LAMBRUCHA

Thanks to Mandy and Craig at the Bad Apple in Chicago for giving Jen and I this bottle a couple weeks ago. I was in town for the Great Lakes Water Conservation Conference and had a chance to stop by their bar. A week earlier we had done a collaboration with them at our New Holland Pub....A dry rye Irish Stout. I had a chance to write this review sitting at the Bad Apple bar after finishing a delicious burger typing on my new (used) apple laptop my sister had just given me.
I know it's a foreign brew, but totally acceptable...

Appearance: A glistening golden color with a fizzy dense white head that mostly coats the glass, forming a large outer ring. Carbonation is visibly present as the occasional bubbles erupts to the surface. As the bottle is emptied, each sample/glass becomes cloudier and more glowing than the last.
Aroma: The scent is something unlike I've ever encountered. The pinnacle of the outdoors and a woody funk, that reminds me of that first smell when you break a prized mushroom find from its root mycelium growing out of a tree stump. Strange, I know, but exact to my memory. Some hints of ginger and spice follow, accompanied with a all too familiar Kombucha funk. Brett remains present throughout, too. Blck tea is notable as well.
Taste: Light and spicy up front.  A fully attenuated beverage with nearly every trace of sugar being fermented out into its complimentary by-product. Here, Brettanomyces reigns most dominant, alongside A follow-up flavor to the carbonation of ginger, notes of honey, wood and brief phenols. Heavy black tea appears briefly As the beer approaches room temperature, I get more of an acetic flavor in the back of the mouth. Musty, perhaps may be the optimal description of the conglomeration of flavors. One could even consider the overall flavor to fall on the neutral side of pine/evergreen.
Mouthfeel: Extremely dry and refreshing. As I said earlier, the full attenuation created the definition of "dry." Carbonation is strong and provides much of the mouthfeel. Tart, but not enough to clench the jaw. Palate is left dry and resinous, and fully quenched.
Overall Impression: One of the most interesting things I have ever experienced. The most woodsy flavor I have ever encountered. The Lambic probably provided this, derived from the wood it sat in, while the Kombucha and the tea incorporated the spice, the outdoors and the acetic undertone.

Foreign Tastings: Mexican Lager's

Just last week I was fortunate enough to be invited/vacation with the Misewicz family to Cancun, Mexico. We stayed 5 days at Dreams Hotel & Spa for an all inclusive relaxation experience. I ate a LOT. Drank a good portion and Probably should have run a bit more. However I did discover a treadmill in the fitness center that went down to 4:00/ mile. So Tuesday I did a 2 x mile workout (4:52, 4:52) and again Thursday, the same thing a bit faster (4:44, 4:38). Following these runs I recovered with some free on tap Negra Modelo and/or Corona extra. The rest of the beers were tasted while Jen and I ventured to the Flea market for some quality bargaining. The Sol was tasted while on an excursion trip to Chichen-itza, the Mayan astrology city. Anyway, these are the Beers (cervesa's) I tried while in Mexico:

Corona Extra (on tap & bottle) - Light straw and bubbly. No head. Corn or rice adjunct. Pungent with a bit of plasticiness (especially on tap) light flavor and lagered, and skunky. Found I like it a lot with limes. Fizzy feel. Very refreshing when its hot.  75/100

Negra Modelo (on tap) - They either referred to it as Negro Modelo or Corona Dark. Browned but clear. No head. Fizzy looking and feeling. Some caramel but predominantly corn sugar? Some graininess at the finish. Worth switching between following the corona. But I found this beer is 100x better in the bottle. 76/100
85/100 (in bottles - Thanks to Henry Lapka for the introduction at El Patron in Rock Island)

Modelo Especial (cans) - Tried on the bus up to Chichen-Itza. actually quite flavorful and delicious. Light lager but some barley makes it through to the finish. Look of normal American lager. Very drinkable and satisfying. Easy to down 3 after a long hot day of walking. 78/100

Dos Equis Amber Lager (bottles) - Tasted in an alley in the town. Brown with clarity. Bubbly. Toastiness of malt and a touch of caramel. Still maintains a refreshing lagered characteristic. some hops carry through in a floral character. Still a corn sweetness. High carbonation, with a light body. 79/100

Bohemia Amber Laber (bottles) - Tasted in an alley in the town. Darker brown and sweet smelling with a touch of toasted funk. Lager and mild roastiness with a caramel backbone. Balanced and refreshing. Strong carbonation with a balanced crisp finish.
81/100

Sol (bottles) - I tried it in the U.S. and thought it was decent. Tried it again on our trip to Chichen-Itza with lunch (4$ a beer!) I argued and got it free because they told us it was inclusive. Anyway this beer is very light in color with a brilliant straw/gold color. Fizzy and refreshing. Strong corn sweet flavor with a bit of graininess. Normal Mexican go to lager with a bit more flavor than the rest. 77/100

The beers in Mexico are made for their climate. They are light and crisply hopped with a lagered skunky character. Though I'm not overly enthusiastic about this kind of class of beer, I can still appreciate the style. These beers were rated against my palate and my experience with all other beers I've tried with a dash of relativity against each other. I was nevertheless grateful to come back to a country where the micros out weigh the macros and the variety is abundant. (sorry for lack of a contextual photograph)

Foreign Tasting: Belgium Ale's

Thanks to Sheri Hendricks' recent trip to Belgium over winter break and her thoughtfulness to bring back 6 traditional Belgium ales to Rock Island, we were able to get together a few friends and have a good time talking and tasting. At first it was just going to be Tim, Sheri, and I but with a majority of the beers being at least 8 to 11%, we knew it would be impossible to make it through all six. So on January 14th, Tim, Sheri, Emily, Brendan, Dani, Pat, and I enjoyed the following beers - as well as one Belgian style Pumpkin Rye Tim made - using Tim's tasting set.

Leffe Brown: Rubied color, very clear. Sweet carameled smell as well as a little nutty and phenolic. Drier finish, tasted toasty and woody. 83/100

Grimbergen Dubbel: Tannish brown head. Had a mild flavor but there were notes of caramel and spiciness. Also some brown nutty and sweet peppered flavor. 85/100

Kastell Bruin Brune: Creamy tanned brown head while the beer had a dark rubied brown hue. Instantly boozy. Quite sugared and adjunct with residual sugar additions. Hot. Almost tropical, tart flavor, nutty and toasted. 71/100

Mared Sous Abbaye ABDIJ: Lighter brown color, tan foamy head. Quite tasty with a phenolic finish. Toasty and strange wood resin flavor. 81/100

Grimbergen Goud 8: Foamy white head. Very clear and lightened almost lagered and watery looking. Lots of bubbles creeping up the side of the glass. Pungent and crisp citrus smell. Taste is sweet and boozy with a sugary texture. Tart finish of wheat and maybe straw. 76/100

Westmulle Trapist Tripel: Similar in color to Grimbergen Goud, but a little more straw like and a bit of haze to it. Yeasty and pungent like a lager. Extra sugar flavor. Dry and less lagered than the previous. 73/100

Overall it was a fun experience. We're both still learning the ropes of Belgian style ales and their limitless complexity and malleability. We will continue to develop our palates with these international tastings.