Deschutes Black Butte XXI

Yea Haw...Put your big boy pants on kiddies, this is a grown-ups brewski. This was released last year and has been in bottle since. Mellowed out slightly, but still massive with some pure expresso-like bitterness on the end. Slightly sweet, which I could do without, but still damn good.

Brewed with cocoa nibs and Ethopian coffee added after. 20% of finished beer goes into Bourbon barrels.

These Bourbon barrels are all the rage right now with the wacky micro-brews dudes, but many times beer ends up tasting like cooked vanilla and not much else. Deschutes gets it right though. Good balance of a couple different very strong flavors. (although the year in bottle has certainly helped integrate all these components)

Valserrano - 2004 Reserva

Valserrano...the Angelina Jolie of Rioja. Beautiful for sure, but more importantly just dripping with "character". Old school winemaking with some tried and true modern techniques, blah, blah, blah...

The 2004 Reserva is full of autumnal spice, hints of game, fresh cherry fruit but wines like these defy the typical "tasting note".

We are lucky to have so many pleasurable wines available to us these days. But, like a beautiful women you pass on street, they are enjoyable for the moment, but there is nothing memorable. After over 100 years of making wine on the property, the guys behind Valserrano are producing truly memorable wine. Not stupidly expensive (the 04 Reserva was $20), but wines like this you just don't forget. Isn't that one of the things we are all after...memorable experiences?