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I got thrown out of a hoighty-toighty Napa winery once for jokingly asking for a bottle of "Night Train" (note, I only knew it from watching "The Blues Brothers

I got thrown out of a hoighty-toighty Napa winery once for jokingly asking for a bottle of "Night Train" (note, I only knew it from watching "The Blues Brothers"). I'm a bit surprised that movie had such a large effect, Merlot isn't necessarily a hugely popular wine here but I sometimes prefer it over a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Shiraz since a lot of wine makers here have followed a bit of a trend for "full bodied" (aka sledgehammer) wines from those varieties. It's a bit like the megalitres of India Pale Ale that is virtually undrinkable because the brewers are in a competition to see how much they can destroy the overall flavour with hops. ...so try the Merlot (esp. Australian merlot). It's tasty, affordable and won't leave you feeling like you lost a fight the next day.

gunshai 5y ago
I hear you on the beer front, there is so much bad beer especially IPA. I'm starting to stick to the stuff that has consistent quality. I've just had too much horse shit thinking I'm trying something "different".
- ethbr0 5y ago
  I realized I'd finally become "that guy" when my mom came to visit and I took her to a pool hall / microbrewery. She looks at the menu and asks, "Oh, do they have any IPAs? That's what everyone's drinking in {insert hometown}." "Mom... IPAs are kind of overdone now. There's lots of other, more interesting types of beer." Waiter arrives. My mother, "Do you have any IPAs you would recommend?" Waiter replies, "We have some good ones, but if you want my opinion, IPAs are kind of overdone. We have lots of more interesting beers."
  - Pxtl 5y ago
    Okay yeah they're overdone but I would expect a microbrewery to have something hoppy on tap they could offer. I went to a lot of trouble to acquire a taste for those evil things you're not getting away with not serving me one at a hipster bar.
    - smackeyacky 5y ago
      A good IPA is a great beer, but it is hard to get right, so a lot of less talented brewers defer to overloading the hops and trying to make a virtue of it.
      - gunshai 5y ago
        The most talented brewers I see, have really talented QA folks standing right behind them helping them make targets for their process and blend things that are out of spec ect. The smaller breweries will always make something different but their consistency is atrocious most of the time.
    - andi999 5y ago
      Something hoppy...? Like 'hoppy' : https://en.hoppy-happy.com/products/hoppy/ https://en.hoppy-happy.com/products/hoppy/
  - spelunker 5y ago
    I dunno, I've come full circle on IPAs and now drink loads of them. I guess it's just personal preference in the end.
    - acchow 5y ago
      Before quitting alcohol, I also came round on IPAs to the point that it was the only beer I'd drink. But there's also a tendency for many breweries to out-hop each other. That's when it becomes over the top.
- bb88 5y ago
  I've had much better luck drinking IPA's than red wine. Most red wine is too acidic for my taste. And particularly in the PNW, IPA is still where it's at. If you go look at grocery store, they're stocking IPAs more than other kinds of beer here. That said I've appreciated drinking red wine more after drinking an IPA, as it seems to help me get past the tannins quicker.
  - smackeyacky 5y ago
    This is where Merlot is a good choice. Its a more mellow taste usually.
  - KineticLensman 5y ago
    > That said I've appreciated drinking red wine more after drinking an IPA Sort of like the run-up that red wine gives you to a glass of whisky.
- raverbashing 5y ago
  Yeah, I agree. Anything double IPA or above sounds like a marketing gimmick I wanna drink beer, not tea made with hops
- AlwaysRock 5y ago
  A lot of brewers will admit that if your beer doesnt turnout the way you want you a trick is tossing in a ton of hops and making it an IPA. Once you get used to doing that you become a brewery that only makes IPA. It does seem to have swung back a bit over the last few years though. I find people are looking for, "drinkability" over "hoppyness" but that's obviously anticdata.
  - gunshai 5y ago
    >A lot of brewers will admit that if your beer doesn't turnout the way you want you a trick is tossing in a ton of hops and making it an IPA. Once you get used to doing that you become a brewery that only makes IPA. Larger craft breweries really don't have this luxury. They need to have both a means of production laser focused quality and process oriented folks AND a place for rapid research and development. What is ironic is when a craft brewery starts reaching size where they can afford these types of benefits they are often demonized for various reasons all having to do with the Brand.
jbc1 5y ago
If you like shiraz but aren't big on the full bodied style try some from Pokolbin. I don't know if it just didn't follow the trend or if environmental factors come in to play but it's generally lighter.
dfxm12 5y ago
I'm a bit surprised that movie had such a large effect I think the other side of this is that Merlot was very popular. Everyone had already tried the Merlot. Merlot was overrepresented, so, there was like a Merlot "bubble" at the time, in part because of reports on the French Paradox [0], and it being the most popular grape in France and a very popular grape in California and the Finger Lakes. More than the film putting down Merlot, it was praising Pinot Noir. So, you have a movie more or less telling wine drinkers there's another wine you can drink besides Merlot... 0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_paradox

gunshai 5y ago

I hear you on the beer front, there is so much bad beer especially IPA. I'm starting to stick to the stuff that has consistent quality. I've just had too much horse shit thinking I'm trying something "different".

ethbr0 5y ago
I realized I'd finally become "that guy" when my mom came to visit and I took her to a pool hall / microbrewery. She looks at the menu and asks, "Oh, do they have any IPAs? That's what everyone's drinking in {insert hometown}." "Mom... IPAs are kind of overdone now. There's lots of other, more interesting types of beer." Waiter arrives. My mother, "Do you have any IPAs you would recommend?" Waiter replies, "We have some good ones, but if you want my opinion, IPAs are kind of overdone. We have lots of more interesting beers."
- Pxtl 5y ago
  Okay yeah they're overdone but I would expect a microbrewery to have something hoppy on tap they could offer. I went to a lot of trouble to acquire a taste for those evil things you're not getting away with not serving me one at a hipster bar.
  - smackeyacky 5y ago
    A good IPA is a great beer, but it is hard to get right, so a lot of less talented brewers defer to overloading the hops and trying to make a virtue of it.
    - gunshai 5y ago
      The most talented brewers I see, have really talented QA folks standing right behind them helping them make targets for their process and blend things that are out of spec ect. The smaller breweries will always make something different but their consistency is atrocious most of the time.
  - andi999 5y ago
    Something hoppy...? Like 'hoppy' : https://en.hoppy-happy.com/products/hoppy/ https://en.hoppy-happy.com/products/hoppy/
- spelunker 5y ago
  I dunno, I've come full circle on IPAs and now drink loads of them. I guess it's just personal preference in the end.
  - acchow 5y ago
    Before quitting alcohol, I also came round on IPAs to the point that it was the only beer I'd drink. But there's also a tendency for many breweries to out-hop each other. That's when it becomes over the top.
bb88 5y ago
I've had much better luck drinking IPA's than red wine. Most red wine is too acidic for my taste. And particularly in the PNW, IPA is still where it's at. If you go look at grocery store, they're stocking IPAs more than other kinds of beer here. That said I've appreciated drinking red wine more after drinking an IPA, as it seems to help me get past the tannins quicker.
- smackeyacky 5y ago
  This is where Merlot is a good choice. Its a more mellow taste usually.
- KineticLensman 5y ago
  > That said I've appreciated drinking red wine more after drinking an IPA Sort of like the run-up that red wine gives you to a glass of whisky.
raverbashing 5y ago
Yeah, I agree. Anything double IPA or above sounds like a marketing gimmick I wanna drink beer, not tea made with hops
AlwaysRock 5y ago
A lot of brewers will admit that if your beer doesnt turnout the way you want you a trick is tossing in a ton of hops and making it an IPA. Once you get used to doing that you become a brewery that only makes IPA. It does seem to have swung back a bit over the last few years though. I find people are looking for, "drinkability" over "hoppyness" but that's obviously anticdata.
- gunshai 5y ago
  >A lot of brewers will admit that if your beer doesn't turnout the way you want you a trick is tossing in a ton of hops and making it an IPA. Once you get used to doing that you become a brewery that only makes IPA. Larger craft breweries really don't have this luxury. They need to have both a means of production laser focused quality and process oriented folks AND a place for rapid research and development. What is ironic is when a craft brewery starts reaching size where they can afford these types of benefits they are often demonized for various reasons all having to do with the Brand.

jbc1 5y ago

If you like shiraz but aren't big on the full bodied style try some from Pokolbin. I don't know if it just didn't follow the trend or if environmental factors come in to play but it's generally lighter.

dfxm12 5y ago

I'm a bit surprised that movie had such a large effect I think the other side of this is that Merlot was very popular. Everyone had already tried the Merlot. Merlot was overrepresented, so, there was like a Merlot "bubble" at the time, in part because of reports on the French Paradox [0], and it being the most popular grape in France and a very popular grape in California and the Finger Lakes. More than the film putting down Merlot, it was praising Pinot Noir. So, you have a movie more or less telling wine drinkers there's another wine you can drink besides Merlot... 0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_paradox