and related threads, these are two of my very favourite beers, and ever more welcome as the nights are drawing in, colder, and wetter and darker. The balance in that crate is made up of a few Old Curmudgeon's from Founder's.
I am looking forward to receiving some specialty beers from Founder's later in the coming month, namely Breakfast Porter and Backwoods Bastard, which my young manager hopes to be able to try to source for me.
So, @Happybunny, which is the better beer, Gulden Draak (which I think excellent - I consumed the last two I had only this week), or the Agustijn you have just written about?
To be honest, I am not a fan of sparkling wines, and I must admit to a prejudice re Californian wines; these days, you don't see many of them in Europe, but in the 80s, Blossom Hill and Paul Mason, were vinous horrors that infested every mid range store that sold wine.
The problem with French wines is that they tend to keep a lot of their good stuff for themselves. At the bottom end of their market, they are supremely indifferent to consumer response (indeed, at the top end - as I discovered last January when two bottles of outrageously expensive Sauternes proved undrinkable, they are also relatively indifferent to consumer complaints).
Deep down, I suspect that they believe that everyone else is an utter peasant, a compete troglodyte, culturally illiterate, and lacking sophistication, civilisation and an educated palate.
And for years they were (almost) right. This meant that they got away with murder in the wine trade, off-loading inferior stuff to Northern Europeans who couldn't tell the difference, wine which sold on the fact that it appealed to the sort of consumer who thought (and I was one of them) that it was 'cool' to drink French wine.
However, the rest of the world woke up; the New World improved, and delivered value and consistency, and some of the Old World (Spain, Italy, and latterly, Portugal modernised and became better known and marketed).
Actually, Spanish and Italian wines (of the Old World) have really improved in recent decades, and excel for quality, consistency and offering good wines at affordable prices.
The upshot of all this is that to ensure consistent quality from the French you have to move up the price range. Most of my French wines are at a price point between €15-27; I rarely - actually, never - buy anything under €10.
Re Chablis, and French white wines, I had an epiphany two and a half years ago. Once, home on leave, my wine merchant friend gave me a Meursault (which is yes, a wicked price, but worth it as a special occasion wine), to try. I was bowled over, and since then, like rich tasting and full, but balanced whites.
Cheaper whites are too thin, and tasteless, to my mind, and some of the grapes used are lacking depth and flavour. Chardonnay needs to be tamed and balanced, thus, I now think that Old World chardonnays are far superior to those on offer from the New World which tend to be over-powering and bloated.
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The two beers are complete opposites, they are both however at the top of their target markets.
Gulden Draak is a real sipping beer, best after a good meal in the evenings, while listening to cool jazz, or reading a good book, while sitting by an open fire.
Augustijn is a beer for meal times, it has a taste which compliments many meals, from stews to roasts.
Please note these are my opinions, and taste is a very personal thing.
Thanks for your reply; much appreciated.
Agree about Gulden Draak being a 'real sipping beer', and you are absolutely right, it seems to work best with solitary sipping, the sort of solitary sipping which involves open fires (or other heat sources), cool jazz, or a good book. A beer for cold nights and warm living rooms, or studies. Not a beer you need company to enjoy, although company would be very welcome.
I'll keep an eye out for Augustijn.
Yes, I've heard the 70s and 80s were terrible for wine in California, with everyone and their grandmother making wine. Your assumption about the French is correct, but they're not the only ones that do so, and who could really blame them? Are you talking about Louis Jadot? I think I've got a bottle I got as a gift. Emphasis on the word think. I've had glasses of Opus One of various vintages over the years (not on my expense) and thought it was a good wine, but the cult following was just that; a cult following. It didn't seem all too special other than wow, this is a nice wine. Though I'll admit, I'm able to discern taste and quality with my tongue better with white wines than red.
NWC make up for the crappy grapes with over roasted barrels, which allow the wood to add more body to the wine. It's why all of them taste like you're eating a piece of aged oak unless you opt for the higher price point NE chardonnays, which I'm told don't follow the California method. Though it does explain why bored housewives love chardonnay, they just need some wood in their lives.
A lovely winter offering - designed for slow, thoughtful sipping - from the Houblon stable. (I have already sampled La Chouffe, and Houblon Chouffe).
This is their winter seasonal beer, which comes with another of their gorgeous - nay, irresistible - labels. The beer is called N'Ice Chouffe, and is a deceptively easy drinking dark beer, lovely, and balanced, smooth, yet not too sweet.
This is their winter seasonal beer, which comes with another of their gorgeous - nay, irresistible - labels. The beer is called N'Ice Chouffe, and is a deceptively easy drinking dark beer, lovely, and balanced, smooth, yet not too sweet.
"N'ice"? That sounds like something a teenager who's never seen the light of day would come up with.
Anywho, I was thinking of your post conversation with me and I did some Google'ing and found a few "Best under $30 bottles of wine" lists and a couple $15 and under lists. I'm thinking of giving them a go the next few months. The $13 a bottle South African Excelsior Chardonnay caught my eye. Going to have to give that a whirl if I can track a bottle down.
klwines.com does a good job of curating their rather large collection. You'll find good bottles at all price points from all around the world. Maybe worth a look to gather ideas.
I passed by the liquor store and saw it catch my eye, remembering that I read about it here. It's currently being chilled, can't wait to see what it tastes like. So excited!
My advice is let it breathe to something approximating to room temperature.
Chilled beer is cool for lagers, and lift summer beers, when the temperature is high. Winter beers are a lot more robust, and - frankly - taste - to my mind - somewhat better - at room temperature. But, maybe, that is just my preference..
Interesting. It was just sitting on the shelf, not chilled at the liquor store and I'm not a fan of warm/room temperature beer. I just put it in the fridge. I guess it wouldn't hurt to see how it tastes cool and not cold.
Well, I just have this theory that too much time in the fridge numbs taste - that is fine with summer lager - but with complex, rich, highly alcoholic beers - to my mind, taste is a bonus. Hence, as with wines, - in winter - room temperature strikes me as the war to go. Personally, it is what I do for the rich, and robust and highly alcoholic quads (quad style type beers) I tend to prefer this time of year.
My other tip is to drink at least one glass of water per round of beer. Your head may thank you.
Initial impressions. A bit complex. Right when it hits the taste buds, instantly reminds me of Hoegaarden but that quickly goes away and then I get a nice delicate finish on the tongue. Best part, that long lasting bitter aftertaste. The smell is something to note as well. I can't exactly describe it, I want to say sweet. This is something I would definitely have again.