Alcohol in the news; The 12-year old Balvenie Doublewood

From the Buzz

The 12-year old Balvenie DoubleWood

The color is a medium/dark amber and the nose is sweet, with some grain but a warmth that reminds me of fruit. It starts sweetly with some honey and vanilla, and then a medium peat flavor develops in the middle of the drink. The finish brings out some earthy, sherry flavors and leaves a lingering sweetness and spice.

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Double barreling creates this diverse and vibrant experience. The bourbon oak cask gives it some boldness and smoke flavors while the sherry adds spice and earthy flavors that carry throughout, almost grounding the drink, but are most distinct at the finish.

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Yet another good whiskey review by Jeanine Russell.

Bars in the news; One-on-One with Sharon Owens, of Radio Maria

From the Buzz

One-on-One with Sharon Owens, Co-Owner of Radio Maria

It's a nice little piece on Radio.

Though Radio Maria has been a CU favorite for years with some of those classic dishes that keep us coming back for more, it also constantly presents changes in the menu, space and events that have its customers returning and growing in size. According to co-owner Sharon Owens, Radio Maria is all about fusing personal interests with the love of great dining: the restaurant features work (from the lights to the three-dimensional artwork on the wall to the tabletops) by Owens, co-owner David Spears and other Radio Maria employees past and present. Back in the kitchen, the creativity does not stop: Chefs are encouraged to explore their culinary interests as reflected in the evolving menu. buzz sat down with Owens to talk more about her restaurant.

Buzz Best of CU 2010 edition

The Buzz has put out their best of 2010 edition.

Here's the important parts of their list:

Best Liquor Store: Friar Tuck

From an extensive wine selection to beers you have never heard of, the selection at Friar Tuck is nothing short of astounding. Vodka to gin, IPA to lager, pinot noir to merlot — if this libation power house doesn’t have it, then you aren’t likely to find it within an hour radius of CU.

Best On-Campus Bar: Murphy's Pub

With its friendly staff and laid-back atmosphere, Murphy’s Pub is the ultimate spot where tradition and authenticity are in no short supply.

Best Wine Selection: Corkscrew Wine Emporium

With wines from over 20 countries and exceptional services, the winner of this year’s Best Wine Selection is Corkscrew Wine Emporium, located in Urbana.

Best Gay-Friendly Nightlife: Chester Street Bar

Best Barbecue: Black Dog Smoke & Ale House

Best Beer Selection: Blind Pig

If the dim-lit old-English pub ambiance is not enough to get you to enjoy Blind Pig off of Walnut Street in downtown Champaign, then the beer selection certainly should.

In fact, according to bartender Jason Ewing, Blind Pig has 26 beers on draft and one hand-pulled beer to fill out their impressive list of options. If you prefer to hold a bottle, the Blind Pig offers 100 different choices from domestic beer like Budweiser to a variety of international beer. Fortunately, should you have trouble deciding, you can sample any five of the bar’s draft beers for $8.

Best Place to Bust a Move: Joe's Brewery

Best Place to Find a One-Night Stand: Kam's

Best Date Spot: Radio Maria

It is not a surprise who received this award. With a reputation of being the best place to go on a date, Radio Maria has the chops to give you a guaranteed good time on your date. Known for their exquisite and unique dishes, Radio Maria’s cuisine is inspired by a combination of many different cultures.

“Our cuisine is varied. We use a lot of local, fresh ingredients,” said co-owner Sharon Owens. “We have influences from Spain, Latin America, Asia and some American as well.

Best Off-Campus Bar: The Blind Pig Co.

The Blind Pig Co., located on Walnut Street in downtown Champaign, has been a staple for older crowds to congregate since 2004. However, in the past three years, bartender Jason Ewing has seen a change in the crowd.

“We have anything from beer-heads to grad students,” said Ewing. “Lately, younger crowds come here from campustown, people who haven’t had a chance to have good beer.”

Friendliest Wait Staff: Legends

Editor's Picks

Alcohol in the news; the first installment of a new beer column

from the buzz

the first installment of a new beer column

All beers are different; some are dark, some light, some red and some that, basically put, taste and even look like water. Trying to differentiate type is task enough, let alone trying to distinguish quality. The better beers, most people would suggest, are the craft beers that come from small breweries or even places called “brewpubs.”

As one might guess a brewpub is a pub that also brews beers. In this day and age most people don’t see these seemingly ancient establishments; most brewpubs expand into their own separate-from-pub breweries. Though in the olden days this is where beer was made. Pubs would put up a hop-pole or ale-wand to show the locals that the beer was ready for a-drinking. Of course, like most things, this all started in Europe somewhere around the 1300s and somehow we only caught on in the U.S. during the 1900s.

Nowadays big breweries will open up their doors for guided or unguided tours of their factory, and they will have bars at the end where one can buy discounted straight from the barrel beer, which is always a ton more tasty. But think about it, how many bars down here in the CU show signs of at least once being a brewpub? There are several, so do keep a look out when you’re getting sloshy.

Brewpubs are a fading facet of the beer drinking world. Think about the care that came from the brewmaster and that was put into the beer that would have to turn around and produce a sustainable living. Like most on path alcoholics I thoroughly enjoy a microbrewed beer far over Keystone or Budweiser but I choose the latter two more often due to budget, however, the higher price adds to the treat and the occasion. So if you ever stumble upon a small town brewpub, do not pass it up. I repeat do not! The atmosphere alone will get you hooked and loving every drop of the carefully made beer sliding down your throat and into your gullet. So cheers to good health, good beer, and good times or anyone of the three.

It's an article...

Beer in the news; buzz food & drink writers sample different fall beers

From the Buzz

Buzz food & drink writers sample different fall beers

They sample: Blue Moon Harvest Moon, Arcadia Ales Jaw Jacker, Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale, Southern Tier Harvest Ale, Shipyard Pumpkin Head Ale, Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest, Sam Adam's Oktoberfest, Woodchuck Pumpkin, and Hornsby's Hard Cider Crisp Apple.

This was done by the food and drink writers... so it's good?

Blue Moon’s Harvest Moon:

We had high hopes for this beer since Blue Moon is so exceptional but were a little disappointed that there wasn’t much of that “fall” flavor to be found.

Ok, there's your baseline. "Blue Moon is so exceptional". I assume they actually meant that as a compliment.

Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale:

Beth and Jeanine were especially excited about this one because of Buffalo Bill’s Orange Blossom, which is an exceptionally good summer beer.

Paddy likes BB's Orange Blossom. This beer was apparently their favorite.

Southern Tier Harvest Ale:

This ale was crisp tasting, although very bitter. It remained light, though, and reminded Barb of Rogue Dead Guy. It did not have much of a fall or harvest flavor until the end, and it was drowned out by the bitterness.

This is what happens when you have no idea what beer styles are. Harvest ales (for the most part) are celebrating the HOPS harvest, not the harvest of corn, soybeans, pumpkins. They didn't like the bitterness? They shouldn't have gotten a beer that has a predominate characteristic of bitter.

Here's what Southern Tier has to say about harvest.

Harvest Ale is our celebration of the changing weather and the sowing of hops and barley that will be used in our upcoming brews. We usher in the fall with a classic English style Extra Special Bitter of the highest order. Deep ruby in color with an even deeper hop flavor… in fact, we throw fresh English hops into every brewing vessel, then dry hop after fermentation to impart a zesty kick. This beer has real hop character that mingles with fresh malted barley for an experience that will make you wish it were fall year ‘round.

If you were looking for something not bitter... you chose poorly.

Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest:

- Boring!

Just an amber beer without much pumpkin or spice. There wasn’t much to say about this pretty boring beer.

What? People might actually use this article as an authoritative look at beer, the writers are apparently the food and drink staff. They wanted pumpkin and spice in an OKTOBERFEST? Seriously?

Sam Adam’s Octoberfest:

- Least favorite!

We were curious to try this one because it is everywhere. We were used to seeing it and wanted to try it and were very disappointed. It was very bitter and unremarkable. We realize this might be a bias towards Sam Adams beers overall, but we definitely weren’t impressed by it.

Again, what? Sam Adams Oktoberfest is a malty beer. It's not very bitter. It's not unremarkable. It's pretty much the definitive version of an American Oktoberfest. They have a bias against Sam Adams? What? Why? They claim Blue Moon is exceptional, and they are biased against Sam Adams? Seriously?

This article is horrible. Remember that when you read any other article about beer in the buzz.

Beer in the news; international Beer Tasting and chili cook-off offers something for everyone

From the Buzz

International Beer Tasting and chili cook-off offers something for everyone

Urbana’s International Beer Tasting and Chili Cook-Off is an event that features beers from around the world and some of the best tasting chili that the community has to offer. In its ninth year, the annual festival, which features a chili competition, food from local vendors and beer samples, will culminate all that is great about the fall season this Saturday, Oct. 9.

...

... over 150 beers will be featured from around the world. Each 4 ounce sample will run you 75 cents, essentially costing you only $3 for each pint of specialty beer. Representatives from featured breweries will be on hand to answer questions during the samplings.

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The event is held rain or shine, gates open at 3 p.m. and the first 500 people get a free sampling glass. It will take place at the intersection of Main Street and Broadway Avenue. Tickets are $5 before-hand and can be purchased at Canopy Club, Exile on Main Street, Family Pride Convenience Store, Crane Alley, The Blind Pig Brewery and http://jaytv.com/. Tickets will also be available at the festival for $7.

It's no, Great Taste of the Midwest, but it's an ok beer event.

alcohol in the news; 1-on-1 with buvons

From the Buzz

One on-One with Domenico Musumeci, manager of Buvons, Corkscrew's new wine bar

It's from the buzz, so the article is ... meh.

The Corkscrew

Beer in the news; Best of the worst: Cheap Beer

From the buzz

Best of the worst: cheap beer

The buzz is claiming to have a beer columnist now. He and some friends did a blind tasting of inexpensive beer.

So I introduce to you buzz’s 2010 Best of the Worst. This is the Southwest Airlines of flights. It gets you where you’re going without a lot of frills, and frankly you may never want to take it again. We brought together a sample of swill approved by Joe six-pack (that’s right, I said it): Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller High Life, Icehouse and Pabst Blue Ribbon.

They did it twice. The first time the "best" was Coors Light, the second time it was PBR.

See if you like the article; I didn't necessarily care for it.

Alcohol in the news; Where and how to go wine tasting

From the Buzz.

Where and hot to go wine tasting

I think the author, and editor, may have spent to much time tasting wines. I don't mean to nit pick, but seriously, this article is flawed. Instead of going to learn about wines, they should have learned about writing.

By the time I cross the stage at Foellinger, I will gladly be graduating with a B.A. in English and a minor in Coors Light. A self-proclaimed Burnett’s Vodka connoisseur, I have experimented with several you-call-it style concoctions. When away from my home bar top, my choice usually falls between beer or liquor.

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However, Champaign-Urbana is a wine-rich community. With various wine tastings in the area, many of them for free, one can easily supplement their collegiate education with one in the ways of wine.

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While the is vineyard located in Southern Illinois, the family runs satellite locations and provides a daily wine tasting for CU.

"While the is vineyard located", shouldn't that be "While the vineyard is located"?

Manager Nick Bland said that their Saturday tasting (2-6 p.m.; small fee, never more than $5) usually have some sort of theme loosely based around the wine’s country of origin, varietals, or style, creating a more global knowledge of wine rather than just which ones taste good.

Take away the parenthesis and the sentence reads "their Saturday tasting usually have".

But the biggest error (the one that would have cost me 25 points each time I did it (on a 100 point scale) was...

A more recent addition to the area is Wine at the Pines in Urbana, which opened in October of 2009. In addition to wine, Wine at the Pines also serves baked goods from Milos, teas, and Metropolis coffees, filling the void that Bar Giuliani left.

A misspelled name, Wine at the Pines.

If you look at the article, the image that shows up is a picture of the place. Underneath the picture of Wines at the Pines, is the caption, Wine at the Pines.

There is some good information about how to sample wines; and some nice do's and don'ts. Also, the article lets you know where you can go to taste the wine.

So, the article has good information, it's just somewhat poorly written and edited.

(If you are going to complain about my blog; remember, this is a blog, not an article that was actually printed)

Places mentioned in the article are:

Corkscrew

Wines at the Pines

Krannert Center

Alto Vineyards

CU Bars in the news; One-on-One with Mike Murphy, owner of Mike 'n Molly's

From the Buzz.

One-on-One with Mike Murphy, owner of Mike 'N Molly's

Mike ‘N Molly’s beer garden is a downtown Champaign staple. The bar has a reputable whiskey and beer selection and the beer garden features bands all summer long. While these are the well-known things about Mike ‘N Molly’s, buzz sat down with owner Mike Murphy to find out a little more.

Mike 'N Molly's is located at 105 North Market Street, in Champaign (it's not an alley).

They have one of the biggest beer gardens in town, and the location does block a lot of the long evening sun rays, with buildings to the west.

buzz What’s something the CU area might not know about Mike ‘N Molly’s?

MM: People can bring in their own food! We’re not affiliated with anyone, so bring whatever you want. If people want to have dinner in our beer garden, just bring it over. We don’t bite. We’re happy to have anyone come in.

They have a good beer selection, and some of the best Guinness in town. They offer live music many nights a week, and have some decent drink specials.

Alcohol in the News; One-on-One with Sun Singer's Wine & Gifts

From the Buzz.

One-on-One with Sun Singer's Wine & Gifts

Once again, the Buzz fails to provide any good content.

Sun Singer Wine & Gifts is located at 1115 West Windsor Road in Champaign.

CU Bars in the News, the Buzz, The Music Issue

The Buzz has several features today on Music. In it they discuss DJ's, and several venues.

Music Issue Venue: Cowboy Monkey

Mucis Issue Venue: Canopy Club

Music Issue Venue: Mike n' Molly's

Music Issue Venue: Iron Post

Music Issue Venue: Assembly Hall

Music Issue Bars and Restaurants

Remember, you can find info for who's playing at most of those venues each Friday here, at my blog.

CU Bars in the News, One-on-One with Rebecca Vann, manager of the Blind Pig Co.

From the 217/buzz.

One-on-One with Rebecca Vann, manager of The Blind Pig Co.

The Blind Pig Co. is a bar serving a different side of CU. Since it opened the mircrobrewry addition in November, it gives beer drinkers the option to go local. buzz sat down with manager Rebecca Vann about beers, brewing them and the real history behind the sightless swine.

That's the first paragraph. From it, we should expect to cover all those topics. "mircrobrewry" was misspelled by them, not me.

The story covers the beers on tap, a horrible bio of the brewer, questions about undergrad patronage, questions about unofficial, bar history, and craft beers.

There is no mention of what a "blind pig" is. Even though it's mentioned in the lead.

If you want to know, there are two common definitions of "blind pig". The first is for a speakeasy. During prohibition, places that sold alcohol illegally were known as speakeasy's. A blind pig was a form of a speakeasy, although not as "classy" as a speakeasy. The owner would charge customers to see an attraction, then provide them with a complimentary beverage. The attraction would be the blind pig.

The other definition also dealt with prohibition. Here the blind pig referred to the serving vessel for the alcoholic beverage. A mason jar was known as a pig. A pig without any markings would be a blind pig.

The truth to the name is probably a combination of the two.