What 'r ya drinkin tonight?

[Loundry]

[Barnum]

Had a very Nice Bells Special Double Cream Stout with dinner tonight.  Incredibly heavy, dark and strong with a really big coffee flavor and thankfully not at all sweet.  Not something I would drink without food nor that I'd probably drink more than one of because I tend to reach a saturation point with something this strong a flavor.

I really like stouts, or maybe I'm imagining that 

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

Had a very Nice Bells Special Double Cream Stout with dinner tonight.  Incredibly heavy, dark and strong with a really big coffee flavor and thankfully not at all sweet.  Not something I would drink without food nor that I'd probably drink more than one of because I tend to reach a saturation point with something this strong a flavor.

I really like stouts, or maybe I'm imagining that    

I like some Stouts too, but would not have been lead in that direction without others prompting me to try these robust dark beers from the past..   What the hell could they know?

.

[bettylouski]

Argentinian Pinot (Catalpa), a first for me, I believe.  Doesn't taste like Pinot, but it's goood.

[Foodgeek]

How do you know he's really tasting it as opposed to imagining he's tasting it, especially when he is so highly motivated to detect "subtle nuances" of flavor in order to show off his allegedly sophisticated palate?

You can't. I mean, of course you can't get inside another person's mouth and taste what they are tasting, but you really, really can't taste what they are tasting vs. what they imagine they taste, and determine the motives they might have for imagining that flavor.

Years ago, when I first started working as a fine dining server, I started having to go through wine tastings as part of fulfilling my job description. We were all standing around at line-up one day, tasting a big cab, and my friend Renato offered up, "I'm getting hints of nutmeg." All around the room, heads started nodding and all the servers and the managers present marveled at his insight and sensitive palate.

Not to be outdone, the very next tasting we had I started grabbing around my head for any flavor that would correspond to what I was tasting. "I'm sensing some undertones of tobacco," I offered, again receiving the approving nods. Now, tobacco is not a pleasant flavor for everybody, and it's probably even off-putting to most people who aren't addicted to it, but it was fun to play this game and have a tiny victory.

Over the years, I learned to play this game very well, because it was part of my job. Is it prestigious to explain to someone that the reason I can take part in a wine tasting is because I was a waitress for so much of my life? I don't think it is. Some people might even take it as evidence that I became good at that simply because I was probably too stupid to do anything else for a living.

The bottom line is that you're right about people imagining flavors, because I know for a fact that it happens all the time. Servers describe wines in terms of these subtle, underlying flavors because they want to sell the wine, and people pay big bucks for them in restaurants and then imagine that they taste exactly how the server told them they would taste, because it makes them look like fancy, sophisticated show-offs. When times are booming, a $100 bottle of wine is actually significantly less expensive than a lot of other things you could buy to try to fool people into thinking you have class.

I still drink wine, because I enjoy it, but I'm glad I don't have to ramble on and on about what specific fruity notes, or subtle tinges of "leather" are in it, because that's not my job anymore. About the farthest that my husband and I discuss wine is pretty much, "This one is good," or "This one doesn't justify paying more than $20 a bottle, so we won't buy it again." We have a pretty simple life, and we like $10 bottles of wine, and we don't care what anyone thinks about that.

And I like stouts, too, and I'm sure I'm not imagining that.

[jpellett251]

I don't disagree with any of the psychological underpinnings of tasting.  There's no reason to take it to the absurd conclusion that nobody can taste anything.  Why would I have dumped a wine down the drain that I bought because I had read it was good?  How could I have on multiple occasions been served the wrong beer and after tasting it immediately realizing it and figuring out what I was actually served (and having it confirmed by the server/bartender)?  When I read reviews of beer before I drink it I do end up tasting a lot of the flavors that were described, but not all of them and sometimes I totally disagree.  I'm far from alone in these things.  I think you are more likely to pick out something subtle if you're guided there, but that doesn't mean it's not there. 

People consider me to have good ears, but what most of them don't realize is that far more than that I have a very deep understanding of music theory so within certain styles/periods I know what I should be expecting to happen harmonically.  My expectations are either met or denied in various ways and based on that I can tell you a lot about what's happening.  Without that knowledge base my ears would be almost as useless as yours in hearing these things.  My hearing is very much influenced by things I know either generally or specifically for a given piece of music.  Does this mean I'm not hearing these things or that they're not there?  Of course not.  Even more importantly, you hear them as well but just don't know what you're hearing.  We respond to music because of how it meets or denies our expectations.  You wouldn't listen to music if you didn't hear these things, though you would probably describe them in very general terms of mood or feeling.  If we want to look deeper and don't have this knowledge base we're basing our analysis on choosing from all possibilities, an overwhelming prospect.  I'm not denying that there are some purely psychological aspects of taste, but there's a lot more going on than that.

[CodePoet]

For our Easter brunch, I made Champagne Limoncello Cocktails from a recipe in Cooking Light.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1/2 cup)


Ingredients
8  (3 x 1/2-inch) lemon rind strips
8  tablespoons  Limoncello (lemon-flavored liqueur)
4  teaspoons  fresh lemon juice
1  (750-milliliter) bottle brut Champagne, chilled
Preparation
1. Roll up each strip of lemon rind; place 1 into each of 8 Champagne flutes. Add 1 tablespoon liqueur and 1/2 teaspoon juice to each glass. Divide Champagne evenly among glasses. Serve immediately.

[Loundry]

Foodgeek, thank you for your validation, and I have to thank you even more for this astute observation that I didn't consider:

When times are booming, a $100 bottle of wine is actually significantly less expensive than a lot of other things you could buy to try to fool people into thinking you have class.

Mind you, I don't give a whit about class.  I'm too busy enjoying life to spend time caring what other people think about me.

[KoPP]

I can finally start drinking a beer or 2, so I'm heading over to Hop City sometime this week to reaquaint myself with the stuff. Any recommendations of new stuff in the bottle to smooth the transition? I was thinking of some Hitachino, possibly a saison, or a decent wit.

[totm]

I can finally start drinking a beer or 2, so I'm heading over to Hop City sometime this week to reaquaint myself with the stuff. Any recommendations of new stuff in the bottle to smooth the transition? I was thinking of some Hitachino, possibly a saison, or a decent wit.

Bridgeport Hop Czar has recently come in to the local market.  Very good beer at a very good price.

[Mike GadgetGeek Stock]

And yes I do know it is only 4:45pm...


Chimay Blue..  wonderful stuff..   in moderation..

.

[jpellett251]

On a cable car in San Francisco making our way to La Trappe, a belgian bar.  Looking forward to drinking the legendary Russian River Consecration on tap.

[jpellett251]

Russian River Consecration was awesome, a moderately light bodied American wild made with currant.  Nice Flemish red type sourness and acidity along with some fruit tartness from the currant.  I've been wanting to try some RR sours for a long time (not available in GA yet), and this first one does not disappoint. 

Gouden Carulus Easter seems like it should have made its way to Atlanta but I never saw it anywhere (other GC beers make it).  Much better than GC Noel...more complex  and not as sweet.  It's still on the sweeter side of strong Belgian darks, but avoids the completely cloying syrupiness of GC Noel.

[GabrielsDad]

Just got back from the in-laws tonight, so some drinking was definitely in order.  On bottle #2 of the Bell's Two Hearted.  Very nice IPA that went quite well with the Chinese take-out (especially once I added a nice dose of sambal - to the food, not the beer!)

But, the beer I really want to mention is one I had on tap last week at Cyprus Pint and Plate, in midtown.  Schnieder Aventinus Weizenbock.  Holy crap, did I like this beer!  Beautiful amber-brown, nice head. Bananas, figs, smoke, caramel, and more.  Did not taste the 8.2% ABV.  Need to find this retail.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/72/224
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/schneider-aventinus/2224/

[KoPP]

Just got back from the in-laws tonight, so some drinking was definitely in order.  On bottle #2 of the Bell's Two Hearted.  Very nice IPA that went quite well with the Chinese take-out (especially once I added a nice dose of sambal - to the food, not the beer!)

But, the beer I really want to mention is one I had on tap last week at Cyprus Pint and Plate, in midtown.  Schnieder Aventinus Weizenbock.  Holy crap, did I like this beer!  Beautiful amber-brown, nice head. Bananas, figs, smoke, caramel, and more.  Did not taste the 8.2% ABV.  Need to find this retail.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/72/224
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/schneider-aventinus/2224/

I've seen it at Greens Ponce, and do believe it's at Hop City as well. You do taste more of the alcohol from the bottle, IMO, but it is a pretty tasty pour.


Been looking for Moretti La Rossa, and can't find it - a decent dopple with great promise for pizza and pasta.