Thursday, November 27, 2008

Beer Review: Goose Island Matilda 2006



People giving me or sending me beer is always a good thing but when you receive a beer from someone that has been "aged" there is always that hesitancy to drink it because there is so much involved in aging a beer properly. Was it away from the light? Was it under the proper temperatures? Can it be aged?

So when my former boss from Southern Eagle, Trey Reinhardt, came into the store the other day and brought me a 4 pack of Goose Island Matilda from 2006 I was both excited and a bit hesitant. I guess hesitant isn't really all that true since I'm willing to try just about anything and even once drank a vintage 1998 Natty Light last year just because it was the only beer my parents had in their fridge. Not bad actually. Anyways, it was incredibly generous of Trey and I was really excited to get home to drink it. Here is the review:

Brewery: Goose Island Beer Company

Beer: Matilda 2006 Vintage

Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale

ABV: 7%

Recommended Glassware: Snifter, Tulip or Over sized Wine Glass

Serving Type: Tulip

Appearance- This beer was a gusher! I lost 1/4 of the beer upon opening. I was warned ahead of time so thankfully I was prepared. The beer poured a nice hazy orange with a huge, cloud like fluffy off white head. Lacing was present throughout the short life of the beer.

Smell- Wow. Nice hints of cherries, apples, citrus and a nice barnyard mustiness.

Taste- The smell and taste are almost identical. It has a nice malty sweetness with again hints of cherry, apples and citrus. The beer also has a nice sour quality to it as well. The hops add a nice spicy pepper quality and give it some bitterness.

Mouthfeel- Nice medium body with lots of carbonation.

Overall- An incredible beer that I wish we could get ahold of down here in Louisiana. My former boss at Southern Eagle who gave me this beer can help with that! (Hint, hint Trey!) Goose Island did a great job recreating a Belgian beer.

Score: Photobucket 4.5 out of 5 Buddhas

Sunday, November 23, 2008

New Orleans Poboy Preservation Festival Recap


Ok, so today was the day the wife, kid and I went out to Oak Street for the 2nd Annual New Orleans Poboy Preservation Festival. We got there at about 11:30 and the crowd was pretty thin which was great because as we were leaving around 1:30 it was packed like Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras. Well not quite that packed but it was pretty packed!



It was a pretty cool event overall. My wife got some gumbo for her and Evangeline from Firestation #25 and got to browse their sexy fireman half naked calendar. At least the gumbo was good.
They had tons of food tents serving everything from alligator on a stick, Red Beans and Rice, BBQ Oysters and Po-boys galore from companies such as Parkway Bakery and Tavern, Acme Oyster House and New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood. Along with all the food tents they had a lot of New Orleans artists out there with some great artwork. Jeffrey St. Romain from Structure NOLA was there with his hangable skateboard art. These things are incredible and would look great hanging on the wall of any home!

As for the beer scene there? Hmm. Let's just say the best beer thing that happened at this festival was this: I got to see Kirk Coco from NOLA Brewing. Nice! Other than that the event was a great experience and a good thing for the city. If any of you ever have the chance to attend you need to. It's a great time for a great cause! Plus, you get kick ass po-boys!



Cheers!


The Beerbuddha





To see more pics you can visit The Beerbuddha Myspace page.

Happy Thanksgiving!



NEWSFLASH: The Pilgrims drank beer NOT wine for Thanksgiving!

With that statement I just heard the collective gasp of wine snobs everywhere. I can see the people I work with(I work in a wine store)laughing if I were to make such a statement. The fact is: it's true. In fact, we wouldn't even have a Plymouth Rock if it wasn't for beer which means no Thanksgiving as we know it. On his way to Jamestown, Virginia, Pilgrim leader Governor William Bradford wrote in his journal: "We could now not take much time for further search, our victuals being much spent, especially our beer." Hmmm. Not wine, beer. OK, so I concede the fact that we don't have 100% evidence as to what they drank on that day but we can almost surely assume it was beer. Historical records indicate that one of the first things the Plymouth colonies did was start brewing beer. So on Thanksgiving day make sure you're celebrating properly. Drink beer with your meal.


Cheers!

The Beerbuddha

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Beer and Food


[photo courtesy shamelesscarnivore.com]

I saw this picture and just had to post it today. This Sunday is the New Orleans Poboy Preservation Festival(yes, New Orleans would be the only town I know to want to preserve a sandwich)and this picture was perfect. To me food pairings are more than just what style beer goes with what food but also should be focused on locale as well. You can't eat a po-boy without a Louisiana made beer. Do you eat crawfish without Dixie or Abita? No, that would be like having pancakes without syrup. Pfith! Who the hell would do something like that? Anyways, enjoy the pic courtesy of The Shameless Carnivore and if you're ever down here in New Orleans make sure you get a po-boy!!



Friday, November 14, 2008

Hey, Hey, Hey it's Black Albert!



It's coming to town folks!! All my hard work finally paid off(Read: All I did was ask for it and the distributor brought it in). 10 cases are coming to Louisiana and Martin Wine Cellar, thanks to yours truly, will be getting 7 cases. You'll be able to find these on shelves hopefully Tuesday November 18th. Martins will have them for $10/bottle. I have coordinated shipments to the Mandeville location and the Baton Rouge location so those of you living in those area should be able to find them there.

Cheers!

The Beerbuddha

Friday, November 7, 2008

I'll trade you two Russian River Supplications for two Westy 12s!

"I'll give you one '86 Topps Cal Ripken Jr. and one '89 Upper Deck Mark McGwire for your '86 Topps Jose Canseco." I'm pretty sure that is a baseball card trade that I actually made at some point in my childhood. I was crazy about Jose Canseco. Any Jose card I could get I traded for it. Yeah, yeah I know Jose Canseco is the big joke in baseball now but he wasn't when I was a kid. You know, the funny things is I still have all my cards.

Baseball cards, football cards and even Garbage Pail Kids(remember those!)were traded regularly in my neighborhood. Eventually though you grow up and you move on and the fun and excitement of trading becomes a memory. Or so I thought.


When I joined Beeradvocate.com a little over a year ago I learned of the world of beer trading. Ah Ha! Trading for adults!!! YES!! It's the same concept as card trading(I'll trade you beer X for beer Y) but just a little more expensive and well, possibly illegal. The illegal part I'm not even sure of. Call any of the major shipping companies(FedEx, UPS, DHL) and they'll tell you they DO NOT ship alcohol. Legal Schmegal! It's only illegal if you get caught right?


I just recently traded with a buddy up in New Hampshire(Matt Young)and it was great. I sent him beers he hasn't had or couldn't get and he sent me beers I couldn't get(plus a glass-Hell yeah!). It was great. Trading is a win/win for everyone and a win/win for the world of beer!! I think this is one of the many things that makes the beer world special. I doubt that you'd see anyone trading wine or any other alcoholic beverage. It just doesn't sound right. But for beer it seems to be natural. It's like we're kids again sitting on the front porch on a hot, lazy summer day trading for our favorite sports players but now we're big kids trading for awesome beers!


If you're interested in beer trading there are many sites out there that can help you get started. Just google beer trading. I prefer using Beeradvocate.com which does a great job of having forums site aside for single trading or multiple group trades called BIFs. They also do a great job of explaining the ins and outs of trading. Good luck and have fun! It's addicting!


Cheers!

The Beerbuddha

Hey, Yoos Guys! Hah Poon Be-ah is He-ah!



You read it right my fellow New Orleanians, Harpoon Brewery beers are now available in town. As of this past Monday(November 3rd)they should have been appearing on shelves. Right now we can only get the IPA(rated a B on Beeradvocate.com) and the UFO Hefeweizen(rated a B- on Beeradvocate.com). So whenever you're at your favorite local New Orleans drinking establishment remember to ask for a Harpoon!!!

Last night (November 7th) I got a visit at the store from Chris Derr the Harpoon Brewery Area Sales Manager for the Texas/Lousiana markets and he was so excited about getting his beers into Louisiana. Getting these beers into the market is the start to a good Beerevolution in Louisiana which is what we need. We have the drinkers now we just need the beer!! VIVA LA BEEREVOLTION!!

Cheers!

The Beerbuddha

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Decision 2008

So I'm sure you read the headline and shook your head saying,"Oh no, not another political post talking about Obama being a terrorist or socialist." and "Get over it Obama won!". True, Obama won and I feel it is what it is. At this point in my life I've been around long enough to know that all politicians are like strippers. They promise you all these great things to get into the Champagne Room only to deceive you and take your money leaving you with the worst case of blue balls ever.



No, I'm not here to talk politics. I'm here to discuss one of my own personal decisions. It is going to be a tough one and I'm not sure if I really want to do it. Over the past 10+ years I have saved one bottle of every beer I've ever consumed. Basically, if it came in a bottle I drank it and then kept the bottle. Now I'm not talking every bottle just one of each. Still though. That shit adds up. And it looks like it has added up to about 600+ bottles and counting.

Now over the years that I have been keeping these bottles I have stored them in boxes. I have a spare room in the house and about 1/4-1/2 of the room is boxes of bottles. Then I have 6 pack holders of bottles just strewn all over the room. It has gotten to the point that I'm fed up with not being able to use the room. Hell, I could have a cool ass man room in there. All men need a man room right? So the question then is keep or throw away? Tough decision. Now I have been told by a buddy of mine, Ken the Barefootbrewer, that he peels the labels off and puts them in a scrape book. I've seen the scrapbook(s) and they are very cool. He keeps bottles that don't have labels or are pretty cool looking. I really like this idea but man it's tough to just throw away bottles I've been holding onto for so long. It would be nice to not have to 1) move all those damn boxes around every time we move 2) actually have people see them 3) they can be more organized in a book(s); and lastly 4)have another room in the house that maybe I can make into a man room.

So, all 9 readers, I put it to you. Keep or get rid of the bottles. Comment and let me know what you think.





Cheers!

The Beerbuddha

Beer Video Of The Month: November