Tasting #4 was actually a beer tasting (theme thought of by Jason) and was held at Mark & Cindy's house in Wauwatosa and attended by (9): Mark, Cindy, Jason, Andrea, Mike, Jen, Joe, Kristen and Kim.
The night started off with a casual Spanish grenache wine comparison...
1. TRES OJOS
Brought by: Mark
2. LAS ROCAS
Brought by: Mark
Next, we tried a German-style Octoberfest on its own...
3. HOFBRAUHAUS OKTOBERFEST
Brought by: Mark
Paired with: cheese & cracker plate (Mark & Cindy)
Also Paired with: cracker appetizer (Jen & Mike)
And Also Paired with: Bacon Breadsticks (Kristen)
Next was the blind American-style Octoberfest tasting...
4. STAGHORN OCTOBERFEST (New Glarus)
Brought by: Kristen & Joe
5. SAM ADAM'S OCTOBERFEST
Brought by: Mike & Jen
6. LEINENKUGEL'S OKTOBERFEST
Brought by: Jason & Andrea
Paired with: pork & sweet potato kabobs (made by Cindy)
Everyone commented on the beers, gave predictions and picked their favorites. The Staghorn was lightest in color and the Leinie's had the most carbonation. Everyone correctly picked that beer #2 was Sam Adam's and 7 people picked it as their favorite (without truely knowing that it was Sam Adam's). Almost everyone incorrectly picked the New Glarus vs. the Leinie's. Only Joe liked New Glarus the best and only Jason like Leinie's the best. By comparison, the voters at beeradvocate.com gave the following grades... New Glarus B+, Sam Adams B, Leinie C+.
Next up was the blind pumpkin beer tasting...
7. NEW HOLLAND ICHABOD ALE
Brought by: Mike & Jen
8. LAKEFRONT BREWERY PUMPKIN LAGER
Brought by: Kim
9. SHIPWRECKED BREWERY PUMPKIN ALE
Brought by: Jason & Andrea
Paired with: pumpkin pie (made by Cindy)
Once again, everyone commented, predicted and picked there favorite. All 9 tasters blindly picked Lakefront as their favorite! Way to go Milwaukee!!! Most people blindly favored the Shipwrecked as their second favorite of the three. Beeradvocate.com gave grades of B- to both Lakefront and Ichabod, but I didn't see a grade for Shipwrecked. I seemed to be about the only one who ranked the Ichabod higher than Shipwrecked. It was fairly heavy in cinnamon and in spice and I enjoyed the initial taste/burst of those flavors.
10. CHERRY VODKA BOUNCE
Brought by: Mark (brewed by his brother Scott)
11. CHEERY WHISKY BOUNCE
Brought by: Mark (brewed by his brother Scott)
The vodka-soaked cherries are out of this world, as is the juice/marinade. I found the vodka ones to be perfect, however, as not as big of a whisky fan, I thought those seemed stronger and I know I couldn't eat many of those by comparision.
Overall, a very fun and another successful tasting! Mark and Cindy were awesome hosts and it was fun to try something a little different.
And YES, we tried a lot of booze... and YES, I still have a headache to prove it!
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