Open Flavor Fridays - Round 3

by Dave Clark on Jan 7, 2011 7:54 PM PST in Life in the Sound

It is another Open Flavor Friday; to recap this is a weekly open thread to talk flavor.

We'll talk beer, wine, food and maybe other beverages. Others will talk coffee - I can't as it is my full time job.

Let's get a few things out of the way. If you are not of legal consumption age in your place of residence do not drink alcohol. Do not drink in excess, unless you are around people you know in a private place. NEVER, EVER drive drunk.

Click on for Open Flavor Fridays

So I spent some time with a cold. That makes tasting things a little rough. But something did cut through all the nasal clogging. I have to wonder why though. Seriously what's with the god awful flavors of cough drops. I don't need "cherry" or "wild berry." I need to breathe clearly. Quit with the purely artificial crap. A nice natural mint would suit all of us just fine.

Sam Adam's Belgian White is to Belgian White's as Sam Adam's is to Lager. Solid, approachable, rounded, not spikey. Like all Belgian styles it has too much yeast for me to drink often. The spice notes were mild and appropriate.

Cauliflower cheese, as it is called in Britain, or au gratin as it would typically be called, is a fine dish that a recommend. A pungent sharp aged cheddar and English style dry mustard provide the flavors while the cauliflower becomes almost like a macaroni base to classic mac & cheese. How I only discovered this dish this week stuns me as I'm a fan of cheese sauce.

What flavors did you enjoy this week?

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My NYE drink was...

Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA. Wonderful, wonderful IPA. One of my favorites. To me, it rivals the Terminal Gravity IPA.

by Codemos on Jan 7, 2011 8:11 PM PST reply actions

I'm having

vanilla ice cream with sliced bananas and chocolate syrup right now.

by Cornchops on Jan 7, 2011 8:15 PM PST reply actions

Had some Stone IPA for the first time today

My wife knows IPAs are my favorite, so I got a 22oz Stone IPA in my stocking at Christmas.

To preface how I felt about it, I will preface first by saying in my mind I love, love, love IPAs. The crazy-hoppier, the better. The bitter-er, the better. This was before I tried Stone.

First thoughts: Stone is a relatively easy to access brew. She got it at our local Safeway, which usually has a decent rotation of micros that are harder to find. However since it came from Safeway, it lost some points in my mind because I feel like it’s an easy access, mainstream type of micro.

After the first sip, I was blown away by the flavor and bite. It was incredible. I felt like this beer mastered my universe, like there was a party in my mouth and everyone was invited. (80’s throwback!) Anyway, I felt like it also put me in my place. This is probably the craziest flavored IPA I’ve ever had, and I feel a little embarrassed to admit that because of everything that’s out there. I’ve had a lot of different IPA’s, but this one I felt like punched me in the face, but then told me I looked fantastic and that we should hang out again. And I kept coming back.

I followed up with a Thunderhead IPA, which now doesn’t quite do it for me. I think the only possible next greatest thing would be a Dogfishhead 90 Minute IPA, which I have yet to try. Thinking back, I wish I had not tried the Stone. Everything will be less compared to that.

Anyway, action packed beer day for me. I’m excited to try my Tricerahops that is also waiting in the fridge for me, tomorrow.

by chrisperry1983 on Jan 7, 2011 9:27 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

Stone's IPA is fantastic. You'll love the 90 Minute as well.

Have you tried Bear Republic’s Hop Rod Rye?It’s one of the best IPA’s I’ve had the pleasure to try. I’d highly recommend it.

Karma police, arrest this man.

by wyte_lightning on Jan 7, 2011 11:27 PM PST via mobile up reply actions

I havent heard of Bear Republic

Where can I get that? Is that a Central Market or Wholefoods type of thing?

by chrisperry1983 on Jan 9, 2011 12:01 AM PST up reply actions

Bear Republic

You could probably find it there. I’ve seen it at the U-Village QFC and of course at specialty beer stores like The Beer Authority on Lake City Way (right before the Fred Meyer) and Bottleworks in Wallingford. Bear Republic also has a traditional IPA (Racer 5) that’s a little more common and is just as good if not better in my opinion.

Oh, and check out Hair of the Dog’s Pale Blue Dot, whenever it comes out again. I like that one a lot because while it’s got lots of that citrus hoppiness, there’s also some sweet pineapple/tropical fruit flavor in there as well.

Oh! And I can’t believe I forgot to mention Pliney the Elder! That’s kind of the golden standard of big imperial IPAs I think. You might like others more, but Pliney is always a good starting point. Unfortunately you’ll have to wait until summer for that and Blue Dot though.

by murmur000 on Jan 9, 2011 9:05 AM PST via mobile up reply actions

double bastard

also from stone. it’s maltier so it has that caramel/burnt sugar sweetness but it also has the hops in abundance which is stone’s signature trait. one of my favorites. it’s more rare than your average seasonal but you should be able to find it wherever quality beers are sold.

by murmur000 on Jan 8, 2011 2:18 AM PST via mobile up reply actions

I have seen that from time to time

I will be sure to snag one next time I do

by chrisperry1983 on Jan 9, 2011 12:01 AM PST up reply actions

Think I may have mentioned this last week

But I tried Irish Mocha Death from Iron Horse Brewery last week and it blew me away. Apparently it’s their Irish Death with Coffee added and it’s as good of a Mocha Stout as I’ve ever had. Really, really awesome.

On a totally unrelated note, I finally tried Cafe Flora in Seattle’s Madison Valley yesterday. I’m not a vegetarian by any stretch, but I do appreciate a good veggie meal from time-to-time, but if all vegetarian cooking was this good, I’d have no problem forgetting about meat. I had a falafel sandwich, which was good but not outstanding. The killer dishes at the table were the yam fries, which were just amazing, and the “French Dip,” which was made with sliced portabello mushrooms, carmelized onions and came with a miso a jus. Those two dishes alone just knocked it out of the park.

Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, North American soccer editor SB Nation and of course follow me on Twitter

by Jeremiah Oshan on Jan 8, 2011 7:50 AM PST reply actions