Moscato d'Asti and another beer

So, one of our favorite drinks of late is Moscato d'Asti - it's a carbonated white muscat wine, most suitable for dessert. It's very sweet, though not as syrupy as its carbonation-less cousin. With 7% alcohol, it's about as strong as a strong beer, but given its sweetness (and the relatively small bottles it tends to come in) you'll rarely ever drink enough to get more than a slight buzz (which are both the reasons why my fiance likes it).


We picked up a bottle of Nivole Moscato d'Asti from (yet again) the local Whole Foods market and it was very satisfying. It has a clear muscat flavor that isn't overwhelmingly sweet and the flavor is crisp with only a soft aftertaste. While I generally don't like many dessert wines, I'm finding that the Moscato d'Asti is what wine coolers want to be when they grow up.




In addition to the Moscato d'Asti, there was a bottle of beer that caught my attention, simply because the label claimed it was "The World's Oldest Brewery." I picked up the bottle of Weihenstaphaner (Hefeweissbier Dunkel - it comes in a lighter version, too) and took it home. Lo and behold, according to Wikipedia, it *is* indeed the world's oldest operating brewery. Brewed at Weihenstephan Abbey (established in 1040!!! ...although there are some indications that brewing started as early as 768), it is a Bavarian beer (I'll have to ask my German friend to see what the locals think of it). Personally, I enjoyed it. It wasn't as distinctive as the Franziskaner in my opinion, but was definitely smoother - sweet going in, but leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste. Given that it's a dark hefeweiss beer, it's a bit on the heavy side, so a single bottle will likely weigh you down if you are drinking it with heavy foods.

Beer!

Since foomfoom is feenin' for some beer, I'll go ahead and kick this thing off with 2 reviews of beers I've recently tried.

First up:

Franziskaner - Made in Germany, it's an import beer that you can find at some major supermarkets (I've found it at Safeway on occasion, as well as Whole Foods), though they only seem to carry the hefeweisse. Being an unfiltered wheat bear, it's a very heavy beer, but given the full flavor and sweetness of these types of beers, it's one of my favorites. This beer in particular has a thick, sweet taste (almost honey-like) with just a hint of bitterness at the end. Given that it's an import, it probably has its fair share of preservatives in it (which might account for the bitter aftertaste... or I might just be on crack) - but I hear that there are some local bars that have this on tap!

Until now, I'd primarily been drinking the Widmer and/or Pyramid hefeweizens (both solid beers), but I've found that the Franziskaner has a much deeper flavor. This one gets two thumbs up!


Next up:

Grolsch - I picked up this beer (Dutch import) just based on the cool bottle design. It has a pop top that can be opened without a bottle opener, and can be resealed. Pretty nifty. That being said, it's a pilsner beer (a pale lager) that has quite a bit more body than most pale lagers found in the US. Even my not-much-of-a-beer-fan fiance took a taste and could taste the different layers to the flavor (the initial bitterness, followed by a light wheaty flavor, which ends with a really sweet finish). It was a pleasant surprise and while it doesn't have the same impact as a good hefeweizen, it was much lighter and more suited to drinking alongside a meal (whereas a hefeweizen can be a meal in itself o_O).

One and a half thumbs up! Not quite as rich as, say, a Yebisu lager IMO, but one of the better lagers I've tried in the US.

Note to Self

I'm leaving this as a marker for myself to start blogging about the various wines, beers, and other drinks that I try over the years. I realized that I've been trying a lot of different drinks, but rarely remember the ones that I really like. So, I figured I should just start blogging about it all and add a few labels for easy finding.

I've recently tried a couple of red wines, 2 new beers, and a moscato d'asti, but I don't remember the names right now. I'll grab the corks (and bottle) tonight and write up a couple of reviews!