On 07/01/2011 12:20 PM, turquoiseb wrote: > --- In [email protected], Bhairitu<noozguru@...> wrote: >> On 07/01/2011 08:58 AM, turquoiseb wrote: >>> Happy happy joy joy. I'm back home in the Netherlands, and >>> have found that one of the cafes that I often sit in while >>> writing has Westmalle, the Trappist beer I discovered in >>> Brussels. My heart soars like an eagle. >>> >>> They also have a beer from the Himalayas called Yak Piss. >>> Something about Purusha Bottling Company on the label, >>> which is some kind of pastels-gone-wild painting, with >>> lots of gold embossing. But given the description of that >>> brew I cognized yesterday on the train, and the chilly >>> reception it received here, I think I might avoid that >>> one. :-) >> Not much into alcohol mainly stimulants like espresso. But >> if I want to stock up on a six or twelve pack for guests I >> usually get Gordon Biersch Martzen. And a micro brewery is >> moving into the recently closed family Italian restaurant >> downtown so may have to give it a whirl when it opens. One >> evening with a friend I went to a local micro brewery and we >> decided to order the sampler. I was used to these being >> about 6 small glasses. They brought 18. ;-) > Happy happy joy barf. :-) Despite what has been said > of me, I'm actually not that much of a drinker. I just > appreciate the occasional taste of a fine single-malt > Scotch or a well-brewed beer or a well-cultivated wine. > Not necessarily the buzz, or the deadness of overdoing > it, but the taste. > > Again, I wish that Joe was here more regularly, because > he seems to be SO much more a beer connoisseur than I am. > I just appreciate the flavor of the Westmalle, and the > light buzz of its fairly high (by US standards) alcohol > content, without knowing the WHY of why I appreciate > them. Same with fine wines. I may be able to appreciate > the taste, but I can't tell you how it got that way.
I come from one of the best wine grape growing regions in the US and I don't mean California. The Columbia River valley has a longer drier season for grapes than Bordeaux. It makes for a superior grape (more to California's chagrin than France). Recently while shopping at Trader Joe's I notice they had a Columbia Valley wine labeled Linen so I picked up a bottle and noticed it was from a family I used to know (I also went to school with the founder of Woodward Canyon Winery -- a top award winning US winery). We'll be sampling it at the next family get together. Actually the local winery and one of the oldest in California - Viano - has some great wines.
