Day 1139: February 12, 2018 Stoute Bie by Brouwerij de Bie

The Beer:

A post shared by Brett Domue (@metsbwd) on Feb 12, 2018 at 9:32pm PST

Name: Stoute Bie

Style: Stout

Producer: Brouwerij de Bie 🇧🇪

Alcohol content: 5.5%

Serving Style: Bottle

Purchased from: Prik & Tik, Arendonk, Belgium

Sweet cocoa and caramel flavor. Light coffee bitter.

Day 1140: February 13, 2018 Tonka From Belém by Brasserie Fantôme

The Beer:

A post shared by Brett Domue (@metsbwd) on Feb 13, 2018 at 9:52pm PST

Name: Tonka From Belém

Style: Saison

Producer: Brasserie Fantôme 🇧🇪 and Morada Cia Etílica 🇧🇷

Alcohol content: 8.0%

Serving Style: 0.75l Bottle

Purchased from: Bierhalle Deconinck, Vichte, Belgium

Nice dry funky aroma. A little floral. Flavor is a nice dry yeasty funk. Dry tart finish. Quite tasty.

Day 1141: February 14, 2018 True Love by Champion Brewing Company

The Beer:

A post shared by Brett Domue (@metsbwd) on Feb 14, 2018 at 9:27pm PST

Name: True Love

Style: Lager

Producer: Champion Brewing Company USA 🇺🇸 collab with Cockfight Skateboards

Alcohol content: 4.5%

Serving Style: Bottle

Purchased from: de Bierbrigadier, Eindhoven, the Netherlands

Clean hoppy lager. Bitter with a light malty finish. Meant to be comparable to a Mexican-style lager

Day 1142: February 15, 2018 Sazobe by Viedi

The Beer:

A post shared by Brett Domue (@metsbwd) on Feb 15, 2018 at 9:53pm PST

Name: Sazobe

Style: American Pale Ale

Producer: Viedi 🇱🇻

Alcohol content: 5.8%

Serving Style: Bottle

Purchased from: Riga, Latvia

Fruity and a light hoppy bitter. A light maltinsss. Pretty good overall flavor.

Day 1143: February 16, 2018 Recipe 1000 Sauternes by Mikkeller

The Beer:

A post shared by Brett Domue (@metsbwd) on Feb 16, 2018 at 8:56pm PST

Name:  Recipe 1000 Sauternes

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Producer: Mikkeller 🇩🇰

Alcohol content: 9.0%

Serving Style: Bottle

Purchased from: Wijnhuis, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Nice grapey sweet flavor from the three years in Sauternes barrels. Rich caramel and vanilla toast. A little boozy.

Day 1144: February 17, 2018 Smeerolie Mexicake by De Moersleutel

The Beer:

A post shared by Brett Domue (@metsbwd) on Feb 17, 2018 at 10:49pm PST

Name: Smeerolie Mexicake

Style: Imperial Stout

Producer: De Moersleutel 🇳🇱

Alcohol content: 10.0%

Serving Style: Can

Purchased from: de Bierbrigadier, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Day 1145: February 18, 2018 Hazelnut Porter by Birrificio Lambrate

The Beer:

A post shared by Brett Domue (@metsbwd) on Feb 18, 2018 at 9:33pm PST

Name: Hazelnut Porter

Style: Hazlenut Porter

Producer: Birrificio Lambrate 🇮🇹

Alcohol content: 5.5%

Serving Style: Draft

Purchased from: ’cause BEER loves FOOD, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Heavy hazelnut cocoa caramel aroma. Flavor is hazelnut bitter. A bit watery body.

Day 333: November 29, 2015

Diary entry:

Today did not get to be exciting as I had originally hoped, primarily due to the abundance of rain.

It had threatened rain, and drizzled a little, over the prior two evenings, but the days themselves turned out to be rather nice.

Today, the skies opened up, and it rained pretty much the entire way home.

There were thoughts of stopping at a market or two on the way, but every time we hit a city of interest, it was pouring, so we just push on through to home.

Which was maybe a good thing. I was quite tired after the prior two evenings of Christmas markets.

The Beer:

Name: Tre Fontane Tripel

Style: Belgian Tripel

Producer: Abbazia delle Tre Fontane

Alcohol content: 8.5%

Bottle size: 0.33 l

Purchased from: Proeflokaal ‘t Gelagh in Oisterwijk, the Netherlands

Tre Fontane Tripel by Abbazia Tre Fontane. My original plan for the afternoon: sit on the couch and recover from the weekend road trip. Change of plans though, as I received a message from Bjorn, a friend from Untappd – One of the local bars, ‘t Gelagh in Oisterwijk, was having a Trappist beer tasting day, and on the menu, Tre Fontane from Rome, Italy! Finally – the last Trappist beer I have not yet tasted! (I managed to score Spencer, the other more recent addition, on Day 33, and Nivard by Stift Engelszell on day 249 of the challenge.) I tried, but failed, to pick up a bottle at the bottle shop two weeks ago, but managed to get a bottle at the tasting today. And it’s quite tasty. Malty and bitter. And the aromas just kept growing in the glass as it sat.

Commercial Description (bottle label – translated):

This beer, flavored with eucalyptus leaves, is a unique product born from an ancient recipe of Tre Fontane monastery. Since 1873, the eucalyptus characterizes the products of this Community of Trappist Monks.

Day 310: November 6, 2015

Diary entry:

Today I spent the morning planning the coming nine months of the project with my colleagues from Korea. How to properly involve our colleagues in the other countries in Asia, what we need from them, how to keep them informed, etc.

In the afternoon, we finished off my deliverable for the week’s visit, so I feel like we accomplished what I came here to do. Next week the decisions will be made on how to move forward. But first a few days vacation in Japan, since my involvement won’t come again until the end of the week.

Dinner tonight was with another old TravBuddy friend who we knew from the US, but currently is living in Hong Kong. We ate at Aberdeen Street Social, which is a very nice restaurant in town. A tough reservation to get, so we had to accept the invite 🙂

We hoped to visit some bars afterwards for Gin & Tonics, but the entire city was hopping tonight, especially around Soho and Lan Kwai Fong. We wound up down at Ham and Sherry, an old favorite, instead. Which ironically is part of the same restaurant group as Aberdeen Street Social.

The Beer:

Name: KeTo Reporter

Style: Porter

Producer: Birra del Borgo

Alcohol content: 5.2%

Bottle size: 0.33 l

Purchased from: Ham and Sherry in Wan Chai, Central, Hong Kong

KeTo Reporter from Birra del Borgo. An Italian Porter, in Hong Kong. A bit sweet. Not at all what I expect from a porter. Not much dark flavor that I can recognize. But it’s still pretty good, but more like a brown ale than a porter.

Commercial Description (Untappd):

Pitch black, nice carbonation, weak head. Smell is caramel, malt, red wine, touch of orange peel.

Day 292: October 19, 2015

Diary entry:

Back to work Monday blues.

But no time to wallow, as the meetings started before the sun even came up, and continued on throughout the entire day.

No rest for the weary.

Of course, my first meeting of the day was a no-show, but that didn’t get me down. The rest of the day was pretty full of meetings, and wound up being much more productive than  I expected.

Major deadlines for project two this week, and my travel plans are still in the balance. Really hope dome decisions would be made so I can move on to a more productive work day.

A quiet dinner at home, where I decided to venture into the fridge for this past weekend.

The Beer:

Name: Autonomy Lost

Style: Imperial IPA

Producer: White Pony Microbrewery

Alcohol content: 9.0%

Bottle size: 0.33 l

Purchased from: De Caigny bottleshop in Essen, Bekgium

Autonomy Lost by White Pony Microbrewery. Nice hoppy bitterness. Slight citrus. A little bit of malt undertones. And it didn’t gush! Quite happy with this Imperial IPA. 125 IBUs.

Day 180: June 29, 2015

Diary entry:

We are currently in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy for this year’s Blogville project. We’ll be staying in Bologna, Rimini, and Reggio Emilia over the next two weeks, sampling the local foods, beers, and wines of Emilia Romagna. Follow along with the hashtags #Blogville, #inEmiliaRomagna, and #ViaEmilia.

Our final morning in Emilia Romagna, and Italy, for this year’s Blogville project.

The main reason we didn’t head up to Parma yesterday to see my family is that they had to pass through Bologna anyway on their way to Venice, so we agreed to meet up in Bologna at the train station this morning. They had spent the past ten days or so in various parts of Italy, such as Florence, Rome, Pisa, and Cinque Terre. It’s always great to see my parents and sisters, and of course, my niece 🙂 Glad we took the time to hold off on our departure to have some time together.

After they boarded their train to Venice, we head back to the Blogville apartment to pick up our last bags and head off on our long journey home.

A quick stop in Modena at the Ferrari store again to pick up something for Erin’s mom, and then we were good to go!

A nice drive up through Milan and past Lake Como and Lake Lugano.  Coming down we had taken the Grand San Bernard pass, and we’d done San Bernardino a couple times on prior road trips, so this time we took the Gotthard tunnel for the first time. Beautiful lake views, but do beware the traffic!

By the time we were passing Luzerne and heading towards Germany, it was starting to get a little late, and we were getting peckish, so we decided to see if we’d need to take a break. We stopped at a truck stop restaurant south of Freiburg (which I must say, was much better than the on-road Autohof’s) and pushed through until we were nearing Mainz, around 1AM, when I hit my limit on driving for the day.

The Beer:

Name: Originale 4 Luppoli

Style: Pale Lager

Producer: Birrificio Angelo Poretti

Alcohol content: 5.5%

Bottle size: 0.33l

Purchased from: Rest stop on the Autostrada in Modena, Italy

A pretty basic lager, some bitterness. Not bad at all, especially considering the hour and how tired I was when I drank it.

Commercial Description:

4 Luppoli Originale (Original beer with 4 hops varieties) is a low fermentation lager with a particularly harmonious flavour.

Fruity aromatic notes sweeten its moderately bitter taste.

Day 179: June 28, 2015

Diary entry:

We are currently in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy for this year’s Blogville project. We’ll be staying in Bologna, Rimini, and Reggio Emilia over the next two weeks, sampling the local foods, beers, and wines of Emilia Romagna. Follow along with the hashtags #Blogville, #inEmiliaRomagna, and #ViaEmilia.

We return today to Bologna, finishing off a great couple of days in Reggio Emilia. Unfortunately, today is our last full day in Emilia Romagna. 🙁

Originally we had some ambitious plans for today, such as heading down to the Festa Artusiana in Forlimpopoli or heading up to Parma for a quick dinner with my parents and sisters. But cooler heads prevailed and we finished up our packing for tomorrow so we could start loading up the car, since it was parked a little distance away and we had a few parcels to transit over to it, with all the food, beer and wine we had picked up over the past two weeks.

Instead, we made a quick run to Modena and the Ferrari Store to pick up the watch Erin’s mother wanted to buy her father for Father’s Day.

https://instagram.com/p/4g5anhh2uK/?taken-by=erindesantiago

Our return was spent on a mission…find sunflowers!

We had seen a number of sunflower fields from the train and highway the past few days, but never had a chance to pop into one. We figured we’d be sure to find one on the way to or from Modena.

After a few wrong turns and a little adventurous exploring, find them we did!

https://instagram.com/p/4iEPcFB2pP/?taken-by=erindesantiago

We finally made our return to the apartment in Bologna, a little later than we had hoped.  Later enough, in fact, that most of our desired options for dinner were closed! Luckily the shop I wanted to visit for my last beer of the trip also had some meat and cheese, so I was able to pick up sandwiches to go with the beer.

The Beer:

Name: Alley Hop

Style: Imperial / Double IPA

Producer: Birra Bellazzi

Alcohol content: 8.5%

Bottle size: 0.33l

Purchased from: Aemilia Food in Bologna, Italy

From the same shop where I bought the Japa earlier in the week. A local double IPA from here in Bologna. Nice balanced bitterness. 8.5% ABV, so not overly strong. Very drinkable.

Commercial Description:

The hard way to go to the basket!
After setting the base malts to give good support to the beer while remaining in the background, we launched massive amounts of American hops to make the basket in the most spectacular way.
The result is this extremely hoppy Imperial IPA: substantially bitter, a deep amber, and absolute drinkability.

Style: Imperial IPA
Fermentation: High
Degrees sweetness: 17 plato
Alcohol: 8.5% vol
Color: 22.4 (EBC)
IBU: 84

Day 178: June 27, 2015

Diary entry:

We are currently in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy for this year’s Blogville project. We’ll be staying in Bologna, Rimini, and Reggio Emilia over the next two weeks, sampling the local foods, beers, and wines of Emilia Romagna. Follow along with the hashtags #Blogville, #inEmiliaRomagna, and #ViaEmilia.

Today was a another day of exploring the culinary delights of Reggio Emilia.

We were met first thing this morning by Paola, the owner of Azienda Agricola Moro di Rinaldini Paola, one of the award winners from last night’s Terre di Lambrusco Matilde di Canossa Wine Competition. She drove me, Erin, and Anna of Tasty Living Helsinki the 30 minutes or so out to her winery and vineyards in Calerno di Sant’Ilario d’Enza where we met her family (her son runs the vineyard, and her husband makes the wine), explored her vineyards, winemaking facilities, and tasted a full range of her wines and food products. Their Rose Secco 2014 was the award winner from the competition, yet all of her wines were outstanding! We left with quite a few bottles.

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Bottles of Lambrusco wine made in the traditional method, like methode champenoise, a term which is restricted for use only on sparkling wines from the Champagne region itself. Several of us spent the morning with an award-winning Lambrusco producer in Reggio Emilia – what a misunderstood wine it is in many parts of the world. It has a reputation for being sweet and cheap, which couldn't be further from the truth once you learn more about the quality of wines being produced here. #Blogville #terrelambrusco

A post shared by Our Tasty Travels – Food Blog (@ourtastytravels) on Jun 27, 2015 at 5:52am PDT

https://instagram.com/p/4cDKdkkbUX/?taken-by=metsbwd

On our way back to Reggio Emilia, we took a slight detour by the La Barchessa Parmigiano Reggiano museum in Montecchio Emilia. This small museum comprises of two different historical periods in the production of Parmigiano Reggiano, one showing the production methods of the 1700’s, and the other showcasing the first steam-powered facilities from the 1920’s. Quite interesting, and worth a visit!

Meeting up with the rest of the group, we then headed off to Fattoria Rossi in Montecavolo, where we got to watch our second opening of a wheel of fresh Parmigiano Reggiano, this time using a different opening method splitting the wheel while flat into two half-moon sections vs. halving it into two half-wheels like we saw yesterday.

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In the last two days, I've been incredibly fortunate to witness how a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano is cracked open. It's quite a process – from the strength required to cut the wheel, to the explosion of flavors that happens once the wheel is finally open. The flavor is different as well, especially as you move closer to the center of the heart. I find it to be more creamy and smooth in flavor. #terrelambrusco #Blogville

A post shared by Our Tasty Travels – Food Blog (@ourtastytravels) on Jun 27, 2015 at 3:44pm PDT

This was followed by a pasta making and cooking class where we made and consumed our own pasta, and sampled more award-winning wines from the competition, these from Azienda Agricola Cantina Fantesini s.a.di Bigi Cesare e Fantesini Chiara from Bibbiano. Excellent wines to pair with the delicious pasta.

The Beer:

Name: Pink IPA

Style: American IPA

Producer: Almond 22

Alcohol content: 6.0%

Bottle size: 0.33l

Purchased from: Le Mille e Una Birra in Reggio Emilia

After returning to the hotel after the cooking class, I was a little curious where ‘d find my beer of the night, but luckily Nick had just the place in mind for me. Le Mille e Una Birra is a new beer bar located just steps away from the Albergo Notarie and Piazza Prampolini in Reggio Emilia. A nice Italian IPA with decent bitter flavor, and a little spice.

Commercial Description:

India Pale Ale brewed with pink pepper, hops Simcoe, Nelson Sauvin and Hallertau Saphyr. Appearance is gold colored load, with shades of orange.
The foam is white, generous, creamy and very persistent.
The aroma is delicate and elegant, dominated by hints of sweet and fruity (especially tropical and pink grapefruit) and light floral notes.
The mouth is light and never be elusive; find the cake with fruit and malt (biscuit) that let you quickly space bitter hops with herbaceous and bitter notes of grapefruit zest. Nice dry finish to cleanse the palate, followed by a taste characterized by herbaceous and vegetal notes and pleasantly moved by a hot peppery note which continues making more lively the next sip.

IPA A very pleasant, clean and very drinkable.
Serving suggestions: pork, beef rib grilled and fried mixed vegetables.

Day 177: June 26, 2015

Diary entry:

We are currently in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy for this year’s Blogville project. We’ll be staying in Bologna, Rimini, and Reggio Emilia over the next two weeks, sampling the local foods, beers, and wines of Emilia Romagna. Follow along with the hashtags #Blogville, #inEmiliaRomagna, and #ViaEmilia.

Today was a day of exploration, taking in a great mix of the culinary delights of Reggio Emilia.

Our first stop in the morning was to Consorzio “Bibbiano la Culla”, to the Antica Fattoria Scalabrini, a local producer of Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese. We had the opportunity to watch the entire process of making a daily batch of this incredible cheese, from the initial blending, through the shaping and aging process. This culminated in the opportunity to watch the opening of a wheel, a very elaborate process. Trying shards of Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh from the core of the wheel, moments after opening…that’s an experience!

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Wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano everywhere you look in the aging room of a Parmesan factory, like the one we visited earlier today. #Blogville #terrelambrusco

A post shared by Our Tasty Travels – Food Blog (@ourtastytravels) on Jun 26, 2015 at 3:38pm PDT

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Parmigiano-Reggiano at #Blogville, during #terrelambrusco. A 2012 vintage cheese, well aged. Perfection waiting to be consumed.

A post shared by Brett Domue (@metsbwd) on Jun 26, 2015 at 12:50am PDT

After we had our fill of fresh Parmigiano Reggiano, it was off to the next traditional product, balsamic vinegar. We visited Acetaia Picci, a family-run producer, who gave us a tour of his vineyard and production facility, taking us through the process of maturing this liquid gold. We were also provided lunch at Acetaia Picci, which was quite a treat, especially considering the family ran a Michelin-starred restaurant while waiting for their balsamic line to mature!

https://instagram.com/p/4xJjkEqCy-/?taken-by=ourtastytravels

And in the evening, the main event! The awards ceremony for the 2015 Terre di Lambrusco Matilde di Canossa Wine Competition, held at the gorgeous Romolo Valli Municipal Theatre in the center of Reggio Emilia. We were invited to help present the Diplomas of Merit to the 90 award winning Lambrusco wines, from 45 different producers across the 12 DOP/IDP Lambrusco-producing regions in the classic production zone of Emilia Romagna.

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The 6th edition of the Matilde di Canossa Terre di Lambrusco Wine Awards is about to begin! Each journalist and blogger will go on stage when called, and we will answer a question and present the award to one of the winning wineries. #Blogville #terrelambrusco

A post shared by Our Tasty Travels – Food Blog (@ourtastytravels) on Jun 26, 2015 at 9:27am PDT

This was followed by a chance to sample the award-winning wines, as well as a selection of local foods. I was quite impressed with the variety of Lambrusco wine styles. There was a wide range across the different growing regions, with wines ranging from very sweet to very sour to very dry. I didn’t sample anywhere near all 90, but I enjoyed almost everyone one I did sample.

https://instagram.com/p/4wdnnMKC_k/?taken-by=ourtastytravels

What a great day!

The Beer:

Name: Rrose Selavy

Style: Saison

Producer: Dada

Alcohol content: 7.0%

Bottle size: 0.75l

Purchased from: Bottiglieria San Giovanni in Reggio Emilia

A perfect summer terrace beer from Birrificio Dada out of Correggio in Reggio Emilia province. A fine, bitter funk. Very enjoyable.

Commercial Description: Beer orange reflections, the nose yellow fruit, pepper and bread crust, with a strong flavor but fresh, even on the yeast that gives a pleasant sour note. The finish is dry and pleasantly bitter with aftertaste dominated by herbaceous and peppery hops. Excellent with pasta dishes based on fish. Also try with traditional dishes from Emilia.

Day 176: June 25, 2015

Diary entry:

We are currently in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy for this year’s Blogville project. We’ll be staying in Bologna, Rimini, and Reggio Emilia over the next two weeks, sampling the local foods, beers, and wines of Emilia Romagna. Follow along with the hashtags #Blogville, #inEmiliaRomagna, and #ViaEmilia.

After the long day at Milan Expo 2015 yesterday, today was a bit more relaxed, staying again in Bologna, having some grand coffee at Cafe Terzi, and lunch with the group at Da Cesari.

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Lunch time in #bologna. A little red wine for the great food to come. #Blogville #inEmiliaRomagna #viaemiliafood #ViaEmilia

A post shared by Brett Domue (@metsbwd) on Jun 25, 2015 at 4:24am PDT

In the evening, we boarded the van for our transport to Reggio Emilia, where we’re spending the next two nights for the Terre di Lambrusco Matilde di Canossa Wine Competition.

Dinner tonight was a feast of all types and cuts of meats at Ristorante Canossa in Reggio Emilia. Quite tasty!

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Tonight in Reggio Emilia, the @chefaz special. All of the choicest cuts of cow and pig. Lovely! #terrelambrusco #Blogville

A post shared by Brett Domue (@metsbwd) on Jun 25, 2015 at 1:29pm PDT

The Beer:

Name: Birra del 150° Anniversario Ambrata

Style: Vienna Lager

Producer: G. Menabrea & Figli

Alcohol content: 5.0%

Bottle size: 0.33l

Purchased from: Cafe in Piazza Prampolini in Reggio Emilia

The beer was a wee bit sweet for my taste, with some malty, caramel notes. The view of the plaza in Reggio Emilia is to die for, which made the beer especially worthwhile though.

Commercial Description:

Regular amber beer, specialty type Maerzen.
Brewed with malt, corn, hops and water.
Beer with good body despite the alcohol content.

Color: Amber with bronze
Body: Round
Amaro: Moderate
Balanced taste: Remarkable
We should consume at a temperature around 8.6 ° C.

Day 175: June 24, 2015

Diary entry:

We are currently in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy for this year’s Blogville project. We’ll be staying in Bologna, Rimini, and Reggio Emilia over the next two weeks, sampling the local foods, beers, and wines of Emilia Romagna. Follow along with the hashtags #Blogville, #inEmiliaRomagna, and #ViaEmilia.

Today was one of those days I’ve been awaiting for a very long time. Today, I went to the World’s Fair!

Erin, Rachelle, Nick and I boarded the high speed train in Bologna this morning for a direct two-hour train ride to to Milan Expo 2015. We spent the day exploring the Expo, visiting many of the country pavilions (Spain’s is quite cool!), sampling some of the food and coffee, and in general, enjoying a gorgeous day exploring the 1.5km long Expo grounds.

The Beer:

Name: Siciliana, Piemontese, Friulana, Toscana

Style: Pale Lager

Producer: Birra Moretti

Alcohol content: 5.5%

Bottle size: 0.30l draft, each

Purchased from: Birra Moretti, Una Storia Italiana at Expo Milan 2015

Four totally different flavors based on the same lager. Siciliana, with a flavor of Sicilian orange blossoms, Friulana, with Friulian Pippin, Piemontese, with red berry flavors, and Toscana, with barley and spelt. So very different, and all quite flavorful and enjoyable. Especially given the great weather we had all day today.