Type: Beer – Quadrupel
Name: Dieu du Ciel! – Rigor Mortis
Price: $5.49
Made: Quebec, Canada
Alc/Vol: 10.5% (more…)

Image Property of www.pillitteri.com

Type: Wine – Rosso Dolce/ Sweet Red
Name: Pillitteri Estates – I Baci
Price: $7.79
Made: Niagara, Ontario, Canada
Alc/Vol: 12.5%

“A soft sweet bodied creature with fragrant notes of cherry, rasberry and black current. This Rosso Dulce kiss is very good on its own or made into a sangria.”

Every once in a while I like to explore the world of wines. My wallet may not be able to stretch enough for fancy sophisticated wines, however I doubt my pallet could taste the difference. Therefore, I like to look at some of the recommendations on special at my local alcohol provider. I try to always have a new beer and wine on hand, and while I tend to examine beers here more than wines I am working on exploring the wide world of wines one bottle at a time.

So what did this bottle say to me, well I wouldn’t say it gave me a rosso dolce kiss but it settled nicely on my lips and tongue. The initial scent is strong and rich with hints of sweetness and spice all blended together. The taste matched all of the scents and really came through with a tart cherry finish that left your tongue dry almost wanting to take another sip to quench your new found thirst.

I like the taste but with such a tart cherry dry finish I was hoping for a bit of a raspberry undertone to come through in the end. Since this did not happen I did the next best thing and made a sangria to give it the fruity finish I desired.

The wine, and sangria concoction was served at room temperature so I wonder what subtle differences would have come through if I chilled it. Yet, now mixed in a fresh fruity sweetness the wine really took on a beautifully rich taste that blended a spiced deepness with the sweet fruity flavorings. My wife added a little juice to her sangria mix which toned down the spice to her liking perfectly.

I believe all in all I would give this wine  4 out of 5 bananas. Alone as a sangria or sweet red it would probably only earn 3 bananas but the its ability to play well between the two earns it a higher rating. I made sure to go back and buy the last bottle they had on stock of this delicious wine and will have to keep on the look out for its reappearance.

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Image property of www.unibroue.com

Type: Beer – Dark Ale/ Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Name: Unibroue - Terrible
Price: $7.99 (750 mL)
Made: Chambly Quebec Canada
Alc/Vol: 10.5%

I bought this beer for a few reasons, one is I usually avoid the big bottles because they are a bit pricey and I felt that was unfair to all the big bottled delicious beers out there. Additionally, where I purchase my beers they use BeerAdvocate.com to display the beers characteristics and rating and this one had an A-. Not knocking BeerAdvocate but I guess they couldn’t think of a cool rating system like bananas. Therefore, in order to give big bottles a chance I gave in and purchased this behemoth highly rated bottle o’ brew.

I think this is my third corked beer, as I twisted and turned the cork I expected a pop or a fizz yet…there was nothing. Sort of anti-climatic if you think about it. It poured a dark and creamy coffee color with a lasting caramal colored head. The nose had a sweetness to it, almost a light sourness.

The taste did not match the scent, not completely. While I was expecting something more sweet this had a deep rich, dark fruit flavor. The sourness still remained, I’m not sure if this comes through because it is a corked beer and allowed to breath more or the dark fruits in the beer give it a sour taste. I even looked at the ‘best by’ date and I still have till January 2016, which seems like an exorbitantly long time for a beer to stay fresh. Yet when they let it age for 5 years like a wine it could be a “all of the above” scenario.

Overall, I wasn’t a big fan of this brew, and I’m kind of disapointed I was lured in by a high rating. Their website speaks of brew tasting championships but perhaps my pallet wasn’t in tune with theirs. My wife was finished after three sips, I kept sipping through it, not out of enjoyment but to better pick out the taste. Alas, sad to say it wasn’t tickling my fancy, and I had to give it up before it was finished. I can’t give this beer any bananas, not even a half. I tried to drink down my glass but even if I did, I still had my wife’s glass and I should never struggle to drink beer.

Does anyone know how to play the military taps? I feel like I should play it as I poured this brew down the drain. It is a sad dark and gloomy New Brew Tuesday and I think I may start into next weeks brew early just to cheer me up.

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