Redbridge

(Anheuser Busch Inc, St. Louis MO, US, 4.80% EtOH)

That's really beer there, not iced tea. 

Produced by the fine folks at Anheuser Busch for the gluten intolerant crowd, and it shows.

This stuff is definitely unique amongst beers...the way my wife's incontinent, paranoid schizophrenic, post-traumatic stress disorder having Beagle is unique amongst other dogs. It elicits pity while you have one, but you're in no rush to find another.

A very light body, medium carbonation, and you can definitely taste the sorghum at the finish (If you've never had sorghum, it has a dark, sugary/molasses kind of flavor). It is this singular flavor that reminds you that Redbridge was intentionally created with human consumption in mind (rather than, say, some kind of earth-friendly, organic, nontoxic wood cleaner).

There's a silver lining to this cloud, however. I hereby vow to find a gluten-free, celiac friendly beer that is a worthy champion for all would-be glutenless alcoholics everywhere.

2 Jenkins (There must be a better way)

2008 Pedroncelli Cabernet Sauvignon

Hi everyone, or should I say, the three people that actually read this blog at the moment :) It's The Muffin again with another wine review.

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of my favorite red wines to partake of. I like them to be dry, and taste like berries and pepper (strange combination I know, but hey, it works for me). The Jenkins and I recently went on a mini-vacation, and this was our bottle of wine with dinner one night. He had bison tenderloin and I had duck. They were both prepared most excellently, and this wine definitely went well with both. BTW, if you're ever in Ruidoso, New Mexico and feel like dropping some serious dough on a fabulous dinner, I highly recommend Willmon's Prime Grill. There's even a picture of the table we sat at on the web page!

In my opinion, this is a great Cabernet Sauvignon. As part of The Jenkins' and my ongoing contest to see how much of the tasting note I got right from the back of the bottle, I got 2 out of 3 characteristics correct (I'm good but not quite as good as my Beagle's nose yet). There are distinct hints of pepper and cassis. The third characteristic (the one I didn't get, but honestly should have) is toasted oak. After he told me that this wine was oaked, it was pretty obvious. I don't really chomp down on oak trees that often so that taste is still a bit unfamiliar to me.

Tomorrow's dinner, bark of oak with a side of fresh oak. I'll get my yearly dose of fiber in one night ... yay.

Until next time.
The Muffin

4 Jenkins (Insert witty sentence here.)

Old Chub Scotch Ale

(Oskar Blues Brewery, Colorado US, 8.0% EtOH)

Bwa ha ha!  Ok, no penis jokes, I swear. Instead...

Why do Scottish men wear kilts?  Sheep can hear a zipper a mile away...

(Random person to Scotsman) Hey, your mother-in-law called while you were out.   (Scotsman) Oh?  (Random person): Yeah, she said to tell you BAAAAAAAAA!

The Scottish adaptation of a famous Rolling Stones song?  Hey, McCloud, get of of my Ewe!

Have you heard of the latest Scottish sex aid?  Velcro gloves.

I hear the Scottish have a new use for Sheep!  Wool.

Why are there women in Scotland?  Apparently sheep can't cook....

By the way, in case you're not getting the phrases on the top of a can of Old Chub, you need to go see So I Married an Axe Murderer. Unless you just hate Mike Myers.

Lot of flavor-taste in this wacky libation. It's rich with caramel nuances, malts, and smoked peat-boggy goodness, if that's your thing. Definitely for those with a particular taste in beer, or if you want a beer that somehow compliments your glass of scotch.

3 Jenkins (Bless me bagpipes!)

Storm King Stout

(Victory Brewing Co., Downingtown, PA 9.1% EtOH)

The last time I tried this, I was so blindly intoxicated in a bar that I might as well have been drinking boiled rabbit urine for all I could taste. For all its medicinal properties, however, boiled rabbit urine doesn't hold a candle to this stuff as far as drinkability and overall smell are concerned. 

Storm King has expected espresso and chocolate flavors, deep roastiness (is that a real word?) with a mild bitter finish to linger on the back of your tongue. It's a little on the fizzy side in my opinion, and lacks the viscosity I typically look for in a good stout. It is otherwise well balanced though, and you won't notice the 9.1% abv until it is far, far too late. In essence, a nice brew that will get you slobbering drunk approximately twice as fast as your average stout.

3.5 Jenkins (The brewery of choice for the Allied powers)

Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Ale

(Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., California, EtOH 5.5%)

A rich, sweet, malty brown with a faintly smoky note midway through that finishes with a residual nuttiness. So many brown ales I've partaken of end up tasting like seltzer water with caramel coloring, I was ecstatic to meet one with such character. In fact, if this beer was a person, I'd let him have his way with my daughter.  Or her have her way with my daughter. Or her have her or him have his or them have their way with...my...son? This train has derailed.

 A solid offering by Sierra Nevada, and I do hope they continue producing it.





4 Jenkins (what can brown do for you?)

Hennepin

(Duvel Moortgat, Belgium, 7.7% EtOH)

When a Belgian fellow is at the end of a long day of yardwork in front of his Yurt or Igloo or whatever, he settles down on the couch, turns the channel to his favorite team's competitive tetherball match, and cracks open a Hennepin. A "Belgian Budweiser" per se. A mediocre beer of the people.

Having revealed my glaring knowledge gap when it comes to Belgian culture, I can now press on to the review.  Mix macrobrewed American pilsner with bottle conditioning, and behold, you have Hennepin. You're going to save a lot of money just drinking a Michelob while sniffing breadmaking yeast. Of course, you can always pour your (insert favorite cheap pilsner here) into this bottle with a funnel over and over again, out of site of any party guests you're trying to impress. Voilà! Totally classy, and imagine the savings!

2 Jenkins (If I want Milwaukee's Best, I'll buy Milwaukee's best)

...Ok I feel bad, that was pretty harsh.

Duchesse de Bourgogne

(Brouwerij Verhaeghe, Belgium, 6.2 % EtOH) 

So, the Wikepedia article on this one hilariously states that, and I quote, "The name of the beer is meant to honor Duchess Mary of Burgundy, the sole daughter of Charles the Bold, born in Brussels in 1457, who died young in a horse riding accident." I guess if it's good enough for Superman, it's good enough for her, and a good enough story to become the namesake for a beer. Thankfully, I suffered no horse-related trauma either whilst purchasing or consuming this brew. I did discover that it's one of those "Flemish style" reds that are, as I learned recently, often sour. Like the Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour, only more balanced and toned down, like they were using jolly ranchers instead of lemonheads to achieve their puckering effect. To be perfectly honest I was pleasantly surprised; "Duchess" is a little sweet, modestly sour, a tad fruity (instead of, like, totally flaming) and overall quite mellow.  I could definitely get cozy with a few of these fine retro ladies on a moonlit night. Mmmhmm.

3.5 Jenkins (Hopefully the wife didn't see that last part)