Untied Brewing Company Volunteer as a Tribute, American India Pale Ale 2021 version

Untied Brewing Company Volunteer as a Tribute, American India Pale Ale 2021 version

This is the 2021 iteration of the previous Volunteer as Tribute, which was labeled as a West Coast style IPA. This version is labeled as American IPA and has been made differently than the previous one : it has been dry hopped with Strata and Mosaic hops. You can read my review of the 2020 one here, that I just published ahead of this one : https://wineinamerica.wordpress.com/2021/07/25/untied-brewing-company-volunteer-as-tribute-west-coast-india-pale-ale/

American India Pale Ale 7.1% vol.

Untied Brewing Company Volunteer as a Tribute, American India Pale Ale 2021 version

Bright yellow with thin white foam, not very cloudy.

Nose : flowery, fruity, hoppy, malt, pine resin.

In mouth : more bitterness than the previous version, more structure too, way less fruity (I didn’t’t really tasted any fruit) less sweet feeling too. Strong bitter notes, pine notes too. Flowery, herbal and woody.

As for me (and my son also) I prefer the 2020 version which is way more fruity and less bitter (in the 2020 the bitterness is counterbalanced by the fruitiness). I have found (we have found my son and I) that I am not (we are not) big fans of the mosaic hop and its strong woody /pine resin and very bitter notes (see the single hop series tasting with beer brewed only with mosaic here : https://wineinamerica.wordpress.com/2020/09/21/untied-brewing-single-and-two-hop-india-pale-ales-a-hop-that-needs-no-introduction-series/  )

We will reserve this version for the fall and with more robust food as it will pair better with fall food than summer meals. And for now we will enjoy the very 2 last cans from last year’s version. No worry we have plenty of other cans of beer too, no shortage any time soon.

Untied Brewing Company Volunteer as a Tribute, American India Pale Ale 2021 version

Untied Brewing Company Volunteer as Tribute, West Coast India Pale Ale

Untied Brewing Company Volunteer as Tribute, West Coast India Pale Ale

Another IPA from my local and favorite brewery, Untied Brewing Company, but this time it’s a West Coast style IPA. They released it last summer 2020 and I tasted it at the time but never published the review (I have a back log). However I revisited it tonight before publishing and found the same tastes as in my tasting notes. I am publishing it today because 2 or 3 weeks ago they released a new version of this West Coast IPA that I bought and will taste and review. For this review I revisited the same exact one that I bought last summer : yes the can is one year old but the beer is still perfectly fine and tasted exactly the same as per my notes from last year.

Untied Brewing Company Volunteer as Tribute, West Coast India Pale Ale

West Coast style India Pale Ale 6.8% vol.

Bright yellow with white foam.

Nose : fruity, yellow fruits and citrus.

In mouth : first really fruity, peaches, apricots, yellow fruits with a sweet taste but not sugary. Not bitter at first but the bitterness comes later. The hops are not prevalent, mild taste. A bit flowery too. This West Coast style is very different from the usual New England IPAs we drink here in the North East.

Not hoppy, a bit of bitterness creeps in later on, in middle mouth and after mouth but it’s a mild bitterness, nothing too aggressive. Lasting (mild) bitterness taste after drinking, the bitterness really kicks in in after mouth.

Very good and a nice change from the usual New England style IPAs. My son liked it so much last summer that I could only have one can, the rest were gone before long. Except from this 4-pack I put away for later and that I am glad to have again today before trying the newest 2021 iteration of this beer.

Untied Brewing Company Volunteer as Tribute, West Coast India Pale Ale

Apothic Red California Red Blend 2016

Apothic Red California Red Blend 2016

Here is another of the red blends from Apothic that I have been drinking for years but not yet reviewed, which I am doing today. I have reviewed a couple of their other offerings (read here :  https://wineinamerica.wordpress.com/?s=apothic  ) as well as another of their excellent red blends, the Apothic Crush, read here : https://wineinamerica.wordpress.com/2021/06/17/apothic-crush-california-red-blend-2016/

This one is their winemaker’s blend, simply called the Apothic Red. 13.5% vol. Vintage 2016. This is a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Tasting was done in my Le Deux glasses.

Apothic Red California Red Blend 2016

Apothic Red California Red Blend 2016

Dark burgundy color leaning towards purple with wide purple pink rim. Irregular medium legs.

Nose : blackcurrant, black cherry, varnish, fruit esters, leather, vanilla, spices, peppercorn and some vinaigrette.

In mouth : blackcurrant and other dark fruits but the most prominent one is ripe black cherry. Some vanilla, wood, some spices and peppercorn and some warmth. A slight bitterness in middle mouth, overall rounded and smooth but with some structure and mellowed tannins.

Some coffee and chocolate notes in after mouth, that linger in mouth but rather subtle and not overpowering.

A well rounded wine, another excellent red blend specially for the price point, 9 dollars at my usual wine store, Stirling Fine Wines here in New Jersey, furthermore for a California wine. Just excellent and reliable each time I open a bottle.

After the tasting I paired it with some fresh pasta, pepper rigatoni served with marinara sauce.

Apothic Red California Red Blend 2016

Rosso di Ca’ Momi California Red Wine 2018

Rosso di Ca’ Momi California Red Wine 2018

After reading a nice review of this very affordable wine in Odedi’s wine blog, I decided to try it as it was readily available at my usual wine store. This is a red wine from California, from Napa Valley. Price was $10 in Stirling Fine Wines, Stirling New Jersey.

California, Napa Valley, 13.5% vol., vintage 2018. It’s a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot and Petite Sirah.

I tasted it in my Le Deux wine glasses.

Rosso di Ca’ Momi California Red Wine 2018

Dark red leaning towards brownish, purplish, wide pink purple rim, irregular long legs.

Nose : green bell pepper, peppercorn, undergrowth, dust, cave, earth then some timid black fruits : cooked blackcurrants and blackberries appear after a while in the glass and several swirls.

It becomes more fruity on the cooked and preserved side after some air time and a couple of swirls in the glass.

Some brown spices and brown notes of cocoa and coffee creep in too.

In mouth we don’t have these earthy notes at all but rather some brown notes (cocoa plus chocolate, not so much coffee at first taste) plus vanilla, wood and tannins — rather melted and mellowed (fondus). A slight acidity though, and a bit of bitterness in middle mouth.

Red and black fruits rather cooked and jam-like (confits).

Some cocoa and cocoa powder bitterness as a finale including some wood and vanilla.

Rosso di Ca’ Momi California Red Wine 2018

A pretty decent wine which is rather pleasant and has a lot of structure, with mellowed tannins though, furthermore for the price point between 10 to 12 dollars here in New Jersey.

A nice priced California red wine as a matter of fact, furthermore Napa Valley. Napa Valley wines are usually super pricey so this wine is welcome in that price range.

Nice enough to stock up a couple of bottles in the wine rack to have at the ready.

After tasting I paired it with some Barilla spaghetti served with sautéed mushrooms and garlic, sprinkled with some parmesan cheese.

Rosso di Ca’ Momi California Red Wine 2018

Rosso di Ca’ Momi California Red Wine 2018

Einstok Icelandic Arctic Lager

Einstok Icelandic Arctic Lager

This is a new creation by Einstok for the summer. This is their first lager actually and I was curious to try it out. So I went to my favorite liquor store, Stirling Fine Wines, where I found it without any problem.

This is a new and last post, as of now, of all the Einstok tasting series that can be found in my blog here. I have tasted their whole range of beers (except for the berry one as I don’t like berry beers), 7 in total plus this one.

As we can expect from a lager, it’s light in alcohol content, 4.7% vol, meant for the hot season.

Bright golden yellow with medium white foam, not cloudy at all as expected usually with lagers, very clear.

Nose : yeasts, brioche.

Mouth : bitter, yeasts and a tad of caramel, some varnish. Crisp and refreshing, on the bitter side, it’s actually more bitter than expected from a lager. Apart from that it’s very light in taste, not much to write home about. If you are thirsty it will be refreshing and not too high in alcohol for the summer heat, but there are better lager options than this one. It’s not bad but a bit dull. 

Einstok Icelandic Arctic Lager

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Feudi del Duca 2018 Italy

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Feudi del Duca 2018 Italy

A wine from Italy for a change, this one is a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, DOP, vintage 2018. 13% vol. The price was rather cheap, $8 at my usual wine store, Stirling Fine Wines (NJ), that’s why I grabbed it while I was browsing.

Deep red, almost black, leaning towards purple. Wide purple rim, no legs.

Not a lot of nose, only some rough tannins.

In mouth : same tannins that were hinted by the scent, rough tannins at first, then some wood but no vanilla with this wood. A hint of coffee in the after mouth.

Not bad but not excellent neither, I would say average.

After some air in the glass, some earth and moss notes, chocolate and leather on the nose. Same in mouth, leather, coffee and chocolate. Being in contact with air for a while in the glass opened it up a bit. A tannic wine and a bit acid too.

I set it aside to re-taste it the following day, without putting it under the Vacu-Vin stopper, on the contrary I wanted it to sit in contact with air for a while.

Actually I tasted it again 2 days later rather than one day, after leaving the bottle open (without even its cork stopper), but it didn’t specially improve.

All in all, a rather ordinary wine, not good, not bad. I’ll keep the Douro as my usual go-to cheap but delicious wine instead of this one. Nothing to write home about.

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Feudi del Duca 2018 Italy

Johnnie Walker Black Label Blended Scotch Whisky

Johnnie Walker Black Label Blended Scotch Whisky

Aged 12 years, 40% vol.

I already reviewed their Double Black   and their famous Red Label    read here : https://wineinamerica.wordpress.com/?s=walker  that I both enjoyed. So I am continuing my exploration of their series, this time with the Black Label.

Tasting was made in my Maison du Whisky (the Parisian well known go-to high end store for whiskies) glasses.

Dark golden, very bright, medium and very regular legs.

Nose : smoke, vanilla, brown sugar, a round nose all in all. The smoke scent is very rounded, not agressive but present.

In mouth : smoke (rounded), apple, then some licorice, all well melted together, nothing dominant. This blended whisky is excellent, a big notch above the « regular » Red Label, which was expected of course because it’s a step above also in price. 

Then some vanilla of course, some astringency at the end and a delicious warm feeling that sums it up. 

I love it better than the Red Label too.

Johnnie Walker Black Label Blended Scotch Whisky

Untied Brewing single hop India Pale Ales series : A Hop That Needs No Introduction Strata and Nelson Sauvin

Untied Brewing single hop India Pale Ales series : A Hop That Needs No Introduction Strata and Nelson Sauvin

Continuing with the Hop That Needs No Introduction series from my favorite local brewery, Untied Brewing Company, another single hop IPA that they released recently, brewed solely with Strata and Nelson Sauvin hops.

New England style IPA, 7.1% vol. 

Untied Brewing single hop India Pale Ales series : A Hop That Needs No Introduction Strata and Nelson Sauvin

Cloudy yellow with medium white foam.

Nose : fruity, passion fruit mainly, citrus mandarin and tangerine.

In mouth : passion fruit, citrus, mandarin. The main note is passion fruit. Then a little bitterness and some pine resin at the end.

Excellent IPA again from Untied.

After the tasting we (my son and I) paired it with some paprika chicken served with string beans, rice and a lemon and thyme creamy sauce.

19 Crimes Cali Rosé 2020

19 Crimes Cali Rosé 2020

Another Californian wine from 19 Crimes. I have reviewed 2 from their usual line up of Australian wines here (search 19 crimes in the search box or click on the link : https://wineinamerica.wordpress.com/?s=19+crimes

and more recently their Californian red blend called Cali Red here : https://wineinamerica.wordpress.com/2021/05/12/19-crimes-cali-red-2019/ and I liked all of them very much.

So when I stumbled upon a rosé iteration of the Cali wine while browsing at the wine store the other day, I figured I might give it a try.

19 Crimes Cali Rosé 2020

So this is a Californian rosé wine, 10.5% vol, around $14 in New Jersey, under screw cap.

Purple pink, almost pink highlighter color with wide rim and no legs.

I could smell the powerful strawberry notes as I was pouring the wine.

Nose : strawberry, almost powdered strawberry like the European Fraise Tagada candies from Haribo, sangria, raspberry and red fruits. Very fruity on the nose.

Mouth : strawberry then raspberry and cherry as main notes. A bit watery and light, it feels almost like a wine cocktail.

Some redcurrant also. Light and pleasant, a bit on the sweet side, it feels sweet and but not too sugary fortunately. I don’t think it’s a sweet wine or at least it’s not advertised that way. It feels also low in acidity so maybe the sweetness is more apparent. In any case it’s not the crisp and refreshing type of wine like most summer rosés are. Not bad though but I would consider it as an « aperitif wine » almost like a wine cocktail such as a kir (blackcurrant liquor or syrup plus white wine) for before eating rather than a wine to go with the meal. Like we do in France when we have the aperitif. 

All in all light and pleasant for aperitif (feels like a raspberry kir made with rosé wine), well done.

19 Crimes Cali Rosé 2020