A Love Letter to Caltrain

Dear Caltrain,

I love you because . . . even though we're only together for a couple hours each week, the experience is so quiet and so intimate.

In the morning -- before the sun has come up -- I grab my seat on your upper deck and pop in my headphones. The glimpses into backyards in the twilight, like reading a page in someone's diary: a truck on cinder blocks, a lawn in desperate need of mowing, a child's play set.

Despite the noise you, dear Caltrain, are inflicting on these neighbors, likely still tucked warmly in their beds, I am quiet. At peace. Despite all the other passengers, cramming on and off at each stop, we are alone, together.

These quiet moments. These views into lives I know nothing about.

When we pull into 4th & King, I'll unceremoniously gather my things and join the crush of people smooshing through the door. I hope you'll forgive my carelessness, thoughtlessness, potentially seeming indifference.


Until Next Week,
C

Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin 2016

Tonight's Beer:
Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin 2016 Vintage Bourbon Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout
8.5% ABV

The 2016 Velvet Merkin is a really good beer. It is . . . velvety. And delicious. It's a jet-black beer with a bourbon-y smell. While the bourbon barrel aging comes through in the flavor, it's subtle. Many barrel-aged beers punch you in the mouth with the flavor (and with a through-the-roof ABV). I'll typically tolerate the intensity, as I like the bold flavors. But there's certainly something to be said for a smooth, easy-drinking ale like the Velvet Merkin.

This is definitely a good beer to close out Advent(ures) in Beer 2016. It's delicious:. rich and flavorful, but smooth and balanced. We'll be drinking this beer tonight with some apple pie, which is a pairing I'm looking forward to. It has all kinds of delicious flavors: chocolate, roasted, and of course bourbon. I may go back to BevMo and get a couple more bottles to add to my collection. Pulling this beer out of the (metaphorical) cellar after a few years would be a real treat.

Broad Categories:
U.S.
Great
Delicious
Stout
Barrel Aged
Amazing

Aecht Schlenkeria Rauchbier Urbock

Tonight's Beer:
Aecht Schlenkeria Rauchbier Urbock
6.6% ABV

This is the only rauchbier on the panel this advent season. I like rauchbiers, but even the lowest ABV rauchbier will never be a session beer. The Rauchbier Urbock is a smokey beer -- so much so that it might be a good idea to marinate your ribs in it before throwing them on the grill. If you don't like the taste of BB!, stay away from this beer (or any rauchbier). But if you like the flavor, this beer is worth a try.

Broad Categories:
Good
Germany

Fuller's 1845

Tonight's Beer:
Fuller's 1845
6.3% ABV

The 1845 is the sister beer to the ESB and the London Pride. And like both of those beers. the 1845 is a good beer. It's got a bit of a metallic taste, but otherwise is a good, tasty amber ale. I don't know that I have much else to say about it. If you like English beer styles, give this one a try.

Broad Categories:
Good
U.K.

Weihenstephaner Vitus

Tonight's Beer:
Weihenstephaner Vitus
7.7% ABV

You may have noticed that I skipped a night. I fully intended to drink a beer and blog about it last night. However, I had an after-work dinner with some colleagues and didn't get home until quite late. In the past, I've pushed through. But looking at less than 6 hours of sleep before going into work this morning was not attractive. So I skipped a night (and a beer). I may make it up tomorrow or on Christmas Eve. Or perhaps Advent 2016 will simply be missing a day.

Tonight's beer is the Weihenstephaner Vitus. A few weeks ago I reviewed Weihenstephaner's Festbier, and in 2015 I covered the Korbinian (which is delicoius). If you took a drink of the Vitus without knowing anything else about it, you would likely assume it was a hefeweizen. It's a pale color, slightly hazy, and has the strong banana flavors frequenly associated with wheat beers of the hefe variety. However, the Vitus is not an ale but a Weizenbock. For a bock, it has a complex flavor profile with lots of aftertaste. You might call it a hefeweizen masquerading as a bock (or perhaps a bock masquerading as a hefe). The Vitus is a good beer. It won't put you under the table, but the flavor is going to demand your attention.

Broad Categories:
Good
German

Westmalle Dubbel

Tonight's Beer:
Westmalle Dubbel
7.0% ABV

The Westmalle Dubbel is another Belgian Trappist Beer. An it is delicious. It's a rich, sweet, caramelly beer. If you like Belgian beers, you'll likely love this beer. If you're a fan of IPAs, maybe consider steering yourself in the other direction. I feel like I should have more to say, but It's a good beer, and I don't really know what else to say about that.

Monks, it turns out, are pretty good at brewing beer.

Broad Categories:
Great
Belgian
Trappist
Dubbel

Primator Double Bock

Tonight's Beer:

Primator Double Bock

10.5% ABV

You know how I love a good doppelbock and have a special place in my heart for Czech beers, even though they are woefully underrepresented on the American beer market. It is therefore with a heavy heart that I have to admit tonight's selection falls short. The Primator is overwhelmingly sweet -- so sweet that I find myself wondering if the brewer had a bad batch of yeast, resulting in the fermentable sugars not being consumed by the yeast and converted to alcohol. I normally have a higher tolerance for sweet beers than many beer aficionados, as evidenced by my dislike of IPAs and love of doppelbocks and Belgian beers. But the Primator beer is so sweet, I have a hard time distinguishing the flavors imparted by the malt, hops, and yeast. 

If you're looking to try a doppelbock, I cannot recommend this beer. In fact, I would suggest you avoid it.

Broad Categories:

ugh - not good

Doppelbock

Czech Republic