A Halloween to Remember

Oh how I love Halloween. I won't regale you with too many tales; save to say you're never too old to scare the crap out of children and eat delicious candy.

On to the alcohol! I had the good fortune of trying a lot of different things this weekend. From absinthe (liquory licorice, eugghhh) to limoncello, from bad wine called "vampire" to jello shots that were about 49% vodka. Really though, nothing terribly important to result. Most of it was pungent, tasted like a sucker punch, and left me begging for chaser.

My wonderful friend Stark hosted a shindig during which she served many of her fruity and delicious infusions. Her apple cinnamon is one of the better liquers I've had, but many of her others were too alcoholic for my pansified tastes. Sue me, but I don't have much love for hard liquor or cheap vodka. (although good whiskey has it's charms)

But the beer, oh the beer.

First thing first, I will eventually get around to writing about Woodchuck. They make delicious ciders, in many, many varietals. They have a decent amber, a horrific pear/fall seasonal, a fascinating granny smith, and a delicious dark and dry. However, those all will have to come later, because this is about their Oak Aged.

It tasted sweeter than a lot of ciders, but had a nice crisp taste with a deliciously fruity finish. My favorite part was a dark, rich taste that permeated the whole drink (the oak no doubt, in effect). Overall I rather enjoyed it, finding it to be one of their better ciders.

I also had the good fortune to try a bottle of Rogue's Dead Guy Ale. Rogue is a brewery I know precious little about, but have heard nothing but rave reviews. Look for me to try many many more of their offerings in the coming months.

Their Dead Guy Ale was powerful and complex, not a beer to be trifled with. This is no Sunday afternoon watching the game, drinking a bud kind of beer. This beer perplexed me, teased me, rebuked me, and delighted me, all throughout the course of an evening. The ale itself was light enough to be pleasantly drinkable, but not lacking a quantum of flavor. A very impressive beer, which deserves more analysis.

Halloween was an excellent adventure, and I picked up another stout to try from an old favorite, Belhaven. More on it as I try it, that's all for now.

-The Unabashed Ungourmet.