PappyVanWise

It seems like a cottage industry has sprouted up around naming beers that are just as good if not better than Hopslam.  While I'm not the biggest Nugget Nectar fan, I know a lot of people prefer it.  I hope that beer hype hype in general soon dies down, and everyone can buy what they enjoy and still leave enough on the shelf for everyone else. I'm taking a break from hoppy bombs for a bit, getting my palate back to normal, but if  you can find some Evil Twin Molotov Cocktail, I thought it was a pretty good brew.

It's Hopslam season again.  I'm happy to sit out this year's hunt, as my beer consumption is very much on the decline (hard to admit for the Virtual Beer Tasting host).  Any reports as to this year's formula?  Just as much golden honey and hops as every year or is it ruined by the nostalgia of previous years' batches?

(And a quick reading upthread shows it might be the anniversary of the VBT's formation, which Don suggested in this thread last year)

Found some 2010 Hodder Hill at a local shop in Richmond...and I hate to admit it, but I need need one or two more arm twists from Joe to pull the trigger.

No "love" for Star Trek the Animated Series?

For fans of this one Finally: Lagunitas Sucks available year-round from Draft Magazine

There are something like 10 James Bonds in the original Casino Royale, but I was just counting the official Broccoli releases. If Niven is your man, please let us know why.

Every so often I'll get on a James Bond kick and start watching as many as I can, until my appetite is sated. On this latest binge session, I've decided to watch at least one from each actor. It's hard to separate the man from the quality of the movie, but the Brosnan era movies are not aging well. There's a heavy reliance on early internet jargon and quasi technological plots from the villians. The Dalton movies are interesting, you can tell the 80s action movie influence. I think they do hold up pretty well. The Connery movies are real slow for the most part, and by the end of his run you can tell he's just cashing his paycheck. Lazenby is Lazenby, its basically just a silly movie. Which leaves us with Moore and Craig. The three Craig movies are very good movies, not just good Bond movies. When his run is over, he could top the list. But now, in my opinion, Roger Moore leads the pack. I've watched live and let die and a view to a kill, his first and last, this time around, and he does a great job of portraying Bond. From 1973 to 1985, he was James Bond, an impressive streak for any actor to hold down a role. He was also the first Bond I saw, which is why I hold his version in such high regard.

Not including one of the Norm MacDonald as Burt Reynolds Celebrity Jeopardy skits is a travesty of minimal proportion.  Norm with his Burt mustache and giant foam hat definitely deserve a place in the top 50.

And Pappy Van Winkle makes a cameo this week along with Elmer T Lee.  Good to see a Kentucky-based show giving some screen time to their biggest export. 

I'll add The Magpie and Belmont Food Shop to the list of places to go in RVA these days. Also, I think that its officially called Acacia Mid-town now.

I ended up going in for the Cabot Zin pack as well.  Heard such good things about this wines, and am looking forward to trying these out.

Troegenator cans, sold in four packs, have made their way to Virginia if anyone prefers their beer in the can.

From the article "The drink has also shown up on menus in cities including Chicago; Seattle; Richmond, Va.; and Austin, Tex."  Looks like they've been eavesdropping on my cocktail parties. I haven't seen it around town, aside from my kitchen.

There's a sort of ramp up beginning after Thanksgiving of wineries hinting that they are going to get involved and make offers.  Some winemakers are active participants on the board, so I've interacted with Eric Keating before, and bought his wines a bunch from offers he's made on the site.  Others, like Sandler Wines for instance, have a really good reputation and tasting notes abound from other members of the WB community.  Graft wines was a new one to me, but I have a soft spot for California Grenache, and took a chance on a new label.

Also, if you donate at least $25 annually, you get a preview list of what wineries have offers available and what times the offers will go live so you can plan your purchases a little better.

I'm five orders in (Sandler, Keating, Graft, Match, and Vincent) and still trying to find more local buyers for Grand Cru to try and ease my shipping cost.

If anyone really wants to give up their day and get great deals on wine, check out Berserker Day over on Wineberserkers.com.  A few of us here are members over there, and January 27th usually ends up being our most expensive day of the year.  Every 15 minutes a new deal is posted, and they mostly come direct from the winery or importer.

Love that actors from The Wire are showing up this season.  Justified has some of the best casting decisions, although the jury is still out on Michael Rapaport playing swampfolk.

Just borrowed the ebook from the local library, so I'm in for now.  It'll be nice to put my English degree to good use.

I honestly don't remember the food being too remarkable.  It was in 2005, so in the not too recent past.  I do recall him screwing up some cream puffs that were supposed to be a surprise for my brother and his wife, I think maybe the cream didn't set and it melted into the pastries while they were on the tables.

Full Disclosure: He catered my brother's wedding in 2005, prior to all this nonsense.

There is a restaurant in Richmond named Toast, yet they don't actually serve toast (except maybe at brunch). Seems like a good name wasted.

Though I suppose they could mean toast in the "cheers" sense, since they do have a solid bar with good rotating taps.

20 year PVW can be had locally in Richmond for $20 an ounce, which would be $500 for the bottle.  Going by the prices on Wine-Searcher, this is a screaming deal. 

Drinking some of my Black Friday splurge, 2011 La Follette Pinot Noir North Coast. A $20 PN that I'd stack up against the big boys from California. Also a winemaker introduced to me by this board (and Proof).

Belmont Food Shop.

Our first real outing after relocating to Richmond in April.  This is a very small, smart restaurant that is bound to make some noise this year.  I've been meaning to write full review, but it's been so long I think it'll come after my next visit.

Sorry to neglect you, my fellow virtual beer tasters, but bourbon and wine have been my go to drinks for 2014.  That being said, before the clock struck midnight on 2013, I opened my bottle of Scaldis Noel Premium, aka Bush De Noí«l Premium to drink while cooking our New Year's Eve meal.

I don't have any specific tasting notes, but this was clean and delicious.  It's a cage and cork top, that runneth over after I popped the cork.  Once the froth settled down, both in the bottle and in the glass, I was left with a very nuanced beer.  It was definitely sweet, but not overly malty.  Instead the sweetness was fruitier, like figs and plum.  It's not cheap at $16ish a bottle, but I'd highly recommend picking this up if you haven't had it yet.  Not sure how long it sits on the shelf after Christmas, but my local bottle shop still had a few.