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I still prefer ketosoy for the lack of carbs although I haven't been drinking as much lately so ive lost my acclimation and it makes me very gassy.

Heavy Melon.
Not good.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

Heavy Melon.
Not good.

There are so many red flags for me on that one.

1. It's a commercial fruit beer. Like 90% of these are too sweet for my tastes.

2. It's a beer with a fruit flavor which is difficult to achieve using real fruit (the watermelon). This tempts producers to use artificial fruit flavors (though I see no mention of this on their web site, so maybe they get a pass on this one).

3. it is a beer with lime in it. Lime flavored beers are a fad whose time I wish was done already.

4. It's a New Belgium beer. I generally love their "Lips Of Faith" specialty stuff, but their other beers are very hit-or-miss.

just brew it! wrote:

It's a commercial fruit beer. 90% of these are too sweet for my tastes.

It's not sweet. Other than that, the only thing that it has going for it is that it still has 5% alcohol.

Probably the best fruit beer that I've tried incorporated tangerine.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

It's not sweet.

OK, they get that point too. Does it actually taste like watermelon at all?

I'm drinking Jacobs Creek Cab Sav. Not too bad and a screw top bottle. The Aussie reds are well priced and pretty darned good for the money.

12 year old homemade mead

Edit: Preceded by some Deschutes Pinedrops IPA...

just brew it! wrote:

12 year old homemade mead.

There's a bottle in the fridge that's been there since we bought this house. In 1994. Can't seem to find the right reason for opening it. It's a Papazian-recipe Barkshack Ginger Mead brewed with champagne yeast.

Captain Ned wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

12 year old homemade mead.

There's a bottle in the fridge that's been there since we bought this house. In 1994. Can't seem to find the right reason for opening it. It's a Papazian-recipe Barkshack Ginger Mead brewed with champagne yeast.

Wow.

I still have a few bottles of stuff I brewed back in the '90s, but I doubt any of it is any good. Historical interest only at this point.

The 12yo mead in question (a mesquite blossom honey traditional mead) was not very good at first. At some point I threw some oak chips into it, to see if that would turn it into something more interesting. It did... but not necessarily in a good way; the oak had too much of a tannic "bite" to it. I racked it off to an unused keg; it's just been sitting quietly in the keg in a corner of the basement ever since. I pull a little off and try it every year or so. TBH I think it has finally turned a corner; several people at the homebrew club meeting last week agreed.

The previous bottle of this mead was opened at about 10 years (IIRC, I brewed it circa 1992) and it was delicious; the ginger finally having mellowed out. I haven't brewed mead in a long time but when I did my practice was at least a full year in glass secondary fermentation before even thinking of bottling.

As a newly minted 21-year old, I'm enjoying a legal rum and coke. 4 shots white rum with 1 can vanilla coke tastes so good!

PGleo86 wrote:

As a newly minted 21-year old, I'm enjoying a legal rum and coke. 4 shots white rum with 1 can vanilla coke tastes so good!

Be careful. It's the sugar in those sweet drinks that makes the next morning such a pain.

Captain Ned wrote:

PGleo86 wrote:

As a newly minted 21-year old, I'm enjoying a legal rum and coke. 4 shots white rum with 1 can vanilla coke tastes so good!

Be careful. It's the sugar in those sweet drinks that makes the next morning such a pain.

Hey now, first *legal* rum and coke. I've got it down, and always drink plenty of water. Gotta stay hydrated! No hangovers yet, and I aim to keep it that way

I got extremely ill on rum and Coke once, back in college. That was over 30 years ago at this point. The smell of rum and cola (togehter) still makes me want to vomit. The funny thing is, I'm fine with cola or rum individually... it is just when you put the two together that I have an issue.

All this talk of rum reminds me that I need to head over to NH and get me some Pussers' Navy Rum.

Captain Ned wrote:

All this talk of rum reminds me that I need to head over to NH and get me some Pussers' Navy Rum.

I managed to find a bottle of that locally shortly after the last time you mentioned it a few years back. Haven't seen it since. I guess distribution is kind of spotty/sporadic?

Oh, and back on topic: Cuvee des Jacobins Flemish Sour Ale

just brew it! wrote:

Captain Ned wrote:

All this talk of rum reminds me that I need to head over to NH and get me some Pussers' Navy Rum.

I managed to find a bottle of that locally shortly after the last time you mentioned it a few years back. Haven't seen it since. I guess distribution is kind of spotty/sporadic?

It's always a custom-order job here in VT (which is a PITA and requires a full case purchase), as "single-malt" rums aren't exactly the hot spot of today's spirits business. I can usually rely on the NH stores in Hooksett having it in stock.

For those who are not of New England, the NH Liquor agency maintains two huge rest areas/liquor stores on I-93 just north of Manchester in the town of Hooksett. I-93 is the main line to Boston, so these stores capture a ton of traffic. For those of us from the area, these stores are legendary.

Redstone Black Rasberry Nectar(mead). Damn good stuff, with a nice smooth honey aftertaste. First time drinking it tonight and it was delicious.

just brew it! wrote:

I got extremely ill on rum and Coke once, back in college. That was over 30 years ago at this point. The smell of rum and cola (togehter) still makes me want to vomit. The funny thing is, I'm fine with cola or rum individually... it is just when you put the two together that I have an issue.

That's next level aversion right there. You must have done an incredible number on yourself.

just brew it! wrote:

I got extremely ill on rum and Coke once, back in college. That was over 30 years ago at this point. The smell of rum and cola (togehter) still makes me want to vomit. The funny thing is, I'm fine with cola or rum individually... it is just when you put the two together that I have an issue.

I have the same reaction to Jack and Coke. Drank a lot of it my first semester in college. Never got ill on it but totally lost the desire to ever taste that combination ever again.

I've moved on to a variety of things tonight: a bit of Kraken black spiced rum here, and a few Smith and Forge ciders and a (large) glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream sherry before that. Thankfully, my Monday is empty

Heiwashin wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

I got extremely ill on rum and Coke once, back in college. That was over 30 years ago at this point. The smell of rum and cola (togehter) still makes me want to vomit. The funny thing is, I'm fine with cola or rum individually... it is just when you put the two together that I have an issue.

That's next level aversion right there. You must have done an incredible number on yourself.

Indeed. I'm sure I came close to landing myself in the hospital, or worse. I was one of those geeky kids who kinda cut loose and made up for lost time and when I went away to college. I'd say it took until around the middle of sophomore year to find a (relatively) stable balance between studies and... umm... recreation.

just brew it! wrote:

Heiwashin wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

I got extremely ill on rum and Coke once, back in college. That was over 30 years ago at this point. The smell of rum and cola (togehter) still makes me want to vomit. The funny thing is, I'm fine with cola or rum individually... it is just when you put the two together that I have an issue.

That's next level aversion right there. You must have done an incredible number on yourself.

Indeed. I'm sure I came close to landing myself in the hospital, or worse. I was one of those geeky kids who kinda cut loose and made up for lost time and when I went away to college. I'd say it took until around the middle of sophomore year to find a (relatively) stable balance between studies and... umm... recreation.

Out of curiosity, is your Asian heritage missing the alcohol metabolizing enzyme, or is your tolerance fairly good?

(In college I once had a second-generation Chinese roommate who, I was told later, had nearly killed himself the previous year while drinking Sweet Tarts, on the grounds that they taste exactly like the candy and he had no idea how much alcohol he was actually drinking. I don't know which cocktail reference the bartender was using but Google comes up wtih vodka, apple liquer, sweet & sour mix, and lemon juice. Being as he was only slightly taller than five-foot-nothing and weighed maybe 125 pounds soaking wet, his friends had apparently carried him home to their apartment, tossed him on their couch, and then forced him to consume bread and water until he couldn't hold another bite or drop.)

Hoegaarden. I like Belgian whites in the summer.

ludi wrote:

Out of curiosity, is your Asian heritage missing the alcohol metabolizing enzyme, or is your tolerance fairly good?

Fairly good tolerance. The rum & Colas in question were made with 151 proof rum, and I didn't know any better back then!

just brew it! wrote:

The rum & Colas in question were made with 151 proof rum, and I didn't know any better back then!

I think every new drinker makes that mistake. Once.

Captain Ned wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

The rum & Colas in question were made with 151 proof rum, and I didn't know any better back then!

I think every new drinker makes that mistake. Once.

Indeed. I have treated anything over ~100 proof with extreme caution ever since!

You know, that's curious - I'm half Asian, and I can't stand the taste of alcohol. Hard to get any of it down. Mom's the Asian side, and she (and her mother) can't stand it either. Dad and his father are fine with a drink or two though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_flush_reaction

Basically, if you lack a specific enzyme, you are prone to hangover symptoms from consuming even small amounts of alcohol. This could certainly lead to an aversion. This condition is very common among those of Asian descent.