Shiner Wild Hare and FM 966

It's been a long time since I've tried the beers of the Spoetzl Brewery from Shiner, Texas. Over the years I've reviewed many of their brews as well as the 100th anniversary book. While rattling a shopping cart through the grocery store the other day I spied a couple of bottles that I hadn't tried before... And since that Kroger sells individual bottles, I was able to give them a try without committing to six-packs. Though I wasn't too worried--Shiner has never let me down.

Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale
5.7% abv.

Here we've got a standard American Pale Ale, with a focus on hops--in this case, US Golding and Bravo hops. Munich and caramel malts provide the depth and earthy structure underneath. Pleasant citrus notes, with a tart beginning and a nice bitter finish.

Shiner FM 966 Farmhouse Ale
5.7% abv.

This is a Farmhouse Ale or Saison, a type of beer traditionally brewed in the Wallonia region of Belgium during the winter and meant to be consumed in the summer. Brewing it was a way to keep farmworkers busy during the cold months, which was also a safe time to brew before modern refrigeration. And in the warm months when the barley, wheat, and hops had to be grown and harvested, the saison beers would be used to hydrate the farmworkers (up to five litres a day!). FM 966 is a "Farm to Market" road in Shiner, not a radio station as I originally thought.

Now that I've actually gotten a chance to taste the beer, it's surprisingly grassy and bright and clean, kind of like a Sauvignon Blanc. I'd suggest similar pairings of shellfish and fresh salads. Very mild finish, and it's quite refreshing. Highly recommended for a neat style of beer that doesn't get a lot of pours on this side of the Atlantic.

Shiner Ruby Redbird

Irish folklore involves a lot of plots involving the geis, a rule or taboo specific to the hero. Generally the hero has multiple geasa that cause logical conflicts with each other. This means that the old scribes of Éire used the same plot device as Captain Kirk when he needed to make a computer self destruct in the original series of Star Trek. The most famous example probably comes from the story of Cú Chulainn. One geis says that he can't eat dog meat, and another geis says that he can't refuse free food from a woman. And normally there's nothing wrong with having these two rules in your life--to be honest, I'd add them to the Ten Commandments, and I don't think Moses or Charlton Heston would argue with me. But an evil old woman offers him some free dog meat, and he has no choice but to eat it and then die from his breaking of the geis. That's why Irish folktales make such happy bedtime stories for kids. (There are hundreds of arguments to be made here involving various strains of logic and religion, but there's no need to get into that right now. Suffice it to say that this gentile enjoys the creative arguments of the Talmud when it comes to interpreting the strict laws of the Tanakh.)

I was thinking of Cú Chulainn as I stared at the six pack of Ruby Redbird from the good folks at Shiner. I've never had anything from Shiner I didn't like, and I am a big supporter of their history and continued commitment to obscure European beer styles made deep in the heart of Texas. On the other hand adding red grapefruit juice and ginger to beer seemed like a silly gimmick aimed at the Mike's Hard Lemonade crowd. On the gripping hand, it's technically a premixed shandy, and thus traditional, and I've had a powerful craving for grapefruit recently.

Complicating matters is the fact that grapefruit is an important crop in Texas, and as a child I loved the bitter and acidic Texsun grapefruit juice in the can, which required the key to punch holes in the top lid. So we're supporting a local crop here. I decided to tempt fate and grab the sixer, just because I was so curious.

Shiner Ruby Redbird
$7/6 pack, 4% abv.

It's a lot better than it sounds, because it's not sweet or goofy. You get the full tang of the grapefruit and the sting of the ginger, without a bunch of unnecessary sweetness. At the same time, you don't get to appreciate much of the actual beer flavor, but somehow it all just works. I could even see myself dropping a sliced jalapeño pepper in there to add another dimension. I tasted this on its own during a sweltering Memphis afternoon, but a lot of the flavor reminded me of the various spiced lemonades that my Gujarati friend's mother would make when she came to town. And thus I will say that this beer would be absolutely perfect with Thai, Indian, or Vietnamese food. I was craving rich spices and exotic flavor combinations, and it's not often that you get a beer with the perfect acidity and spiciness to match such cuisines. Try it out, and let me know how it works for you.

Tito's Handmade Vodka

Vodka is a complicated subject for me. I've had good and bad vodka. I've had it from a half dozen different countries and in many different preparations. Ideally a great vodka has little flavor or aroma. When doing a comparative tasting of different spirits, the idea is to evaluate smoothness and ease of consumption. Yes folks, it is possible to discern separate vodkas in a blind tasting, and using a Brita water filter to smooth out a cheap one doesn't quite work. I am not a vodka expert--when it comes to the clear spirits I prefer rum or gin. But I was highly impressed with this offering from the traditional vodka producing region of... Austin, Texas?

Tito's Handmade Vodka
$20/750mL bottle, 40% abv.

This corn-based spirit is made by Bert Butler "Tito" Beveridge II, whose nickname Tito is shortened from the diminutive "Bertito". Hmmm... Benito, Bertito, Beartato. Beveridge studied the methods and equipment of artisan moonshine producers, and developed his own spirit that performed well against existing vodkas. He established the first and oldest legal distillery in Texas.

It does in fact go down smooth and slightly sweet (although there's no additional sugar involved here). While certainly enjoyable at room temperature, at freezer level it is even better and glides down with a cool tang. The shoulder tag proclaims that it is gluten free, and while technically all pure spirits are gluten free, flavored ones are not and aren't typically labeled as such. The back label informs us that this is distilled a whopping six times. Cognac is smoother than Armagnac because of the simple act of double distillation versus single distillation. Like Cognac or good Scotch, Tito's is produced in small batches in traditional copper stills.

While I think this is quite pleasant by itself, I did have to try it with something where it wouldn't get overwhelmed...

The Screwdriver Cocktail
1 part Vodka
2 parts Orange Juice

Dead simple, and good on its own or over ice. I've garnished this one with two personal favorite screwdrivers: a recent 3mm flathead jeweler's screwdriver and a vintage Craftsman Phillips head (made in the USA) that's probably older than I am. I know that I've been carrying it around in my bag of tools since I was old enough to start taking things apart.

Folks, don't really garnish your drinks with screwdrivers. The acid isn't good for the metal and if you've actually been using them for real work on motors and carburetors and electronics you don't want those industrial solvents and lubricants in your beverage. But if you want to serve whimsical cocktails at a hipster party, get a few plastic toy screwdrivers.


Note: This bottle was received as a sample.

2004 Becker "les trois dames" Claret

Several months ago, business took me to Dallas where I picked up a bottle of wine from Becker Vineyards. Since I was back in the area for recreational purposes, I decided to try another one of their wines, the 2004 Becker "les trois dames" Claret. Contrary to the notes on the 2005 in the link, the 2004 is made up of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 10% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. The name comes from three female viticulturists who collaborated on this wine: Eunice Hunter contributed Merlot, Laverne Newsom provided the Cabernet Sauvignon, and Dorothy Cooper grew the Cabernet Franc.

A nose of blackberry jam. Firm tannins, with a cherry cola flavor and a tart but not acidic mouth feel. In a nod to Texas I tried it with a BBQ brisket sandwich.

In the words of standup comedian Ron White, "I told you that story to tell you this story." I didn't purchase the wine at the vineyard. I didn't get it as a gift from the Chamber of Commerce. I didn't even find it at a liquor store. I bought it at a gas station on the west side of Dallas, in a town called Grapevine (ha ha) just north of the DFW airport.

We had stopped for gas and I ran in to grab a bottle of water. On the door I saw a handwritten sign that said "Wine tasteing next Wednesday" (sic). I chuckled to myself and imagined some promotional event for Boone's Farm and Wild Irish Rose. Once I stepped inside I discovered that half of the Shell station was devoted to wine (and decent wine at that), and to make the experience even more odd for this Tennessee boy, I was able to purchase the bottle on a Sunday.

On one half of the store: Slim Jims and Funyuns. On the other half, a surprisingly electic mix of wines from around the world, with shelf tags and the whole nine yards. I grabbed a Texas wine mainly because they're not carried in Memphis and I felt I owed it to the Lone Star State.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

The Girlfriend and I went on a road trip to Texas last weekend. We drove ten straight hours from Memphis to Houston. The following morning, we went to The Houston Museum of Natural Science in order to see the 3.2 million year old bones of the Australopithecus afarensis Lucy. While the majority of the exhibit focused on Ethiopian history and culture, the last portion was dedicated to Lucy. In a small glass case you get to see a partial skeleton the size of a seven year old child. It's a humbling experience.

Ed. note: in reference to the first comment on this post, I picked up a couple of awesome "I Love Lucy" refrigerator magnets in the gift shop. A perfect mix of history and kitsch, which is what fun weekend getaways are all about.

Then it was off to Dallas. The hotel offered a complimentary glass of wine to be delivered later, and I just checked off the box for the sparkler. I wasn't expecting much, maybe a dull Korbel that flattened en route from the bar. Much to my surprise, I received two 187 mL bottles of NV Chandon Brut Classic in an ice bucket. A bit of toast on the nose, with crisp Chardonnay flavors and just a touch of lemon.

No hotel cooking on this trip... Instead we had a lovely dinner at The Oceanaire. The lady enjoyed the pan-fried trout in brown butter, while I had goat cheese crusted corvina with beet risotto. Simply amazing. I enjoyed mine with a glass of a Sancerre from Mollet: nice hints of apple and pear, solid structure and balanced acidity.

At right, the Old Red Museum of Texas history in downtown Dallas.

The most interesting part of the meal had to be the oysters. Out of the dozen varieties on the menu I told the waiter to pick six for me. I had Beau Soleil, Blue Point, Hurricane, Indian Point, Malpaque, and Tatamagouche. I really loved the smaller ones, some of which had a buttery flavor (such as the Indian Point). The Beau Soleil had an incredible, fresh from the ocean saltiness. The largest was the Blue Point, though even it was dainty compared to the big mud rocks we get in Memphis.

The next morning we were off to Dealy Plaza to visit the site of the JFK assassination. The photo at left was taken looking across the road where the event occurred. (If you click for the larger version, you might get to see little white crosses painted in the road to denote where the shots impacted.) It was surprising to see how small the entire area was; the plaza is split by a pair of roads that lead to and from the interstate, and the infamous Book Depository is a rather nondescript seven-story building on the corner. All of this is on the west side of Downtown Dallas.

I can highly recommend the museum in the Book Depository building. The displays and artifacts are tasteful and comprehensive, filling up the sixth floor where Oswald was perched. For instance, one display includes a sample of every kind of camera that was present at the event, and a future exhibit about photography is planned for the top floor.

Afterwards we made an appearance at a wedding reception then it was back home. A short but fun-filled trip: 1200 miles, two major historical exhibits, one fabulous seafood dinner, and gorgeous weather all the way.

2005 Becker Vineyards "Iconoclast" Cabernet Sauvignon

I spent last week in Dallas on a business trip. I didn't have much time to spend looking around the city, but I did hike three miles north of the hotel to purchase a bottle of Texas wine. And on the way home to Memphis, my luggage took a detour to Orlando. Despite all of that, the 2005 Becker Vineyards "Iconoclast" Cabernet Sauvignon held up quite well and I was able to enjoy it with dinner Sunday night.

For $10, this was a great little wine. Full fruit flavors, strong blueberries and black grape on the palate. Surprisingly light tannins, medium dry, and decent spice on the finish. For the meal, I cut apart a 1½lb Porterhouse into three portions: the filet, and then two equal pieces of the strip, each roughly ½lb. I used the method laid out in the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated. Basically, you cut thick steaks into half pound portions, tie into rounds, roast at 275°F until around 100°F internal temperature, then finish them off in a hot stainless steel skillet. The method is sound, but good marinating beforehand and heavy seasoning is recommended to provide the desired saltiness.

The recipe suggests a finishing sauce; I've tried this twice and haven't done the sauce, but I did use some butter blended with fresh sage from my garden to top the finished steaks. I've almost taken to carrying a sage leaf around with me just to sniff it every now and then.