Untied Brewing Company More File This Imperial India Pale Ale

Untied Brewing Company More File This Imperial India Pale Ale

That’s a brand new release, made specially for the 4th anniversary of my local favorite brewery, Untied Brewing Company in New Providence, NJ. This one is a variation of one of their core IPAs, File This [read my review of File This here :  https://wineinamerica.wordpress.com/2019/11/26/untied-brewing-company-file-this-india-pale-ale/  ] conditioned with tangerine, peach, mango, and vanilla beans. I must confess I was a bit skeptical at first because I am not a big fan of « flavored beers » when something external such as fruit or spices are added to the beer. Wrong on my part because this one turned out to be one of my favorites of their beer offerings and I just wished it were not a special limited edition (they are already out of cans and you can only fill growlers for a limited time).

Untied Brewing Company More File This Imperial India Pale Ale

8.3% vol.

Dark yellow, cloudy, with medium whitish foam.

Nose : fruity, hoppy, flowery, mango and vanilla.

In mouth : vanilla, creamy (cream taste). Then the fruits kick in, mango and peach mainly. Not bitter at all and very sweet (in the sense of soft, not in the sense of sugary) to the palate. A slight herbal middle mouth or rather a taste of angelica.

This beer is absolutely excellent and has become an instant favorite. Knowing it was a limited release, I went back to the brewery to buy more and stock up but they were already out of cans. Last week I bought 2 of those 32oz growlers (1 liter) that they poured for me from their tap, but we already finished them of course. I am going to tell Matt who is one of the owners to make more and to brew it time to time on special occasions. I just love it so much.

19 Crimes The Banished 2016 Dark Red Wine South Eastern Australia

19 Crimes The Banished 2016 Dark Red Wine South Eastern Australia

Another wine from Australia, South Eastern Australia, made by 19 Crimes. I had previously reviewed another of the red blends, the Uprising, as well as their Cabernet Sauvignon (where you can also read more about the concept and labels) and their Shiraz a while ago among others [click here : https://wineinamerica.wordpress.com/?s=19+crimes  ] 

This one is labeled dark red wine, vintage 2016. 13.5% vol. Same price range as the others, around $10 here in New Jersey. It comes in the same heavy glass bottle with frosted glass and with another distinctive label that is part of their brand. 

As the name was hinting, it’s very dark, purple black red, almost black. Very bright purple rim, irregular long legs. I could already smell dark cherry just when pouring the wine in the glass.

Tasting was done in my LeDeux glasses.

19 Crimes The Banished 2016 Dark Red Wine South Eastern Australia

Nose : fruit esters, park cherry, very ripe, a hint of cassis (blackcurrant) and cassis leaves, powdery, some strawberry, vanilla on the caramel side and caramel.

In mouth : very ripe dark cherry, ink, cassis (blackcurrant), dark fruits, a hint of caramel and vanilla custard on the butterscotch caramel side, almost candy like. Some acidity in the middle mouth. A mouthful of fruits, not unpleasant but extremely fruity (red and black) and caramel / custard.

I actually enjoyed it, more than the Uprising one [ read here :  https://wineinamerica.wordpress.com/2022/03/31/19-crimes-the-uprising-2017-red-wine-south-eastern-australia/  ] as much as I enjoyed their Cabernet Sauvignon wine. This Banished one is more on the fruity side though. A crowd pleaser and a wine that could appeal to the beginners too. I think I can buy it again along with their Cabernet Sauvignon iteration.

It’s silky and smooth with a little acidity to give it some oomph. And a custard after mouth that lingers. Good as sipping wine too. 

After the tasting I paired it with a homemade pizza with Italian sausage, eggplant and mozzarella.

19 Crimes The Banished 2016 Dark Red Wine South Eastern Australia

The 7 Deadly Zins California Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel 2014

The 7 Deadly Zins California Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel 2014

The 7 Deadly Zins California Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel 2014

This is a wine I enjoyed a lot a couple of years ago in a restaurant, so I took a picture of the bottle for reference, then I bought a couple of bottles. But again they fell at the bottom of my rack and I had forgotten I had a couple left, different vintages like this 2014 vintage. This other day I took it out with the intention of doing a formal tasting and see if it held up.

This is a wine from the Californian wine region Lodi in Central California. Old vine Zinfandel is the best known wine from the Lodi wine region. This particular one is made by Michael David Winery. The price when I bought it back in 2017 was $16.

15% vol., vintage 2014. Tasting in my LeDeux glasses.

The 7 Deadly Zins California Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel 2014

Dark red leaning towards dark brown with brown hues. A lot of very long legs, wide red brown rim.

Nose : a bit closed at first, not much scent but the mouth is absolutely outstanding, a least at first sips. I was a bit afraid at first because of the nose or absence thereof. 

In mouth : a mouth of melted tannins, soft wood vanilla, leather, cooked red and black fruits, some caramel too. A little after taste of oxidation (maderisation) that I smelled also a little bit on the nose after a while. Some varnish too in the after taste, cherry and chocolate too.

We’ll see tomorrow if that oxidation tastes goes away after sitting opened for a while. I just think it’s past peak. Unfortunately it was another of those bottles that fell at the bottom of my rack and that I had forgotten about. I had bought a couple of bottles back in 2015 and 2017 (this one was bought in 2017). I still have another bottle vintage 2012 bought in 2015, which must also be past peak. 

To be fair and do justice to this excellent wine (in my memories, plus the mouth is really outstanding at first before the oxidation becomes prevalent), I will buy a current vintage of it, taste it and report back. 

That night after the tasting I paired it with homemade pizza with brocoli and mushroom toppings.

The following day, after letting it sit open (no cork, no VacuVin) to air a bit and see if it would improve, I tasted it again : the nose is the same, closed and a bit unpleasant (wet carton, dust, cork)  as well as oxidized. The mouth is a tad better without that less pleasant after taste I had the first day. But it’s definitely past peak, my bad. Drink it before letting too much time pass, before I drank mine and before it’s too late.

Update : a couple of days after the tasting, I bought a current vintage of that same wine from one of my local wine stores, 2018 vintage for an slightly cheaper price even, $13. I’ll report back in the blog after tasting that bottle.

The 7 Deadly Zins California Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel 2014

Untied Brewing Company 4th Trip Around the Sun India Pale Ale

Untied Brewing Company 4th Trip Around the Sun India Pale Ale

That’s a brand new release, made specially for the 4th anniversary of my local favorite brewery, Untied Brewing Company in New Providence, NJ. Thus the name. Last year for their 3rd trip around the sun and the beer of said name, they also made it a triple IPA, which was excellent but very robust at a whooping 9.9% vol alcohol content. You can read here about that beer : https://wineinamerica.wordpress.com/2022/02/12/untied-brewing-company-3rd-trip-around-the-sun-triple-india-pale-ale/

This year for the 4th anniversary they didn’t go overboard and made a « normal » simple IPA, 6.8% vol.

Untied Brewing Company 4th Trip Around the Sun India Pale Ale

Very cloudy, golden yellow with a medium whitish foam. Very powerful scent when pouring the beer.

Nose : fruity and hoppy, a very pleasant nose

In mouth : hoppy, fruity, citrus and yellow fruits, earthly with a dank feeling and a medium bitterness in the middle mouth.

Just excellent, I love it and I am going to stock it before it’s gone.