by Richard Pliny, Beer Correspondent

Style: “Blended IPA”
Color: Orange-straw
ABV: 9%
Price Point: $8 for 22oz
Technical Notes: From the Southern Tier website, “High in the winter sky, two parallel stick figures are visible & known as “the twins,” or the constellation Gemini. The astronauts of the 1960s flew as teams of two in a program named after the celestial pairing. At Southern Tier, we have our own fraternal twins, Hoppe [reviewed here] & Unearthly. Blended together & placed in this vessel, the mission of our Gemini is to travel high & take passengers on a journey far into the heavens.”

Hedonic Notes: The beer pours a translucent pale orange with very little foam.  That foam which does form is characterized by large bubbles and a brilliant white shade.  There is a slightly cloudy appearance and the bottom of the bottle has a healthy amount of sediment. Floral, aromatic hop notes pervade the aroma.  A slight bit of citrus follows, accompanied by a thick, almost honey like malt backbone.  The hop notes are complex yet subtle, with hints of pine and grass mixing with the stronger floral and citrus notes.

As the beer warms, the subtler hints become more pronounced.  Hop bitterness reminds one of an American style IPA, with prominent pine and citrus.  A delightfully sweet caramel malt forms a subdued yet appropriate contrast and highlights the more delicate aspects of the hop bitterness.  Grapefruit and orange notes dominate, while grass does not play as prominent a role as in the aroma.  Earthy notes are not as noticeable as one may expect in the finish, which is more dry than bitter.

In spite of the 9% alcohol, any sort of solvent texture is minimal, even as the beer warms.  The finish is very dry and imparts a clear astringency that quite distinct from a hop bitterness.  A surprising smoothness accompanies this dryness and astringency, making for a very unique finish.

Overall the beer is very drinkable.  It is more drinkable than Hoppe, though arguably not as good a vessel for exploring the many facets of hop bitterness.  Personally, I found Hoppe a more interesting experience, but perhaps this beer isn’t trying to compete as much as complement.  It should be noted that this beer was aged for a few months, perhaps subduing the hop flavors.  That said, it was quite unique and a delight to drink in general.

Rating: 4/5 Corks. Gemini is a delightful IPA to drink, but perhaps not as high in the sky as Southern Tier’s Hoppe.

The final frontier: beer in space!

In 2001 Kirsten Sterett, a graduate student at the University of Colorado, Boulder, conducted experiments brewing beer in space.  With the help of Coors, Sterett had a small fermentation experiment fly on a shuttle mission, with a control sample on earth.  Experiments looked at cell counts and protein expression levels.

Sterett's brewery apparatus. Thanks to NASA for the image.

Under the influence of gravity (i.e., on Earth), cells form aggregates and settle out of solution.  This results in a layer of sediment at the bottom of the beer and is largely responsible for the slow progression of aging.  In microgravity, however, the cells remain in suspension throughout the length of the fermentation.  Moreover, carbon dioxide bubbles don’t leave the system since there is no bouyant force in the absence of gravity. In remaining in suspension, the cells are able to consume sugars more rapidly since the diffusion limitations are lessened.

Sterett found, somewhat paradoxically, that total cell counts are reduced when fermentation is conducted in orbit.  However, certain proteins were expressed in higher levels. Later experiments focusing on pharmaceutical production would find that bacterial cells are able to produce better target molecule:biomass ratios in microgravity.

Though the precise mechanism is not clear, efforts are underway to engineer organisms that are able to produce similar results in gravity. The bulk of earlier microbial experiments in space focused primarily on pathogenic bacteria.  Findings from Salyut in 1982 and Spacelab D1 in 1985 seemed to indicate that microbes have increased antibiotic resistance in microgravity.  It appears microbes are able to form more dense biofilms in the absence of gravity, making mass transfer to the center of the population difficult.

The ISS would make a great place for a pub. Image courtesy of NASA

So is beer production possible in space?  The question is currently unanswered, but appears promising.  Sterett did taste about 1ml of her beer, but noted that it did not taste very good.  Space beer would no doubt be a rather different drinking experience without a proper head forming (not to mention drinking from a straw and having limited aroma due to container constraints).

Japanese brewer Sapporo offered a beer brewed with barley descended from samples grown in orbit.  The beer launched in early 2009, with a mere 100 liters were produced and sold to a lucky 250 customers chosen from a lottery for 10,000 yen (roughly $110US) per six-pack.  (as an aside, if any readers out there happen to have a bottle of this sitting around I would love to write a feature on it!) Is space beer going to be the beverage of the future?  Probably not… and I’m still waiting for my jetpack.

“R&D Report for ‘Space Barley’” Sapporo.

Suds in Space. NASA.  2001.

Wilson et al. “Space flight alters bacterial gene expression and virulence and reveals a role for global regulator Hfq.“ PNAS. 2007.

                          

I am proud to announce a new staff member here at Ithacork.

From his first sip of beer, Richard Pliny was captured by the fizzy drink’s allure. Through years of research and experimentation he has sought to understand beer’s secrets, as indeed he still does. Now an amateur brewer and professional scientist, Richard seeks to share his passion for the drink with others.

Currently, Richard is also pursuing his PhD in Chemical Engineering. He exploits his university’s resources to further his knowledge of brewing and fermentation whenever he can, drawing heavily on the strong food science program. Like me, Richard has found that a basic understanding of biology and chemistry greatly elucidates the beermaking process.

Richard’s first post, fittingly on an Ithaca beer, will go up Friday in what will hopefully be a weekly beer column for you hopheads out there.

Please join me in welcoming Richard to the team.

                          

@DaWinemaker Tim Benedict (Winemaker, Hazlitt 1852)
@3BrosWine 3 Brothers Wineries
@Betthefarmny Bet the Farm Winery, a kind of general store in beautiful Aurora, NY. They also make wine!
@WSWine White Springs Winery
@FLXamy Amy Hoffman (co-owner, Rooster Hill)
@Stacisays Staci Nugent (winemaker, Keuka Lake Vineyards)
@bseager Brandon Seager (Asst. winemaker, Red Newt)
@acc123 Amy Cheatle (Tasting Room Mgr., Damiani)
@Eno_Barry Ian Barry (winemaker, Swedish Hill, Goose Watch, Penguin Bay)
@SheldrakePoint Sheldrake Point Vineyards

The full list is here: http://ithacork.com/flx-wineries-on-twitter/

As usual, you can follow these and other Finger Lakes wineries here:
http://tweepml.org/Finger-Lakes-Wineries/

Alternatively, if you’re into TweetDeck and/or Twitter Lists, you can follow my FLX wine list here:
http://twitter.com/mrmansell/flxwine

                          

Based on my recollection, an informal count of the varieties they have listed on their application puts me at around 79, and I was able to come up with about 23 that weren’t on the list that I have had. So I guess I could theoretically put in my application now.

I wondered, though, why I had had so many “obscure” varieties that these professional winos didn’t have listed. It’s not because I seek out the most obscure grape varieties I can find (even though I do). It’s because I live in a cool-climate viticulture region, and one of the pillars on which the industry in the Finger Lakes stands is native and interspecific hybrid grape varieties. Concord, Catawba, and Niagara you may have heard of. But Diamond? Frontenac? Scuppernong? Are these not grapes? Are these not Vitis spp.? They certainly are, and they are important not only to historical American winemaking, but to viticulture in many American wine regions today. Often, these wines are met with a snobbery usually reserved for 2-buck Chuck. I would like, if I can, to try to change that. That’s why I have decided to:

TASTE 100 DIFFERENT HYBRID WINES

Rules:

• Any non-vinifera wines count.  With the exception of muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia), most wine grapes have some Vitis vinifera in their ancestry, even Concord and Niagara.  So “native” grapes count, as do French-American hybrids like Maréchal Foch, and newly-bred hybrids like Corot Noir and Frontenac.  As long as it’s technically a grape and not purely Vitis vinifera, if it’s vinified, it counts.
• Blends count.  I think it would be nearly impossible to find 100 varietal hybrid wines, as many hybrid grapes are used almost exclusively for blending (flavor and color).
• Bonus points for hybrid varietal wines, but no guarantees.
• My lifetime hybrid count (est. about 30) resets, starting yesterday, October 6, 2009.

You’ll be able to track my progress in the sidebar on the right once I start tasting hybrids.  Chances are that some of them are going to be absolutely vile.  That may be the case, but I guarantee you I will find some stellar hybrid wines on this journey.

Some say it can’t be done.  Notable naysayers (sort of) so far, via Tweetdeck:

Do you have hybrid suggestions?  Have you had a varietal Steuben, Alden, or other obscure hybrid?  Let me know and I will do everything within my power to taste it.

Tomorrow: A comparative tasting of blends featuring Hybrid #1: Noiret.

Note: This activity is not endorsed or recommended by the Wine Century Club… yet! I have no affiliation with them, but when I reach 100 I will fill out my membership application using entirely hybrid varieties.

                          

We are trying to collect the best wine writers on the internet in one place. You will appreciate the experimental nature the project. We are testing the hypothesis ‘if you filter the best wine writers and best wine writing on the internet through quality editors, then publish on a reasonable schedule (compared to blog aggregators that merely scroll away), you will create a product with commercial value to advertisers.’

How he came up with adding my name to this list I’m not sure, but I accepted his invitation and became a monthly contributor to Palate Press: the online wine magazine.

Palate Press is a compilation of articles and insights from some of the finest wine bloggers on the internet and updated daily. It’s administrated by David and Editted-in-Chief by “recovering wine critic” and wine celebrity in his own right, Mr. W.R. Tish. Since its recent launch, it’s gotten a lot of press, including an article in Wines & Vines .

My favorite article so far is one put up by the PinotBlogger, Josh Hermsmeyer, about finding {Brettanomyces} in white wines. Aside from the technical stuff, there are discussions about the ethics of shelftalkers, nutrition facts on wine bottles, and all kinds of other interesting wine-related stuff. If you like the content of this blog, then you should definitely check out Palate Press. My contribution will go live on September 24. It’s about labeling wine bottles and advertisements with health claims, and I’m pretty proud of the work that I and my editor, Arthur Przebinda of winesooth.com put into it. I’ll let you know when it goes live. Until then, do check out the other quaity articles on Palate Press. Do it now!

                          

So, starting tomorrow, Ithacork will update at least 5 times a week. In the future, look for more tasting notes (and blind competitions!), comments on various festivals I attended over the summer, book reviews, winery visits, crazy experiments, and of course, that geek-tastic science content that I love.

Let’s get the ball rolling with some cross-promotion for my inaugural post as Science Editor of the New York Cork Report. It’s about the benefits of sun exposure on grapes, and the comments section has become an interesting debate about the merits of pulling leaves to maximize exposure. Look at me, branching out into the viticulture side of winemaking!

Sun exposure can do wonders for grapes and the wines that they produce!

                          

Day 1: Dinner with Long Island Merlot Alliance
Raphael Sauvignon Blanc 2007
Pellegrini Merlot 1993
Pellegrini Merlot 1994
Pellegrini Merlot 1997
Pellegrini Merlot 2001
Pellegrini Merlot 2005
Pellegrini Encore 1997 (bordeaux blend)
Sherwood House Merlot 2004
Sherwood House Merlot 2003
Sherwood House Merlot 2002
Sherwood House Merlot 2001
Sherwood House Merlot 2000
Sherwood House Bordeaux Blend (didn’t get the name)
Raphael Sauvignon Blanc 2006
Clovis Point Merlot 2004
Wölffer Estate Selection Merlot 2000
Sherwood House Cabernet Franc 2004
Pellegrini Finale (“iced” wine, non-vintage, multiple fermentations)
Long Island Merliance 2004
Long Island Merliance 2006
Long Island Merliance 2007
Freedom Run Pinot Noir
Catawba Ice Wine (unlabeled, courtesy of the Niagara wine fairy)

Day 2: Wineries

Early budbreak at Shinn Estate

Roanoke Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Roanoke Merlot 2005
Roanoke Blend One 2004
Roanoke Cabernet Franc 2006 (interesting strawberry jam component on this one)
Roanoke Marco Tulio 2007 (juicy, great mouthfeel, not yet released)
Freedom Run Riesling
Paumonok Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2007 (partial spontaneous fermentation gives character)
Paumonok Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (tropical, fruit stripe gum, no herbaceousness)
Paumonok Chenin Blanc 2008 (little grassy but great fruit!)
Paumonok Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (not quite ripe to me)
Paumonok Assemblage 2004 (raisiny)
Paumonok Petit Verdot (my first varietal PV, funky, owner’s “Rhône” descriptor was right on)
Paumonok Assemblage 2007 (barrel tasting, kaPOW fruit, awesome!)
Paumonok Petit Verdot 2007 (barrel tasting, balanced for 14.2% alcohol)
Paumonok Merlot Tuttles Lane 2007 (barrel tasting, OAK)
Paumonok Dry Riesling 2008
Paumonok Semi-Dry Riesling 2008
Paumonok Late Harvest Riesling 2008 (all these rieslings lacked the acidity I craved, came up short on finish)

Delish lunch, also at Shinn, featuring Peconic Bay squid, our second dose of asparagus for the day, and duck to die for.

Macari Sauvignon Blanc Katherine’s Field 2008
Shinn Cabernet Franc 2007 (barrel sample, lots of fruit, earthy, nice acid)
Jamesport Pinot Noir Sarah Hill 2006
Shinn First Fruit Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Shinn nine barrels Merlot Reserve 2005
Macari Rosé (pear-like aromas)
Bouké Red 2007
Castello di Borghese Pinot Noir (intense, lots of tannin for a PN)
Castello di Borghese Merlot
Macari Bergen Road Meritage 2004
Martha Clara Five-O Red Blend 2005
Shinn six barrels Merlot Reserve 2002(Meaty with some green pepper, like a chile relleno)
Jamesport Cabernet Franc 2005 (espresso)
Palmer Select Reserve Merlot
Palmer Cabernet Franc 2000 (more coffee aromas)
Harbes Old Barn Merlot 2005 (talked to the winemaker for a while)
Sparkling Pointe Brut Seduction 2000 (huge marketing buzz, with tons of swag and press kit)
Sparkling Pointe Topaz Imperial 2004 (there is a lot of $$ behind this place)
Sparkling Pointe Brut 2004 (especially since they only make sparklers. lots of capital to start up)
Lieb Cellars White Merlot 2007
Palmer Sauvignon Blanc
Macari Sauvignon Blanc Block E Dessert Wine (reminded me of the time i put wine jelly in a used salsa jar. bad news!)
Castello di Borghese Chardonnay 2007 (not as much oak as other chardonnays of the day)
The Old Field Blanc de Noirs
The Old Field Mostly Stainless Chardonnay (10% oaked, still smoky/oaky for me. I noticed pretty high toast on the barrels we saw, medium +, toasted heads)
The Old Field Barrel Fermented Chardonnay
Martha Clara Gewürztraminer (nice floral nose, practically no acid)
Martha Clara Riesling
Croteaux Rosé Merlot 181
Croteaux Rosé Melort 314
Croteaux Rosé Merlot 3 (with malolactic fermentation?! Croteaux only does rosé. Interesting.)
Croteaux tank sample (this will be put into Charmat tanks and made into bubbly)
Corey Creek Rosé (a lot of wineries make rosés because a lot do saignée on their reds!)
Corey Creek Gewürztraminer 2007 (finally, a little acid in an aromatic white, but not enough)
Bedell Gallery Chardonnay (oak bomb, but decent acid backup, but for $48, forget it!)
Bedell Cabernet Franc 2004
Bedell Musée 2006 (so-called “Best Red Wine in NY” at Governor’s cup. Eh, it was ok. Lots of coffee/chocolate)
Lenz Cuvée 2002 (sparkling, 5.5 years on tirage!)
Lenz Gewürztraminer 2008 (tank sample)
Lenz Gewürztraminer 2005 (again, low acid)
Lenz Chardonnay 2008 (tank sample, very acidic, obviously no ML yet)
Lenz Chardonnay 2005 (oaky, but the cheapest wine of the trip at $12!)
Lenz Blanc de Noir still wine (tank sample, to be made into bubbly)
Lenz Blanc de Noir press fraction (to be made into still wine)
Lenz Cabernet Sauvigon/Petit Verdot (barrel sample)
Lenz Merlot (barrel sample)
Lenz Cabernet/Merlot (barrel sample)
Lenz Estate Merlot (barrel sample)
Lenz Old Vines Merlot (barrel sample)
Lenz Cabernet Sauvigon 2002
Lenz Old Vines Merlot 2002
Lenz Old Vines Merlot 2001 (still got great structure, very nice)

Day 2: BYOB Dinner at Grand Cru Classes
Schloss Johannisberg Spätlese Trocken 2005
Leonard Oakes Frontenac 2007 (from Niagara, a little sweet, but balanced quite well!)
Travessia Vidal Blanc 2007 (from Massachusetts, brought by the magnanimous Dale Cruse, “food-friendly”, big acid)
Domaine Pavelot Savigny-le-Beaune 2002
Turtle Creek Syrah 2006 (from Mass. as well, stank of H2S, first faulted wine of the trip!)
R. López de Heredia Viño Gravonia Rioja 1999 (white Rioja, made in slightly oxidized style. Boy, did I look stupid when I leaned over to Robbin and said “Aw, man, I think this wine is oxidized!”)
JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr 1999 Spätlese (very nice)
Benmarl Baco Noir 2007 (brought by the Hudson Valley Wine Goddess), who lives up to her name, and whose husband has an awesome Philly accent.
Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta 2005 (Wine Spectator 2008 wine of the year, 96 pts., it was big and pretty complex with good fruit. Wasn’t the right environment to write a full tasting note…)
Penns Woods Ameritage (brought by 1WineDude, nice to see PA represented, and actually pretty well. I will have to do some wine touring next time I get some time at home)
Applewoods Blackberry (A bit acidic, but nice)
Jefferson Vineyards Cabernet Franc (This Virginia wine, brought by John Witherspoon of Anything Wine does him and Mr. Jefferson proud)
Les Pervenches 2007 Chardonnay-Seyval (brought from Québec by resident francophone and overall cool guy Rémy Charest of WineCase, whose palate I agreed with on a few occasions. He also uses a good wordpress theme on his blog)
Glorie Cabernet Franc
Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (Napa, raisiny, pruney, unique)
Jared’s wine 2007 (Cabernet Franc made by the co-proprietor of Grand Cru Classes, a LI wine education place with a clever mame and very nice setup. Kudos to Jared and Tracy for hosting us! The wine was a good start, had a bit of volatile acidity, but not bad at all…)
Ledson Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
St. Nicolas de Bourgeuil (got some ashtray on this one, which Bryan, our cabernet franc aficionado, informed me was varietally correct for this region. Okay…)
Jewell Towne Vineyards Alden Rosé (50% Massachusetts, 50% New Hampshire, 100% WTF. This wine had people talking. It looked like Kool-aid and drank like a watermelon jolly rancher. Weird stuff. Alden is one of Cornell’s hybrid grapes.)
Clarendon Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (brought by the lovely Erika Strum, who was a part of my first foot-in-mouth moment of the trip, in which I railed on junk wine science vis-a-vis decanters and Riedel glasses and magnetic wine clips and clefs du vin… only to find out that her company sells all of those things.)
Donna Fugata Mille Notte
Altaïr 2003 (brought by Rob Bralow, our industry marketing representative and another cool dude.)
Tierce Riesling 2006 (Finger Lakes represent! This riesling is a cooperative project between Anthony Road, Fox Run, and Red Newt, and was likely brought by Melissa Dobson, my fun Finger Lakes companion.)
Baron de Oña Rioja Gran Reserva 1999 (cool herbal component. thyme?)
Whitecliff Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay
Eveningside Chardonnay 2008 (Niagara, good to see some unoaked chardonnay for a change)
Freedom Run Chardonnay
Sheldrake Point Reserve Riesling 2006 (yum!)
Domaine Les Brome Late Harvest Vidal Blanc 2006
Château La Lagune Haut-Médoc 1998
Eagle Rare 10-year Bourbon (brought along by our Kentucky contingent, Michelle Lentz and Kevin Gerl. Fun people, and always good for an ’80s pop culture reference.)
Lamoreaux Landing T23 Cabernet Franc 2007 (all stainless steel aged, one of my offerings
Les Clos de Paulilles Vin Doux Naturel
Penns Woods Chardonnay Reserve
Penns Woods Cabernet Reserve 2005 (These PA wines are not to be messed with! Seriously impressed!)
Domaine des Quatre Vents Fleurie 2006
Sonis Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (made by our host, Lenn Thompson. How’d you end up with that much acidity in a 2007, man?!)
Anthony Road Martini-Reinhardt Selection Riesling 2007
Bloomer Creek Dry Riesling
Atwater Dry Riesling 2007 (my other one)

Day 3: More Wineries and Finale
Wölffer Estate Brut Blanc de Blanc 2005 (toasty, good way to start the day)
Wölffer Estate Chardonnay 2005 (oaky, again, but some fruit shining through, awesome golden color, rich creamy vanilla)
Wölffer Premier Cru Merlot 2000 (good fruit, balanced tannin, long finish)
Grapes of Roth Merlot 2002
Wölffer Premier Cru Merlot 2004 (my favorite LI merlot, had the acid backbone I was looking for [can you tell i like some acidity in my wine?] and long cocoa finish. Too bad it’s $100 a bottle!)
Wölffer Christian’s Cuvée 2005
Wölffer Claletto (Amarone-style cabernet sauvignon, very pruney/raisiny, but also very tannic!)
Wölffer 2007 Late Harvest “Ice” Chardonnay 2007
Wölffer Descencia Botrytis Chardonnay 2005 (calls to mind Sauternes, hasn’t quite come together yet)
Channing Daughters Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Channing Daughters Tocai Friulano 2007
Channing Daughters Vino Bianco 2007
Channing Daughters Mosaico 2007
Channing Daughters Scuttlehole Chardonnay 2007 (all stainless steel, bit of an oxidized component on the nose. cool stuff.)
Channing Daughters L’enfant Sauvage 2007 (the opposite end of the spectrum. lots of oak and full malolactic fermentation Nick Gorevic, next to me, had a win with “corn on the cob”.)
Channing Daughters Meditazione 2007 (I reviewed 2006 Meditazione here)
Channing Daughters Envelope 2007 (another skin-fermented white)
Channing Daughters Rosato Cabernet Franc 2008 (spicy and sweet-smelling despite being bone dry)
Channing Daughters Rosato Merlot 2008
Channing Daughters Rosato Cabernet Sauvigon 2008
Channing Daughters Blaufränkisch 2007
Channing Daughters Sculpture Garden 2007
Channing Daughters Over and Over Variation 2 (the story is a bit more interesting than the wine, you can see it here [all the way at the bottom])
Channing Daughters Sylvanus 2007
Southampton Publick House Maybock
Southampton Publick House Altbier

Lyle was NOT a fan of the Frontenac, and I don’t remember what the genuine Tasters A & B from smellslikegrape, the prolific Passionate Foodie, or Diane [sorry I dropped your dress in the driveway] brought, but it was definitely great meeting you all. I am sure we’ll be in touch.  Full distillation of the events to follow in a future post.

The light balance in this photo doesn't do it justice. My tongue was BLACK.