WV Gourmet

Rich Ireland, the Charleston Gazette’s beer expert, brings us word of the latest attempt to legalize beer with an alcohol-by-volume level greater than 6%.

House Bill 2719 has been introduced and is sitting idle in the House Judiciary Committee. This year’s bill is very simplified and to the point; West Virginia should raise the permissible alcohol limit to 12%ABV on “non-intoxicating” beer…West Virginia stands only with Mississippi in proclaiming our utter ignorance when it comes to modernization of our beer laws. We can change this very easily and with absolutely nothing but a positive effect on consumer choice.

As Rich says in his post, please call or write your delegates and ask them to support this bill. A similar effort last year was stifled for fear of arousing the ire of neo-prohibitionists conservative voters. Now the election’s behind us, perhaps this is the year where we can finally get this pointless loophole closed.

Spotted this at Spirits, Etc. out on Route 60 near Barboursville. It’s a new-ish gin from the Gallo winemaking behemoth, and it’s very cheap: about $14 for a 750ml bottle. Seeing as Spirits seems to have stopped carrying my favorite gin (Boodles, if you’re interested) I snagged a bottle.

Impressions, on pouring my preferred gin sundowner (a dry martini, natch) are that New Amsterdam piles on the orangy citrus notes, to say the least. It’s very smooth on the palate, and has a really tight clean finish — none of the harshness that often comes with distilled drinks at this end of the market. All that citrus makes it a real eyebrow-raiser — it almost overwhelms the underlying gin character with it. Not that this is a bad thing, necessarily, but it doesn’t make the kind of martini I’m looking for.

However, if you’re going to drink it with tonic, or branch out into more complex drinks, it’s a definite recommendation: it’s very smooth, well made, and a great choice in its price range.

A tip for out-of-state beer lovers: don’t come here. It sucks.

A bizarre reverse loophole in WV liquor legislation prevents the sale any beer greater than 6% alcohol by volume in West Virginia. Despite several recent efforts by pressure groups and state lawmakers, it looks as if the situation isn’t about to change, and this means that the bulk of the superb, delightful produce of the burgeoning American craft beer industry is just not sold here. The Charleston Gazette’s beer expert Rich Ireland has the full story of the collapse of the most recent attempt to fix this ridiculous situation, together with some pithy commentary with which I heartily agree.

What to do, then? Either head out of state and pick up beer at a store in the surrounding area or, if that’s not an option, get some shipped from one of the many on-line stores. Doing either of these things is probably illegal, although your chances of getting busted seem very small. (Or you can brew your own, but that’s a post for another day.)

This sad situation means many thousands of superb beers are out of the reach of many West Virginians who don’t live within easy reach of an out-of-state outlet, or can’t afford the high shipping rates of the online merchants.

Exhibit one: the American IPA, or India Pale Ale. To my mind, the finest of American beer styles, and one of the most popular creations at any craft brewery. But barring one Sierra Nevada seasonal (the delicious Anniversary, which appears in WV stores every fall and barely squeaks under the 6% line) and Harpoon IPA (which is entirely too shy and retiring for my taste) there’s nothing that qualifies as a real IPA to be found in WV; most mainstream examples fall in the 6.5% to 7.25% area.

And one of my favorite IPAs is from Bells, a brewery up in Michigan that’s among the larger of the many US microbreweries. Named Two Hearted Ale, it sports a handsome label with a picture of a trout; both the name and the imagery are owed to an Ernest Hemingway short story about a fishing trip on Michigan’s Two Hearted River.

If you’re used to the swill that passes for beer in most WV store coolers, it’ll raise your eyebrows. It’s full-bodied even for an IPA, and is towards the higher end of the ABV scale. But slosh it into a nice wide-mouthed glass — don’t, for the love of god(s), drink it from the bottle — and the hop aroma will practically fill the room. The floral, citrusy bouquet is unmistakable, and decidedly appetizing. Take a sip, and you’ll find it’s not as mouth-puckeringly bitter as some IPAs can be, despite the considerable hop flavor. Balance is the key here, and although I love the more off-the-wall IPAs many micros have developed, Two-Hearted is decidedly an easy beer to drink.

For a microbeer, it’s comparatively widely distributed in around the eastern US. My regular source is Ashland Beverage Center in Kentucky, but it should be available in good PA and VA stores too. If you know of a good supplier in other areas, let us know in the comments.

Rich Ireland test-drives chocolate cheddar

The excellent and learned Rich Ireland checked out Rogue Chocolate-Stout Cheddar recently, declaring it “one of the most buttery cheddars I have tasted”. Sounds like a winner to me, and you can find it at the Wine Shop at Charleston’s Capitol Market.

Although Rich opts for Sam Smith’s Oatmeal Stout to pair with the cheese, I happened to spot Rogue’s Chocolate Stout when I was out at Leo’s in South Point, OH. on Friday.

Nawab is one of my favorite places to eat in Huntington. And that’s not just because the fragrant cuisine reminds me of Britain. It’s also because the service is excellent, the surroundings are well-appointed and the atmosphere is top-notch. Most of all, though, it’s because you can roll in there on a Friday night, after driving past seething throngs queuing, inexplicably, outside Red Lobster or Applebee’s, and have both your choice of table and an attentive waiter. Nawab is nowhere near as popular as it deserves to be, and I’m quite happy with that.

Nawab is also one of the few local places that serves lamb, preparing it in a variety of delicious sauces. Lamb curries deliciously, in my opinion, and is so hard to find around here for reasonable money that I inevitably make sure at least one of our dishes contains this sadly overlooked meat.

Plus they’ve always been delighted to cater to our 3-year-old, even bringing him out fried potato pancakes when he was struggling a little with our spicier dishes. He loves the excellent naan and tandoori dishes, though.

Yes, the evening prices are a little steep, but it’s worth it. The lunch buffet is always outstanding and much more moderately priced, though — check it out for its range of creative and unusual salads if for no other reason.