A couple of weeks ago, Carey had some very special visitors up on the mountain. A reader, Jessica, (who I know Carey adores because she is always making me mute something or other to read aloud her comments) was stopping through VT with her boyfriend at the tail end of their spring break trip up to Montreal and Burlington. She was kind enough to pick up some gifts for us: a delicious craft beer and a homemade wine from Matt Dorfman & David Braverman, the 2 McGill University seniors behind the operation “Brew-hop Brew-op,” both of which sincerely knocked our socks off.
The guys are based in Montreal, but are both from outside of Boston. [617, represent!] They’ve been brewing for about 2 years, churning out a 10-gallon brew every 2 weeks (15 batches in the last year) and just ventured into wine a few months ago.
We started with the beer, which was phenomenal, complex, and very tasty. It’s called the “American Exceptionalism Amber Ale”—completely home-brewed. It’s Matt and David’s own recipe: the Malts are USA 2 row, Victory, Caramel 40L, Flaked oats, and Caramel 120L; the hops are American Citra and Simcoe. [The Amber Ale is 6.6% ABV, 38 IBU, and 9.2 SRM.]
The wine was a Pinot Noir, and though new to their repertoire, totally stole the show. We just poured it into glasses and sniffed, glancing at each other wide-eyed.
From my tasting notebook:
Vivid. Intensely polished and semi-transparent. Fruit forward nose, heavy with plantains, cherry, pomegranate candy, and a hint of dusty cinnamon. Serious bananas up and down the nose. Stylistically calls Beaujolais Nouveau, made from the Gamay grape, although I have no idea what this wine is actually composed of.
Bombastic nose with a comparatively, and comfortably, leaner palate. Fundamentally parallel flavor and aroma profiles, with the addition of tart green apple and some light stoney minerals on the mouth finish. The midpalate is decidedly full, almost creamy, and not a hint of funk, excessive sweetness, or awkwardness lingers anywhere throughout its quite developed body. A great effort that was clearly cared for and tended after. I would love to know more about it.
[Here's Carey watching this clip on YouTube for the 800th time, which she somehow never tires of snorting at. And you thought her humor was refined!]
Thanks, Jessica and Dan! Sorry I missed meeting you guys! I promise, I do exist.
Many congrats to Matt and David on their hard work and the exceptional product* they’re creating. We can’t wait to try more!
-Rob
*We also hear they make a mean make barley wine and something to the tune of 10 different beer varieties: stouts, IPA’s, black IPA, pumpkin, rye pale ale, and more. Keep these guys on your radar.
