Collective Arts Brewing & Moon Dog Craft Brewery – Origin of Darkness (Black Truffles)

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Beer, Beer Review, Collective Arts Brewing, Craft Beer, Guest Post, Moon Dog Craft Brewery, Truffles

It’s my wife’s birthday today and to help celebrate the occasion she gets the honor of writing the first guest review to appear on my blog!  I made a few edits here and there to translate her thoughts into my posting format, but otherwise the tasting notes below are entirely hers. In the spirit of full disclosure, I myself gave up on this beer after the first sip, but she powered on through it and at the end of the glass insisted that I tell the people.  This one’s for her!  Note, I gave up on this one before even snapping a pic, so here’s the bottle art I found on the brewery website: 

Beer Name: Origin of Darkness

Brewery: Collective Arts Brewing (Hamilton, Ontario) and Moon Dog Craft Brewery (Abbotsford, Victoria, Australia)

Style: Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout w/ Black Truffles            

ABV: 11.5%

Description: Part of an ongoing series of collaboration brews Collective Arts has running with breweries across the world.  For this release they paired with Moon Dog Craft Brewery and found inspiration from Australian cuisine, opting to age their Origin of Darkness Stout in bourbon barrels along with black truffles.  More details are here.

Appearance: Dark like the night with little head.

Smell: It reeks of earthy black truffles.

Taste: If you gulp past the initial rush of mushrooms, all you taste is a lovely sweet bourbon barrel stout.  The moment you finish the sip peel your lips away from the glass, however, that all-consuming earthy, mushroom-tastic presence returns at full force.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and smooth.

Hype: No idea.

Overall: Drinkable*. Stinky. If you hate mushrooms, you will hate this. If you like mushrooms but hate stinky things, avoid this. If you are passionate in your love for all things truffle, devour this.

*Note: “Drinkable” is used here in a much more literal sense than how I typically apply the term.  I typically use it to mean relaxing and easy, though here she means only that the beer is capable of being drunk.

And there you have it, the first ever BeerRantsAndBooks guest review!  Again, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with this beer after finding the HUGE truffle completely overwhelming before I even managed my first sip, so congrats to my wife for taking one for the team to prepare this.  I’ll have something tastier to share with you all next time (I hope).

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Game of Thrones: Brewery Ommegang – Hand of the Queen

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Barleywine, Beer, Beer Review, BiL, Game of Thrones, Tyrion Lannister

It’s taking everything I have right now to not talk about that episode, but no matter how much this big, bold brew may have loosened my tongue you won’t see any spoilers from me.  On to the beer!

That’s what I do. I drink and I know things. – Tyrion Lannister

Beer Name: Hand of the Queen

Brewery: Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)

Style: Barleywine

ABV: 11.0%

Description: Brewed in honor of Tyrion Lannister, a man who loves his wine and has no shortage of witty quotes about his fondness of drink – along with some other things we won’t get into here.  This barleywine was brewed to balance light sweetness and a large amount of heat, as the brewers so eloquently discuss here.

Appearance: Poured to a reddish-brown body with a thick head of light tan foam.

Smell: Huge nose of candy/caramel yeast with warming alcohol in back.

Taste: Huge, rich caramel malts upfront followed by notes of toffee and a sweet dark fruits.  It picked up a heavy alcohol presence towards the finish that left a pleasant, warming aftertaste following the sip.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body with low carbonation.

Hype: I was particularly excited about this beer.  Not only was it named in honor of one of my favorite characters, but it is also a style that usually manages to intrigue me.  

Overall: This beer did not disappoint.  I loved the interplay of rich sweetness and heavy alcohol presence.  Definitely something I’d want a supply of up in Winterfell!

 

Schmaltz Brewing Company – Star Trek Mirror Universe: Terrans Unite!

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Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Lager, Schmaltz Brewing Company, Sci-Fi, Star Trek, TOS

The moment I saw this beer I knew I had to try it out.  Wary as I am of buying things based on name alone at this point, there was no way I was going let a Star Trek-themed beer pass me by.

Beer Name: Terrans Unite!

Brewery: Schmaltz Brewing Company (Clifton Park, NY)

Style: IPL

ABV: 5.0%

Description: Based on the description offered by the brewers, it seems that this hop-forward lager drew its inspiration from the classic episode of Star Trek called Mirror, Mirror in which Kirk and company are sent to an alternate universe by means of transporter glitch.  Just another reason to never trust transporter technology I guess. Also, would the evil, mirror version of myself be clean-shaven?  There’s some brewing specs there as well, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Appearance: It poured to a murky, amber-colored body out of the bottle.

Smell: Faint aromas of sweet caramel malt.

Taste: It featured a prominent sweet malt backbone with some sticky pine sweetness on the end.  Definitely more malt-focused than the popular trend in IPAs, or IPLs, these days but I didn’t mind that so much.  Nice balance of sweeter malts and bitter hops.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

Hype: Even though I called this a total gimmick upon picking up the bottle, I was still really excited to drink it.  My not so inner sci-fi geek rejoiced at an opportunity to combine my interests.

Overall: I am happy to say this was actually pretty good.  It wasn’t the most amazing beer I’ve ever had, but it drank a lot better than I feared it would.  Always nice to have your curiosity rewarded from time to time!

Book Review: How Long ‘Til Black Future Month, by N.K. Jemisin

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Afrofuturism, Book, Book Review, Fantasy, Magical Realism, N.K. Jemisin, Reading, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Short Story

Published in November 2018, this collection of short stories from three-time Hugo award winner N.K. Jemisin was something I had been looking forward to since it first starting appearing on lists of upcoming releases early last year.  In her introduction to the collection, Jemisin sets the tone by talking a bit about her experiences getting started as writer and “how hard it’s been for me to love science fiction and fantasy as a black woman” given the genre’s historical issues with representation.  She goes on, however, to express her cautious excitement that enough people in the community are now willing to engage in open and earnest conversations about its flaws and what can be done better going forward. It was in this spirit that the stories in this compilation came to life as a part of Jemisin’s ongoing journey to “finally accept myself and begin spinning the futures I want to see.”

As for my own experience with book, I absolutely loved it!  With only a couple of exceptions, I highly enjoyed everything that these 22 short stories had to offer.  They comprised a variety of genres, alternating between magical realism, Lovecraftian horror, medieval fantasy, post-apocalyptic earthes, and space adventures.  What each story had in common were excellent characters, settings, and ideas that gave the reader a tantalizing glimpse into each of the worlds created. Jemisin’s ability to give vibrant life to the people, and often even the places, she writes about really drew me in and immersed me into each and every story.

Going into the book my plan was to feature a top five in this space, but by the time I got to the end I found that I had flagged over half of the stories as potential favorites!  It was definitely a joyous problem to have, but after some serious deliberation I finally narrowed my list down to the following six, presented in the order they appeared:

The Effluent Engine (2011): Set in the early 1800s, this steampunk-inspired tale tells the story of a Haitian secret agent named Jessline.  We meet her in New Orleans where she is trying to recruit to a famed Creole scientist to help the newly independent nation of Haiti develop methane-propelled airships defend its borders.  Though she initially fails to get his attention, she may perhaps have found a more receptive partner in his sister.

Brides of Heaven (2007): After an accident in transit, a group of Muslim women find that they are the sole survivors of colony ship sent to a distant planet.  While they have been able to establish a secure settlement on their new home, the odds of long-term survival of the colony seem non-existent.  That outlook may have been changed, however, after one woman’s unapproved expedition into the wilderness leads her to encounter a seemingly sentient pool of liquid.

Cuisine Des Memoires (2018): Two friends dine in an ultra-exclusive restaurant that purports to be able to recreate any meal from the past, be it of historical or personal significance.  When the skeptic among them is finally convinced of the restaurant’s authenticity, he begins a desperate search for answers that may lead him to places best left alone.  In addition to making me really hungry, I really liked this story’s warning about living excessively in the past.

The Narcomancer (2007): Set in a roughly medieval African society where mages wield the power of sleep magic, this story follows the quest of a particularly adept Gatherer named Cet who accepts a mission to relieve a nearby settlement beingpreyed upon by a rival magician.  Although more than capable of carrying out the task, he finds his focus tested by an alluring woman named Namsut, the scorned secondwife of the village’s deceased leader.

On the Banks of the River Lex (2010): On a post-apocalyptic Earth, humans have died off and their old Gods and ideas are slowly wasting away in the ruins of their abandoned cities.  Death, however, has been particularly restless of late and finds that a chance encounter with a family octopi may give his existence a new purpose.  Just good, bizarre fun in this one.

Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City Beneath the Still Waters (2010): Set in New Orleans, a man named Tookie chooses to stay in his house even as Hurricane Katrina approaches the city.  On the eve of the storm he is befriended by a winged lizard who helps our hero navigate the flooded streets and confront a malevolent creature lurking in the depths.

Game of Thrones: Brewery Ommegang – Queen of the Seven Kingdoms

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Beer, Beer Review, Brewery Ommegang, Game of Thrones

Well, another episode of Game of Thrones is in the books and that means it’s time to share another beer.  No spoilers for the episode!

 

Beer Name: Queen of the Seven Kingdoms

Brewery: Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)

Style: Golden Sour Ale

ABV: 6.4%

Description: Inspired by Cersei Lannister, this offering blends a Belgian sour with a Belgian-style blonde ale.  Read more here.

Appearance: Poured a cloudy yet translucent light golden body topped by a thick, fluffy white head.

Smell: Moderate floral yeast notes upfront with a slight funk on the end.

Taste: There was a sweetness throughout as candy/caramel malts joined with a prominent tart citrus presence.  It finished with peppery, floral yeast notes and a mild bit of lingering funk.

Mouthfeel: Slightly below medium bodied with an elevated level of carbonation.

Hype: I had elevated expectations given the series of posts I’m doing about these beers.  Worth noting, though, is the fact that these bottles are a lot harder to come by now that the show is back on the air.  By that I mean a few months ago you would see multiple bottles on shelves in most places good beer is sold.  After last week those numbers thinned out a lot!

Overall: Tart yet tasty, I liked this but it personally hasn’t been my favorite of the series.  Fans of the style might disagree.

Terrapin Beer Company – Wake-n-Bake

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Coffee, Stout, Terrapin Beer Company

Over the course of a few visits down to the Southeastern region of the country, Terrapin has become one of my go to breweries when picking things to take back to home base.  I know they’re not the most trendy of picks, but so far I’ve really liked all the beer I’ve had from them. With that in mind, it only seems appropriate that I end my series of vacation beers with them.

Beer Name: Wake-n-Bake

Brewery: Terrapin Beer Company (Athens, GA)

Style: Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.4%

Description: An oatmeal stout brewed with coffee from Atlanta, GA based Jittery Joe’s.  You can find the full specs here.

Appearance: It poured to a thick black body topped by a thin tan layer of foam.

Smell: A sweet and grainy blend of oatmeal and dark malt with light roast coffee in the background.

Taste: Sweet and creamy right from the start, this rather inviting opening was followed by dark malts and oatmeal grain mid-sip before taking on some light roast coffee and a bit of heat on the finish.

Mouthfeel: The body was on the plus side with a low-level of carbonation.

Hype: Personally elevated.  In addition my affinity for the brewery I have also heard a ton of great things about this beer over the years.

Overall: Very good.  This one met my high expectations and was an excellent beer to end our trip with.

Swamp Head Brewery – Midnight Oil

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Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Florida, Stout, Swamp Head Brewery

This next beer is one I had out in the field.  I didn’t have any intention of doing a review when I ordered it,Stout but after my first sip I couldn’t resist.

Beer Name: Midnight Oil

Brewery: Swamp Head Brewery (Gainesville, FL)

Style: Oatmeal Coffee Stout

ABV: 5.0%

Description: Billed on the brewery website as a traditional English-style oatmeal stout brewed with locally sourced coffee.

Appearance: I watched it pour out of the tap as black as midnight and thick as oil.

Smell: Blend of moderate light cream and sweet dark malt.

Taste: It began with a smooth, creamy sweetness and grainy oat presence that gradually took on a very faint bit of roast by the finish.  Mild, yet flavorful and incredibly drinkable.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, slick medium body with low-level carbonation.

Hype: Elevated for me.  Swamp Head seems to be one of the more popular Florida breweries and I’d had a really good experience with them during my previous visit.

Overall: I really enjoyed this.  It was light, flavorful, and very easy to drink even in the Florida heat.  I’ll for sure keep an eye out for this one my next visit.

Game of Thrones: Brewery Ommegang – King in the North

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Beer, Beer Review, Brewery Ommegang, Game of Thrones, Stout

With the final season of Game of Thrones finally upon us, I figured it was time to break out my stash of Ommegang’s theme brews to celebrate these last episodes.  Don’t worry, I won’t turn this into yet another place you all need to worry about spoilers, but I will be posting a new beer review after each episode.  All I’ll say is that this week I at least made an appropriate choice.

Beer Name: King in the North

Brewery: Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 11.0%

Description: Per the brewery website, this barrel-aged imperial stout was brewed in honor fan-favorite Jon Snow.  Aged for over six months in bourbon barrels and featuring plenty of chocolate and bourbon notes, this beer was designed to with a need to stay warm through a long, dark winter in mind.

Appearance: Poured a deep dark brown, effectively black body with a wispy tan head.

Smell: Slightly sweet with notes of light roast malt.

Taste: Started out with a rich, creamy malt profile followed by a light amount of roastiness. It then picked up a mild to moderate amount of bourbon before coming to a warm, slightly sweet finish with some lingering hints of roasted malts.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus but not quite as thick as I would have thought it would have been.  Very low but barely noticeable carbonation.

Hype: Maybe not hype necessarily, but this is a pretty high-profile series from a well-respected brewery.

Overall: Very good. It was pretty smooth and well-balanced, and, given the high ABV and flavor content, it was remarkably easy drinking.

Mount Dora Brewing – Mount Dora, FL

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Beer, Beer Review, Brewery Visit, Florida, Mount Dora Brewing

Switching back to some vacation brews, my wife and I met some locals while bar-hopping and exploring antique shops in Deland one afternoon and they strongly recommended we spend the end of our “date night” dining at Mount Dora Brewing.  I had been aware of this place for a few years now, but for a variety of reasons we never made it in; perhaps most notably on account of a lack of interest in beer on my wife’s part and some less than stellar reviews I’d come across on Beer Advocate.  These people seemed to know what they were talking about, though, so we decided to check it out.

Well, let me start by saying that we made quite the mistake not visiting this place during the last few years as my wife and I had a fantastic time!  From the moment one walks in the door they can just tell there’s a lot of character here. You enter into a modestly sized dining area with a bar to the left and a small stage for live music in the back where there was a cover band playing classic rock.  The decor was eclectic to the extreme, with lots of repurposed materials employed throughout and old brass instruments hanging from the ceiling amidst the lights. Upon seeing the place it was no surprise at all that folks working at an antique place packed with old furnishings would love it here.  We chose to avoid the crowd in the main room, however, and instead opted for the outdoor seating in the back which for all intents and purposes felt like eating a leisurely meal in their backyard. To get there we passed both the stage and another, much smaller, indoor seating area complete with a bookshelf full of books to swap, borrow, or take.

Before getting into the beer, I also want to be thorough and give a few quick thoughts on the food.  My wife and I split an order of the pretzel and beer cheese appetizer and it most definitely did not disappoint.  As for our entrees, both her shrimp pesto dish and my chicken breast with brie cheese and bacon were quite impressive as well.  So far, delicious! As an additional FYI, if anyone in the party is not interested in beer they also serve wine and cocktails, which seemed to be pretty well received by those around us as well.

Now that I’ve set the rest of the scene, let’s talk beer.  The selection here was a bit different than most taprooms I’ve been to in that they offered one limited release, three malt-forward core beers, and another three offerings that were blends of the core offerings.  Notably absent was the presence of any sort of IPA (the one they brew was kicked for the day) or other hop-centric brew which is pretty rare these days.

As is my tendency when visiting new places, I ordered the six beer flight with an additional pour of the seventh, and final beer, on tap added on for good measure.  The late addition was their Blueberry Beer, a light fruited sour brewed with blueberries sourced from a farm in nearby Eustis.  Tart and refreshing, it also featured plenty of sweet blueberries and really showcased what the style is about.  It was a great beer for drinking outside with food. As for the core offerings, I sampled the Beauclair Blonde Ale, Rockin’ Rabbit Red Ale, and Pistolville Porter.   Going in that order, the 7.0% blonde ale had a thick, creamy pale malt opening and finished with a brown sugar sweetness.  It certainly wasn’t the light, bubbly blonde ale I’d come to expect at this point in the trip, but it was pretty tasty regardless.  Up next was 8.0% red ale offered a lightly toasted malt base beneath a nice smooth sweetness from the orange blossom honey it was brewed with that also gave it pleasingly smooth, thick mouthfeel.  Rounding out this part of the flight, the porter was decidedly my favorite of the group. Checking in at a robust 9.9%, it offered plenty of rich malts backed up by notes of caramel and chocolate.

After getting acquainted with these three brews, I moved on to the blended ales.  The Dora Drawdy Drool was a blend of the red and blonde ales that offered up a pleasing, malty sweetness blending the pale malts of the Beauclair Blonde and rich honey presence of the Rockin’ Red.  The Dirty Blonde mixed the porter and the blonde ale, lightening up the former a bit with the pale maltiness of the latter.  Finally, the somewhat unfortunately named Rabbit Pellet Porter combined the red ale and, well, the porter.  This was my favorite of the blends as the honey from the red ale joined quite nicely with the bold flavors of the porter, giving a bit of extra flavor and body.  While enjoyable on the whole, I do think that I preferred the stand-alone offerings and found that they didn’t sit quite as heavily on the palate (a definite factor to consider while drinking with food in warm weather).

That said, I would advise anyone in the area looking for a good spot for food and drinks to give this place a visit.  The atmosphere was a great mix of fun or relaxing depending upon what you were looking for, the food was excellent and, despite the lack of flashy hop-forward options, the beer was good as well.  I feel like we missed out skipping this place the past few years, so for sure we’re coming back again next time we come down!

Book Review: Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson

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Book, Book Review, Brandon Sanderson, Coppermind, Cosmere, Fantasy, Reading, Warbreaker

I never quite imagined being able to say this, but I think I am actually close to caught up on all the currently in print Cosmere novels!  I had originally hoped to get to this particular one last year, but apparently a whole lot of other people had the same idea, and I had to wait several long months for my library hold to finally come through and grant me my Sanderson fix.

Warbreaker takes place on the Shardworld of Nalthis and follows the journey of two sisters, Vivenna and Siri.  The eldest daughter of the King of Idris, Vivenna has spent her entire life preparing to become the bride of the God King, the powerful and fearsome ruler of the rival nation Hallandren.  When the day comes to send her away, however, her father cannot bear to do so and delivers his youngest daughter, Siri, in her place. Taken completely unaware by this change in plans, the free-spirited and often rebellious Siri must quickly come to terms with her new responsibilities and face the reality that she will be living the rest of her life (however long that may be) in a hostile land.  Vivenna, in shock as well, is for the first time in her life unsure of her position and ultimately concocts a daring, if somewhat hasty, plan to rescue her sister. It soon becomes quite apparent, however, that neither of them will find what they expect in Hallendren.

While I liked the overall story a lot, I felt that this was perhaps the most uneven of all the Cosmere novels I’ve read thus far.  The format of the e-book was a major factor in this feeling, as each chapter was followed by a link to the author’s extensive annotations and notes about what just happened.  While interesting at first, I ultimately found these sections too distracting to keep up with and simply stopped reading them. I’m sure I missed some good tidbits, but honestly I feel like anything that important really should have found its way into the story one way or another.  Relatedly, I thought the ending in particular was rather abrupt and incomplete, especially since I had long given up on the annotations by that point. I won’t spoil what happens, but between how quickly certain characters come together and the sudden and rather ambiguous resolution of the main conflict I was left somewhat unsatisfied.  Finally, and while this may seem minor, but I also found it distracting that Earth creatures kept appearing throughout the story. I don’t know if this has been the case in any of the other books (it certainly is not in the Stormlight Archive), but for some reason I found it more often than not broke the mood of the story for me (amusing uses of dead squirrels aside).

That’s not to say this book was a complete miss, though.  The world building was still up to Sanderson’s usual high standards and the magic system on Nalthis was equally interesting as well.  I liked the concept of Breath and colors as the local forms of Investiture and thought it was really interesting that the former attribute could be transferred (endowed, if you will) from one person to another.  It definitely added an interesting social dynamic to this world that is rather different from what we’ve come across elsewhere in the Cosmere.

The characters were also a definite strength of the story.  For Siri and Vivenna, I really enjoyed seeing how their attitudes and perspectives changed as the story went on and they adjusted to new circumstances.  In particular, I liked Siri’s gradual realization of her strengths and watching Vivenna cast off a lot of her naivety and prejudice to embrace her own newfound abilities.  Moving beyond them, I also really the rest of the POV characters were excellent as well. The demigod Lightsong was a fantastic character for adding levity, though at the same time his redemption arc offered fascinating insights into the dynamics of this world.  Stealing the show, however, was the duo of Vasher and his talking sword, Nightblood. Vashar fulfilled the role of the rogue, curmudgeonly do-gooder with a sordid past admirably and was an excellent contrast to Nightblood, whose gleeful and almost child-like enthusiasm about its uses was almost as unnerving as its abilities to make pure-hearted people physically ill by its presence and pushing the less noble into uncontrollable fits of aggression.  Collectively this was a fascinating cast of characters that were indeed able to make up for some of the flaws in the overall telling of this story.

On that note, now is the perfect time to transition into a spoiler section where I get into some extended Cosmere stuff.  If you have not yet read the Stormlight Archive books through Oathbringer yet, I strongly suggest going no further.