Festival of Beers in Fort Myers, FL

My husband enjoying a taste at the Festival of Beers at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, FL

So I thought today I would do something a little different. I thought I would write about an event held here in Fort Myers every winter and summer– The Festival of Beers at Hammond Stadium. This is the third year of the event and each time it gets a bit better and a bit more popular. I enjoy these events because for a reasonable price, $30, you can enjoy about 80 different beers that you might not taste otherwise. The down side to this event is that it tends to now concentrate on the same beers and breweries each time. The winter event is bit more crowded because of the snowbirds. I actually enjoy the summer event more because you can also stay for a baseball game with the price of admission.

This year’s event featured many of the old standbys and a few new beers. I am a fan of Kona and enjoyed Firerock. The RedBridge gluten free was actually quite good for a gluten free beer. Green Flash was present and their West Coast IPA was quite refreshing as were the Southern Tier 2XIPA and Terrapin’s Hopsecutioner. Arrogant Bastard from Stone Brewing Company is also quite tasty. Some of my old standbys were there and never fail like Harpoon’s IPA; Dogfish both 60 and 90 minute; Victory’s Hopdevil and Golden Monkey; and Bluepoint’s Toasted Lager. Of course, with the good come the bad. I would not recommend Magic Hat’s Pistil, and I love all of their beers usually. I was also disappointed by Southern Tier’s Phin and Matts. For some reason, Bahama Breeze was there with their Aruba Red– they don’t have a brewery so I am sure it is a cheap Killian’s knock off that they buy. Worst beer for me was Green Flash’s Rayon Vert– this literally made me gag.

The next Festival of Beers will probably be this August and I really suggest if you get a chance to attend that you do. It is worth the admission price. They also have a band to provide entertainment.

Well Hung Vineyards– Great Name Mediocre Wine

Well Hung Vineyards Cabernet Franc

Well Hung Vineyards Viognier

For Christmas this year, I was gifted two bottles from a newer Virginia winery, Well Hung Vineyards. We finally got around to trying them this past week. First, I must say I love the name. It is witty and clever and the logo makes me laugh every time I see it. I was really hoping for a spectacular wine that lived up to the creativity of its name. However, I was disappointed. The cabernet franc was mediocre to say the least. The finish was a bit primitive and, even with a lot of aeration, this quality didn’t seem to improve. The cabernet franc was superior to the viognier which has an odd aftertaste that was somewhat sour. Virginia makes much higher quality cabernet francs and viogniers so I would definitely steer away from this winery in the future. In looking at the 2012 Virginia Wine Map, it appears that this winery, although located near Charlottesville near several other wineries, is not open to the public. At this point, I am not sure that this is a loss for other wineries in the area make superior wines. Even considering that, this wine would make a great gift for the name itself; of course, make sure the recipient is not easily offended.

Colorado– A Great Place for Beer

Coors Brewery

A view of the Coors Brewery

Grand Lake Brewing Company

I am going to go back in time a bit to catch up on a previous post that never quite made it online. I traveled to Colorado about a year and half ago to visit some friends. While there, of course, I enjoyed a few brews. This was during the time when I wasn’t keep the blog so my descriptions will be kind of vague.

We made a trip out to the Rocky Mountain National Park and stopped at Grand Lake, Colorado, which is a small town right outside one of the park entrances. There we happened upon the Grand Lake Brewing Company. The weather was quite nice and we enjoyed beer and a meal outside on their back deck. It did start to rain and the covering wasn’t exactly solid so we did get a little wet. I remember a Scottish Ale here that was quite nice. The beers were all good and the atmosphere is spectacular, as are the nearby views.

Another stop I made on this trip was to the Coors Brewery, which everyone knows from the commercial is located in Golden, Colorado. I know this sounds awful cheesy but it really is worth a trip if you find yourself out that way. The worst part of the trip is waiting for the shuttle bus which takes you from the parking lot to the brewery entrance. Once at the brewery, you are given an audio tour wand and you are pretty much on your own. The tour takes a while, about an hour, and is very informative. About halfway through the tour, you are given a couple of dixie cup sized samples of a few of the beers. However, the best part of the tour is the end. At the end of the tour, you enter a tasting area. The decor is awful, making you feel like you are in someone’s basement, but the beer is actually good. Instead of only offering you Coors and Coors Light, the tasting rooms offers three full size samples of some of their less known beers, as well as Blue Moon and whatever Blue Moon Seasonal is being offered. The tasting room can be quite crowded and tables are scarce so be prepared to stand. In addition, try to do the tour early as they begin to run out of some of the better beers by the end of the day. We have several that we wanted to try but were not available.

Yes that’s right– I said the Coors Brewery is worth the trip!

Revisiting Gordon Biersch

I thought I would just do a very short blog revisiting Gordon Biersch. If you remember in a previous blog from about a year ago, I focused on the Gordon Biersch at Tyson’s Corner outside of Washington, DC. This time I visited the Gordon Biersch located in the Town Center in Virginia Beach, VA. I have to admit that, although a chain, I like Gordon Biersch. The beers are good and the food is decent. I am a big fan of the garlic fries and both the Marzen and Hefeweizen beers. The locations that I have visited always have a lively crowd and nice atmosphere. I would rather visit a Gordon Biersch than many other chain restaurants. Remember you can now buy several Gordon Biersch varieties at local stores!

The sampler is always a good bet at Gordon Biersch. I like the Marzen and Hefeweizen in particular.

Samplers don’t last long at Gordon Biersch.

Chrysalis Vineyards– One of My Favorites

I thought today I would write about one of my long-time favorite Virginia wineries, Chrysalis Vineyards. Chrysalis Vineyards has been around for a while and has always, in my opinions, produced some of the better wines in Virginia. This time, the wines did not disappoint and I actually ordered a case that I had shipped back home to me. In addition to the wine, the staff is always pleasant. Even though we arrived at close to closing time, the staff did not seem impatient and allow us to finish our tasting.

The whites were all good to very good, keeping in mind that I don’t even like most whites and especially not chardonnays. The Albarino was really good with a floral nose and dry taste. The Barrel Reserve Viognier was a bit oak for my taste; however, the nonoaked Viognier was very good and had a classic taste. The Mariposa, a rose, was a blend of norton and nebbiolo and was only slightly sweet. The Sarah’s Patio White, named from a former resident of the area, is a vidal blanc and traminette blend. It would make a great patio wine as it is semi sweet with about 2-3% residual sugar. The Sarah’s Patio Red is a sweet norton which was way too grapey on the finish. The Traminette was also very good and not too sweet with a lovely floral nose, which I always expect from a good traminette.

Although the whites were all good, I love the reds from Chrysalis. The 2011 Estate Bottle Norton is 85% norton and 15% nebiolo and was one of the classic nortons that I expect from Virginia wineries. The 2010 Locksley Reserve Norton was excellent and by far my favorite wine offered. This was a bit more aged that the Estate Bottle Norton so it had a more developed flavor. The 2009 Rubiana, a blend of Portuguese and French red varietals, was dry and very good. The 2009 Petit Verdot was a very classic petit verdot. The 2009 Tannat also had a classic flavor and, after this Tannat, I have developed a taste for the grape. The 1009 Papillon is a blending of petit verdot and tanant with a touch of viognier, which makes a unique but tasty combination.

I always recommend Chrysalis to those who want to try some of the better Virginia wines. I, personally, am looking forward to breaking into that case! The winemaker from Chrysalis is also working with a new vineyard located almost across the street from Chrysalis (I am afraid I have forgotten the name) but make a stop there too!

New winery that works with Chrysalis’ winemaker

Chrysalis Vineyards

Cobbler Mountain Cellars– A Newer Vineyard in the DC Area

In the last blog, we revisited Barrel Oak Winery and Three Foxes Vineyard. A new winery has appeared just a mile or so from these establishments called Cobbler Mountain Cellars. The tasting room is very quaint and located in the basement of the owners’ home. It has a very “cellar- like” feel which I find refreshing for a winery. The owners are very friendly and the wines are good. The winery is also pet friendly with a large field on a hill located outside the tasting room. The winery hosts snow tubing on this when able. There are also several hiking trails located on the winery grounds which would make this a great destination location for an afternoon.

The Cobblestone White is a blend of riesling, viognier, seyval blanc, and vidal blanc. It is good with a carmel taste at the end. The Malbec is very good with a very berry nose. The Meritage is a Sonoma Valley medal winner and is very good. It is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, malbec, cabernet franc, and petit verdot. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot were also very good, as was the Cabernet Franc. The winery also hosts two dessert wines made from maple syrup– the Maple Reserve Amber and Maple Reserve Special Dark. These were both very interesting and unique, although I am not a dessert wine person.

I would recommend a stop at this winery,

Cobbler Mountain Cellars

The hill outside of the tasting room is used for snow tubing in the winter.

The tasting room at Cobbler Mountain Cellars has a real “cellar-like” feel.

if you want to get in a hike with your wine or if you are a red drinker. The reds are all very good and the hiking trails add a little something special to this winery.

Barrel Oak and Three Foxes Revisited

I think today we will go back to wines. You may recall a previous post about Barrel Oak and Three Foxes Wineries. I recently had the opportunity to revisit both of these wineries. I must say there was a quite a difference in crowds between a Saturday afternoon during the summer and a Monday afternoon in the winter. Because of their proximity to Washington DC and easy access from Interstate 66, these wineries can be quite crowded. Both wineries were pretty much vacant on my recent visit, which I prefer. I have the opportunity to truly taste the wines and ask questions. Both of these wineries were open on a Monday– the majority of wineries in the area were not.

Barrel Oak was our first stop. The tasting room here is beautiful and the outdoor patio is great on a warm day. Barrel Oak has a large selection of wines. Unfortunately, I really thought the quality of wines had diminished somewhat at this winery from my last visit. I think the problem is that when Virginia wineries become popular, and this is probably one of the most popular in the state, they go for quantity over quality. The winery is probably so popular because of it is dog friendly and often participates in adoption and other animal related events throughout the year. Interesting, I heard a criticism of this winery because of this. Chateau Morrissette in the Blue Ridge region of Virginia is a much older winery who started with a dog theme from their inception. They are known for their Blue Dog, a riesling; Blushing Dog, a rose; and Black Dog, a red blend. The criticism was the Barrel Oak was trying to hop on the bandwagon, late, and steal an existing idea from a well-known winery. You see, Barrel Oak goes by the BOW winery– and some of their wines reflect this. I personally think Chateau Morrissette does it better.

The Bowhaus White is very a very good semisweet wine with a 2% residual sugar. The Seyval Blanc is very reminiscent of a New Zealand style sauvignon blanc with hints of grapefruit. The Traminette was a disappointment and did not have the characteristic floral nose even though the tasting notes promised it. The Rose was not notable. The Petit Manseng was very unique and had an underlying coconut nose.

Moving on the reds. The Bowhaus Red was a very good blend of chambourcin, merlot, syrah, and malbec. The Tour’ga Franc was a sour blend of a Portuguese grape, touriga nationale, and cabernet franc. The Merlot was good but not memorable. The Cabernet Franc had a bit too much green pepper on the finish for my taste. Although their Norton was made in the traditional style and was not a dessert wine, the nose was very yeasty to the point that it ruined the palate for the taste.

Three Fox Vineyards remained remarkably unchanged. I enjoyed the atmosphere much more this time. The tasting room is very small and on a crowded day can be a bit uncomfortable. The wines here are Italian style. I personally think they would do much better trying to produce Virginia style wines. The wines are generally unremarkable.

Barrel Oak Winery

Three Foxes Vineyard

One good thing about these vineyards being close to DC is cell phone service– Three Fox Vineyards

The Beer Bloggette

A blog for women who like beer (and the men who love both)

Month: January 2013