Big Beer’s Answer to Microbrew Beer: Flavored Beer

We all know that the big national beer brands are not going to let the microbrews and craft brewers continue to eat away at their market share. Budweiser has tried to stem the loss in market share by making a continual stream of fake microbrew and craft beer labels to try to dilute the competition into non-existence, but apparently consumers are too savvy to fall for that game. Most of those beers tasted suspiciously like the usual swill that Bud made and the labels lacked any real identification as to the actual owner.

Now, MillerCoors is trying a different approach: flavored beer. The advantage to MillerCoors is that it does not have to actually meet the competition head-on by improving the quality of its beer. It just takes the same cheap old watered-down rice beer and adds some flavorings. Some of the flavors that are up for trial runs include “Redd’s Apple Ale” and “Coco Breve,” a coconut water infused clear malt beer targeted to women and coming in a variety of flavors, including kiwi and mango. I can’t say that I’ll be trying either of these two, but if try it, drop a comment on how you like it.

Some of the press surrounding the MillerCoors concept sounds very quaint.  We are told that there is a group of MillerCoors brewers who conduct experiments during their “downtime.” The story is that these chaps are formally called the “Third Shift Band of Brewers.”  Somehow I just doubt that any large corporation in the United States actually lets their workers play around with their industrial plant during their “downtime” — just as I doubt that the workers actually have any “downtime.”  We are talking about massive stills that make thousands of gallons of beer an hour, not some home brew kit in the back room. It makes for a nice story, but it has too much of marketing shine for me to buy into the storyline.

Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw Merlot

Last night I uncorked a bottle of two-buck chuck Merlot at the request of a thirsty reader. I found the wine to be solid and drinkable. It definitely tasted like a Merlot, with a good round fruity body. However, it suffered from a similar taste I’ve found in other cheap wines, especially other Charles Shaw wines: namely that sweet, pungeant, grassy taste that reminds me of mowing the lawn. Useful for reminiscing about summers gone by, I suppose, but that’s not really a reason I drink red wine.

Overall, the Merlot was good and my palatte wasn’t overwhelmed by the acidic overtones. I drink a hell of a lot of black coffee though, so those with less of a taste for acid might not tolerate it. Still, I would add the Merlot to the list of surpisingly good two-buck-chuck varietals, along with the Shiraz and the Cab.

I’ve always thought that $10-20 is the perfect price point for store-bought wine. Any higher and I’ll want to save it for a special occaison (and I’ll forget about the wine when such an occaison comes). Any less than $10 and the wine quality is a gamble: either it’s a syrupy concoction of grassy fruit and sugar, or it’s a wonderful $5 diamond in the rough, and I’ll never be able to find another bottle.

That’s why I’ve always hoped to find a really great two-buck-chuck: I can remember where I bought the wine and the brand isn’t going to vanish off the shelves suddenly. But the Charles Shaw wines I’ve had previously haven’t been all that rewarding. Impressive, certainly, for a $3 bottle of wine and better than you’d think, but nothing earthshaking. Of the other varietals I’ve drunk, the Shiraz was the best. You can read the previous reviews here: Nouveau, Shiraz, Chardonnay, and Cabernet.

Tassel Ridge Winery is a leader among Iowa Wineries

We recently visited Tassel Ridge Winery just west of Oskaloosa, at 1601 220th St. Leighton, Iowa. I recommend a trip. Tassel Ridge is the complete package. It has a large production facility complete with a large tasting room, racks displaying the various wines along with some basic information on each wine, several areas suitable for meetings and dining, and a retail area with wine accoutrements. While some facilities have larger dining areas I really don’t think that any have as large a production plant. They can make a lot of wine with all of that equipment. I lost count of how many stainless steel tanks they have, but it is impressive. Tassel Ridge has also worked hard to match the types of oak barrels that are available with the different wine products that they make. They have two 200 gallon large format barrels used for fermenting certain varieties of grapes. The size of this operation is quite impressive considering the fact that the first grape vines were planted in 2002. According to the Fall edition of Edible magazine, Tassel Ridge currently sells 14,000 cases of wine each year.

In addition, Tassel Ridge produces a quarterly magazine, “Simply Extraordinary” which is one of the only marketing magazines that I read cover to cover and then read again. The amount of detail and explanation regarding their operation is incredible. I am just guessing, but based on the number of fermenting tanks, outlets, and market presence I would have to say that Tassel Ridge Winery is likely to be Iowa’s most productive winery.

Tassel Ridge Tasting Room

They grow eleven cold climate grape varieties in 66 acres of vineyards. About 36 different wines, including whites, reds, and dessert wines are produced and then marketed all around the state. Their wine ambassadors crisscross the state leaving no liquor store, Fareway, Dahl’s or Hy-Vee untouched. They offer a rich and varied listing of activities, including tastings, dinners, and special events year-around. I’ve tried many of their wines and many of their wines are very competitive with the best in Iowa. Although most other wineries can only field one or two winners, most of the Tassel Ridge lineup are among the best in their class.

Tassel Ridge Wines

Tassel Ridge Dessert Wines

The Tassel Ridge dessert wines are really good and I would not hesitate to pick one up if you are ever in the market for a port or dessert wine. If you are also fond of chocolate, then the Chocolate Granfinale ($20) is to die for. We purchased some of the Oskyfizzante Pink and we are eager to open it up and see how it is. In addition, as I recently wrote in my review of the 2009 Marquette ($25), Tassel Ridge is a leader in developing new cold climate grape varieties in an effort to expand its reach to the dry wine market. Unless you are wedded to expensive French wines, California Cabs and Chardonnays, or Oregon and Washington Pinot Noirs, then give these wines a try.

Tassel Ridge Building

Tassel Ridge Winery
1681 220th Street – Leighton
641.672.WINE

Winery Hours:
Monday-Friday: 9-6
Sat: 10-6; Sun: 12-6
www.TasselRidge.com

Tassel Ridge’s new Marquette Dry Red Wine – the future of Iowa wine?

The challenge faced by Iowa winemakers is to make a wine that can take part of the Iowa wine market share from the west coast and internationally-sourced red wines. Iowa vintners already have the ability to make sweet wines that can compete with non-Iowa sweet wines on taste, if not price. But being able to market a dry red wine that has tannins and fruit without the sweetness would allow local winemakers to sell their local wines to new customers.

The main obstacle facing Iowa winemakers is that the shorter growing season in Iowa leads to wines that are higher in acid and lower in sugar. This does not directly account for the sweetness of Iowa wines. Instead, the lack of sugar affects the fermentation process, which means that Iowa wines will not taste quite the same as warm-weather grapes. The wines tend to be higher in acid and very sweet. Also, cold-weather hardy grapes are different than many of the grapes which made the wines of Europe and California famous. Vintners and botanists in the upper Midwest have been working for decades to try to develop a grape that has the characteristics of great taste, faster maturation, and hardiness. The Marquette grape may just be the best red wine grape to come out of that research and effort and I think it could well be the launchpad for Iowa dry reds. Do I think that the 2009 Marquette from Tassel Ridge is ready to go head to head with other similarly-priced west coast dry red wines? No, but this is one of the first large-scale attempts to grow and bottle this particular wine and Tassel Ridge has the know-how and money to make it happen if it is possible.

According to the winter edition of Simply Extraordinary, the quarterly publication of Tassel Ridge, the Marquette grape is a complex cross of American grapes, French American hybrids, and Pinot Noir. Marquette offers high sugar, moderate acidity, and lots of tannins. In addition, its American grape heritage offers resistance to disease and winter hardiness. Tassel Ridge started planting Marquette in 2006 and the first harvest in 2009 is just now being brought to market.

So, how is the 2009 vintage? The nose is full and fruity. On the palate, there is much less fruit than the aroma might lead one to expect, but there are obvious tannins, a hint of fruit on the front end and a slight taste of grape and alcohol on the back side. This is no Pinot Noir fruit bomb; but it is also very different than any other dry red wine from Iowa. Most importantly, the musty, “foxy” odor and flavor that plagues Iowa red wines, especially those that are touted as “dry,” is nearly absent, and certainly not annoying. While not perfect, and probably not competitive with some of the great California reds that can be had for less than this bottle costs, this is a solid foundation. Boost the fruit and lower the alcohol and I firmly believe that this will be the wine of Iowa’s future. The day will come when Iowans can’t ignore their own home-grown red wines.

The description of the process that Tassel Ridge went through in making this particular vintage leads me to believe that Tassel Ridge has likely gained some hints as to what to do with the next vintages. I will be certain to try each successive vintage.

Tassel Ridge

House of Loom Beer Pairing Dinner

On February 9th, House of Loom teamed up with Lucky Bucket Brewery and the Boiler Room to do a five-course dinner paired with beer as part of 2012 Omaha Beer Week.

The event was phenomenal. How could I not enjoy it, with my favorite restaurant, favorite brewery, and one of my favorite bars all in one night? Chef Paul Kulik from the Boiler Room accomplished an impressive culinary feat: pairing food with beer. Beer is a notoriously difficult drink to pair with food; it’s carbonated with strong malty flavors and it takes some creative dishes to make a pairing that works.

Here is the run-down of the courses:

First: Lucky Bucket Pre-Prohibition Lager with house boudin blanc, mustard, and broiche. The food, which is named in typically foreign terms, is actually a kind of bratwurst emulsified in Lucky Bucket on a bun with mustard. The pairing here was excellent, obviously. Beer and brats are a classic for a reason.

Second: LB IPA casked with ugli fruit and dry-hopped with a very citrusy hop. The food was spicy chicarrones, which are pork rinds spiced with chili powder and fried and battered with LB IPA. I’d never had pork rinds before, and these were good, like extreme, high-class Cheetos. The IPA was literally a one-of-a-kind stand-out. A local rock-star homebrewer, Tom Malowski, designed this beer with finished Lucky Bucket IPA, ugli fruit, and the citrus hop. The beer was by far my favorite. It was basically IPA and orange juice, but much more delicious than that sounds. The pairing was interesting as well, not the best combination of the evening, but the citrus and spice blended very well. As Paul said, it had “citrus, spice, fried food with a little bit of heritage mixed it.”

Third: Certified Evil with a salad of roasted squash pearl barley and smoked lardo vinaigrette. Lardo is cured back fat, an acidic substance that made a great dressing. The pairing was an excellent and counter-intuitive choice. Certified Evil is Lucky Bucket’s imperial porter and has a powerful roasted taste. My first thought would have been to pair it with roasted short-ribs or barbeque, but Paul’s choice of a light and acidic salad with sage and barley accents proved a wonderful counterpoint to the richness of the beer.

Fourth: Chocolate Stout with brewer’s yeast waffles, stout syrup, and brown butter ice cream. No translations needed here. This was everyone’s favorite, practically causing a riot when the dish was brought out. I can still taste the syrup, which was made with the same Chocolate Stout that was served. I’d never had Lucky Bucket’s new beer, but I was pleased. Despite 150lbs of chocolate per batch, it did not share the choking syrupy consistency that most chocolate beers have. According to Chris Sund, the Lucky Bucket rep, this was because they used coco nibs instead of only coco powder and milk chocolate. The result is remarkably clear and drinkable. The brewer’s yeast waffles were made with active yeast scraped from Lucky Bucket’s lager fermenting tanks. The combination was astoundingly sweet and chocolatey, and the syrup had a rich, phenomenal molasses texture that made a worthy counterpoint to the buttery ice cream and chocolate stout.

Fifth: Barley Wine with Landaff cheese from the New Hampshire farmstead creamery. Full disclosure: barley wine is not my favorite. Yet Lucky Bucket has a solid offering that is not as overwhelming as some I’ve had in the past. The pairing was logical and tasty. The Landaff cheese in was excellent and had a flavorful kick that cut the intensity of the barley wine very well. Paul chose cheese because it has the complexity to pair with beer, even barley wine.

The event shows how a pairing should be done, and proves that with some creativity it’s possible to pair with beer. Chef Paul did an amazing job designing the event and it’s great that Lucky Bucket will work with homebrewers and restaurants to create something really worthwhile like this event. Having Paul and Chris to talk to in an intimate environment was a great learning experience.

Hopefully Lucky Bucket, the Boiler Room, and House of Loom will team up again for another phenomenally fun and informative event.

Lucky Bucket Brewery
11941 Centennial Rd La Vista, NE 68128
(402) 763-8868

The Boiler Room
5:30 to close, Monday through Saturday
1110 Jones Street Omaha, NE 68102-3205
(402) 916-9274

House of Loom
1012 South 10th Street Omaha, Nebraska 68108
(402) 505-5494

Corrections: I originally had Chef Paul’s name as Chad. Not sure where I got that.

Tassel Ridge Chocolate Granfinale

I was shopping for some gifts at Gortz Haus Gallery in Grimes, Iowa when I came across a bottle of Tassel Ridge Chocolate Granfinale dessert wine ($20). It sounded like an interesting wine to try, so I bought a bottle. When the right occasion arose, we opened it and we all agreed that it was a wonderful dessert-style wine. It had a full aroma and palate of chocolate and red wine. Tassel Ridge recommends that it be served at room temperature and that does help bring out the full flavor. Another pleasant surprise was how long the bottle lasted. We finished the wine off over a three week period and there was no perceptible oxidation or degradation in the aroma or flavor. That was quite surprising. One beef that I have with fortified and dessert wines is how poorly some of them age in the bottle after being opened. That fact always bothers me when I spend good money on the smallest bottle I can find but can’t really bring myself to finish off the bottle in one or two nights. This bottle is recommended for those who might want to stretch the pleasure out over a few more days.

In addition to the traditional sweet wines, wines that Iowa ought to be able to market include Rieslings and dessert wines. Chocolate Granfinale is a worthy entry into that market.

375ml
17.2% alcohol by volume

2012 Wine and Food Showcase – Des Moines Metro Opera

In my opinion, the best wine and food event in Des Moines is still the annual Wine and Food Showcase. I make sure that I don’t miss this event just as I try not to miss any of the operas at the Des Moines Metro Opera (Don Giovanni this year!). The food is great (and plentiful) and the wine tastings are about as broad as you can get at this level. This is a great way to sample some of the new U.S. and international wines that the wine distributors are bringing to market. From what I can tell, they usually uncork a lot of winners that are great for the price. Glazer’ of Iowas, Global Wines Distribution, Vine Street Imports, and Johnson Brothers will all be there. There will also be the usual domestic and international beer distributors along with Goose Island, Madhouse, Millstream, and Olde Main. For Iowa wine lovers, the selection will be as small as usual with Tassel Ridge being the only one on the list. This year’s event is set for February 17, 2012 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Des Moines Marriott. One additional feature that makes this event special are the auctions. Last year some collectors put their wines out for auction and there were some very interesting selections up for bid.

Don’t eat before you get there because food is provided by Café di Scala, Crème Cupcake + Desserts, Gusto, Maytag, sbrocco, splash, Tartine, and a dozen more. They go all out and make great dishes.

Don’t be put off by the $50 ticket price. It is well worth it. VIP tickets are $100 and they get to start in an hour early. The money goes to support the Des Moines Metro Opera, so it is for a good cause. Of course I’m biased and happen to like opera.

Omaha Beer Week 2012

If there’s one thing that can rouse me from the blog-fog I’ve been in for the last few months, it’s a week-long beer festival here in Omaha. Omahabeerweek.com has the rundown. Here are a few highlights that I’m looking forward to:

Friday Feb 3rd
Crescent Moon: a special pint-night with Nebraska beers and (another) celebration of Lucky Bucket’s 3rd birthday
Upstream: Cask ale festival!

Saturday Feb 4th
Everywhere: bus tours between bars!

Sunday Feb 5th
Jake’s: chili cookoff
Krug Park: South Omaha Brewers tasting and competition

Monday Feb 6th
Crescent Moon: Vintage beer tasting (yeah, actual vintage beers from as early as the 70′s)
Jakes: A guy from New Belgium will talk about the weird and wild Lips of Faith series

Tuesday Feb 7th
Crescent Moon: Green Flash tap takeover
Krug Park: Lucky Bucket tap takeover

Wednesday Feb 8th
Jake’s: Wasatch Brewery will have some beer and conversation
Krug Park: Upstream tap takeover
Lucky Bucket Brewery: Seminar on extreme beer by Zac Triemert

Thursday Feb 9th
Krug Park: Empyrean casks
The Lauter Tun: Some jazz and beer & cheese pairing

Friday Feb 10th
Crescent Moon: Beertopia’s Extreme Beer Dinner
Jake’s & Krug Park: beer cocktails and O’Dell Saboteur unveiling
Krug Park: Meet the Boulevard brewer
Lucky Bucket: Movie night

Saturday Feb 11th
Crescent Moon: Extreme Beerfest
Everywhere: bus rides between bars!
Lucky Bucket: free tours all day

Seriously, check out Omahabeerweek.com, there’s just so much going down that it’s impossible to really summarize.

2012 Tropical Wine Festival February 3, 2012 at the Botanical Center

I will throw in a quick plug for the 2012 Tropical Wine Festival on February 3, 2012 at the Des Moines Botanical Center. I attended last year’s festival and it was packed. The venue can’t really be beat, but the Botanical Center does not have a whole lot of meeting room space. The cost is $30 beforehand through Midwestix and $35 at the door. If you are a fan of Iowa wines, then this is a great way to sample the offerings of about fifteen different wineries. Last year the hors d’ouevres were too sparse to feed the packed crowds, but the promotional materials for this year’s event seem to suggest that there will be more food. That would be a welcome improvement. You can also dine at Splash or Bos and use your bottle without a corkage fee. This event is organized by the Heart of Iowa Wine Trail.

Date: Friday, February 3, 2012
Time: 6 pm to 9 pm
Place: Des Moines Botanical Center
909 Robert D. Ray Drive
Des Moines, IA

Where does your beer really come from?

An interesting article in Advertising Age, the leading marketing magazine, points out that a lot of exotic beers do not come from the countries or states that are associated with those beers. Fosters (“Australian for Beer”) is made in Texas (and has been since 1993). Beck’s will soon be made in St. Louis, Missouri. Japanese beer Kirin apparently hails from Los Angeles, California and even Sam Adams can be brewed in Ohio and Pennsylvania instead of that most exotic of locals, Boston. Most surprising to me is that Red Stripe will soon be brewed in Wisconsin and other places around the U.S. Even Coors can also be brewed in Ohio. One wonders where they will get the fresh mountain spring water in Ohio.

Why the shift from importing beer to making it stateside? The explanation is that beer is heavy, especially if it is bottled in glass. This same phenomenon took place in the window industry two decades ago. Because windows have so much glass, because glass can break in transit, and because energy costs put a real premium on transportation costs, it makes sense to move production closer to the intended user.

The big difference between windows and beer is that I really don’t care if my Marvin Windows are made in West Des Moines or LaCrosse Wisconsin. They are just windows. But the only reason I buy Red Stripe is because I want to experience something from a different local. Will the brand do the same thing? Perhaps if I don’t know it actually comes from a local brewery then the effect is the same. But now that I know, I’m not about to fall for this translation of place to brands.

The article goes on to say that some importers see the fact that their products are actually imported is important to the brand and are not going to move production to the U.S. These include Heineken and Corona. Crown Imports apparently worries that its strong following in the Hispanic community might be jeopardized if it started to make Corona in, say, Indiana.

So, the next time that you tip back a beer, carefully study the label. FTC regulations do not allow misleading statements on bottles of beer, so it should be possible to determine if the beer is truly imported. If there is no country of origin outside of the U.S., then it is not imported.