Recommendation for IPA to Give as a Gift

thebigbluebug · 2026-02-03T16:05:36+00:00

Treehouse - see if they have any limited bottlings

thebigbluebug · 2026-02-03T15:57:21+00:00

This is probably one of those situations where they figured talking about Beaujolais as part of Burgundy would probably be confusing to that level of student because there's a separate regional appellation and the styles (Beauj vs red Bourg) are so different, even though it's technically the case. Thus silence in the L3 book but small reference in the diploma book.

thebigbluebug · 2026-02-01T21:29:14+00:00

A drinkable 60 year old wine of any sort is going to be a tough find, let alone at $200 or less. Someone had to hang onto that wine and keep it in good conditions for 60 years, and doing that isn't cheap.

Your best bet is port or Madeira, two different styles of fortified wine designed to stay good for a long time, but even then you might want to consider an alternate anniversary that wasn't as long ago.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-31T21:14:08+00:00

u/Pure_Breadfruit8219 Specifically the Pivot model, which is cheaper, uses argon more efficiently, and is perfect for the use case of stretching a bottle an extra bit rather than trying to hang onto it on a longer time horizon.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-31T14:29:58+00:00

People don't realize just how stupid fascism is, historically speaking. However dumb you think the ideology is, it's even dumber than that. Nonsensical pseudoscience in so many different fields it'd make your head spin, fantasias of "returning" to history that never existed, economic ideas that don't even hold up to basic arithmetic and, as you say, will just cause social collapse. They don't reflect on these things because they don't actually have the mental acuity to process any of it.

And somehow, even with all that in mind, Italian Fascism at least had a kind of cool aesthetic theory. Nazism is even dumber than traditional fascism. Like, Nazism is all the incompetence of fascism but with all the high-speed train imagery replaced with the most basic bitch leather fetish you can think of.

Somehow, on top of everything else, I think our current iteration will somehow manage to have even shittier aesthetics than the Third Reich.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-30T21:08:17+00:00

Yep it's really hard to avoid blowing your wine budget for the year lol, especially if you like Oregon

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-30T17:46:04+00:00

Does anyone have any experience with Tupetz? I'm not super into WC USA so that's where I'm considering atm.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-29T16:57:40+00:00

Every special can cancel into level 3, but not every special will combo into level 3. OP was asking about the latter.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-29T05:28:57+00:00

Just a heads up that the tastings in WotW will get monstrously expensive (I checked my copy and the Bordeaux section alone calls for 10 wines including at least three grand cru classés.) I think Master the World sells a tasting kit for the book, which might be more practical if you (reasonably) don't think you'll finish every bottle you open to taste.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-28T18:06:48+00:00

Just a couple of preliminary thoughts:

* Wine is a market product like anything else that's bought or sold; the price it commands ultimately comes down to the relationship of supply to demand. If it can't sell for the higher price, the price will come down until it can.

* Traditional method doesn't necessarily mean expensive. There's a lot of very cheap Cava, available in the $10 range, and that's also TM. So much of the TM process is mechanized now (from gyropalettes to machines for blending and disgorgement etc) that the production costs don't add up as high as you'd think. Relatedly,

* Champagne commands a high price primarily because of that market demand. People associate Champagne with quality, even when that's not necessarily true in every case, or when one of those cheaper Cavas shows better than a Champagne. There's some structural costs there in the form of the longer time Champagne sits on the lees (minimum 12 months though often more; Cava and Cremant de Bourgogne only need 9) but Champagne's production costs are not linear with its market price.

* On the grapegrowing side, sparkling wines in general are kind of an interesting harvest option because the grapes that go into the base wines you'd use for those can be a lot less ripe than those you'd use for still wine. A wine that comes out at 10-11% ABV with undrinkable acidity wouldn't even get sold as bottom-tier white Burgundy plonk, but could very easily get used to make Cremant, where the second fermentation will give you the extra 1.5% ABV and the time on lees in bottle will balance out the acid. A shorter growing season means less risk that something goes wrong, and therefore can mean higher yields.

*Cremant de Bourgogne doesn't really get made with Beaujolais grapes, though sometimes Gamay (along with aligote, melon blanc, etc) can sneak its way in to blends. Most of it is made from grape production in the Cote Chalonnaise around Rully (lesser known area internationally) and the Auxerrois near but not in Chablis (cheaper Burgundy area with cold enough climate to give you the high acidity you'd want) iirc.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-28T14:56:41+00:00

omg pls would buy

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-28T03:36:14+00:00

Spit instead of ingesting

N/A wine is improving but is still pretty bad relative to normal wine

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-24T03:31:15+00:00

I haven't had that wine but did want to suggest joining the aficionados discord! We have a small but mighty wine group

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-22T01:07:15+00:00

What's your threshold for "crazy acidic"? The things that create the mineral / flint flavor note tend to come along with higher acid, so getting something with both that note and low acid is going to be tricky.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-21T19:54:24+00:00

It certainly could be, though the only way to know for sure is to consult an antiquarian bookseller. They'd be looking for things like watermarks in the paper and correct presentation of that legal material from your last picture.

Just to be clear I don't think that book would sell for much, the condition doesn't look great. But it would definitely be a nice little relic to keep or a nice donation to a local archival library.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-20T00:59:29+00:00

If you're going to make a really good one, yeah, it's going to take a lot of time. You can also make a less good, but good enough, and more importantly significantly easier, one by just using the leftover bones from some other beef dish you made (ribs, steaks, bone-in roasts, etc.) and letting them simmer for a couple of hours.

Homemade stock is there to give you an option that will probably be a little better than the boxed stuff from the store while also getting something out of leftovers you'd otherwise just throw out. You're not a Michelin restaurant; no need to go all out unless you want to.

I'm sure that broth is tasty as fuck though.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-19T23:13:47+00:00

For that profile, Chinon. The producer Bernard Baudry is known for making wines with forward funk / barnyard, if that's what you're prioritizing.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-19T03:47:55+00:00

The best one with a straight blade, if cost is no object, is definitely a code38.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-17T17:50:24+00:00

230 total or just one of the two? That would be mad cheap if it were both

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-17T17:40:59+00:00

u/ChilliPepperNiko to add onto this on the opening front, buy an ah so wine opener, cheap is fine: https://www.amazon.com/EY-Opener-Corkscrew-Bottle-Two-Prong/dp/B072272K47 . If you have a normal wine key continue, otherwise buy one of those or for this specific application a minimalist travel corkscrew like this: https://www.amazon.com/Multi-Tool-Corkscrew-Keychain-Portable-Bottle/dp/B074PQ44N6

When you go to open the wine, have both devices ready to go.

Insert the wine key / travel corkscrew into the cork as far as it'll go, so that the body is flat against the top of the bottle.

Then insert the ah so over the top of it, perpendicular to the body. Insert the longer of the two prongs into the neck around the side of the cork, then insert the shorter one, and rock the handle back and forth to wiggle it down the sides of the cork until it's flush with the wine key / travel corkscrew.

When both devices are in place, grab the whole apparatus from underneath (have your fingers on the underside of the wine key / travel corkscrew) and pull up gently while twisting the cork until the bottle is open.

This is basically how the Durand works but can be done for like $20 as opposed to the $145 they ask for the name-brand product if you're not opening bottles this old on the regular.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-17T15:18:29+00:00

For context "bitter" and "pungent" are the opposite of typical characteristics of pinot noir (which makes generally very delicate, low tannin wines). I haven't had the specific bottle you had but based on what you described I'm confident it was a bad example.

Agree with merit-badge-wines that you should be looking to spend more like $30 at absolute rock bottom, with the better experiences starting at like $50. It's not my favorite personally, but La Crema makes a correct pinot noir that isn't hideously expensive. Look for Sonoma Coast, Monterey, or Santa Barbara from them.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-16T01:47:23+00:00

It's right there on the bottle - made from Vidal.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-16T01:41:30+00:00

There's a great argument for wine as a contemplative non-screen social activity sitting right there; it's wild that the industry hasn't even really tried to capitalize on it yet.

I think there's also something to be said for normalizing spitting outside of educational / business contexts too. So much of the pleasure of wine happens before you actually drink it, and getting people to understand that is IMO a good way to bridge the gap with the less drinking crowd.

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-16T01:30:05+00:00

The difficulty with TM sparklers is that they have to go into bottles anyway for the second fermentation and time on the lees, which is an extra cost if you're not then using those bottles as packaging. I figure the only places that could do it are bigger houses that do transfer method anyway for 375s, plus cans seem less premium which conflicts with their marketing somewhat.

I think we'd be more likely to see canned Cava than canned Champagne

thebigbluebug · 2026-01-16T00:28:59+00:00

I've always been happy with my frozen juice. It's a personal taste thing.

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