2008 Colosi Sicilia Rosso

You know, originally I thought I was just going to post about beer, but why would I limit myself?  I love to drink, I love to cook, and I love to drink while I cook.  Which brings me to today's post, the couple glasses of this 2009 Sicilia Rosso I just had while cooking and eating Puttanesca.

Look at it shimmer..  The last time I drank a definite Sicilian wine was in Italy, that I remember.  My friend, Raffaele, bought a bottle for us to drank, knowing I am half-Sicilian (he is 100% Neopolitan) and I will never forget how proud he was of this bottle he got for us, and then immediately after taking his first sip he was appalled at how awful it tasted.  According to 'Raffa' the bottle had not been stored properly, as this must have been the reason for it's awfulness.  Currently, I feel I should know if a wine has turned or not, but at that time I was really curious if I had ever drank a bad wine and didn't know any better, or is turning down wine a culture sign I had yet to learn?  Funny, on my next visit to Italy, Raffa and I were out to dinner and he turned down another bottle of wine...what is with that..

But on to more important aspects - which is the wine I just drank.  It was really good, it went well with my pasta puttanesca.  The puttanesca I made was the 'quick' version, but was tasty nonetheless.  I think I am pleasantly surprised as to how good and well-chosen this wine was, my wine-picking is all luck.  I wish I did not have to work in the morning, because I'm tempted to drink the entire bottle.

Blueberry Oatmeal Stout

I just got back from the liquor store.  I arrived home with quite a selection and will meticulously go through every beer, savoring each drop and maybe I'll be sober enough to let you know how they taste.  First stop, Buffalo Bill's Blueberry Oatmeal Stout.

I must say, I always get pulled in with the 'make your own 6-pack' offerings.  I scan the single beer selections and think to myself, oh yeah, this is where it's at.  Yet, the moment I grab the empty 6-pack cardboard holder and start selecting, I get kind of picky and as I get to the last two or three selections, I start grabbing random beers that I may have not picked initially.  This is how I arrived at the Blueberry Oatmeal Stout.

From the initial taste, I think I expected more than I got.  But, it's blueberry, it's an oatmeal stout, really what WAS I expecting?  Magic in a brown bottle?  Veruca Salt as a big blueberry, in psychdelic form?  The taste is pretty smooth, has a unique blueberry aftertaste and overall not bad, now that I've had a few sips.  I couldn't see myself drinking much more than one glass.  I am trying to think where this beer would work in my life.  An after dinner drink?  Doubtful.  An apres-ski beer?  Maybe, but I usually want more than one drink and once I drink this beer I don't think I'll want a second - besides the blueberry aftertaste, it is a heavy stout and I'll be full.  Ahhh...here is the part where the alcohol kicks in.  Let me now babble incessantly.

Usually interesting names and labels catch my eye, I'm a marketing person's dream.  But I do get curious and must do my research on this Buffalo Bill's Brewery, who are they?  Where are they?  Why are they named Buffalo Bill's Brewery?  Established in 1983, Buffalo Bill's Brewery website is under construction, but you can find them on Facebook.  Oh look, they make Alimony Ale, Orange Blossom something, Strawberry Blonde Ale, Pumpkin Ale, Imperial Pumpkin Ale (the king of the pumpkins?) and Blueberry Oatmeal Stout, my, aren't they busy.  https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloBillsBrewery

I'm curious about the naming of their brewery.  Why did a brewery, in Hayward, California, decide on Buffalo Bill's?  Coincidentally, I just visited Buffalo Bill's grave this past weekend; he is buried at the top of Lookout Mountain, in Golden, Colorado (per the plaque on his grave this was at his request, take that, Wyoming).  So Buffalo Bill's brewery is a restaurant, they serve lunch AND dinner and they brew fruity brews.  I am still looking for the reason why they named their brewery Buffalo Bill's.

OK, I have found more solid information on my quest as to what is this brewery:
Apparently Buffalo Bill's started as a brewpub in 1983, one of the nation's oldest brewpubs according to someone, and this still doesn't explain the name.  Did Buffalo Bill visit?  Is somebody named Bill and got the nickname when they ate alot of hot wings?  Oh look, other people (in Cody, Wyoming, tfounded by Buffalo Bill) are trying to make a 'Buffalo Bill Cody BEER': http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904787404576529111552968274.html

How confusing.  In any case, I would probably drink this beer again if someone bought it for me.  If you explained to me the reasoning behind naming this brewery, I would drink two beers.