8 pack of beer and wine 2008

After discussing beer and wine with a friend from Texas earlier this evening, I have decided to post some of my quick reviews on beer and wine that I had from 2008. Hope you enjoy these as much as I did... they are all 8 or higher on my scale of 1-10. I'll try to be more detailed in the future.

Beer
1. Scaldis- Belgium 12% warm caramel, smell & taste, clean refreshing, could drink every day though need to be careful with the alcohol content- 8.5/10

2. Harviestoun "Ola Dubh" 30 yr reserve ale- 11.2 oz 8% black oil aged in whiskey caskets, chocolate notes & roasted. Definitely dark in color. Thick texture, definitely not your standard beer. Taste of dark fruit, slightly bitter, yet somehow a refreshing aftertaste. I still have the bottle, heck it's 30 years old. I also bought a few for some friends after celebrating finishing residency.

3. Brasserie des Rocs Grand Cru Special Brown- 11.7 oz 9.5% Belg amber, dark brown, smells of cherries, taste is light hoppy slight caramel, roasted malt, drinkable- 8/10

4. Koningshoeven Quadrupel- one of my favorite beers that Winking Lizard served in 2007 and 2008, why did it have to go. 10% Trappist. Dark brown in color, with vanilla overtones by smell. Above standard sweet malt with dark fruit taste. If I ever needed a backup beer after experimenting on something different, this always hit the spot. 9/10

Hmm... I think I'll try using a slight modification on the Beer Advocates template for rating. A:appearance. S: smell T: taste D: drinkability O: overall

Wine
1. Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Rubric Vintage 2006- Hyde Park- 8/10
A: nice dark red
S: slight chocolate
T: dark fruit with slight chocolate at the end
D: very smooth
O: quite an enjoyable wine, especially with a nice filet or prime rib

2. Norman Conquest Cab 2004- Lola- 8/10
A: very dark red
S: dark plum
T: dark fruit with a hint of chocolate again (hmm... looks like I'm a fan)
D: smooth, slight tannins
O: another nice wine that goes well with meals or cheese

3. Bogle Phantom syrah/zin/mourvedre- Clarksburg, CA 2005- 9/10
A: dark red
S: hints of cherry
T: berry, vanilla, pepper, smoky aftertaste
D: full bodied wine, yet easy to drink
O: wow... excellent blend, goes well with a long meal

4. Elsa bianchi malbec 2006- 8.5/10
A: very dark purple
S: flower smell
T: dark plum with very little smoke, slight burnt sugar
D: full body, very smooth
O: nice example of a good Argentinian malbec

If anyone wants to comment on which style they prefer, I would appreciate it.