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Garrafeiras: The essence of Port
Axel Probst reports on an extraordinary tasting through more than 160 years of the rare Port category, garrafeira.
Green Tea Mead
10 Aug 2024
I decided I need to make microbatches of my intrusive thoughts whimsical ideas. This was supposed to be a Pumpkin Green Tea mead, using some of the solids strained from Pumpkin Mead. Turns out, you need a lot of pumpkin to be able to taste it.
But this was my fastest-finishing mead, with a drinkable product in just 40 days. Cool!
I used a 1.9 L mason jar (half a US gallon), drilled a half-inch hole in the canning lid. To prevent the sharp metal edge from cutting the rubber airlock grommet, I used a bit of hot glue to build up a protective layer around the edge. I don't think hot glue is necessarily food-safe, but it should be covered by the airlock grommet, which is.
For 1600mL of green tea, I used about 440g of creamed clover honey. It didn't all fit in the jar with the pumpkin solids, however; but I saved it for topping-up after removing the solids.
OG was about 1.071, before adding the pumpkin solids.
On days 3 and 5, I added 1/8 tsp Fermaid-K, making sure to stir thoroughly before adding to prevent foam-overs.
Day 9, I strained off the pumpkin solids, then topped off with the sweet tea, and about 1/16 tsp Fermaid-K.
Day 19 (29 Aug), the must was very clear already, so I racked to another mason jar. Sp Gr: 0.992. Dang that was fast.
Appearance: Pale golden-amber, more orange than Beginner Mead. My sample is cloudy, I must have disturbed the gross lees, but most of the jar is clear.
Scent: HONEY! Wow, it smells honey-sweet. Nectar-like. I don't think I detect any green tea or pumpkin at this point.
Taste: Ok, that's the green tea. Vegetal, "grassy" even. Oof, I'm not sure I like that. Almost bitter, the way green tea can get. Yeah. GREEN TEA. It really just tastes like ALCOHOL MADE FROM GREEN TEA.
I wasn't sure I liked this, so gave myself a day or so to figure out what to do with this extremely green tea alcohol.
Day 20 (30 Aug) - I can see it starting to fall bright!
Day 22 (1 Sep) - Decided to go with Honey Lemon Ginger Green Tea Mead. Also, it's super clear now! Added in separate teabags: 1 tsp lemon zest (grated, frozen), 1/8 tsp ground ginger and tiny pieces of dried ginger slices.
Day 23 (2 Sep) - After 24 hours of steeping, I took a sample.
Scent: HONEY! Bit of ginger. Tiny bit of lemon. No green tea scent.
Taste: Ginger, and not in a way I like. Slightly bitter. Dry, astringent. Tiny bit of lemon.
For fun, I tried mixing up different flavour combinations in a test cup. To the first, I added lemon juice, lemon extract, and honey. To the second, I used powdered ginger tea drink instead of honey. My partner liked both, and I preferred it without ginger. I removed the dried ginger teabag.
Also, look at how dang clear it is! You can read through it!
Now that I had a goal (honey lemon green tea), I had to come up with a plan.
Some mischief/mischief adjacent bits from recent editions of The Stage
Librandi: Duca Sanfelice, Ciro’ Rosso Riserva 2018 (100% gaglioppo) 🇬🇧 Purple color, on nose mostly black cherry and blackberry, hints of black currant and bay leaves too. On palate black currant much more evident, full body, tannins still a bit harsh, perfect balance still to be achieved, long finish 91 pts now it will defined improve over the next 18 to 24 months. 🇮🇹 Colore porpora, al naso in prevalenza ciliegia nera e mora, anche note di ribes nero e alloro. Al palato il ribes e’ molto più evidente, grande struttura, tannini ancora piuttosto duri, equilibrio non ancora ottimale, lungo e in finezza il finale. 91 punti al momento ma crescerà in equilibrio e complessità nel corso dei prossimi 18/24 mesi. Ottimo rapporto qualità/prezzo
64 Bourbons Bracket Round 2, Matchup 13: Woodford D.O. Until the Cops Show Up vs. Town Branch Barrel Proof Store Pick
Songs of matchup:
Celtic Frost: “The Wings of Solitude” vs. Lynyrd Skynyrd: “Simple Man”
Right from the outset, the drum production on “Simple Man” is too crisp and overpowering. This song is about the soulful lyrics and southern guitar; not the crisp drumming and cymbal work. Celtic Frost sounds as heavy as Obituary following it and this is of the soft, hair metal era of Celtic Frost. Now, time for bourbon.
“Take your time, don’t live too fast.” Don’t be too fast for love. Overproduction of drums and cymbals will pass. “Simple Man” advances to the Sweet 16. Celtic Frost was heavier. It never drew me in. Never complimented this fucking complex bourbon.
And this was a deeply complex battle betwixt two bourbons that aren’t bourbon. Town Branch is basically a scotch for bourbon drinkers. And WDO is so fucking and sweet and puddingesque from the double oaking that it is bourbon and beyond. And, where was I going? Birds chirp. The sun sets. Be a simple kind of man. WRDO is sweet like summer camp canteen purchases. Vanilla/banana pudding and rich butter slathered all over fried corn cobs. And the French Toast slathered in butter? Damn near nothing can overcome that. The Town Branch SBSP refreshed and purified, but the WRDO is pure summer camp hedonism. “Don’t forget son, there is someone up above.” And when old enough, drink something that takes you back to summer camp bliss. And you will remember pancakes and french toast and butter in your soul, not mouthwash. Son, be satisfied. And when you are old enough, have pours of WRDO until the cops come home. For hour Dad has a badge and when it is time to raise some toasts, raise it to those who pit their lives on the line every fucking work shift. For the next breath is never given, or taken. Just embrace. “All that I want for you my son, is to be satisfied, and be a simple kind if man.” Don’t be spoiled, entitled, or ungrateful.
Acknowledge the spiritual pipeline, head birds chirp, and actually taste bourbon and the underlying heritage.
Both of these bourbons transcend and offer unique tastes and journeys. They would have both bounced hallowed Blanton’s and Stagg Jr., but the bracket paired them against each other. And the Thin Blue Line advances. Laugh all you want at Fife and Griffith, but there is more wisdom in their sneezes than in most citizens’ dying proclamations. Embrace summer camp and butter drenched heathenism and somehow be a simple man while drinking decadent pours.
WRDO Until the Coos Show Up advances to the Sweet 16.
With Lynyrd Skynyrd. Cheers!
Freyr 5.1% Miðsumar Saison with Pineapple Weed & Elderflower - Tasting Notes.
I've held off on this one for a month or so to let it mellow. One risk of using foraged ingredients which have little or no info online about their use in beer is that you can sometimes use too much. This is what happened to Freyr with the Pineapple Weed. I had just under 300g which I added for the final 5 minutes of the boil then steeped for 10 minutes, it was far too much. If I used it again I'd go around 150g I think and just steep, it was even overpowering the Elderflower. Now after a bit of aging it's not quite so pungent. The aroma is of a wet morning in early summer with the sun just warming the countryside. Unfortunately too much bitterness has come from the Pineapple Weed as well so it's pretty assertive and sharp, but once you're past that there's a pleasant taste of camomile, pineapple and a light floral elderflower. The bitterness just lingers overpowering the more delicate flavours though. I hope this also will mellow out further over time. It does get easier to drink as the pint goes down but it’s not really where I’d like it. More elderflower and less pineapple weed in the future. You can't win them all.
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