Очаково Квас(Ochakovo Kvass)

Очаково is a huge Russian beverage company that makes kvass, beer, wine, liquor, and soft drinks. Though their kvass is widely available, I suspect it's not very traditional. Kvass varies significantly, from a non-alcoholic soft drink to a full-bodied mildly-alcoholic beverage. Traditionally, it is made by fermenting rye bread with yeast, but commercial brands are often made with sugar, malt extract, and carbonated water.

This kvass has a dark brown color with a small head. It is pretty fragrant, a yeasty fermented smell with raisins and prunes. Also, subtle notes of hazelnuts and coffee. Wow. What a strange, complex flavor... I've had kvass before that seemed sweet and rich with a prune juice flavor. This definitely has a nutty flavor and a slightly sour maltiness. But I feel like the carbonation is a bit overkill. So many flavors. You could write poetry about this.

Очаково Квас
(Ochakovo Kvass)
Is it delicious?: C-
Is it interesting?: A
Drinkability: D+

Here's a photo of my friend, Phil, taking in the aroma.

Coolbre.ws turns 1!

I can't believe it's been a year already. Thank you for reading (and occasionally leaving comments). Here's to another year of drinking delicious beverages!

If you'd like to join me for a celebratory cocktail, I'll be at Pegu Club at 6:30 on Tuesday (the 24th). It's a pretty classy joint, but also a celebration of beverages at their finest. I believe all of the cocktails are $12. Cheers!

Pegu Club
77 West Houston St (2nd floor) [map]
New York, NY

Fuck High Fructose Corn Syrup

Starting in April, PepsiCo will be selling new "throwback" versions of Pepsi and Mountain Dew that are made with real sugar. They will also sport retro graphic design. I'm in favor of all of this, but what a weird premise. Remember a couple years ago when McDonald's starting advertising that their burgers were Now Made with 100% Beef! How unsettling. Can you imagine if they marketed the new, improved product as "Throwback Burgers"? "Dude, remember back in the day when food was made from plants and animals?" By the way, as I write this I'm eating a McDonald's cheeseburger. What a hypocrite I am.

For a more in depth look at these Throwback Pepsi products, check out www.BevReview.com

February is Locals Only Month:Lemon Peel Ginger Root Mash

The Boylan Bottling Company (located in Moonachie, NJ) has been producing exceptional soft drinks for over 100 years. In the last few years, they've entered into the fashionable "water drink" industry with their line of Mash beverages. These new beverages, strangely, aren't mentioned on Boylan's website. In general, I'm not a fan of beverages that boast low calories and are full of artificial sweeteners. But what I like about Boylan's Mash is that it bridges the gap between sugary soda and plain ol' water. That said, if you're the kind of person that's acclimated to drinking three Diet Cokes every day, you probably won't like this.

It pours a hazy pale yellow color with light carbonation. The fragrance is very pleasing, like fresh lemon and lime. The flavor is subtle, but refreshing. It treads pretty close to being watered-down Sprite, but is calculated enough that it holds it's own. I don't really sense the ginger though.

Lemon Peel Ginger Root Mash
Is it delicious?: B+
Is it interesting?: C
Drinkability: A-

February is Locals Only Month:Sixpoint Dubbel Trubbel (4th Anniversary Ale)

Sixpoint is by far my favorite local brewery (not that there's much competition). This month they are celebrating their 4th Anniversary with a slew of events and the release of a limited edition chocolate dubbel. On Tuesday the 17th, they'll have 15+ different Sixpoint ales on tap at Barcade in Williamsburg. And on Mardi Gras (the 24th), there will be a Sixpoint beer dinner at Back Forty in the East Village (reservations required). All this on the heels of a supposed run-in with the FBI over their Hop Obama ale and rumors of massive expansion in '09. I hope they have enough time left in their schedule to make delicious beer.

Which brings me to Dubbel Trubbel. For this site, I try to stick to beverages that are packaged and available to the public (so that I'm not wasting my time describing beverages that you have no way of trying for yourself). This post is bending that rule a bit since this beer is not only a limited edition, but also only available at a few bars and a couple stores in New York. I got mine to-go at the Bowery Whole Foods. Dubbel Trubbel is a 9.6% ABV Belgian Dubbel featuring chocolate nibs from the Mast Brothers (of Williamsburg). Unfortunately, this brew seems a bit trubbled...

It pours a very dark brown with an almost neglible off-white head that dissipates very quickly. The aroma is sweet and malty and Belgian with a hint of banana. The flavor is malty and smooth, but has a strange aftertaste that's hard to place. Charred wood? Charcoal? Coffee? Leather? Copper? Asparagus?? The chocolate and hops are hardly detectable. But the alcohol is. This is a tough one to decipher. I guess Sixpoint can't win me over with every beer. But, I look forward to their next experiment.

Sixpoint Dubbel Trubbel
Is it delicious?: C+
Is it interesting?: C+
Drinkability: B-

February is Locals Only Month:Be'er Mayim Cola

Sholem-aleykhem! I'd be a total schmuck if I sat through Locals Only Month without even saying a bissel about Brooklyn's Hasidic community and their kosher delights. Be'er Mayim makes a cola that is light and dry in the schnoz and looks just like you'd expect it to. It has a very thin mouthfeel with less carbonation and less sweetness than most sodas, but enough of a nutmeg-like, spiced cola flavor that it doesn't seem watered down. Plus, I love the ongepotchket graphic design on the can. Vu iz dos bodtsimer?

Be'er Mayim Cola
Is it delicious?: B-
Is it interesting?: C-
Drinkability: B+

February is Locals Only Month:Pat's Exotic Beverages

That's right. For the first-ever theme month here at coolbrews, it's locals only. Meaning I'll be reviewing drinks made in and around New York City. Support your local beveragemakers (especially the good ones).

First up, Pat's Exotic Beverages. The company started when Pat Lindsay started making Caribbean-inspired beverages for church gatherings out of her home in the Bronx. In 2000, the company began selling their beverages to West Indian restaurants throughout New York City. Today, Pat's Exotic Beverages has a loyal following and can be found at dozens of restaurants and stores in the New York metropolitan area. Pat's beverages are available in (somewhere around) 18 different all-natural flavors (mostly fruit juices). But, as you can see below, some of their flavors are truly authentic and a real treat for those of us without a Caribbean upbringing.

Stagga Back
I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I have no idea what "stagga back" means...I'd like to imagine it's a clever euphemism for curing a hangover, but it almost seems more likely that it's the name of a dance move. Regardless, the stuff pours like eggnog and really coats the glass (yes, I poured it into a glass) with little bits of nuts & oats. It smells sweet, like eggnog, or cheesecake, or peanut butter pie. Tastes sweet and creamy and delicious. The grittiness from the cashews might be a bit of an aquired taste, but it doesn't bother me. There's almost a citrus tanginess that serves as a nice contrast to the creamy nuttiness. I didn't think I was going to make it through the whole 16oz, but I did, no problem. Looking at Pat's website, Stagga Back isn't mentioned in the current product line. I'm not sure if it's been discontinued... If so, that's too bad, because I can't think of a better beverage to wash down a spicy beef patty on fresh baked coco bread.

Stagga Back
Is it delicious?: B+
Is it interesting?: A-
Drinkability: C

Sour Sop with Lime
Sour sop (aka guanábana) is a tropical fruit that is native to the Caribbean. This drink has an interesting look...it's white and kind of viscous like saliva. Like Stagga Back, it also has bits of stuff in it. It smells kind of sweet and fruity, like pineapple juice. Pretty refreshing, like a tropical cocktail. It's sweet and a little bit tart and a little bit creamy (like it contains coconut milk...but it doesn't). I'm not familiar enough with the flavor of sour sop to pick it out, but for me this just goes down like a sweet tropical fruit juice, with a slight mouth-drying characteristic.

Sour Sop with Lime
Is it delicious?: B
Is it interesting?: B-
Drinkability: B+

Sorrel
Sorrel (aka roselle) is a species of hibiscus that has many uses. In the Caribbean, it is often made into a drink flavored with ginger and rum. (This one, however, contains no booze). The drink has a deep, dark red color, like pomegranate juice. The predominant smell comes from the ginger, but I also sense a tart, fruity smell. The most interesting thing about the flavor is definitely the powerful, fresh ginger. The rest actually seems pretty familiar. Smooth, sweet, and fruity like grape juice. But the two flavors are completely separate...which is strange. Overall, pretty refreshing with a lingering spiciness. Though this bottle was bought at the same time and place as the other two, it clearly sports a fancy new label. Unfortunately, it also sports red food dye #40 and sodium benzoate (as a preservative). Hmm...

Sorrel
Is it delicious?: B
Is it interesting?: C
Drinkability: B

St. Sebastiaan Dark

St. Sebastiaan Dark is a Belgian Ale brewed by Brouwerij Sterkens. It is packaged in a cool ceramic bottle which I think I'll keep. Yeah. The beer pours a very dark brown with a nice foamy off-white head that dissipates slowly. The aroma is sweet and malty. Very malty flavor too. Notes of caramel, molasses, pumpernickel, and awesome. Nice, rich mouthfeel.

St. Sebastiaan Dark
Is it delicious?: B+
Is it interesting?: B-
Drinkability: C-

Pocari Sweat

Pocari Sweat is a Japanese water drink that replenishes your body with electrolytes. It is supposedly the ultimate solution for rehydrating your body after a sweaty workout, hot bath, or diarrhea. As usual, I pulled up Pocari Sweat's website to see what I could see. The Japanese version of the site exclaims "FAST SUPPLY, KEEP LONG!". While the English-language version is a bit more useful (to me). But, the most unusual content can be found at good ol' pocarisweat.com. I am the Ostrich Man??

The beverage is strangely foggy, like Fresca, but not carbonated. Hmm...it smells kind of grapefruity like Fresca too. I thought this would just be water with a strange viscosity to it (like Smartwater). Ugh. There's something disconcerting about the flavor. It's like really watered down lemon lime Gatorade but with a slightly syrupy mouthfeel. Welcome to the future. Like Brawndo, it has what plants crave. It has electrolytes.

Pocari Sweat
Is it delicious?: D+
Is it interesting?: D
Drinkability: B+

Байкал(Baikal)

This one was a real adventure because I had no idea what it was when I bought it. The entire label is in the Cyrillic alphabet. Is it soda? Is it booze? Motor oil..? Baikal is a non-alcoholic beverage from Russia. It's named after the pure, drinkable waters of Lake Baikal in Siberia. From what I'm able to translate, it seems that the beverage contains black tea, cardamom, lemon, and other flavors.

The color is similar to Coke, but slightly more amber. It has a slightly metallic smell with a hint of fresh ginger. The flavor is surprisingly nuanced, though a bit light in body. It's not particularly enjoyable, but it's hard to place and definitely reminds me of something...Moxie? There's some ginger, dandelion or burdock, and also a kind of cherry flavor. Not all that dissimilar to a suicide of like seven different fountain drinks.

Байкал
(Baikal)
Is it delicious?: D
Is it interesting?: B-
Drinkability: C-

Tropical Rhythms - Reggae Medley

It's pink. It smells like pureed bananas. And it tastes like Desmond Dekker.

Tropical Rhythms - Reggae Medley
Is it delicious?: B
Is it interesting?: C
Drinkability: B

Samichlaus

At 14% alcohol, Samichlaus is one of the strongest lagers in the world. It's name means Santa Claus in Swiss German and it is brewed only once a year on December 6th (Saint Nicholas' Eve). Switzerland is one of the few countries that separate the celebration of Santa Claus from the celebration of Christmas. Samichlaus is stored in a cold Alpine cellar, aging for 10 months before being bottled. I could continue describing the fermentation process, but I'd just be plagiarizing this article written by Michael Jackson in 1991. Damn "Beerhunter" and his wealth of knowledge.

Samichlaus (2007) pours the color of dark honey with a small, off-white head (that dissipates rather quickly). It has a very rich, savory aroma of red wine, olives, cured meats and a hint of hops. Wow, the flavor is sweet and full-bodied and delicious. Tons of flavors...fresh baked bread, raisins, honey, malt. It has a nice, long, malty finish. After finishing the bottle, I might feel like I just drank a loaf of bread, but seriously...who doesn't want to drink a loaf of bread? (Now you know what to get me for Christmas.)

Samichlaus
Is it delicious?: A+
Is it interesting?: A-
Drinkability: C

The Sopranos Old Fashioned Italian Sodas

I've been sitting on these for a while. Time to clear the empty bottles off my desk. Overall, I'm pretty impressed with these. Obviously, the flavors aren't very good ideas, but they did a pretty good job nailing them.








The Sopranos Chianti Soda
It has a pretty clear, magenta color and a subtle, sweet smell that has hints of pomegranate, grapes, and roses. Interesting. Simultaneously dry and sweet...like pomegranate or cranberry juice or grape skins. Not too bad, but it doesn't particularly taste like wine. And the flavor dissipates really quickly.

The Sopranos Chianti Soda
Is it delicious?: C+
Is it interesting?: B
Drinkability: B-


The Sopranos Amaretto Soda
It pours an amber color, similar to Disaronno. It smells pretty much exactly like Disaronno. Pretty fragrant for a soda. Luckily the flavor isn't quite as intense as the scent. It does, however, taste like a Disaronno-flavored soda, which isn't a particularly good flavor. Sort of creamy, with hints of pistachio and maraschino cherry. Maybe it would make a decent mixer.

The Sopranos Amaretto Soda
Is it delicious?: C
Is it interesting?: C+
Drinkability: D+


The Sopranos Limoncello Soda
Sort of a cloudy yellow, it smells pretty intense like Lemonheads or lemon-lime Gatorade. It tastes kinda like Lemonheads too. Unlike the other two, this one has a lingering aftertaste (that is kind of piney). I guess there's a hint of lemon zest in this, which makes it sort of like limoncello. But again, a limoncello soda isn't a very good idea.

The Sopranos Limoncello Soda
Is it delicious?: C-
Is it interesting?: C+
Drinkability: D+

Aqua Blox

Aqua Blox is emergency drinking water that is approved by the Department of Homeland Security. Just check out the slideshow of 911 and Katrina images on their homepage. Respectfully pouring the contents into a clean glass, it looks like water. I can't smell it (that's a good sign). There's an ever-so-slight waxy flavor (like you get from a fast food cup if you're on a long car trip and you let your ice slowly melt, compromising the integrity of the cup's wax coating). But hey, it's water in a box.

Aqua Blox
Is it delicious?: C-
Is it interesting?: D
Drinkability: A+

November

Autumn is in full swing. Actually it's almost over. If you're not already tired of seeing, smelling, and tasting goddamned pumpkins, I suggest trying some of Southern Tier's Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale. I've tried quite a few pumpkin beers this year and this one is in a league of it's own. It's not just a pale ale that smells like nutmeg and tastes a little weird. Southern Tier also impressed me with the intensity of their Crème Brûlée Imperial Milk Stout (released in June).

Unfortunately, I missed Halloween this year because I was in Mexico (boo-hoo). Somehow I exercised self-control and didn't buy every crazy-ass beverage that I saw there. But, I did of course occasionally indulge in delicious local Oaxacan hot chocolate, mezcal, coffee, soda, beer, and wine. Notable beers include Noche Buena (a Mexican Christmas beer) and Modelo Obscura (on tap). I think the only good soda that I tried was Chiva Cola, which was nice and dry and reminded me of RC Cola.