Pour Me: Bridgeport's Café Negro

Beer. I love the stuff. I really, really do. IPA's are good, and some amber ales are too, and especially the dark ones, and for my money draft porters are where it is at. There is a whiskey barrel aged Coffee Porter on tap at various locations here in Austin, and it is amazing. I really have a thing for coffee porters, and Café Negro is one of them, although, in the bottle, it does not pack quite the punch as draft porters do.

Bridgeport makes a really tasty IPA that I had over Christmas. Portland beers are hard to find around here, and I was thrilled to find this Café Negro coffee porter. This coffee porter is not a typical one because it is actually brewed with coffee, and it really infuses deep coffee flavor, instead of a porter flavor. I would have to say that Café Negro is more of a coffee drink than an actual beer.

This porter is smooth, with a bit of a bitter tang at the finish, just like a black cup of coffee. It is very dark, and probably the darkest beer I have had since Convict Hill. Café Negro is smooth, with a heavy coffee flavor, and a slight hint of nuttiness. The coffee flavor is quite robust, and must come from a very intense bean; maybe espresso. That last, bitter note is somewhat off-putting. It is just a bit intense, and it makes you want to take another drink to wash the bitterness down.


Bridgeport's Café Negro is a pretty good porter, but there are better options out there. It is just too much coffee, and not enough porter.

Pour Me: New Belgiums La Terroir

 Hmmm. Usually I am of the opinion that New Belgium can do no wrong. This disproves me. By quite a margin. 

I suppose I am actually to blame for not liking this beer. It is a sour beer. It says so right on the label. I figured I would try it because I have never had one before. Terrible idea. If you have never had a sour beer before, do yourself a favor (I hate that phrase!) and skip it. The first sip is interestingly off-putting. The second sip is more off-putting than enjoyable, and by the time you are ready to take your third sip, the beer is warm from you wandering around, trying to figure out what is going on in your mouth.

Honestly, La Terroir (and I am sure all sour beers) is interesting. There is a lot of power in the sourness, and it has been quite a while since I have had a sour Warhead. I was just not prepared for my beer to have the same potency. La Terroir could be refreshing on a hot day, if it was split between two people. Although, when I let my wife have a sip, she immediately grabbed a glass of wine to wash down the sour note. Yeah, it is a pallet killer. Here are some brief notes I jotted:

Super sour. So sour, it almost hurts. So goddamn tangy. Fruity, like funky OJ. Slowly, very slowly, it is growing on me. Quite hoppy, but after the sour ruins the tongue. Hints of peach and mango like NB claims, but instead of the sweetness, you get the sourness. Nose is sweet and hoppy. Cardimon. Tasty. Interesting. Not something I would drink regularly. No six pack for this.
 
I would have to say that after I had finished the bomber, I was pretty much finished with sour beers. I have no intention on trying another one. It was interesting, and sour, and that is about it. New Belgium has a sour brown ale, but I am going to avoid it at all costs. Although April Fools is coming up...

Misadventures in Camping

Last weekend, my wife and I (and Emma) headed out to go camping. We decided to visit Seminole Canyon State Park, about a 5 hour drive from Austin. Seminole has some ancient cave dwellings and paintings from prehistoric tribes that lived along the Pecos when things were more fertile. There is a 1.5 hour guided tour, and we thought it would be a tremendous amount of fun. Plus, Emma could go! We booked a campsite for 2 nights to really get the whole experience.

The Subaru was loaded down with sleeping bags, the tent, the dog, and lots of foodstuffs. We set off straight after noon. We (I) made excellent time, and the drive was pretty scenic as we approached our destination. We actually did make very good time, because we got to the park office at 4:45. Unfortunately, the park office closes at 4:30. So, we had no clue as to what spot we were supposed to stay at. So, we just drove up the hill to the campsites looking to find ours. I reserved one with water, but no electricity (we are camping, after all), but after we drove around, we only found sites that either had both or neither. We passed by the camp hosts, but I cowardly decided not to ask them. Finally, we rounded a corner and saw our name attached to site #10.

First task was to set up the tent. This was fairly straightforward, and we had shelter set up in 10 minutes. Then it was time to set up for dinner: Steaks! When you are roughing it, you need a steak to assuage the experience.

I broke out the grill (burn ban in full effect, otherwise we would have had some kind of charcoal goodness), hooked up the propane and set to work prepping the steaks. I had procured two delicious looking boneless ribeyes (I told the butcher to pick, and that we were camping) and brought a fair amount of seasonings for them. A bit of salt, pepper, and coffee-ancho rub on both sides, and they were good. The grill was heated as hot as it would go, and I tossed them on.

This was more like searing than grilling. The heat was either full-tilt or nothing, so they were flipped every 50-60 seconds to keep them from total char. My steak was done in about 5 minutes, but "princess" had to have hers done well, so I found a cool spot on the grill and left my steak there, still flipping every minute or so. So, while her steak was cooking, I made some mushrooms to top the steaks. They were drowned in olive oil, and did not have space too cook in the pot, but they turned out fantastic. Finally, after about 13 minutes, both steaks were done to our desired temps, and while I was busy at the grill, my co-camper had made an impressive spinach and trugole salad. Sure, I forgot to bring vinegar for the salad, but it turned out awesome with just a little olive oil and that cheese.


We ate our steaks while poor 'ol Emma watched. The steaks were perfectly seasoned, and cooked perfectly, and the salad balanced to meal. Emma did get some scraps, and was thrilled to be camping. When we finished, we found our water supply, and did dishes. Loads of fun!

Well, I do have to say, the steaks were by far and away the best part of our camping experience. We loaded up into the tent, and tried to get some rest before our big day of hiking. When we arrived at the canyon, the wind had been blowing pretty steadily, and I assumed that when the sun went down, the wind would die down. Nope. If anything, it got windier during the night. Now, I am from a very windy town, so I ain't scared of some wind, but this was serious wind. 40+ sustained and 60+ gusts. Serious goddamn wind. The tent would blow, and pop, and rattle, and threaten to come off the ground, like a kite. Emma was not thrilled to be camping any more. Every time the tent would rattle, she would pop up, looking around, seeming to think "Jesus! What the Eff was that!" Yeah, me too, Emma. Also, I forgot to pack pillows, so, yeah, terribly uncomfortable So, after about 5 hours of 20 minute fits of sleep, we decided to empty the Subaru and sleep in there. 2 6" tall adults and a 30 lb. puppy sleeping shotgun could fit there, fairly comfortably.

We got up at 6:30, and started packing up. The night of howling wind had broken our spirits. Not even a steak for breakfast could help us. However, we did have an awesome breakfast of turkey chorizo and eggs in taco form. Fortified and packed up, we headed down the hill to pay for our one night, and the camping fees. We debated staying for the tour, but in addition to being 2 hours later, and the fact that Emma could NOT go, we decided it would be best to just blow town. We set off, and about half way, I stopped to get some food. I am not sure if this sausage qualifies exactly as food, but it was pretty damn decent. I only wish I would have gotten the jalapeno version. Anyway, we made it back to Austin, cleaned up and got pizza and beers. Ah, civilization!

Pour Me: New Belgium's Dunkel Weiss

Let's start with New Belgium's description:

"Deep amber brown with a dense off-white head, Dunkelweiss rediscovers hefeweissbiers through a Belgian brewer’s lens. Envisioned by our own Matty “Smooth” Gilliland, this beer opens with sweet clove, chocolate and banana notes that give way to a warm finish with a peppery tingle across the palate."

So that's what I tasted! Anyway, this is a pretty good Lips of Faith brew. They are all very hit and miss, but when they hit, they are delicious. Dunkel Weiss is a Belgian-style wheat beer, and it is probably one of the best I have ever had. 


To quote the bottle, "cat burglar smooth and just as fond of the dark." Indeed, this is a very dark beer. It is impressive for New Belgium, who's beers tend to be light colored, with the notable exception of 1554. The nose on this brew is staggering. The notes are all over the place, from tangy floralness to tannic and Belgiany (yes, I do love making up words) and even somewhat of a smokehouse odor. Dunkel Weiss is very, very smooth, and has certain hints of wheat and spice. Some of the spice that I noted were nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. That gives it a sweet, somewhat cidery taste. After the head settles down, the beer tastes somewhat watery. 


Now, let's talk brass tax. A bomber (22oz) should reflect the quality and taste in the price. At $5.99, this is a bit pricey. I would much prefer to pay around $9 for a six pack. That is one of my issues with the Lips of Faith series: the quality of ingredients and limited release drive the price up quite a bit. I understand it as a business decision, but in an ideal world... I would drive a Raptor and have six packs of Lips of Faith.

Picture This...

Some of my dear readers may have noticed that when I do reviews of restaurants, I do not post photographs, other than a stock photo of the place that I dug up online. I love to review food, and good places, and have been having an awesome time doing my quest for fish and chips, but the thing about food blogging is that it is so damn easy to turn into one of those people. You know, those people. Taking out their smart phones, taking flash pictures, maybe a video, and then twittering about the service. Yeah, I hate those people, and would dislike myself if I became one. Food blogging should be about the food and drink, the experience of it all. If you need the crutch of blurry photos, and grainy videos, you are doing it wrong. I do my damnedest to paint you, dear reader, a picture that you can smell and almost taste, with words. Sure, I could take my DSLR to ever restaurant I visit, and take numerous photos of my dinning experience, but I believe in being civil to my fellow dinners. There is nothing that grates my nerves worse than some hipster “food lover,” photographing their vegan grilled “cheese” and PBR, while blogging about the whole thing on their tablet. It is disrespectful to the food, the establishment, and your fellow dinners. Sure, I am you are interested in food enough to want to write about it, but, honestly, your bad manners do you more of a disservice, and annoy everyone in the place. This is not a rant against anyone in particular, it is just something that I have observed, and is a rational on why I do not do it. I believe in being honest about food, and being respectful about it. For my restaurant reviews, you will get a stock photo, and unless there is some kind of insane sculpture on my plate (or a dead rat that I did not order), you will not see photographs. You will actually have to use your imagination, and the words I provide to determine if this is a place for you.

Fish & Chips: Blackstar Coop

"Look! They have fish and chips! You have to try it!" My coworker enthusiastically told me about this new pub that brews their own beer. She handed me a copy of some sort of newsletter. The author was super pumped about Blackstar Coop, and made sure to tell the reader that they pay their employees a "living wage," whatever the hell that is. Now, I do not mean to besmirch the idea of a coop, living wages and fish and chips, I just like to make fun of things. Plus, I needed to try another place for my epic quest. So far, the quest has been fraught with danger, excitement, beers, grease, and tummy aches.

Blackstar Coop is pretty far north from my usual realm of restaurants. When we first moved to Austin, we would look up places on Yelp! and traverse the city to, often in gridlock, to try something. We quickly found this was stupid, and there are good places all around, and having a "destination dinner" was, more often than not, less enjoyable than going some place close by. However, after being shown the copy about Blackstar, I decided it would be worth it to check out. After all, they do brew their own beers, and I am never, ever one to not try a new beer.

The location is a bit hard to find, and you really need to know where you are going. I learned this the hard way after missing the turn. I had to detour for 5 minutes, before almost missing the turn again. Anyway, parking was accessible, which I find rewarding in itself. The complex that Blackstar is in is one of those new condo's and apartment above a storefront type deals. I do not care for this new trend at all; it makes the place feel very creepy when all the shops are empty.

Blackstar is in the corner of the shopping level, and is pretty big. You walk in and are greeted with a line to the bar. Basically, you queue up, place your order and you are handed your beers, and a number. Once your order is ready, a friendly coop member will bring our your food. My lovely assistant decided to try out the 3 person cheese plate (yes, just the two of us), and two of their Dockhand's (porters). The beers were very tasty, and our cheese plate was out in short order. You get to choose what cheese, meats and nuts you would like. The cheeses were all very good, and surprisingly, the Bleu was devoured instantly. This was a good cheese plate.

We then queued up to get another pint of beer and place my order for fish and chips, and my cohorts order for a salad. I decided to switch it up and have their Vulcan, a damned delicious pale ale. Our order seemed to take a while, but that was probably because the place had filled up, and it looked like every table had several orders of fish and chips. Good sign, right? Meh.

The salad my beautiful chum ordered looked delightfully healthy, especially in comparison to my fried on fried, with a side of fat. I knew what I was getting into, but I was still mocked for my choice. Ah well, at least I exercised that day.

Now, this is where the story takes an interesting turn. The fish that Blackstar uses is not the traditional cod, either Atlantic or Pacific. They used Texas Redfish. I had not heard of this fish before. I figured that it would be nice to try a different style of fish, and the Texas Redfish sounded alright to me. Turns out, it is not that great of a fish. Think of a discolored, fatty Tilapia, and you have Texas Redfish. The batter for the fish was a perfect beer batter. Crisp and delicious, until the fish presents itself. Funky is probably the best way to describe it. This Redfish experience was akin to biting in to a twinky, and being presented with peanut butter instead of cream filling. It is alright, in theory, but these things just don't go together.

The fish and chips came with 3 pieces of fish, and a generous helping of chips/fries, a lemon wedge and aioli instead of tartar sauce. After that first bite, I decided to dunk it in aioli. This was akin to dunking your peanut butter Twinky in to mayonnaise. Still not working! The aioli was light on anything that could have differentiated itself from mayo. Garlic was not present, and there was not even a hint of the type of oil used, pretty much making me think it was corn oil. So, sauce aside, I finished my first piece of fish bathed in lemon juice. It helped, but it was not terrific. The fries, on the other hand, were pretty great. A potato was split into quarters, lengthwise, then narrowly chopped into wedges. They were very well seasoned, and extra crispy, while retaining a soft center. With a bit of ketchup, it was probably the best serving of chips I have had during my quest.

So, the fish was not good, and the chips were really great. The beers were cold and delicious. The cheese plate was tasty. The cost was not outlandish ($11.50 for the fish and chips, $4.50 for the beers). If Blackstar was closer, I would go back, but not have the fish and chips. However, since it is quite a drive away, it wont be visited again by this intrepid food blogger.